Golden Earth Dragon

As Lu Xuan saw it, there was nothing wrong with sharing techniques and martial arts as long as they did not fall into an enemy's hands and get used against him.

He had already mastered them all. Teaching them to others would cost him nothing.

Besides, the Ye Family and Dugu Bo's family were people he trusted completely. He was willing to share treasures as precious as Immortal Herbs and pills, so why hoard a few techniques and cultivation methods?

Keep everything to himself?

There was no need.

Dugu Bo considered his words, then nodded. "Since you know what you're doing, I won't stand in your way."

After a pause, he added, "Wait until Xin'er and Qingxian have obtained their new Soul Rings. Then teach them whatever you like. If you want to teach them every secret technique you know, go ahead."

By everyone's reckoning, once Dugu Xin and Ye Qingxian absorbed their Soul Rings, both their Soul Power and combat strength would surge, placing them among the strongest experts.

With those two powerful elders protecting Lu Xuan and the other two youngsters, everyone could rest easy.

They had already settled on their next plan: once everything was in order, they would set out to seek Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings for Ye Renxin and Zhao Yan.

That journey would be dangerous and unpredictable. They could not bring three youngsters along.

Lu Xuan understood and nodded. "All right."

Night deepened, but Zhao Yan and Ye Qingxian did not return to the inn where the others were staying.

Ye Renxin had a fair idea where they had gone. Knowing the young couple rarely had time alone, he was not worried and sent no one to look for them.

Meanwhile, Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan could barely contain their excitement.

The two girls quietly took out the things they had bought that day from the strange, unscrupulous shopkeeper and hurried to show them to their elders.

Dugu Bo took the hairpin his granddaughter held out and examined it from every angle. "It's a piece of bone from a ten-year Jade Phosphorous Serpent. Your martial spirit's instincts probably drew you to it. If you like it, keep wearing it."

"So it was a Jade Phosphorous Serpent bone!" Dugu Yan sighed.

Her martial spirit had once been a Jade Phosphorous Serpent, so she felt a natural fondness for such Soul Beasts. She had not expected one to end up like this.

Still, the Soul Beast was long dead. With only a piece of bone left, there was no harm in making it into a hairpin.

When Ye Renxin examined the green metal his granddaughter had brought back, his expression grew serious. He stared at it for a long time, lost in thought.

After years of practicing medicine, he had seen countless rare treasures and metal ores, yet he had never seen anything like it.

But as his fingertips neared its smooth surface, he felt a strange resonance. His instincts told him it would benefit him greatly.

"Let me study this first," Ye Renxin said gently to Ye Lingling. "Once I know what it is and what it does, I'll return it to you."

"Okay, Grandpa." Ye Lingling nodded obediently. Back in the shop, she had chosen the metal because of an inexplicable pull she felt toward it.

Now her grandfather had felt it too. Her eyes brightened with delight. I knew I'd picked the right thing!

Having found out what they had bought, the two girls returned to their room to rest.

The night passed in a blink.

Everyone rose, washed up, and gathered for breakfast. As they ate, Zhao Yan and Ye Qingxian finally returned together after being gone all night.

Both looked perfectly at ease. The others understood without being told, and no one asked where they had spent the night.

After a quick breakfast, they packed their belongings and set off for Star Dou Forest.

They searched deep within Star Dou Forest for an entire day before finally coming across a magnificent Moonlight Spirit Deer.

A faint moonlit glow surrounded the deer, and spiritual energy radiated from it. Its cultivation had firmly reached thirty thousand years, while its gentle, pure aura made it an excellent match for a support-type martial spirit.

Ye Renxin studied the graceful deer, then turned to Ye Qingxian. "Qingxian, your original sixth Soul Ring came from an eighteen-thousand-year Moonlight Spirit Deer. A Soul Beast of the same kind will suit you best. For strengthening that ring, this is the ideal choice."

His voice remained steady. "Absorb it without worry. Once you've replaced your sixth Soul Ring and stabilized your cultivation, you might even be able to seek your seventh Soul Ring right afterward!"

"Mm."

Ye Qingxian nodded, calm as ever.

She was a gentle support-type Soul Master, more accustomed to healing others than killing.

But to strengthen herself and break through her limits, she showed no hesitation before this Moonlight Spirit Deer. She struck swiftly and without mercy.

As the black Soul Ring rose, Ye Qingxian sat down and began absorbing it.

With nothing else to do, Lu Xuan took out a dagger and cut open the Moonlight Spirit Deer.

A thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast was already of exceptional quality. Perhaps it might yield a Soul Bone.

Unfortunately, the odds were still too low. Apart from its Soul Ring, the deer yielded only a hide and a little over a hundred jin of meat.

While Ye Qingxian focused on refining her Soul Ring, Dugu Bo drew on his lifetime of experience and keen eye to find a seventh Soul Ring perfectly suited to his son Dugu Xin in the surrounding forest.

It was a sixty-three-thousand-year Golden Earth Dragon!

The Golden Earth Dragon had a massive, heavy body covered in hard, gilded scales that gleamed in the dim forest light. Its draconic might rolled outward, and its presence was overwhelming!

Its earth dragon bloodline gave it tremendous physical strength and defense. With its formidable power, it was a perfect match for Dugu Xin's attack-type martial spirit—a superb Soul Beast rarely encountered.

It might have been only sixty thousand years old, but it was as strong as, if not stronger than, many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts!

Unfortunately for it, Dugu Bo had already reached level ninety-seven. Crushed beneath his terrifying poison and Soul Power, the Golden Earth Dragon had no chance of survival!

At sixty-three thousand years old, the Golden Earth Dragon exceeded the usual age limit for a Soul Sage's seventh Soul Ring!

Most Soul Masters on the continent could not obtain even a sixty-thousand-year eighth Soul Ring. That alone showed how precious this one was.

With its pure dragon bloodline and exceptional quality, it would have been a fine ninth Soul Ring. No one would have considered that a waste.

An ordinary level-seventy Soul Sage would not have dared touch it. The force of absorbing such a powerful Soul Ring could burst their body apart and destroy their meridians in an instant.

But Dugu Xin was different!

Years ago, he had eaten the Immortal Herb Earth Dragon Golden Gourd. Since then, he had regularly taken pills refined by Lu Xuan himself, and finally, he had consumed a treasure comparable to an Immortal Pill.

His Soul Power reserves far surpassed those of Soul Masters at the same level, while his body and meridians had been tempered to extraordinary strength.

Without all those advantages, he would never have dared attempt to absorb this astonishing Golden Earth Dragon Soul Ring.

Now, facing the Golden Earth Dragon's immense aura, Dugu Xin felt no fear. Instead, fierce fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.