The master and disciple, accompanied by an emerald swan, walked quietly through the forest.
The Star Dou Great Forest seemed to be asleep, broken only by their footsteps and the occasional chirping of insects.
Just then, a robust bovine spirit beast charged towards them, panting heavily.
However, the moment it saw Bi Ji, its hooves came to a screeching halt, leaving deep marks on the ground.
It then knelt down, trembling all over. Dongfang Jing, following behind, was dumbfounded. He finally understood that the reason they had been safe with the swan was entirely due to his master's secret protection.
But this power was too astonishing! Just seeing his master made him this frightened?
As if reading his thoughts, Bi Ji turned and glanced at him: "Do you think I'm very strong?"
Seeing Dongfang Jing nod, Bi Ji hesitated for a moment, still not revealing the whole truth.
She estimated her current cultivation level of 480,000 years, equivalent to a human Soul Master, and said, "My current Soul Power is around level 97."
Dongfang Jing's eyes widened immediately, feeling like he had latched onto an incredible powerful figure!
But Bi Ji changed the subject: "However, I am a healing-type Title Douluo, not skilled in combat. My actual combat strength is probably only around level 93, even weaker than an ordinary level 93. Furthermore, all my Soul Skills are healing and defensive."
She looked at Dongfang Jing earnestly: "Therefore, I cannot teach you combat techniques, but can only share all the knowledge I possess. You can still back out now; I can send you away from the Star Dou Great Forest."
After saying this, she secretly clenched her hands behind her back, waiting for the boy's reply.
Dongfang Jing, however, said without hesitation: "Since I have acknowledged you as my master, I will never back out. As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. How far I can go ultimately depends on myself. It is already a great honor for me that you are willing to accept me as your disciple."
In fact, from her previous healing methods, Dongfang Jing had already guessed that she might be a healing-type Title Douluo.
He didn't care, after all, combat skills ultimately depended on his own practice.
What he lacked most now was deeper theoretical knowledge.
The spiritual world and spiritual sea that Senior Biji had mentioned were precisely his blind spots.
Hearing this, Biji was quite pleased.
She thought her new disciple was really sweet-talking!
The two of them and the goose continued on their way, but the further they went, the more uneasy Dongfang Jing felt.
He looked up and saw that the trees were no longer so tall as to block out the sky, and the bright moonlight shone down. The surrounding vegetation was even more lush, and the occasional chilling roars of beasts could be heard.
Dongfang Jing asked hesitantly, "Master, are we... already in the core area of the forest?"
Under the moonlight, Biji's profile looked exceptionally gentle.
She nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the depths of the forest, and said with a hint of amusement, "That's right, this is the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. From today onwards, this will be your new home~"
Dongfang Jing picked at his ear. What?
Home? Did I hear that right?
Biji led Dongfang Jing deeper into the forest, finally stopping by a small, shallow lake.
Dongfang Jing looked around; in the moonlight, lush green grass stretched as far as the eye could see, the air was fresh and invigorating, the lake shimmered, and fish swam leisurely.
Although it was night, it was clear that this place was quite different from the rest of the forest, lacking the dangerous, chilling atmosphere and possessing instead a sense of tranquility and peace.
"Goose!"
A clear swan call drew Dongfang Jing's attention.
The sound didn't come from the one beside him, but from another emerald swan lying on the grass not far away.
"Goose."
"Goose?"
More and more calls rang out, and one after another, emerald swans gathered from all directions, roughly sixty or seventy in total.
They circled around Biji, calling merrily, their voices rising and falling in waves.
Although Biji was the clan leader, she never made her people kneel before her, and she herself interacted with the swans affectionately.
This magnificent sight made Dongfang Jing unable to help but ask, "Master, are all these swans yours? Could it be that all the emerald swans in the entire forest have gathered here?"
Biji nodded gently, "Those who are willing to follow me live here. You will also live here from now on."
Watching Biji squat down and communicate with the swans in "goose language" that Dongfang Jing couldn't understand,he couldn't help but wonder: 'Could it be that Master, like the Demon Soul Great White Shark King Xiaobai, is a 100,000-year-old soul beast capable of transforming into a human?'
At this moment, several bold swans approached Dongfang Jing.
Although Biji had introduced him to her people in soul beast language, most of the swans had not witnessed him saving people and were still somewhat afraid of humans.
Dongfang Jing knew that these emerald swans were not hostile, so he simply reached out to touch them.
"Goose?"
A curious emerald swan tilted its head and suddenly poked Dongfang Jing's crotch with its sharp beak.
"Ugh!" Dongfang Jing didn't react in time, crouching down in pain, pointing at the swan, and putting on his pain mask.
"You bastard!"
The emerald swan tilted its head innocently. This is a human? How come they're weaker than me?
Brigitte couldn't help but chuckle, walking over and tapping the mischievous swan on the head: "Apologize now! Otherwise, your food will be halved tomorrow!"
The swan protested a few times, but still circled around Dongfang Jing, even spreading its wings to heal him.
After this little incident, the swans all went back to the lawn to rest, except for the one that had been injured earlier, which remained by Dongfang Jing's side.
The master and apprentice sat facing each other on a tree stump.
"Disciple, I know you have many questions," Bi Ji said gently, with a hint of mystery in her voice. "When the time is right, I will tell you everything."
"I understand, Master."
Bi Ji smiled slightly and pointed to the sleeping swans. "Many of the swans here have guardians, all of them ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts that they saved. So you are safe here."
She paused. "This little guy beside you is an exception. It sneaked out when its guardians weren't looking."
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jing released his spiritual power to investigate and indeed found a ten-thousand-year-old bee soul beast on a large tree not far away.
The bee merely glanced at him indifferently, without showing any hostility.
"I've already explained your situation to all the guardians," Biji added. "They won't harm you. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Dongfang Jing wasn't too concerned about his living environment; his biggest concern now was cultivation. "Master, about the spiritual world and the spiritual sea."
"Well, these two are both distinct and inseparable, like the whole and its core," Biji patiently explained. "The spiritual world is the inner space composed of all a person's spiritual power, consciousness, memories, and thoughts. When spiritual power is projected outward, it can form a spiritual domain that influences reality; when viewed inward, one can enter this abstract yet real world."
As she spoke, Biji used her spiritual power to transmit her voice to Dongfang Jing: "Like now, those with strong spiritual power can communicate spiritually, which is called telepathy, indicating that our spiritual worlds are interacting. Everyone's spiritual world is different; it might be a desert, a fog, or some other scene, but they all share the characteristic of 'abstraction.' You can sense its existence, but it's difficult to fully understand its essence."
Dongfang Jing nodded as if he understood.
Biji continued her explanation:
"The Sea of Spirit is the convergence point of liquid spiritual energy within the spiritual world; it is the source of spiritual power. Only when spiritual energy reaches a certain level can this 'ocean' form within the spiritual world. The spiritual world of ordinary soul masters is mostly in a gaseous or chaotic state, without a formed 'ocean.' The stronger the spiritual energy, the wider and deeper this 'ocean' becomes. Using any soul skill, especially a spiritual soul skill, requires converting soul power into spiritual energy, and then consuming the energy from the Sea of Spirit to release it."
"Disciple, what you saw through your inner vision is precisely the Sea of Spirit! This is also quite intriguing, because with your strength and the attributes of your weapon spirit, you shouldn't theoretically possess a Sea of Spirit!"
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