Before coming here, many were halfway to becoming a spirit sage if not at the cusp of it, and after-party, eating highly nutritious food and cultivating at double the pace alongside putting more than demonic effort and the few rewards they got from Bibi Dong, the group made amazing progress. Three days later, Xie Xan entered the bottleneck of rank 70 and was brought away by Ja Sun and Hu Lana as others gave the trio strange looks. Erlong and others were close to their bottleneck so they didn't wish to spare their efforts on anything else but their cultivation and kept to their business for the time being.
---
Xie Xan looked at Hu Lana's spirit soul, the Charm Queen, with a dazed expression as he had heard the explanation of the spirit souls from Ja Sun. Aside from Hu Lana, whose spirit soul was similar to Nightmare's Fantasy as it would be formed by nature itself, Bibi Dong wanted everyone to have a spirit soul after they reach the bottleneck of rank 70.
It was only after a few full minutes that Xie Xan looked at Ja Sun and muttered, "So, when I have a spirit soul... I won't have to worry about a spirit ring after this moment?"
"Essentially, yes," Ja Sun nodded.
"And you want me to absorb a 100000-year-old spirit soul?" Xie Xan looked at Ja Sun incredulously.
"Bibi Dong wants you to," Ja Sun corrected. The reason why Bibi Dong wanted to do this wasn't because of the greed for the crimson spirit ring. Well, it was useful, yes, but if Xie Xan gets a 100000-year-old beast, he will get an accompanying spirit bone which would likely complement one of the three rings he would get from the spirit soul and that is one of the most amazing opportunities. Even her spirit bone ability complemented her greatly. In stark contrast, even if Hu Lana's spirit soul does reach 100000 years later, she won't get a spirit bone but this is something they had to just compromise with.
After all, Hu Lana's spirit soul was just right for her.
"And I'm sorry for keeping it hidden from you," Ha Lana murmured with a guilty expression, "They said that everyone would eventually get to know about this so I don't have to keep it hidden for long."
"No worries about that," Xie Xan shrugged in understanding. He wasn't the kind to get butthurt over obvious reasons.
"But... how will I fight a 100000-year-old beast? I mean, I know I'm not fighting one... so did she have some sort of plan in mind." Xie Xan inquired.
"Like every thought in her mind, her plan, too, revolves around her darling husband," Ja Sun quipped an arrogant smirk as Hu Lana and Xie Xan rolled their eyes in tandem. "No, but seriously, while she considered forming parties and hunting appropriate beasts, now she feels that a form of cooperation can be achieved so she wanted to look for your spirit soul within the beasts of King's Lair."
Xie Xan still looked weirded out and for good reason. After working for Bibi Dong diplomatically for so long, he could easily understand the implications of a type of spirit ring that grows... heck, Ja Sun had also revealed that he can increase the cultivation of ordinary spirit rings itself so the only thing that made spirit soul more valuable in THEIR group wasn't the ability to cultivate but the accompanying spirit bone and the fact that after rank 70, they wouldn't have to worry about a spirit ring at all and just cultivate with a peace of mind.
"So? Do you have any particular beast in mind?" Lana inquired curiously while Xie Xan shook his head.
"Before that," he looked a little thoughtful, "I want to absorb the rewards Bibi Dong distributed to the few of us."
The rewards were naturally Spirit Bones and Ja Sun smirked at the thought.
"Why?" Hu Lana looked a little weird, "You can save them now and raise your cultivation quickly after the breakthrough."
"I got two spirit bones this time... and I already had two spirit bones before. One external and one right leg. If I absorb the right arm bone and the skull bone... I could possibly get my torso bone. After all, 100000-year-old beasts give spirit bones based on the slots available, right?" Xie Xan explained clearly. Indeed, if he fills the slots before, he could lose a bit of efficiency but that would be a worthwhile bet if he got a torso bone in return.
Bibi Dong had shared the 11000-year-old Flash Snake Right Arm Bone and the 35000-year-old Tiger Badger Skull bone with Xie Xan. Anyone could see that she favored Xie Xan quite a bit in the team but for good reasons at that. He worked the desk job without a single complaint and even if the strength of the strongest after the monstrous trio could be argued between Erlong and Xie Xan, he was more in control of himself. Not to mention the fact that these bones may just compliment his strengths while Erlong would clearly benefit from reptilian spirit bones.
Although Hu Lana knew this was a bet... she also realized that if Xie Xan absorbs a 100000-year-old spirit soul alongside the same quality of spirit bone... there won't be any problem by itself since his cultivation will likely breakthrough another rank just by the sheer virtue of treasures he would have absorbed.
With that in mind, Xie Xan took two days to fully absorb these bones meanwhile there was another one who reached rank 70 but was not eager to increase his load mindlessly, Ja Sun just kicked back and relaxed. He would speak to everyone at his own pace.
Soon, Xie Xan and Ja Sun left the vicinity of Emerald Lake and began to walk around aimlessly.
"So? What beast would you like?" Ja Sun looked at Xie Xan as if they were in a supermarket.
"I don't know... I thought you had something in mind," Xie Xan looked at Ja Sun with a confused expression.
The two continued to stare at each other until eventually releasing simultaneously exhausting sighs... before...
"You fucking bitch ass! Do you think I'm your nanny?!" Ja Sun growled, flipping Xie Xan off as he snorted and barked in retort, "The hell was I supposed to do? Jot down my wishlist when I was busy absorbing spirit bones?! If anything, you should be the one to have some form of suggestion, right?"
"I do have one, now. Go pair with a fucking Lust Sloth. You know, persuade it REAL well!" Ja Sun snorted.
"Haha, oh, look at me, I'm Beast God who only knows how to make dumb homo jokes," Xie Xan mocked while imitating Ja Sun's voice before scoffing, "Grow up, will you."
Their glares broke when they heard the slight giggle before it was quickly curbed and they rolled their eyes.
"Wu... if you're going to follow us... be a little good, yeah? Come out now," Ja Sun groaned and added, "And do you think you're fucking invisible, Yin?"
Xie Xan was confused. Why would Yin follow them but when he saw Ja Yin stepping out, he shook his head and looked towards Xiao Wu who had trouble controlling her giggle as she still kept her lips pursed while her shoulders trembled.
"Hehe, I was caught~!" Wu chortled but the smirk on her lips definitely suggested she didn't want to be left out while Ja Yin looked calm and stated in a monotone, "I happened to be nearby that tree and followed a squirrel here."
Ja Sun and Xie Xan looked at each other and compressed their voices.
"I'll tear you verbally next time, cunt." Ja Sun smiled peacefully on the outside as Xie Xan also chuckled gently while replying in kind, "Says one."
Xie Xan kept it simple but it was clear that his dao of insults has grown quite a bit.
"So?" Xiao Wu tiptoed and quickly jumped over Ja Sun, letting him catch her as her long brown hair tied into a scorpion tail reached the ground, "What are you two doing here? Ah, is it the forbidden love that Aunt Jun talks about?" she quickly covered her mouth and muffled her giggles while Ja Sun and Xie Xan stared at each other gloomily.
"Were you?" Ja Yin gasped with a betrayed look as Ja Sun looked at her with an annoyed expression, "Are you an idiot? Of course, not! We're out for his breakthrough."
And then he looked at Xiao Wu with a pout of his own and grumbled, "Want me to tell your mom and Bi Ji that you're talking about stupid things again?"
Xiao Wu quickly shut up and inflated her cheeks with a pout, too, humphing loudly from her nostrils, "No, if you do... she won't let me eat carrot stew tonight."
Ja Sun shook his head and let her down, much to her reluctance, and casually accepted the two newcomers to the 'hunting' party. Although, the problem still remained.
Which spirit beast should they solicit?
---
"How about Thunder Horse?" Ja Yin hummed curiously. She had grown quite a bit calm after learning that Ah Yin was way 'ahead' of her by being pregnant already. Ja Sun had also made it clear that there would be no familial future for them if she doesn't find a way to change it. Ja Yin was absolutely sure that if Ja Sun really put his mind to it... he could have made things work. But with everything he had done, Ja Sun didn't want to be the only one who came up with solutions.
Not having children with whom he didn't intend to have one in the first place... really didn't sound like his problem so why would he waste his time? So, Ja Yin felt she had to learn everything from him and form a solution of her own. She was the one, after all, who wanted things from him, and as shameless as she is, even she would feel embarrassed to ask Ja Sun the same thing 189th time...
Thus, she had gotten calmer. Her physical reactions around him still tend to be honest more often than not but Ja Yin was focused on solving the problem first and enjoying her life later. Every spirit beast has its pride and when Ja Sun openly admitted that he won't entertain the thought of commitment to beasts romantically despite the obvious signs from a few beasts, they were put off somewhat. But this was better for the long run. Even Ja Sun found it boring to ONLY be a tease.
So, Ja Yin, too, had gotten serious temporarily. The quicker she helps Xie Xan and others find their spirit souls, the quicker Ja Sun will resume his teaching for her and Violet. In fact, Ja Yin had a suspicion that the formation of the spirit soul was related to the array that she and Violet use to hunt down beasts and refine their soul origin. But then again, he is the master at this stuff.
"Thunder Horse has this neat ability to form blades of lightning that have a hidden effect every time they are waved..." Ja Yin began to describe the beast that Ja Sun had already beaten but Xie Xan shook his head.
"The best type of spirit beasts for me would be insects," he muttered. Most insects have a sharp exoskeleton and while he hadn't really been a huge fan of insect beasts, Xie Xan felt that he should have one for his last three spirit rings.
"Beh," Xiao Wu stuck her tongue out and scrunched her nose with disgust as Ja Sun shrugged, "Now, now, Wu. Xie Xan is just a disgusting man but you can't show these reactions to his face."
"Understood~" she chimed happily and nodded at Xie Xan respectfully.... but clearly, it did not make things better. Ja Yin stared at Xiao Wu with concealed envy but kept it to herself.
"Hmm... insects... insects. Well, there is the Ice Jade Scorpion in the extreme north but her attributes may prove to be an obstacle. You've always been a melee fighter and your seventh spirit ring will be your true avatar so the more in line it is with your blades, the better... so attributes of yin and more sharpness works for you."
"Something like that," Xie Xan sighed and shook his head.
"How about a bee? Bees are cute," Xiao Wu suggested. As a former 100000-year-old beast, she wasn't as clueless as she presented and her suggestion was taken seriously, too.
"Stingers could work... but if we're going for bee, wasps are better. Still... I don't know if there is a 100000-year-old variant of it." He looked at Ja Sun who shrugged and shook his head. At least, there wasn't one in King's Lair.
"Why not keep it simple and go for a spider yourself? Spiders have a higher growth and are usually deadlier because... well, they don't let others grow. Not to mention you can get a skill that may assist Bibi Dong or you could learn something from her later... and spider's legs are lances at the point they reach 100000 years so they have sharp stuff, too." Ja Sun looked at Xie Xan who seemed appreciative of the thought.
"Spiders or centipedes... maybe I could gain something from Grandmaster's expertise," Xie Xan shrugged and chuckled.
Centipedes may as well give him some multi-limbed abilities that increase his versatility and spiders could have some drugs that increase strength for short durations. Anyway, he won't be a picky eater this once because it's Ja Sun who is picking his weight, and should he actually absorb a 100000-year-old spirit soul, he would have enough strength and capital to finally start forming his own spirit skills tailored for his situation. After all, he needed to take benefit of the temporarily increased comprehension and fortune brought by Ja Sun and Ja Yin, two of the aspects one needs to successfully form a self-made spirit skill.
***
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