"The situation right now is going pretty smoothly."
"I wonder if the location of that special Spirit Beast has been found yet."
Bai Mu leaned against Zygarde, his eyes flickering slightly.
For his fifth spirit ring, he planned to resonate with a top-tier enhancement Move.
His initial choices were Last Resort and Earth Control.
The former could boost all attributes, but unless the opponent completely sealed off escape routes with their Move, it could only be triggered once.
The latter was the exclusive Move of the Divine Beast Xerneas. After charging, it greatly enhanced Special Attack (spirit power), Special Defense, and Speed.
But later on, he found a better option.
In ancient records, he discovered a Spirit Beast that could perfectly resonate with that Move—the Sonic Demon Dragon.
"Forget it. I'm still two ranks short. I'll raise my Rank to 50 first."
Bai Mu shook his head, raised his hand to recall Z2—who had been guarding him while invisible—and had Little Soft revert back into a Dragon Hound.
After briefly sensing the surroundings, he left the special battlefield.
—
On the other side.
"What should we do next… old man…"
Snake Po hesitated several times before finally looking toward her husband.
"Sigh… with things the way they are now, there's no good solution. This is the only option."
Long Gong sighed and subconsciously glanced at Meng Yiran's seemingly "empty" shoulder.
That person was only Rank 40 and hadn't even absorbed a spirit ring yet, but he could already suppress them completely. Now, it would only be easier for him.
If they really tried to escape, the entire family would likely be wiped out.
"Yiran, how are you feeling?"
Long Gong gently stroked his granddaughter's head.
"Grandpa… it's useless. We… no! I can't break free anymore."
Meng Yiran shook her head, her eyes slightly red.
"I feel like my body, my life—even my consciousness—are already under his control."
"You two have high cultivation, so you might not feel it. But for me, I can clearly sense that if he has even a single thought, those poisonous chains would crush my heart."
"This… how can there be such an ev—great Spirit Master…"
Long Gong let out a long sigh.
"Alright. Let's first help you hunt a Spirit Beast."
"Mm."
—
Meanwhile, near a strange swamp deep within the forest, the Shrek group had regrouped.
"Xiao Wu!"
"Brother!"
The disheveled Tang San and Xiao Wu hugged tightly, as if they had just been reunited after a brush with death.
"Uh… looks like I came at a bad time."
Bai Mu paused as he arrived and saw the scene.
"No! You came at the perfect time."
Ning Rongrong ran over smiling and very naturally wrapped her arms around one of Bai Mu's.
Zhu Zhuqing's expression immediately turned bitter.
—I was clearly here first!
Noticing her look, Bai Mu said nothing and simply opened his other arm.
Zhu Zhuqing froze, secretly glanced at Dai Mubai, then—like a tsundere cat seeing its owner—pressed herself against Bai Mu despite her cold expression.
"Yes, you're both my angels."
Bai Mu smiled faintly, feeling the warmth of the two girls.
"Boss Dai, are you okay?"
Ma Hongjun noticed Dai Mubai's face shifting between green and red and couldn't help asking.
"I'm… fine!"
Dai Mubai replied through clenched teeth, his face flushed.
"Hey, Boss Dai, don't be like that."
Ma Hongjun, completely oblivious, tried to comfort him.
"I know you have feelings for Zhu Zhuqing, but there are plenty of fish in the sea. Even though Bai Mu can juggle two girls at once, haven't you enjoyed plenty of twin beauties yourself? He should be the one envying you—"
"Stop talking."
The mention of twins made the veins on Dai Mubai's forehead throb violently.
"Don't be like that!"
Ma Hongjun chuckled.
"Boss Dai, I'm not lecturing you, but as a man, you should be more open-minded. Some things—you just have to let them go."
Let them go?
He stole my fiancée and is flaunting it right in front of me—how am I supposed to let that go?!
Dai Mubai grabbed Ma Hongjun by the neck, his eyes bloodshot.
"I said… stop… talking. Got it?"
"Cough—cough—Boss Dai… be rational…"
Ma Hongjun's face turned red from lack of air.
"Rational? How exactly do you want me to be rational?"
Dai Mubai ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, his grip tightening further.
"Ugh…!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes rolled back—he felt like he was about to die.
"Xiao Bai! What are you doing?"
A voice snapped Dai Mubai back to reality.
He turned and saw Teacher Zhao looking at him expressionlessly.
"Teacher Zhao… it's nothing… sorry, Fatty, I lost my cool…"
Dai Mubai hurriedly let go, forcing a smile uglier than crying.
"You're here, Bai Mu."
"Little Mu!"
By now, Tang San and Xiao Wu had calmed down and also turned to look at him.
"By the way, what happened earlier? When I arrived, it looked like you two had just been through a life-and-death separation."
Bai Mu glanced at the battlefield filled with traces of combat, pretending not to know.
"Xiao Wu was taken away by the Titan Giant Ape just now. I almost thought I'd never see her again."
Tang San clenched his fists as he explained, his face full of anger.
"Mm. I was lucky. The Titan Giant Ape let me go and left after hearing a bull's roar."
Xiao Wu lied calmly.
"A bull's roar? Could it be the legendary Sky Azure Bull Python?"
Zhao Wuji was visibly shocked.
"Hey—bull python or horse bull, as long as you're fine, that's all that matters."
Bai Mu chuckled, then asked,
"Little San, have you hunted your third spirit ring yet? I found a Spirit Beast that suits you perfectly. Want me to take you there?"
"No need. I've already absorbed one."
Tang San shook his head.
"While searching for Xiao Wu earlier, I accidentally entered a swamp and was ambushed by a thousand-year Rot-Poison Toad. After a fierce battle, I successfully absorbed its spirit ring."
"Oh? What spirit ability did you get?"
Bai Mu asked with interest.
Everyone else also looked over.
"I call it Blue Silver Swamp."
As Tang San spoke, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass and thrust it into the ground.
Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass spread rapidly, gradually transforming the ground ahead into a special swamp woven entirely from Blue Silver Grass.
"Once an enemy enters the Blue Silver Swamp, their speed will be greatly reduced, their movements restricted, and they'll constantly face the risk of being cut and poisoned by the Blue Silver Grass."
Tang San explained enthusiastically, clearly very satisfied.
"Strong! So strong! This is insanely strong!"
Bai Mu praised him without hesitation.
"It really is powerful. The range is huge, and since the spirit arena has limited space, the effect will be incredibly obvious."
"Truly strong! With Blue Silver Poison Mist and Blue Silver Bind, how could anyone even fight back?"
The others joined in with praise.
But was this spirit ability really strong?
It was strong—but only to a certain extent.
Among low-level Spirit Masters, it was practically a pseudo-domain skill. Having such powerful control and debuff capabilities at this stage was already overwhelming.
But it wasn't a true domain.
Its enormous spirit power consumption, slow formation speed, and the fact that the swamp itself could be destroyed were fatal flaws that doomed its performance in real combat.
If nothing else, a single Thousand Wave Surge from Zygarde—just learned—would instantly obliterate the Blue Silver Swamp Tang San worked so hard to create.
And in high-level battles, against opponents who could fly or unleash large-scale destruction, a ground-dependent ability like this would become nearly useless.
Just like the Spirit Bone Bai Mu had given Tang San.
A skill that looked powerful, but was riddled with limitations.
However—
"If this were combined with the Blue Silver Domain, it would be absolutely terrifying in ground combat."
Bai Mu frowned.
"No. I have to find the Blue Silver King as soon as possible. I absolutely cannot let Tang San evolve the Blue Silver Grass into the Blue Silver Emperor!"
Tang San could be killed later—slowly, carefully, or toyed with until he fell into despair.
But there was one absolute prerequisite.
All possibilities of him making a comeback had to be erased.
Even if there was only a one-percent chance—
It could not be allowed.