Sunset Forest.
It is located in the northern part of the Heaven Dou Empire, near the imperial capital, Heaven Dou City.
Although not as famous as the Star Dou Great Forest, it is still renowned among all spirit beast forests within the Heaven Dou Empire.
Deep within the Sunset Forest lies a peerless treasure land called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.
However, no one in this world knows about this peerless treasure land, nor is it recorded in any ancient texts.
Conversely, in the Tang Sect of another world, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record contains detailed records, stating that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye is one of the world's three greatest treasure basins.
It's no wonder that a single Mysterious Heaven Skill from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record could advance the Douluo world by forty thousand years; it was a dimensional attack.
...
The outer edges of Sunset Forest.
Two figures, one old and one young, walked through the woods. They were Lin Rong and his old butler, Yu Yuan.
After Lin Rong awakened his Martial Soul, the old butler finished handling the affairs of the Duke's mansion and brought the young master to the Sunset Forest to hunt spirit beasts and obtain spirit rings.
For this spirit hunting trip, Lin Rong had a clear target: the Thousand Leaf Banyan.
The Nine Bend Vine Dragon was a mutated fusion of the Dragon Soul Vine and the Thousand Leaf Banyan Martial Souls. Therefore, spirit beasts corresponding to these two Martial Souls would be very suitable for the Nine Bend Vine Dragon.
However, the Dragon Soul Vine was a mutation of the Azure Vine Martial Soul and a Dragon-type Martial Soul. Thus, it was practically impossible for such a spirit beast to exist in spirit beast forests.
Therefore, only the Thousand Leaf Banyan remained as the best choice.
"Thousand Leaf Banyan, with a lifespan of three hundred and seventy-two years. Still too low."
Lin Rong stood before a Thousand Leaf Banyan, sensing its specific age, and shook his head.
After awakening the Nine Bend Vine Dragon, his Martial Soul endowed Lin Rong with an ability: Life Sense. This allowed him to perceive the life force of targets within his surroundings, thereby inferring their specific cultivation levels.
"Grandpa Yu, let's go."
The old butler led Lin Rong away to find the next target.
As a plant spirit beast, the Thousand Leaf Banyan, while possessing less intelligence than animal spirit beasts, had far superior perceptive abilities. It had long sensed that the old man beside Lin Rong was not someone to be trifled with.
Therefore, the Thousand Leaf Banyan did not dare to move even a bit when Lin Rong approached it. Only after the two of them had left did it dare to rustle its leaves, relieved to have survived the ordeal.
Two days passed in a flash.
During these two days, they found seven hundred-year-old Thousand Leaf Banyans, with the lowest age being two hundred and seventy-seven years and the highest being four hundred and seven years.
Four hundred and seven years was already a sufficiently high age for a first spirit ring. After all, the so-called limit for the first spirit ring was only four hundred and twenty-three years.
However, Lin Rong was still not satisfied. He had been cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture since he was in his mother's womb, coupled with continuous precious medicinal baths. The maximum spirit ring age he could withstand far exceeded four hundred and twenty-three years.
Moreover, with Life Sense, he could clearly discern the power within a spirit ring and then compare it with his own condition to determine if he could absorb it.
Therefore, the situation of absorbing an over-limit spirit ring and dying from an explosion would not happen to Lin Rong.
The first spirit ring was of utmost importance, so Lin Rong naturally sought perfection and excellence. The age of the spirit ring should at least be close to his limit.
...
That night, the Sunset Forest was filled with stars.
By the campfire, inside the tent.
Lin Rong sat cross-legged, cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, while the old butler sat by the campfire keeping watch.
Generally speaking, making a fire at night in spirit beast forests was forbidden, as the firelight would attract nocturnal spirit beasts for predation.
However, since it was generally forbidden, there were naturally exceptions.
The old butler, Yu Yuan, was a Soul Douluo. This area was the outer edge of the Sunset Forest, and although it was close to the depths, it was still within the outer perimeter.
In the outer edges of the Sunset Forest, even at night, the spirit beasts that appeared would not exceed five thousand years in cultivation, which was nothing to fear for the old butler.
About a mile away from the camp.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, wait for me!"
"Feng Xiaotian, can you stop following me around all day? I'm about to be driven crazy by you!"
In the dark night, a young man and woman were arguing under a tree.
The girl's voice was clear and could be heard distinctly in the darkness.
"This trip to the Sunset Forest is for a senior from our Blazing Fire Academy to obtain a spirit ring after breaking through level thirty. I came here as part of the academy to train. It has nothing to do with the Divine Wind Academy, so why are you following me?"
"This, this..."
Feng Xiaotian was momentarily speechless and could only stand there, his face flushing red. After a while, he stammered, "I, aren't I just worried about you?"
After saying that, Feng Xiaotian quickly added, "Xiao Wu, this is a spirit beast forest. It's too dangerous for you to be out alone at night. We should go back quickly!"
"Do you think I wanted to come out?!" Huo Wu retorted angrily, hands on her hips.
"It's because you're like a stubborn stain, sticking to me every day. That's why I snuck out to clear my head."
"Besides, I'm not stupid. I'll just wander around the camp, there won't be any danger."
"But..." Feng Xiaotian wanted to say that because he was chasing Huo Wu, they were already far from the camp.
"But? But what?" Huo Wu impatiently interrupted Feng Xiaotian and retorted, "Didn't you say you were here to protect me? Then what am I afraid of? Or are you scared?"
"How, how is that possible!" Feng Xiaotian instantly became excited, casting all his worries aside.
"Xiao Wu, don't worry, I will definitely protect you and get us back safely to..."
"Careful!"
In the midst of their conversation, Feng Xiaotian suddenly sensed a change in the wind direction. In an instant, his instincts kicked in, and he activated his Martial Soul, the Gale Twin Wolf.
Third Spirit Ability: Gale Wings!
Before Huo Wu could even let out a cry of alarm, Feng Xiaotian scooped her up by the waist and rapidly ascended into the air.
Where they had been standing, the ground had already collapsed, with numerous black spikes erupting from the earth to form a cage.
"What is this? Spider Web Cage, it's a Cave Demon Spider!"
Feng Xiaotian looked at the ground with lingering fear.
If it weren't for his innate sensitivity to the wind, if it weren't for his mastery of speed, if it weren't for his prompt reaction, he and Huo Wu would have already been pierced by those black spikes and died on the spot.
From below, the Cave Demon Spider emerged from its subterranean lair, its four pairs of eyes darting around, a hint of confusion in their depths.
The Spider Web Cage, when activated, had no warning signs or energy fluctuations. These two prey had actually sensed the Spider Web Cage and successfully avoided it.
During the day, it had encountered two prey. One of them, an old man, was extremely dangerous in its perception, so it had let them go. Now, these two prey in front of it could not be let go under any circumstances.
Without the slightest hesitation, silk spewed from the Cave Demon Spider's mouth, shooting directly towards the two prey in mid-air.
The entire process took only a mere half a breath.
But at this moment, Feng Xiaotian's vigilance was at its peak. His potential surged within him, and he narrowly dodged the attack while carrying Huo Wu.
While dodging, Feng Xiaotian caught sight of a faint firelight about a mile away. Without a second thought, he flew towards the direction of the fire.
The Cave Demon Spider followed closely behind, relentlessly pursuing them.
A mile away, at the camp.
Lin Rong was practicing the Marrow Cleansing Scripture.
Suddenly, within his Life Sense range, three life force fluctuations were exceptionally intense, and these three life forces were rapidly approaching the direction of the camp.
Among these three life forces, one was very familiar to Lin Rong.
"It's the Cave Demon Spider from earlier today, with twenty-one hundred years of cultivation."
"The other two life forces are human, and very young."
"Their life attributes are wind and fire respectively. Their cultivation isn't high, one is around level thirty-something, and the other is level twenty-something. I'll need them to get closer to determine the exact levels."
"I didn't expect people to be so brave these days. This is a Spirit Beast Forest, even if it's the outer area, not just anyone can wander around here as they please."
"Ah well, fellow humans, this can be considered a good deed for the day."
Thus, Lin Rong stopped cultivating and turned to instruct the old butler, "Grandpa Yu, to the southeast of the camp, about four hundred meters away, there are two young Spirit Masters being chased by the Cave Demon Spider from earlier today. Please, could you go and rescue those two?"
In the original work, Tang San was fourteen and a half years old when he participated in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Feng Xiaotian was twenty-four years old, ten years older than Tang San, with a Spirit Power of level forty-four.
Huo Wu was under twenty, so she was nineteen, five years older than Tang San, with a Spirit Power of level forty-four.
Currently, Tang San is six and a half years old, so Feng Xiaotian is sixteen, and Huo Wu is eleven.
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