Where the Blue Silver Emperor Lies

Day after day passed, and Zhao Ming's soul power steadily increased.

With Nine-Breath Qi Absorption, every complete cycle of nine breaths allowed the pure qi of heaven and earth to nourish his body, soul power, and spiritual power at the same time. All three grew in tandem without any weaknesses, and it could even aid the evolution of his martial soul.

When he left Heaven Dou City, Zhao Ming's soul power had been at level 23.

After nearly three months of training, Zhao Ming sensed the invisible barrier standing at the threshold of level 25 during his routine cultivation.

With practiced ease, he mobilized all the soul power in his body. Using Nine-Breath Qi Absorption as the guide, he broke through that barrier in one burst.

Level 25. Achieved.

Zhao Ming let out a long breath of stale air. Feeling the abundant, surging soul power within him, the corners of his lips curved up slightly.

Nine-Breath Qi Absorption cultivated both body and spirit. As his soul power rose, his spiritual power would rise along with it.

Back when he obtained his second soul ring, his spiritual power had already reached the level of a Soul King.

Now that his soul power had broken through level 25, his spiritual power had advanced another step as well, bringing it very close to the spiritual power of a Soul Emperor.

In other words, Zhao Ming's current spiritual power was already sufficient for him to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

By Zhao Ming's estimate, the energy contained within that Blue Silver Emperor soul bone should allow him to break through directly from level 25 to level 30.

Zhao Ming's physical condition already far surpassed that of soul masters of the same level due to cultivating Nine-Breath Qi Absorption and consuming whale glue. If he were further tempered by a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, he was confident he could safely absorb a ten-thousand-year third soul ring.

Of course, to be safe, he still needed to prepare another piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue.

He did not need to worry about spiritual shock, but the violent energy contained in a ten-thousand-year soul ring would not be so easy to absorb.

Zhao Ming had previously bought three pieces of whale glue in Vast Sea City: one was three thousand years old, while the other two were five thousand years old. He had already refined and absorbed them all.

That whale glue had raised his physical condition to the point where he could withstand a thousand-year second soul ring.

Now that he was aiming for a ten-thousand-year third soul ring, he needed more thorough preparations.

The price of ten-thousand-year whale glue in Vast Sea City was about the same as that of thousand-year whale glue.

Zhao Ming was quite wealthy now, so buying several pieces of ten-thousand-year whale glue would not be a problem. However, Notting City was not near the sea. To buy whale glue, he would have to go to a nearby major city or wait until he returned to Heaven Dou City.

Those matters could be considered later. The most important thing right now was obtaining the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.

Today was the opening day of Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy.

According to the original plot, Yu Xiaogang would take Tang San to the Spirit Hunting Forest tomorrow.

Tang Hao would follow them to the Spirit Hunting Forest as well. His opportunity lay tomorrow.

Zhao Ming decided not to cultivate tonight. He would get a good night's sleep and bring himself to peak condition.

Early the next morning, Zhao Ming moved a small stool to the courtyard gate and sat down with a steaming bowl of rice porridge in his hands. He took occasional sips, but his gaze remained fixed on the main road.

Today was the second day after Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy opened.

According to the original plot, Yu Xiaogang would impatiently take Tang San to the Spirit Hunting Forest today to hunt for his first soul ring.

Zhao Ming had just confirmed that yesterday, an academy advisor calling himself "Grandmaster" had indeed accepted Tang San as his disciple.

The plot had not deviated. Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had already made contact, so the next stop was the Spirit Hunting Forest.

Sure enough, just as the sun rose halfway into the sky, a blue-cloth carriage came down the main road.

The carriage was small, its paint badly chipped and peeling. It was pulled by a gaunt old horse that walked as though it had no strength left. The wheels rolled over gravel on the road, producing harsh, creaking squeals.

The curtain was half raised, and Zhao Ming immediately spotted the people sitting inside.

One was an utterly ordinary-looking man with a cropped haircut. His face was stiff and serious, his brows habitually drawn together as though he were pondering some profound question. It was Yu Xiaogang.

Beside him sat a boy of six or seven in a brand-new Notting Academy uniform. He had an ordinary face, short black hair, a straight-backed posture, and an air of composure that did not suit his age. There was no need to guess—this was Tang San.

Holding his bowl of porridge, Zhao Ming watched the broken-down carriage sway out of the village and vanish into the morning mist at the end of the main road. Only then did he leisurely finish the porridge, bring the bowl and chopsticks back inside, and change into a set of fitted clothes suitable for movement.

Tang Hao would secretly follow Tang San to the Spirit Hunting Forest. That meant the mountains behind Holy Soul Village were currently unguarded. He had been waiting for this day.

Zhao Ming sped eastward along the country path, heading toward Holy Soul Village.

Holy Soul Village was not far from Notting City. At Zhao Ming's pace, he arrived in roughly fifteen minutes when traveling at full speed.

He did not enter the village. Instead, he went around it and headed directly into the depths of the mountains behind it.

The mountains behind Holy Soul Village formed an undulating range. They were not particularly steep, but they were deep and secluded.

Dense primeval forest blanketed the entire mountain range. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, vines coiled through the woods, and shrubs grew thickly everywhere, making it nearly impossible to find a ready-made path.

As Zhao Ming moved through the forest, he recalled the original novel's description of the location of the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.

The original story clearly mentioned two key conditions. First, it was among the mountains. Second, it was near a water source, with a waterfall.

The condition of being among the mountains was far too broad. The entire mountain range met it.

But waterfalls were different. They required sufficient elevation and water flow, so there would not be many such places in the mountains.

He only needed to find every waterfall in the range and investigate them one by one. Then he would surely find the cave where the Blue Silver Emperor was located.

Zhao Ming climbed the tallest ancient tree and stood atop its canopy, looking into the distance.

Mountain after mountain stretched endlessly before him, their peaks layered one beyond another. A sea of emerald forest spread beneath his feet as far as the eye could see.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully searched every cliff and stream within his field of view.

Before long, he identified three directions.

To the east, a white ribbon of water could faintly be seen. There seemed to be glimmering water in the valley to the north, while to the southeast stood a cliff from which the faint sound of water could be heard.

Zhao Ming leaped down from the treetop. Midair, he activated Emerald Feather Protection, and a pale green film of light flowed over his body as he suddenly became several times lighter.

With a light tap of his toes against a tree trunk, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, swiftly weaving through the dense forest.

The first waterfall had a drop of less than thirty feet. Behind it was an intact stone wall without any caves.

The second waterfall was high enough, with a drop of more than a hundred feet, but the stone wall behind it had been polished smooth as a mirror by the water. There was no trace of a cave there either.

Zhao Ming did not lose heart and continued toward the third location.

When he pushed aside the final cluster of shrubs and saw the third waterfall, his heart stirred.

This waterfall lay within a hidden mountain hollow, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a narrow cleft through which one could enter.

More importantly, on the mountain wall behind the waterfall, he could faintly make out a pitch-black cave entrance.

He had finally found it!