The Fifth Soul Ring's Target!

After the excitement subsided, the group began to process the carcass of the Wind Wood Dragon.

As a five-thousand-nine-hundred-year-old spirit beast, its entire body was a treasure.

The scales could be crafted into armor, the bones polished into weapons, the blood used in medicine, the tendons fashioned into bowstrings, and the internal organs were saturated with dense spirit power.

Qing Zhengyue took charge personally, dismantling the Wind Wood Dragon blade by blade.

The scales were peeled off, stacked neatly, and stored in a storage ring.

The bones were extracted, bundled, and stored in a storage ring.

The blood was collected in jade vials, sealed tightly, and stored in a storage ring.

The tendons, meat, organs, eyeballs, teeth...

Every single item was carefully classified and stored away.

Liu Yunlan assisted from the side; the old lady was extremely professional when it came to identifying medicinal herbs and materials, and she knew exactly what was valuable and what should be kept for their own use.

Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing were responsible for keeping watch and transporting the materials.

Qing Mufeng stood to the side, watching his grandfather and grandmother skillfully dismantle the spirit beast carcass, secretly memorizing every step.

This was a skill he would need to learn for the future.

"No spirit bone."

After Qing Zhengyue had completely dismantled the Wind Wood Dragon's body, he shook his head.

"The chance of a millennium spirit beast dropping a spirit bone is already slim; it's normal not to have one."

Liu Yunlan brushed the dust off her hands. "If there isn't one, there isn't one. Just these materials alone are worth a lot of money back home; the scales and bones of a Wind Wood Dragon are highly sought-after goods out there."

Qing Zhengyue nodded, stored the last piece of dragon bone in his storage ring, and stood up.

"Everything is packed. Let's go."

Five figures continued to venture deeper into the forest.

Next, they had to hunt for his father's fifth spirit ring.

The sky had already darkened, and the night in the Star Dou Forest was far more dangerous than the day.

The deeper they went, the more gloomy and heavy the atmosphere became.

Qing Zhengyue remained at the rear, his long blade held horizontally before him, his Spirit Emperor-level spiritual power spreading outward to guard against any potential danger.

Liu Yunlan held her grandson's hand as they walked in the middle; the old lady's steps were light and nimble, not at all like someone over seventy.

Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing walked in front to clear the path; the couple worked with tacit understanding, needing no words, knowing exactly what the other would do with just a glance.

Qing Mufeng walked beside his grandmother, feeling the power of his third spirit ring and his third divine ability as he moved.

The three spirit rings rotated slowly, and spirit power surged through his meridians, several times more robust than before he had absorbed the third spirit ring.

And the power of Azure Dragon Wind Control flowed within him constantly, like an innate instinct.

He didn't need to deliberately activate it, nor did it consume spirit power; as long as he wanted to fly, he could fly.

This was the difference between a natal divine ability and a spirit skill.

Spirit skills were external, bestowed by spirit rings, and required spirit power to activate and maintain.

Divine abilities, however, were internal, awakened from the bloodline, as natural as breathing or a heartbeat.

He looked up at the sky.

Starlight spilled through the gaps in the canopy, faint but bright.

One day, he would fly to a place higher than the starlight.

The five figures continued to move forward through the night.

The night in the Star Dou Forest was several times more dangerous than the day.

Low growls and rustling sounds drifted from the darkness from time to time.

Unknown spirit beasts lurked in the shadows, and occasionally, pairs of ghostly green eyes flashed past in the bushes.

But those eyes only watched from afar; not a single one dared to approach.

This was because Qing Zhengyue's Spirit Emperor aura shrouded a radius of a hundred paces.

A level 69 Spirit Emperor was already a top-tier existence in the outer reaches of the Star Dou Forest.

Those ten-year and hundred-year low-level spirit beasts would scatter in terror just by catching a whiff of this aura. Millennium-level spirit beasts would avoid them from a distance and would not provoke them.

Only spirit beasts of ten thousand years or older would dare to attack such a group.

And ten-thousand-year spirit beasts were not common in the outer reaches of the Star Dou Forest.

After the five had traveled through the forest for about two hours, Qing Zhengyue found a suitable place to rest.

It was the leeward side of a small hill, shielded by rocks on three sides, with only one side requiring a watch.

"We rest here tonight." Qing Zhengyue sheathed his long blade and scanned the surroundings. "We will venture deeper to search for our target at first light tomorrow."

Liu Yunlan took dry rations and water skins from her storage ring and distributed them to the group.

The old lady then pulled several small porcelain vials from a cloth bag, uncorked them, and sprinkled a circle of gray powder around the campsite.

Beast Repellent Powder.

Liu Yunlan had concocted this herself, using over a dozen medicinal herbs and the excrement of soul beasts; the scent was faint to humans, but pungent to most soul beasts.

Low-level soul beasts would detour upon smelling it, and mid-level soul beasts would not actively approach.

Shen Wanqing spread several animal-hide mats on the leeward side; they were soft to sit on and kept the dampness of the ground at bay.

Qing Hongyuan sat on a rock, leaning against the cliff face, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Qing Mufeng sat beside his grandmother, eating his rations and drinking water, occasionally looking up at the patch of starry sky fragmented by the tree canopy above.

Silence lingered for a while.

Qing Hongyuan suddenly opened his eyes and spoke.

"Father, I would like to discuss something with you regarding my fifth soul ring."

Qing Zhengyue was wiping his long blade and looked up upon hearing this: "Speak."

"I want the ability to fly."

Qing Hongyuan's voice was not loud, but it was firm.

Qing Zhengyue's hand paused, Liu Yunlan also stopped what she was doing, and Shen Wanqing looked at her husband, a flash of surprise in her eyes that quickly turned into understanding.

Qing Hongyuan continued, "My first four soul rings provide skills for attack, defense, speed, and control. With these four skills combined, I am already quite comprehensive in ground combat. But I am missing one thing."

He looked at his own hands and clenched his fists.

"Flight."

"The martial soul of the Qing Clan is the Azure Snake. No matter how agile a snake is on the ground, it is still just a snake. But the appearance of Mufeng has shown me another possibility."

Qing Hongyuan looked at his son, his gaze filled with complex emotions.

There was pride, expectation, and a trace of reluctance.

"Dragon transformation."

These two words fell into the campsite like a stone cast into still water.

"A snake transforming into a dragon—how can a dragon that cannot fly be called a dragon?"

Qing Hongyuan's voice was calm, but every word carried weight. "I want to fly. Not for the sake of battle, but to be... more like a dragon."

Silence spread through the campsite.

Qing Zhengyue did not answer immediately, instead continuing to wipe his long blade, the blade reflecting the cold light of the campfire.

After a long while, the old man spoke.

"Have you thought it through?"

"I have." Qing Hongyuan did not hesitate. "I was thinking about it before we came, and these past few days have only confirmed it. My fifth soul ring should ideally grant me the ability to fly."

Qing Zhengyue sheathed his long blade and looked up at his son.

"Most flying-type soul beasts are avian, and their attributes do not match yours. You are of the wood attribute; it would be best to find a wood-attribute dragon-type beast that also possesses the ability to fly."

Qing Hongyuan interjected, "Then we shall choose the Wind Wood Dragon."