Become My Soul Ring, Ghost Tiger!

"I want to make a trade with Dugu Bo. I believe he will be very willing."

Meng Shenji's hand, holding his teacup, paused at these words. He raised his eyelids to look at Luo Chen, his gaze filled with scrutiny.

"You want to trade with that old poison-master? What could you possibly offer him? That man is a Title Douluo, level ninety-two, with poison arts so profound they border on the supernatural. His temper is so eccentric that even I can't be bothered to deal with him. You are a level thirty Great Spirit Master who hasn't even obtained a third spirit ring—what leverage do you have to negotiate with him?"

Luo Chen did not answer immediately. He raised his right hand, and the silver-white power of time began to glow in his palm, warm, gentle, and carrying an indescribable, ancient aura.

"The power of time," Luo Chen said. "Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison has backfired on him, and he is deeply poisoned; his life is already in danger. While my power of time cannot cure the poison, it can help him suppress the toxicity and delay its onset. Furthermore, he has a granddaughter in the same predicament. Is this bargaining chip enough?"

Luo Chen smiled faintly. Dugu Bo might not care about his own body, but it was impossible for him not to care about his only granddaughter's.

"The Jade Phosphor Serpent spirit actually has such a backlash?" Meng Shenji was clearly astonished.

"That is correct. I believe he will certainly agree!"

"In that case, I will send someone to deliver this letter to Prince Xue Xing."

Afterward, Luo Chen took Luo An'an back to the inn where they were staying to await news, while Luo Dashan contacted a property agent, hoping to rent a house for the family to settle in.

Three days later, Meng Shenji sent word that Dugu Bo wished to see him and instructed him to head to the outskirts of the Sunset Forest, where he would be waiting.

Upon receiving this message, Luo Chen didn't hesitate. He told his parents and then set off for the Sunset Forest with little An'an.

The siblings arrived at the Sunset Forest.

"Big Brother, are there little bunnies in the forest?"

"There are."

"Are there little birds?"

"There are."

"Are there big tigers?"

Luo Chen thought for a moment. "Possibly. Is An'an afraid?"

Luo An'an puffed out her small chest. "Not afraid! Big Brother will protect An'an!"

Just then, Luo An'an suddenly spotted a small gray rabbit crouching by a bush, nibbling on grass.

She let go of Luo Chen's hand and tiptoed toward it, but the little rabbit pricked up its ears in alarm and zipped into the grass.

"It ran away!" Luo An'an stomped her feet, pouting.

Luo Chen was about to comfort her when suddenly, a purple light flashed in his left eye. His Spirit Abyss Realm mental power captured a dangerous aura; not far ahead, a powerful, murderous presence was lying in wait.

"An'an, come here, come to Big Brother!" Luo Chen lowered his voice, then released all his spirit beasts.

Luo An'an sensed the change in her brother's tone and obediently hid behind him, her small hand clutching his hem.

In the bushes ahead, a pair of ghostly green eyes lit up.

It was a tiger—a black tiger!

It was massive, standing a full meter and a half at the shoulder and over three meters in length.

Its body was covered in dark gray fur marked with black stripes. These were not ordinary tiger stripes; they flowed and shifted like smoke, making anyone who looked at them feel dizzy.

Its eyes were ghostly green, the pupils vertical slits, staring fixedly at the siblings.

It was a Ghost Tiger! Renowned for its speed, stealth, and shadow attacks, the Ghost Tiger was extremely rare. A hundred-year Ghost Tiger could contend with an ordinary thousand-year spirit beast because it possessed a sinister ability: Shadow Assault.

It could travel through shadows and appear instantly behind its prey for a fatal strike.

In the original story, Zhu Zhuqing had hunted a Ghost Tiger with over four thousand years of cultivation in the Sunset Forest.

The size and aura of the beast before him clearly far exceeded a hundred years; judging by its presence, it was at least four thousand years old.

Could it be the same one?

He had yet to encounter a spirit beast over four thousand years old, but with his current Spirit Abyss Realm mental power, he should be more than a match for this Ghost Tiger—not to mention he possessed an artifact capable of controlling time!

The Ghost Tiger did not attack immediately. It paced slowly through the bushes, its ghostly green eyes never leaving Luo Chen, as if assessing its opponent's strength.

Its body gradually blurred as it moved, as if merging with the surrounding shadows. This was the Ghost Tiger's innate ability: hiding its form within shadows, making it impossible for enemies to lock onto its position.

But this could not stump Luo Chen. A brilliant purple light flared in his left eye. He unleashed his Spirit Abyss Realm mental power to its full extent, forming an invisible detection net within a radius of several dozen meters. His mental power captured the Ghost Tiger's trajectory!

The Ghost Tiger moved! It vanished instantly into the shadows, and a second later, it appeared three meters to Luo Chen's left. A massive tiger claw tore through the air, lunging straight for Luo An'an.

Luo Chen was startled. He scooped up Luo An'an, bent his knees, and leaped straight back. He had all his spirit beasts surround Luo An'an, choosing to confront the Ghost Tiger himself.

The Ghost Tiger's reaction speed was lightning-fast. It twisted its body in mid-air, landed on the ground, and quickly melted back into the shadows.

After one exchange, neither side had gained the upper hand.

Luo Chen frowned. This Ghost Tiger was more troublesome than he had imagined. It was fast, had strong stealth capabilities, and possessed high intelligence; it would retreat immediately after a failed attack, giving him no chance to counter.

If it were one-on-one, Luo Chen would be confident in wearing it down. But Luo An'an was standing behind him, and he could not stray too far from her.

"Dark Gulu Ball," he whispered in his heart.

Back in Hailun City, after his Gulu Ball spirit broke through to level thirty, it had awakened a new form: the Dark Gulu Ball. The Dark Gulu Ball had a significantly higher success rate for capturing Dark-type spirit beasts in dark environments, and it carried a chance to grant the captured beast an enhancement or mutation of the Dark attribute.

The Ghost Tiger was a Shadow-type spirit beast, highly compatible with the Dark attribute, meaning the capture success rate of the Dark Gulu Ball would be exceptionally high.

"Just obediently become my third soul ring!" Luo Chen whispered.

Immediately after, he took out the Time Indicator, an artifact of the time element.

"Today, let me test the power of time acceleration!"

Double the time flow rate, lasting for three seconds, covering a radius of five meters, with only one chance per day—he had to seize the perfect moment!

The Ghost Tiger launched another attack.

This time, it pounced down from the canopy above. Luo Chen's spiritual power had long since locked onto it, and the moment it leaped, Luo Chen moved.

"The chance is here! Time Acceleration!"

In an instant, the Ghost Tiger's movements appeared to speed up in Luo Chen's eyes, but the beast's mind could not keep up, causing its form to distort. Unable to check its momentum, it slammed headfirst into the ground.

At the same time, Luo Chen deactivated the time acceleration. The Ghost Tiger's time flow returned to normal, but the sudden shift left it completely dazed.

Luo Chen followed up immediately with an Evil Eye Gaze, striking the center of the Ghost Tiger's brow. It froze in place, and Luo Chen seized the opportunity to throw the Dark Gulu Ball at it.