"Have you settled on a target for your Second Soul Ring? Your Martial Soul is extremely special, so you'll need to choose the Soul Beast carefully."
There was a note of concern in Bibi Dong's voice.
It was the first time Ye Xuan had sensed that kind of feeling from her.
"Yes. Please don't worry, Master. I already have a target in mind, but..."
Ye Xuan paused, a trace of hesitation in his gaze as he looked at Bibi Dong.
"But what? Do you need your teacher's help?"
Bibi Dong was also curious about what kind of Soul Beast Ye Xuan would choose.
"That's right, Master. I may run into some trouble absorbing my Second Soul Ring, so I was wondering if you could have Elder Yue Guan and Elder Gui Mei accompany me?"
At Ye Xuan's words, Bibi Dong's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
But she neither refused nor agreed.
The vast Pope Palace gradually fell silent.
After a long while...
"I can have Yue Guan and Gui Mei go with you, but..."
"You need to understand that you're only hunting for your Second Soul Ring. If you can't give me a good enough reason, I won't agree."
In Spirit Hall,
all resources were limited.
To have two Titled Douluo capable of using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill accompany someone on a Soul Beast hunt—
If anyone else had made that request to her,
she would have thrown them out on the spot.
"Master, the Soul Beast I've chosen for my Second Soul Ring is an Ice Silkworm with a damaged origin."
When Bibi Dong heard that Ye Xuan had chosen an Ice Silkworm—and one with a damaged origin, at that—
her expression darkened considerably.
She knew about Ice Silkworms.
Among Soul Beasts, they were absolutely at the bottom of the food chain.
Apart from using Spirit Interference and changing their appearance,
they were useless in every other respect.
But soon,
Ye Xuan's next words made her eyes light up.
"But it's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Even with its origin damaged, it's still no weaker than a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
"Xiao Wu told me about it, and she knows where that Ice Silkworm is sleeping."
At that,
Bibi Dong finally understood why Ye Xuan wanted Yue Guan and Gui Mei to accompany him.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—
even one with a damaged origin was not to be underestimated.
Especially since it was a pure spirit-type Soul Beast.
One careless mistake, and even a Titled Douluo could fall to it.
Even Spirit Hall, with its inheritance stretching back ten thousand years, had no records of the abilities of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm.
"I'll inform Yue Guan and Gui Mei. I'll let you know when the hunt will take place. But...I still hope you won't do anything reckless. Not every Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast harbors goodwill toward humans."
At those words, a trace of surprise rose in Ye Xuan's heart.
He had a feeling Bibi Dong's words carried a hidden meaning.
"Thank you, Master. I'll remember!"
After leaving the Pope Palace,
the weight on Ye Xuan's heart finally lifted.
He had thought Bibi Dong would only allow either Yue Guan or Gui Mei to accompany him in searching for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
But after learning the reason, she had agreed right away.
He didn't think he had the kind of protagonist's luck that would make everything go his way.
Nor did he know whether the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would choose him.
After all, Peerless Tang Sect described the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's strength in great detail.
Its vast spiritual power had been enough to forcefully burst a Titled Douluo apart.
Even the protagonist, Huo Yuhao, had nearly lost his life when it offered itself to him, despite having sealed away ninety-nine percent of its spiritual power.
Rather than entrust his life to someone else, he preferred to keep the initiative in his own hands.
Lake Heart Island.
He had barely returned from the Pope Palace
when he spotted Hu Liena sitting in his courtyard, reading a letter.
As soon as she saw Ye Xuan, Hu Liena quickly waved him over.
"Junior Brother! Come here! That little princess from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wrote you a letter!"
At his senior sister's words, the corner of Ye Xuan's eye twitched.
Good grief.
His senior sister really had never treated him like an outsider.
"Sure, I'm coming."
[Ye Xuan, I'm Ning Rongrong! How have you been lately? Have you missed me? Dad and the others are such a pain. I want to visit you at Spirit Hall, but they just won't let me...(1,000 words omitted)]
"I never knew you were so charming, Junior Brother. Even the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has fallen at your feet..."
There was a teasing glint in Hu Liena's beautiful eyes.
Her little hands roamed over him like those of a female hooligan.
"Senior Sister, that's really enough..."
Three days later.
Ye Xuan finally got to board the carriage bound for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo sat quietly inside.
Their expressions showed that they already knew about the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Ye Xuan, you really are something. Your First Soul Ring came from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast, and now you've found another Hundred-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm for your second."
Even Gui Mei, who rarely spoke, couldn't help admiring Ye Xuan's luck and nerve.
His First Soul Ring had come from Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast, and now he'd set his sights on yet another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for his second.
Even Titled Douluo would grow green with envy over an opportunity like this.
"Elder Gui Mei, you flatter me. I was just lucky."
After exchanging a few words of mutual flattery,
they settled down to cultivate, adjusting their auras.
Ye Xuan, meanwhile, used his Pokeball Martial Soul to confirm once more with Xiao Wu the general area where the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was hiding.
Xiao Wu and her mother had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for tens of thousands of years.
Although they couldn't know about every disturbance in the forest,
three thousand years ago, before Xiao Wu had broken through to become a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast,
she had indeed sensed a faint disturbance coming from beneath the Lake of Life.
She had felt a weak current of ice-elemental energy darting rapidly in one direction.
At the time, she had thought it was an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and paid it no mind.
But thinking back now, it must have been the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fleeing the control of a Ferocious Beast.
A day later.
Star Dou Great Forest.
Outskirts.
Ghost Douluo carried Xiao Wu ahead as she led the way, while Yue Guan carried Ye Xuan close behind.
All the hundred- and thousand-year Soul Beasts along the way fled in panic.
At last,
with Xiao Wu guiding them, they arrived at a vast clearing.
It wasn't that Xiao Wu could pinpoint the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's location. The main reason was that a strange, circular clearing had appeared in the middle of this enormous Soul Beast forest.
An ordinary person might not have thought much of it.
But to them, knowing that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm existed, the clearing's appearance seemed highly suspicious.
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