Several hours later, a soft "Mm" broke the silence as Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes.
Instinctively, she swept her gaze around. Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing were still cultivating with eyes closed, while her grandfather Dugu Bo was smiling at her. She stood up slowly, only to hear him give two light coughs.
The sound startled the two still cultivating, pulling them out of their meditation.
Dugu Yan had been planning to quietly step away so she wouldn't disturb them, but after glancing at her grandfather, she instead walked forward in small steps.
Yang Yunhai opened his eyes, rising to his feet with a smile. "Sister Yan, how is it?"
"Rank 43." Dugu Yan's bright smile and flushed cheeks could hardly hide her excitement. "My new soul skill is Petrification Gaze."
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up, his grin splitting wide. "Good! Good!"
"Indeed, not bad at all." Yang Yunhai also smiled.
The Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma was an immortal herb that worked on the blood and essence, improving and refining one's bloodline. This was evident from the way Dugu Yan's martial soul had evolved, along with the great increase in her physical strength. Naturally, compared to the body, the improvement in soul power was relatively smaller.
By his judgment, she had gained 2 levels from absorbing the soul ring, and another level was from the residual medicinal power still in her body.
"Sister Yan, congratulations," Zhu Zhuqing said with a smile.
"Thank you," Dugu Yan replied with a gentle smile.
"What a pity, what a pity. To absorb such a high-level soul ring without dropping a soul bone—if one had appeared, it would've been perfect!" Dugu Bo sighed with regret.
Dugu Yan shook her head slightly. "Soul bones don't drop so easily. I've already gained so much—I'm satisfied."
"True." Dugu Bo nodded. Gaining such a rare skill as Petrification Gaze was already a great harvest.
Raising his head to glance at the sky, he nodded. "The day is still early. We should be on our way."
"Mm." The three nodded, rising to pack their belongings.
"Grandfather, where do we head next?" Dugu Yan asked as she stored her things in her soul tool.
"If it's rare soul beasts with dragon blood you want, I do have a place in mind." Dugu Bo lifted his chin, glancing at the three. "But when we get there, all of you must stay close to me. The place we're going is dangerous—shrouded in toxic miasma that covers a vast range. In the past, I didn't dare go too deep for fear the poison would stir the toxins in my body."
"Now, with the poison purged and my strength improved—and with Xiao Hai here—there's nothing to worry about. This is the perfect chance to explore. I can promise you this: that place will definitely have something suitable for Zhuqing."
'Could it be a land influenced by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings?' Yang Yunhai wondered.
He didn't dwell on it. Nodding, he followed Dugu Bo forward.
Three days later, they arrived at a valley shrouded in turbid white mist, the acrid stench so strong it made one's stomach churn.
This wasn't just poisonous—it was like a breeding ground for disease.
Yang Yunhai immediately took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, this is an antidote pill I refined. Quickly, take one."
It was an antidote pill refined with his blood as the catalyst—perfect for resisting the poison miasma here. No wonder Dugu Bo had said earlier that with him around, there'd be no problem.
"Grandfather Dugu, Sister Yan, to be safe, you two should also each hold one in your mouths."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, took one, and placed it in her mouth. She then passed the bottle to Dugu Yan.
Soon, the three had taken the pills. Under Dugu Bo's lead, they pressed deeper inside.
"I didn't think there'd be such a place in the Sunset Forest." Dugu Yan grew more shocked with every step.
The ground was littered with decaying leaves, while most of the plants were blood-red, even the insects and ants they passed had taken on the same hue. The more one looked, the stranger it seemed.
'Could this have been caused by blood spilled when the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings fell here?' Yang Yunhai thought.
He truly couldn't think of anything else that might cause such a vast region to change like this.
And Dugu Bo had said earlier that rare soul beasts with dragon bloodlines dwelled here.
"I don't know how this place formed either," Dugu Bo admitted with a shrug. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall both know of it, but neither dare to come in. The poison here seeps into the blood, causing constant damage to the body."
"Heh. Yan Yan, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan even once tried to use your relationship with Yu Tianheng to get me to make antidotes for them. I heard Yu Yuanzhen even obtained one of his soul rings from here. They've long coveted the sub-dragon-type soul beasts here."
"Of course, if I didn't dare go too deep, how would they? In the end, they gave up as well."
"They never thought of burning the poison out with fire?" Dugu Yan asked.
Dugu Bo immediately shot her a glare. "Yan Yan, look at the ground, at the moisture in the air here. Do you think it would even catch fire?"
"Besides, large-scale burning of soul beast forests is forbidden in the soul master world. And the soul beasts here have lived in the miasma for generations. They carry the poison in their bodies. If they fled to the outside, it could spread to the surrounding ecosystem and even to the soul masters hunting here. Hah, it could become a plague. They wouldn't dare take that risk."
"If something really happened, forget other forces—Spirit Hall would be the first to knock on their door."
"And burning the forest would kill most of the soul beasts here. What benefit would that bring them?"
"True." Dugu Yan nodded.
With no more words, the group continued deeper.
Though the forest was eerie, the ground was covered in Blue Silver Grass, albeit tinted a strange red. Still, this didn't stop Yang Yunhai from communicating with them. His special sensing ability worked just as well.
Not long after, within his sensing range, a blood-red giant crocodile appeared.
Yang Yunhai was startled. "Grandfather, the soul beasts here are far larger than those outside."
The aura it released was only at the thousand-year level, yet its body was over 10 meters long. It was absurd.
"Yes, much larger. I was surprised as well the first time I came here," Dugu Bo nodded. "Also, the soul beasts here have extremely sharp senses. They seem able to use the poisonous miasma in the air to detect intruders. Because of this, they live very far apart, which makes hunting them extremely difficult."
"That's why aside from some poison-type soul masters trying their luck at the outskirts, almost no one comes here."
"No wonder it's called a deathtrap." Yang Yunhai nodded.
They pressed forward.
A second beast. A third. One after another appeared, but unfortunately, none were suitable.
Just as Dugu Bo had said, the beasts here were spaced extremely far apart. Encounters were rare, let alone finding the right match.
"No rush. We have plenty of time." Dugu Bo consoled them. "We'll camp here tonight and continue tomorrow."
"Alright." Yang Yunhai nodded, beginning to set up tents.
That night passed uneventfully.
On the second day, they ventured deeper.
Nothing. On the third day, the fourth day—still nothing. Either the species didn't match, the years were too few, or the years were far too many.
Until the fifth day—
A thunderous roar suddenly echoed in the distance, breaking the silence.
'What kind of soul beast is that, to be so brazen?' Yang Yunhai was stunned. In the days they had spent here, he had noticed that the beasts in this forest were very cautious, never roaring lest they attract enemies. For one to roar so wildly was the first.
"Must be a tough one." Dugu Bo turned his head, clearly thinking the same.
"From the sound, it's still far off. We can't tell what kind of soul beast it is," Dugu Yan frowned, then suggested, "Shall we go take a look?"
"Mm." Dugu Bo nodded. "It's all thousand-year beasts around here. It won't be dangerous."
Even though they had gone quite deep over these days, they were still within the thousand-year beast range.
The group set out toward the sound.
About fifteen minutes later, they stopped. Yang Yunhai activated his Blue Silver Grass sensing ability.
His eyes widened, then turned to delight.
Standing quickly, he turned to Zhu Zhuqing with a smile. "Zhuqing, this one is perfect for you."
"What kind of beast is it?" Dugu Bo asked.
(End of Chapter)
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