Chapter 158: A Journey to the Star Dou Great Forest

Dugu Bo's face was now filled with irrepressible ecstasy; he had been stuck at level ninety-one soul power for who knew how many years.

He had thought it would be difficult for him to make another breakthrough in this life, especially with the backlash of the toxins within his body, which left him with no energy to even think about increasing his soul power.

After all, a person whose vitality is severely damaged must endure pain every day; how could they have any thoughts of improving themselves?

But now, not only had he resolved the agony of the toxin backlash, he had also easily increased his soul power by one level!

All of this was largely thanks to Ning Feiliu.

So, as he looked at Ning Feiliu, who was offering him congratulations beside him, he no longer pretended to be serious as he had before, but instead laughed heartily.

"Good! Good! Good!" Dugu Bo stood up and said the word "good" three times in a row.

"Feiliu, thank you!" he said to Ning Feiliu, full of smiles.

This time, he no longer called Ning Feiliu "kid," but affectionately addressed him by his name.

He was truly grateful to Ning Feiliu; after all, it was Ning Feiliu who not only helped him solve the problem of the toxin backlash in his body but also taught him the Moonlight Breathing Method, in addition to providing a Mysterious Water Pill.

Now, the toxins in his body were mostly cleared, and his strength had also improved.

Moreover, he had a feeling that level ninety-two soul power would not be his final destination for now; with the toxins in his body mostly cleared, he had broken through by one level of soul power relying solely on the soul power that had been suppressing the accumulated toxins for years.

He could feel that once the remaining toxins were completely driven into his soul bone, his soul power would improve even further!

And because the Moonlight Breathing Method had repaired the old injuries left in his body from years of toxin backlash, his current physical condition could support him in continuing to break through to higher realms.

Next, he would have the opportunity to charge toward even higher realms!

This was all because of Ning Feiliu!

He truly felt that the luckiest thing in his life was that his granddaughter Dugu Yan had met Ning Feiliu, which allowed Ning Feiliu to help save his and his granddaughter's lives, and also gave him the chance to become stronger.

"Teacher... you and Sister Yan have also helped me a lot; this is what I should do, and there is no need for us to say thank you between us," Ning Feiliu said with a smile, shaking his head.

"You can't say it like that, little Feiliu. It's not easy for Grandpa to say thank you to others, so you mustn't let down Grandpa's good intentions," Dugu Yan said with a giggle.

Dugu Bo laughed loudly and said, "Did you hear that, kid? I've walked the Douluo Continent for so many years, and I've rarely said the word 'thanks' to anyone... but since you put it that way, you're right, we are all family now, so why be so polite?"

Hearing the words "all family," Dugu Yan's face instantly flushed red, and Ning Feiliu was also stunned for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.

The three of them, in their silence, tacitly acknowledged something.

"Alright, although there's no need to be so polite, Feiliu, if you have any requests in the future, even if you ask Teacher to stand up for you and slaughter an entire family, it's no problem," Dugu Bo said. "As for this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, you can take whatever you want."

Dugu Bo was clearly serious; if Ning Feiliu really wanted him to kill someone's entire family, it could be said that even if it were a Soul Douluo, Dugu Bo could do what he promised.

When the Poison Douluo says he will kill your whole family, he will kill your whole family! There is simply no need to question it!

And although he couldn't afford to provoke those above the Title Douluo level for now, Dugu Bo felt that he would have the opportunity to increase his soul power in the future, and fulfilling his promise then would be possible.

Ning Feiliu gave a wry smile and joked, "Why, can't this student take whatever he wants already?"

During this period of researching and developing new Alchemy Potions, he had indeed plucked quite a few medicinal herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Of course, it was certainly nowhere near as outrageous as San Ge in the original plot, who was so eager to pull up even the turf in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, leaving the place in a mess after he was done.

Ning Feiliu only researched a small portion of the herbs, and he only took one or two stalks at a time for medicinal analysis.

At the same time, he had some unexpected gains; he discovered two Immortal Herbs that had not yet grown—the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo and the Earth Dragon Gold Melon—though they were buried in the ground.

These two Immortal Herb Beasts, which would only appear in the original plot of the second installment, were hidden deep in the soil of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and were very difficult to discover.

However, looking at them, they didn't seem fully grown, so their value was likely not particularly high.

He would just have to wait until he completed the task for the Immortal Herb cultivation technique to see if there was any way to handle them.

"That's true, but you kid are too polite," Dugu Bo said, pretending to be dissatisfied. "You ask me every time. Like I just said, we are all family, so why are you being so polite? Besides, it's really annoying that you ask every time."

Ning Feiliu gave a wry smile; he knew Dugu Bo was faking it, so he immediately smiled and said, "Then this student will take note in the future and won't bother Teacher again."

"Alright, as long as you know. Now it's time to eat breakfast and get to business," Dugu Bo waved his hand and said. "No matter what, today we must find you a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring level Silver Moon Mane Lion!"

Ning Feiliu immediately said with a smile, "Alright, this student will go cook breakfast now."

After all, he had good culinary skills, and he was the one who usually cooked breakfast in the mornings; he didn't find it annoying at all.

Soon, simple meat porridge, fried fish, and salted vegetables were ready.

After Ning Feiliu, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan finished their meal, they left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Sunset Forest with satisfaction, the three of them setting off toward the Star Dou Great Forest, which was further away from Heaven Dou City.

The Star Dou Great Forest spans the entire Douluo Continent; one can find the Star Dou Great Forest not far from the territories of the two great empires and the Spirit Hall's Holy City, Wuhun City.

Its area is so vast that it is almost equal to the land area of the Balake Wangguo, the largest of the four kingdoms under the Heaven Dou Empire, spanning across the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, with two-fifths of its area in the Heaven Dou Empire.

The other three-fifths are in the Star Luo Empire; it is a massive primeval forest with complex terrain, including wetlands, swamps, and so on.

The Soul Beasts there are also extremely terrifying; the closer one gets to the center of the forest, the stronger the Soul Beasts become.

There are even hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts inside, and any Spirit Master, as long as they have the strength and good luck, can find the most suitable Soul Ring for themselves there.

It is no wonder that the Star Dou Great Forest can become the largest gathering place for Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent, and has successively produced many peerless powerhouses among Soul Beasts.

Just based on this area and the number of Soul Beasts it contains, it deserves to be called the largest.

Following Dugu Bo after walking across a vast, uninhabited plain, Ning Feiliu and Dugu Yan slowly saw a lush, dense forest in the distance.

He immediately knew that they would soon be entering the Star Dou Great Forest.

This was also his first time entering the Star Dou Great Forest.

Not only was it the first time since Ning Feiliu transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, but even this body was stepping into the Star Dou Great Forest for the first time.

It was easy to explain for Ning Feiliu himself, of course; after he transmigrated, his second and third Soul Rings, as well as the first and second Soul Rings he re-absorbed later, were all from Soul Beasts hunted in the Sunset Forest.

As for the original owner...

In his memories, the original owner's first Soul Ring was obtained in a forest farm kept by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for raising Soul Beasts.

Powerful top-tier factions generally have their own hunting grounds for raising Soul Beasts; of course, those are basically thousand-year or hundred-year Soul Beasts.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family is relatively more powerful; they enclosed a Huangjia Weiliechang where the Royal Knights train, and it even contains rare and powerful Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts. (Not a fan-fiction setting, but an original work setting, coming from Emperor Xue Ye's reward to the team about to head to Wuhun City for the finals, allowing them to go to the Huangjia Weiliechang in the future to obtain a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.)

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only enclosed a forest farm outside Heaven Dou City to raise Soul Beasts of about a thousand years, just for the convenience of low-level disciples within the sect, especially direct descendants, to obtain their early Soul Rings.

This could also prevent the vulnerable direct descendants from encountering danger.

For instance, the Spirit Hall, for the convenience of low-level Spirit Masters, established Liehun Senlin outside major kingdoms and towns.

The place where Tang San obtained his first Soul Ring in the original plot was Liehun Senlin.

One has to admit, popularizing the martial soul awakening ceremony, the Spirit Master Subsidy system, hunting down and wanted Spirit Masters who kill wantonly, and establishing the Liehun Senlin system, they even implemented corresponding protective measures to prevent Spirit Masters from wantonly killing Soul Beasts.

From these various actions promoted by the Spirit Hall, it can be seen that the existence of the Spirit Hall is absolutely a very good thing for commoners and grassroots Spirit Masters.

Even the Spirit Master Subsidy system, although nominally issued to Spirit Masters by the Spirit Hall, is actually funded by the two great empires.

But they did indeed help do such things, and it is even possible that they were the ones who promoted it.

If it weren't for that crazy female sycophant Bibi Dong, and all that mess with the Pope's family, Ning Feiliu really wouldn't resist joining the Spirit Hall to help them complete an unprecedented transformation.

For a transmigrator like him, destroying the two great empires and trampling imperial power, nobility, and even class underfoot is truly exciting just to think about.

The Spirit Hall could actually accomplish such things, if not for the Pope's family and Bibi Dong.

Unfortunately... Ning Feiliu is not a selfless person who would choose to sacrifice himself.

He can fan the flames, but he won't think about defying the heavens and changing fate or turning the world upside down by his own strength.

Facing the great trend of the era, he will only go with the flow and will not choose to swim against the current.

Soon, Ning Feiliu, Dugu Yan, and Dugu Bo entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

The terrain inside the Star Dou Great Forest is very complex, and there are no paths in the forest at all, but none of this hinders Dugu Bo from heading to the suitable ten-thousand-year Soul Beast area to find the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion that Ning Feiliu wants.

He held the map and then led Ning Feiliu and Dugu Yan straight ahead.

On the way, because of Dugu Bo's powerful aura, no blind Soul Beasts blocked their path.

This was also intentional on Dugu Bo's part; he did not want to waste time in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Since it was decided to hunt a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, of course, they would go directly to the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast area deep in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Ning Feiliu had no objections either; he had no intention of admiring the scenery of the Star Dou Great Forest and also wanted to finish the battle quickly.

It is just that the Star Dou Great Forest is too big, and it took quite a bit of time to reach the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the same time, Dugu Bo then restrained his powerful Title Douluo aura and began to help search for the figure of the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion.

But as the saying goes, if one is just looking for a suitable Soul Beast, one might be able to make do and just hunt a decent Soul Beast upon seeing one.

However, Ning Feiliu's requirement for re-absorbing his third Soul Ring is not as simple as just being ten-thousand-years old; it also needs to be the same Soul Beast as the original Soul Ring, which adds up to needing a ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion.

Under these various limiting conditions, it is just like drawing cards.

It is very difficult to just happen to draw the right Soul Beast, and they wanted to find the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion on the very first day they came to hunt Soul Beasts.

That is basically equivalent to a Yu-Gi-Oh player playing Master Duel and wanting to pull a UR card from the card pack in one pack.

Or that skin-drawing event in League of Legends, wanting to get the skin of the hero you really like in one go?

That would really require very good luck.

And reality is even crueler; reality has no "pity" system. If you are really unlucky, it is very possible that you won't find the Soul Beast you want for a whole week.

So Ning Feiliu searched from day to night on this first day and did not see a ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion.

If this were in the Sunset Forest, one could flip through the entire Sunset Forest in a day, though the result might be not finding it.

In this one day of effort in the Star Dou Great Forest, they probably only explored about one-tenth or so of the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast area.

And this was still the ten-thousand-year Soul Beast area of the Star Dou Great Forest near the Heaven Dou Empire.

Ning Feiliu finally understood why the Beasts like Chi Wang and Bi Ji were not seen in the original plot of Douluo Continent.

Especially after Bibi Dong failed to hunt the Sky Blue Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape in the original work, why didn't she continue to look for these Beasts?

Instead, she found a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast to absorb as the ninth Soul Ring for her second martial soul, the Death Spider Emperor.

Logically speaking, these few Beasts with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation could not all be like Di Tian, either sleeping under Star Lake or traveling outside the Douluo Continent at this moment.

It is estimated that these few Beasts hid themselves; the Star Dou Great Forest is too big, and Bibi Dong and the Spirit Hall could not find these guys.

Conversely, Xiao Wu and Xiao Wu's mother, the Sky Blue Bull Python, and the Titan Giant Ape were all in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, Star Lake; they were truly too easy to find.

It belongs to the category of being easily found and wiped out in one go by the Spirit Hall.

But this is also a theory derived from the fact that Douluo Continent is a real world; if he hadn't transmigrated to Douluo Continent, Ning Feiliu would only think that Tang San was just ignoring his own established settings.

Ning Feiliu, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan spent the night in silence; after finishing dinner, they practiced the Moonlight Breathing Method on the spot.

Ning Feiliu and Dugu Yan also did not have the leisure to set up tents to sleep and be intimate like the Shrek Seven Devils did when they came out to hunt Soul Beasts in the original plot.

After all, Spirit Masters can use cultivation to replace sleep.

You all setting up tents to sleep in the wild... no, you really have too much time on your hands; when you have time to set up tents outside and sleep uncomfortably, why not just cultivate?

However, it seems that this kind of plot was probably written by the original author on a whim to advance the feelings between the Shrek Seven Devils, Gangzi, and Liu Erlong.

In short, the three of them, Ning Feiliu, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan, spent the night in cultivation, and after waking up the next day, they continued to search for the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion.

However, there was no harvest for several days in a row.

Until...

The fourth day!

They finally found a ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion. With Dugu Bo, a Title Douluo, standing by to guard, although Ning Feiliu and Dugu Yan faced the Silver Moon Mane Lion together in person, it was still without danger.

After the ten-thousand-year Silver Moon Mane Lion was pierced through the heart, forehead, and abdomen by Ning Feiliu's Second Soul Skill, Gale Force, it collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, filled with hatred.

"Success!" Dugu Yan shouted happily.

I won't pad the battle process; unnecessary parts, friends, let's skip them and speed things up.

(End of chapter)