"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time."
More than ten years of life had gradually transformed Chen Yumo's understanding of Douluo Continent from the plot of a novel into a real world.
Here, nothing was completely set in stone. Anything could deviate from the original story.
If Chen Yumo thought that having read the original work meant he could manipulate the people here at will, he would definitely die a miserable death.
Hearsay was unreliable; seeing was believing.
He had to see things for himself before making any decision.
Whether or not to befriend Dugu Bo would remain undecided for now.
But the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was something he absolutely had to claim. Since he had already confirmed Tang San as an enemy, there was even less chance that he would hand over the opportunity for Immortal Herbs to him.
Though whether they became enemies or not, Chen Yumo would not have given them up anyway.
For someone like Chen Yumo, whose cultivation consumed an enormous amount of resources, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was a resource point he had to occupy.
Heaven Dou City was also a destination he had to visit.
Tang San was already eleven. According to the original timeline, within a year and a half at most, he would meet Dugu Yan, use her connection to get acquainted with Dugu Bo, and eventually enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well as a matter of course.
Chen Yumo had little time and few choices. He could only race against time.
After glancing back at Nuoding City's gates, Chen Yumo turned and headed toward Holy Soul Village. Before going to Heaven Dou City, he still needed to make one trip back.
Because of Chen Yumo's skillful method of ostracizing him, Tang San had never returned to Holy Soul Village after that incident, not even during holidays. He ate and lived in Holy Soul Village.
Chen Yumo, on the other hand, returned every time.
This time would be no exception.
The next time he returned to Nuoding City would most likely be when Tang San headed to Shrek Academy, Tang Hao accompanied him as protection, and then beat Zhao Wuji to establish his authority.
At that time, Holy Soul Village would definitely be in an empty window. Many fellow transmigrators who intercepted Ah Yin and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone chose this exact moment.
Chen Yumo was not stupid. There was a ready-made answer to copy. It did not matter whether it was cliché or not, as long as it worked.
Without the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, the difficulty of Tang San's second Martial Soul awakening would rise dramatically. If Chen Yumo found a chance to eliminate the Blue Silver King of the Blue Silver Forest as well, Tang San would never be able to awaken his Blue Silver Grass into the Blue Silver Emperor.
They had long been confirmed as people walking different paths, and their future relationship would basically be one of mutual death. Chen Yumo would therefore use every possible method to weaken Tang San, preferably crippling him outright.
Under such circumstances, no method was too excessive.
Before that, Chen Yumo only needed to wait quietly for the right moment.
After returning to Holy Soul Village, Chen Yumo did as he always did and brought gifts to the village elders. This time, however, the gifts were not only for Old Jack and the neighbors who had helped him; every household in the village received something.
The next time Chen Yumo returned, he would not come back to visit the village.
If Ah Yin and the Spirit Bone disappeared as soon as he returned, would that not plainly tell Tang Hao that there was something suspicious about him?
In the future, Chen Yumo might return to Holy Soul Village less and less often. Before he had fully grown stronger, the enemies he encountered on the path of a Spirit Master would only increase.
Not becoming too deeply entangled with Old Jack and the others was actually a form of protection for ordinary villagers like them.
That was why he brought so many gifts this time, nearly more than three times as many as before. He also told Old Jack and the others that he had already become a Spirit Master and would be venturing into a broader world in the future, so he could no longer return to Holy Soul Village as frequently as he had in past years.
The people of Holy Soul Village had never actually known that he had become a Spirit Master.
News of Chen Yumo's breakthrough had only spread widely within Nuoding Academy. He had not taken the initiative to mention it, and Tang San no longer returned to the village, so Old Jack and the others naturally had no way of learning this information.
Looking at the pale yellow Spirit Ring on Chen Yumo's body, Old Jack's tear-filled eyes were especially gratified. His lips trembled for a long while, yet he could not say anything.
"Good, good child. Go!" Old Jack patted his shoulder. "Everyone in the village is ordinary. We can't help you with much, but we'll always take care of your house in Holy Soul Village for you!"
"No matter when, Holy Soul Village will be your home. If things become too hard or tiring out there, come back. We are all your family!"
Farewells were always sorrowful.
Chen Yumo disliked that atmosphere, yet he still said goodbye to every elder and companion he knew in Holy Soul Village.
Because Chen Yumo knew that they had truly cared for him as though he were one of their own younger relatives.
This farewell was not only a farewell to those familiar people, but also to his past self. It marked his official departure from the novice village, his journey toward a larger world, and his acceptance of new challenges.
On the empty country road, a sharp gust of wind swept past without warning. Several clumps of grass were pressed flat as though some creature had stepped on them.
Simulation Spirit Skill, Light Distortion.
"Xue'er, slow down a little. It's too bumpy." With a straw hat covering his face, Chen Yumo reached down and patted the black-and-white tiger beneath him.
The tiger obediently slowed its running pace, allowing Chen Yumo, who lay on its back, to be more comfortable.
The tiger was naturally Chen Yumo's Martial Soul.
In its White Tiger Transformation state, its largest current size was three meters in body length, not including its tail. With such a huge body, temporarily serving as Chen Yumo's mount was simplicity itself.
As for the name "Xue'er," that was what Chen Yumo had named it.
Its full name was "Xueli," while Xue'er was simply its nickname.
Even Gangzi's pig could have a name, so why could Chen Yumo's Ice Silkworm not be given one?
It was just that Chen Yumo himself was terrible at naming things. If he were dealing with Gangzi, he could think of ten thousand ways to viciously strike Gangzi's Demon Pill, but asking him to name something was truly making things difficult for him.
Thinking that his Martial Soul had originally only been an Ice Silkworm, while both Phantom Butterfly Transformation and White Tiger Transformation carried hints of icy blue and snowy white, he simply named it Xueli.
However, in Chen Yumo's view, his Martial Soul seemed to like the name quite a bit. When he first gave it that name, it even displayed emotions of excitement and delight.
Chen Yumo was now lying on its broad back, basking in the sun and letting it carry him toward Heaven Dou City.
A Martial Soul and its Spirit Master were connected in heart and mind. To a certain extent, Chen Yumo and Xueli could even share senses and vision, so there was no possibility of taking a wrong turn.
Traveling on his own was too much trouble. He might as well slack off a little and let Xueli carry him while he lay down and cultivated the Bloodline Secret Art.
Yes, that was right. He was cultivating, absolutely not loafing around.
He might look like he was merely sleeping in, but he was actually developing the Bloodline Secret Art of White Tiger Transformation.
Not only did he need to cultivate the Bloodline Secret Art, Chen Yumo also had to frequently maintain the use of Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Simulation to avoid certain unnecessary troubles along the way.
Riding a tiger down the road so openly was, honestly speaking, extremely conspicuous.
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