Sacrifice!

They traveled in fits and starts, leaving wreckage in their wake;

At last, a fork in the road appeared ahead, and man and tiger were about to part ways;

Before the gorge, the path split in two—Ye Qiu climbed the wall while the tiger entered.

As they neared the entrance to the gorge, Ye Qiu leaped off his mount and climbed upward with the aid of the small trees and shrubs growing from the rock walls on either side.

Meanwhile, Tiger Cub continued deeper into the gorge as bait, luring the Boa Constrictor into the trap!

Read The Art of War, savor Qiqiang's life!

The plan was simple, but sufficient.

Standing above, Ye Qiu watched as the Boa Constrictor fully entered the gorge, delight already appearing on his face.

He immediately used the firestarter in his hand to light the fuse beside him.

Boom! The deafening blast startled the pursuing Boa Constrictor. It stopped and turned around, only to find its path of retreat buried beneath fallen rubble from both sides.

"Hisss~" Its instincts told it something was wrong! It immediately tried to flee through the exit on the other side of the gorge.

Unfortunately, it was fast, but Ye Qiu was faster—and the fuse burned even faster!

Boom!

Another massive explosion rang out, and the other side was blown shut as well.

The Boa Constrictor froze in place. A towering pile of rubble separated it from the little tiger.

This Boa Constrictor had now become a trapped beast!

"Looks like everything went according to plan. Now all that's left is the final blow! Don't you dare die!"

Holding the firestarter, Ye Qiu had never intended to blow it to death. He only wanted to bring it to the brink of death!

When he noticed that the Boa Constrictor was trying to climb over the rubble, he stopped hesitating.

He immediately lit every fuse connected to the explosives buried underground.

"Hiss~" The Boa Constrictor smelled death in the air, and even its writhing body became disorderly.

Boom! The tremendous blast carried far into the distance despite the rock walls on either side acting as barriers. A flock of birds was startled into flight, while the surrounding spirit beasts scattered in all directions.

Even Tiger Cub's legs trembled. If Ye Qiu had not controlled it with his Illusion Technique, it would have fled long ago!

Ye Qiu's ears were still ringing, but he did not dare delay. He was afraid the thousand-year Boa Constrictor might be dead. As long as it had a few breaths left, that would be enough. Ye Qiu did not want all his efforts to be wasted—the explosives were already gone!

When he reached the bottom of the gorge, the Boa Constrictor had been buried beneath the rubble and was nowhere to be seen. A hint of purple flashed through the red in Ye Qiu's eyes, allowing him to pinpoint its exact location.

He called Tiger Cub over, and together they dug it out with their claws.

"Fuck!" Ye Qiu, still searching through the rubble, was suddenly startled as a bloody snake head appeared before him.

One of its eyes had been pierced by flying debris from the explosion, and the scales on its body were shattered and scattered. It was in a miserable state!

Fortunately, it was still alive!

The Boa Constrictor glared viciously at Ye Qiu with its remaining eye. It tried desperately to lift its jaws, but no longer had the strength.

"Hiss~" Its bloodstained tongue flicked out for the last time.

Ye Qiu had a compassionate heart, but this world was simply like this. Such were its rules. The millennia or even tens of millennia of arduous cultivation by spirit beasts could be surpassed by humans in just a few years. That was the sorrow of spirit beasts!

"Now then, I hope this works!" The Sharingan met the Boa Constrictor's gaze. Ye Qiu intended to control it and make it sacrifice itself to him!

With the Boa Constrictor on the verge of death, its mind had already fallen apart. Controlling it required no effort at all. Its sole remaining eye transformed into the shape of Ye Qiu's eye.

After Ye Qiu gave the command to sacrifice itself, there was no reaction from the Boa Constrictor's body. Just as disappointment appeared on Ye Qiu's face—

A faint purple glow suddenly emerged from its body, then spread onto Ye Qiu.

"Haha! Great, it really worked! A purple first Spirit Ring!"

He first shouted in excitement, then forcibly suppressed his joy.

After giving Tiger Cub the mental command to stand guard, he sat cross-legged directly atop the Boa Constrictor's head.

He circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, rapidly absorbing the energy transmitted by the Boa Constrictor's sacrifice. Purple light continuously flowed into Ye Qiu's body.

Tiger Cub watched the surroundings vigilantly, wary of other humans or spirit beasts appearing.

A burly figure slowly climbed up the rocks above the gorge. Its bell-sized eyes were filled with violence, hatred, and a trace of fear.

Nuoding City, a carving workshop.

Xiao Wu had already arrived and barged inside in a fluster.

Bang! The shop door slammed open with a loud crash, nearly causing Grandpa Jerry to lose his grip on the carving knife in his hand.

"Why is a wild girl like you always so rude?"

Before Grandpa Jerry could speak, Grandma Tom, who had been sitting beside him and fanning him, began scolding Xiao Wu first.

This time, Xiao Wu did not bicker with the old woman. Instead, she wore a miserable expression. "Have you seen Xiao Qiu? I... I can't find him!"

Her eyes were red and swollen, and her voice carried a sob.

Grandma Tom was stunned upon hearing this. With her wealth of experience, she roughly understood what had happened. Ye Qiu must have gone off to do something without telling the little girl.

"A few days ago, he said he was going hunting for Spirit Rings, but he still hasn't come back after all this time..." As she spoke, Xiao Wu began wiping away her tears.

"Sigh~" Grandma Tom let out a sigh. Being a Spirit Master was not easy.

"We did see him a couple of days ago. He even slept here for one night." Grandpa Jerry did not hide anything and truthfully told Xiao Wu.

"Really!? Then where is he now? Please, tell me!"

Faced with her hopeful gaze, Grandpa Jerry shook his head and turned to look at his wife.

"He left behind a letter. He said that if he still hadn't returned within three days, we were to give the letter to you!" Grandma Tom said.

"Where is the letter? Hurry and let me see it!" Xiao Wu stretched out both hands and grabbed her sleeve.

But Grandma Tom merely shook her head. "You can't read the letter yet! It would be better for him to tell you some things in person after he comes back~ You need to believe in him!"

After pleading in vain, Xiao Wu left alone, praying in her heart that Ye Qiu would return to her side tomorrow.

Grandma Tom was right. She did not need that kind of letter.

She wanted Ye Qiu to come back and tell her himself. Mm... and when the time came, he would have to hold her while he said it.

As she thought about it, her face had already become covered in tears.

Far away in Soul Hunting Forest, the Boa Constrictor's sacrifice was nearing its end. Its corpse had lost its luster, and the purple glow around Ye Qiu gradually faded.

A purple Spirit Ring condensed into shape and slowly rose beneath Ye Qiu.

His Soul Power also slowly rose—level eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen... until it gradually stopped at level seventeen. The accumulation of his previous Soul Power, along with the Boa Constrictor's sacrifice, had raised him seven levels in a row!

The corners of Ye Qiu's lips slowly lifted as he savored the pleasure of his body being filled with Soul Power.

Crack. A faint sound came from above the gorge.

Whoosh! A burly black shadow descended, overlapping Ye Qiu's position.

Yet the smile on Ye Qiu's face remained unchanged.

Because of the previous explosion, the Violent Ape King had moved away, but it had not forgotten the pain of being attacked from the front and rear below its body. That was why it launched this ambush from the sky.

Ye Qiu swiftly raised his head and slowly opened his eyes, a line of blood trailing from the corner of one eye.

He stared directly at the Ape King crashing down upon him. The Three Tomoe in his eyes converged, and when they spread apart again, they had become a beautiful Six-pointed Star.

Boom!

The attack that should have struck Ye Qiu solidly—

Passed right through him and smashed into the ground beside him, the resulting shockwave even flipping Tiger Cub over.