"You two can decide!"
Although the Titan Giant Ape was somewhat surprised to see Ji Yang and Xiao Wu reach this decision together, he did not mind.
If necessary, he could simply help Ji Yang and Xiao Wu catch other Soul Beasts later.
"Thank you!"
Ye Lingling looked touched as she thanked them from the bottom of her heart.
Of course she could see the care and consideration Ji Yang and Xiao Wu had shown her.
Perhaps when the Titan Giant Ape first brought her here, all she could think about was finding some way to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
But now, she too regarded the Star Dou Great Forest as home and felt reluctant to leave.
Still, there was no helping it. She really did need to go home first.
"It's nothing. We're all on the same side, so there's no need for thanks. But once you're back, be careful with your words and actions. Don't let anyone notice anything unusual, or you could attract quite a bit of trouble."
Ji Yang reminded her.
He meant not only Ye Lingling's Soul Spirit, but also her Soul Rings.
If anyone discovered that both of Ye Lingling's Soul Rings were Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, it would be strange if they did not covet her secret.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, for example.
Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, put self-interest above all else. If he learned of the abnormalities in Ye Lingling's Soul Rings, he would certainly try every possible means to uncover her secret, even resorting to vicious methods.
As for the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall, they hardly needed mentioning.
"I'll be careful!"
Ye Lingling also understood how serious the situation was.
She was even prepared not to use her Martial Soul or Soul Skills in public after returning home.
Even before her own grandfather, Ye Renxin, she would do the same unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Also, once you're home, have your grandfather help collect whale rubber. The older, the better. And while you're at it, get to know Dugu Yan, the granddaughter of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo."
"Dugu Bo has a Medicine Garden filled with immortal herbs that even he doesn't recognize. If we're lucky enough, those immortal herbs will be able to resolve the curse on your Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul."
Ji Yang explained the arrangements to Ye Lingling.
"I understand!"
Ye Lingling looked deeply moved, with a hint of excitement as well.
She had never expected the key to lifting the curse on their Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul to be in Dugu Bo's Medicine Garden.
Whether for Ji Yang or for the Ye Family, she had to befriend Dugu Yan.
By comparison, she paid little attention to the whale rubber.
Before learning what Ji Yang's Bagua Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul could do, she might have felt embarrassed by whale rubber's effects.
Now, however, she was more curious about what useful pills Ji Yang could refine from it.
But whatever effects pills refined from whale rubber might have, they certainly would not be used for carnal pleasure.
She had no doubt about that.
"Er Ming, sorry for the trouble, but please escort her out of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Ji Yang said to the Titan Giant Ape.
Another reason he had not let Ye Lingling leave a few days earlier was that neither the Sky Azure Bull Python nor the Titan Giant Ape had been around.
Without their protection, she might encounter powerful Soul Beasts along the way.
It would therefore be safer for them to escort Ye Lingling out.
"All right!"
The Titan Giant Ape nodded slightly.
Then he picked Ye Lingling up in his hand and escorted her all the way out of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Then let's get back to cultivating and try to leave the Star Dou Great Forest soon. Once we leave and reach that Medicine Garden I mentioned, you'll never have to worry about your true form being discovered again."
"Alternatively, if you reach the Soul Emperor realm or even the Soul Saint realm early while you're here, entering your mature stage and completely shedding your remaining Soul Beast aura, you'll have even less to worry about."
After the Titan Giant Ape and Ye Lingling disappeared into the distance, Ji Yang spoke to Xiao Wu beside him.
There was one thing about the Xiao Wu of the original timeline that practically begged for criticism.
Despite bearing a blood-deep vendetta and possessing the talent of innate full soul power, she showed little dedication to cultivation, preferring play and leisure instead.
As a result, her progress could only be considered middling.
Now that Xiao Wu was following him, he had to make sure he pushed her properly.
Besides, with such a powerful tool as the Bagua Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul at his disposal, he would be ashamed of himself if Xiao Wu's cultivation progressed little faster than it had in the original timeline.
"Really?!"
Xiao Wu was delighted.
Between the two options, she undoubtedly favored the former.
After all, even with Ji Yang's pills helping her, she felt that reaching the Soul Emperor realm would not be so quick.
Moreover, rather than slogging away at cultivation in the Star Dou Great Forest until she became a Soul Emperor, she wanted to leave for the human world sooner.
"You'd better cultivate properly. If you haven't reached at least the Soul King realm in three years, then even if that Medicine Garden has immortal herbs that can conceal your Soul Beast aura, I won't let you use them. I'll leave you here in the Star Dou Great Forest all by yourself."
Ji Yang said irritably.
Xiao Wu's blatantly obvious little scheme left him both annoyed and amused.
"Hehe-I'll work hard!"
Noticing Ji Yang's ominously "kind" expression, Xiao Wu immediately gave a sheepish laugh.
At the same time, she relaxed a little inside.
If it was only the Soul King realm, she might really be able to manage it.
After all, in just a month or two, she had already cultivated to nearly the level of a Quasi-Soul Grandmaster.
With Ji Yang's pills helping her, breaking through three major realms within three years did not seem all that difficult.
And so, Ji Yang and Xiao Wu began several years of "secluded" cultivation in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Time flew.
During Ji Yang and his companions' lengthy "seclusion," three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those three years, Ji Yang underwent tremendous changes.
First, his cultivation had risen straight to that of a Level 55 Soul King, an increase of a full thirty-six levels.
Second, his Soul Spirits and Soul Rings had all reached the hundred-thousand-year mark-and not just that, but the Ferocious Beast level of two hundred thousand years.
Possessing Ferocious Beast-level Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings as a Soul King made him unprecedented.
At the very least, that was true in the Douluo I era.
And since he could sustain hundred-thousand-year Soul Spirits, his spiritual power had naturally surpassed the Spirit Sea Realm, where the mind was like a sea, and reached the Spirit Abyss Realm, where the mind was like an abyss.
Moreover, he was at the peak of the Spirit Abyss Realm.
This was also the limit mortal Soul Masters could reach. Even some Level 99 Limit Douluos stopped here.
In the Douluo I era, for instance, Soul Masters rarely took the initiative to cultivate their spiritual power. Some of that era's Limit Douluos might have remained at this stage, unable to advance into the Spirit Domain Realm.
Thus, it was fair to say that his spiritual power had already reached the ceiling of the Douluo I era.
As for the other details of his Soul Spirits?
Ji Yang now had two Soul Spirits: the Radiant Sun Sacred Phoenix and the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon.
The former had naturally evolved from his original Phoenix Bird Soul Spirit.
After he absorbed a Soul Blood Pill refined from a ten-thousand-year Fire Luan Soul Beast three years earlier, his Phoenix Bird Soul Spirit evolved into a Fire Luan Soul Spirit.
Afterward, he absorbed several more Soul Blood Pills refined from Soul Beasts with stronger Phoenix bloodlines, eventually producing his current pure-blooded Radiant Sun Sacred Phoenix Soul Spirit.
The Phoenix Bird Soul Spirit's Flame of Life Soul Skill had consequently evolved directly into true Phoenix Sacred Fire.
As for the latter, the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon Soul Spirit, its origins were quite simple.
It was created from a seventy-thousand-year Flame Tyrannosaurus, a type of lesser dragon that nevertheless possessed a rich True Dragon bloodline.
Ultimately, through the enhancement of the Bagua Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul, it became a pure-blooded Crimson Flame Fire Dragon.
This also spared Ji Yang the considerable time and effort he would otherwise have needed to evolve the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon Soul Spirit.
That said, he felt the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon still had room to advance further.
If the Fire Dragon King's remains within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well still contained his bloodline, the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon might one day evolve further into a "Fire Dragon King."
Before you continue