Alive, we must see the person; dead, we must see the body.
A battle did indeed occur at the cliff, and the red mist clearly existed before, but now it had vanished.
Bibi Dong had a gut feeling that things weren't that simple.
She speculated in her mind that the Titan Giant Ape might already be dead, and Yan may have left the Star Dou Forest, which was why no one could sense their presence.
Sure enough, when Bibi Dong reached the bottom of the cliff, she found nothing at all.
A dark figure landed in front of the group.
"This cliff appears to be tens of thousands of meters deep, but it's actually only a few thousand. I've already checked it there's nothing down there."
Only then did Xie Yue and Hu Liena feel a bit more at ease.
However, the two were still somewhat worried about Yan.
Yan still hadn't made contact, and they didn't know where he had gone or if he was even still alive.
After that, Bibi Dong and her group returned to the lake.
There was still no movement in the lake.
Bibi Dong ordered Yue Guan and Gui Mei to lead people in continuing the search for traces of the Titan Giant Ape and Yan, while she herself stayed behind with a group guarding the lakeside.
Yue Guan knew that Yan and the other five had already left the core of the forest. No matter how much they searched, they would find nothing.
But to avoid raising Bibi Dong's suspicions, he still pretended to search carefully.
On the other side.
As daylight began to break, Yan and his group had already left the Star Dou Forest and entered the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.
After a night of nonstop travel, everyone was a bit exhausted.
The group arrived at a small town and found an inn to rest in.
"We're finally safe. None of you got any sleep last night. Go rest for a while."
"Brother Yan, you should rest too."
"Mm."
One by one, they left, but Shui Bing'er remained in the room.
"Brother Yan, are you going to absorb that soul bone now? I'll guard the formation for you."
"Aren't you tired?"
Shui Bing'er shook her head.
"I'm not tired. I can hold on a little longer."
"Alright then."
Yan felt that with the assistance of the Dragon Bone's power, absorbing a soul bone would become much smoother.
After adjusting his condition, Yan took out that soul bone.
With Shui Bing'er standing guard, he began to absorb the left arm soul bone.
Just as he had expected, in less than an hour, he had completely absorbed the hundred-thousand-year left arm soul bone.
Shui Bing'er was astonished.
"Brother Yan, I didn't expect you to be able to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone in such a short time."
"Maybe it's because I previously fused with the power of the Dragon Bone. It's just too powerful. Even the most domineering soul beast energy would be suppressed by it. You have Dragon Bone power in your body too. In the future, absorbing soul rings and soul bones will be much easier for you as well."
"So that's how it is."
Though she had stood guard for another hour, Shui Bing'er still felt energetic.
She asked curiously:
"Brother Yan, after absorbing the hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone, your soul power must have increased a lot, right?"
"Mm."
Yan nodded, then said:
"My soul power is now level eighty-five."
Yan knew that this five-level increase in soul power wasn't entirely due to the Titan Giant Ape. The portion exceeding level eighty from absorbing the Dragon Bone earlier had not been fully reflected until now.
Shui Bing'er was shocked.
Yan was now the youngest Spirit Douluo in the history of Douluo Continent.
At the rate his spirit power was increasing, he would soon break through level ninety and surpass the record set by Pope Bibi Dong, becoming the youngest Title Douluo.
"Brother Yan, with the two newly acquired hundred-thousand-year spirit bone skills, you now have four hundred-thousand-year spirit abilities all of a sudden."
"Yeah. Not only did I gain four hundred-thousand-year spirit abilities, I also obtained a domain."
Then, Yan described to Shui Bing'er one by one his four hundred-thousand-year spirit abilities and the domain.
The two hundred-thousand-year spirit abilities from his eighth spirit ring were Titan's Power, representing offense, and Titan's Guard, representing defense.
Titan's Power granted him unprecedented destructive strength. Each of his attacks was like a landslide or an earthquake; even the sturdiest defense would seem fragile under his mighty fists.
Titan's Guard granted him an indestructible defense, providing him with all-around protection. It could not only defend himself but also shield his teammates.
The two hundred-thousand-year left arm spirit bone abilities were Titan Magma Cannon and Earth Force.
Titan Magma Cannon was an extremely powerful offensive skill, incorporating Yan's own fire and earth dual elements.
When Yan activated this skill, his left arm transformed into a volcanic crater. Torrents of magma condensed into an incomparably hot energy cannon.
This magma cannon was not only extremely high in temperature, capable of melting anything in an instant, but also carried the Titan Giant Ape's violent force, enough to pierce through any obstacle.
Its terrifying attack power could even instantly kill opponents of the same level.
When the Titan Magma Cannon exploded, it also caused massive shockwaves and fire spread, dealing area damage to the surrounding region.
When he used Earth Force, Yan could sense and manipulate the natural forces within the surrounding land for his own use.
These forces included, but were not limited to, rocks, soil, minerals, and so on. Under Yan's control, they could be used for both attack and defense.
More importantly, Yan could use Earth Force to burrow into the ground and hide his presence. Even when facing an enemy stronger than himself, he could successfully escape.
The domain he obtained was similar to the Titan Giant Ape's Gravity Domain.
Within the Gravity Domain, Yan could freely manipulate the strength of gravity, either enhancing or weakening it, to control the enemy's movements.
After hearing Yan's descriptions, Shui Bing'er was left dumbfounded.
With Yan's current strength, he could already face a Title Douluo-level powerhouse head-on.
Later, Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian, and the others also learned about Yan's hundred-thousand-year spirit ring and spirit bone skills, and each of them was shocked beyond words.
Huo Wushuang exclaimed:
"Brother Yan, you're just too strong—so strong it makes people jealous."
"It's nothing. I've said before, you guys might also get the chance to obtain hundred-thousand-year spirit rings and spirit bones in the future."
"Let's hope so, haha~"
Huo Wu asked:
"Brother Yan, since you can't return to Spirit Hall for the time being, what are you planning to do next?"
"I've already discussed it with Bing'er. I'll accompany her to the Ice Bound Forest to help her obtain her sixth spirit ring."
"Then we'll go with you."
"No need. You guys have been out for several months. Go home and let your families know you're safe first."
"Alright then. I heard there are a lot of high-year beasts in the Ice Bound Forest, so be careful."
"Yeah, don't worry, we'll be fine."
Shui Bing'er looked at Ye Lingling, who had been silently standing aside, and said:
"Lingling, come with us to the Ice Bound Forest. Then we can return to Sky Water Academy together."
Shui Bing'er was a thoughtful girl. During her heart-to-heart talks with Ye Lingling, she learned that Lingling had no surviving family and was all alone in the world.
Now that Ye Lingling's martial soul was no longer Nine-Hearted Begonia, she no longer had anything to rely on.
During this time together, Shui Bing'er had already come to see Ye Lingling as a sister and wanted to protect her.
Ye Lingling hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted Shui Bing'er's invitation.
The next day, the six of them parted ways.
Yan, Shui Bing'er, and Ye Lingling headed north toward the Ice Bound Forest.
On the other side, at the lake in the center of Star Dou Great Forest
Bibi Dong's group had been guarding this place for two days and nights, but there was still no movement in the lake.
During this period, Yue Guan and Ghost had been searching in the center of the forest for the Titan Giant Ape and Yan's whereabouts, but they had still found nothing.
Bibi Dong gradually lost her patience. Enraged and fuming, she decided to lead the army back to Spirit City.
But her spirit beast hunting plan would not stop.
She swore in her heart to capture Xiao Wu alive and slay the Sky Blue Bull Python.
She would pour all her fury into the other major plan that was about to begin.