"Poison immunity is great! At least my third soul skill didn't cause any irreversible effects!"
Dugu Xin had long since come to terms with this. Poison immunity might have been a special resistance Long Qianming had gained from consuming those two poisonous herbs. Besides, he was a physician, and poison immunity would greatly benefit his future herb gathering, medicine making, and other work.
However, just as they were preparing to rest and eat something, Dugu Bo returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with a Poison Domain Dragon Python over his shoulder. As he set it down heavily,
Dugu Bo noticed that scattered rocks littered the area around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, leaving it completely different from when he had departed. Seeing the three of them drenched in sweat, he realized something and felt somewhat resentful.
"What have you children been doing while I was away? Such a wondrous treasure land, and you nearly wrecked my medicinal garden!"
Suddenly, he changed tack and asked softly,
"Xin'er, who won your match? Was it you?"
Dugu Xin said nothing, merely shaking his head repeatedly. This left Dugu Bo even more puzzled.
"Even your Martial Soul Fusion Skill couldn't defeat a Quasi-Soul Elder with only two rings?"
Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er had only managed to achieve such a harmonious Martial Soul Fusion Skill within three days under Dugu Bo's guidance, and that was with both of them possessing excellent talent and extremely compatible martial souls.
With their current strength, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill they unleashed should at least have been able to defeat a high-level Soul Ancestor. Yet they had failed to beat an External Martial Soul Master with only two rings.
After all, an External Martial Soul Master's greatest weakness was the Soul Master himself, an opening that was very easy to discover.
"Dad, Brother Ming's External Martial Soul is a Dark Sacred Dragon. Even if it's only a young dragon in its infancy, its body's toughness is beyond what we can overcome, let alone when it uses Soul Ring skills."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo stopped asking questions, lest this incident leave Dugu Xin with a psychological shadow. He cheerfully pointed at the Poison Domain Dragon Python lying on the ground, over eight meters long.
"This lesser dragon, a Poison Domain Dragon Python with both poison and earth attributes, is a Soul Beast your old man went to great lengths to find. Its cultivation is already approaching six thousand years, putting it right within the age range that young Qianming mentioned for absorbing a Soul Ring beyond your level."
"All right, Dad!"
After steadying the breath within his body, Dugu Xin began absorbing the Soul Ring on the spot, while Su Qing'er quietly kept watch beside him. Meanwhile, Dugu Bo pulled Long Qianming into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to identify some of the supreme-grade medicinal herbs that had yet to be picked.
Meanwhile, at the border between the two great empires
The incomparably magnificent Spirit Hall stood atop Martial Soul Mountain in the very center of Spirit City. The entire Spirit Hall towered into the clouds, seeming, at a glance, to embrace the whole world.
At that moment, inside the Pope's Palace, which symbolized the highest authority within Spirit Hall, a handsome man with a somewhat sinister look sat upon the papal throne, wearing a golden crown and a gold-armored battle robe.
Holding the Pope's Sword, the symbol of papal authority, Qian Xunji looked coldly down at Ling Yuan.
"Ling Yuan, did Bibi Dong gain anything from her travels this time?"
"Your Holiness, every place Dong'er visited during her travels across the continent, along with the people and events she encountered, has been recorded. Please take a look."
Qian Xunji caught the golden booklet that flew toward him and carefully read its contents. He was very satisfied with the vast majority of the earlier events and had little inclination to find fault.
When he reached the final stop, Gengxin City, his expression shifted slightly, and his gaze fixed on two entries.
"Why did Bibi Dong stay at a small clinic to study medicine? This was a complete waste of time. How were you watching over her?"
"And is her Soul Ring something she can acquire so casually?"
At his words, Ling Yuan trembled on the floor, cold sweat pouring off her. She explained in detail,
"A divine physician of considerable skill appeared in Gengxin City in recent years, and he has a close relationship with Lou Gao of the Blacksmith Association."
"Your Holiness sent Dong'er to Gengxin City to find an opening into the Blacksmith Association. This man was a good choice."
"As for Dong'er's fourth Soul Ring, it came from a Seven Poison Demon Spider with roughly five thousand years of cultivation. That divine physician also helped her acquire it. I did not intervene."
Ling Yuan then recounted all the information she had uncovered about Long Qianming.
Although Qian Xunji was somewhat dissatisfied with Long Qianming after hearing this, fortunately, the man was extremely mindful of boundaries and knew what he should and should not do.
"Ling Yuan, you may withdraw!"
"Yes."
Shortly afterward, a white-robed bishop of a Spirit Hall Main Hall entered the Pope's Palace. Qian Xunji spoke in the same cold voice,
"Salas, how far has the plan progressed? How much longer until all the arrangements are complete?"
"Your Holiness, the arrangements will be complete in three years at most!"
Salas replied with utmost respect.
Qian Xunji's fingers kept tapping against the papal throne, while the tip of the Pope's Sword repeatedly struck the floor, producing crisp echoes.
"Three years. Three years, indeed."
Qian Xunji abruptly rose, frightening Salas below into dropping straight to his knees, terrified that his arrangements had displeased Qian Xunji.
"Three years? As far as I know, the Continental Advanced Elite Soul Master Tournament will be hosted by our Spirit City in three years. That would be an excellent opportunity!"
Qian Xunji then cast a sideways glance at Salas, fixing him firmly with a cold, ruthless stare.
"Salas, put the plan into action ahead of schedule."
"And keep an eye on this man. He will be an important bargaining chip in our Spirit Hall's absorption of the Blacksmith Association."
Qian Xunji handed the compiled information on Long Qianming to Salas, feeling an unprecedented excitement.
"The Soul Master World doesn't need so many sects, and our Spirit Hall has even less need for disobedient Soul Masters, especially that Clear Sky Sect!"
"As you command, Your Holiness."
Early the next morning, after Dugu Xin absorbed his fourth Soul Ring, he and Su Qing'er stayed at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, continuing to cultivate using the pure energy it released.
Dugu Bo took Long Qianming north, crossing the Heaven Dou Plain toward the Frozen Forest. As they traveled, he asked in puzzlement,
"Boy, the Soul Beasts in the Frozen Forest are mainly ice-attribute beasts. The Soul Ring you get won't have anything to do with your Dark Sacred Dragon, will it?"
"No, Senior. In principle, my third Soul Ring requires hunting a Soul Beast with darkness as its primary attribute and water as its secondary attribute. But the ocean is too dangerous, and flying Soul Beasts there with both the darkness attribute and lesser dragon bloodlines are extremely rare."
"That's why we can only go to the Frozen Forest and look for an ice-attribute Soul Beast, since ice is close to water. Our chances of finding one will be much higher!"
Long Qianming had never been to the ocean, nor had he had much contact with Sea Soul Beasts. To hunt Soul Beasts in the ocean, land-based Soul Masters like them would first have to adapt to the marine environment.
Going through all that would be not only dangerous but also troublesome.
Hearing this, Dugu Bo also exclaimed in surprise,
"Such demanding Soul Hunting requirements! Darkness attribute, ice attribute, a lesser dragon, and a Soul Beast that can fly, too!"