"After all, my Martial Soul is an external dragon-type Martial Soul. It's perfectly normal for the Soul Rings I absorb to be a little outrageous."
Long Qianming smiled with a hint of embarrassment.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo let out a long sigh.
"Alas! With such stringent requirements, finding a suitable Soul Beast will probably be very difficult! If we truly can't find one, I can only accompany you across the Frozen Forest to the rarely visited Far North Snow Plains."
The two chatted along the way, discussing some specific details of Soul Hunting, until a month had passed.
After passing through Skywater City and traveling another hundred-odd kilometers, Long Qianming and Dugu Bo finally reached the outskirts of the Frozen Forest.
Though it was April, the land remained clad in silver and white. A thick, snowy coat draped the forest, and the surrounding temperature was already close to freezing.
As night fell, Long Qianming and Dugu Bo put on their mink-fur coats, left the tavern where they were staying in Soul Hunting Town, and headed into the forest.
"Kid, this Frozen Forest is close to the Far North Snow Plains. Since we haven't yet reached the middle of the year, its nights will only grow shorter, greatly reducing the time we have to search for dark-attribute Soul Beasts."
"To make the search easier, we'll prioritize flying Soul Beasts with lesser dragon bloodlines, then consider their specific attributes."
"All right!"
Long Qianming had no objection to Dugu Bo's suggestion. After all, he had never visited the Frozen Forest, and his knowledge of the Soul Beasts living there came only from Dugu Bo's brief explanations during their journey.
The two made their way deeper into the forest, releasing their spiritual power to probe the presence of every Soul Beast they encountered, especially flying avian Soul Beasts.
Unfortunately, even with the spiritual probing of a Soul Saint and someone whose spiritual power rivaled a Soul Ancestor's, they found no trace of lesser dragon avian Soul Beasts during the first night's eight-hour search. During the day, they also explored caves as black as curtains, their depths impossible to fathom.
After ten days of continuous exploration, the two finally gained a lead.
"Senior, I paid a hefty sum to ask the most renowned local Soul Hunting team. Apparently, a Snow Moon Dragon Eagle that would suit me very well lives at Zither Ice Cliff up ahead."
"A Soul Hunting team? Very well, let's take a look!"
Dugu Bo felt quite helpless. They had been in the Frozen Forest for ten days, and although they had found one or two lesser dragon Soul Beasts, none had possessed the dark attribute. They had all been ice-attribute beasts.
Although information from local Soul Hunting teams carried a certain credibility, they were unlikely to share information about rare lesser dragon Soul Beasts with other Soul Masters, no matter how much money was offered.
Still, there were exceptions to everything, and the two had no better options now. If they truly could not find that Snow Moon Dragon Eagle, he would have no choice but to take Long Qianming to the Far North Ice Plains in the northernmost reaches.
Long Qianming traveled quickly, reaching the foot of a hundred-meter-tall ice cliff near the center of the Frozen Forest in less than two hours.
Looking around, he saw fragments of ice and bloodstained snow occasionally falling from the cliff, producing zither-like notes as they fell. There were also plenty of signs of Mirror Shadow Beasts roaming nearby.
Long Qianming swept his immense spiritual power toward Zither Ice Cliff, three hundred meters away, and spotted a deep, dark cave halfway up its face.
"Senior, the cave is over there. The Snow Moon Dragon Eagle should be inside!"
"Kid, we're already near the center of the Frozen Forest. Most adult Soul Beasts living here are over ten thousand years old. Once we enter the cave, you must stay behind me to avoid unnecessary danger."
After giving this warning, Dugu Bo immediately picked Long Qianming up. With his Soul Saint strength, he took a few running steps, then leaped onto a platform of thick, solid ice on the cliff face.
The moment the two landed firmly, a deafening cry that shook the soul rang out from within the cave.
Immediately afterward, two pairs of crescent-shaped blue eyes suddenly appeared in the dark cave, staring fixedly at Long Qianming and Dugu Bo.
Long Qianming swiftly tightened his grip on his spear and adopted a defensive stance. Though fear showed on Dugu Bo's face, he still strode forward to shield Long Qianming.
"Kid, we'll have to be careful this time. Of the two Snow Moon Dragon Eagles inside, one is nearing forty thousand years of cultivation, while the other has only just passed ten thousand. There's also a third Snow Moon Dragon Eagle deeper inside."
"They're protecting their young child. Three whole Snow Moon Dragon Eagles-no wonder the Soul Hunting team that gave you the information didn't dare covet them!"
Dugu Bo had not expected three Snow Moon Dragon Eagles either, especially that male dragon eagle nearing forty thousand years of cultivation.
Thanks to the strength of its bloodline, its true strength would far surpass Soul Beasts of the same age, reaching the level of a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, equivalent to a human Soul Saint.
"Kid, let's retreat before they attack. If I were alone, capturing that roughly five-thousand-year-old Soul Beast at the very back would still be easy."
Watching the ferocious Snow Moon Dragon Eagles, Dugu Bo offered this heartfelt warning.
"All right..."
Before Long Qianming could say another word, the Snow Moon Dragon Eagles inside seemed to understand what the humans had said. The forty-thousand-year-old Snow Moon Dragon Eagle let out an explosive cry, and the icicles hanging from the cave ceiling came crashing down.
The male Snow Moon Dragon Eagle spread its wings and hurtled out of the cave, its foreclaws already thrust forward, ready to tear open Dugu Bo's chest.
"Kid, dodge!"
Dugu Bo swiftly turned sideways, while Long Qianming leaped up and landed on an ice platform farther away.
Now airborne beneath the sunlight, which was not particularly dazzling, the Snow Moon Dragon Eagle spread its pitch-black, feathered wings to a span of ten meters. Yet a thin layer of black scales covered its body, strengthening its defenses while maintaining its flying speed.
High in the sky, the Snow Moon Dragon Eagle abruptly changed direction and dove at Dugu Bo below. Suddenly, with a whoosh,
the Snow Moon Dragon Eagle vanished into thin air, leaving only a wisp of black mist.
"This Snow Moon Dragon Eagle has an extremely powerful concealment ability. Senior, watch your left!"
Long Qianming could distinctly sense the dark presence moving rapidly through the air, and swiftly called out a warning.
At this, Dugu Bo immediately retreated and bent backward, avoiding the Blood Moon Dragon Eagle's claw strike and slicing wings, before swiftly unleashing his fourth Soul Skill.
"Jade Phosphorous Poison Array."
In an instant, a vast cloud of green poisonous mist sprayed from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's mouth, rapidly spreading beneath the fierce, cold wind. Some of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison blew through the entrance into the cave.
The female dragon eagle, which had remained on guard inside, saw the poisonous mist approaching. To protect her child, she rapidly beat her wings, sending a fierce, powerful gust that swept the incoming poison back out of the cave.
The male dragon eagle hovering in midair particularly hated this act of releasing poison. Its eagle eyes fixed viciously on Dugu Bo,
ready to launch another fatal strike at any moment.