Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow could directly raise one's cultivation, increase the age of Soul Rings, and even improve the chances of successfully condensing a Soul Core. It was a supreme treasure for ice-attributed Soul Masters and Soul Beasts alike. Even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had broken through to a million years of cultivation by devouring Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow.
As for Ice God's Crystal, it was the companion metal of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow. Possessing both extreme hardness and flexibility, it was an essential material for crafting top-tier Soul Tools.
If he could obtain these two treasures... he could try giving part of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow to Vina for cultivation, while using the remainder to make a deal with Snow Empress of the Far North.
Vina's Snow Lotus Martial Soul was also ice-attributed. The Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow should be of considerable help to her cultivation.
As for Snow Empress... her seven-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation was imminent, so she had no reason to refuse either.
As for how he could acquire the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow within Earth Dragon Sect's secret grounds...
Ye An inexplicably thought of how the Body Sect had risen to prosperity—its treasury now contained vast amounts of wealth, cultivation resources, and treasures, and most of those things... had actually been plundered under the leadership of several previous Body Sect masters.
By raiding small sects and families that had offended the Body Sect, they had gradually accumulated the fruitful, prosperous Body Sect of today.
"Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragon Sect aren't particularly far from our Body Sect, but we have had little contact with them."
Listening to the voice by his ear, Ye An nodded slightly and committed the matter of Earth Dragon Sect and the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow to memory.
The carriages of Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragon Sect stopped at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, and several figures stepped down from them. Then, a clear male voice suddenly rang out behind Ye An and Zhang Lexuan.
"So it is Your Excellency Tianlong. My apologies for failing to recognize you."
Hearing that voice, Ye An and Zhang Lexuan instinctively turned around. They saw a middle-aged man in white robes, followed by two young women who appeared to be about Zhang Lexuan's age.
One wore blue-and-white clothing and appeared gentle and elegant, while the other had long golden hair and was somewhat less beautiful than the girl in blue and white.
Ye An frowned. He had no impression of the man at all, but he did recognize the burly middle-aged man addressed as Your Excellency Tianlong.
The master of Heavenly Dragon Sect, a level-ninety-two assault-type Titled Douluo, Tianlong Douluo. During the Sun Moon Empire's invasion of the Heaven Dou Empire, Tianlong Douluo had led his disciples in assisting the city garrison's defense, ultimately dying a heroic death.
Zhang Lexuan glanced at the figures behind her without paying them much attention. Yet a single sentence from Tianlong Douluo stopped her in her tracks.
"You are... from Shrek Academy?"
Shrek Academy?!
At those words, Zhang Lexuan's body abruptly stiffened. Almost instinctively, she turned to look at the middle-aged man she had not paid much attention to before.
Ye An reached out to steady Zhang Lexuan, then turned to look as well.
The white-robed middle-aged man led the two young women behind him to Tianlong Douluo's side and exchanged pleasantries. The people from Earth Dragon Sect also descended from their carriage, and the three groups gathered together. However, the woman who had stepped down from Earth Dragon Sect's carriage clearly carried a measure of distance and wariness in her expression, unlike Tianlong Douluo's warmth and familiarity.
"Sister Lexuan, you..."
Before Ye An could finish, Zhang Lexuan gently shook her head.
Then she took a deep breath and spoke softly. "I'm fine. Xiao An, let's go. We need to hunt a Soul Ring."
As she spoke, Zhang Lexuan prepared to head deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest, but an unusual thought rose in Ye An's heart.
They had encountered people from Shrek Academy again... Should he take this chance to help Zhang Lexuan collect some interest from Shrek Academy first?
Though he did not know who the middle-aged man was, judging from his appearance, he was probably not one of the Shrek Academy elders Ye An knew. At most, he should be a teacher from the Inner Court.
If Uncle Peng and Uncle Yu acted, killing him should not be difficult. As for the two young women, he and Zhang Lexuan should be able to handle them as well.
If they died in the Star Dou Great Forest while hunting Soul Rings due to an accident, then even if Shrek Academy wanted to investigate, it would be difficult to determine who had done it. Besides, it might not even draw Shrek Academy's attention.
But when Ye An voiced this idea, Zhang Lexuan hesitated for a moment before ultimately shaking her head in refusal.
In Zhang Lexuan's view, her true enemies were the influential figure Bi Qing had mentioned, the one who was half-paralyzed, and the Shrek Academy Inspection Corps that had acted against her. Shrek Academy's students were innocent. If she killed Shrek Academy students whenever she saw them, then she would be no different from those who had destroyed the Wangyue Viscount Family.
Ye An did not quite agree with that reasoning, but he still respected Zhang Lexuan's wishes.
Of course, what truly made Ye An abandon the idea was the action of Shrek Academy's middle-aged man—he seemed to be an old acquaintance of Tianlong Douluo and was now preparing to enter the Star Dou Great Forest with the people from Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragon Sect to hunt Soul Rings.
Seeing this, Ye An could only dismiss the thought and focus on finding a suitable Soul Beast for Zhang Lexuan.
The Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest no longer posed much of a threat to the two of them. Yet the Outer Area was not entirely safe either. Even ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts occasionally appeared there, so the pair ignored the people behind them and headed toward the Mixed Area with their full attention focused ahead.
After traveling for about two hours, the surrounding trees gradually became taller and thicker. Layer upon layer of canopies blocked out the sky, allowing only scattered patches of light to spill through the gaps onto the ground. The scent of damp earth, along with some indescribable odor, drifted into their nostrils.
They had now officially entered the Mixed Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Ye An slowed his pace and spread out his spiritual power, sensing the conditions around them. Zhang Lexuan, meanwhile, tensed her body and vigilantly scanned their surroundings. At the first sign of anything unusual, she would summon her Martial Soul and fight.
Strictly speaking, this was the first time the two of them had hunted Soul Rings alone rather than relying on Du Busi and Jin Peng's help. Although Jin Peng and Yu Bo remained hidden in the shadows, silently protecting them, both Ye An and Zhang Lexuan maintained the focus they should have and did not relax in the slightest.
Hidden in the shadows, Jin Peng and Yu Bo saw how cautious Ye An and Zhang Lexuan were and secretly nodded in approval.
Before you continue