Eyeing the Life Gold

To be precise, Ice Empress had been meditating by the lake for three days and was getting quite restless.

As an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion has lived for an unknown amount of time, sitting still for a long time is not difficult for her, but the environment in the Core Circle is too comfortable, so comfortable that she feels a kind of suffocating feeling that she has a lot of energy but nowhere to use it.

That afternoon, Dai Huabin had just finished his practice and was stretching his muscles.

Ice Empress suddenly jumped down from the tree roots and walked up to him.

"Huabin."

"Um?"

"Let's exchange a few blows."

Dai Huabin was taken aback.

"You want to spar with me?"

"What, scared?"

"How could that be?"

"I did not use my full strength."

Ice Empress stood with her hands on her hips, her emerald green twin tails swaying gently.

"I've suppressed myself to your level and will only use ice-attribute Soul Power to spar with you in physical combat. Didn't you form Blood Pact with me? If you don't fight me more, how will you control the Ultimate Ice within you?"

That makes a lot of sense.

Dai Huabin's Blood Pact with Ice Empress allows him to use some of Ice Empress's power, but his control over this power is far from sufficient. Sparring with Ice Empress herself is indeed the most direct way to improve.

"Okay." Dai Huabin nodded.

Ice Empress smiled slightly and turned to walk towards the open space.

Zhu Lu watched from the side and whispered to Di Lingxi.

"Sister Bing'er is getting bored out of her mind."

Di Lingxi nodded frantically.

In the following days, Ice Empress would appear precisely on time at the designated moments when Dai Huabin finished his training, his face cold, and his first words would be, "Dai Huabin, come here."

It must be said that Ice Empress's suppression was very effective.

She precisely locked her Soul Power at level 55, using only ice-attribute attacks and close-combat techniques.

Even so, Dai Huabin was still badly beaten. After all, Ice Empress was a 400,000-year-old Soul Beast, and her understanding and use of Ice Element had reached a level that she could do with ease.

Even though she deliberately lowered her output, every move she made was incredibly precise, leaving Dai Huabin with almost no openings.

On the first day, Dai Huabin was frozen seven times.

The second day, five times.

The third day, three times.

On the fourth day, he finally found an opening in Ice Empress's attack after his initial suppression, and struck Ice Empress's ice armor with his claw. Although it did not cause any damage, Ice Empress took a half step back.

Ice Empress glanced down at the shattered ice armor fragments on his arm, then looked up at Dai Huabin.

"Good."

For Ice Empress to say "not bad" is already extremely high praise.

Zhu Lu watched the whole thing from the sidelines and then pulled Di Lingxi into the daily sparring practice.

The three-person practice mode was simple: Di Lingxi was responsible for frontal attacks, Zhu Lu was responsible for flanking attacks, and Dai Huabin was responsible for command and output.

Di Lingxi's Golden Dragon Martial Soul is renowned for its physical strength, making it easy for her to withstand damage. Zhu Lu's Ice Shadow Spirit Cat is extremely fast, and with the added bonus of Hell Ghost Shadow, its ambush ability is almost unmatched among its peers.

After working together for a few days, the three of them showed a significant improvement in their teamwork.

Dai Huabin discovered that although Di Lingxi was usually carefree, she was actually very clever when it came to fighting.

Her positioning and the way she drew aggro were extremely precise, giving Zhu Lu plenty of room to launch a sneak attack.

"Ling Xi, did you fight a lot of Soul Beast before?"

"Of course." Di Lingxi patted her chest. "When I was little, I sparred with Scarlet King's men every day. Eventually, they ran away whenever they saw me."

Ice Empress chimed in from the side.

"That's because you're Auspicious Beast; they wouldn't dare attack you. It would be strange if they didn't run away."

Di Lingxi blushed.

"Bing'er, can you please stop undermining me all the time!"

"What I said is true."

Snow Empress sat quietly in the distance, watching them bicker, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Time flies.

Dai Huabin silently calculated the date in his mind.

It has been almost a month since I left Shrek Academy.

First came Heaven Dou City, then the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Far North, followed by the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Star Dou Great Forest. Along the way, they gained a lot.

The Ice and Fire Golden Body was completed, the purity of the White Tiger Martial Soul's light attribute increased, and Zhu Lu's strength also made significant progress. Snow Empress obtained a 190,000-year Soul Ring and Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, while Ice Empress absorbed a 10,000-year Immortal Herb.

There's still one thing he hasn't done yet.

Golden Tortoise.

The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that stole the Life Gold is somewhere in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Following the original story, the Golden Tortoise's strength diminished considerably as the life force within it was constantly absorbed by the Life Gold within it, and it eventually became Xu Sanshi's Soul Spirit.

However, the original story has now been significantly altered by his existence.

It would be best for Dai Huabin to have the Golden Tortoise in his own hands, and the Life Gold would also be very useful to him.

Dai Huabin planned to ask Bi Ji for information before leaving the Star Dou Great Forest.

But there's no rush; we should be setting off in a couple of days.

There are only about ten days left until the start of the new school year at the Shrek Academy.

It was evening, time for a barbecue.

While flipping the meat skewers, Dai Huabin casually asked Bi Ji question.

"Sister Bi Ji, is there a Golden Tortoise near the Core Circle? It has about 100,000 years of cultivation, but its vitality is very poor."

Bi Ji was wiping the grease from Di Lingxi's lips when she heard this and paused in her actions.

"What you're talking about... I do remember it."

The meat skewer in Dai Huabin's hand stopped in mid-air.

"Does Sister Bi Ji know?"

Bi Ji released Di Lingxi, her expression becoming more serious.

"I not only know about it, I've seen it."

She raised her hand and pointed southeast.

"About a few years ago, I went to the Golden Tortoise Clan to treat Soul Beast and found that a 100,000-year-old Golden Tortoise was in a very strange condition. It had 100,000 years of cultivation, but its aura was extremely weak and its vitality was very poor. I couldn't detect the cause of its illness, so it left a deep impression on me."

After hearing Bi Ji's words, Dai Huabin's lips curled up slightly.

That's great!

According to the original story, the Golden Tortoise eventually became Xu Sanshi's Soul Spirit, but now that this clue is in his own hands, the ending will naturally have to be rewritten.

When the time comes, just grab the Golden Tortoise and imprison it in the Undead Semi-Plane. When it's time to absorb Soul Ring and Soul Bone, just kill it.

Moreover, it can extract the Life Gold from its body and fuse it with itself.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Dai Huabin suppressed his smile and looked at Bi Ji.

"Sister Bi Ji, may I handle this Golden Tortoise?"

Bi Ji was wiping the grease from Di Lingxi's lips with a damp cloth when she heard this, and she paused, turning to look at him.

"You want it?"

Bi Ji's tone was calm, but her words carried a questioning tone.

"Give your sister a reason."

Dai Huabin did not answer immediately, but instead asked a question in return.

Is a piece of the Life Gold at the bottom of the Lake of Life missing?