The First Spirit Ring, 400-year Mandragon Snake

Early in the morning, the academy was still shrouded in silence.

At the academy gates, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San met up. After purchasing some essential camping supplies in the city, they rented a carriage and began their journey toward the Soul Hunting Forest, four hundred miles away.

In the carriage, Yu Xiaogang took out the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night and gifted it to Tang San.

This item appeared many times in the original story, and when combined with Tang San's hidden weapon techniques, it helped him escape danger on numerous occasions.

Furthermore, in the upcoming plot, it was precisely by using this item to deploy his hidden weapons that Tang San would be able to slay the Soul Beast.

Since his own life was at stake, Yu Xiaogang did not hesitate to give it away, urging Tang San throughout the journey to practice retrieving items from it.

Out of his fondness for the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night, Tang San followed Yu Xiaogang's instructions without much suspicion and began repeatedly practicing storing and retrieving white radishes from the belt.

The next day at noon, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest.

The two stepped out of the carriage and, using their pass, entered the forest.

As soon as they entered, Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao and handed his protective dagger to Tang San.

After all, it was a key tool for slaying the Soul Beast tonight, so he naturally wouldn't forget it.

The two searched the outer perimeter for Soul Beasts, and when the sun set, they made camp in that fateful depression.

The exciting night began!

As a starter, the pack of Nether Wolves was, as expected, blown away by Luo Sanpao's fart. Once the small fries were dealt with, the big boss hiding in the shadows, the Mandala Snake, made a flashy entrance.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately turned serious.

According to the original plot, the venom from this Mandala Snake had nearly cost him his life. Even though he knew Tang San would help him detoxify later, he still didn't dare gamble with his own life.

I'll use you, you slippery snake, to test the waters. Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, possess!

Taking advantage of the night, Yu Xiaogang quietly activated his Martial Soul in his left hand. The next moment, his physique began to expand instantly, his hair turned from black to blue, wisps of electricity crackled in his pupils, and his hands transformed into dragon claws, reflecting a chilling light under the moonlight.

"San, we'll attack from both sides. Find an opening and strike its eyes."

Tang San, standing to the side, was clearly surprised by Yu Xiaogang's transformation, but with a powerful enemy before them, there was no time to overthink. He immediately retrieved a white radish from the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night and hurled it at the Mandala Snake using his unique hidden weapon technique.

Yu Xiaogang seized the moment the radish struck to attack the snake's body with his dragon claws. The Mandala Snake recoiled in pain, only for another white radish from the other side to smash into its head.

Under their alternating harassment, the Mandala Snake became increasingly agitated and began to lose patience. Tang San immediately seized the opportunity, raised his Sleeve Arrow, and fired it toward the snake's eye.

The Sleeve Arrow, forged from Iron Mother, possessed immense power; it pierced the eye as easily as a knife cutting through tofu.

With its brain injured, the massive body of the Mandala Snake began to thrash on the ground. It took about ten minutes before it finally went still.

Yu Xiaogang immediately withdrew his Martial Soul Avatar, instructed Tang San to draw the dagger, kill the Mandala Snake, and begin absorbing the Soul Ring.

The next morning, the moment Tang San finished absorbing his spirit ring, the system's notification chime rang out.

[Entry updated: 400-year Mandragon Snake spirit ring]

Inside the dormitory building at Nuoding Junior Academy.

As soon as he returned to his room, Yu Xiaogang couldn't wait to summon his panel and select the newly updated entry.

[Select entry "400-year Mandragon Snake spirit ring" to start the corresponding mission: Enter the Illusion Realm and defeat the 400-year Mandragon Snake.]

[PS: Consciousness enters the Illusion Realm. There is no risk of death, the number of attempts is unlimited, and one item carried on your person can be materialized.]

After reading the prompt below, Yu Xiaogang hesitated no longer, intending to test the difficulty of the mission first.

The next moment, a suction force emanated from the system panel. At that instant, Yu Xiaogang's soul felt as if it were being pulled out of his body, subsequently merging into the panel before him.

After a sensation of spinning world-over, Yu Xiaogang found himself standing in a forest.

Looking at the familiar scenery around him, Yu Xiaogang realized that the current setting was exactly the same hollow where he and Tang San had camped in the Soul Hunting Forest.

The next moment, a massive black shadow lunged out from the dense forest ahead. Yu Xiaogang quickly performed a side roll, narrowly dodging the strike.

He then channeled the spirit power within his body to release Luo Sanpao, simultaneously activating his Martial Soul Avatar.

"Farts like thunder, shaking the heavens and shattering the earth, Luo Sanpao!"

A thunderous boom erupted, and a yellow mist instantly exploded, sending the Mandragon Snake—which was launching another attack—flying backward.

Yu Xiaogang seized the opportunity to rush forward, brandishing his dragon claws as he swiped toward the Mandragon Snake's eyes.

Squelch!

His sharp claws embedded into the Mandragon Snake's eyes. Yu Xiaogang wanted to finish it off in one go by destroying its brain, but before he could exert his strength, the Mandragon Snake's body had already coiled around him.

The immense force instantly tightened around Yu Xiaogang's body, making it difficult even to breathe, let alone exert strength with his hands.

The Mandragon Snake then opened its maw wide and bit down fiercely, its two venomous fangs piercing through Yu Xiaogang's chest.

Inside the dormitory.

Yu Xiaogang jolted awake. He subconsciously touched his chest, and only after finding no wounds did he let out a sigh of relief.

Even though he knew beforehand that it was an Illusion Realm, the feeling of cold snake fangs piercing his body still left him filled with terror.

After calming his nerves slightly, Yu Xiaogang began to reflect on the battle in the Illusion Realm.

After activating his Martial Soul Avatar, his physical attributes were sufficient to inflict damage on the Mandragon Snake, but his attack methods were too singular, which ultimately led to him being coiled by the Mandragon Snake.

"It seems that for the next period of time, I must diligently practice the two unique arts: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon."

Among them, the footwork technique Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track could enhance his agility in battle, while the skill Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon would allow him to gain a significant advantage in close-quarters combat.

Walking out of the dormitory, Yu Xiaogang followed the stairs up to the roof of the dormitory building.

The area here was open, and since no one would come to disturb him, it was the perfect place for solitary cultivation.

Yu Xiaogang assumed his stance, legs half-squatted, while his arms stretched out. Following the cultivation method of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, he channeled his soul power toward his palms.

After completing a set of movements for the technique, the system panel immediately provided feedback.

[Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Proficiency +1]

Yu Xiaogang glanced at it and ignored it, instead continuing to pour his focus into his cultivation.

One month later, inside the mission Illusion Realm.

Yu Xiaogang performed a practiced side roll, dodging a surprise attack from a Mandala Snake, then summoned Luo Sanpao and began chanting the incantation: "Fart like smoke and mist, induce sleep, Luo Sanpao."

In mid-air, a large cloud of yellow toxic gas erupted from Luo Sanpao's rear, rapidly spreading across the entire area.

Yu Xiaogang activated his Martial Soul Possession. Choosing not to clash head-on with the Mandala Snake, he hid his figure within the toxic gas and began playing a game of hide-and-seek with the creature.

After about ten minutes, having inhaled a large amount of the hypnotic gas, the Mandala Snake's reaction speed had clearly slowed down.

Seeing that the time was right, Yu Xiaogang stopped hiding and took the initiative to step forward, engaging the Mandala Snake in close-quarters combat.

Enhanced by the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Yu Xiaogang's speed had improved significantly. He circled the Mandala Snake continuously, leaving a trail of wounds on the snake's body with his dragon claws.

Once the Mandala Snake had become sufficiently weakened, Yu Xiaogang lunged toward the snake's head and thrust his right dragon claw into its eye.

The Mandala Snake shrieked in pain, but because its body was already covered in deep lacerations, it could not perform a rapid Entangle. It could only open its massive maw and snap toward Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang channeled Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. His left hand generated a force of attraction out of thin air, guiding the Mandala Snake's head and causing its strike to veer off course.

Then, with a forceful thrust of his right hand, his dragon claw sank instantly into the Mandala Snake's skull, and the entire snake body collapsed limply onto the ground.

[Mission complete, obtained 400-year Mandala Snake Soul Ring]