Chapter 224: 224. Chapter 221: Preparing for a Protracted War

224. Chapter 221: Preparing for a Protracted War

Li Xuan discovered that only a portion of his soul power could enter the blue silver grass.

The Spiritual World of the blue silver grass, which has a hundred-year cultivation, is not even as large as a fingernail cover, and cannot accommodate Li Xuan's soul at all.

Li Xuan sighed helplessly, withdrew all his soul power back to his body, and sent only a single thread of soul power into the blue silver grass's Spiritual World.

With merely that tiny thread of soul power, Li Xuan could command the blue silver grass to do many things.

Li Xuan placed the blue silver grass beside the unconscious beggar, hoping to use his soul power to have the blue silver grass perform a Sacrifice on the beggar.

But no matter how Li Xuan employed his Spiritual power, he could not make the blue silver grass sacrifice the beggar.

After trying for half an hour, Li Xuan frowned and sat on the ground beside them, looking puzzled at the blue silver grass and the beggar on the floor.

"Non‑soul masters cannot receive a Sacrifice, or… a hundred‑year soul beast cannot be sacrificed," Li Xuan scratched his head and muttered.

The recorded Sacrifice procedures across the Douluo Continent are few, so Li Xuan is not familiar with Sacrifices and does not know their conditions.

"We still have to wait for Bang Chui," Li Xuan shook his head helplessly, sighed, and then sat on the ground waiting for Bang Chui to arrive.

Vanguard, being a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast, is quite familiar with soul beast habits, and only Cao Haili can answer Li Xuan's doubts.

……

After a dozen minutes, Bai Chuan brought Bang Chui out of the inn.

"Brother! Did you need me for something? Why are you sitting on the ground, get up quickly, don't catch a cold," Bang Chui pushed open the door of Li Xuan's study, saw Li Xuan sitting on the floor, and hurried forward to help him up.

"Bang Chui, brother has a question for you, huh— is it only hundred‑thousand‑year soul beasts that can be sacrificed?" Li Xuan turned his head and asked Bang Chui.

"Brother, why are you asking that?" Bang Chui was momentarily stunned and asked Li Xuan in confusion.

Bang Chui never considered that Li Xuan would want him to be sacrificed.

"Here's the thing, Bang Chui, you know I can cultivate soul beasts, so I was wondering if I could perform a Sacrifice by controlling the cultivated soul beast; that way, I could obtain a soul ring effortlessly." Li Xuan stroked his chin and then told Bang Chui his plan without any reservation.

"I see… brother, the conditions for a soul beast Sacrifice are stringent; only when it reaches hundred‑thousand‑year cultivation does it have enough power to activate the contract in its bloodline, allowing a Sacrifice. Below hundred‑thousand‑year cultivation, it cannot control the bloodline's power, and even a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast cannot be sacrificed if either its strength or bloodline is insufficient." Bang Chui thought for a moment, then said to Li Xuan.

"So that's how it is." Li Xuan, after hearing Bang Chui's words, silently nodded and pondered for a while.

Geng Gold Grass's bloodline power is overwhelmingly strong; after cultivation in the Palm Sky Bottle space, the soul power in the soul beast's body becomes abundant, likely meeting the Sacrifice standards.

"It seems we'll have to wait until a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast is cultivated before we can experiment again." Li Xuan slowly furrowed his brows, many thoughts flashing through his mind.

Cultivating a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast takes Li Xuan three months; this duration is a bit long for him, but there's no alternative, as Li Xuan cannot control the ability of the Green Spirit Liquid in the Palm Sky Bottle.

After pondering for a while, Li Xuan halted the cultivation of Geng Gold Grass and turned his attention to a fifty‑thousand‑year cultivation Purple Thunder Walnut tree.

The Purple Thunder Walnut is a Heavenly Material Earth Treasure‑quality spirit plant, containing domineering thunder‑electric power; with its quality, once it breaks through to hundred‑thousand‑year cultivation, it should meet the Sacrifice standards.

The Purple Thunder Walnut's current cultivation has already reached fifty‑thousand years; continuing its cultivation could save half the growing time.

Moreover, by cultivating the Purple Thunder Walnut, Li Xuan can also harvest Purple Thunder Walnuts, whose power is not weak! A top‑grade Purple Thunder Walnut is equivalent to a full‑force strike of a Soul Saint Realm being, consuming very little soul power yet delivering full force.

As for the Purple Thunder Walnut's attribute, it is a domineering thunder‑electric type; ordinary people truly cannot absorb it, but Li Xuan can easily find a villain to absorb it, and whether that person survives is not Li Xuan's concern.

Li Xuan needs to determine how much soul power is required for him to control the Sacrifice, how much soul power will suddenly appear in the meridians after the Sacrifice, and what risks the Sacrifice entails…

Many questions must be personally verified by Li Xuan one by one.

After experiments prove that artificial Sacrifices are safe, Li Xuan can then assign Geng Gold Grass of hundred‑thousand‑year cultivation to Bai Chuan.

"Brother, you'll definitely succeed." Bang Chui, seeing Li Xuan come to his senses, smiled and encouraged him.

"Bang Chui, I can state clearly that no matter what happens in the future, even death, you must not be sacrificed, understand?" Li Xuan said to Bang Chui with a serious expression.

This is Li Xuan's second time reminding Bang Chui of this matter; Li Xuan does not want Bang Chui to leave him a soul ring and a soul bone when he later awakens severely injured.

After hearing Li Xuan's words, Bang Chui nodded earnestly.

"Looks like the soul beast Sacrifice plan has to be delayed; go, Bang Chui, fetch Bai Shu, I have business with him." Li Xuan patted Bang Chui's head and said.

Simultaneously, a thought flickered, and Burning Heart Divine Flame silently entered the unconscious beggar's body; the beggar twitched once, then fell still, and after a moment a layer of black flame erupted from his body. One minute later, the beggar's corpse turned completely to ash.

"Got it, brother!" Bang Chui nodded, turned, and left the study.

A short while later, Bai Chuan walked in from outside.

"Young master, are you looking for me?" Bai Chuan entered from outside and asked Li Xuan.

"It's like this: two matters, one concerning you, one concerning me. First, to be frank, I possess the ability to cultivate hundred‑thousand‑year soul beasts; I'm trying to use my Spiritual power to control a soul beast for a Sacrifice, and I have cultivated a Geng Gold Grass for you." Li Xuan extended a finger, tapped the table, and said to Bai Chuan.

"Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring?" Bai Chuan's eyes widened instantly, looking at Li Xuan in disbelief, his voice trembling as he asked.

Bai Chuan never imagined Li Xuan possessed the ability to cultivate hundred‑thousand‑year soul beasts; this is a problem that countless generations on the Douluo Continent have never solved, and a ten‑year‑old child managed to do it— utterly inconceivable.

And he even prepared a Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul for himself. "Don't get excited yet; I haven't tried a Sacrifice, so I need to cultivate another hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast, test it myself, then I can perform the Sacrifice for you. This experiment will take six months to a year to succeed. If you want to absorb an eighty‑thousand‑year Geng Gold Grass, I can give it to you soon, but the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring will require a long wait." Li Xuan shrugged and explained the pros and cons to Bai Chuan.

"Young master, there's nothing to consider, of course I'll choose the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring." Bai Chuan said to Li Xuan without hesitation.

Waiting a year or two to obtain a Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring, even a fool on the Douluo Continent wouldn't refuse.

"Alright, you don't need to rush; at least half a year to a year is required. I'll arrange the experiment as soon as possible, and once successful, I'll immediately provide you with a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast." Li Xuan, seeing Bai Chuan's reaction, also smiled and shook his head; indeed the allure of the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring is extremely strong.

"Young master, I'm not in a hurry at all; if I can absorb the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring, even ten years later I have a high chance of achieving Title Douluo." Bai Chuan said earnestly to Li Xuan.

"Bai Shu, my request of you isn't Title Douluo but the ninety‑nine‑level Limit Douluo! Perhaps even becoming a deity in the future! If successful, your ninth soul ring will also be a Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring!" Li Xuan smiled at Bai Chuan, speaking confidently.

"Well… I don't dare to dream that big; becoming a Title Douluo is already enough for me." Bai Chuan waved his hands repeatedly; if he could become a Title Douluo, he would be satisfied, but he lacks such ambition.

"Be a bit bolder, hahaha, Bai Shu, I believe your young master can definitely become a top combat power on the Douluo Continent." Li Xuan laughed and said to Bai Chuan.

"Then I thank you, young master. By the way, young master, what's the second matter?" Bai Chuan smiled and nodded; achieving Title Douluo is already great, and he doesn't dare to hope for higher realms, but to keep the mood, he still answered with a smile.

"The second matter concerns the Min Clan; currently the only way to deal with the Min Clan is soft grinding hard bubbles, so we'll have to stay here for a while. This City Lord's Mansion is terribly dilapidated; later I'll need Bai Shu to find some people to help repair it." Li Xuan said to Bai Chuan with a smile.

As events have unfolded, Li Xuan sees no other short‑term method to subdue the Min Clan, so we can only reside here for now, gradually communicating with Bai He.

"Young master, you're just too good‑natured; if it were me, I'd only take away half the obedient Bai family." Bai Chuan said to Li Xuan with murderous aura.

Bai He's giving Bai Chuan no respect, making his mood terrible; he wishes to charge straight at the Min Clan and wipe them out.

"My goal regarding the Min Clan isn't just the Min Clan; there's also the Po Clan. Sigh, a whole set of methods can't be used, so we must grind slowly." Li Xuan shook his head helplessly, saying that the Min Clan can only be dealt with politely.

"Hmm, young master, then we can only touch their hearts; if you ever give up, I'll go to the Min Clan." Bai Chuan also could only shake his head helplessly; Li Xuan has designs, so he can't be too forceful— take it slowly.

"Not that extreme; we're just refusing to recruit them. Killing them isn't very meaningful; let them stay." Li Xuan shook his head, rejecting Bai Chuan's suggestion.

"Alright, young master, I'll go recruit people right away; there are plenty of beggars here, so we should be able to attract many, a simple training will make them usable, young master, I take my leave." Bai Chuan smiled and nodded, then turned to go recruit people.

Watching Bai Chuan's back, Li Xuan's face also showed a helpless expression; he didn't know how long it would take to win over the Min Clan.

During the period of trying to win over the Min Clan, Li Xuan had a lot of free time each day.

However, Li Xuan did not intend to cultivate.

Li Xuan wasn't lazy; the main reason was that he hadn't found a suitable Fourth Soul Ring, and even if he broke through Level 40, Li Xuan still had no soul ring to absorb.

Within the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan, Li Xuan obtained a batch of Immortal Grade spirit plants and Heavenly Material Earth Treasure, but the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan only contained Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and Fiery Apricot Tender Veg as fire‑type Immortal Grade spirit plants; the rest were fire‑type plants of Heavenly Material Earth Treasure quality.

Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower gave Li Xuan the Third Flame, Nirvana Fire, greatly boosting his combat power.

Therefore, in the space of the Sky‑Grasping Bottle, only Fiery Apricot Tender Veg, a fire‑type Immortal Grade spirit plant, remained.

However, Fiery Apricot Tender Veg and Octagonal Ice Grass grow together; once one is harvested, the other wilts rapidly.

Moreover, the flame contained in Fiery Apricot Tender Veg has no particular traits; although it is an Immortal Grade spirit plant, its value is low, so unless absolutely necessary, Li Xuan does not wish to absorb it.

Li Xuan has excellent talent and plenty of time to search for fire‑type Immortal Grade spirit plants, so he has not continued cultivating recently.

Of course, Li Xuan didn't wait until breaking through Level 40 to prepare Immortal Grade spirit plants; he had long ago sent Huang Shang to search the Star Luo Empire for various rare Seeds, hoping luck would explode and obtain an Immortal Grade spirit plant.

Additionally, Li Xuan made another preparation: exchanging Immortal Grade spirit plants through the system, which requires a fresh Inner Core from a snake‑type soul beast; Li Xuan is ready, and if Huang Shang does not find a suitable Seed within three months, Li Xuan will go to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a snake‑type soul beast for its Inner Core.

"Besides cultivation, the technique needs further study; the current Douluo Number One is already lacking something," Li Xuan said, sitting in his study, rubbing his chin and muttering.

Li Xuan's Douluo Number One is a relatively basic technique, with no special attributes or abilities; it can accelerate soul power conversion, making two hours of cultivation equivalent to a day's cultivation for others, and its greatest advantage is stability and safety.

However, the drawback is obvious: only two hours of cultivation per day, even for soul power level increase or meridian strengthening, otherwise it would damage the meridians and hinder breakthroughs.

Therefore, Li Xuan decided to reform Douluo Number One, improving it into a more effective technique.

As for the Min Clan matter, Li Xuan is not in a hurry; there is plenty of time, and he can spend a few months negotiating with the Min Clan in his mind.

Doing as he says, Li Xuan's thought shifted and he instantly returned to the space of the Sky‑Grasping Bottle.

He found a vacant spot in the corner, took a large table and a chair from the Small Cave Heaven, then took out a box of Enlightenment Tea and brewed a beautiful pot for himself.

After completing these preparations, Li Xuan finally took the most important set of items from the Small Cave Heaven.

A box containing all the meridian diagrams of the Filthy Flame Yin Lotus, filled with the meridian operation effects extracted from the Filthy Flame Yin Lotus.

This is the foundation that allows Li Xuan to deduce techniques; with these, he can derive excellent methods.

(End of chapter)