Chapter 10: External Soul Bone, Spirit Fox Seal

Soul bones are inherently rare, and external soul bones—those existing independently outside the soul bone system—are even more precious. Almost every external soul bone that appears in the mortal world attracts the attention of powerful soul masters, such as those from the Martial Soul Hall.

Upon learning of the extraordinary enhancement effects of Jiang Beibei’s two soul bones, Liu Erlong became all the more resolute in her determination to protect and nurture her growth. Beibei is only level twenty now, with just one soul ring; it will be when she acquires more soul skills, or even reaches the realm beyond Soul Saint, that these two soul bones will truly reveal their fangs.

“Beibei, remember our three rules by heart—especially never show these two soul bones in front of outsiders!” Liu Erlong solemnly reminded her once more. Honestly, even she was a bit uncertain. Though her cultivation as a Soul Emperor was high, on the entire continent she wasn’t considered exceptionally powerful. It was only by combining her mutated martial soul that she barely ranked among the higher-level soul masters.

“Mom, Beibei remembers!” Jiang Beibei carefully tucked away the two external soul bones she had named the “Spirit Fox Seals.” She was no fool—basic principles like not flaunting wealth were well understood. Moreover, the actual effect of these soul bones was not limited to amplifying soul skills; they could also act directly upon her martial soul itself.

If her charm value was previously 100, using the “Spirit Fox Seals” could raise it to 140! Such an enhancement was far more potent than merely boosting the power of soul skills. Little Bai, in her soul state, also told her that the power of the “Spirit Fox Seals” would continue to grow alongside her strength, and evolving into a millennial-grade soul bone in the future was entirely possible.

For an ordinary soul master, possessing two millennial soul bones was already impressive, but Jiang Beibei’s martial soul was a special type of intrinsic martial soul. Such martial souls had the chance for a second awakening, at which point the soul bones she owned could also evolve. Then, the upper limit of the “Spirit Fox Seals” would be far beyond just millennial-grade!

“By the way, Beibei, absorbing the soul ring should have increased your soul power limit as well.” Only after digesting all this shock did Liu Erlong remember that her good daughter’s first soul ring was a thousand-year soul ring.

Because Beibei had not yet attached a second soul ring, her apparent soul power level remained at twenty. However, the excess soul power was still preserved and would only manifest fully once she obtained her second soul ring.

“Yes, Mom, Beibei’s soul power level is about twenty-two now, and Little Bai’s soul power has barely diminished.” Not only had it not diminished, but because the Wind Spirit Fox had willingly sacrificed itself and become a kind of spirit companion, their attributes matched perfectly. Its original soul power was fully preserved, even increased, enabling the first soul ring to break through to a thousand years.

“Level twenty-two… in that case, we can consider a second soul ring around seventeen hundred years.” Liu Erlong estimated, based on the typical physical endurance of soul masters, and made new plans accordingly.

As for whether such a soul beast would again willingly come to sacrifice itself, she didn’t count on that. In her view, such a lucky occurrence might happen once, but never twice—unless all soul beasts had gone mad!

“Okay, Mom! Beibei will listen! Tomorrow we’ll go look for a pink lady soul beast around seventeen hundred years old!” Jiang Beibei readily agreed, though in her heart she thought:

“Seventeen hundred years? That’s a bit underestimated! With my current body’s endurance, even without a soul beast’s willing sacrifice, I could handle a soul ring of at least three thousand years!”

“That’s fine. Pink ladies are social soul beasts. As long as one of them consumes over a hundred of its kin, it can evolve into a Pink Empress. That would be perfect.” This was why, even after her power had increased, she still targeted the pink lady for her second soul ring.

After this little interlude, the rest of the night passed peacefully. The mother and daughter slept soundly.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the dense forest leaves into the tent, rousing a little girl who wanted to sleep in.

“Beibei, this is after all the Sunset Forest, home to soul beasts. Some of them are quite powerful—even I might not be able to resist them. It’s better to find a suitable soul ring sooner rather than later.” Though Liu Erlong had a fiery temper, she never fancied herself invincible.

She knew well that deep in the Sunset Forest lurked some soul beasts nearly a hundred thousand years old—far beyond what a mere Soul Emperor like her could face, let alone while protecting Beibei.

“Mom, Beibei understands. We can’t keep Ye You and the others waiting too long either!” Compared to potential dangers, Jiang Beibei worried more about the group of companions who shared her tragic past.

She knew the forest better than Liu Erlong. As long as they kept their heads down and pressed deep into the woods, even the strongest soul beasts there would likely not bother moving for two stronger “ants” like them.

“Don’t worry, Beibei. Once they reach the academy safely, there will be teachers to take care of them.” Thinking of those children, Liu Erlong’s lips pressed lightly together. To say she wasn’t worried at all would be a lie.

If other members of the human trafficker gang caught up to the carriage, the escorting soul masters’ strength might not be enough to guarantee safety. But at the time, Liu Erlong could do nothing else but pray silently that the short journey would pass without incident.

With their belongings and spirits prepared, the two quickly found the direction where pink ladies might be, based on Liu Erlong’s experience.

These soul beasts were very special. Alone, a single one could easily defeat a level ten soul master or a ten-year soul beast. Their only attack was to release a special toxin—small doses caused mental agitation, while large doses could be lethal.

Thus, to survive, pink ladies evolved exceptional reproductive abilities and an instinct to huddle together for warmth. If a clan had a Pink Empress among them, they would offer sacrifices to her and help her form partnerships with other powerful soul beasts to ensure the group’s safety.

In the brutal jungle law of the wild, this unique survival strategy allowed pink ladies to hold a place in the Sunset Forest, a mid-tier soul beast forest.

“If those little ones haven’t moved, they should be just ahead.” Years ago, Liu Erlong had ventured into the Sunset Forest to obtain soul rings and had once glimpsed a group of pink ladies. But since they were weak and didn’t match her attributes, she had simply passed them by then.