21: Chapter 21 The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mutant Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad

With a clear goal in mind, Jing Hongchen led the two of them in one direction.

Since his granddaughter's Spirit was a Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, Jing Hongchen had naturally investigated the habitats of this type of Spirit Beast and was aware of their living habits.

The target age for Meng Hongchen's fifth spirit ring was around twelve thousand years.

Even though she was a prodigy of her generation, she could only honestly absorb an ordinary ten-thousand-year-aged ring.

After all, the use of medicine had almost become a tradition in the Sun Moon Empire, which meant Meng Hongchen's physical fitness could only reach the level of a normal Spirit King; absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring was already her limit.

Under Jing Hongchen's lead, the three arrived deep within the Frozen Forest, near the Far North, where ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts could already be seen lurking.

According to what the Ice Emperor said in the original work, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad dared not enter the Far North because their natural predator, the Ice Jade Scorpion, resided there.

Therefore, searching for a Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad in this area was the most promising option.

"Since ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts are already appearing here, you two should follow behind me and do not stray too far."

Jing Hongchen instructed the two behind him while leading the way.

Mu Qingci did not speak; he merely nodded silently and immediately released his Spirit, remaining vigilant at all times.

With the Hades Sword in hand, his four spirit rings—yellow, purple, purple, and black—appeared exceptionally dazzling in the forest.

The pressure of his god-tier Spirit was released without reservation; if Jing Hongchen were not an ally at this moment, he would likely have been affected as well.

At this moment, in a nearby thicket, a pair of vermilion eyes were staring intently at the three of them.

To be precise, they were staring at Meng Hongchen, who was in the middle of the three.

It was an ice-blue toad that was exceptionally large compared to an ordinary toad; most notably, its pair of vermilion eyes seemed to be burning with flames.

The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, an ice and fire dual-attribute Spirit Beast.

It was currently looking at Meng Hongchen with a longing gaze; it felt a familiar aura from that little girl, and if it could devour her, its cultivation would surely improve greatly.

This Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad had just broken through the ten-thousand-year threshold and was very confident in its own strength.

It sensed that the aura emanating from that human little girl was only at the Spirit Ancestor realm, and the greed in its heart grew even stronger.

However, Jing Hongchen made it feel very wary.

To prevent scaring off the target Spirit Beast, Jing Hongchen had not released his Spirit or spirit rings at this moment.

However, ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts already possessed a certain level of intelligence, and the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad felt a hint of caution when it saw Jing Hongchen.

It discovered that it could not see through the human before it, so it assumed his strength must be above its own.

Yet, looking at the human little girl within reach, the greed in the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's heart was amplified infinitely, gradually overpowering its reason.

Its extreme confidence in its own strength made it take for granted that even if the human in front had a cultivation level above its own, it could still defeat him.

Watching the three move further away, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad launched an attack without hesitation.

An ice ball containing intense ice poison shot towards Meng Hongchen.

Mu Qingci reacted immediately, raising the Hades Sword in his hand and slashing downwards.

With Soul Power wrapping the blade, he easily sliced the ice ball in two.

With his ultimate attribute protecting his body, Mu Qingci didn't have to worry at all that the opponent's poison could harm him.

"I was just feeling sleepy when someone brought a pillow; talk about speaking of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives."

Jing Hongchen chuckled, a soul cannon appearing in his hand as he aimed at the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad.

"Senior, let me deal with it first!"

Mu Qingci rushed forward with the Hades Sword in hand; when he got close to the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, he was surprised to find that the opponent seemed somewhat different.

The aura emanating from this Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was different from the ordinary ones.

Looking closely, one could see that a layer of fine blue scales covered the surface of the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's body, which looked like dragon scales.

And there were two small bumps on its forehead, as if something was about to grow out.

"This is not simple; it is a mutated version of a Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad. No wonder it dared to attack us directly."

Hearing Mu Qingci's shout, Jing Hongchen also turned his attention to the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's appearance and naturally discovered the difference.

"This is a Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad that is about to undergo dragonification. It already has a trace of dragon blood in its body, and its quality is much higher than ordinary ones. Not bad, Mengmeng, you're in luck this time."

Jing Hongchen was not in a hurry to act; he wanted to see just how powerful Mu Qingci's combat strength was at this moment.

Even an ordinary Spirit Emperor would not gain any advantage against this mutated ten-thousand-year Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad; it remained to be seen what Mu Qingci could achieve.

Mu Qingci brandished his Hades Sword continuously, sword intent surging around him, forcing the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad to retreat steadily with no power to fight back.

In anger, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's eyes ignited with flames, and the dual attributes of ice and fire raged around it, attempting to harm Mu Qingci.

Mu Qingci still did not use his spirit rings, relying instead on pure sword intent to fight; he knew well that only this kind of battle could temper his swordsmanship and enhance his sword intent.

Under his fierce, rain-like offensive, wounds began to appear on the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's body, and blood flowed out.

In pain, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad went completely berserk, and a faint dragon roar emanated from its body; this was how it differed from an ordinary Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad.

But this trace of dragon pressure was useless against Mu Qingci; he possessed a god-tier Spirit, and it was a Tool Spirit, so this bit of pressure meant nothing to him.

With a charged slash, Mu Qingci severed one of the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's front legs.

The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad realized something was wrong, but it was too late to escape; Mu Qingci charged another slash and severed its other front leg.

Subsequently, Mu Qingci violently plunged his sword into the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's back, pinning it firmly to the ground, leaving it with no power to resist.

"Sister Meng, quickly finish it off and absorb the spirit ring."

Meng Hongchen obediently walked forward, took out a soul-guided longsword, injected Soul Power into it, and stabbed it straight into the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's glabella.

Accompanied by a series of spasms, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad lost its life, and a deep black spirit ring condensed above its corpse, emitting a heavy pressure.

"Mengmeng, hurry and absorb the spirit ring; when facing the soul shock, do not be afraid, believe in yourself!"

Under Jing Hongchen's encouragement, Meng Hongchen walked to the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's corpse, sat cross-legged, and her Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Spirit appeared behind her. She circulated her Soul Power, guiding that black spirit ring to settle outside her original four spirit rings.

The absorption of the spirit ring thus began.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Meng Hongchen's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat; clearly, the absorption was not going very smoothly.

Mu Qingci and Jing Hongchen could only wait anxiously; at this moment, there was nothing they could do to help.