Only after soothing Na'er did Su Xun carefully assess the improvement Night Owl had received.
"About forty years. Not bad." Su Xun nodded to himself.
Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, killing a soul beast yielded spiritual energy equal to one-tenth of its cultivation.
That spiritual energy was divided evenly according to the number of soul rings a soul master possessed.
In other words, if a One-Ring Soul Master killed a four-hundred-year soul beast, their soul spirit would gain forty years of cultivation.
For a two-ring soul master, those forty years of spiritual energy would be divided again, leaving their soul spirits with only twenty years of additional cultivation each.
By the same logic, if a nine-ring Titled Douluo entered the Spirit Ascension Platform, killing a soul beast would improve their soul spirits by only one-ninetieth of the beast's original cultivation.
Now that Night Owl had absorbed the spiritual energy produced by the Diamond-Patterned Rattlesnake and gained around forty years of cultivation, that naturally meant the snake itself had possessed roughly four hundred years of cultivation.
Raising Night Owl to the thousand-year level won't be all that difficult! Su Xun thought.
After a brief assessment, Su Xun led Na'er deeper in.
Meanwhile, watching the entire battle from the private room, Leng Yaozhu could not help curling her lips into a smile.
During half a month of personally teaching him, she had naturally experienced the abilities of Illusory Color Net.
However, her spiritual power had already reached the spirit domain realm. No matter how much she suppressed it, the resistance that came with such advanced spiritual power, along with her own experiences and knowledge, prevented her from making an entirely accurate judgment.
The actual combat performance of Eye Desire: Illusory Colors had exceeded her expectations.
Even a soul beast with four hundred years of cultivation had been powerless to resist it.
Soul masters of equivalent strength might possess stronger mental resolve.
But likewise, human desires were far more complex.
With one side diminished and the other strengthened, Illusory Color Net might perform even better against soul masters of the same level.
"Perhaps I can use this to desensitize Na'er a little, so she won't become rooted to the spot whenever she sees food," Leng Yaozhu murmured to herself.
Inside the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.
Na'er still had no idea that Leng Yaozhu was already arranging special training for her that could only be described as a nightmare.
At that moment, she held Night Owl in her arms, happily stroking the kitty's head.
Thorn Dragon had already been recalled, but because of the contract with Na'er, the dragon could still see all of this unless Na'er forbade it.
For a moment, the shadow cast over Thorn Dragon's heart was almost larger than the dragon's own body.
Your Majesty, I'm your "own flesh and blood"!
Whoosh!
Night Owl broke free of Na'er's embrace and lightly beat those wings, working seamlessly with Su Xun to kill a Hell Spirit Cat with around five hundred years of cultivation.
After quietly digesting the spiritual energy, Night Owl's cultivation passed the five-hundred-year mark.
Su Xun had Night Owl land on his shoulder. "All right, stop playing. There'll be plenty of chances later. Let's get down to business first."
Na'er stared longingly at Night Owl, the words "If only the kitty were my soul spirit" practically written across her face.
She answered with an "Okay" and grew serious as well.
The two continued onward. Dazzling, multicolored illusory light shone constantly in Su Xun's eyes as one soul beast after another entered his perception.
Na'er released Thorn Dragon. Both Thorn Dragon and Night Owl possessed extraordinary bloodlines and considerable combat strength.
Under Su Xun's control, the two beasts worked together so well that soul beasts with equivalent cultivation rarely required either of the two humans to intervene.
The two humans and two beasts pressed deeper in, claiming the lives of more than a dozen soul beasts in just half an hour.
Of course, that count excluded ten-year soul beasts.
On average, both their soul spirits had gained around two hundred years of spiritual energy cultivation.
"From now on, don't let Thorn Dragon absorb any more spiritual energy," Su Xun instructed.
During that morning's tests, Na'er's physical constitution had not been particularly outstanding.
Seven hundred years was already close to her current limit.
Although he had not explained why, Na'er obediently gave a small nod.
The two continued onward.
After they dealt with several more soul beasts, Night Owl's cultivation reached nine hundred years, thanks to receiving all the spiritual energy.
"Su Xun, I'm tired!" Fine beads of sweat covered Na'er's forehead. She went on strike and plopped straight down onto the ground.
Su Xun felt exhausted too, and his soul power was almost depleted.
After thinking it over, he decided, "Then let's stop here. We'll have plenty of chances in the future anyway."
Raising Night Owl straight to nine hundred years on this trip had already exceeded his expectations.
Illusory Color Net simply worked remarkably well on these soul beasts with low intelligence.
Night Owl bore the title of Dark Night Hunter. Although primarily psychic-type, Night Owl's speed and the offensive power of those sharp talons and beak could not be underestimated.
With Thorn Dragon assisting as well, Su Xun had mostly needed only to dodge and control the battlefield throughout their journey.
Otherwise, with their soul power at levels thirteen or fourteen, the two could never have lasted this long.
"Watch out!" Su Xun had been about to press the exit button on the back of his left hand.
But his eyes suddenly narrowed. A pair of razor-sharp spider legs gleaming with cold light rose without warning behind Na'er, poised to stab down!
With their spiritual power and soul power heavily depleted, and their decision to leave lowering their guard, neither had noticed a soul beast sneaking up on them.
Fortunately, Su Xun spotted it at the critical moment, and dazzling, multicolored illusory light bloomed in his eyes one last time.
The Man Faced Demon Spider, which had silently descended along a strand of silk to launch its ambush, froze.
In its eyes, the delectable morsel suddenly flickered, revealing the enormous true form of a Man Faced Demon Spider!
Innate talent...
Six Roots Empathy: Contemplative Desire Subjugation!
He subdued and harnessed the Man Faced Demon Spider's desire to ascend to supreme strength. Combined with the power of Illusory Color Net, this distorted Na'er in its eyes into the transformed incarnation of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Man Faced Demon Spider!
In an instant, the delectable morsel became a great terror.
The Man Faced Demon Spider trembled, on the verge of submitting.
However, both Su Xun's spiritual power and soul power were spent. Darkness washed over his vision, and he hurriedly called in a low voice, "Na'er!"
The giant spider's sudden appearance had startled Na'er. Now, seeing Su Xun's pale face and unsteady body, she instantly grew furious.
"Not eating you was already an act of great mercy from this great king, and you, a giant spider, actually dared to try to eat me!
You're turning heaven and earth upside down!"
Na'er shouted in fury. The Silver Dragon Spear appeared, her first soul ring lit up, and she thrust her spear forward as a silver dragon roared in rage.
The illusory scene before the Man Faced Demon Spider's eyes had only just shattered. Before it could react, it saw the attack.
Pfft!
Before the Silver Dragon Spear, its hard carapace was like thin paper, easily pierced by a single thrust.
Fine spatial thorns sprouted and sank into its body, then abruptly shattered.
Boom!
The Man Faced Demon Spider's enormous body exploded outright.
Na'er panted heavily. "Turning heaven and earth upside down! Now you know how mighty this great king is!"
She wanted to seek praise from Su Xun, only to see the exploded Man Faced Demon Spider turn into a dense cloud of purple spiritual energy and fly toward her.
She instantly braced as though facing a formidable enemy. She still remembered Su Xun warning her not to absorb any more spiritual energy just a short while ago.
For a moment, she flailed in panic. "Don't come any closer~!"
Whoosh!
Light flashed, and her figure vanished instantly.
With its target gone, the purple spiritual energy could only fly toward Su Xun.
Su Xun knew his teacher had intervened. His taut nerves immediately relaxed, his vision went black, and he dropped straight into sleep.
Before that, the purple spiritual energy surged into his body. Only in the next instant did his figure disappear.
Before you continue