Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone Acquired

Having confirmed his target, Ye Feng did not spare another glance.

Who knew which hidden corner that calf-protecting madman Tang Hao might be lurking in?

A Title Douluo's spiritual perception was incredibly sharp; even a single extra look could potentially expose him.

What he needed to do now was play the part of an ordinary traveler who just happened to be passing by, lying on the hillside to soak up the sun.

Ye Feng closed his eyes again, adjusted his breathing, and let his entire body go limp, as if he were truly fast asleep.

And the reality was just as he had anticipated.

In the dense forest not far away, a tall, burly figure reeking of alcohol was silently watching the backs of the large and small figures as they walked away.

Tang Hao indeed did not use his spiritual power to scan the surroundings.

All his attention was focused on his son; he had no interest in bothering with a passerby napping on a hillside.

Time ticked away, second by second.

Though Ye Feng appeared to be dozing, his brain was spinning rapidly, planning his next steps.

Having left the "newbie village" of Nuoding City, where should he go next?

An Intermediate Soul Master Academy?

He certainly wouldn't go there.

It would be a pure waste of time.

If he were to go anywhere, it would be straight to an Advanced Soul Master Academy.

However, the admission threshold for these advanced academies was not low; the most basic requirement was a soul power of at least level twenty, making one a Soul Grand Master.

Given his current cultivation progress, breaking through to the Soul Grand Master realm within a year would not be a problem.

But for this year, was he really going to find a place to hole up and cultivate bitterly just like before?

Right before his eyes, there was a shortcut for rapid improvement.

As long as he got his hands on it and absorbed it immediately...

No, that wouldn't work.

The moment this thought surfaced, he forcibly extinguished it.

Was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone really something a mere Soul Master, or even a Soul Grand Master, could absorb?

Theoretically, even with only 0.5 levels of soul power, one could absorb a soul bone because soul bones were inherently gentle and lacked the explosive impact of a soul ring.

But that was only in theory!

In the original story, when Tang San absorbed this soul bone, he was already a powerhouse at the Soul King level, his martial soul had undergone a second awakening into the Blue Silver Emperor, he had a sixty-thousand-year Wisdom Skull protecting his head, and he had tempered his body with various immortal herbs.

Even so, it took Tang San three full days and nights to completely fuse with it.

With his own current frail physique, trying to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul bone?

How was that any different from sleeping while hugging a high-explosive bomb?

The probability of energy overload and exploding on the spot was as high as ninety-nine percent.

If it were a ten-thousand-year soul bone, he might dare to gamble.

But a hundred-thousand-year one... he had better forget it.

There was no need to take such a suicidal risk.

Anyway, once the item was in his hands, wouldn't it be up to him to decide when to absorb it?

Waiting honestly until he reached the Soul King realm before revisiting this idea was the safest choice.

Having figured this out, there was no longer a shred of restlessness in Ye Feng's heart.

He opened his eyes and checked the sky.

From Nuoding City to Holy Soul Village, it took an ordinary person about two hours on foot.

Nearly three hours had passed now; Tang San and the others should have already entered Nuoding City, and Tang Hao was likely off finding a place to drink or observing from the shadows.

The time had come.

Ye Feng stood up and stretched, his joints popping with a series of crisp cracks.

He tucked his rocking chair back into his storage bracelet, brushed the fallen leaves off his clothes, and turned to walk toward the back mountain of Holy Soul Village.

The mountain was not tall, but it was densely forested and rarely visited.

Relying on his physique as a soul master, Ye Feng moved through the forest as if walking on flat ground.

Soon, a "rumbling" sound of water reached his ears from nearby.

The air also became humid.

Passing through the final patch of woods, the view suddenly opened up before him.

A massive waterfall, nearly ten meters wide, poured down like a silver ribbon from a cliff dozens of meters high, crashing fiercely into the deep pool below and kicking up a sky full of mist.

Sunlight pierced through the water mist, refracting into a brilliant rainbow.

This is the place.

Ye Feng did not linger by the pool; instead, he skirted the mountain path and climbed upward, soon arriving at the cliff edge atop the waterfall.

He took a bundle of sturdy rope he had prepared long ago from his storage bracelet.

This rope was woven from the sinews of century-level vine soul beasts, strong enough to withstand a pull of a thousand catties.

Ye Feng found the thickest ancient tree at the cliff's edge, tied one end of the rope tightly to the trunk, and checked it repeatedly to ensure there was no room for error.

Then, he fastened the other end of the rope securely around his waist.

After finishing all this, he took a deep breath, walked to the edge of the cliff, and leaped.

His body traced an arc through the air as he plummeted rapidly.

The rope at his waist snapped taut, the immense tension bringing his descent to a sudden, jarring halt.

Ye Feng gripped the rope with both hands and braced his feet against the slick rock face, controlling his speed as he inched toward the middle of the waterfall.

The deafening roar of the water threatened to tear his eardrums apart, and the freezing spray splashed against him incessantly, soaking him to the bone.

The rock wall was covered in slippery moss, and a single misstep would lead to a fall.

Yet, Ye Feng's movements were as steady as a rock.

His External Soul Bone, Pupil of Light Dawn, was already activated; within his vision, every tiny protrusion and depression on the cliff face was clearly visible, providing the perfect footholds.

After descending about twenty meters, he finally spotted the pitch-black cave entrance hidden behind the curtain of the waterfall.

Adjusting his position, he kicked off the rock wall with both legs.

His entire body swung toward the waterfall like a pendulum.

"Splash!"

He crashed through the heavy water curtain and surged into the deep, dark cave.

Inside, it was pitch black, so dark he could not see his own hand.

A damp, musty odor rushed to meet him.

He untied the rope from his waist, fished a tinderbox from his robes, blew it to life, and lit a spare torch.

The orange glow instantly dispelled the darkness, illuminating the scene inside the cave.

This was a naturally formed karst cave, not very large, covering about a few dozen square meters.

The cave walls were damp, and water droplets fell from time to time, making a "drip-drop" sound.

Holding the torch aloft, Ye Feng began to search the cave carefully.

The interior was empty, save for some scattered gravel; there was nothing else to be found.

He searched thoroughly, not letting a single corner escape his notice.

Finally, in a depression at the very back of the cave, he discovered a stone box that blended in perfectly with the color of the surrounding rock.

The box was rectangular and looked unremarkable, but when Ye Feng reached out to move it, he discovered its weight was astonishing.

A stone box less than half a meter long weighed no less than a hundred catties!

This was definitely not an ordinary material.

He did not rush to open it; the box itself was a treasure, capable of perfectly masking the aura of a soul bone.

He reached out and touched the box lightly.

The next second, the hundred-catty box vanished into thin air, stored away into his storage bracelet.

Done!