Ling Yuan Joins the Team, Phoenix-Calling Stone Mountain!

"Forget it!"

"I'll make another trip with you!"

Xia Mu's voice rang out, as pleasant as heavenly music, like a beam of sunlight shining into Ling Yuan's heart.

"What!"

"You're willing to come with me?"

Ling Yuan looked at Xia Mu and asked in surprise.

"As long as I go, my mother will have to come with me. That way, the two of us will have a safety guarantee!"

Xia Mu pointed at Liu Yuer and spread his hands.

"You brat!"

"You're playing dirty, aren't you?"

Liu Yuer smiled as well, though her words were full of indulgence. To be fair, Xia Mu was right!

"Is that really okay?"

Ling Yuan blushed and asked softly.

"Let's go!"

"Soul rings don't last forever. If we delay any longer, that soul ring of yours will really be gone."

After Xia Mu finished speaking, he leaped upward.

Boom~

His Dark Gold Bat Wings flapped, launching him into the air. Ling Yuan and Liu Yuer followed close behind.

"Wait!"

"I haven't gotten in yet!"

Xia Feng jumped anxiously below. Without Liu Yuer's help, he could only force his way through the poisonous mist and the Jade-Phosphor Seven-Extinction Flower alone to enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Half an hour later.

Sunset Forest, near an active volcano.

"We're here!"

Ling Yuan descended and spoke.

"Great!"

"This soul ring hasn't disappeared yet!"

Ling Yuan's face was filled with the joy of recovering something she had thought lost. Looking around, she saw several Soul Master corpses nearby.

"Hurry up and absorb the soul ring!"

"Time waits for no one. Better safe than sorry!"

Xia Mu immediately spoke up and stood guard nearby.

This was the Blazing Sun Golden Crow's nest!

As the saying went, careful sailing could last ten thousand years.

If that Blazing Sun Golden Crow Emperor came back for another round, they would be ready to deal with it!

One incense stick, then two.

Before long, two hours had passed.

Boom~

Amid violent Soul Power fluctuations, Ling Yuan finally succeeded in absorbing the Blazing Golden Bird's soul ring.

"Level forty-one!"

"I finally made it!"

Ling Yuan rose to her feet, her face flushed red with excitement.

"Let's go!"

"This isn't a place to stay for long!"

Liu Yuer spoke calmly. Under her protection, almost no Soul Beasts foolish enough to cause trouble came near them!

The three prepared to return to the vicinity of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"Ling Yuan!"

"What plans do you have for your future?"

On the way back, Xia Mu did not forget to ask Ling Yuan.

"I don't have any backing. If I want to keep cultivating, I can only join Spirit Hall!"

"At least Spirit Hall is relatively fair!"

"And it's a better platform for someone like me. Unlike the two great empires, where you can only enlist in the army after joining!"

Ling Yuan spoke helplessly. She had no other choice.

"Would you like to join my team? Or rather, would you like to join the family I'm building?"

Xia Mu wanted to recruit Ling Yuan before Spirit Hall did. Her talent was extraordinary, and if properly nurtured, she could shoulder great responsibilities.

"Oh?"

"And what kind of treatment can you offer me?"

Ling Yuan was a woman who greatly admired strength. For power and cultivation resources, she could do anything.

"As long as you agree!"

"I can't promise much else, but I can provide any cultivation resources you need."

"Including soul rings, soul bones, and the finest natural mimetic cultivation environment in the world!"

"Of course, as the first member of my team, I'll also give you an additional great opportunity!"

"As for whether you want it, that's your choice!"

Xia Mu laid out his offer. Looking at the half-convinced, half-skeptical Ling Yuan, he felt rather helpless.

"Soul rings and soul bones?"

"A top-tier mimetic cultivation environment?"

Ling Yuan murmured softly. She seriously suspected Xia Mu was deceiving her, taking advantage of her youth and inexperience.

"Let's go!"

"Facts speak louder than words!"

"I'll take you to see it for yourself. Then you'll know whether I'm telling the truth."

Xia Mu brought Ling Yuan down into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. When she saw this treasured land, she froze.

"This is?"

Ling Yuan asked softly.

"The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!"

"The finest mimetic cultivation environment in the world, and a completely natural one at that!"

"Do you believe me now?"

Xia Mu looked at Ling Yuan and asked.

"I believe you!"

It took Ling Yuan a long while to come back to her senses.

"Good!"

"I'm willing to join your team!"

Ling Yuan loved fiercely and hated fiercely, and she was extremely decisive in her actions. For the sake of her future, she agreed.

"Good, straightforward!"

"This is the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, a supreme immortal herb packed with pure yang energy. It suits you very well!"

"Your Martial Soul is the Blazing Fire Spirit Kite, and it contains a faint trace of Fire Phoenix bloodline. This immortal herb can evolve your Martial Soul into a true Fire Phoenix!"

"After consuming it, you must refine it with your own Soul Power. During the refinement, you will suffer the agony of being burned alive."

"Once you lose consciousness, all your efforts will be wasted!"

"I'll leave it here. Whether you take it is your own choice. I have no right to interfere!"

Xia Mu took out the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and placed it before Ling Yuan, then sent his parents away.

"This is the great opportunity you mentioned?"

Ling Yuan's eyes gleamed, deeply moved. It was the first time she had met someone who treated her so well.

"Gulp!"

She grabbed the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation, then closed her eyes and began refining its medicinal power.

Time passed bit by bit.

As night gradually fell, within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Inside a stone chamber carved into the mountainside, countless streams of fiery energy spread out and formed a roaring blaze.

Cry!

A newborn phoenix cried out, announcing the rebirth of a Martial Soul!

A Fire Phoenix stood behind Ling Yuan. Every glance and movement radiated incomparable grace, displaying the majesty of a divine beast.

"I succeeded!"

"My Martial Soul evolved into a Fire Phoenix!"

Ling Yuan opened her eyes and spoke with a face full of delight.

"Don't celebrate too early!"

"Hurry up and put these clothes on!"

Xia Mu tossed a new set of clothes to Ling Yuan with a cold expression, then turned around and quickly left the stone chamber.

"Ah~"

A high-pitched female scream came from the stone chamber.

After a long while, Ling Yuan emerged before Xia Mu with a flushed face, and the atmosphere became extremely ambiguous!

"You're not allowed to tell anyone about what happened just now!"

Ling Yuan covered her little face, too embarrassed to face anyone. A fierce voice came through her fingers, muffled and carrying a trace of embarrassed anger.

"You..."

"Just pretend you didn't see anything."

"Alright, alright. I didn't see anything."

Xia Mu answered readily, but an unconcealable hint of amusement remained in his voice.

"You're still laughing!"

Ling Yuan blushed and said angrily.

"Haha, I'm not laughing!"

"You... if you dare tell anyone what happened just now, I... I... from now on, I'll..."

Ling Yuan stamped her feet in anger, but she did not dare lower her hands. Her face felt burning hot, and she was terribly embarrassed. It concerned a young woman's purity, so she was truly flustered.

"Oh, what will you do from now on?"

Xia Mu asked curiously.

"Hmph~"

"If you dare say it, then I'll never speak to you again!"

After a long pause, Ling Yuan finally managed to squeeze out that threat. Her voice was soft and sweet, with no intimidation whatsoever.

"Alright!"

"What happened just now was only an accident!"

"The Ling Yuan I know is warm and generous, and she loves fiercely and hates fiercely. She wouldn't be so petty!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

Xia Mu chuckled softly. Then he left behind a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue and explained its effects.

"Alright!"

"As compensation, this is for you!"

"Melt it with your Soul Power, then combine it with medicinal baths and stance training to absorb its medicinal effects!"

"After consuming it, it can not only increase your Soul Power, but also allow you to absorb soul rings beyond your limit!"

Xia Mu revealed his soul ring configuration. Ling Yuan caught a glimpse of it, and she was instantly stunned where she stood.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you!"

"The Ye Family of Heaven Dou is preparing to form a marriage alliance with my family!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll have a fiancée in name in a few months!"

"If you want me to take responsibility, you'd better hurry. After all, time waits for no one!"

Xia Mu stated it bluntly. He was not a devoted man. When it came to relationships, his rule was not to refuse, not to pursue, not to take responsibility, and not to cling.

Having lived another life, Xia Mu would not hang himself from a single tree. Of course, he would not become a simp either!

"Hmph!"

"Who wants you to take responsibility!"

After saying that, Ling Yuan ran straight back into the stone chamber.

"Damn it!"

"He actually has a fiancée."

Ling Yuan's eyes dimmed. She had finally met someone she liked, only to find that she had come too late.

But Ling Yuan had always been someone who loved fiercely and hated fiercely. Once she liked someone, she would not let the chance slip away!

"No, I still have a chance!"

"Before she marries in, I have the advantage!"

Having figured it out, Ling Yuan was instantly brimming with confidence.