Becoming a Soul Elder

Xuan Qing spent half a day absorbing the spirit ring. As it fully integrated into his body, his spirit power surged violently.

It shot straight to the peak of level twenty-nine! He was just a hair's breadth away from level thirty, ready to break through at any moment.

In truth, he had only gained one level; he had been at level twenty-eight all along, but without a spirit ring, it hadn't manifested.

Xuan Qing opened his eyes and cursed.

"Damn it!"

His sudden outburst startled the three people nearby: Di Tian, Zi Ji, and a gentle woman in a green dress.

Xuan Qing pulled at his hair in frustration.

"Too low, too low, too low! My judgment was off. The spirit ring age was too low. Nine thousand years would have been fine; I wasted three thousand years for nothing!"

His physique was terrifyingly strong now; absorbing a six-thousand-year spirit ring had been effortless.

Even a nine-thousand-year one wouldn't have been a problem, but he had suffered a brain fart and settled for six thousand. What a massive loss!

Di Tian looked toward the woman in the green dress, about to introduce her.

Xuan Qing cut him off.

"Emerald Swan, Bi Ji. There are many in the Star Dou Forest who don't know you, the Beast God, but there are very few who don't know her."

"As long as it isn't something like a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, who wouldn't give her a bit of face?"

Bi Ji bowed slightly, her tone gentle.

"You are too kind, Senior. I don't have such a great reputation."

Xuan Qing waved his hand. "Enough, don't be humble. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you the half-Snow Empress of the Star Dou Forest."

Di Tian looked a bit awkward. He was honored as the Beast God based on his strength and his status as a personal guard to the Dragon God.

But when it came to prestige among spirit beasts, he truly couldn't compare to the Snow Empress in the Far North.

Bi Ji, as a healing-type spirit beast, was far more beloved. Even he had to admit that he fell short in that regard.

Ignoring Di Tian's discomfort, Xuan Qing moved on to business: "I need to find another spirit beast, this time between twenty thousand and thirty thousand years."

He looked at Di Tian. "Time and space attributes are still the priority. If not, wood or lightning attributes will do. It must be a sub-dragon species, and don't go low on the age."

Di Tian nodded. "Please wait a moment, Senior. I shall return shortly."

After Di Tian left, Xuan Qing didn't idle. He pulled two items from his storage: the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

He unfolded the leaves of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, which were hung with crystalline dew. Xuan Qing tilted his head back and poured all the dew into his mouth.

Once the dew hit his stomach, the entire plant withered instantly. The essence of the immortal herb was contained entirely within the dew; without it, the plant was useless.

Next, he picked up the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. The petals of this immortal herb were golden and emitted a faint fragrance. Xuan Qing tore the petals off one by one and stuffed them into his mouth.

The petals melted upon contact, turning into a warm current that surged through his limbs and bones. Xuan Qing immediately sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Azure Dragon Mysterious Heaven Art to refine them.

In the distance, the King of Ten Thousand Demons nearly popped his eyes out. As the king of plant-type spirit beasts, he knew these immortal herbs all too well.

That was the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum! Either one was worth a fortune, yet he was just eating them raw?

The world had gone mad.

Xuan Qing spent another half-day refining the energy. When the last trace was absorbed, he opened his eyes.

A sharp glint flashed through his gaze, and his mind became incredibly clear; the spirit-enhancing effect of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew had taken hold.

His spirit power had broken through the level twenty-nine bottleneck in one go, reaching level thirty. It was a natural progression, completely unobstructed.

Although one herb boosted mental power and the other physical strength, he had been so close that even half a day of cultivation would have allowed him to break through.

Di Tian had long since returned. Beside him lay a giant lizard over ten meters long.

The lizard was covered in cyan scales, with two bumps on its head and a pair of wings on its back.

"Mysterious Heaven Wood Dragon?"

Xuan Qing recognized it, of course. At the junior Soul Master Academy, he had read almost every book in the library.

It was in the catalog of rare spirit beasts—a quite uncommon sub-dragon species!

Di Tian introduced it.

"Senior, this is a twenty-six-thousand-year Mysterious Heaven Wood Dragon. It should meet your requirements."

Xuan Qing inspected it and nodded with satisfaction. This spirit beast was indeed excellent—a wood-attribute sub-dragon, and the age was quite appropriate.

He stood up, waved his left hand, and the Qilin Seal flew out. It grew in the wind, instantly becoming the size of a small hill, and smashed down onto the head of the Mysterious Heaven Wood Dragon.

With a loud BANG!

The Mysterious Heaven Wood Dragon didn't even have time to scream before its head was smashed to pieces. It was dead beyond any doubt.

A deep black spirit ring floated up from the corpse; it looked to be nearly twenty-seven thousand years old.

Xuan Qing set the Qilin Seal aside and sat cross-legged to begin absorption.

Just as he was focusing on the spirit ring, trouble started nearby. Lord Bear and Scarlet King crept over, curious about the Qilin Seal.

The large seal was gray and dusty, looking like a mere rock, yet the power of that strike just now had been astonishing.

Lord Bear tapped the Qilin Seal with his claw, and Scarlet King leaned in to sniff it as well.

Then... disaster struck.

The Qilin Seal's defensive mechanism was triggered! It expanded instantly and slammed down with a thunderous crash.

Before Lord Bear and Scarlet King could even react, they were pinned beneath the mountain-like object, with only their heads visible while their entire bodies were crushed underneath.

The two... ah, no! The two beasts were completely stunned. Lord Bear's eyes went wide, while Scarlet King's three heads tilted in unison, faces full of confusion.

What was going on? They had only touched it, so why were they pinned down?

Di Tian had been guarding Xuan Qing, and seeing this scene, he nearly burst out laughing. He held it in, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Bi Ji and Zi Ji's eyes curved into crescent moons, and Zi Ji even laughed out loud, tears streaming down her face.

In the distance, King of Ten Thousand Demons couldn't stop grinning either; his ancient tree trunk swayed back and forth, leaves rustling loudly.

Lord Bear finally snapped out of it and roared in anger.

"Di Tian! Get us out of here!"

Scarlet King's three heads barked in unison: "Woof, woof, woof! Help us out!"

Di Tian shook his head, suppressing his laughter.

"This is a divine artifact belonging to the senior. Do you really think I can move it?"

He tried to lift it, but it wouldn't budge; the Qilin Seal was as heavy as a real mountain, remaining completely motionless.

"That's enough, you two just have to endure it. At least you aren't hurt. Once the senior finishes absorbing the spirit ring, he will naturally release you."

Lord Bear and Scarlet King were on the verge of tears, forced to lie there and wait.

Xuan Qing spent three full days absorbing the energy; the spirit ring's power was so immense that the transformation process was incredibly slow.

When the final wisp of energy merged into his body, his spirit power increased once more, though the gain was modest this time, rising only from level thirty to the peak of level thirty-one.

He didn't even reach level thirty-two. It wasn't that the spirit ring's energy was insufficient, but rather that Xuan Qing's foundation was simply too deep.

If cultivation were compared to building a house, an ordinary person laying a foundation would use standard materials and stop after a meter or two.

Xuan Qing, however, had gone mad and laid a hundred-meter foundation, reinforced with steel bars and C140 concrete.

On the other hand, the drawbacks of his extreme attributes were beginning to show. Although Azure Dragon only possessed extreme Wood and Lightning, the level of his Chaos attribute was simply too high. The energy required to rise each level was several times, or even dozens of times, that of others; reaching the peak of level thirty-one was already quite an achievement.

Xuan Qing opened his eyes. He looked at the pinned Lord Bear and Scarlet King, paused for a moment, and immediately understood what had happened.

Those two must have been itching to touch the Qilin Seal. He suppressed his laughter and reached out toward the seal.

The mountain instantly shrank, returning to the size of a brick, flew back into his left hand, and then vanished.

Lord Bear and Scarlet King regained their freedom and scrambled to their feet. The two beasts slunk away, not daring to look back; it was simply too embarrassing for a beast.

He sensed his own state and felt quite satisfied.

"This trip to the Star Dou Forest has been very fruitful. We shall head back now, and I will return another time to expel the sword qi for her."

The others were still confused, wondering who "she" was.

Di Tian bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Senior. You are welcome to return at any time."

Xuan Qing nodded and looked at Zi Ji.

Zi Ji used her spirit power to lift Xuan Qing, and the two soared into the sky, flying toward the outside.

Di Tian watched them leave with a smile on his face; there was now hope for the Lord's injuries.

Perhaps, when that time came, he would finally be able to rest.