Tricking Xiao Wu's Mother, Deceiving the Sacrifice

In Rou'er's view, she had merely displayed a little charm before being effortlessly brought right before her target.

Taking down this young man would be as easy as pie.

Yet when she raised her head and truly saw the face on horseback from up close, her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

This young man...

His heart might have been a little ruthless, but his features were indeed handsome and refined.

He sat high atop a magnificent warhorse, looking down at her from above. There was not the slightest ripple in those deep eyes, yet they carried an invisible pressure that stirred an unprecedented strange feeling within her.

The moment Yu Xiaoheng saw Rou'er, he too was stunned.

This...

That pink dress, that playful Scorpion Braid, and that pretty little face that was seventy or eighty percent similar.

No matter how he looked at it, she resembled Xiao Wu from the Douluo Continent anime in his memories of his previous life!

A thought flashed through his mind.

Could someone really look this alike?

No!

He immediately rejected the thought.

According to the timeline, Xiao Wu could not possibly have left the Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest at this time...

Wait!

Yu Xiaoheng's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Not Xiao Wu.

Then... could she be her mother?

A bold conjecture had already taken shape in his heart.

"Young Sect Master, this woman's origins are unknown and her intentions are malicious. How should she be dealt with?"

The Elder who had captured her earlier asked in a deep voice, a flash of killing intent passing through his eyes.

"Either release her, or... kill her on the spot. The Young Master shall decide."

For a moment, everyone's gaze converged on Yu Xiaoheng.

Yu Xiaoheng did not answer immediately.

He merely gave his father, Yu Yuanzhen, a subtle look.

Though Yu Yuanzhen did not understand his meaning, he had absolute trust in his son.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Yu Yuanzhen did not even rise. Still seated on horseback, an immense Soul Power pressure crashed down like a mountain!

The faint smugness and excitement on Rou'er's face instantly froze.

She only felt an irresistible force surge through her entire body. Her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness, collapsing limply.

With a casual wave of his hand, Yu Yuanzhen used a gentle force of Soul Power to catch Rou'er and lay her flat on the ground.

Only after doing all this did he turn to look at his son, his eyes full of inquiry.

Yu Xiaoheng knew that his father was completely trustworthy.

Yu Yuanzhen was already a Title Douluo, with all nine soul rings long since complete. There was no possibility that he would covet the soul ring of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear, he said, "Father, I suspect that she is not human."

"Hmm?"

Yu Yuanzhen raised a brow.

"She is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, a Soft Bone Rabbit that has taken human form." Yu Xiaoheng's tone was calm.

In an instant, a trace of shock flashed through Yu Yuanzhen's majestic dragon eyes.

"How do you know?"

Yu Xiaoheng's expression did not change. He had long prepared an explanation.

"The Ancestor's remnant will within the Sacred Dragon Bone told me."

Ancestor.

The Ancestor again!

Upon hearing those words, the shock in Yu Yuanzhen's eyes was instantly replaced by wild joy!

"Good! Excellent! Heaven truly favors our sect!"

He lowered his voice excitedly. "Xiaoheng, this is a heaven-sent opportunity! We will take her back to the sect and raise her well! Once you break through Level Ninety in the future, she will become your most perfect Ninth Soul Ring!"

Yu Xiaoheng, however, gently shook his head.

"Father, I have a better plan."

"Oh?"

"But I need you to investigate something for me." Yu Xiaoheng said, "Send someone to find out whether there is such a talented female Soul Master on the continent. She has Soul Power fluctuations and is at least in her twenties or thirties in level. With such talent, she cannot possibly be a nobody."

"If we can trace her origins, it will prove that she is not a transformed Soul Beast."

"But if we cannot find anything..."

Yu Xiaoheng did not finish his sentence, but the meaning was already obvious.

If nothing could be found, then they could be one hundred percent certain that she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Yet Yu Yuanzhen smiled at this.

"No need to make it so troublesome."

As he spoke, he dismounted and walked over to the unconscious Rou'er. He stretched out a large hand and seemingly casually examined her body.

He released a faint trace of Soul Power.

A small blade of grass, dark gray and utterly inconspicuous, was shaken from Rou'er's collar and fell to the ground.

"This is Breath Concealing Grass." Yu Yuanzhen's voice carried a hint of disdain. "Who else but a Soul Beast would use something like this to conceal their aura?"

"It's definitely a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

However, Yu Yuanzhen did not reveal this shocking discovery to the public.

A common man was innocent, but possessing a treasure invited disaster.

A walking Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was enough to drive any faction mad.

He rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the curious Elders and Disciples as his voice regained its usual authority.

"This woman's origins are unknown. She is probably not an assassin, and she is rather pretty."

"It would be a pity to kill her."

"Take her back and make her the Young Master's personal maid."

The Elders all nodded in agreement.

Naturally, no one would object over the fate of a mere maid.

Yu Xiaoheng urged his horse onward once more, but his mind was already racing.

When he had first seen Rou'er, his initial reaction had indeed been to claim her Soul Ring.

But now, his thoughts had changed.

Using a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for his Ninth Soul Ring, versus using one for his Sixth Soul Ring like Tang San would in the future—those were entirely different concepts!

His Golden Sacred Dragon Martial Soul still needed to evolve continuously. The earlier he absorbed high-year Soul Rings, the greater the benefits he would gain!

And before Level Ninety, there was only one way to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Soul Beast Sacrifice.

How could he make her willingly sacrifice herself for him?

Another man's figure surfaced in Yu Xiaoheng's mind—Tang Hao.

In his previous life, people had always put forward conspiracy theories, claiming that Tang Hao had deliberately guided Ah Yin into sacrificing herself.

He did not care what Tang Hao had truly been thinking.

He only felt that the logic behind those "conspiracy theories" was highly instructive for him.

He could do the same.

Deceive her, make her fall in love with him, then create a "desperate situation" where she would willingly offer everything to him.

A sacrifice meant transferring one's life, cultivation, and soul without reservation.

Even if Rou'er did not possess Dragon Bloodline, the benefits alone far surpassed absorbing a Ten Thousand Year dragon-type Soul Ring.

Not to mention that Soft Bone Rabbits specialized in Charm. Her hundred-thousand-year Mental Power might even help him condense an entirely new spiritual-attribute pattern!

No matter how he calculated it, it was an absolute steal.

At that thought, Yu Xiaoheng felt another twinge of regret.

It would have been nice if he could make Ah Yin sacrifice herself instead...

The life force of Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor, was truly pure and immense. It would surely be even more helpful to Martial Soul Evolution.

As for whether doing so would be too bestial?

Yu Xiaoheng's heart did not stir in the slightest.

A Soul Beast was a Soul Beast.

Even if it cultivated for a hundred thousand years, gained intelligence no less than that of a human, and even wore the outer shell of a beautiful woman, was he supposed to go soft-hearted?

Ridiculous.

He did not know Ah Yin, nor did he know Rou'er. There was no emotional foundation whatsoever.

In his eyes, they were merely two Soul Beasts with somewhat deeper cultivation.

Hunting their Soul Rings was no different from hunting any other Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.