He spent two days in the Blue Silver Forest.
First, he familiarized himself with the Blue Silver King's abilities. Second, he refined the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew to enhance his spiritual power.
While he was at it, he took Xiao Wu out of the Ruyi Treasure Sack to let her get some air, then gave her something to eat so she would not starve to death while remaining unconscious.
"Even if I starve to death, I won't eat your food!"
"I, Sister Xiao Wu, always keep my word!"
"Ahh~ So delicious~ These are the best carrots I've ever eaten!"
On the third day, he poisoned Xiao Wu unconscious again and put her back into the Ruyi Treasure Sack. He replanted the Blue Silver Emperor into its flowerpot, brought along the Blue Silver King's seeds, and finally headed north!
Dugu Lin flew alone through the air using a Spirit Bone Skill. The farther north he went, the colder the air became.
"Grandpa, the Icebound Forest is only a little over a thousand kilometers from the Far North. Should we take a detour and visit the Far North this time? We could see the strength of the Three Kings of the Far North for ourselves."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo shot his grandson an annoyed glance and said irritably, "Go by yourself if you want. Your grandpa here still wants to live a few more years."
Dugu Bo already knew about the Three Kings of the Far North.
Dugu Lin had even told him about the rankings of the Top Ten Ferocious Beasts!
First place: Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King!
Second place: the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King!
Third place: Snow Empress, the Heavenly Snow Woman.
Fourth through tenth place were, respectively: Bi Ji, Myriad Demon King, Bear Lord, Ice Empress, Scarlet King, Zi Ji, and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!
Snow Empress, one of the Three Kings of the Far North, was the Heavenly Snow Woman ranked third among the Top Ten Ferocious Beasts. Her strength rivaled that of a demigod!
Dugu Bo was confident that in a few more years, he could directly contend with the level 98 Golden Crocodile Douluo. But against a demigod-level Heavenly Snow Woman... he truly had no confidence.
"Haha~~"
Dugu Lin smiled. "By the way, Grandpa, I want to hunt the Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King myself this time!"
"By yourself? Can you handle it?"
"I should be able to... Anyway, you'll cover for me if things go wrong, Grandpa."
"Fine! You have the Blue Silver King Martial Soul and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone, so you don't need to worry about your life being in danger! It will be a good chance for the Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King to teach you a proper lesson!"
"Uh... Do you just want to watch me get beaten up by a Soul Beast?"
Dugu Bo fell into serious thought. After a long while, he nodded. "Now that you mention it! I've paved the way for you all along, and everything has gone far too smoothly! Your combat experience is also lacking! In the future, crises will come one after another, the situation on the continent is unclear, and gods will descend as well! If you don't suffer a little sooner, it may be detrimental to your future growth!"
"Uh... Stop making it sound so grand. You just want to watch me get beaten up! Hehe~ I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you! It's just a thirty-thousand-year Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King. I can handle it!"
Under normal circumstances, the age limit for a fourth ring was only five thousand years.
However, Dugu Lin had been strengthened by countless amounts of Whale Rubber and Ice-Fire Body Tempering. His current physical strength could withstand more than fifteen thousand years!
Coupled with the pressure-sharing of his External Spirit, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, his limit for absorbing a Soul Ring could double. More than thirty thousand years would not be a problem!
"Don't be arrogant! And don't underestimate any Soul Beast! What's more, the Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King is an outstanding specimen among serpents! Even a Power Attack System Combat Spirit Saint might not be its match! At least two Combat Spirit Saints would be needed to have confidence!"
Dugu Lin smiled. "Grandpa, let's make a bet! We'll bet on whether I can hunt the Soul Ring on my own!"
"Confidence is a good thing, but don't be arrogant! So... what's the wager?"
Dugu Lin thought seriously for a while, then said, "Grandpa, if you lose, go back and give my sister a beating!"
Dugu Bo: "..."
"I'll beat you up first, you brat!"
The grandfather and grandson were not lonely as they traveled.
They headed north for more than 3,700 kilometers. After a full two days, they finally arrived at their destination: the Icebound Forest.
"Little Lin, come out and get some air."
After landing atop a mountain peak, Dugu Lin summoned the Jade Phosphorous Serpent.
"Hiss hiss~~"
The five-meter-long Jade Phosphorous Serpent had barely emerged when it felt a cold wind rush over it. It looked at Dugu Lin in displeasure.
"What? You don't like this kind of environment?"
"Hiss hiss~~"
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent voiced its displeasure.
Seeing this, Dugu Lin pondered inwardly and muttered, "It seems you really are so sleepy because of the Ultimate Ice attribute! In common terms... hibernation!"
Dugu Bo stared at the Jade Phosphorous Serpent in thought for a long time, then frowned. "That isn't right, Lin'er. Shouldn't you and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent be immune to ice and fire? Why doesn't Little Lin like the Icebound Forest? And why would it hibernate?"
"What's strange about that? Snakes are cold-blooded animals. Their instinct to hibernate during winter cannot be changed. It has nothing to do with immunity to ice and fire."
"I see. All right."
Getting back to the point, Dugu Lin said, "Grandpa, I suspect Little Lin's drowsiness is caused by an imbalance in the Soul Power attributes inside its body—in other words, a serpent's hibernation!"
"An imbalance in Soul Power attributes?"
"Little Lin only has two Soul Power attributes in its body. Its Ultimate Ice attribute is far too powerful! Its other poison attribute cannot contend with the Ultimate Ice attribute, which causes an imbalance in its Soul Power attributes and makes Little Lin hibernate!"
Dugu Bo frowned upon hearing this and asked, "If that's the case, Lin'er, why do you still want to hunt a Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King Soul Ring for Little Lin?"
Dugu Lin shrugged. "Hibernation is only my guess. What if I'm wrong? Maybe it isn't hibernating after all?"
"That makes some sense! Then what if you're right? What do you plan to do afterward?"
Dugu Lin smiled. "First, I'll use a thirty-thousand-year Heavenly Mountain Ice Serpent King as an experiment. If I'm right, then for the next part of the plan, I intend to find a snake-type Soul Beast with fire and poison attributes for the fifth spirit ring! Grandpa, do you remember the Hell Crimson Spirit Python that was over eighty thousand years old, the one you mentioned when we went to Ten Thousand Snake Valley? It would be very suitable as my Soul Ring!"
"The Hell Crimson Spirit Python?"
Dugu Bo was startled. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Isn't the Hell Crimson Spirit Python's age... a little too high? Even with your physical strength combined with Little Lin's... fifty thousand years should be the limit!"
"Then I'll use it as the Sixth Spirit Ring. Wouldn't that be perfect?"
Dugu Bo nodded. It was good that his grandson was not acting recklessly.
"Shriek~"
Just as the two discussed which Soul Beast to choose for the fifth spirit ring, the cry of a flying creature came from about a li away.
"Grandpa, let's go see what Soul Beast it is."
"Fine! You lead the way, and Grandpa will watch your back."
Dugu Bo trailed far behind Dugu Lin and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, wanting to properly temper his grandson.
Before long, after passing through a coniferous forest, Dugu Lin saw a young girl in the distance fighting an Ice Jade Falcon.
Dugu Lin said in surprise, "An Ice Phoenix Martial Soul! Could that be Shui Bing'er? My little wife?"
Before you continue