The sparring match had come to an end.
“Lil’ friend, if we’re fated to meet again in the future, I hope that the next time we meet, you’ve already forged your own path in Body Cultivation!”
The middle-aged man led his people and waved goodbye to Li Ran. His smile was mixed with many emotions and finally, it turned into a glimmer of hope, a hope for Body Cultivation!
There was also a youth in that group. His eyes flickered with hope as he looked deeply at Li Ran and left with the group.
Their group of people majestically headed toward the depths of the Desolate Millet Mountain Range and very quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight.
“The people of the Wang Xiang family have always kept our word. We said that whoever wins would get the Nine-Tailed Fox. Since the disciples of the Pure Wind Clan have won, how the Nine-Tailed Fox will be dealt with will be decided by you, Chief Li. We won’t be staying here any longer. Farewell!”
With that, the leader of the Wang Xiang family cupped his hands at Li Xun and left with his disciples..
Only Li Ran and his group were left in the vast open space, along with a dying Nine-Tailed Fox.
The members of the Pure Wind Clan looked at Li Ran. They did not have the right to split the Nine-Tailed Fox, so it was naturally up to Li Ran to decide how to deal with it.
“Lil’ Ran, this Nine-Tailed Fox is your spoils of war. You can keep it in your storage ring. You can use it when you return to the Pure Wind Clan.”
The Pure Wind Clan’s chief, Li Xun, said with a smile.
He did not go forward because the Nine-Tailed Fox was still alive. Li Ran had to finish the final kill before he could absorb the monster’s Soul Ring.
“Father, I want to absorb the Soul Ring here because my Soul Qi has reached its maximum level. This creature’s age is very high. It’s best to use it to strengthen my Innate Soul Ring!”
Li Ran did not plan to absorb and fuse the Soul Ring only after returning to the Pure Wind Clan. After all, he only had one Soul Ring. After absorbing the monster’s Soul Ring, nobody would be able to see anything.
He could use this reason to avoid everyone’s suspicion. This was because he only had one Soul Ring. When his Soul Qi reached the maximum level, he could hunt down a monster with the same attributes as his Innate Soul Ring and strengthen it for the first and last time!
Nonetheless, hunting down other monsters after that would not have much meaning. It was because he could not bind a second Soul Ring and absorb other monsters’ Soul Rings.
Of course, this was the opinion of the outside world. They did not know that Li Ran had the God-Tier Soul Ring Fusion System!
Regardless of the number of monsters, their Soul Rings would all be absorbed!
A Nine-Tailed Fox that was 10,000 years old as an Innate Soul Ring was very sufficient for others.
When a Soul Warrior became a Soul Cultivator, in addition to strengthening one’s Innate Soul Ring, one only needed to kill a 1,000-year-old magical beast to bind one’s second Soul Ring.
A 10,000-year-old Nine-Tailed Fox was ten times more powerful than the initial requirement!
After all, when a Soul Cultivator became a Great Soul Master, one only needed to kill a 5,000-year-old demonic beast.
Therefore, using a 10,000-year-old magical beast to bind a Soul Cultivator’s second Soul Ring would be a very high starting point!
This was why the members of the Wang Xiang family were fighting with those unknown people for the sake of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Nevertheless…
Li Xun hesitated.
Li Ran was different from ordinary people. He could only awaken one Soul Ring and only strengthen his Innate Soul Ring once, so the strengthening opportunity was very rare.
To others, a 10,000-year-old magical beast was very precious, but Li Xun felt that it was far from enough!
“Lil’ Ran, this Nine-Tailed Fox is quite old, but it’s not enough as a magical beast to strengthen your Innate Soul Ring.”
Li Xun thought for a moment and suggested, “You can absorb the blood essence of the beast, boil its flesh and blood into a medicinal paste, and temper your body. Other than strengthening your body, there are many other ways to maximize the value of this Nine-Tailed Fox!”
“But Father…”
Li Ran knew his father’s concerns. The main reason he was so anxious to absorb the Soul Ring was that the Desolate Millet Mountain Range was very dangerous. His Soul Ring’s age at the moment was too low, and his strength was too weak compared to those monsters!
If he absorbed the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Soul Ring, he could still have the ability to fight back a little.
“Lil’ Ran, keep it in a storage ring for now. If we can’t kill higher-aged monsters in the Desolate Millet Mountain Range in the next few days, you can absorb it later!”
It was rare for Li Xun to be so decisive. He took out a black pill from his storage ring and forced the pill into the monster’s body!
The Nine-Tailed Fox seemed to be dead. It did not make a sound, and even its breathing was so slight that it could not be heard.
“Don’t worry, the Nine-Tailed Fox can’t fight back anymore. I’m doing this to prevent prematurely killing it. If the Soul Ring isn’t absorbed for a long time, it’ll disappear.”
He kept the Nine-Tailed Fox into the storage ring and handed it to Li Ran.
“I know, Father. What are our plans next?”
Li Ran knew that it was useless to say anything more. He kept the storage ring in his pocket, but another bad idea popped up in his mind.
‘What if… We encounter a higher-level monster that was older than the Nine-Tailed Fox in the Desolate Millet Mountain Range?
‘Wouldn’t the Nine-Tailed Fox be useless?
‘It’d be too wasteful!’
“Let’s go to the dead river first to take a look, study the place, and familiarize ourselves with the terrain. If we really encounter a monster that we can’t subdue later, we can quickly enter the river!”
Li Xun called out to the other members of the Pure Wind Clan. In actuality, other than the Nine-Tailed Fox, there was nothing else that they could pack up.
The group did not enter the Desolate Millet Mountain Range directly. Instead, they followed another small path and explored the periphery of the Desolate Millet Mountain Range.
Li Ran followed behind them with a worried look on his face. He would touch his chest from time to time and touch the storage ring. There was a Nine-Tailed Fox lying inside.
He sized up the other members of the Pure Wind Clan while rubbing his finger against the storage ring. His heart was itchy.
‘Should I absorb it now?
If I don’t absorb it, why should I keep it?
‘When a higher-level monster appears later, why should I absorb it? The Nine-Tailed Fox can only temper my body then. It’ll be such a waste.’
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. They were intense. He was waiting for an opportunity to make up his mind completely.
Just as Li Ran was deep in thought…
A loud exclamation came from the front.
He looked up and was quite shocked. ‘That’s…
‘The dead river?’
An incomparably vast and magnificent river ran through the Desolate Millet Mountain Range and flowed at the foot of a mountain. The surface of the river was purplish-blue, and it was indescribably oppressive.
When Li Ran faced the sea, his mind was broad, his vision became wide, and he grew stronger.
However, when he was facing the dead river, other than shock, he was also depressed, and he felt a kind of suffocating pressure!
When he looked at the Desolate Millet Mountain Range that was hundreds of kilometers away from the dead river, there were piles of white bones scattered everywhere. They were all the bones of some monsters.
So many monsters in the Desolate Millet Mountain Range had been killed. How weak could the remaining monsters be?
‘The Nine-Tailed Fox appeared in the periphery. It might be the weakest. It’s just an appetizer.’
Li Ran guessed that usually in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, those terrifying monsters would occupy their own area. They would never allow other monsters to invade their territory.
The Nine-Tailed Fox probably appeared in the periphery of the mountain range was because it was chased by those fearsome monsters and had no choice but to come to the periphery.
“Chief, should we go over?”
The group of people from the Pure Wind Clan stood more than ten meters away from the dead river. They did not rush over. After so many years, who knew if there were any high-level monsters in the dead river.
Legends were legends, but no one knew the details.
Li Xun looked at the movements around him. It was already late. Even if he did not know much about the dead river, in this Desolate Millet Mountain Range, this was undoubtedly the safest place.
“Let’s rest here for the night. There are very few monsters around here. If there are monsters that we can’t deal with. Let’s go to the dead river first.”
They had either been on the road or were fighting for the Nine-Tailed Fox with other teams. The people from the Pure Wind Clan were exhausted. They did not build a bonfire and just found an empty space to rest.
‘Wait a little longer.’
Li Ran muttered in his heart. He narrowed his eyes and observed the crowd through the gaps in his eyes.
He was waiting for a suitable time.