The filthy Xiao Wu was ordered to return to her room, clean herself up properly, wash up, and change into a fresh set of clothes before coming back out.
At that moment, Qian Renfeng—who normally acted as Chen Ming's hidden guard—rarely appeared before him wearing a suspicious expression.
"Elder Chen, do you really intend to keep a transformed hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast by your side?" Qian Renfeng asked seriously.
It wasn't that he particularly cared about transformed hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, nor was he coveting a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone.
The words "transformed hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast" had simply triggered pure PTSD in him.
Back then, it had been Qian Xunji who led two Titled Douluo away from the main force in pursuit of Tang Hao and that hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, which ultimately resulted in Tang Hao severely wounding him through ring detonation, leading to his eventual death.
To Qian Renfeng, transformed hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts were simply trouble incarnate, as well as a bad omen.
Whether one ended up like Tang Hao or like Qian Xunji, neither outcome looked good in his eyes.
"Humans ultimately have limits. What I mean is, if you try to explore the secrets of Spirit Beasts solely from a human perspective, it's impossible to reach the deepest core of those secrets. It's like how everyone hides little secrets in their hearts that they don't want others to know."
"And because of the massive difference in lifespan between humans and Spirit Beasts, some forms of common knowledge aren't shared between the two races. Certain things humans view as top-secret or even impossible may simply be ordinary common sense to a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast."
"It's not impossible for humans to uncover those secrets themselves, but doing so would require ten times, a hundred times, even a thousand times more effort."
"But a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast transformed into a human is like a bridge. It places human thought and Spirit Beast thought onto the same balance. Their very existence is an intricate and unique structure, and the knowledge they possess is extremely different and valuable to humanity."
"A hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone are certainly valuable, but compared to the hidden value of that knowledge, a mere hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone become far less important."
"For instance, if I had been able to observe Xiao Wu previously, then when I was developing the method of how to condense a Spirit Core back then, it could have also lowered a great deal of the difficulty."
"Even if nothing else works, as a transformed Spirit Beast, she can also provide us with information regarding the distribution of Spirit Beast populations and various resources within the Great Star Dou Forest."
Chen Ming tapped his temple. "Thought and knowledge are the true core capable of changing everything. Pure strength is naturally indispensable. But don't let having power make you forget your brain entirely. Knowledge allows the weak to become strong, and allows the strong to become even stronger."
"Knowledge… value…" As a straightforward martial artist, Qian Renfeng didn't really understand such things.
But everything Chen Ming had accomplished over the years made Qian Renfeng instinctively feel that Chen Ming's words were never wrong.
"Elder Chen, should this matter be reported to the Worship Hall elders?" Qian Renfeng asked honestly after shaking his head.
"Why would you even ask that? If I told you not to report it, would you really keep it from them?"
"I don't know. I really don't know. I'm afraid that if I say something, it might stir up trouble or damage the relationship between you all. But at the same time, something this important feels wrong not to report…"
"If Elder Chen doesn't want me to say anything, then I'll do my best to keep quiet. But if you're willing to let me report it, then that would naturally be best."
Even Dugu Bo glanced at Qian Renfeng in surprise. He hadn't expected him to be this straightforward, with such disastrously low emotional intelligence.
"Go ahead and tell the Grand Worship and my teacher about it. It's fine. They'll understand what I mean."
"I can't leave. I'm responsible for protecting Elder Chen's safety. You also said that the value of a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast isn't as important as the knowledge it possesses, so I definitely can't leave your side."
"I'll have someone else return in my place to deliver the report. I think he's absolutely reliable, don't worry. If something goes wrong, I'll stake my head on it."
The person Qian Renfeng referred to was one of the two Spirit Douluo who had accompanied him. Though weaker than him, both were trusted confidants of Qian Daoliu and long-serving veterans within Spirit Hall.
"Fine. But don't tell him directly. Write everything down in a letter first, then seal it."
Chen Ming trusted Qian Renfeng because he was an honest, straightforward type with very few selfish motives. The man simply followed his principles to the end.
Making him an independent decision-maker would absolutely be a disaster, but as an executor, he was nearly perfect.
As for the other two Spirit Douluo, Chen Ming did not distrust their loyalty exactly—
He simply did not trust the intelligence level of people in the Douluo world and worried they might accidentally create unnecessary complications.
Qian Renfeng quickly wrote the letter. After Chen Ming checked it over, he personally cut and folded a proper envelope, sealed it with wax, and stamped it using Golden Crocodile Douluo's elder token as the seal imprint.
Carrying the letter, the completely unsuspecting Spirit Douluo immediately hurried back toward Spirit Hall at full speed.
Meanwhile, after paying the bill and waiting for Xiao Wu to finish changing clothes, Chen Ming and the others left the temporary settlement and headed toward a distant location.
The environment of the Douluo world was extremely unique. Vast stretches of the land were flat plains, while terrain like hills and mountain ranges only occupied very small regions.
The area where Holy Soul Village was located happened to be a naturally formed great plain, one of the most fertile production areas possible.
Even small hills were relatively rare there.
It was already known that the place where the Blue Silver Empress was hidden lay somewhere within a mountain range—
A remote and towering range that had taken Tang San roughly half a month to traverse with his own walking speed back then.
Using the information gathered during this period, Chen Ming had already narrowed down the location satisfying all conditions among countless possibilities.
Dugu Bo used his own power to carry Chen Ming and Xiao Wu through the air in front,while Qian Renfeng brought the remaining Spirit Douluo along as they flew close behind.
After roughly two or three days, the group finally entered a seemingly endless mountain range.
Then, after another full day of searching, Chen Ming finally arrived before an exceptionally beautiful pool of water.
A waterfall roughly twenty meters wide crashed down from a cliff over two hundred meters high, producing thunderous roaring sounds.
"This place is so beautiful."
The carefree Xiao Wu ran to the edge of the pool, admiring her own reflection in the sapphire-like water surface.
Although changing into a beautiful new outfit and replacing her rabbi-ear accessory with an even prettier one made Xiao Wu very happy, she still felt an indescribable sense of unease whenever she looked at the collar around her neck.