Entering Sunset Forest this time was much easier than last time. After all, Yang Zhentian was already a Soul Douluo, and Yang Podi's Soul Power had also increased considerably.
Still, no matter what, they had to be especially careful in a Soul Beast forest, particularly a large one like Sunset Forest.
The two spent a full seven days roaming the central region of Sunset Forest without finding any particularly good Soul Beasts. Either their ages were unsuitable, or they were too weak for either of them to take an interest. The most suitable one was an Ironclad Bear Soul Beast over two thousand years old, but Yang Podi felt its age was a little too low.
As for the Iron-Feathered Tiger Eagle Yang Podi had been longing for, they had not seen so much as a shadow of one. They had barely even seen any ordinary eagles.
That evening, Yang Podi, who was growing a little impatient, could not help speaking up. "Dad, finding a suitable Soul Beast is pretty difficult. Why don't we take a look in Star Dou Great Forest? I hear there are more Soul Beasts there."
"You silly boy, Sunset Forest has plenty of Soul Beasts. We've actually found quite a few good ones these past few days. You simply weren't interested. Take that Ghost Tiger over three thousand years old we just encountered. For many people, it would be top-notch even as a fourth Soul Ring, yet here you are turning up your nose at it."
"But there really haven't been any particularly good ones. If it were a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear over three thousand years old, I'd use it."
"A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, no less! Have you ever seen a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? Even your dad has never seen one, so stop letting your imagination run wild."
"If there aren't any Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears, a Titan Giant Ape would do too."
Hearing that, Yang Zhentian was speechless for a moment. "Silly boy, do you know what level of Soul Beast a Titan Giant Ape is? Legend has it that even a ten-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape can fight a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. That counts as a legendary Soul Beast too."
"As far as I remember, it seems Tang Hao is the only one with a Soul Ring from a Titan Giant Ape. Other people probably haven't even seen one."
"I remember the legends saying there's a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape in Star Dou Great Forest. Why hasn't anyone hunted it?"
"Son, do you know how strong that Titan Giant Ape is? Ordinary Titled Douluos are no match for him. It would probably take a rank 96 Titled Douluo to defeat him, and even then, they'd have to put their life on the line. In Star Dou Great Forest, even a Titled Douluo can easily encounter mortal danger if they're injured. Besides, that Titan Giant Ape has an even stronger Sky Azure Bull Python behind him. Who has the strength to hunt him? Who would dare?"
"Put it this way: to hunt a Titan Giant Ape, you'd need to assemble at least four Titled Douluos, and their ranks couldn't be too low, either. Otherwise, even if you killed it, you wouldn't dare absorb its ring. The moment the Titan Giant Ape died, it would immediately draw countless Soul Beasts over. After all, its corpse would be a feast for other Soul Beasts. The question is, where would you find that many Titled Douluos? Even the Upper Three Sects couldn't bear the loss of a Titled Douluo."
"Dad, let me ask you another question. You and both Second Grandpas are already rank 86, and Grandpa is rank 87. What are your plans for your ninth Soul Rings when the time comes?"
Hearing this, Yang Zhentian also fell silent. "My ninth Soul Ring really is a troublesome matter. I'll probably go to Star Dou Great Forest to look for a Soul Beast around eighty thousand years old. Anything older would be difficult for us to handle. We'll probably ask your maternal grandfather to help as well. At most, the clan leaders of the Four Single-Attribute Clans will go together, though dealing with a Soul Beast of that level is already a little beyond them. Senior Dugu should also lend a hand."
"Dad, my maternal grandfather seems pretty close to becoming a Titled Douluo too, right?"
"That's right. My father-in-law is close too. He might even get there about a year before your grandfather. He was already two ranks ahead of your grandfather to begin with, and what you picked out really suited him."
"We got so many Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Aren't there any that can increase a Soul Beast's age?"
"You little rascal, what are you thinking? How could we use such precious Immortal Herbs on Soul Beasts? Even the most suitable Immortal Herb would probably only increase a Soul Beast's age by a few thousand years. The price would be far too high. There's absolutely no need."
"Son, don't think too much about these things. Your maternal grandfather and your two grandfathers all have plans of their own. They're probably already considering it."
After hearing this, Yang Podi was silent for a while. "Dad, I've been looking through ancient texts lately. They seem to say that ten-thousand-year cold marrow is very good for Soul Beasts and can greatly increase their ages."
Yang Zhentian smiled and could not help patting his son on the head. "Just what goes on in that head of yours? Ten-thousand-year cold marrow can be called a peerless treasure. If any really turned up, all the major powers would probably fight like mad over it. You should know that both the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall have quite a few high-ranking Soul Saints and Soul Douluos. With ten-thousand-year cold marrow, they could directly break through to Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo."
"As far as I remember, ten-thousand-year cold marrow hasn't been seen anywhere on the continent for several hundred years. Even thousand-year cold marrow is rare."
"Right, son. Your intuition has always been pretty good. Have you had any gut feeling this time about where there might be a suitable Soul Beast for you?"
"I think that Titan Giant Ape in Star Dou Great Forest suits me pretty well. Its age is just a little too high."
At that, both of them burst out laughing.
The two rested quietly for the night, then continued their search the next day.
The next day, rather than going far to search, they went straight to a stream and hid in the nearby bushes, ready to wait by the stump for a rabbit and see whether any suitable Soul Beasts came to drink.
Over the course of the day, quite a few Soul Beasts did come to drink, and some were very good. In particular, they saw a Great Strength Gorilla of a very good age, probably around four thousand years old. Unfortunately, Yang Podi really could not take much interest in it and wanted to find a somewhat stronger Soul Beast.
That evening, Yang Zhentian seemed to feel that his son was growing a little impatient. "Son, are you getting a little impatient? Remember, hunting for a Soul Ring isn't that simple. Both the age and species of a Soul Beast impose major restrictions. It's hard to find a perfect one, and hard to find one that's completely suitable. Another thing is that you have to be patient. Sometimes, we Soul Masters might spend several whole months in Soul Hunting Forest just to hunt a relatively suitable Soul Beast."
"Besides, your requirements really are a little high. There were actually several fairly suitable ones during the day today, especially that Great Strength Gorilla. Both its strength attribute and its age were very good. It would count as top-notch for many people's fourth Soul Ring."
"Dad, I'm not really impatient. I just can't quite accept it. Why haven't we encountered even one top-notch Soul Beast?"
Yang Zhentian smiled. "Son, how could there be that many top-notch Soul Beasts for us to encounter? We've encountered a few these past several days, but their ages were all far too different from what you need."
Indeed, they really had encountered two dragon-type Soul Beasts over the past two days, but their ages were either too low or too high, making them completely unsuitable. Had either just reached three thousand years, or even been slightly younger, Yang Podi would have chosen it for his third Soul Ring.