Silver Dragon King, Di Tian

After a year of nurturing on the fourth floor of the Pill Pagoda, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, A Bao, had successfully broken through to 4,000 years of cultivation, enough to rival a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Meanwhile, the Man Faced Demon Spider on the third floor had reached 3,500 years of cultivation and had been overtaken by A Bao.

However, even when the Man Faced Demon Spider had possessed greater cultivation, it had still been unable to defeat A Bao. Its prized spiderwebs and venomous stingers were thoroughly countered by A Bao. The webs shattered with a single swipe of those terrifying claws, while the stingers could not pierce its defenses. It could only rely on its fairly decent speed to keep its distance.

Although it was completely suppressed by A Bao, the other soul beasts in Ning Bei's Pill Pagoda truly were no match for the Man Faced Demon Spider. After all, it was one of the finest among spider-type soul beasts.

Before it had been captured, this Man Faced Demon Spider had possessed nearly 2,100 years of cultivation, making Ning Bei suspect that it might be the very demon spider that had granted Tang San the Eight Spider Lances. If Ning Bei had not lacked spirit rings and already possessed the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent External Soul Bone, he would have wanted to kill it and claim its treasure.

Moreover, once he obtained his Fifth Spirit Ring, the nurturing effects of the alchemy fragrance would likely double again. Before he obtained his Sixth Soul Ring, he might even be able to raise both soul beasts' cultivation to the Ten-Thousand-Year level.

For soul beasts with powerful bloodlines, such as the Man Faced Demon Spider and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, reaching the Ten-Thousand-Year level would bring a qualitative leap.

A month passed amid his anticipation. Ning Bei finally consolidated his unstable Soul Power and informed Ning Fengzhi that they could set off to obtain his Fifth Spirit Ring.

This soul hunting lineup could not have been stronger. When Ning Bei absorbed his Fourth Spirit Ring, he had already been able to attract soul beasts around 20,000 years old and trigger a beast tide. This time, the beast tide would only be more terrifying. To be safe, Ning Fengzhi decided to personally join the expedition. Together with the Sword and Bone Titled Douluo, the group of four headed grandly toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

After arriving at the Star Dou Great Forest, Gu Rong led Ning Fengzhi and Ning Bei farther in, while Sword Douluo set off ahead to search for a suitable soul beast. As the Sect Master, it was ultimately not good for Ning Fengzhi to remain away from the sect for too long, so they decided to speed up their search.

This time, Ning Bei needed a spirit ring close to 20,000 years old. His current physical limit was around 23,000 years, making 20,000 years a relatively safe number.

Because their soul hunting lineup was so powerful this time, Ning Bei felt none of the nervousness he had felt during his previous trips to the forest. Instead, it felt more like an outing.

Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi watched Ning Bei's relaxed expression and found it amusing. Gu Rong in particular had not joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect when he was young. Every time he went soul hunting, he had been nervous to death. How could he have been as at ease as Ning Bei?

Perhaps their luck was poor. After searching for three days, they had not found a suitable soul beast, to the point that Ning Bei wanted to take out the Pill Pagoda to attract some.

However, that was obviously not a viable idea. Even if the soul beasts came, he would have no way to absorb his spirit ring in peace. He could only put aside the thought.

Fortunately, heaven did not disappoint those who persevered. On the fourth day, Chen Xin returned to the group and told them that about a hundred kilometers away, there was a Golden Leaf Sunflower just over 20,000 years old. This plant-type soul beast possessed the power to restore Soul Power and heal injuries.

High-level Golden Leaf Sunflowers were often guarded by powerful soul beasts. To soul beasts, a Golden Leaf Sunflower meant a second life; after being injured, they could use its power to quickly recover their wounds and Soul Power.

When they arrived at the place Chen Xin had indicated, they found a two-meter-tall sunflower trembling as its leaves rustled, clearly having detected their arrival. Not far from the sunflower lay a tiger-type soul beast. The black spirit ring rising from its body showed that it had possessed Ten-Thousand-Year cultivation in life.

Sword Douluo had presumably dealt with it beforehand.

"Bei Er, just cut through the Golden Leaf Sunflower's stem. This type of soul beast has no combat ability whatsoever. It survives entirely through the help of its guardian soul beasts."

Ning Bei nodded. Although the friendship between the tiger and the flower touched him, this was the Douluo World, where the strong preyed upon the weak. If he wanted to keep growing stronger and stand at the pinnacle of Soul Masters, then he could not afford such mercy.

Murmuring an apology in his heart, Ning Bei took out a dagger and severed the Golden Leaf Sunflower's stem. A black spirit ring appeared before them.

Ning Bei summoned the Pill Pagoda, then released the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Man Faced Demon Spider. He instructed the two to guard around him before looking toward Ning Fengzhi and the others.

"Father, Grandfathers, I'll be relying on you from here on."

The three waved their hands at Ning Bei, telling him not to worry about it.

Ning Bei then sat cross-legged and began using his Soul Power to draw the spirit ring toward the fifth floor of the Pill Pagoda, beginning to absorb it.

Chen Xin, Gu Rong, and Ning Fengzhi also began watching their surroundings vigilantly, guarding against the sudden appearance of powerful soul beasts that might disturb Ning Bei.

Not long after Ning Bei began absorbing the spirit ring, deep within the Lake of Life in the Core Region of the Star Dou Great Forest, a Silver Divine Dragon suddenly opened his eyes.

"Di Tian, come see me."

Upon hearing the summons, a man with black hair, golden eyes, and a black python-patterned robe immediately arrived before the Silver Divine Dragon. He respectfully bent at the waist and offered a salute.

"My Lord, what are your orders?"

"In the inner region of the Star Dou Great Forest, there is a force that makes my heart tremble. Although it is not powerful at present, it may be able to help with the recovery of my injuries. Bring that person back to see me."

At the Silver Divine Dragon's words, Di Tian's face filled with ecstatic joy.

"My Lord, is that true? Can it truly heal your injuries?"

The Silver Divine Dragon shook his enormous head.

"I do not know yet. I merely have this feeling in the dark. Bring him back first."

"Yes."

Di Tian respectfully accepted the task, then vanished from the Lake of Life.

On the other side, Ning Bei, who was absorbing his spirit ring, knew nothing of this. Soul beasts had already surrounded him in every direction—jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, birds, and beasts of all kinds. Under the support of Ning Fengzhi's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the Sword and Bone Titled Douluo had already engaged the horde in battle.

Soul beasts with more than 30,000 years of cultivation had appeared among them. While a single 30,000-year soul beast posed no threat to the two Titled Douluo, there were simply too many of them. With a casual glance, one could see hundreds of soul beasts closing in.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Man Faced Demon Spider did not join the battle. Instead, following Ning Bei's earlier instructions, they stood guard tightly before him and Ning Fengzhi.

The two Titled Douluo mainly focused on knocking out the soul beasts. Killing them all would be far too wasteful; perhaps in the future, disciples of the sect might not even be able to find suitable spirit rings when they came to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The fierce battle continued for several hours. Amid the eager anticipation of the three, Ning Bei finally opened his eyes.

Looking joyfully toward Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and Ning Fengzhi, he saw them still fighting the soul beasts and hurriedly recalled the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Man Faced Demon Spider at his side.

"Grandfathers, Father, I'm done. Let's leave quickly."