"This is my sincere intention..."
Yu Xiaogang spoke at length, but Bibi Dong barely heard a word of what he said.
Meeting his sincere gaze, she tightly gripped the Spirit Bone in her hands.
"...Then I'll accept it."
Her voice was so soft that Yu Xiaogang almost failed to hear it.
Seeing that she had accepted the Spirit Bone, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Bibi Dong was an extraordinary genius. More importantly, she was the disciple of the Pope of Spirit Hall, the future Holy Maiden, and perhaps even the future Pope herself.
Someone of her status could certainly have disagreements with members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but she could never be allowed to develop lasting resentment toward the entire sect.
If someone with her future influence harbored ill feelings, it could affect the relationship between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall for years to come.
Resolving today's conflict with a single Spirit Bone was more than worthwhile.
If he allowed the misunderstanding to remain until Bibi Dong became the Holy Maiden, then even ten Spirit Bones might not be enough to mend the relationship.
Watching everything unfold, Yu Yuanzhen stood speechless.
After accepting the Spirit Bone, Bibi Dong quietly turned her back to Yu Xiaogang.
Although her expression was hidden from view, the bright red tips of her ears revealed everything.
Yu Xiaogang, however, remained completely calm, seemingly unaware that anything unusual had happened.
To him, this was simply a sincere apology, nothing more.
Bibi Dong clearly didn't see it that way.
"Good heavens..."
"What exactly is going on here?"
"Is my son simply too innocent... or is Bibi Dong just too easily moved?"
Yu Yuanzhen couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He had never imagined the relationship between the two would develop in such an unexpected direction.
Unaware of the strange look his father was giving him, Yu Xiaogang shifted his attention back to the storage soul tool.
Looking at the ordinary-looking storage device, he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.
Who would have imagined that such a plain soul tool contained enough wealth to shake the entire Douluo Continent?
After removing the Spirit Bones, several other items still remained inside, including a few books.
Seeing them reminded Yu Xiaogang of the diary he had obtained after defeating the Spirit Saint earlier.
Curious, he took the books out.
"This is..."
"An Essay Collection."
He flipped through the pages and quickly understood what it was.
It was the personal cultivation journal of a Spirit Master.
Many Spirit Masters had the habit of recording their cultivation experiences.
After all, even the sharpest memory could not compare to written notes.
A Spirit Master's cultivation often spanned decades, and countless experiences accumulated over that time.
Some recorded their journeys to leave guidance for future generations after achieving greatness.
Others documented their breakthroughs and failures so they could review them whenever their cultivation encountered a bottleneck.
Yu Xiaogang himself had developed the same habit.
Although he was only a Spirit Elder, he had already filled several notebooks with his own cultivation records.
Whenever inspiration suddenly struck him, he would immediately stop whatever he was doing, take out his notebook from his storage soul tool, and write everything down.
No matter how vague or incomplete the idea seemed, every flash of inspiration was worth preserving.
With that thought in mind, Yu Xiaogang continued reading the journal.
Before long, he discovered the origin of the countless Spirit Bones stored inside the soul tool.
The owner had been a common-born Spirit Master whose Martial Soul was a Ground Mole.
While searching the Sunset Forest for a suitable spirit ring, he encountered an Earth-attributed Spirit Beast that perfectly matched his needs.
Unfortunately, the beast was extremely powerful.
Unable to defeat it head-on, the Mole Spirit Master used his Martial Soul to dig a tunnel, intending to launch a surprise attack from beneath its nest.
However...
The moment he entered the beast's underground lair, he was completely stunned.
Spirit Bones.
Hundreds of Spirit Bones.
They were scattered throughout the cave in every direction.
After careful observation, he realized the Spirit Beast possessed exceptional burrowing abilities.
Over many years of tunneling through the forest, it had accidentally uncovered countless Spirit Bones buried beneath the earth and instinctively carried them back to its nest.
After all, countless Spirit Beasts died within the Spirit Beast Forest every year.
Naturally, many Spirit Bones remained hidden beneath the soil.
Thanks to its underground lifestyle, the Spirit Beast had unknowingly built an astonishing treasure trove.
After understanding the situation, the Mole Spirit Master secretly stole several Spirit Bones.
He first refined them to increase his strength before returning to challenge the Spirit Beast once again.
This time, he successfully killed it.
Even after obtaining the spirit ring he needed, he chose not to leave the Sunset Forest.
Instead, he decided to imitate the Spirit Beast.
"Digging tunnels?"
"That's my specialty."
Using the wealth obtained from selling several thousand-year Spirit Bones, he purchased large quantities of supplies and built himself a hidden underground cultivation base.
On ordinary days, he cultivated in seclusion.
Whenever he had spare time, he dug tunnels beneath different regions of the Sunset Forest, searching for more Spirit Bones hidden underground.
To his delight, he actually found several more.
Those early successes only fueled his greed.
The Sunset Forest gradually became too small to satisfy his ambitions.
According to the journal, once his strength improved further, he planned to move on to the Star Dou Great Forest and continue searching for buried Spirit Bones there.
Unfortunately...
The journal ended abruptly.
There were no records after that.
Yu Xiaogang didn't need to think hard to guess what had happened.
The fate of that Mole Spirit Master was almost certainly tragic.
The Spirit Beast Forest, especially one filled with ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, was far more dangerous than most people could imagine.
Being underground didn't make it any safer.
At any moment, one could accidentally tunnel into the territory of a powerful underground Spirit Beast.
And if that happened...
Death was almost inevitable.
Closing the journal, Yu Xiaogang didn't know where the Mole Spirit Master's remains now rested.
But deep inside, he silently offered him his sincerest gratitude.
Without that nameless Spirit Master's persistence and sacrifice...
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would never have obtained this unimaginable fortune.
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