Burning Heaven Purgatory Mastiff

Ling Yuan is currently attempting to break through to the Title Douluo realm, though for her, this breakthrough is no easy feat.

It requires vast spirit power and formidable mental strength; these two are the most fundamental requirements, and neither can be lacking.

Ling Yuan has been stuck at the level 89 Spirit Douluo stage for several years.

Under her original circumstances, it might have taken another year or two, along with a stroke of opportunity, to pierce through this barrier.

This time, the Immortal Herb provided by Lin Chuan serves as exactly that opportunity.

The Immortal Herb has brought her long-lasting, refined energy, and with both requirements now met, this is her chance.

As she makes repeated attempts to breach the Title Douluo realm, everyone else has fully awakened.

Among them, Zhu Qing, who had the lowest spirit power, saw the greatest improvement, increasing by a full three levels.

His original level 27 spirit power has risen to level 30, and he is now a quasi-Soul Elder at the peak of level 30.

If not for the need for a Spirit Ring, he likely could have advanced another level.

Xie Yue and the others, having already reached level 40 without obtaining their Spirit Rings, are unsure of the exact extent of their improvement.

However, they can still clearly sense the growth within themselves.

Among them, Hu Liena is the most excited, bouncing into Lin Chuan's arms and unabashedly displaying her affection.

"After absorbing the Immortal Herb you gave me, I feel like my entire body has been upgraded, and my spirit power has reached the peak of level 40."

"I feel like once I hunt a suitable Spirit Ring, I can break through two or three levels directly! I love you to death!"

As she speaks, she grins and leans in, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Lin Chuan smiles helplessly, looking down at the docile, clingy fox in his arms without saying much.

From the moment he took out the Lovesick Heartbreak Red and did not reject Hu Liena, he had already confirmed one thing.

Hu Liena does not know the origin or the effects of the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, so from the very beginning of their contact, her heart and eyes have been entirely focused on one person.

In this land of romance, with a romantic brain and currently in the heat of passion, the buffs are truly stacked to the max.

No matter what explanation he might offer, Hu Liena likely wouldn't pay much attention to it.

Unless the matter concerns him, Hu Liena will passively ignore everything else while they are together.

Because she is constantly, intently focused on Lin Chuan.

She will be able to feel the effects of the Immortal Herb once she has completely refined it, so there is little point in saying more now.

This seems to confirm a certain literary truth:

People will always subconsciously focus on the person they like, paying attention to their every action;

When that person encounters danger or difficulty, they will subconsciously offer help, regardless of whether they are actually capable of providing it (or even if it's just handing them a cup of tea).

This feels like a matter of course, yet it is realized only in hindsight.

When together, one will subconsciously watch the other's movements, behaviors, and emotions.

Within the brain, one is actively analyzing and focusing on the other person, thereby passively ignoring everything else.

This makes time feel as though it passes very quickly.

(The youth romance literature of the Three Ghosts is quite rich; no wonder he became good friends with the Old Ghost of Jiangnan. Glitchy expression pack.)

"Once Ling Yuan breaks through, it will be the perfect time for us to head to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for suitable Spirit Rings."

The Star Dou Forest stretches for ten thousand miles, spanning the center of the continent and cutting across the border between the Starfall Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.

It is densely populated with Spirit Beasts of great variety, and the terrain changes from region to region, with numerous swamps, lakes, and volcanoes.

The outermost ring, near human villages, is usually home to ten-year and hundred-year Spirit Beasts.

Further in are many hundred-year and thousand-year beasts.

The inner area, which borders the outer ring, is usually filled with Spirit Beasts ranging from five thousand to twenty or thirty thousand years old.

Or, there are hundred-year Spirit Beasts with powerful bloodlines, such as the Titan Giant Ape, which can fight ordinary ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts even at only a hundred years of age.

The most dangerous interior of the Star Dou Forest is occupied by Spirit Beasts over fifty thousand years old, or those with powerful bloodlines and combat strength exceeding fifty thousand years, each claiming their own territory.

The core circle at the very center is the domain of two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, and no other Spirit Beast dares to approach.

For this trip to the Star Dou Forest, Yan and Xie Yue have clearly made preparations.

Therefore, when Lin Chuan finishes speaking, Xie Yue already produces a book recording their destination and targets for this trip.

He also knows that their current strength is still too weak, and he is clear about the realm Ling Yuan will reach after her breakthrough.

For a Title Douluo, the higher the age of the ninth Spirit Ring, the better.

This trip to hunt for a suitable Spirit Ring might require an extra detour to seek help from more people in Martial Soul Hall to hunt together, but it is certainly not something they can interfere with.

Lin Chuan does not react much, flipping through the records Xie Yue handed him.

Ling Yuan's martial soul is fire-attributed, which happens to match the attribute of the Spirit Beast Yan needs to hunt.

And in the Star Dou Forest, there are only three known large volcanic cave systems, all located in the southeast corner.

The most massive section, located in the inner circle, is densely populated with ten-thousand-year fire-attribute spirit beasts.

Each ten-thousand-year spirit beast occupies several miles of volcanic caverns without encroaching on one another, with thousands of lower-level spirit beasts serving under their command.

Some exist as unified clans, while others rely on brute force to suppress and subjugate their subordinates.

Regardless, the fire spirit beasts there are exceptionally united when facing external threats.

This has resulted in their massive numbers, and their strength has only grown more formidable as time passes.

Yet, many powerful Soul Grand Masters still venture there to hunt spirit beasts or search for a certain treasure.

The library of the Martial Soul Hall contains records of that place.

It is said that the location possesses an Immortal Herb that draws upon the essence of geothermal fire and absorbs the energy of the sun and moon.

However, the function of that Immortal Herb is to nurture spirit beasts.

Because a powerful soul master once took a shallow taste, swallowing a single leaf, and after struggling to refine it, not only did he fail to gain any improvement, but he was subsequently plagued by a constant, agonizing burning sensation in his heart and intestines.

The pain of that scorching was unbearable, and there was no way to alleviate it.

The result was that a level 77 Spirit Saint died from that agony several years later.

As for whether it has any positive effects on soul masters, or if the method of absorption was simply incorrect, it remains unknown.

After all, no one dared to try again, fearing they would suffer the same fate as that Spirit Saint.

Dugu Bo likely views this situation as a warning against the reckless and ignorant experimentation with unknown things.

That is why, even after obtaining a wonder like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he long delayed taking the benefits originally found within.

Instead, he remained vigilant, knowing when to stop, and used the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well only to cultivate the medicinal herbs he planted himself.

Furthermore, the Immortal Herb in that volcanic cluster has a symbiotic spirit beast.

That is the Burning Heaven Purgatory Mastiff, a spirit beast of extreme ferocity, resembling a hyena in appearance with protruding fangs and fur that seems to have turned into molten lava.

Its neck and limb joints are covered in sharp, steel-needle-like bristles that erupt with scorching flames when it runs at high speed or becomes enraged.

Its entire clan consists of spirit beasts that grow alongside the Immortal Herb.

They can utilize the energy emitted by the Immortal Herb to grow rapidly and become even more powerful at critical moments.

Symbiosis means that both parties share the same origin, repelling and attracting one another simultaneously.

The Burning Heaven Purgatory Mastiff clan is incredibly powerful, situated at the very center of the volcanic cavern cluster.

There were several Burning Heaven Purgatory Mastiffs within the clan with over fifty thousand years of cultivation, though their current status is unclear.

Because the records date back fifty years, the area is no longer as bustling, and its reputation has faded.

If he hadn't consulted the books in the Martial Soul Hall's archives, he wouldn't even have known such a clan existed.

They are either even stronger now but have remained quiet, lurking deep within the volcanic cluster.

Or, they have been wiped out, and the so-called Immortal Herb has been consumed by other spirit beasts.