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**Chapter 73: Even Rarer Than a 100,000-Year Soul Bone**
2023-04-04 Author: Fu Hejun
"Buzzz!"
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower, cradled in Ye Cheng's hand, emitted a faint hum.
Simultaneously, a brilliant, multi-colored ripple spread out from the tower, extending in all directions...
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing watched quietly, not daring to disturb him.
After a moment, Ye Cheng suddenly put away the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower. With a wave of his sleeve, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing felt an immense power envelop their bodies, causing them to float automatically.
This was undoubtedly Ye Cheng's work. The two, who had been a little flustered, calmed down.
Without much explanation, Ye Cheng enveloped the two in his soul power, then soared into the sky, flying without the aid of any tools. Carrying the two girls, he flew off into the distance.
A moment later, he brought the two girls to the edge of a pond. Many animals were drinking water there, but they were startled by the trio descending from the sky and scattered in fright.
Ye Cheng paid no attention to these soul beasts, which were at most ten or a hundred years old. Instead, his gaze swept the area as he resummoned the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower to activate its treasure-hunting ability.
Soon, he seemed to sense something.
He fixed his gaze on the pond and flicked his finger. A stream of Sword Qi shot into the water, and with a loud bang, a massive amount of pond water surged into the sky.
Ye Cheng's sharp eyes spotted a faint glimmer of light several meters deep in the pond. He smiled instantly and made a grasping motion with his hand. The luminous object broke free from the mud, flew up rapidly, and landed in his palm.
"Found something good."
At the sound of Ye Cheng's voice, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing instinctively leaned closer. When they saw the item in his hand, they couldn't help but exclaim, "A Soul Bone?!"
That's right. What had just appeared in Ye Cheng's palm was a Soul Bone—and an extremely rare Torso Soul Bone at that!
However, while it was a Soul Bone, its age was just... a tiny bit low!
"This is my first time seeing a soul bone less than a hundred years old. Should this be called a Ten-Year Soul Bone?" Ye Cheng shook his head as he looked at the Soul Bone in his hand, clearly unimpressed.
"A Ten-Year Soul Bone?"
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a look, both able to see the surprise in each other's eyes. This was the first time they had ever seen a Soul Bone of such a low age.
It was a known fact that for soul bones, the older a soul beast was, the more likely it was to produce one. Conversely, the younger it was, the lower the probability.
If the probability of a ten-thousand-year soul beast producing a Soul Bone was one in a thousand, then for a thousand-year soul beast, it was one in five thousand. For a hundred-year soul beast, it dropped to one in ten thousand.
As for a ten-year soul beast... could something like that actually produce a soul bone?
Well, the proof was right in front of them. Apparently, it could.
Ye Cheng looked at the Soul Bone in his hand, which contained a pitifully small amount of power. He knew that in terms of rarity alone, this thing was probably even scarcer than a 100,000-year Soul Bone. After all, you might not get one even out of several million soul beasts.
A Ten-Year Soul Bone... the probability of one being produced had to be incredibly low. And to top it off, it was a Torso Soul Bone, the most precious of the six types. It was simply outrageous!
As for why this Soul Bone was in the pond, the explanation was simple. Soul beasts fought each other. If a soul beast was killed by one of its own kind and produced a Soul Bone, that bone would be useless to another soul beast of the same type. It would most likely be discarded like trash.
Of course, this only applied to low-level soul beasts whose intelligence was no different from that of wild animals. High-level soul beasts, with intelligence rivaling that of humans, knew the value of soul bones and would definitely collect them. Even if soul beasts couldn't fuse with them, they would save them for potential future use. They would never just discard them for humans to find.
"Let's see what kind of soul beast produced this." Ye Cheng held the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower in his left hand and activated its treasure appraisal ability on the Soul Bone in his right.
Instantly, information about the Soul Bone flooded his mind.
[Pig Beast Torso Soul Bone.
Age: Sixty-six years
Skill: Stench Spray! — Sprays a highly irritating poisonous mist from the anus.
Evaluation: In some respects, this is a Soul Bone even rarer than a 100,000-year Soul Bone.]
Ye Cheng fell silent after receiving this information.
The Soul Bone's skill was... farting?
Was this skill some kind of joke?
Are you sure this wasn't custom-made for Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, that master of farting?
No! He's already a pro at that. This Soul Bone would just be icing on the cake, with no major impact.
But if this Soul Bone was fused by a certain member of the Tang Sect...
As if struck by a thought, a smile touched the corner of Ye Cheng's mouth. *Considering the timing,* he thought, *if things like a protagonist's luck and a world-correcting force truly exist, then Tang San should be getting his hands on an extremely rare External Soul Bone soon, right?*
But that was hard to say. After all, the current Tang San had awakened his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline ahead of schedule, and his level had already reached Soul Venerate. As such, he had no need for a new Soul Ring. Even if he encountered the soul beast from the original story that provided the External Soul Bone, he most likely wouldn't kill it for its ring. In that case, he couldn't possibly get the External Soul Bone, could he?
After all, it seemed that to obtain an External Soul Bone, one had to absorb the Soul Ring along with it... Wait!
Ye Cheng suddenly froze. He realized that the memories he'd obtained had details that didn't align with the original story.
According to the memories he had inherited, an External Soul Bone didn't require absorbing the Soul Ring from the beast that produced it. Instead, just like a normal Soul Bone, it could be absorbed as soon as it was acquired.
The only difference from a normal Soul Bone was that after being taken into a Soul Master's body, an External Soul Bone wasn't absorbed immediately. It had to go through a fusion period, during which it could still be stolen. But once it had completely fused with the Soul Master, it could never be taken by anyone else.
Even if you killed the person who possessed it, you wouldn't be able to obtain the External Soul Bone. It was essentially a single-use item; it couldn't be used a second time.
It wasn't like a regular Soul Bone, which would drop upon the host's death. It was very secure.
In summary...
That guy, Xiao San, still had a chance to obtain that precious External Soul Bone.
In that case, Ye Cheng couldn't just stand by and do nothing. He was in the forest right now, with an External Soul Bone practically within arm's reach. It would be foolish not to take it. Even if he ended up destroying it, he couldn't let it fall into the enemy's hands!
…
On the other side.
After painfully losing the Phoenix Tail Crested Serpent's Soul Ring they should have obtained, the Shrek group had no choice but to continue searching for a suitable soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest. Fortunately, their luck was good. After three days, they finally encountered another one.
It was an agile ape known as a Swift Gale Baboon. If Oscar obtained this monkey's Soul Ring, the effect he gained would most likely be a speed boost.
And so, the group decided on the Swift Gale Baboon.
(end of chapter)
2023-04-04 Author: Fu Hejun
"Buzzz!"
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower, cradled in Ye Cheng's hand, emitted a faint hum.
Simultaneously, a brilliant, multi-colored ripple spread out from the tower, extending in all directions...
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing watched quietly, not daring to disturb him.
After a moment, Ye Cheng suddenly put away the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower. With a wave of his sleeve, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing felt an immense power envelop their bodies, causing them to float automatically.
This was undoubtedly Ye Cheng's work. The two, who had been a little flustered, calmed down.
Without much explanation, Ye Cheng enveloped the two in his soul power, then soared into the sky, flying without the aid of any tools. Carrying the two girls, he flew off into the distance.
A moment later, he brought the two girls to the edge of a pond. Many animals were drinking water there, but they were startled by the trio descending from the sky and scattered in fright.
Ye Cheng paid no attention to these soul beasts, which were at most ten or a hundred years old. Instead, his gaze swept the area as he resummoned the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower to activate its treasure-hunting ability.
Soon, he seemed to sense something.
He fixed his gaze on the pond and flicked his finger. A stream of Sword Qi shot into the water, and with a loud bang, a massive amount of pond water surged into the sky.
Ye Cheng's sharp eyes spotted a faint glimmer of light several meters deep in the pond. He smiled instantly and made a grasping motion with his hand. The luminous object broke free from the mud, flew up rapidly, and landed in his palm.
"Found something good."
At the sound of Ye Cheng's voice, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing instinctively leaned closer. When they saw the item in his hand, they couldn't help but exclaim, "A Soul Bone?!"
That's right. What had just appeared in Ye Cheng's palm was a Soul Bone—and an extremely rare Torso Soul Bone at that!
However, while it was a Soul Bone, its age was just... a tiny bit low!
"This is my first time seeing a soul bone less than a hundred years old. Should this be called a Ten-Year Soul Bone?" Ye Cheng shook his head as he looked at the Soul Bone in his hand, clearly unimpressed.
"A Ten-Year Soul Bone?"
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a look, both able to see the surprise in each other's eyes. This was the first time they had ever seen a Soul Bone of such a low age.
It was a known fact that for soul bones, the older a soul beast was, the more likely it was to produce one. Conversely, the younger it was, the lower the probability.
If the probability of a ten-thousand-year soul beast producing a Soul Bone was one in a thousand, then for a thousand-year soul beast, it was one in five thousand. For a hundred-year soul beast, it dropped to one in ten thousand.
As for a ten-year soul beast... could something like that actually produce a soul bone?
Well, the proof was right in front of them. Apparently, it could.
Ye Cheng looked at the Soul Bone in his hand, which contained a pitifully small amount of power. He knew that in terms of rarity alone, this thing was probably even scarcer than a 100,000-year Soul Bone. After all, you might not get one even out of several million soul beasts.
A Ten-Year Soul Bone... the probability of one being produced had to be incredibly low. And to top it off, it was a Torso Soul Bone, the most precious of the six types. It was simply outrageous!
As for why this Soul Bone was in the pond, the explanation was simple. Soul beasts fought each other. If a soul beast was killed by one of its own kind and produced a Soul Bone, that bone would be useless to another soul beast of the same type. It would most likely be discarded like trash.
Of course, this only applied to low-level soul beasts whose intelligence was no different from that of wild animals. High-level soul beasts, with intelligence rivaling that of humans, knew the value of soul bones and would definitely collect them. Even if soul beasts couldn't fuse with them, they would save them for potential future use. They would never just discard them for humans to find.
"Let's see what kind of soul beast produced this." Ye Cheng held the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower in his left hand and activated its treasure appraisal ability on the Soul Bone in his right.
Instantly, information about the Soul Bone flooded his mind.
[Pig Beast Torso Soul Bone.
Age: Sixty-six years
Skill: Stench Spray! — Sprays a highly irritating poisonous mist from the anus.
Evaluation: In some respects, this is a Soul Bone even rarer than a 100,000-year Soul Bone.]
Ye Cheng fell silent after receiving this information.
The Soul Bone's skill was... farting?
Was this skill some kind of joke?
Are you sure this wasn't custom-made for Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, that master of farting?
No! He's already a pro at that. This Soul Bone would just be icing on the cake, with no major impact.
But if this Soul Bone was fused by a certain member of the Tang Sect...
As if struck by a thought, a smile touched the corner of Ye Cheng's mouth. *Considering the timing,* he thought, *if things like a protagonist's luck and a world-correcting force truly exist, then Tang San should be getting his hands on an extremely rare External Soul Bone soon, right?*
But that was hard to say. After all, the current Tang San had awakened his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline ahead of schedule, and his level had already reached Soul Venerate. As such, he had no need for a new Soul Ring. Even if he encountered the soul beast from the original story that provided the External Soul Bone, he most likely wouldn't kill it for its ring. In that case, he couldn't possibly get the External Soul Bone, could he?
After all, it seemed that to obtain an External Soul Bone, one had to absorb the Soul Ring along with it... Wait!
Ye Cheng suddenly froze. He realized that the memories he'd obtained had details that didn't align with the original story.
According to the memories he had inherited, an External Soul Bone didn't require absorbing the Soul Ring from the beast that produced it. Instead, just like a normal Soul Bone, it could be absorbed as soon as it was acquired.
The only difference from a normal Soul Bone was that after being taken into a Soul Master's body, an External Soul Bone wasn't absorbed immediately. It had to go through a fusion period, during which it could still be stolen. But once it had completely fused with the Soul Master, it could never be taken by anyone else.
Even if you killed the person who possessed it, you wouldn't be able to obtain the External Soul Bone. It was essentially a single-use item; it couldn't be used a second time.
It wasn't like a regular Soul Bone, which would drop upon the host's death. It was very secure.
In summary...
That guy, Xiao San, still had a chance to obtain that precious External Soul Bone.
In that case, Ye Cheng couldn't just stand by and do nothing. He was in the forest right now, with an External Soul Bone practically within arm's reach. It would be foolish not to take it. Even if he ended up destroying it, he couldn't let it fall into the enemy's hands!
…
On the other side.
After painfully losing the Phoenix Tail Crested Serpent's Soul Ring they should have obtained, the Shrek group had no choice but to continue searching for a suitable soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest. Fortunately, their luck was good. After three days, they finally encountered another one.
It was an agile ape known as a Swift Gale Baboon. If Oscar obtained this monkey's Soul Ring, the effect he gained would most likely be a speed boost.
And so, the group decided on the Swift Gale Baboon.
(end of chapter)
