Li Ran and his group finally left the Magical Beast Mountain Range before the sky turned dark. They did not encounter any more magical beasts on the way.
After they left the Magical Beast Mountain Range, they arrived at a boundless plain. The vegetation here did not grow, and there were sand and stones everywhere. Even a single green plant or life was rarely seen.
“There are very few magical beasts here. Everyone’s tired from traveling, so we’ll rest here for the night.”
Li Xun had recovered a little, but his body was still a little weak.
The other elders and disciples did not have any objections. They had been traveling non-stop on the Magical Beast Mountain Range. They were afraid that there would be monsters chasing after them, so they did not dare to rest for a moment. Now that they had left the mountain range, they felt physically and mentally exhausted..
Li Ran and his group casually set up a bonfire on the ground. They surrounded the bonfire and slept on the ground.
The journey was tiring. Many disciples fell asleep soon after lying down.
More than ten meters away from the bonfire, an elder and one or two disciples were scouting to prevent the sudden appearance of monsters.
Li Ran looked around. He looked at the chief then looked away. He looked like he wanted to say something but stopped.
“Lil’ Ran, what do you want to say?”
Hearing the voice, he jumped in fright.
Li Ran looked over and saw his father resting with his eyes closed.
He glanced at the others. Nobody reacted, so he went over.
The young man transmitted his voice, ‘Father, what kind of Soul Skill was that in the Magical Beast Mountain Range just now?”
Li Ruo was stunned. He did not open his eyes, and his tone did not change as he answered, ‘It’s just an ordinary Soul Skill!
‘Perhaps my strength has improved in recent years, causing my power to be much greater than before.’
‘An ordinary Soul Skill?’
Of course, Li Ran did not believe it. No matter how much strength his father had, it was impossible for him to release such divine might.
He had clearly heard that it’s a Heaven-Worshipping Talisman but… Why was his father unwilling to tell him?
‘I heard the elders talk about the Heaven-Worshipping Talisman…’
Li Xun immediately looked at him and interrupted him. ‘Lil’ Ran, don’t get involved in these things. You’re a Body Cultivator now. Don’t think about anything else.’
‘But.’
Li Xun obviously did not want to talk too much about this topic.
‘You get the chance in the future…’
No, he could not be sure either. This matter involved too much. If Li Ran got involved, he would not end well.
‘I understand, father. What kind of monsters are we going to hunt in the Desolate Millet Mountain Range?
‘I haven’t been on the Body Cultivation path for long, so I’m not sure what kind of monsters are the most useful to temper my body and increase my strength.’
Li Ran did not ask about the Heaven-Worshipping Talisman anymore. Instead, he changed the topic back to Body Cultivation.
He had been in contact with Body Cultivators for the past few days, and most of them were tempering their bodies. In fact, he knew very little about Body Cultivators.
Li Xun glanced at him apologetically. He did not seem to have found an opportunity to tell him these.
‘Body Cultivation is relatively simple compared to Soul Dao. There’s no such thing as attributes. One on the path of Soul Dao hunts monsters and snatches Soul Rings. Such a powerhouse pays attention to offensive attributes. Hunting monsters without the same attributes won’t be of much use.
‘On the other hand, Body Cultivators are different. Any type of monster can be hunted down to enrich one’s body. When we consume the blood essence of a monster, though we don’t directly absorb its Soul Ring, the monster’s power is indirectly absorbed by us and fused into our bodies, indirectly increasing our strength!”
Li Ran’s comprehension ability was very high. When he absorbed the Soul Ring in the beginning and fused with it, he comprehended new Soul Skills a few times after that. Nonetheless, he could not use them due to the limitations of his Soul Ring.
‘High-aged monsters are naturally more valuable, but I’ve told you before that the risk is very high. Without full confidence, it’s best not to kill powerful monsters.’
Chief Li Xun sighed, feeling a little helpless. Who would not want to hunt high-aged magical creatures? If one’s strength was not high enough, having high standards would only harm one!
Furthermore, most of the people who cultivated in the body were between Great Soul Masters and Soul Grandmasters. They would not be at a disadvantage against a 30,000-year-old magical creature at least in the short term.
Despite that, the Soul Skills possessed by magical creatures were very terrifying. It was actually very difficult to deal with one like the Seven-Colored Rain Butterfly.
This was because the physical strengths of Body Cultivators were powerful, hence they had an advantage in close combat. Even so, monsters with intelligence often did not like close combat.
As a result, they could not display their advantages. If the power of their Innate Soul Rings and other Soul Rings were no match for monsters, it would be very easy for them to fall into a disadvantageous position.
For example, Li Xun had awakened three Soul Rings. His Innate Soul Ring had only been strengthened three times while the other two Soul Rings had been strengthened even fewer times. Their powers were even weaker than his Innate Soul Ring.
He should have stopped at the realm of a Great Soul Master but after cultivating for more than 50 years, he finally had the strength comparable to a Soul Grandmaster!
‘Father, what’s the age of your Innate Soul Ring?’
Li Ran had always been comparing himself to the disciples of the Pure Wind Clan and Li Rui. Having said that, after the life-or-death battle with the Seven-Colored Rain Butterfly, he suddenly realized that his Soul Ring was nothing at all.
The Seven-Colored Rain Butterfly could break his attack with a light shake!
Li Xun did not know why Li Ran would ask that. He had a strange look in his eyes, but he answered truthfully, ‘The initial age of my Innate Soul Ring is 500 years. After three enhancements, it should be around 62,000 years old.’
If he was facing a monster that was 10,000 to 20,000 years old today, with the power of his Soul Ring, he would not need to use the Heaven-Worshipping Talisman for the time being.
However, the Seven-Colored Rain Butterfly’s age was 50,000 years, and its Soul Skill was terrifying. Even if Li Xun used all of his skills, he would not be able to kill the creature.
Li Xun withdrew his wandering thoughts and paused for a moment, then he continued, ‘It’s not just the Innate Soul Ring. The second and third Soul Rings are the same. Every time you strengthen them, it means that when you’re about to break through to the next realm. When you hunt a monster with the same attributes as your Innate Soul Ring and when the Innate Soul Ring is strengthened, its age will increase by five times, and its strength will be even stronger!’
Li Ran understood the importance of the Innate Soul Ring.
‘If the Innate Soul Rings that others have awakened have a high age, doesn’t that mean that they can cross realms to defend against enemies?’
Li Xun nodded and said, ‘That’s right. A Soul Grandmaster has a high age. After several rounds of strengthening, one’s Innate Soul Ring’s power will be even greater. One can easily deal with a Soul King.’
Li Ran could not smile at all.
He had suffered too much!
In the beginning, he was feeling smug after fusing with a few monsters for himself and increasing the stone’s age to more than 1,400 years.
Who would have thought that that was only the starting point for others!
Even for Li Rui, once his Soul Qi reached the maximum level, and he hunted monsters to strengthen his Innate Soul Ring, the age of his Innate Soul Ring would be far higher than that of Li Ran.
‘What a pity.’
Li Ran thought of the Seven-Colored Rain Butterfly in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. If only its 50,000-year-old Soul Ring had not fallen.
‘Don’t think too much. The quality of Soul Ring isn’t of much help to Body Cultivation.’
Li Xun saw Li Ran’s dejected look and thought that he had hit a sore spot, so he comforted him.
He patted Li Ran’s shoulder, and a wave of discomfort surged up in his chest. He began to cough.
The Heaven-Worshipping Talisman was powerful, but it also caused great damage to his body!
‘Father, rest well. I won’t give up on Body Cultivation. Don’t worry.’
The father and son did not speak anymore. They each fell into deep thoughts.
This land was quiet and peaceful. Occasionally, there would be a few beast roars coming from the depths of the mountain range.