In a moment of desperation, Luo Mo used Snake's Home. A flash of emerald light enveloped them, and the two vanished. They reappeared on the ground in another pocket of space.
Thump!
Feeling her back hit the ground, Xiao Wu thought she was done for. A few seconds passed, but she was still alive.
Aside from a bit of soreness in her back, she was completely unharmed.
"Huh? I'm still alive?" Xiao Wu blinked in surprise.
"Cough, cough... My hand!"
Luo Mo lifted Xiao Wu off his arm, which she was still sitting on.
When he got up, he couldn't help feeling glad he'd caught Xiao Wu and used his back to break her fall. They'd only just met, and he'd nearly gotten himself killed trying to save her.
"We jumped too soon. We're still in the Soul Hunting Forest, and we've only made it halfway through. The place is crawling with soul beasts, so it's not safe." Luo Mo scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face.
Xiao Wu looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"When the barrier opens, we'll be sent back to where we were. If we don't find somewhere to hide, we'll fall right back down."
"Then what should we do?" Xiao Wu asked anxiously.
"What should we do?" Luo Mo chuckled. "Obviously, we find somewhere to hide!"
As he spoke, he took Xiao Wu by the hand and stepped out of the pocket dimension.
The next instant, the two appeared in midair again.
All around them were steep cliffs, with a dark, bottomless cavern below—like the enormous maw of some beast, ready to swallow every ray of light.
"Ahhh—!"
Xiao Wu squeezed her eyes shut and flailed her limbs, trying to grab hold of something, but found nothing.
She screamed for a while longer.
Then she realized she wasn't falling. She opened her eyes and found herself still suspended in midair.
She looked at Luo Mo and saw a small pair of wings floating out from behind his right leg.
So this was the Immortal Herb's spirit-bone skill—flying.
"Are you going to keep carrying me?" Xiao Wu gave him a pitiful, expectant look. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she gazed at Luo Mo.
Unfortunately for her, Luo Mo was hard as stone. He ignored her completely.
Xiao Wu pouted and clenched her teeth. She was furious, but didn't quite dare say so.
Still, she found him terribly annoying.
Luo Mo glanced at the two small figures, then flew up into the sky with them.
Suddenly, he stopped. Through his spiritual perception, he sensed a faint pulse of life at the bottom of the cavern.
He released his perception and explored deeper. It turned out to be an Immortal Herb.
And it was no ordinary one, either.
"Fortune really is on our side. Erming, how old is that Immortal Herb down there?"
Daming looked for a moment before replying, "Eight thousand years. It should be suitable as your first spirit ring, and the Wood of the Tower comes from the life force of the Azure Dragon King. It can absorb an Immortal Herb's spiritual energy and help it grow."
"I could use that, too." Luo Mo nodded in agreement.
Although an eight-thousand-year spirit ring was beyond the limit he could absorb, that wasn't a problem. He could use his affection points to lower its age and bring it back within range.
Having made up his mind, Luo Mo flew toward the bottom of the cavern.
When he got closer, he saw that the herb was growing beside a huge boulder. Its stem had split into two, and it was already on the verge of dying.
Luo Mo landed at the bottom, set Xiao Wu down, and immediately began cultivating the herb.
A ring of purple light rose around him.
Xiao Wu watched, showing no surprise. The herb was poisonous, but that was no threat to her.
Luo Mo instructed Daming to keep watch, then sat down and imitated Tang San's breathing technique.
His spirit moved, drawing in the spirit ring.
This was the first time he'd absorbed a spirit ring the way an ordinary spirit master did.
His first two rings hadn't been absorbed through ordinary means. One came from the Snake Diary, and the other from Heavenly Tribulation. The two methods had been worlds apart in terms of difficulty; one wrong move could have killed him.
Absorbing a spirit ring this way was much easier.
Luo Mo slowly closed his eyes, sensing the effects of his spirit skill for the first time.
"Spirit perception?" Daming was curious.
"Um... How do I put it? Spirit perception is a wood-elemental control ability. Its description calls it a perception-type skill, but its power depends on one's comprehension." Luo Mo wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one.
Daming let out a sigh. "So you're going to rely on the Azure Dragon King to help you, then!"
"Even if your comprehension is average, you have a spiritual-type martial soul. And with the Tower's help, you'll master perception quickly. Your comprehension will only get stronger."
Hearing that, Luo Mo fell silent.
"Congratulations. You're twenty years old now, and you've absorbed another spirit ring." Daming reminded him.
Luo Mo: "..."
He felt a little helpless. It wasn't that he had trouble finding spirit rings; he just didn't know where to find one that suited him.
At his current level, his second spirit ring should have been around three thousand years old.
But spirit beasts with light or spiritual attributes were extremely rare.
The Star Dou Great Forest was too dangerous, and the Sunset Forest was a little too far away.
He'd originally planned to absorb a low-age spirit ring, then use his affection points to increase its age.
That method might work, but it was too wasteful.
"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time." Luo Mo sighed, then called for Xiao Wu to follow him. She was gathering spirit rings nearby.
And she'd already gathered one.
A purple spirit ring rose from the ground at her feet.
"Daming, look! I'm a spirit master now, too!" Xiao Wu proudly condensed her spirit ring and showed it to Luo Mo.
"What spirit skill is it?" Luo Mo asked curiously.
Xiao Wu danced around excitedly. "The spirit ring I condensed is two thousand four hundred years old. The skill is called Blink. It lets me teleport within ten meters, and the distance will gradually increase as my power grows."
"Great!" Luo Mo couldn't help but take a breath.
That made sense.
What about her waist bow? What about her charm?
Damn! Xiao Wu had actually condensed a thousand-year first spirit ring? That was incredible.
The two of them were both first-ring spirit masters now, so Luo Mo took her to the Sunset Forest.
He didn't need to worry about a second spirit ring just yet.
He'd see whether the Snake Diary could help him find something suitable.
On the way back, Luo Mo and Xiao Wu ran into two young men. One was tall, with long red hair; the other was shorter, with black hair. For some reason, both of them looked grief-stricken.
The two young men glanced at Luo Mo and Xiao Wu. At first, their faces were filled with grief and sorrow, but then they were overcome with shock—and finally joy.
They cried out in unison, "Xiao Wu?"
Luo Mo was startled. The two men had called a six-year-old girl "big sister."
"Are you Daming and Erming?"
Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes, uncertain.
"That's right, it's us! Xiao Wu, you're alive! You really are alive!" The two young men rushed over, sobbing.
Luo Mo: "???"
He was stunned!
Were these two really Daming and Erming?
Had they taken human form?
Luo Mo didn't think so. They'd probably just transformed into human shapes.
He couldn't believe he'd run into them. What a coincidence.
He had to hand it to the heavens: they'd practically delivered the two spirit beasts right to him.
Luo Mo looked calm on the surface, but he'd already summoned Snake's Home in secret. If anything went wrong, he'd immediately retreat into the pocket dimension.
With three great spirit beasts here, Xiao Wu forgot all about their conversation. Daming and Erming began telling her how hard they'd searched for her in the Star Dou Great Forest, then how they'd followed every lead from the forest to Suotuo City, and finally tracked her from Suotuo City back to the forest...
"Xiao Wu, earlier I sensed your aura on a boy. I thought you'd already..."
Erming's expression suddenly changed. "Wait, why can't I sense the aura of a soul beast on you?"
Before you continue