After Lin Rong finished his hot pot, he and the old butler rested in the cave for one night.
The next morning, they officially began their operation.
Lin Rong and the old butler first found a relatively spacious clearing on the outskirts of this ice-bound forest.
The visibility here was excellent, and the Spirit Beasts active nearby were not of high cultivation, making it a good place to execute their plan.
To conserve Soul Power, Lin Rong did not have the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's dragon soul emerge to help him resist the severe cold and harsh winds. Instead, he put on the cold-weather clothing prepared by the old butler.
Before, with the protection of his dragon soul, Lin Rong hadn't felt anything. It wasn't until now, as the biting cold wind scraped against his face like a knife, that he truly understood how harsh the environment was.
In contrast, the old butler appeared very composed facing the biting cold wind.
With his Rank 90 Soul Power and the physical resilience provided by his eight Spirit Rings, a bit of cold wind was nothing.
Seeing the young master in such a state, the old butler placed his hand on Lin Rong's shoulder and condensed a barrier with his Soul Power, blocking out the cold wind.
"I really don't understand why the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King would come to such a godforsaken place," Lin Rong muttered. He then wrapped the Azure Dragon Vine with his life force.
As he took out the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, this layer of life force enveloped it, preventing its aura from leaking out and being detected by the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King.
Standing beside Lin Rong, the old butler released his Martial Soul, the Star Disc, during this time.
Eight stars twinkled on the white jade star disc, echoing the eight pulsating Spirit Rings beneath the old butler's feet.
When the white jade star disc lit up with its ninth star, it would signify that the old butler had officially stepped into the realm of Titled Douluo.
"Young master, we can begin."
Upon hearing this, Lin Rong grasped the old butler's hand. Simultaneously, green, bamboo-leaf-like patterns lit up on his forehead between his eyebrows.
Immediately after, Lin Rong and the old butler's bodies gradually became ethereal, finally disappearing completely from the forest clearing.
This was the head Spirit Bone skill of the Kongqing Bamboo: Void Concealment.
Upon activating this skill, Lin Rong's own body would turn into nothingness at the original spot.
In the void state, he would be immune to all physical and energy attacks, and also undetectable by any skill or method.
Each time he entered the void state, and without actively exiting, the void state could last for a maximum of twelve hours.
However, the moment he took action, his physical form would immediately reappear.
When Lin Rong first obtained the Kongqing Bamboo head Spirit Bone, its year limit was still nine hundred and eighty-one years, not yet out of the category of hundred-year Spirit Bones.
The Void Concealment Spirit Bone skill could only be applied to Lin Rong himself.
When the year limit of this Spirit Bone grew to a thousand years, the Spirit Bone skill Void Concealment would be strengthened, allowing him to bring others into the void state with him.
Currently, the year limit of the Kongqing Bamboo head Spirit Bone is just over three thousand years. The Void Concealment Spirit Bone skill can bring up to three people into the void state.
This Spirit Bone skill does not consume Soul Power, but it has a daily usage limit.
With the Kongqing Bamboo head Spirit Bone currently at just over three thousand years, Void Concealment can be used a maximum of three times per day.
Undoubtedly, this was an extremely practical and top-tier Spirit Skill.
However, Void Concealment was not without its weaknesses. The primary one being that after using the skill, it required a certain amount of time to fully enter the void state.
Before fully entering the void state, he was not immune to attacks; he only had damage reduction.
The closer the state was to complete voidness, the higher the damage reduction percentage.
Before his own body completely turned ethereal, Lin Rong placed the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng in his hand onto a rock.
Deprived of its power source, the life force enveloping the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng quickly dissipated into the air as light spots.
Without its cover, the aura of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was exposed to the outside world.
Almost at the same moment the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's aura was exposed.
Deep within an underground cave in the ice-bound forest.
The Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, which had been lying on a rock just a moment ago, trembled violently.
The aura emanating from the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng triggered a tremor in the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's very bloodline.
This primitive call from its bloodline caused the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King to lose its usual composure.
The next moment, the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King did not hesitate to use its earth-burrowing technique, rushing towards the location of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng with the fastest speed it had ever possessed, completely disregarding everything else.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Lin Rong and the old butler, in their void state, stared intently ahead, their hearts vigilant for the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's potential appearance at any moment.
However, because the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's underground cave was some distance away from the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's location.
Even with its astonishing earth-burrowing speed, it would still take a considerable amount of time to reach its destination.
During its journey, the most primitive call from its bloodline had already passed its initial peak.
The caution ingrained in the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King over the years began to allow it to maintain a sliver of rationality amidst this bloodline-driven call.
As time passed, this sliver of rationality rapidly grew, causing the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's earth-burrowing speed to involuntarily decrease significantly.
But this only slowed down its travel speed.
Even though the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King had regained its senses, it still couldn't completely suppress the call from its bloodline.
However, the closer it got to the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's location, the slower the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's progress became.
Its cautious and suspicious nature caused the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King to scan for potential dangers along the way.
But the journey turned out to be unexpectedly smooth.
The Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King detected no danger during its approach and arrived within a mile of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
"It's here!"
Lin Rong gripped the old butler's hand, his excitement surging.
Because he was in a void state, the Life Sense granted to Lin Rong by the Nine Bend Vine Dragon was greatly weakened.
Only when the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King reached a mile away did Lin Rong faintly sense its presence.
"Hmm." Lin Rong frowned after sensing the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's exceptionally slow progress.
"As expected of a ten-thousand-year-old Ginseng Emperor, its disposition is truly cautious."
"The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng is practically within reach, yet it can still suppress its inner stirrings and carefully scan its surroundings for danger."
"Fortunately, I have the Void Concealment skill; otherwise, I might not have been able to evade the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's meticulous scrutiny."
Deep underground.
The Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King paused for a long time to scan for danger with almost every small step it took forward.
With the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King's cautious behavior, that mere mile distance.
It took several hours before the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King finally managed to reach the soil beneath the rock where the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was located.
Beside the rock, Lin Rong, in his void state, had already cursed the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King countless times in his mind.
"I've waited so long my flowers are about to wilt, but the time to act is finally almost here!"
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 999+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------