Chapter 181: Eighty‑Thousand‑Year Sky‑Frost Centipede and the Scheme to Win Over the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect

Mist swirled, ancient trees blocked the sky.

After a period neither long nor short, they returned to the Star Dou Great Forest; there was little change. In the direction they advanced lay a small Soul‑hunting town, and beyond the forest rim were more than one Soul‑hunting party. They did not linger, but flew straight toward the deeper woods, since the beasts they sought were not here.

As the sun rose, the mist hovering over the trees gradually dissipated, and the view below widened. Countless small soul beasts fled across the ground, and behind them a massive serpentine soul beast over ten meters long.

Shu Yan recognized this soul beast; it is called the Mandala Snake, a relatively rare serpentine soul beast. Incidentally, it has some connection to Tang San and, in later canon, to Tang Ya Po, the reviver of the Tang Sect.

The Mandala Snake before them measured over ten meters in length, its cultivation exceeding ten thousand years, capable of wreaking havoc on the outer Mixed Circle, yet deeper within it might become prey.

After penetrating more than half of the Mixed Circle, no human aura remained within a hundred li. Here the ground beneath their feet had truly become a paradise for high‑level soul beasts; even the notorious hundred‑thousand‑year soul beasts of the outside world could be encountered.

In the original work, Zhang Lexuan and many Slaik inner‑court disciples encountered a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast inside the Mixed Circle, and Senior Elder Ji Tui Douluo Xuanzi of the Holy Spirit Sect vanished "at the right moment." In the end, Zhang Lexuan's party paid more than half their strength to slay the beast, and its soul ring and soul bone naturally went to Zhang Lexuan, who contributed the most.

The group stepped onto the slightly damp ground and began to scout the surroundings.

Fifty‑thousand‑year White‑scaled Earth Dragon, thirty‑thousand‑year Gale Demon Wolf, thousand‑year Earth Dragon swarm, twenty‑five‑thousand‑year Zhongfen Chicken…

Powerful soul beasts kept appearing within perception range, hmm… it seemed something strange had slipped in…

While exploring, they pressed deeper. The greatest difference between the Star Dou Great Forest and the Polar Lands lies here: unlike the Polar Lands, where soul‑beast species have a single attribute, the Star Dou Great Forest gathers the best of all, hosting myriad soul beasts, even rare extinct ones recorded by humans that now thrive in its core.

Shu Yan wanted to find a local ferocious beast to ask whether the Star Dou Great Forest still harbored any star‑light unicorns older than a hundred thousand years. Xu Jiu Jiu had previously absorbed the fourth soul ring produced by a blood‑line retrograde Holy Spirit Horse, and that unparalleled resonance granted her an extremely powerful fourth soul skill.

If she could also obtain a hundred‑thousand‑year star‑light unicorn soul ring and a hundred‑thousand‑year star‑light soul bone, Xu Jiu Jiu's martial soul evolution could be completed in one go, possibly making her a top‑tier Super Martial Soul.

As for Ling Luocheng and Su Tong, their soul‑ring requirements were simple: any powerful ice‑type soul beast between fifty thousand and ninety‑five thousand years would do. Their foundation might rival Xu Jiu Jiu's, but fundamentally they lagged behind—having never absorbed a hundred‑thousand‑year soul ring nor possessed a sufficiently strong head soul bone to boost spirit power. In spirit power, they were unquestionably far behind Xu Jiu Jiu.

Snow Emperor walked alone at the front, scouting, while Ice Emperor guarded the others a little further back. At dusk, the group finally found an appropriately aged, suitably attributed ice‑type soul beast in a cold pool.

"Six‑winged Sky‑frost Centipede, cultivation about eighty‑three thousand years, a rare ice‑type centipede soul beast, naturally capable of flight; its attack and speed far surpass peers, yet its body is extremely fragile—ordinary ten‑thousand‑year soul beasts can easily break its defense, provided they even encounter it."

Ice Emperor spoke, noting that among those present she and Snow Emperor were undoubtedly the most knowledgeable about ice‑type soul beasts; the sky‑frost centipede also has populations in the Polar Lands and is an extremely powerful ice‑type soul beast.

"Which of you two will go first?"

Ice Emperor asked, her gaze shifting to Su Tong and Ling Luocheng.

The two exchanged a glance, then Su Tong spoke first:

"I'll go. I'm a strong‑attack soul master; a sky‑frost centipede that only cultivates offense is undoubtedly perfect for me."

Ling Luocheng nodded; given her status she ought to call Su Tong sister, yet she couldn't bring herself to do so, feeling uneasy. Ice Emperor said nothing more, then leapt down into the cold pool.

Soon, countless bubbles churned the once‑still surface into slight turbidity; a faint, sharp screech rang in the ears, followed by a massive water column shooting skyward. A gigantic centipede with six ice‑blue wings burst from the pool bottom, instantly soaring out of the forest into mid‑air.

A flash of silver light surrounded Shu Yan; his figure vanished, then a thunderous boom rang out as countless trees exploded. The sky‑frost centipede was kicked out of midair, its massive inertia smashing dozens of stout ancient trees before it halted. Its feeble screech persisted; Su Tong's pupils narrowed, and she swiftly moved forward to end the centipede's life.

A black vortex surged; Su Tong sat cross‑legged on the spot, drawing the black soul ring hovering over the centipede's corpse down onto herself.

Ice Emperor's figure rose from the pool's depths, dragging a heap of crystal‑like stones. Once above water, she flung them, and the stones rained straight onto the group.

"Hey, ice‑type ore. This creature chose to nest beneath this cold pool because a vein lies beneath the water. I don't recognize this ore, but it likely contains the rare ice‑type metal you mentioned; otherwise a eighty‑thousand‑year soul beast wouldn't build a nearby nest to guard."

Shu Yan flicked his hand; a fist‑sized ore flew toward him, and Xu Jiu Jiu caught it. Her ability to discern celestial spirits, honed by the Qiruo Yujinxiang, activated, and after sensing it she said, "This is meteoric iron ice crystal, a metal vein born from a fallen meteor merging with native ice‑type energy. Its strength can support a Soul Guide Master engraving an eighth‑level core formation. If I recall correctly, even in the Sun‑Moon Empire this metal remains a coveted treasure among Soul Guide Masters, especially since the Mingde Hall strictly forbids selling high‑grade Soul Guide Devices and precious metals to the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. Its rarity is truly astonishing."

She sighed lightly, then continued, "In the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms we lack a unified method for refining these rare metals, whereas the Sun‑Moon Empire already manufactures astonishing Soul Guide Devices from them. The gap is as stark as ordinary thousand‑pound ants versus thousand‑queen ants—plainly obvious."

Shu Yan produced a specialized storage Soul Guide Device to stow the raw, unrefined ore, then said, "These will change later. I'll first retrieve all extractable ore below, then bring it back to Star Net City for Elder Han and his crew. Don't let the free‑grabbed rare metal go to waste. Speaking of which, the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect's covert trade of rare metals is curious; those unaware might think they've betrayed the Heaven Soul Empire."

"That's about it. The Heaven Soul Royal Family clearly favors the Essence Sect; its princess will marry the next sect leader candidate of the Essence Sect. Once sealed, the Essence Sect becomes the Heaven Soul Protectorate Sect. Then, within the Heaven Soul realm, the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect, which has many disputes with the Essence Sect's ancestors over sect interests, will undoubtedly become the target of all criticism."

"The current head of the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect is shrewd; once he perceives the sect's predicament, coupled with the royal family's neglect, he will surely seek an alternative path, and at that point, treason isn't impossible."

Ling Luocheng, unusually quiet, spoke a few words: the late Elder Ling had once been friendly with senior members of the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect; back then, to break through to Super Douluo, he even obtained an ice‑type soul bone from the sect. Years ago, when Ning Xiangxue first assumed the sect head, she visited Elder Ling, but that friendship ended there.

Shu Yan's steps halted, but he said nothing further, leaping straight into the cold pool to explore. Xu Jiu Jiu thought for a moment, then continued Ling Luocheng's remark: "The Nine Treasure Glazed Sect is undoubtedly one of the super powers the Empire can win over. I recall that the sect's ancestor Ning Rongrong took the Qiruo Yujinxiang, which allowed his martial soul to evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tower. Yet despite the name, the sect lacks actual Nine Treasures. I still possess a portion of the core essence and seeds left after the Qiruo Yujinxiang sacrifice; that should be enough to spawn a Nine Treasure Glazed Tower."

Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor remained silent; they had little interest in human imperial affairs, merely staying by Shu Yan's side to assist him. Shu Yan had sworn to protect the Extreme North Land soul beasts after his ascension; as for the future fate of other humans or soul beasts, they neither wished nor cared to intervene.

Night fell, and Ling Luocheng and Xu Jiu Jiu gathered dry firewood nearby, lighting a fire. After extracting the ore, Shu Yan efficiently dismantled a century‑old Earth Dragon, extracting its tendons and the purest dragon meat for stew. Soon the aroma spread; the group sat around the campfire, their tents already pitched behind them. The cold pool's surroundings hosted few soul beasts, and the commotion from today's sky‑frost centipede hunt would keep beasts away for a while, so they could likely enjoy a peaceful sleep.

The stewed dragon tendons and meat were fragrant, tender, and melt‑in‑the‑mouth, complemented by a rich broth that made mouths water. Shu Yan's cooking was indeed improving; after all, he was surrounded by gluttonous cats that could eat but not cook, and raising cats and bonding with them is a scholarly pursuit.

An old saying goes well: to control a person, first seize his stomach…

……

(End of Chapter)