Friendship and Travels

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan had no idea what to say. He was giving away such precious soul tools just like that—even a tycoon shouldn't show off this extravagantly!

But Xie Yue suddenly remembered what Mo Lin had said before entering the room and looked at him in disbelief.

"Mo Lin, you said you were going to show us the results of your week's work. Don't tell me these soul tools are what you meant?"

"What do you think~?" Mo Lin replied.

The three of them stared blankly at the soul tools in their hands, then at Mo Lin. Their worldview had been shattered once again.

In their eyes, even the phrase "peerless genius" was no longer enough to describe Mo Lin. Becoming a Grand Soul Master before the age of seven and crafting multiple soul tools in a single week—either achievement would have been terrifying on a different person, let alone one person accomplishing both at once.

Seeing the three of them standing there dumbfounded, Mo Lin said, "Don't just stand there. Even though my room is a complete mess right now, there's still somewhere to sit. It wasn't easy for us to get together like this, so let's have a good chat."

Over the next two hours, the four members of Spirit Hall's new generation opened up to one another for the first time, sharing what they had seen and heard lately and exchanging their thoughts.

During this conversation, Mo Lin did not hide too much. He told the three of them that his second soul ring had been a thousand-year soul ring, delivering another blow to their "fragile" hearts. But they also understood that telling them something so important meant that Mo Lin trusted them deeply. Even if the truth would one day become known to the world, each of them swore to Mo Lin that unless he permitted it himself, they would never tell anyone else.

Over those two-plus hours, Mo Lin's relationship with Spirit Hall's original Golden Generation deepened further. He could now be said to have people among his peers whom he could trust.

It was already late at night, and the three of them planned to return to their rooms. In their eyes, Mo Lin had spent more than a week crafting soul tools and must have been mentally exhausted, so he needed proper rest.

"Senior Sister, wait a moment."

Mo Lin stopped Hu Liena.

"Mo Lin, is there something else?" Hu Liena asked.

"Senior Sister, you're still mainly training charm-type skills and have practiced relatively little close combat, right?" Mo Lin asked.

Hu Liena nodded.

"Yes. Master said that was my strength, so I had to build a solid foundation."

"Then this is for you." Mo Lin took the Three Treasures Pearl, strung on a cord, out of his pocket. "It's called the Three Treasures Pearl. It's a defensive soul tool that can automatically form a protective barrier when it senses an attack. As long as the three pearls aren't completely destroyed, its uses can replenish automatically. I haven't tested it yet, and it's my first time making one, but it can definitely block three full-force attacks from a Soul King. It might even withstand something stronger. Wear it whenever you aren't training with someone, just to be safe."

Hu Liena looked at Mo Lin.

"You're not... flirting with me, are you?"

Mo Lin's original intention had simply been to give his friend a defensive soul tool as insurance. But with Hu Liena putting it so bluntly, he could only gaze up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Flirting? What does flirting mean? I'm young, so there are lots of things I don't understand."

Hu Liena let out a laugh.

"Thanks, Little Junior Brother."

Then she headed toward her room.

Three months later, Mo Lin applied for leave, planning to begin traveling across Douluo Continent and return to Holy Soul Village at the end of the final month.

He called it traveling, but in truth, he was going to explore the only secret realm he could reach at his current level: Dugu Bo's herb garden—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. There, he would cultivate three techniques and skills from Under One Person.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was located in Sunset Forest within the Heaven Dou Empire. Dugu Bo had discovered it many years ago and turned it into his personal herb garden to ease the poison that had seeped deep into his bones. But even the finest doctor could not cure himself. Dugu Bo had spent his life studying poison and possessed so many heavenly treasures, yet he still could not heal himself—until Tang San, a disciple of the Tang Sect, appeared.

Tang San could detoxify poison because he possessed the Tang Sect's knowledge. But it was not as though Mo Lin lacked such knowledge either. Don't forget that Mo Lin had the techniques and records of every sect from Under One Person in his mind, including the Tang Sect's methods from Under One Person.

The Tang Sect in Under One Person could be said to have nearly disregarded hidden weapons, focusing instead on the cultivation of poison and poisonous qi. The knowledge of poison in Mo Lin's mind was no less extensive than Tang San's—if anything, it was greater.

Moreover, one method of condensing poisonous qi was to refine deadly poison, and the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Poison in Dugu Bo's body was an excellent source.

After a week of traveling and searching, Mo Lin finally roughly pinpointed the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Following his plan, he swaggered in without concealing even the slightest trace of his aura.

When Mo Lin reached the cave containing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he said in "surprise," "What kind of place is this? It's so misty."

Then he "carefully" examined the edge of the cave. After entering, he discovered a deep pit, found a path that was not too steep, and cautiously made his way down, taking two steps forward and one step back.

After dawdling for over an hour, Mo Lin finally "barely" reached the bottom. He "curiously" walked up to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and observed the miraculous sight before him.

"Kid, what are you doing here?"

Mo Lin turned and looked upward. Dugu Bo was standing above, watching him. He hurriedly bowed and explained, "I'm sorry, this... um... this old gentleman, I only entered because I was curious. If this is your private territory, I'll leave immediately."

Dugu Bo had always acted according to his own whims. He had noticed Mo Lin entering his herb garden long ago, but seeing how young he was, he had become curious about how the boy would get down and had watched from the sidelines the entire time.

Now that he had appeared, he wanted to see how the child would react. The result? He found it rather boring. He had thought this would be an interesting little brat, but Mo Lin's behavior was too ordinary. He was just a well-behaved child. It was not that Dugu Bo disliked obedient children, but the poison backlash within his body had been particularly severe recently, so he had remained here without interacting with anyone. He had been terribly bored.

Still, encountering a living person in a place like this was already something. Dugu Bo jumped down in front of Mo Lin, intending to chat with the child.

"Kid, what's your name?"

When Dugu Bo jumped down, Mo Lin "frightenedly" took two steps back.

"M-My name is Mo Lin."

"Mo Lin. Not a bad name. What are you doing in Sunset Forest?" Dugu Bo asked.

Mo Lin swallowed.

"I'm traveling."

"Traveling? Sunset Forest may not be a forest teeming with soul beasts, but it's hardly a safe place either. You came here to travel at such a young age?"

Mo Lin was already too "nervous" to speak.

At this point, Dugu Bo felt that he might have pressed too hard. The other party was only a child—why was he questioning him so thoroughly?

"Since you won't say, this old man won't ask further. However, I don't plan to leave this place anytime soon. You had such difficulty climbing down into this deep pit, so climbing back out probably won't be easy either. Why not stay with this old man for a few days?"

Mo Lin curled up and nodded.