The strain of making a pill that could work for a Title Douluo, even a rather 'uncomplicated' one that didn't require a massive amount of spiritual energy like it would take to process actual heavenly herbs.
Was an enormous strain on my mind. Processing hundreds of ingredients, balancing their elements, their medicinal content, filtering the poisons. And the result was me sleeping for a whole day.
I awoke the following day with my mind feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, and my entire body was a bit stiff from lying on a blanket on the ground that Tang Wutong had laid out.
And the first thing I noticed was that I was lying against Tang Wutong, who had my head against her stomach as she lied against a tree.
"Welcome back to the waking world, Tian Long." She said quietly with a tiredness of her own in her voice.
I shifted slightly, and she then said. "Please get off of me... I need to get my own sleep."
Getting off Tang Wutong, I saw that she was truly exhausted-looking. And then just as I was about to offer to give her a drink or something from my own spirit tool storage device. I rocked forward as a pulse of spirit energy flared over us.
"That... He broke through another level." I said with a grimace of pain, as being a pseudo Spirit Elder. Feeling the spirit energy of a title douluo's raw spirit energy when they weren't restricting it for the comfort of us lesser beings.
This was a pressure that pushed us into the ground even as we were laid out.
And thus I knew why Tang Wutong was looking so exhausted as she then spoke while closing her eyes. "He has broken through twice. I protected you the last few times with my own spirit energy... Now it's your turn."
I nodded, and then I blinked as I had moved myself to sit against the tree as well. Tang Wutong waited for me to get into position before she all but curled up into a ball with herself covered in another blanket on my lap so she woudn't be on the ground.
And that was it. She didn't react to my rather pointed look at her asking why she herself wanted to basically climb into my lap to sleep for herself.
But in the end I just sighed to myself as covering for her was obviously the least I could do at this point.
So I carefully covered her in my fire-attribute spirit energy. But I made sure the fire itself was of the lowest possible temperature while still protecting her from outside influences.
And it only took a couple of minutes before I easily noticed that she had fallen utterly asleep as well. Leaving just me to my thoughts about my future as I stared at the heavenly herbs all around me.
I was quietly considering my future before I mentally shrugged as in reality, whether it was just over a ten-thousand-year spirit ring or even a twenty-thousand-year spirit ring. My third spirit ring for my Dragon Tripod Cauldron wasn't 'too' important.
As I had elixirs in mind that could artificially age the spirit rings I had. It wasn't even hard to do in reality. All you needed was a much higher true quality of spirit energy compared to what made up the spirit ring to then evolve it while making sure it didn't explode from the foreign energy being injected into it.
It's how divine blessings and even the later 'Spirit Tower's worked in the later series as well.
So with that in mind. Getting the best spirit ring I could get for right now was a better idea. Once I got my third spirit ring. I would then be taking my super divine elixir, which I would be making with these heavenly herbs.
Making me quickly shoot up to level forty in but a couple of weeks at most!
It took a few hours, but soon enough, after another much smaller pulse of spirit energy that made Tang Wutong shudder a bit. A loud laugh then rang out before Dugu Bo flew out of the small cabin with his whole appearance and aura having changed.
Before, he had a rather gloomy and cold temperament. Which made sense when you knew his entire bloodline was cursed to die of their own power, poisoning them. When they themselves were known as one of the strongest poison users in the land.
"Level Ninety Three! I broke through twice before I stabilized my foundation haha!" Dugu Bo roared with happiness.
All the while, I was seeing how his hair had gone from an emerald poison green to the green turning much darker, and his hair now had streaks of gold through it. And his skin altogether just shone with much more life as well.
Then Dugu Bo noticed Tang Wutong on my lap, and I said somewhat dryly. "Your spirit energy was rather rough on us, you old monster."
Which made him huff in mock offense before he chuckled and said with a knowing smile. "Good, good! You can just relax with your woman. Then we can go get your spirit rings. It's the least I can do for you after you extended my very lifespan. I will just go back into my cabin and meditate while she rests."
And my eye's almost rolled up at the sight of Dugu Bo all but skipping away with joy.
For the next good while I also just meditated as I knew it was getting close to time to getting my next spirit ring. And all the while I was mentally going through the books Yu Xiaogang threw at me about spirit beasts and their natures.
'Hmm... What kind of spirit ring do I want next? I don't really need another elemental one as my fire and water spirit rings are good enough for elemental attacks and elixir refinement. The question is then, can I get a spirit ring that just gives a percentage bonus to my refinement and elemental attack power?' I wondered.
Because in reality now that I was here at the Yin Yang Well I was having some crazy ideas... What if I could get the immortal soul essence of the Ice and Fire dragon king's that were down there at the bottom of the well?
If I merged that essence with my two first spirit rings I woudn't need to upgrade them in the future to say the least. Let alone if I could get their divine spirit bones.
But after a while Tang Wutong awoke. And as she awoke she was honestly rather adorable as she just looked around with a dull expression.
Then she shook her head and I could see the light return to her eyes as she gingerly rolled off of my lap. "How you feeling?" I asked quietly.
Tang Wutong shrugged with a light yawn escaping her. And so I asked the more pressing question. "You ready to get your spirit ring today? Or you want to wait a couple days to be in your best shape?"
To which Tang Wutong shook her head and said firmly. "I am fine. But I assume that Dugu Bo came out and talked with you while I was asleep?"
I told her that Dugu Bo did in fact break through to level 93, and then he promised he would help us aquire our third spirit rings and such.
"That will do then. Let's tell him that we are ready to go then." Tang Wutong said after getting up and patting any left over dust on her form off.
We headed on over to Dugu Bo's cabin and with a couple of knocks his voice rang out. "You two are ready then?"
I called out. "Yes, we are ready to go now senior."
The door to the cabin opened. And Dugu Bo strolled out with a hum before he asked curiously. "What spirit beasts and kind of spirit rings are you looking for?"
I gave Tang Wutong a look. And she cleared her throat before she said firmly. "I am looking for a spirit ring that can give me the ability to teleport. Or just generally enhance my speed as much as possible. Around the nine thousand year range if at all possible."
Then I said. "I am looking for a total amplification spirit ring. Something that will give me a flat bonus to my elemental abilities so that my alchemy refinement will be even stronger as well. And for me I want a spirit ring just over 10,000 years old."
Dugu Bo considered our thoughts on our future spirit rings and he finally said thoughtfully. "Little Wutong's spirit ring is actually rather easy... There are the Void Sparrow's here in the Sunset Forest that will work just fine."
Then he looked to me and said a bit helplessly. "As for you Tian Long. The only thing I can think of is the Gem Saint Golem's which are here in the depths of the Sunset Forest near the mountains."
His reminder of the Gem Saint Golem's brought me back to the book I read on them. They were humanoid shaped golems but they typically ranged from five meters all the up to thirty meters tall when they reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation.
And they reached they max height as the stone exterior of their bodies hardened and went through several transformations. While their organs also transformed into different forms of gems as they grew in hardness.
"That... Could work." I said thoughtfully as I knew from the book that the Seven Treasure Clan would often hunt them for their own spirit rings. Of which would always drop enhancement type spirit rings.
So I nodded and said with a smile. "Yeah that is a good idea then. Lead on then Senior, we are going to have to rely on you to help us find these spirit beasts... Whether it's capturing a Void Sparrow that can teleport, or the Gem Saint Golem which will be very strong at 10,000 years of cultivation. We will need your assistance.
Dugu Bo just chuckled and said easily. "I need to stretch my legs and try my new fists after I broke through twice in a row. So let us be going. Catching the Void Sparrow for little Wutong can be done first. As they can be found fairly easily from where they open spatial tears to teleport."