The vines that crawled in the shadows deep in the soil extended their roots in all directions, which caused great suffering to the soul beasts living in the underground caves.

They brandished their pincers in fury or opened their gaping maws to tear at the vines, punishing these savage vines that had invaded their home.

Unexpectedly, the vines were even angrier than the beasts, using their bodies covered in dark brown thorns to entangle the soul beasts that wanted to cut them down.

The broken vines kept regenerating, and the thorns that were cut off by the soul beasts grew back again, like a hunting snake tightly wrapping around its prey.

The spikes that struck the hard armor of the soul beasts broke off, only to grow back at a visible speed, continuing to pierce through the previous spots. Those less fortunate, whose shells weren't tough enough, were riddled with holes by the vines and perished instantly.

In stark contrast to their docile demeanor in front of Qian Yuelong, if Wei Ming and the others were here, they would only think that the vines were conservative in front of them.

Within a radius of dozens of miles, the locations of numerous powerful soul beasts appeared in Qian Yuelong's mind.

Her brain was like a monitor divided into multiple screens. In no time, images of seven or eight soul beasts, each with a cultivation level of over five thousand years, and even three with a cultivation level of over ten thousand years, were transmitted into her brain.

Qian Yuelong opened her eyes. The small cut she had made on her fingertip had healed, and the blood supply had stopped.

He wrapped his arms around her left hand, as if they were intimately close, and withdrew the vines that had completely encircled half of her arm. He reluctantly rubbed against Qian Yuelong's hand and buried the main root he had left there deep into the earth, serving as a timely location map for Qian Yuelong.

"Found it."

Qian Yuelong turned her head to look at her companions, her eyes flashing slightly. Under the watchful eyes of Hu Liena and the others, she paused, then glanced at Wei Ming and said, "Teacher Wei, for my fourth spirit ring, I would like to choose the Purple Scale Serpent, is that alright?"

Purple Scaled Serpent?

A thoughtful look flashed in Wei Ming's eyes. "Why not choose a plant-based spirit beast that's more compatible with your martial soul? With the Purple Scale Serpent, your fourth spirit skill might be related to poison, but the effect probably won't be better than a plant-based spirit beast's spirit ring. Perhaps you should consider other spirit beasts. To achieve a better effect..."

As he spoke, Wei Ming's eyes suddenly widened, and he changed the subject: "How long is the purple-scaled snake you chose? What kind of patterns does it have?"

Based on the extraordinary ratio of this saintess's first three spirit rings, her choice of the fourth spirit ring is certainly not something that an ordinary spirit master can withstand for many years.

The other companions, who were also quite knowledgeable in theory, realized what Wei Ming was saying.

Xie Yue's expression changed slightly as he said, "The one you've set your sights on, could it be the Purple Scale Serpent King?"

The Purple Scale Serpent King is a variant of the Purple Scale Serpent.

The competition for survival among spirit beasts is far more brutal than among humans; it is a true case of the law of the jungle.

One wrong move and you could become food for other beasts.

Although the Purple Scale Serpent is different from other soul beast species that rely entirely on devouring their own kind to become kings, there are still some high-ranking serpents that want to take shortcuts and directly kill and devour their own kind within their own clan.

There is only one condition for an ordinary snake to advance to the Purple Scale Serpent King: one must have a cultivation level of ten thousand years.

The patterns on the Purple Scale Serpent King, which mutated through cultivation, would gradually lighten from the original deep purple, dyeing the scales in different shades, making them look like highlighted patterns.

However, the second type of Purple Scale Serpent King is the true king of an entire clan, and the patterns on its body are not light-colored, but murky black.

Their length determines the level of their cultivation.

As elite talents cultivated by the current Pope, the knowledge they have acquired is the culmination of the Spirit Hall's many years of work, so they naturally know the bottom line of the age limit for spirit rings that spirit masters of different realms can absorb.

Even Xie Yue didn't expect that Qian Yuelong's fourth soul ring would actually be absorbed across time limits.

Qian Yuelong did not deny it, and reported the length and pattern of the Purple Scale Serpent, or rather the Purple Scale Serpent King: "It should be nearly thirty meters long, and the pattern on its body is black."

"Almost thirty meters?!" Wei Ming's eyelids twitched violently.

Hao Xuan gasped: "Good heavens, isn't that the Purple Scale Serpent King, which is nearly 30,000 years old?"

Qu Yuanyi looked at Qian Yuelong, who had a calm expression, as if she were looking at a ghost.

"No, Yuelong! A Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring should have a maximum lifespan of around 5,000 years. Jumping to 10,000 years, or even almost 30,000 years, will cause you to explode and die!" Hu Liena grabbed Qian Yuelong's other hand hanging by her side, her face full of worry.

"No. I can handle it." Qian Yuelong calmly patted Hu Liena's hand that was holding her wrist and said seriously, "Actually, after cultivating the Body Tempering Technique, the number of years of spirit rings that everyone's body can withstand will increase. It's just that everyone's body development level is different, so the number of years that can be absorbed is also different. However, I know very well what kind of spirit ring years my body can withstand now."

"Of course, this is a technique you improved yourself but couldn't release."

886 muttered to himself.

Everyone was startled.

Wei Ming realized something, his pupils shrinking sharply: "Wait! You mean, if a Soul Master has cultivated a Body Tempering Technique, what is the maximum number of Soul Rings they can withstand when they reach the Soul Venerable bottleneck and enter the Soul Sect realm?"

"It absolutely surpasses the conclusions drawn from the past five thousand years."

Wei Ming's breath hitched, and the breathing rhythms of the others were also disrupted for a moment.

A dark glint flashed in Qian Yuelong's eyes as she gave an affirmative answer, awaiting Wei Ming's final opinion.

She doesn't have any major grudges against the protagonist in this generation, but there's nothing she can do. The grudges from the previous generation are already set in stone. In this world, it's customary for children to pay for their father's debts. Even if the protagonist doesn't, his father and the Haotian Sect will hold her accountable sooner or later.

And then there's the man her adoptive mother longed for, the one who stole the Spirit Hall's years of accumulated treasures.

She was looking forward to seeing how the other party would react when there were multiple fourth-ring cultivators who had reached the highest level of cultivation, and when his prized disciples were no longer considered special cases.

Having witnessed that everyone can break the mold, can he still stick to his so-called ten core competencies theory?

"Well... Teacher Wei, how about letting the team leader give it a try?"

Xu Yu's somewhat nervous voice rang out from the side.

Yan turned her head and looked at Xu Yu, whose eyes were bright and burning with some unknown ambition, full of eagerness. She felt a lump in her throat.

How dare you compare yourself to that freak, Qian Yuelong?

Yan complained inwardly, but undeniably, his eyes, like Xu Yu's, shone with a burning light.

Wei Ming's eyes flickered, and finally, he loosened his fists, which he had been clenching tightly without realizing it, and exhaled, saying, "Since you are so certain, then let's do it your way."

"The opponent is a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, so you little guys can't come to the hunt later. Where is that Purple-Scaled Serpent King? You guys stay far away and protect yourselves, that's your new task!"

"yes!"

—A side note—

The second watch will be later.