Phantom Spirit Fox

Xiao Hongchen stood in place, breathing faintly hard, but his eyes shone brightly.

"That cannon blast was terrifying. Xiao, your control over combining Soul Cannons is getting more and more precise."

"This is nothing. I've still got a long way to go."

"It's good that you have that ambition." Jing Hongchen gave a slight nod. "Get your strength back, then absorb the Soul Ring."

Xiao Hongchen nodded, disassembled the Soul Cannon, and put it away.

He sat cross-legged, placed his right hand on the Quicksilver Morph Beast's mangled body, and began guiding the precious forty-thousand-year Soul Ring as it slowly merged into his body.

The instant the Black Soul Ring entered his body, Xiao Hongchen felt as though he were about to explode. His whole body shuddered violently.

A radiance of interwoven gold and silver burst from within him, forming a supple shield that protected his meridians and organs.

A raging flood of Soul Power surged through his body like a river bursting its banks, crashing wildly in every direction.

The Quicksilver Morph Beast's metallic essence poured into him in a frenzy. Every inch of his flesh was torn apart, then remade.

Cold sweat beaded on Xiao Hongchen's forehead. He clenched his teeth, but didn't make a sound.

"Hang in there... If I can't even absorb a forty-thousand-year Soul Ring, I'll bring shame on all transmigrators."

He repeated the words to himself.

At that moment, his body—remade by the Gold of Life—proved crucial.

That pure, vast vitality turned into a warm green current, constantly mending the wounds torn open by the Soul Ring's power while gradually neutralizing the Quicksilver Morph Beast's violent metallic properties.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly.

A full two hours passed before Xiao Hongchen's body finally began to calm.

He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in his mismatched pupils.

His fifth Soul Ring, Attachment of Gold, had been completely absorbed.

Xiao Hongchen could clearly feel that he could now transform part of his body—or even all of it—into liquid metal at will.

In that state, he would be immune to ninety percent of physical attacks and fifty percent of energy attacks.

More frightening still, the golden liquid metal contained a deadly heavy-metal poison.

If an opponent attacked him recklessly, the blow might have no effect on him at all, but the attacker's limb would be corroded by the poison in an instant. In severe cases, it could even be crippled outright.

His Soul Power had also risen naturally to level fifty-two, and his ability to control metal had advanced another level.

"Done."

Xiao Hongchen stood up and let out a long breath, his eyes shining with satisfaction.

Jing Hongchen descended from the air, his gaze full of relief, though a trace of lingering fear remained.

He had already been prepared to forcibly interrupt the absorption if his grandson couldn't withstand the Soul Ring's power. Even if it damaged his grandson's foundation, that would be better than being burst apart from the inside.

"Next, we'll help you obtain the second Soul Ring for your Brain Martial Soul. But I still haven't found a suitable Soul Beast that can grant a mental-type Simulation Soul Skill."

Mental-type Soul Beasts were already scarce in the Sun Moon Empire. Those known by name could be counted on one hand, and the most famous among them were the Evil Eye Clan.

But the Evil Eyes were extremely protective of their own. Any attack could easily alert the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign. Besides, they didn't grant Soul Skills like "Simulation," so they were naturally out of the question.

Xiao Hongchen thought for a moment, then quickly made up his mind.

"Then let's go with the closest option. We can search around the Jingyang Mountain Range. There are plenty of metal deposits there. Mental-type Soul Beasts aren't common, but surely there'll be one that suits me."

Jing Hongchen nodded, not objecting.

"Good. The Jingyang Mountain Range doesn't have the depth of the Star Dou Great Forest, but it's close to Ming Capital, so it'll be easy to retreat if anything happens."

The two didn't waste any time. Jing Hongchen flew low over the ground with Xiao Hongchen, carefully searching for nearby Soul Beasts. Of course, they used a concealment Soul Tool, though hardly anything in the Jingyang Mountain Range could threaten Jing Hongchen anyway.

Five days later, deep in the Jingyang Mountain Range, they arrived at a valley shrouded in pale-purple mist.

Jing Hongchen hovered in the air with Xiao Hongchen.

The grandfather and grandson looked a little disheveled. Surviving in the wilderness took more skill than expected.

The valley below was quiet, yet unsettling.

The mist flowed slowly like a living thing. Everything within sight seemed both real and unreal, and even their Soul Power probing was distorted by the fog. They could only just make out a faint spiritual fluctuation inside the valley.

"I've traveled through the Jingyang Mountain Range at least ten times. How have I never seen this place before?"

Jing Hongchen looked puzzled.

Xiao Hongchen didn't answer right away. He stood quietly beside his grandfather, the colored vertical mark between his brows growing faintly hot.

That's right. He'd only found this place thanks to the guidance of the Eye of Fate. Searching blindly had been far too inefficient.

In his vision, countless fine golden threads of fate appeared in the air. One shone especially brightly, pointing straight into the depths of the valley as if silently guiding him.

"Grandfather... I found it."

Xiao Hongchen's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.

"The Eye of Fate tells me there's a Soul Beast here that's right for me. And... the chances are very high."

"If even the Eye of Fate says so, then let's go in and take a look. But be careful. This mist can distort Soul Power probing. There may be something else strange about it."

Xiao Hongchen nodded. The pale golden mark between his brows shone a little brighter.

He took a deep breath and flew toward the valley.

Jing Hongchen followed close behind, and the two soon disappeared into the pale-purple mist.

As soon as the fog touched them, it wound around them like a living thing.

Xiao Hongchen felt his Spiritual Power badly disrupted, as though countless tiny voices were whispering in his ears, though he couldn't make out what they were saying.

He didn't panic. Instead, he focused even more intently on activating the Eye of Fate.

The golden threads remained clear in the mist, guiding him farther in.

The deeper they went, the thicker the fog became. They could barely see ten meters ahead.

Jing Hongchen quietly released his level-ninety-four Soul Power, forming a faint golden barrier around them to guard against any danger.

Suddenly, a faint cry came from the mist ahead, like the low whine of a fox.

Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up.

"It's the one."

They both sped up. Jing Hongchen used a Soul Tool to briefly scatter the mist around them.

The view opened up before them.

In the middle of a small clearing stood a pure-white nine-tailed fox.

Tiny starbursts glimmered at the tip of each tail. A pale-purple diamond-shaped crystal sat on its forehead, and looking at it made one feel briefly lost. It moved almost without a sound, like a phantom that might fade away at any moment.

The Phantom Spirit Fox.

The Eye of Fate trembled violently. This was the Soul Beast he had been searching for.

Jing Hongchen's gaze sharpened. He said quietly,

"Fifty thousand years of cultivation... and an exceedingly rare mental-type illusion Soul Beast. Xiao, your Eye of Fate has really come through for you this time."

"But what makes this Soul Beast dangerous isn't the strength of its Soul Power. It's the mental illusions and mimicry it can create. The slightest carelessness, and you'll be trapped in the illusion it weaves."

Xiao Hongchen closed his eyes. He ignored the phantoms rushing at him and slowly spread out his silver Spiritual Power like a fine net.

Yet, without realizing when it had happened, he had already been drawn into an illusion.

The Iron Armored Bear, the Gold Tiger, and even Xiao Hongchen himself appeared one after another from the mist, lunging at him.