Master of Nine Stars

The moment Rong Taotao touched a Soul Pearl, he was completely stunned!

’Wha... What is this!?’

’A Legendary Level Bailing Tree Maiden Soul Pearl!?’

’Holy cow...’

As the information from his Inner Soul Map flowed in, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but grin. He put down the Soul Pearl in his hand, picked up another, and then froze once more.

’Aren’t there any lower-level ones?’

’My Da Wei’s Soul Technique is only four-star. She... she’s not worthy!’

Behind him, Gao Lingwei placed a hand on her forehead and sighed helplessly.

She had no idea what was going through Rong Taotao’s mind, but seeing him picking and choosing like he was at a fruit stand was, frankly, a bit pathetic...

”Hehe.” Seeing Rong Taotao’s expression, the Bailing Tree Maiden extended a slender twig and gently brushed his cheek.

The Bailing Tree Maiden had lived for a very, very long time. She had seen too much and endured too much.

But she had never imagined that the legendary Frost Snow Incarnation would be such an interesting child.

Further back, Fu Tiance’s expression was quite grave. He had dealt with many races in the Outer Region, and that, of course, included the Bailing Tree Maiden clan.

But the Snow Burning army had never received such a gift. This was treatment no one would even dare to dream of!

’So, are these Soul Pearls really for the Snow Burning army?’

’Or... are they a gift from the Bailing Tree Maiden to the one she calls the ”Frost Snow Incarnation”?’

’The Nine-Petaled Lotus. A full nine petals!’

’Is the Bailing Tree Maiden like this only with Rong Taotao, or does she treat all owners of the Lotus Petals this way?’

’No, that’s not right!’

After a moment of thought, Fu Tiance dismissed his own speculation.

The owners of the Lotus Petals included both humans and beasts, and with Bailing Village so close to the Snow Realm Vortex, the Bailing Tree Maiden must have encountered those hosts before.

The Ice Soul Guide had previously led a Soul Beast Army through here, and the number one Soul General of the Outer Region, Xu Fenghua, was stationed just up the Dragon River—not too far from this village. Why hadn’t the Bailing Tree Maiden given them any gifts?

The Bailing Tree Maiden was, without a doubt, a Spiritual System race, and her abilities were terrifyingly powerful!

’Since she could immediately tell the difference between Rong Yang and Rong Taotao, does this mean she has her own unique judgment about Rong Taotao as a person?’

Fu Tiance gazed at Rong Taotao in the distance and murmured softly, ”So, the Frost Snow Incarnation...”

”Captain Fu.” From behind, a resonant voice rang out, startling everyone from their silence.

Rong Taotao, still holding a Soul Pearl, turned to see Yin Hu taking the lead, flanked by Ox Head and Horse Face.

”There’s no time to lose. We’re heading back to the Third Wall!” Fu Tiance announced, turning to look at the giant Tree Maiden kneeling on the ground.

”CRACKLE, CRACKLE...”

A series of soft crackling sounds was heard as the branches of the tray in front of Rong Taotao surged again, reshaping into a ”basin.”

”You’re so thoughtful,” Rong Taotao said, looking up at the Tree Maiden as she placed the basin in his arms.

The large basin was filled with Soul Pearls shimmering with a strange luster, just like a damn Treasure Basin!

A New Year’s gift of this value was probably one of a kind in the entire world...

Watching the giant Tree Maiden summon her clan, Rong Taotao suppressed the ache in his heart, carried the Treasure Basin over to Fu Tiance, and said, ”Here, Captain. She gave this to our Snow Burning army.”

Fu Tiance: ”Mm, you hold it for now...”

Rong Taotao: ”It’s too shiny. I’ll be a target. You should hold it.”

Fu Tiance: ”...”

He said irritably, ”You’re the one with the backpack. Put them all inside.”

”Oh, okay...”

A moment later, Gao Lingwei helped Rong Taotao shoulder the heavy backpack and also called over Hu Bugui.

Rong Taotao, meanwhile, kept his head tilted up, watching as the towering Bailing Trees all around them ”came to life.” The once ordinary Bailing Trees rippled and shifted, forming torsos, limbs, and heads of fine, branch-like hair.

They walked with a swaying gait, creating a truly spectacular scene.

Rong Taotao also noticed them carefully extending their branches to scoop up small creatures. Clearly, the Bailing Tree Maidens intended to take these little ones with them.

Rong Taotao watched as a giant Bailing Tree Maiden curled a branch around a small Snow Rabbit and brought it toward her torso.

The branches and bark on her torso rippled, revealing a small opening. After delivering the Snow Rabbit inside, the wooden skin covered the hole once more...

A true sanctuary!

Anyone who wanted to hunt that Snow Rabbit would probably have to kill the Bailing Tree Maiden first.

The Bailing Tree Maidens were great in every way, except they were too big and moved a bit slowly.

Under Fu Tiance’s command, the squad split into two teams. Yin Hu, along with Ugly Ox, Wu Ma, and Cheng Jiangjie, brought up the rear, while Fu Tiance led Rong Taotao, Gao Lingwei, and Xu Yiyu at the front to clear the way.

However... because the Bailing Tree Maidens walked too slowly, the Snow Night Shocks beneath the squad couldn’t even break into a run.

SWISH~

A small branch swished past Rong Taotao’s head again, disturbing the White Lantern Paper Cage shimmering above him.

Rong Taotao glanced back curiously, only to see the branch quickly retracting...

Directly behind him was the ”Clan Leader” he had been speaking with earlier. And to the Clan Leader’s left...

...was a Little Tree Maiden, the one whose little branch had just retracted into her arm.

’Oho? This one’s nice!’

’This Tree Maiden is short. Well, only a little over three meters tall...’

’Three meters is fine. After all, Hu Bugui is two and a half meters tall. At least if I talk to her now, she won’t have to bend down or kneel...’

Rong Taotao shifted his position, sitting backward on Hu Bugui’s back, and looked at the slowly walking Little Tree Maiden. ”You like the White Lantern Paper Cage?”

The Little Tree Maiden didn’t say a word, pretending she hadn’t heard him. She feigned looking at the scenery, all but whistling nonchalantly.

Rong Taotao pouted. ’The branch retracted right into your arm, and you’re still playing dumb!’

He thought for a moment, then held out his right hand. A small, glowing white orb, its surface resembling the cratered face of the moon, appeared in his palm.

Rong Taotao stretched out his arm and offered it to the Little Tree Maiden. ”Here~ A Star-shaped Lamp.”

In an instant, the Little Tree Maiden’s eyes lit up!

They literally lit up. Her eyes, which should have been the same color as her bark, suddenly began to glow with specks of green light.

The next moment, she reached out one hand. The branches coiled around her arm unfurled, stretching out to wrap around the Star-shaped Lamp in Rong Taotao’s hand.

”Ooh~” A soft, happy whimper escaped the Little Tree Maiden’s lips. Overjoyed, her branches brought the Star-shaped Lamp up to her face, and she examined it from all angles with delight.

”Hehe.” A light chuckle came from above.

Rong Taotao craned his neck back as far as he could, leaning against Gao Lingwei’s back, and finally saw the face of the giant Bailing Tree Maiden, who was smiling down at him...

Even though the smile appeared on a gray-black, wooden face, Rong Taotao felt an overwhelming gentleness. ’This kind of creature... would someone really have the heart to kill them?’

As it turned out, yes.

During the national competition, Rong Taotao had a Bailing Tree Maiden Soul Pearl equipped on his head. That Soul Pearl had been confiscated from Poachers.

”Do you have a name?” Rong Taotao asked.

”You may give me a human name,” a voice drifted down from high above.

Rong Taotao asked curiously, ”You speak so fluently, but you’ve never had a name?”

The Bailing Tree Maiden’s words were direct, and it was clear she held great affection for the so-called ”Frost Snow Incarnation.” ”I have one, but I would prefer you to gift me a name.”

Rong Taotao: ”...”

’Everyone saw that!’

’She asked for it herself! She’s the one who asked me to name her!’

’So... hmm, Bailingling? Bailing-girl?’

While he was thinking, Rong Taotao heard a voice in his Invisible Headphones: ”Captain Fu.”

Fu Tiance: ”Go ahead.”

Yin Hu: ”Something feels wrong. There’s likely a large group of Snow Corpses behind us. We’ve already killed five of them in just a short time. They don’t seem like a small group, more like a vanguard.”

Fu Tiance’s expression turned grave. Snow Corpses were creatures of low intelligence, extremely brutal and bloodthirsty. They ate whatever they saw and wouldn’t have a military concept like sending a vanguard.

The moment ”scouts” appeared, it most likely meant this force was being commanded by someone.

’Perhaps a Corpse King. That would be the best-case scenario.’

’Or perhaps a Snow General Candle. That would be very bad...’

Because it was hard to predict just how many Snow Corpses and Snow Ghosts were under a Snow General Candle’s command, and its forces were likely mixed with other Soul Beasts as well.

A Snow General Candle was a natural-born commander, its charisma and leadership skills beyond question. Whenever a Soul Beast Army launched an assault on the Three-Wall Area, the Suicide Squad led by a Snow General Candle was always the first choice to lead the charge.

Furthermore, if the legion led by this Snow General Candle was part of a larger Soul Beast Army, that would be the worst possible outcome, which was why Yin Hu was being so cautious.

At the squad’s current marching speed, it would be easy to shake off the Snow Corpses and Snow Ghosts. They could just run all the way back.

But the Bailing Tree Maidens moved very slowly. After finally convincing them to return to the Third Wall, Fu Tiance couldn’t possibly abandon them and lead his team away. That went against the principles of the Snow Burning army.

Fu Tiance immediately ordered, ”Xu Dog, get to the rear guard quickly, observe the situation, and report back immediately!”

”Yes, sir!” Gao Lingwei immediately wheeled her mount around and charged toward the rear, tossing the Snowball Cat from her head toward a Bailing Tree Maiden. ”You go on ahead!”

”MEOW~” Like a flash of snowy lightning, the Snowball Cat leaped from the body of one Bailing Tree Maiden to another.

The Bailing Tree Maidens had a special way of communicating. Their formation was already dense, with their branches constantly linked to their companions, so they received the Clan Leader’s order at once.

They actually built a bridge of branches suspended in mid-air for the Snowball Cat...

Within the grand formation of nearly two thousand Bailing Trees of all sizes, Gao Lingwei had just galloped halfway through when her expression suddenly changed!

She hastily pressed a hand to her left ear. ”Confirmed! There is indeed a Snow Corpse army, less than a kilometer from our position and heading our way!”

Fu Tiance’s voice was grim. ”Only Snow Corpses?”

Looking through the Snowball Cat’s eyes at the legion charging through the vast, snowy expanse, Gao Lingwei said, ”Snow Corpses, Snow Ghosts... there are too many...”

The army swarmed forward like a tide, running as if their lives depended on it, tumbling and scrambling in a way that was terrifying to behold.

The Bailing Tree Maiden clan was migrating and had taken nearly all the small creatures with them. But precisely because of this, the aura of their massive procession was too strong. As they moved against the wind, their scent was carried backward by the snowstorm...

A lone Hunter or a small team of Hunters would probably flee at the sight, not daring to cause trouble. But for this army of Snow Corpses and Snow Ghosts... it was like dangling a juicy piece of meat in front of a starving dog.

Fu Tiance: ”Is there a Snow General Candle among the horde?”

The moment Fu Tiance finished speaking, the Bailing Tree Maidens were the first to act. The fact that they could survive outside the dangerous Third Wall, and even shelter others, was of course backed by immense combat strength!

The Hu Bugui beneath him was still moving forward, but the Bailing Trees around them had stopped.

The next moment, the Bailing Tree Maidens all transformed back into giant trees, their branches blotting out the sky as they extended infinitely!

They not only sealed off the night sky above Rong Taotao but also blocked off all four directions with their dense branches!

In less than ten seconds, a massive Bailing Tree castle had taken shape on the spot!

The deep forest turned pitch-black, leaving only the sound of Hu Bugui’s hooves and the faint glow of the White Lantern Paper Cage above the two of them...