Chapter 174: Soul Fusion, The Crisis of Queen Medusa and Xiaocai
In the middle of the forest, Lin Dong and Lin Yan stood facing each other. Upon hearing Lin Dong's words, Lin Yan didn't respond immediately. He first delved into his thoughts and then looked at Lin Dong's face. Seeing Lin Yan's gaze, Lin Dong met it fearlessly, showing evident determination in his eyes. Seeing this, Lin Yan understood.
He sighed and was about to speak when Yao Lao, from within the storage ring, spoke to him.
"Young friend, you should accept it. This boy's choice is actually the right one," Yao Lao told Lin Yan. "Under the eagle's protection, the chick can never truly fly high. Ever since he started cultivating, you have always taken care of him. While this has been beneficial, allowing his growth to be quite smooth, it is also detrimental. After all, he is like a greenhouse flower. If he faces true challenges, he might not overcome them so easily."
Lin Yan understood this point and saw the determination in Lin Dong's eyes. He replied to Yao Lao, "What the elder Yao Lao says makes sense. So, I will let him follow his path. Trusting him is also important."
Lin Yan turned his gaze back to Lin Dong. Before speaking, he patted Lin Dong's shoulder and continued, "Since you've made your decision, I won't interfere. Compared to you, Xiaocai has more experience. So if I'm not around and you have any questions, ask him."
After saying this, Lin Yan handed Lin Dong a cosmic pouch containing a decent amount of pills and pure yuan pills. When they were together, there was no need to give Lin Dong so many resources, but now that they were parting, Lin Yan wanted to ensure he had what he needed.
"Good luck. I hope the next time we meet, you'll surpass me." Lin Yan smiled at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong nodded in response. "Alright! Brother Lin Yan, until we meet again!"
After saying this, he laughed and rode Xiaoyan away in the opposite direction. Lin Yan watched him leave for a long time. When his figure completely disappeared, he withdrew his gaze and murmured to himself, "I didn't expect to become some kind of worried old man. Worried that this boy will get into trouble when he's alone. It's ridiculous."
Yao Lao's voice quickly followed, "Haha, it's normal. After all, you two brothers are parting for the first time."
As he said this, Yao Lao continued, "But young friend, you can be confident in this boy. His strength is not weak, plus that spiritual ability within him. Indeed, this boy is quite formidable in himself. He simply didn't show it much because you were always by his side. But once he's out on his own, it won't be long before he becomes strong in his own right."
Lin Yan nodded. "I agree. This boy will be fine."
Of course, Lin Yan had confidence in Lin Dong. After all, he would be the future Grand Martial Master, a powerful expert. Even without his help, Lin Dong would surely reach great heights. The reason Lin Yan felt a bit melancholic was simply because it was their first time parting.
"Alright. I must continue as well. Move forward. That boy is trying to avoid running into me, so he's moving in a different direction. He will definitely reach the Great Desolate County much later than I will," Lin Yan said to himself. Then he continued on his way. After parting from Lin Dong, his speed increased. Before, he had to account for Lin Dong's speed, but now he no longer needed to.
"Speaking of which, Xiaocai has been acting strange lately," Lin Yan told Yao Lao.
Xiaocai had been sleeping a lot recently. Before, he also slept a lot, but it used to be a peaceful sleep. Lately, Lin Yan often felt fluctuations in his soul coming from the storage ring.
"Perhaps the two souls are beginning to fuse," Yao Lao's voice came. Being within the storage ring, he was quite aware of Xiaocai's situation. He could clearly sense that the two souls within Xiaocai had been struggling recently. One of those souls was surely Queen Medusa. Obviously, with Xiaocai's continuous increase in power, the soul that had been silent for a long time was awakening once again.
"Is there any way to help her? If the soul fusion fails, she could be in trouble, right?" Lin Yan asked Yao Lao.
Yao Lao nodded, "The result of a failed soul fusion is terrible; one of the souls will die. But this only happens when one party is much more dominant. If both parties are equally strong, it's very likely that both will die, leaving the snake with an empty shell." After thinking for a moment, Yao Lao continued, "I have a pill formula that could help her. It's a rank-six pill called the Soul Fusion Pill. Young friend, you can't refine it yourself yet, but I can help. However, I can't do anything if the ingredients are missing; you'll have to find them yourself."
Lin Yan nodded and had Yao Lao give him the information on the ingredients. Then he said, "So that's the only thing we can do. I don't want to see this little one suffer. After all, I've raised her since she was small."
He continued on his way. In the following days, he often stopped at places where spiritual energy gathered, as they were generally areas rich in treasures. With any luck, he could find the materials needed to make the Soul Fusion Pill. But those materials were not easy to find. Lin Yan searched for a long time without success.
One day, he continued his journey as usual and came to a valley. The sky over the valley was filled with dark clouds, and lightning constantly struck down. However, apart from this area, the rest of the landscape was sunny, which puzzled Lin Yan. He continued investigating and saw, in the distance, a snake dozens of meters long, coiled around a massive dark tree. Lightning kept striking the tree, but it didn't harm the snake. Instead, the snake seemed to be absorbing it, emitting a hissing sound of pleasure.
"What kind of beast is this? It looks very powerful," Lin Yan frowned upon seeing this.
But Yao Lao's voice quickly sounded, "Is that... the Stormwood? I didn't expect to find it in this world."