Qian Xunqian gave Bibi Dong a playful once-over, then flashed a wicked grin,
"But... with Sister Bibi's looks and charm, if she puts in a little effort, she might just win over the future sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. And once she wins over the sect master, she'll have the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in her grasp!"
Bibi Dong rolled her eyes at Qian Xunqian and turned away. I don't want to talk.
"Alright, let's go get Sister Xiao her fifth Soul Ring. After absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow and Ice God Crystal, her physique is far beyond that of an ordinary Soul King. And with her cultivation in the spring, her spiritual power has reached a whole new level."
"I think her fifth Soul Ring should come from a Soul Beast at least twenty thousand years old."
Sky Crocodile nodded.
"Ghost Elder, sorry for the trouble. Please make a trip back to Spirit Hall and inform the Pope that we've discovered the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave. Ask her to send someone to take charge of it, preferably a powerful Titled Douluo."
"Yes!"
The moment they leaped out of the ice cave, they heard a phoenix cry. With the cry, the willow-fluff-like snow drifting around them instantly turned into enormous hailstones.
"What powerful area-wide ice control! Sister Xiao, your luck really is something. You're sleepy, and someone's already bringing you a pillow."
Bibi Dong shook her head, unconvinced.
"I think the faint fragrance you're giving off might be the reason. After all, in the eyes of Soul Beasts, you're practically a piping-hot meat bun fresh out of the oven..."
"Seventh Soul Skill: Golden Crocodile True Body!"
Elder Sky Crocodile instantly transformed into an enormous Golden Crocodile King and roared at the sky.
The pressure of a Super Douluo made the Ever-Frozen Ice Phoenix tremble. It lost its balance in midair and began to fall.
"Seven Treasures Have Names, Second: Speed."
Ning Fengzhi summoned his Martial Soul and increased Golden Crocodile Douluo's speed.
With the boost, Elder Sky Crocodile sprang upward, his crocodilian jaws gaping wide as they swallowed the Ever-Frozen Ice Phoenix whole.
When he landed again, his Martial Soul Avatar had already vanished. In its place stood a graceful old man with his eyes closed, chest puffed out, and hands clasped behind his back.
And there was also a little blue bird, covered in blood and barely clinging to life.
Ning Fengzhi thought: Golden Crocodile Douluo and I took down a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast together.
"This Soul Beast is at least twenty-five thousand years old. Young lady, are you sure you can withstand it?"
Shui Xiaoer hesitated. To be honest, her fourth Soul Ring was only eight thousand years old. Jumping straight to a twenty-five-thousand-year fifth ring was frightening, no matter how she looked at it.
"I... I feel like I only have a fifty percent chance..."
Qian Xunqian pondered for a moment, then said,
"What if you absorb it with the help of the Cold Pole Spirit Spring? That should greatly improve your chances. This Ice Phoenix is a top-tier Soul Beast, and my Angel Eye has the purification effect of the Six-Winged Angel. It should help ease your negative effects a little."
"Let's take the gamble. Uncle Sky Crocodile is here, after all. If anything goes wrong, he can interrupt the process. At worst, we'll wait another three months!"
A resolute look filled Shui Xiaoer's eyes. "Alright!"
In the cold spring, with the assistance of Qian Xunqian's Angel Eye and Ning Fengzhi's third Soul Skill, "Soul Power Boost,"
Shui Xiaoer struggled for four hours before successfully absorbing the Ever-Frozen Ice Phoenix's Soul Ring.
Her Soul Power surged by seven levels in one go. However, after her Martial Soul had evolved into Ultimate Ice, her cultivation speed had slowed dramatically. With any other ice-type Martial Soul, she would already have needed to go find a sixth Soul Ring.
Qian Xunqian yawned and prompted Shui Xiaoer to list her new skill.
"Sister Xiao, what's your fifth Soul Skill?"
"My fifth Soul Skill is called Ice Phoenix Burning Heaven Flame. It releases a vast field of ever-frozen ice flames, dealing massive ice-attribute damage to all enemies within range. The flames can freeze Soul Power and meridians, and continue burning for five seconds. During that time, targets can't use skills like Teleportation. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
"Whoa... that's brutal! No wonder it's a Soul Skill from a top-tier Soul Beast!" Qian Xunqian was envious.
Bibi Dong suddenly grew curious. She went over to the Ice Phoenix's corpse, inspected it, and kicked it a few times.
Then a dazzling blue light flashed. Holy crap! A blue-grade legendary drop!
"This... this is an External Soul Bone!" Bibi Dong's jaw dropped.
"Not bad luck at all. The higher a Soul Beast's quality, the greater the chance it'll drop a Spirit Bone. But for a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast to drop an External Soul Bone... that's some luck."
Sky Crocodile shot Bibi Dong a meaningful look. The Holy Maiden seemed a little uncanny. Shui Xiaoer had absorbed the Soul Ring without getting a drop, and yet the Spirit Bone appeared only after Bibi Dong kicked the corpse a couple of times!
"Young lady, absorb it."
Sky Crocodile wasn't particularly jealous. Shui Xiaoer had sworn allegiance to Spirit Hall through her Martial Soul, and the stronger she became, the more she could help Spirit Hall in the future.
Two hours later, Shui Xiaoer successfully absorbed the Ice Phoenix Wings. But she could barely walk without wobbling, and after a few flaps, she crashed to the ground.
"The External Soul Bone hasn't fully fused with your body yet. Let this old man give you a hand!"
Sky Crocodile slowly released his pressure. Under its force, Shui Xiaoer was able to quickly fuse the Ice Phoenix Wings with her body.
"Thank you, Second Worship!"
Shui Xiaoer's feelings were complicated. They said debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay. By now, she had no idea how many favors she owed. Even if someone cut her in half so she could work day and night, she still couldn't pay them all back!
They continued cultivating quietly in the ice cave. After ten days, Ghost Douluo finally returned.
Ghost brought the Third Offering from the Worship Hall—Azure Luan Douluo, a Level 96 Super Douluo—as well as Elder Lingyuan, who was still a Level 89 Soul Douluo.
The rest of their people were still on the way, but the two strongest fighters were more than enough to protect the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave.
"We'll leave this place to the Third Offering and Elder Lingyuan. And Elder Lingyuan, I hope you break through to Titled Douluo soon!"
Qian Xunqian bade farewell to the two Spirit Hall leaders and left the Far North with the other five.
She couldn't wait to start assembling the Innate Spirit Power Cultivation Device!
Looking at the enormous, sluggish worm munching on snow inside her Soul Tool, Qian Xunqian wept helpless tears.
She stared at the Ice Silkworm for a full hour. Anyone watching would have thought Qian Xunqian had fallen in love with it.
Well... the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was an ice-attribute Soul Beast, so it needed a cold environment. The Star Dou Silkworm in the Star Dou Forest, meanwhile, wasn't picky about its habitat—but it jumped around too much. It was unreliable.
If she crossbred the two kinds of silkworms and created one that was both lazy and able to adapt to most environments, that would be wonderful!
But they still hadn't proven that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could work with the device. If it did, crossbreeding Soul Beasts would have to go on the agenda too.
Stir-fried Ice Silkworm! Ice Silkworm hot pot! No, she couldn't think about that. These Ice Silkworms were for experiments!
With her heart brimming with excitement, Qian Xunqian finally returned to the Spirit City she had been longing for. The moment she entered the gates, she sprinted toward her laboratory like a madwoman.
"Slow down! Slow down! Damn you, Xunqian, are you in such a hurry to get yourself killed?" Bibi Dong complained.