100,000-Year Spirit Ring!

Half a month later.

The outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Gu Qing dismissed the coachman and the carriage, stepping alone into this most notorious and perilous place on the entire continent.

Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, slicing the sunlight into fragmented, dappled spots.

The surrounding air was saturated with the primal, pungent scent of decaying leaves and damp earth.

Gu Qing's purpose for this trip was crystal clear.

Given his current terrifying soul ring configuration and his monstrous physical constitution.

The baseline for his ninth soul ring had to be a peak Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Ordinary high-level soul beasts simply could not catch his eye.

Just as he stepped into the depths of the forest, Gu Qing slowly opened his right hand.

A brilliant emerald light flashed, and the Life-Type Blue Silver Grass erupted from his body.

Without a moment's hesitation, he channeled the unique affinity trait of the Blue Silver Grass.

A vast, ocean-like mental force surged out from him, spreading wildly like invisible ripples of water.

Relying on the feedback from the countless plants surrounding him.

His sensory range bypassed the heavy obstacles of space, instantly expanding to cover several dozen miles.

Within that radius, even the flapping of a bird's wings was clearly reflected in his mind.

Gu Qing closed his eyes, carefully filtering through the powerful life auras within his consciousness.

Time ticked away, drop by drop.

Gu Qing traversed the gloomy forest for a full half-day.

He had discovered quite a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

There were even a few fierce beasts that were faintly touching the threshold of fifty thousand years.

But as for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he hadn't even caught a glimpse of one.

"It seems Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are indeed rare; they aren't so easy to stumble upon."

Gu Qing retracted his projected mental force and reached up to rub his slightly throbbing temples.

Maintaining such a massive sensory network for an extended period was truly draining on his mental energy.

Just as he prepared to find a safe place to rest for a moment.

A faint sound of flowing water drifted into his ears.

The humid air was also laced with a trace of faint sulfur.

Following the sound of the water and the scent, Gu Qing pushed aside the dense thicket of bushes with his bare hands.

The view before him suddenly opened up.

A highly concealed natural hot spring appeared in his line of sight.

The spring water was a translucent, pale cyan.

Large swathes of white mist swirled over the surface, looking like a fairyland on earth.

The long journey of the past few days, combined with the half-day of mental exertion, left Gu Qing feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

"Perfect for a bath; I'll relax a bit before continuing the search."

Gu Qing walked toward the edge of the hot spring, feeling quite content.

However.

The moment he neared the edge of the spring, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

His gaze locked firmly onto the center of the water.

Through the layers of white mist, within the rippling hot spring, there was actually a figure.

It was a young woman bathing with her back turned to him.

Her long, deep-green hair cascaded down her snow-white back like a waterfall.

The woman's skin was as fair as mutton-fat jade, shimmering with an alluring luster under the swirling steam.

Even just looking from behind, her slender waist and the long, shapely legs faintly visible beneath the water were enough to make any man's blood boil.

Gu Qing immediately recognized that iconic green hair.

It was none other than Dugu Yan, the granddaughter whom the Poison Douluo Dugu Bo treasured like a precious jewel.

He hadn't expected to run into her in such a remote corner of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Just as Gu Qing prepared to retreat silently, his boot accidentally snapped a dead branch.

The crisp sound of the break was jarringly loud in the quiet hot spring area.

The beautiful figure in the water, startled like a bird at the sound of a bowstring, whipped her head around.

Their eyes met.

Dugu Yan's pupils contracted violently.

A completely unfamiliar young man was standing on the bank, having seen her clearly from head to toe!

Her stark naked body had nowhere to hide in the crystal-clear spring water, exposing everything to his gaze.

"Ah--!"

A scream of extreme shame and indignation shattered the tranquility of the forest.

Dugu Yan crossed her arms over her chest, her entire body desperately shrinking down into the water.

Her pretty face flushed crimson in an instant, and her beautiful eyes seemed ready to spit fire.

"You filthy pervert!"

Flustered and furious, Dugu Yan grabbed the clothes from the rock on the bank and haphazardly wrapped them around her alluring figure.

A dense green light erupted from within her body.

A massive phantom of a Jade Phosphorous Serpent rapidly took shape behind her.

Following her movements, a vast, thick, and foul-smelling green poisonous mist sprayed directly toward the bank, covering the sky and earth.

Wherever the poisonous mist passed, the flowers and grass on the ground instantly dissolved into pools of black sludge.

Gu Qing stood where he was, intending to offer an explanation.

"Miss, this is purely a misunderstanding."

But Dugu Yan, in her state of rage, could not hear a single word.

The sky-filling poisonous mist swallowed Gu Qing's figure in an instant.

Seeing her opponent struck by the poison, a flash of satisfaction crossed Dugu Yan's eyes.

But the next second, the expression on her face froze.

The ground burst open with a roar.

Thick Dark Blue Silver Grass erupted from the soil like dancing black dragons, instantly weaving into an indestructible black vine wall in front of Gu Qing.

The surface of the black vines shimmered with an eerie, ghostly light.

Innate Divine Ability, Devour!

The lethal Jade Phosphorous Serpent venom, the moment it touched the vines, was firmly seized by an extreme suction force.

In the blink of an eye, the entire cloud of poisonous mist was sucked clean by the Dark Blue Silver Grass.

Not even a trace of residual poison remained in the air.

Dugu Yan stood in the water, dumbfounded.

The serpent venom she took such pride in had always been an unsolvable, lethal weapon in the eyes of soul masters of the same rank.

Anyone who touched even a drop would surely die from the toxin.

Yet this man, who hadn't even fully released his martial soul, had actually swallowed her poison whole?

Gu Qing waved the vines away, his tone remarkably calm.

"See?"

"I really didn't see anything."

Hearing this, Dugu Yan felt even more ashamed and enraged.

What did he mean by "didn't see anything"?

This was the greatest insult to her!

Even knowing that her strength might be inferior to his, Dugu Yan lost all reason.

She tapped her toes against the water's surface and lunged toward Gu Qing, trailing mist and water droplets.

Gu Qing frowned as he watched the woman's unreasonable behavior.

Since she wouldn't listen to reason, he would have to change his method of communication.

He raised his left hand slightly.

A vibrant, emerald-green light flared brilliantly.

Dozens of Life Blue Silver Grass stalks surged from the ground beneath Dugu Yan's feet.

The vines wrapped around her ankles with extreme agility, winding their way up her long, beautiful legs.

Before Dugu Yan could even reach him, she was bound tight.

Her hands were pinned behind her back, leaving her unable to move.

The vines pulled taut with a sudden jerk.

Dugu Yan was hoisted high into the air, left dangling from the branch of a sturdy tree nearby.

The tightened vines pressed against her already fiery figure, making her curves even more pronounced and provocative.

"Let me go!"

"You shameless scoundrel!"

Dugu Yan struggled desperately in mid-air, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.

"Grandfather, save me!"

"There's a hooligan bullying me!"