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"???"
A tiny head filled with giant question marks, eyes brimming with confusion.
"Zhongli, do you mean we'll set off after Qinghe has gone far enough?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Paimon couldn't understand this approach at all.
"Xue Qinghe" was going to hunt for spirit rings, while they were heading to the Star Dou Great Forest—there was no conflict. Why wait until she was far away before following?
Wait… following?
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Paimon's guess to be confirmed.
"Zhongli, why are we secretly tailing Qinghe?"
"Two days ago, we agreed on one condition for this trip—you talk less."
"Ugh!"
Paimon stomped her feet, crossed her arms, and huffed before finally falling silent.
Things unfolded much as Zhongli had expected, though "Xue Qinghe's" approach was more elaborate.
She had actually arranged for a decoy to divert attention, escorted by her "trusted subordinates" to the Sunset Forest for spirit hunting.
Meanwhile, her true self blended into the crowd, reverting to her original appearance shortly after entering the forest.
"Good heavens, Qinghe is actually a girl!"
"And she's quite pretty too!"
Zhongli's forehead was lined with exasperation. Fortunately, he had discreetly used his power to create an invisible barrier around them, preventing Paimon's voice from carrying.
"Miss, would you like me to assist you?"
An elderly-looking man, seemingly in his seventies or eighties, emerged from the shadows. His physique was robust, but his face was rather… unsettling, nearly startling Paimon.
The Star Dou Great Forest was quite a distance from Heaven Dou City. Even a typical Title Douluo would need considerable time to traverse it at full speed, let alone Qian Renxue, who was only a quasi-Spirit Emperor.
Though she possessed flight capabilities, she dared not openly use her spirit—after all, the Spirit Hall had publicly declared that the previous pope's "son" had died young.
"Thank you, Uncle Cixue, but that won't be necessary."
"It's been a long time since I left Heaven Dou City. Let me enjoy this taste of freedom."
Qian Renxue waved her hand, declining Cixue's offer.
"As you wish, Miss."
With that, Cixue retreated into the shadows. Unless Qian Renxue faced a life-threatening situation, he wouldn't intervene—this was her trial.
"Zhongli, did you already know Qinghe was a girl?"
Paimon tilted her head, squinting her eyes with a smug smirk.
"Yes. I knew her true identity the moment I saw her."
"Ugh! You know everything! Why didn't you tell Paimon?!"
"You didn't ask."
Paimon: "..."
This time, Paimon was truly rendered speechless, lips parting slightly before closing again.
The decoy "Xue Qinghe" would remain in the Sunset Forest for about ten days. If Qian Renxue hadn't returned by then, they would proceed to the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Sunset Forest—where Zhongli and Paimon had first arrived in the Douluo Continent—was still somewhat familiar to them.
Sneaking behind Qian Renxue and Cixue, even the Title Douluo failed to detect their presence.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, the group arrived at the entrance of the Star Dou Great Forest.
As the largest spirit beast forest on the continent, the Star Dou Great Forest spanned two empires, with countless entry points.
Of course, the entrances guarded by military garrisons were safer, but Qian Renxue deliberately avoided them.
Once inside, Paimon couldn't help but glance around curiously.
Unlike the Sunset Forest, the trees here were taller and denser.
Qian Renxue didn't linger in the outskirts. Instead, she retrieved a map from her storage-type soul tool, marked with several circles indicating locations suitable for her sixth spirit ring.
Most spirit beasts were territorial, rarely straying from their domains—especially those over ten thousand years old.
With the Spirit Hall's support, Qian Renxue didn't need to search blindly.
Long before her breakthrough to the 60th rank, many had scouted potential spirit beasts for her.
Now, she only needed to hunt them down.
Without wasting time, Qian Renxue sprinted toward the nearest marked location.
This was still the forest's periphery, where few spirit beasts could threaten her, allowing her to move freely.
Once she reached the inner regions, her pace would naturally slow.
As for the core area? Extreme caution was necessary.
The core was home to spirit beasts of at least ten thousand years, with some exceeding fifty thousand.
A fifty-thousand-year spirit beast could force even a Spirit Douluo to flee!
Zhongli and Paimon followed at a leisurely pace, occasionally encountering weak decade or century-level spirit beasts.
"Zhongli, how do you tell a spirit beast's age?"
Paimon was currently eyeing a spotted cat as she asked.
Zhongli paused, considering for a moment before answering.
"The simplest method is to observe the color of its spirit energy."
"White represents a decade, yellow a century, purple a millennium, black ten thousand years, and red a hundred thousand."
"This corresponds to spirit ring ages."
"However, this only gives a rough estimate. Pinpointing exact years is harder."
"For example, two black spirit rings may both appear black, but one could be ten thousand years while the other is eighty or ninety thousand."
"Ordinary people rely on color, but experts sense energy fluctuations directly..."
Even within the same color tier, the depth of hue varied with energy density.
A spirit ring nearing its next stage might exhibit hints of the next color—such as black tinged with red (approaching a hundred thousand years) or yellow tinged with purple (close to a thousand).
"So this cat's energy is white—it's a decade spirit beast?"
"Correct. To be precise, it's nearing a century."
"See that faint yellow in its energy? That's a sign of imminent breakthrough."
"Ugh, this is so complicated!"
"Let's just keep tailing Qinghe. She seems to be in a hurry."
"Who knew stalking could be this fun? Next time, let's pick another target..."
Zhongli: "..."
I tell you to study, but you'd rather raise pigs.
Shaking his head, Zhongli wasn't disappointed. Paimon's interest in spirit beasts was fleeting—she had no intention of deep learning.
If he could have lived as carefreely as Paimon back then, perhaps the erosion in Teyvat would have taken much longer to set in.
"Let's go. She's already reached the inner regions."
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