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Over the next period, Yang Xiong spent all his time training in Sunset Forest, exploring nearly every area and encountering a wide variety of spirit beasts.
However, given his current soul power level, Yang Xiong would flee at the sight of any high-level spirit beast. Thanks to his first soul skill, Xuan Ming Replacement, which allowed him to teleport, he could escape instantly unless he encountered an exceptionally fast spirit beast.
After repeated practice, his mastery of teleportation had improved significantly. Even when danger arose, he could rely on his Xuan Ming Armor to withstand attacks from thousand-year spirit beasts. As for ten-thousand-year spirit beasts, Yang Xiong would leave immediately if he sensed anything amiss.
Injuries were no longer a concern either. Even if wounded, he could quickly recover using his second soul skill, Golden Heart. This skill not only healed injuries but also dispelled toxins from poison-type spirit beast attacks. Truly remarkable, it was a testament to its origin as a top-tier spirit beast, the Golden Spirit Cypress.
Sunset Forest indeed housed an incredible diversity of spirit beasts. Yang Xiong encountered many exceptional ones that could potentially serve as his future soul rings. Notably, he discovered an extremely rare Monoceros Fire Dragon with over eight thousand years of age—an absolute gem among thousand-year spirit beasts. Unfortunately, Yang Xiong would need to reach his fourth soul ring to absorb it.
Strangely, despite encountering several ten-thousand-year spirit beasts multiple times, Yang Xiong always managed to escape. These ancient beasts didn't seem particularly intent on pursuing him, which puzzled him.
On several occasions when he was in dire peril, the pursuing spirit beasts seemed to be drawn away or scared off by something. It felt as though someone was covertly eliminating fatal threats for him.
Nevertheless, under these harsh conditions, Yang Xiong's growth was rapid—both in terms of combat experience and soul power advancement.
Every day, after enduring extreme mental tension, he would retreat to a safe spot to cultivate his soul power. His progress was swift; in just under two months, his soul power had reached level twenty-five. Clearly, this training was paying off.
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At the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but chuckle as he read a letter on his desk.
"Uncle Bone, this Yang Xiong is quite impressive. He's been in Sunset Forest for two whole months and has still managed to increase his soul power through cultivation. His potential seems to surpass even our expectations."
Bone Elder let out a cold hum. "This kid is practically courting death. If we hadn't arranged for someone to secretly protect him, he'd have been killed by those ten-thousand-year spirit beasts long ago."
Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "You're underestimating Yang Xiong. Even without protection, he should be capable of surviving in Sunset Forest. True, I assigned the Ninth Elder to follow him covertly, but his role was merely to deter the ten-thousand-year spirit beasts and eliminate any life-threatening dangers. With his Soul Grandmaster cultivation, Yang Xiong still had to face attacks from thousand-year spirit beasts on his own."
"You know the Ninth Elder's personality—he's a loner, with no family or children. If he weren't genuinely impressed by this kid, why would he take such an interest in Yang Xiong?"
Bone Elder nodded. "With Ninth Elder's protection, as long as Yang Xiong doesn't encounter a Title Douluo-level opponent or a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast, his survival shouldn't be an issue."
Ning Fengzhi agreed. "Ninth Elder sends daily updates. This kid, Yang Xiong, is full of surprises."
"Not only does he possess an external soul bone, but he also achieved thirteen consecutive victories in the Spirit Arena without relying on soul skills. In terms of pure combat strength, he likely has no equals among Soul Grandmasters. He could rival geniuses with top-tier spirits like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. And now, he's surviving alone in Sunset Forest. I underestimated him."
"Uncle Bone, if you truly value Yang Xiong, you'll need to act faster. If he continues to grow like this, Ninth Elder might take him as a disciple."
Bone Elder's expression darkened at this. "Though Yang Xiong has performed admirably, he's strayed from the path of defense, which disappoints me. I still want to observe him further to see if he truly has the potential to protect our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."
"As for Ninth Elder, no matter how strong he is, he's still just a Soul Douluo. The gap between him and me is vast."
Ning Fengzhi merely smiled without responding. Regardless, the emergence of a genius like Yang Xiong was a boon for the sect. His performance exceeded Ning Fengzhi's expectations, though nurturing him further would require careful planning.
From the day Yang Xiong left the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, someone powerful had been secretly following and protecting him. This was the sect's way of showing their utmost regard for outstanding talents, especially one like Yang Xiong, who had made significant contributions to the sect multiple times.
Yang Xiong, calculating the days, had explored every relatively open area in Sunset Forest.
One morning, he arrived at a peculiar location.
It was a funnel-shaped depression, with dense heat rising from within. The entire area was shrouded in a black-green mist, obscuring any view of its interior.
Even from a distance, Yang Xiong could sense that the green mist was highly toxic, containing traces of both ice and fire attributes.
Over the years, Yang Xiong had trained his body under ice and fire conditions, granting him a degree of immunity to these elements and making him particularly sensitive to their presence.
At this moment, Yang Xiong's heart leapt with joy. After searching every corner of Sunset Forest, he had finally found his true objective.
"The Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well—it must be here! Who would have thought I'd find it so effortlessly!"
The Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well was a place of legendary power in the world of Douluo, capable of defying fate itself. It was also considered the greatest treasure on the continent.
Though Yang Xiong had read extensively and gained knowledge of medicinal herbs, he lacked expertise in healing and medical practices. Thus, he had long abandoned the idea of obtaining immortal herbs by treating Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo was notoriously unpredictable, prone to killing at the slightest provocation. He wouldn't hesitate to harm even an inner disciple of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and the sect wouldn't risk offending him for Yang Xiong's sake.
As for approaching Dugu Yan, that was even less feasible. Not only was she now romantically involved with Yu Tian Heng, but Dugu Bo hadn't even bestowed any treasures upon his prospective son-in-law. Otherwise, with Yu Tian Heng's potential and background, consuming a single immortal herb would make him vastly more powerful than he currently was.
There was no question of Dugu Bo being ignorant about immortal herbs. He had studied countless books on medicinal plants in the Heavenly Battle Empire while seeking ways to neutralize the toxicity of his own spirit.
Besides immortal herbs, the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well housed numerous top-tier medicinal plants, such as ten-thousand-year ginseng and ten-thousand-year snow silkworms. Anyone with basic knowledge of medicine would recognize their immense value.
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