Prison Dragon Lock, Immortal Herb Compendium

The Spirit Ring spun twice before suddenly contracting into a fist-sized ball of purple light that slammed into his body.

The first wisp of soul power burrowed into his meridians, and Ye Xunhuan let out a muffled groan.

Heavy.

This was completely different from absorbing the Bloodcrazed War Bear. The Bloodcrazed War Bear's bloodline attribute had been suppressed by the Behemoth, so its soul power had flowed in as smoothly as drinking water.

But the Black Jade Earth Dragon's soul power was heavy and stifling, seeping outward through the gaps in his bones as though molten lead were being poured into them.

It felt as if two blunt knives were sawing back and forth through his meridians, scorching one moment and freezing the next.

The Primordial Unity Art spun desperately, forcing the energy into his meridians.

A top-tier sub-dragon species that had cultivated for 2,700 years possessed far denser soul power.

If his meridians had not been broadened and tempered by the Bronze Behemoth Bloodline and the Primordial Unity Art, he would have exploded long ago.

Just as he stabilized his meridians, another disturbance erupted within his sea of consciousness.

A dark brown phantom peeled away from the Spirit Ring—the Black Jade Earth Dragon's resentment. As a top-tier sub-dragon species that had developed intelligence after 2,700 years, its resentment was incredibly potent.

The moment the phantom emerged in his sea of consciousness, the Behemoth lurking in the corner charged.

Its dark golden beast eyes snapped open, its pupils narrowing into slits. With a deep roar, the power of blood and vitality surged forth like a tsunami, charging straight at the dragon phantom.

The dragon phantom did not retreat. Dark brown light exploded from it as it met the attack head-on.

The two forces collided in the center of his sea of consciousness.

Ye Xunhuan could only grit his teeth and desperately circulate the Primordial Unity Art to protect the core of his sea of consciousness.

The two phantoms tore at each other like trapped beasts in a cage, dark gold and dark brown churning his sea of consciousness into a raging storm.

When the Behemoth saw Dragon Clan bloodline, its first instinct was not to devour it, but to kill it.

The dragon phantom refused to yield as well. Even in death, it would not bow its head to the Behemoth.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Behemoth shattered the gravity wave released by the dragon phantom with one swipe of its claw, then struck the dragon phantom's side with another.

The dragon phantom crashed into the edge of his sea of consciousness, splitting open with a crack. Its aura weakened considerably, but it did not fall.

The Behemoth stared at the dragon phantom, an indescribable emotion surfacing in its dark golden eyes.

The dragon phantom struggled twice more before finally going still.

The absorption of the Spirit Ring had finally reached its end.

Ye Xunhuan let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

His entire body was drenched, and his arms were trembling.

The two Spirit Rings beneath his feet had stabilized: deep yellow and pale purple.

Yue Guan crouched down and asked, "Are you all right?"

Ye Xunhuan took the waterskin Xu Qingqing handed him and gulped down two mouthfuls.

"I'm fine. It was a little difficult, but I managed it."

Yue Guan smiled. "A second ring approaching three thousand years—if you could absorb it easily, that would be strange. You really have accomplished something unprecedented, kid. Let's see your second soul skill."

Ye Xunhuan rolled his wrist. With a thought, his second Spirit Ring lit up.

"Second soul skill, Prison Dragon Lock!"

A wave spread out from him. The air within a fifty-meter radius abruptly thickened, and the scattered stones on the ground bounced once. Naturally, he had deliberately avoided Xu Qingqing and Yue Guan.

"My second soul skill is called Prison Dragon Lock, a gravity-locking soul skill. Under normal use, it creates a gravity field with a fifty-meter radius. Enemies within the field will be subjected to gravity equal to twice their own body weight."

With another thought, the gravity field rapidly changed, transforming into a straight line.

"Guided by spiritual power, the gravity field can take any shape. For example, it currently extends two hundred meters in front of me. And if I compress it, reducing the area of the gravity field, the gravity will increase proportionally."

Ye Xunhuan felt that this soul skill was somewhat like Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection—it consumed quite a bit of spiritual power.

Xu Qingqing covered her mouth in surprise. "Doesn't that make it equivalent to two soul skills? Used normally, it's a gravity domain, but when it locks onto a specific area, it's like a single-target lock."

Ye Xunhuan nodded slightly. "You could put it that way. Group battles shouldn't be a problem now, either. When the time comes, the two of us can coordinate our control. I'll just take out two of them first."

Yue Guan glanced at the sky. The sun had tilted westward, the forest had grown noticeably dimmer, and the insect chirping had become denser.

"A very good soul skill. It's getting late. Prepare to return." He cut off their conversation. "Practice coordinating properly once you get back. The Champion Selection is in one week. Don't let your teamwork become rusty by then."

Ye Xunhuan and Xu Qingqing exchanged a look and both nodded.

The three of them quickly left Martial Soul Forest.

The carriage was parked beside the post road at the forest's outskirts, and the coachman had been waiting all along.

Yue Guan boarded first, and Ye Xunhuan helped Xu Qingqing aboard after him.

Xu Qingqing had been immensely excited while hunting the Spirit Ring. She had walked so far without feeling tired, but once that excitement faded, exhaustion immediately caught up with her.

The moment she got into the carriage, her head tilted onto Ye Xunhuan's shoulder. Before two breaths had passed, her breathing had evened out.

She had fallen asleep.

Ye Xunhuan lowered his head and glanced at her.

She was an eight-year-old little girl, one of her twin ponytails had come loose, and her face was still smudged with dirt. She slept like a kitten.

He did not move, afraid of waking her.

Yue Guan sat across from them with his eyes closed, resting.

The carriage swayed along, its wheels creaking over the dirt road.

Ye Xunhuan could not sleep.

He was thinking about something.

The Immortal Herb Compendium.

Yue Guan's martial soul was the Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, itself an immortal herb.

His knowledge of immortal herbs was among the best in all of Spirit Hall. He should also possess a book that recorded the appearances, properties, and harvesting methods of various immortal herbs—the Immortal Herb Compendium.

As a transmigrator, the Icefire Yin Yang Well was a place he absolutely had to visit.

It was that old poisoner's herb garden, filled with natural treasures everywhere.

If he could get his hands on a few immortal herbs, not only would his cultivation soar, but giving them to those around him could raise the quality of their martial souls by another level.

But none of those immortal herbs were easy to handle.

Some required special absorption methods, some grew beside the Icefire springs and were extremely difficult to harvest, while others were lethally poisonous—one touch and you were done for.

If you picked them blindly without knowing their properties, forget eating them; touching one could poison you to death.

So he had to find an opportunity to borrow Yue Guan's Immortal Herb Compendium.

Ye Xunhuan pondered how to bring it up.

Ask Yue Guan directly to borrow it?

That would be too abrupt. They had only met today, and if he suddenly wanted to study a compendium of immortal herbs, Yue Guan would definitely ask why.

Say that he was interested in medicinal herbs?

That was too fake.

His martial soul had nothing whatsoever to do with herbs or plants. Why would he suddenly want to study medicinal herbs?

He considered and rejected idea after idea along the way, yet even by the time they reached the academy gates, he had not come up with a good excuse.

Forget it.

Ye Xunhuan leaned against the carriage wall and closed his eyes.

As long as he won the championship, becoming Bibi Dong's disciple would be a certainty.

By then, if he wanted something, all he needed to do was whisper a few sweet words in Bibi Dong's ear. It would be as easy as crooking a finger.

Two hours later, the carriage stopped at the academy gates.

Yue Guan got off first. He looked back at the sleeping Xu Qingqing, then at Ye Xunhuan, and smiled meaningfully.

"Prepare well for the championship match in a week. By then, someone sent by Her Holiness the Pope should come to observe."

Ye Xunhuan replied, "Understood. Thank you for your help in obtaining my second Spirit Ring, Senior."

He gently patted Xu Qingqing's shoulder. "We're at the academy. Wake up."

Xu Qingqing drowsily opened her eyes, wiped the corner of her mouth, and looked outside. "We're here?"

"We're here."

Xu Qingqing yawned, rubbed her eyes, and got out of the carriage with Ye Xunhuan.

The two bowed to Yue Guan. Yue Guan waved his hand, and the carriage drove away.

Ye Xunhuan watched the carriage disappear around the corner of the street before withdrawing his gaze.