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Wind Baboon?
Su Wen looked at Feng Yuan in surprise.
"Yeah, just call me Uncle Feng."
Su Yuntao's face darkened.
This Old Feng still loved pulling rank.
"Brother Tao, no need to wait any longer," Su Wen said.
As the one concerned, how could he not be in a hurry to absorb his spirit ring?
"Alright."
The group of four arrived at the Spirit Hunting Forest.
The well-equipped guards saw the Spirit Hall Deacon robes worn by Su Yuntao and his two companions and promptly saluted.
However, saluting was one thing; the required writ still had to be inspected.
The writ was in order. With Su Yuntao and the others flanking him on three sides, they led Su Wen into the Spirit Hunting Forest.
"Although it's called an enclosure, the Empire merely fenced off this forest. Most of the spirit beasts inside still grow naturally, and their wild nature remains." Su Yuntao's expression was serious; he even temporarily dropped his usual flirting to emphasize the safety details to Su Wen.
Inside the Spirit Hunting Forest, there were hundred-year spirit beasts, and quite a few of them, but on the whole, ten-year spirit beasts were still the most numerous.
The four of them searched for half a day and did discover three spirit beasts over one hundred years old.
However, none of them were what Su Wen needed. The four of them steered clear of these hundred-year spirit beasts, giving them a wide berth.
"Plant-type spirit beasts are relatively rare, but there is an area within this Spirit Hunting Forest that has a higher concentration of plant-type spirit beasts," Sisi spoke up.
Her spirit was a whip, and when she was obtaining her spirit rings, she had also searched for plant-type spirit beasts, so she had some familiarity with the distribution of plant-type spirit beasts within this Spirit Hunting Forest.
"Wait!" Su Yuntao spoke, his expression cautious.
Instinctively, he sensed danger.
He was currently in his spirit avatar state, a pair of vivid green eyes scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a cluster of dark green vines.
"Ghost Vine!"
There was actually a Ghost Vine in this Spirit Hunting Forest!
The Ghost Vine was considered a relatively high-level spirit beast. Even though it was a plant-type spirit beast and immobile, hunting it was by no means easier than hunting most animal-type spirit beasts.
Its strongest ability was parasitism. Spirit Masters would often be unwittingly parasitized by the Ghost Vine.
It implants spores containing spirit power onto an enemy, instantly activating them. Combined with the Ghost Vine's innate toxicity and resilience, it could instantly immobilize its target.
"This Ghost Vine is at least six hundred years old. We should try to go around it." Sisi observed the patterns on the Ghost Vine's tendrils, deduced its age, and warned the other three to keep their distance.
A Ghost Vine of at least six hundred years?
Su Wen inwardly wondered, Could this be the same Ghost Vine that Tang San hunted in the original story?
They continued searching the vicinity.
"Little Wen, your luck is pretty good!" Su Yuntao's pair of vivid green pupils revealed a trace of excitement.
Following Su Yuntao's gaze, Su Wen saw the source of his excitement.
It was a three-meter-tall purple fruit tree emitting a soft, star-like glow. On the tree were nine purple fruits, intermixed with either yellow or white patterns.
"Starlight Fruit Tree! This tree as your first spirit ring is definitely a good choice. And judging by the three yellow-patterned fruits and six white-patterned fruits, it should have three hundred and sixty years of cultivation."
Three hundred and sixty years was more than sufficient for a first spirit ring.
Su Wen had also read about the Starlight Fruit Tree in the library.
The Starlight Fruits produced by the Starlight Fruit Tree were a great treasure to spirit beasts, able to directly increase a spirit beast's strength.
A single white-patterned fruit represented ten years of cultivation.
Upon reaching one hundred years, ten white-patterned fruits would drop, and a single yellow-patterned fruit would grow in their place.
Around a Starlight Fruit Tree, there would usually be a spirit beast guarding it, waiting to devour the Starlight Fruits after they fell.
Fruits that were forcibly picked could not be eaten. The berserk stellar power within them, upon entering the body, not only couldn't be digested but might instead wreak havoc within the body, causing severe internal injuries.
The tree's cultivation was actually the process of the Starlight Fruit Tree refining this berserk stellar power into docile spirit power.
It absorbed stellar power to bear fruit, then refined the berserk stellar power. After refining, a portion of the stellar power was converted into docile energy and remained in the Starlight Fruit, while another portion was assimilated by the Starlight Fruit Tree as its own power.
Afterward, the fruit tree would continue to absorb stellar power, guiding it into the Starlight Fruits to be stored and transformed.
"The Starlight Fruit Tree meets your requirements; its spirit power is definitely vast enough." Su Yuntao stared at the Dire Bear beneath the Starlight Fruit Tree, remaining vigilant while waiting for Su Wen's decision.
To take it, or not?
"Starlight Fruit Trees are generally absorbed by auxiliary-type Spirit Masters. They can grant enhancement-type auxiliary spirit skills. The effect is maximized especially if absorbed by a food-system Spirit Master. Little Wen, your Book Spirit is a very good fit for the auxiliary route. Even without any special techniques, under the guidance of the fruit tree's power, you are very likely to obtain a powerful auxiliary spirit skill," Sisi said.
The innate characteristics of the spirit ring itself were extremely distinct. Even without needing to develop the spirit, without needing techniques, one would still obtain a corresponding spirit skill under the spirit ring's guidance.
In order to obtain a suitable spirit skill, she had researched information related to spirits and spirit skills.
Su Wen nodded and said, "Brother Tao, Uncle Feng, Sister Sisi, I'll have to trouble you."
Starlight Fruit Tree!
This was absolutely the most suitable first spirit ring for him.
The Starlight Fruit Tree tempers and improves itself through the continuous process of refining stellar power. This will be beneficial for tempering my spirit and for refining all kinds of energy to strengthen my foundation in the future.
And, most importantly, Su Wen felt that his intended development path for his spirit was an extremely good match for the Starlight Fruit Tree.
An enhancement-type spirit skill...
An auxiliary spirit skill?
Su Wen smiled inwardly.
Unbeknownst to them, my development path for my spirit also has an enhancement direction. However, the target of this enhancement is my spirit itself.
Whether it was temporarily empowering the manifested book pages with spirit power, or directly strengthening the spirit with raw spirit power, both were part of Su Wen's planned development along the enhancement path.
I hope this provides the result I'm looking for.
While Su Wen was pondering, Su Yuntao and the others had already charged into battle.
Feng Yuan unleashed his spirit avatar. Faint cyan air currents swirled around his body, his physique bulked up considerably, and his hands transformed into powerful claws.
A purple whip appeared in Sisi's hand. She stood behind Su Yuntao and Feng Yuan, while also subtly positioning herself to protect Su Wen.
The Dire Bear, the moment it discovered the four of them, had adopted a vigilant posture. The instant Su Yuntao and the others activated their spirit avatars, the spirit power within its body erupted violently.
"Roar!"
"This Dire Bear has at least five hundred years of cultivation. Be careful!"
Su Yuntao turned into a green afterimage and closed in on the Dire Bear's flank. Feng Yuan, wreathed in wind-attributed spirit power, charged in for a head-on clash.
Sisi lashed out with her long whip, aiming to entangle the Dire Bear's right leg.
Su Wen's heart was pounding.
He calmly observed the unfolding battle. A book emitting a faint glow already floated in front of him, its pages fluttering around him, ready to react to any sudden danger.
"Sister Sisi, fight with your full strength."
(End of this chapter)