Journey to Sunset Forest

Ning Rongrong, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan.

The three rode in a carriage, traveling toward Sunset Forest.

Inside the carriage, Ning Rongrong studied the map in her hands.

"The round trip will take several months. No wonder Father didn't come with me." As the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi could not possibly wander around with Ning Rongrong for several months.

"Rongrong, what are you looking at?" Hearing Ning Rongrong muttering to herself, Dugu Yan leaned over. Her purple hair carried a faint fragrance.

"I'm checking how far it is to Gengxin City."

"Gengxin City? What kind of place is that?" Dugu Yan sounded slightly puzzled as she shifted her gaze toward Dugu Bo, who was quietly studying a book on medicinal herbs on the other side of the carriage. "Grandfather, do you know?"

"I have some impression of it. It seems to be a major city in the southeast of the Star Luo Empire." Dugu Bo closed the book with one hand, a trace of doubt appearing between his brows. "Young Sect Master, why are you going to Gengxin City?"

"Senior Dugu, just call me Rongrong. Calling me Young Sect Master in private feels a little distant." Ning Rongrong thought for a moment before continuing, "I want to recruit the blacksmiths of Gengxin City into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"Blacksmiths?" Dugu Bo looked slightly stunned. "Gengxin City is famous for forging. The Hundred Treasure Pouch I use to store medicinal herbs was bought there, but blacksmiths do not hold much status on the continent."

"If they held high status, it would be difficult for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to recruit them." Ning Rongrong smiled lightly. "I hope they can join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and help research Soul Tools."

"Research Soul Tools?" Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were both taken aback.

"This." Ning Rongrong patted the object on her right wrist, which was engraved with flame patterns and looked somewhat like a concealed weapon.

"What is special about it?" Curiosity appeared on Dugu Bo's face.

Before leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong had said she wanted to pick up a few things from the sect's smithy. When she returned, this strange device had appeared on her wrist.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a support sect.

It was only natural for the Young Sect Master to have some security measures when traveling, so Dugu Bo had not asked further.

But now, it seemed there was more to it than that.

"It is a half-finished first-grade Soul Tool. I'll show you its power later."

It was not suitable to use a Soul Tool inside a carriage.

Filled with curiosity, the group soon arrived at the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Since they might not come out from this side later, they had the sect disciple driving the carriage return.

"Rongrong, hurry and try the Soul Tool." Dugu Yan quickly walked up to Ning Rongrong. Having heard Ning Rongrong talk so much about Soul Tools along the way, Dugu Yan felt as though her heart were being scratched by a thousand claws.

"Yan Yan Jie can try the Soul Tool."

Ning Rongrong removed the Soul Tool from her hand and passed it to Dugu Yan.

"Huh?"

Dugu Yan accepted the Soul Tool with a bewildered expression.

"There is a high chance this Soul Tool will break after being used ten times. It is enough to save five uses. It might come in handy when we reach Gengxin City," Ning Rongrong said.

Dugu Yan lowered her head to look at the Soul Tool in her hand and murmured, "Is it really alright for me to use something so precious so casually?"

"It is only a half-finished product. If it breaks, I can just make another one. The craftsmanship just isn't skilled enough yet."

"Ah, I see." Dugu Yan put the Soul Tool on her wrist. "How do I use it?"

"Open the safety catch beneath the wrist, then aim at a target and channel Soul Power into it."

"A first-grade Soul Tool requires the Soul Power of a one-ring Spirit Master. There is no point in putting in any more than that."

Hearing this, Dugu Yan nodded.

She aimed the Soul Tool at a tree seven or eight meters away, one that was about half a meter wide.

Boom

The barrel trembled slightly, and in an instant, a red fireball shot out and struck the distant trunk.

The tree creaked before a section of its trunk caved in, and faint flames began to burn.

"This is incredible!"

Following Ning Rongrong's instructions, Dugu Yan tried again. The tree, having been struck twice, creaked as it split down the middle, while the flames burning on its trunk grew fiercer.

Dugu Bo waved a hand and released Soul Power to extinguish the flames. The moment he lowered his hand, he saw Dugu Yan holding the Soul Tool out to him with both hands.

"Here, Grandfather, give it a try. Only three times—you have to save five attacks to return to Rongrong."

Dugu Bo nodded and put on the Soul Tool.

Bang

Bang

Three consecutive fireballs struck the same tree. Flames surged up its trunk, and the relentless attacks caused the battered tree to collapse with a crash.

Dugu Bo raised his other hand and waved it, once again using Soul Power to blow out the flames.

"What an incredible thing." Compared to Dugu Yan's simple amazement, Dugu Bo, as a Titled Douluo, could easily guess the prospects of such an item.

"Rongrong, what do you estimate the upper limit of a Soul Tool like this to be?"

Dugu Bo returned the Soul Tool to Ning Rongrong. Since Ning Rongrong had strongly insisted that there was no need to call her Young Sect Master in private, Dugu Bo had changed how he addressed her as well.

"The estimated upper limit?" Ning Rongrong pondered for a while before saying, "A first-grade Soul Tool is equivalent to a one-ring Spirit Master, and so on."

"Hiss—" Dugu Bo sucked in a sharp breath.

And so on?

He had not expected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—no, Ning Rongrong—to be so ambitious.

Was she planning to use Soul Tools to make support Spirit Masters rise completely?

Soul Tools only required Soul Power to use. They could completely bypass the restrictions of Martial Souls. On the contrary, support Spirit Masters seemed to offer greater value.

"Don't think that far ahead, Senior Dugu!" Ning Rongrong placed the Soul Tool into her Storage Bracelet. "The priority now is helping Yan Yan Jie obtain her third Soul Ring."

"Next, we'll go to Senior Dugu's Medicine Garden. To be honest, I'm quite curious about it."

"I nearly forgot the important matter!" Dugu Bo slapped his forehead.

Thus, the three entered Sunset Forest together.

One important reason Ning Rongrong wanted to recruit Dugu Bo was the value of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. To be honest, she was extremely tempted by Dugu Bo's Medicine Garden.

Over the past month or so, she had been waiting for Dugu Bo to bring it up himself.

For Dugu Bo to sincerely tell the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect the location of his treasured Medicine Garden was one thing; for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to take the initiative and ask about its location was another.

The former was like a host inviting guests into his home, while the latter was more like showing up uninvited.

To win someone over, first win their heart.

Some transmigrators who came to Douluo Continent wanted benefits without spending time building relationships.

Not only were they famously hypocritical, their behavior was also ugly.

Yet they still blamed Tang God King for "already walking the path of Seeking Death."

Wasn't that a little like eating someone else's food while smashing their pot?

Before becoming a god, Tang God King did not have many major stains on his record. The Blood Swan Kiss in Slaughter City and the destruction of Spirit Hall—if those counted, then so be it!

Who could have foreseen, before becoming a god, what would happen after becoming one?

As for Tang God King ten thousand years later and beyond.

Was he even human?

While Ning Rongrong's thoughts raced wildly, Dugu Bo led them deep into Sunset Forest. Amid the tangled branches overhead, they discovered a Jade Phosphor Serpent about 1,100 years old.

"Looks like our luck is good. We found one as soon as we came in!" Hunter-like emotion gleamed in Dugu Bo's emerald green eyes.