As expected, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan did not dare to act recklessly. The three traveled safely by carriage and arrived at the Dugu residence in Heaven Dou City.
Dugu Bo had already prepared the necessary supplies. That very night, the four of them quietly left the mansion and slipped out of the city on foot. Partway through their journey, they switched to another carriage in a nearby town and continued forward.
Inside the carriage, Yang Yunhai examined the bones of the two girls, assessing their physical strength to determine the limit of soul rings they could absorb.
Noticing something, he glanced at Dugu Yan, who lowered her head slightly and pulled her hand back. Dugu Bo's brows rose as he quickly asked:
"Xiao Hai, how is it?"
"Zhuqing can handle about 3,000 years. For Sister Yan, as long as it's under 10,000 years, there shouldn't be a problem," Yang Yunhai replied.
As expected of an immortal herb connected to the dragon race, not to mention that she had also absorbed a thirty-thousand-year soul bone,the boost to her physique was considerable. Yang Yunhai had to admit that Dugu Yan's physical strength was somewhat beyond expectations. Unfortunately, her spiritual power was lacking.
"Such a high duration?" Dugu Yan was stunned. This result was far beyond what she had imagined.
"Indeed, a little unexpected," Dugu Bo said, though his face showed pleasant surprise. But after thinking about how his granddaughter had consumed the Nine-Treasure Dragon Zhi, which greatly increased her physical strength, and had absorbed a thirty-thousand-year left arm bone, it all made sense.
He nodded slightly and then turned to Yang Yunhai.
"Xiao Hai, have you and Zhuqing decided on what her third soul ring will be?"
"Yes." Yang Yunhai nodded. "Zhuqing's speed and technique are already quite good. What she lacks is strength. Because of this, her attacks lack destructive power, and she cannot fully unleash the piercing ability of her martial spirit. A cat's claws may be sharp, but they still require enough force to penetrate,just like a nail, no matter how sharp, still needs the hammer's strength to pierce hardwood."
"So, for her third soul ring, I intend to have Zhuqing hunt a soul beast that focuses on strength while still maintaining speed."
"Strength can sometimes be converted into speed. For example, the Fierceclaw Beast,its speed is on par with top agility-type soul beasts, precisely because of its terrifying limb strength. Other examples include the Scythe Dragon and the Blackscale Horned Wolf."
"That makes sense." Dugu Bo nodded. "The strengths of those soul beasts lie in their forelimb power and sharp claws. Especially the Fierceclaw Beast, which carries dragon bloodline,it is highly compatible with Zhuqing's feline martial spirit in terms of attack style."
"However, those soul beasts are quite rare." After a brief pause, he continued, "Let's first hunt the Medusa for Yan. At least I know roughly where it is. We'll head there directly, and if we encounter a suitable soul beast for Zhuqing along the way, that's ideal. If not, we can take a different route after hunting Medusa. That way, we save time."
"That works." Yang Yunhai nodded.
Since the soul beast Dugu Yan was targeting had a much higher duration, they would need to venture deeper into the forest anyway,conveniently along the same path.
"Then it's settled." Dugu Bo smiled and added, "You should cultivate for now. I'll call you when we arrive."
"Alright." The three nodded together and sat down to cultivate.
Two days later, the four arrived at the Sunset Forest and advanced deeper under Dugu Bo's lead.
With a Titled Douluo guiding the way, and Yang Yunhai's Blue Silver Grass assisting in sensing, their journey was smooth.
Along the way, they encountered many thousand-year soul beasts, but none suitable for Zhuqing. With Dugu Bo here, Yang Yunhai naturally hoped they could make the most of this trip.
So, if it wasn't suitable, they simply bypassed it and continued forward.
Several days later, they finally arrived at a canyon Dugu Bo remembered,a place where a Medusa was known to appear. Jagged rocks and caves filled the area.
Looking around, many of the rocks resembled beasts in shape,some even remnants of skeletons, though all relatively small.
"Medusas have the habit of storing food. They don't eat their prey immediately after petrifying them but drag them back to their lair first," Dugu Bo explained. "What you're seeing here are weak soul beasts that were completely turned into stone by the petrification effect. Stronger ones, with enough energy, could resist and gradually revert, avoiding permanent petrification."
"Just like my soul bone ability,if I use it on ordinary people, they'll be turned to stone forever. But if used on strong soul masters, the effect lasts only for a while, and the stronger the opponent, the shorter the petrification."
"I see." Yang Yunhai nodded in understanding.
"The Medusa here should be over 9,000 years old, the most suitable one for Yan," Dugu Bo said as he strode forward. "Wait here. I'll drag it out of its nest."
"Alright." The three nodded, watching him enter the canyon.
There were no intense battle sounds, only muffled thuds of a body striking stone. Soon after, Dugu Bo emerged, dragging a massive dark-purple serpent with a triangular head and stone-like scales along its back.
Yang Yunhai was slightly disappointed. He had thought it would be half-serpent, half-human.
With a heavy thud, Dugu Bo tossed the Medusa in front of them.
Its strong body looked lifeless, eyes and mouth dripping crimson blood,it was clear the creature had been heavily poisoned. Obviously, Dugu Bo had released poison outside the nest, rendering it helpless inside.
"Yan Yan, quickly. Any longer and it'll really die from the poison," Dugu Bo urged.
"Got it." Dugu Yan pulled out a dagger, crouched down, and stabbed hard into its eye.
The serpent's body twitched lightly before going still. A purple soul ring floated up.
Dugu Yan immediately sat cross-legged nearby and began absorbing it.
Soon, her body trembled violently, her brows furrowing. But after a short while, she stabilized.
Only then did Dugu Bo let out a relieved breath. Smiling, he said, "Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, go cultivate over there. Yan's condition is stable now. I'll watch over her."
"Alright." Yang Yunhai nodded, leading Zhuqing to a nearby open spot, where they laid out a carpet and sat down to cultivate.
Dugu Bo glanced at Yang Yunhai, then at his granddaughter, eyes flickering with thought.
It wasn't hard to guess how Xiao Hai could so accurately determine the maximum soul ring years his granddaughter could absorb. Likely, it came from his battles in the Great Spirit Arena,especially against Soul Sect opponents.
A single entanglement with vines could reveal an opponent's physical limits. From there, it wasn't too hard to estimate the corresponding maximum soul ring years.
But this method only applied to the body,and only up to the Soul Sect level.
After all, spiritual attacks were only used by ten-thousand-year beasts, and Xiao Hai himself had yet to absorb such a ring. He had no reference point.
In other words, his theory on absorbing beyond one's limit only applied to the fourth soul ring so far.
Which meant, if his granddaughter wanted to benefit from it further, she would have to maintain close ties with Yang Yunhai.
And that relationship must remain one of absolute trust!
He recalled the time before she broke up with Yu Tianheng. Back then, Yang Yunhai would never have agreed to train with her,doing so would expose his lightning attribute and cultivation method. Nor would he have shared his theories or tested her soul ring limits, let alone guided her in ring choices and martial spirit development.
Loose lips could bring disaster. If his granddaughter had revealed this information to Yu Tianheng, it would have been catastrophic for Xiao Hai.
The same applied if she were to fall for another man in the future. Would Xiao Hai still trust her completely? Would he still give his full support? Obviously not. Before having children, maybe,but once she did, what mother wouldn't want the best for her child? At that point, even he, as her grandfather, might not be fully trusted.
The relationship might remain good, but never as open as it was now.
Thus, there was only one solution. His gaze fell on his granddaughter once more.
"Yes, with four months left before the New Year, there should be enough time," he thought to himself as he walked toward the clearing.
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