A few days later, news came that the Clear Sky Sect was forced to seal their Sect by Spirit Hall. For a time, the Great Two Empires felt the domineering nature of Spirit Hall, and even the border war conflicts decreased.
Ning Bei came to the deliberation hall and found Ning Fengzhi.
"Father, when can I acquire my second spirit ring?"
Ning Fengzhi was in a rather good mood recently due to his wife's second pregnancy and Ning Bei's spirit power breakthrough. A comfortable smile always hung on his lips.
"Oh? Can't wait?"
Ning Bei scratched his head with a smile, not speaking. He was indeed a bit excited to be able to obtain a second Spirit Ability soon.
"Then this time, let Grandpa Gu take you to the Star Dou Great Forest."
After getting a satisfactory answer, Ning Bei thanked him happily and ran out of the deliberation hall, heading straight for Gu Rong's residence, which made Ning Fengzhi shake his head.
The main door of Gu Rong's residence was like an illusion for Ning Bei. He quickly entered and found Gu Rong, who was meditating with his eyes closed.
"Grandpa Gu, I'm level 20, and I can go get my second spirit ring."
Gu Rong smiled, looking at the excited Ning Bei in front of him, expressing understanding. He had gone through the same thing himself.
"Then, Bei'er, have you thought about what kind of Spirit Beast you need to find?"
Ning Bei had already thought about this question. Since his Spirit did not require a corresponding attribute Spirit Beast—of course, it couldn't correspond even if he wanted it to—then he only needed to find a spirit ring of similar age.
"Grandpa Gu, my Spirit doesn't have many requirements for spirit ring attributes, so just finding a Spirit Beast close to a thousand years old will do."
Gu Rong frowned upon hearing this.
"Isn't close to a thousand years too dangerous? You know, my second spirit ring was only a Spirit Beast a little over 700 years old, and I'm a Battle Spirit Master."
Ning Bei felt quite speechless after hearing this. He thought he was already being very conservative and didn't directly choose a 1000-year-old second spirit ring. Firstly, a purple second spirit ring would be too eye-catching. He could barely leave the house now, and if that happened, wouldn't he be even more imprisoned?
Secondly, and most importantly, he was afraid of pain.
"Grandpa Gu, this is what Father and I discussed. My body can probably withstand the pressure of a Spirit Grandmaster around level 28, which is already close to a Spirit Elder. There will be absolutely no problem with anything under a thousand years, and a yellow second spirit ring won't be too eye-catching."
Gu Rong also found it reasonable after hearing this, so he didn't refute. He instructed Ning Bei to pack up and then took him directly to the Star Dou Great Forest.
After several hours of flying, the two arrived at their destination.
Returning here after two years, Ning Bei's excitement was undiminished.
Gu Rong also reminded Ning Bei to stick close to him and not run around after entering the forest. The two began searching for a Spirit Beast of a suitable age.
This time, their luck was clearly not as good as when they came with Chen Xin. After searching for two days, they either found ones that were too young or too old.
But Ning Bei didn't complain. This kind of situation was the norm for hunting spirits.
"Bei'er, it seems we won't find a suitable target today. Let's rest here for the night."
Ning Bei looked around upon hearing this. Compared to other parts of the forest, this place was quite open, indeed suitable as a resting spot.
"Then let's do that. We have no choice."
The two lit a bonfire, and after eating their dry rations, Ning Bei leaned against a pile of rocks and began cultivating his spirit power.
The whale glue and his steadily increasing cultivation had caused Ning Bei's physical quality to skyrocket. Not sleeping for a few days was no big deal.
Just as Ning Bei was cultivating peacefully, Gu Rong interrupted him.
"Bei'er, there's movement over there. Come, let's go take a look."
He then moved forward.
Startled, Ning Bei followed Gu Rong's footsteps.
Arriving at the front of the woods, he looked up and saw that two snake Spirit Beasts were confronting each other over prey.
The prey was an already dead Soft Bones Rabbit.
Upon discovering this, Ning Bei secretly thought, "Good heavens, these two snakes are asking for death."
The two snake Spirit Beasts consisted of one with small wings and a crest on its head, and another that was entirely black.
Gu Rong's face lit up with joy upon seeing them.
"Bei'er, these are a Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent and a Blackwater Python. That Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent is just under 1000 years old, and the other one is over 1000 years old. What do you think?"
Gu Rong judged this from the size of the crest. Ning Bei was also delighted to hear this. After the initial joy of arriving, Ning Bei had passed the excitement phase and was only left with discomfort from being in the wild. Now, he could finally finish up and go home.
"Grandpa Gu, I want that Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent."
Upon hearing this, Gu Rong's figure flickered, and he appeared between the two confronting parties, raising his hand to grab the target's seven-inch vital spot.
The Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent sensed the threat and immediately tried to escape.
Although the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent was a Spirit Beast known for its speed, and ordinary Spirit Elders couldn't catch it, it depended on who was chasing it. Gu Rong was a rare Titled Douluo in the world; a small snake couldn't escape his grasp.
Before long, its seven-inch vital spot was seized, rendering it unable to move. Gu Rong used his spirit power to stun it and brought the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent to Ning Bei's side.
"Bei'er, come on."
Seeing this, Ning Bei took out the prepared dagger from his spirit tool and ended its life with one strike. Having experienced it once, Ning Bei no longer had any psychological barriers.
A deep yellow spirit ring emerged from the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent's corpse.
Ning Bei immediately sat cross-legged, summoned the Dan Tower, and began to guide the spirit ring with his spirit power.
Gu Rong also began to be vigilant of his surroundings. He had heard Chen Xin talk about the previous situation, and he couldn't let a Spirit Beast disturb Ning Bei's absorption of the spirit ring.
Two hours later, Ning Bei excitedly opened his eyes.
"Grandpa Gu, I…"
What met his eyes were Spirit Beasts lying unconscious all over the ground.
"Bei'er, let's go first. Now is not the time to talk about this."
He almost forgot that his Dan Tower would attract Spirit Beasts. He nodded to Gu Rong, and then Gu Rong grabbed Ning Bei by the scruff of his neck and flew into the distance.
"Grandpa Gu, can you change your posture…?"
Gu Rong ignored Ning Bei's shouts and flew with all his might out of the forest.
Soon after, the two arrived at an uninhabited mountain range, and Gu Rong released him.
"How is it, Bei'er? Is the Spirit Ability suitable?"
Ning Bei rubbed his sore neck and gave Gu Rong a speechless glance.
"The Spirit Ability is suitable, but my neck isn't."
Gu Rong looked awkwardly at the sky upon hearing this.
Ning Bei no longer teased the other party and released his second Spirit Ability.
A jade bottle appeared in his hand, and then he summoned his Spirit. The second spirit ring lit up, and a circle of liquid flowed out from the second layer of the Dan Tower into the jade bottle. Immediately, several colorful pills appeared in his hand.
Gu Rong looked at Ning Bei's actions with a bewildered expression.
"Isn't it the Dan Tower? Why does it just start flowing liquid without a word?"
Ning Bei rolled his eyes at Gu Rong and explained the purpose of the pills.
"This liquid is called Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Bathing in it can increase the innate spirit power of a Spirit Scholar, but its effect is very limited."
Gu Rong's eyes widened upon hearing this. Something that could increase innate spirit power was truly unheard of. He then wanted to know just how limited this "limited" was.
"How effective is it?"
Ning Bei thought for a moment and said, "It works quite well for Spirit Scholars with innate spirit power below level 5. If they start soaking daily at age four, it can probably increase their innate spirit power to level 5. However, for Spirit Masters with innate spirit power above level 5, the effect is quite limited."