Old Dragon Ravine

Early the next morning, the Jiang Family father and son set out again.

They still traveled by carriage, with Middle-aged Old Li driving. After leaving Shrek City, they followed the main road south, first entering the Star Luo Empire.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Ming explained the arrangements for their trip to his son.

"Once we enter the Star Luo Empire, we'll travel east more or less along the southern boundary of the Star Dou Great Forest, heading for the northeastern frontier where the Star Luo Empire borders the Dou Ling Empire.

"There's a branch range extending out of the Star Dou Great Forest there, called the Heavenstar Mountain Range. It's thick with vegetation, with Ten-Year Soul Beasts occasionally roaming its forests. Uninhabited and desolate, it forms a natural barrier between the two countries.

"That area should give you plenty of room to play around without drawing attention.

"Also, the academy recently received word that an Evil Soul Master at the Soul Ancestor level has hidden in the Heavenstar Mountain Range and intends to establish his lair there. We'll see if we run into him this time. I'll cripple him, and you can deliver the finishing blow."

Jiang Dongjun had initially thought his father had chosen an excellent location, but the more he listened, the more wrong it sounded.

Something was off.

"An Evil Soul Master? A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor? A lair?"

Jiang Dongjun immediately shot him a suspicious look.

Old man, this is a fresh account. Don't mess around.

"Dad, you're only a fairly unremarkable high-level Soul King. Evil Soul Masters are notorious for their ferocious combat strength. Can you really handle him?"

"If the two of us crash and burn, that'll be a real joke. Any other time, crashing and burning would just be embarrassing. Against an Evil Soul Master, we'd both lose our lives."

A four-ring evil Soul Ancestor was certainly tempting.

Killing him might let Jiang Dongjun buy two "miniature stars" outright, but... there was a cautionary tale from before-no, from afterward!

As a fire-attribute Soul Master, Jiang Ming's temper naturally felt its influence. He immediately bristled and glared.

"What kind of crap is that? Your dad isn't just a five-ring Soul Master. I'm also a Level 5 Soul Engineer! I've brought every Soul Tool that makes up my complete combat system. Fully armed, there's no way I'll let some puny evil Soul Ancestor run wild in front of me!"

"You'd better live up to that. Your son has the makings of a Titled Douluo. Don't screw me over."

Jiang Ming: "..."

Their carriage was pulled by a Ten-Year Soul Beast, a Hornscale Horse, and had itself been modified into a Soul Tool, sturdy and able to take a beating. On the level main road, it practically flew.

But their route crossed nearly half the Star Luo Empire, and it took a full four and a half days to reach the outskirts of the Heavenstar Mountain Range.

"Old Li, this is far enough.

"Don't stay here waiting for us. An Evil Soul Master might stumble across you and kill you in passing. Don't head back alone, either. I'm worried some blind fool of a noble might seize my Hornscale Horse."

"Travel a little over forty li southwest, and you'll reach Golden Stone City beside a large lake. Once you're inside, find the Golden Stone Trade Association in the eastern part of the city and give them the name of our Soul Tool Workshop. They send a caravan to Shrek City every month. Travel with their caravan; it'll be safer."

The middle-aged coachman listened attentively.

After seeing that Jiang Ming had no further instructions, he paused briefly before answering.

"I'll remember that, boss."

Then he bowed and offered his well wishes.

"May everything go smoothly for you and the young master, and may you return safe and victorious!"

With that, the middle-aged coachman drove away without hesitation.

Gazing at the vast, wild Heavenstar Mountain Range in the distance, Jiang Ming did not immediately take Jiang Dongjun into the mountains. Instead, he left the main road and found a shady spot beneath a tree.

"Dongjun, I'll guard you. Send your Yin Spirit on a Yin Spirit Excursion and see which part of the Heavenstar Mountain Range has an evil aura. We'll avoid it for now when we move out."

"If anything unexpected happens here, I'll fire a signal flare immediately. If you see fireworks burst high in the sky, come straight back."

A Yin Spirit Excursion was dangerous. Someone had to stand guard over the body left without its soul.

Otherwise, someone could approach Jiang Dongjun while he was defenseless and destroy his body. With nowhere for his Yin Spirit to return, he would be in serious trouble.

Jiang Dongjun reckoned that even in such circumstances, he would not die outright, but this life would come to a premature end. He would have to immediately find an unborn child to reincarnate into and begin his third life.

Besides, a rushed reincarnation would surely carry all sorts of unknown risks.

Jiang Dongjun sat cross-legged beneath the tree. He did not use his newly born Yin Spirit Martial Soul, because even its phantom form was too conspicuous for reconnaissance.

Thirty-nine thoughts rose out of his body, stirring up an eerie, chilling wind as they swept away.

That was right: thirty-nine thoughts.

His total spiritual power had risen another notch!

After all, he had not watched that battle among the gods for nothing. Even with the blurry image quality, it had tempered his spirit.

A Yin Spirit Excursion was astonishingly fast. He had every hope of accomplishing the miracle described in the myths of his previous life: "Roaming the Northern Sea at dawn, reaching Cangwu by dusk."

Just over two hours later.

A chilling wind swept into the shade beneath the tree, and thoughts as clear and sparkling as diamonds descended from the air.

His Yin Spirit returned to his body, and the cross-legged Jiang Dongjun opened his eyes.

"Dongjun, did you discover anything?"

Jiang Ming promptly handed him a finely made map of the Heavenstar Mountain Range.

Jiang Dongjun took it, unfolded it, and examined it briefly before his gaze settled on its upper-left corner.

"Dad, here. Old Dragon Ravine!"

Jiang Dongjun described what he had found.

"The evil aura inside is dense. It's almost staining the mountain mist a murky yellow, and a pungent corpse stench shoots straight into the sky. If we leave it alone, the spring water flowing out of the ravine will become polluted. Any ordinary person downstream who drinks even a mouthful definitely won't enjoy it."

"That evil Soul Ancestor must have set something up there. As for whether it's a deliberate decoy, or whether he's there right now, I can't be certain. I didn't dare enter Old Dragon Ravine. I only circled overhead for a while. I was afraid he might have sinister spiritual methods that could harm my Yin Spirit."

Jiang Ming studied the map, calculating the distance.

At the same time, he nodded slightly, approving of his son's caution.

"Very good. Keep that up. When facing an Evil Soul Master, you can never be too vigilant."

After praising him, Jiang Ming brought the conversation back to Old Dragon Ravine.

"Old Dragon Ravine has treacherous terrain and sheer cliffs. The river inside its gorge is swift and winding. It isn't somewhere ordinary people can reach.

"It used to be called 'Ghost Gate Ravine.'

"Over a thousand years ago, a Titled Douluo with a lesser dragon Martial Soul lived in seclusion deep in the ravine, so it was renamed 'Old Dragon Ravine.'

"During his seclusion, he carved a broad walkway into the cliff face leading deep into the ravine. After he died, it became very popular among lesser dragon Soul Masters for a time, turning into a major attraction.

"I imagine that evil Soul Ancestor has entrenched himself on the walkway.

"Old Dragon Ravine is in the northeastern corner of the Heavenstar Mountain Range, while we're roughly at its southwestern corner. The two places are over two hundred li apart. Even if we make a little noise here, he probably won't notice it over there.

"There's a stream valley a little over five li northwest of here. How about testing your theory about the 'Golden Disc' there?"

Jiang Ming asked for Jiang Dongjun's opinion.

"Sure, Dad. Let's do it your way."

Jiang Ming nodded and continued, "After your experiment, we'll keep heading northwest into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for your first soul ring. Then we'll come back and deal with Old Dragon Ravine. We can't let him keep running rampant and endangering the ordinary people living downstream."

With their plan settled, father and son set off into the Heavenstar Mountain Range.

A distance of five li, still within the outskirts of the Heavenstar Mountain Range, was hardly far for Soul Masters.

Even Huo Yuhao at level 20 could travel eight hundred li in a day.

The stream valley.

It was lush and secluded, the air rich with moisture. Streams cascaded from above, weaving a loose curtain of small waterfalls.

As soon as Jiang Ming entered the valley, he got to work. He located several commanding positions and took to the air with his Flying Soul Tool, placing Level 5 Fixed-Installation Soul Cannons at each one, with a Gatling-like Soul Tool Gun Firearm beside them.

Feed in soul power and pull the trigger, and it would unleash a frenzied storm of metal.

The idea had come from Jiang Dongjun.

Jiang Ming had never shown anyone the finished weapons. They were a little trump card for the Jiang Family.

There was no need to put the Soul Tools of Douluo II on such a high pedestal. Apart from certain fantastical effects, conventional Soul Tools could not compare with the firearms of Jiang Dongjun's previous life.

For example-

Soul Guidance Rays, a very common type of Soul Tool, only reached a range of one hundred meters at level 4 or above.

That was right. A mere one hundred meters.

Buddy, are you looking for laser weapons?

Fixed-Installation Soul Cannons were another extremely common type of Soul Tool. Level 4 had a firing range of two kilometers, level 5 five kilometers, and level 6 over eight kilometers...

Buddy, are you looking for a Dongfeng-5C?

Jiang Ming bustled about, intent on turning the stream valley into a defensive fortification sealed tight enough that not even the wind could get through.

Although he had always kept these new Soul Tools under wraps and had never tested them in actual combat, Jiang Ming reckoned he could bombard a Power Attack System Soul Saint to death if he unleashed their full firepower.

A short while later.

Jiang Ming landed back in the valley, switched off his Flying Soul Tool, and looked toward the figure sitting with his back to him on a rock beside the stream.

"Dongjun, everything's ready. You can begin. Do you need me to step away first?"

"No need to step away. Hmm... Dad, you'd better keep your distance from me, though. It'll be safer."

Hearing that, Jiang Ming activated his Flying Soul Tool again and flew to a distant clifftop.

Jiang Dongjun held the "Golden Disc" in his left hand and a small, uncorked metal bottle in his right.

Above his head, his Yin Spirit emerged, concealing the "Light of Time and Space" so that it merely looked as though a hazy, clear radiance was spreading from the Yin Spirit's brain.

The clear radiance fell upon the "Golden Disc," tracing back to ancient memories, and the phantoms of three blazing "miniature stars" rose.

Ten drops of soul liquid flew out of the small metal bottle and landed on one of them.

Boom-