Ning Rongrong's eyes flashed with confusion.
If it were the Soul Bone her father had brought earlier, it would be understandable, as its low age limit wouldn't be of much help to their future development.
But this Soul Bone was of considerable quality. A 50,000-year Head Soul Bone—even Sword Grandpa and Grandpa Bone might not remain indifferent to it.
"Brother, do you only want a 100,000-year Soul Bone?" Ning Rongrong probed tentatively.
"It's not that I only want a 100,000-year Soul Bone, but Soul Bones require compatibility, and this one clearly isn't suitable for me," Li Xun replied with a smile, ruffling Ning Rongrong's head.
Since obtaining the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, which granted him the ability to regenerate severed limbs, Li Xun's mindset had broadened.
He no longer obsessed over the choice of Soul Bones. However, even with strong regenerative abilities, losing his head would still mean death, so he had to be extremely cautious when selecting a Head Soul Bone.
Ning Rongrong swatted away the mischievous hand on her head, feeling conflicted.
"Let's give this Soul Bone to Zhu Zhuqing. If she chooses the Three-Eyed Magic Fox as her Fourth Spirit Ring, it should suit her better than me," Ning Rongrong suggested, glancing at Zhu Zhuqing secretly.
Though reluctant, considering Zhu Zhuqing's family's approach to Spirit Rings, Ning Rongrong couldn't bring herself to claim the Soul Bone without guilt.
"Rongrong, you're becoming more generous by the day," Li Xun remarked.
He stopped Zhu Zhuqing from declining and smiled at Ning Rongrong. "Given your performance today, I promise to get you a Head Soul Bone as well."
"Brother, you better not lie to me," Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.
Li Xun sighed, giving Zhu Zhuqing a meaningful look before walking toward the cliff edge. "If you don't believe me, then forget it."
"Brother, how could I not believe you?" Ning Rongrong quickly followed him, acting like a loyal sidekick.
As they chatted and laughed, the Dragon-Serpent Couple leaped onto the cliff top.
The couple observed the cheerful group and the floating Spirit Rings scattered on the ground, their eyes filled with awe.
Among the yellow and white Spirit Rings, a pitch-black one stood out prominently.
"Old man, this Three-Eyed Magic Fox must be over 50,000 years old," Dragon Duchess exclaimed upon seeing the fox's corpse.
Dragon Duke looked at Li Xun, inwardly shocked. "What a monster."
Among the four children, Meng Yiran had the lowest cultivation level. Although she had reached level 30, she hadn't obtained a Spirit Ring yet and clearly wasn't qualified to participate in the battle.
As for the other two girls, though they were level 30, they didn't seem capable of taking on a 50,000-year Soul Beast. Yet, the Three-Eyed Magic Fox's corpse lay there peacefully.
No wonder Sword Douluo had fought so desperately, even taking on two emperor-level Soul Beasts from the Star Dou Great Forest, just to ensure this child could safely absorb the Spirit Ring.
"Greetings, seniors," Li Xun clasped his fists in salute to the Dragon-Serpent Couple.
While absorbing the Spirit Ring, Li Xun had remained conscious and aware of his surroundings. He knew everything from the Dragon-Serpent family's arrival to their assistance in helping Sword Douluo fend off the Titan Giant Ape.
Though he didn't know why they had returned so quickly after he sent the signal, Li Xun still held great respect for their courage in facing the Titan Giant Ape.
"Cough, truly a heroic young man," Dragon Duke coughed lightly, almost aggravating his internal injuries. "This place isn't safe. Let's discuss matters on the way."
"With the strength of Sword Douluo, he should be able to catch up to us quickly without us holding him back," Li Xun thought.
Li Xun nodded as he observed the torn clothes and bloodstains on Dragon Duke and his wife. It seemed they had also gone through a fierce battle.
Indeed, even Bibidong had to send people to encircle and capture these two Soul Beasts. Sword Douluo and the Dragon-Serpent Couple alone certainly couldn't hold them off.
"Let's go," Li Xun hesitated for a moment before turning back to store the Three-Eyed Demon Fox into his Soul Guiding Device. After confirming the direction, he turned and left.
Everyone quickly followed.
Sword Douluo was highly tense at this moment.
He didn't choose to confront the Sky Blue Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape head-on. Instead, he maneuvered his Flying Sword to dodge their attacks, buying time.
Only when he noticed the two Soul Beasts showing signs of leaving would he launch an attack to pull them back.
Even so, he felt extremely exhausted.
Sword Douluo sent another Sword Qi streaking across the sky, accurately hitting the Titan Giant Ape and drawing its attention back to himself. He then glanced at the towering vines on the cliff.
"This should give Xiao Xun and the others enough time to retreat far enough," Sword Douluo thought. He stopped engaging and quickly ascended, his third Spirit Ring lighting up: "Sword Wings as Flight."
The Seven Kill Sword suddenly burst into intense light, transforming into a meteor that streaked towards the side where Li Xun and the others were. He planned to take a detour.
"Roar! Human, don't run!" The Titan Giant Ape, seeing Sword Douluo fleeing, pounded its chest in frustration.
This battle had been frustrating for it because the human never engaged in direct combat, leaving its immense strength unused.
"Enough, Er Ming. This is the outskirts of Star Dou. Be careful of falling into a human trap," the Sky Blue Bull Python said, its eyes gleaming as it watched Sword Douluo's retreating figure.
Through their encounter, it could sense that the human was strong, but for some reason, he never engaged in direct combat with them.
"Humph! I finally caught the aura of the Thunder Hell Vine, and it's all because of that human," the Titan Giant Ape snorted. "Big brother, I'll go see if I can still find any lingering aura of the Thunder Hell Vine."
After saying this, the Titan Giant Ape quickly moved towards the cliff. The Thunder Hell Vine was cunning and had eluded it for years.
This time, it had detected the vine's aura because the Thunder Hell Vine had started absorbing massive amounts of thunder energy to advance.
Due to its size, the Titan Giant Ape quickly reached the cliff.
Seeing the scattered Spirit Rings and Soul Beast corpses on the cliff, the Titan Giant Ape bared its teeth in anger.
Although among them was the Thunder Hell Vine it had been chasing, its instinctive dislike for humans made it feel extremely displeased.
"It seems the Thunder Hell Vine has already been captured and killed. That human expert was buying time for the people here to absorb the Spirit Rings," the Sky Blue Bull Python said, its massive head lowering from above.
After glancing at the remnants on the cliff, it had deduced the general situation.
"Er Ming, let's go. Although this wasn't aimed at us, we still need to be cautious. Stay in the core area for now and don't go anywhere else."
"Big brother..."
After an unceasing sprint, Li Xun and the others finally reached the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Li Xun glanced back at the silent forest behind them. "Let's rest here for a while and wait for Sword Grandpa."
To ensure Sword Douluo could find them, they stayed on the route they had taken earlier.
Hearing that they could rest, Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran quickly found a dry spot and plopped down on the ground.
Although their cultivation levels weren't particularly low, compared to the others.
The difference in physical endurance was too great.
The continuous sprinting had already pushed their bodies to the limit.
Seeing this, Li Xun smiled and turned his gaze to the Dragon-Serpent Couple: "I must once again thank you both for your assistance. Would you be willing to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School as our
guests?"
"This would also give me the opportunity to arrange a proper feast to express my gratitude."
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