Outwitting a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast

"These soul beasts, once they reach ten thousand years, all possess the Earth Element Control Soul Skill."

Tang San paused. "But with just the three of us, it's impossible to hunt a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. Sleeve Arrows are fine against hundred-year soul beasts, but against stronger Thousand Year Soul Beasts, ordinary arrows would struggle even to break through their defenses, let alone against a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast."

Hearing this, Xiao Wu looked conflicted. "How about I go back and ask Da Ming and Er Ming for help?"

Gula refused decisively. "Too much trouble. Besides, you're close to us, but that doesn't mean your friends will be able to accept us too. Let's look for soul beasts first. If it really doesn't work, a Thousand Year Soul Beast will do."

Tang San looked vexed. "Dean Flender was right there at the academy. We should have invited him along. There's a huge gap between a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring."

"For the same elemental control soul skill, the difference in strength between a nine-thousand-year soul ring and a ten-thousand-year soul ring is at least double, not to mention the difference in the chance of obtaining a high-level soul skill."

"It's fine. If we spend a little more time, we'll always find a suitable soul beast."

Gula comforted the two of them, smiled casually, and quietly switched to his Celebi Martial Soul. His gaze sharpened as he scanned the future, searching for the period when they left the Star Dou Great Forest.

Soul Power drained away like a floodgate had opened. Light shimmered in Gula's eyes, images sliding back and forth like camera film.

He kept looking until half a month later, finally finding the scene where the forest setting cut off. Then he rewound half a day and found the scene of him fusing with a soul ring.

Below a smoke-wreathed volcanic crater, scorched black marks from splattered lava covered the ground. A soul beast that controlled molten rock lay on its side in a patch of mud, sinking deeper and deeper, until finally a Black Soul Ring floated out.

Gula's eyes lit up, and he looked at Xiao Wu. "You still have those Storage Soul Tools with you, right?"

Though it was a question, Gula already had the answer in his heart.

"I do. Do you need them?"

Xiao Wu had no idea what Gula was getting at. She reached toward her waist and took out the other Storage Soul Tools from a special soul tool whose internal space had been reinforced.

"Yes. Help me fill all the Storage Soul Tools with water."

Gula smiled approvingly, took several soul tools, walked to the riverbank, and gestured for the two of them to follow him.

Now even Tang San could not figure out Gula's intentions, but fortunately, Gula's constant "rightness" had long since established his authority.

Tang San and Xiao Wu held back their confusion and did not ask further, following Gula to fill the Storage Soul Tools with water.

The thirty-plus Storage Soul Tools varied in size and held over a hundred cubic meters of river water in total.

Gula also loaded in some silt from the riverbed, filling the Storage Soul Tools completely. Xiao Wu looked disgusted. "It stinks. What are you putting mud in for?"

"You'll know in a bit."

Gula kept them in suspense, wiped the mud and water from his hands, and asked, "Which direction is the nearest volcano?"

Xiao Wu had already grown used to Gula's fondness for acting mysterious. She pouted, simply stopped asking, and turned around. "To the west. Follow me."

Gula followed her. Tang San lowered his head in thought. "A volcano? Using water to deal with a soul beast? If it's against a soul beast with both Fire Attribute and Earth Attribute, that would indeed be a good method."

"But though over a hundred cubic meters of river water seems like a lot, without a Soul Master controlling it, even a Thousand Year Soul Beast could easily escape. In the end, it still won't help."

Tang San's head was full of question marks as he followed behind, unable to figure it out no matter how he thought.

After walking for three Hours, the three of them arrived at a mountain range. There were several extinct volcanoes nearby, scattered in different locations, providing uniquely favorable conditions for Fire Attribute soul beasts to thrive.

Gula walked around the area and found a natural pit. It seemed to be the cave of some kind of soul beast, though it had been abandoned for who knew how long, and the cave had long since collapsed.

He poured the silt into it, spreading it throughout the entire pit, then added fifty cubic meters of river water. With the silt as a buffer, the river water seeped into the ground very slowly. It would take at least three to five hours for all of it to seep underground.

"Come help dig up soil and knead it like dough. If it's too thick, add water. If it's too thin, add soil. We'll make an artificial swamp."

Tang San suddenly understood. "You're using the way a swamp makes you sink deeper the harder you struggle to restrict the soul beast's strength. But will the soul beast fall for it?"

"Don't worry. I have my ways."

Gula smiled mysteriously and urged the two of them to help.

And so, on the blazing afternoon, the three of them began kneading mud under the sun beside a volcano.

By the time they had mixed the mud into a thick, glue-like mass, it was nearly dusk. The setting sun sank westward, its fiery red glow shining over the earth.

Gula added a Grassy Terrain move, laying a layer of fresh grass over the "artificial swamp." Seen from a distance, aside from the weeds looking a little more lush, there were no other flaws.

He clapped his hands and said, "Done. In a bit, I'll go up the volcano and lure a soul beast over. Once it falls into the trap, you two find a chance to release the water. No matter what, don't let it dry out the swamp by evaporation. Don't give it the chance to struggle or control the earth element."

Tang San nodded in agreement. Once water was mixed in, controlling it would be much more difficult, especially for a soul beast with an Earth-Fire Attribute.

After giving his instructions, Gula controlled his Psychic Power and flew toward the volcano.

In less than half an hour, Gula came flying back at high speed from the distance. Behind him, flames lit the sky, and a three-meter-tall dark red humanoid figure spat lava and raging fire as it chased relentlessly after him.

Tang San sucked in a breath and said in shock, "Flame Lord!"

The Flame Lord was a top-tier Fire and Earth Attribute soul beast. The martial soul of Yan from Spirit Hall's Golden Generation was the Flame Lord.

Extremely high-temperature lava, the Fire Attribute's tremendous attack power, the Earth Attribute's formidable defense, and a Semi-Elemental Transformation body meant it had almost no weaknesses. Especially near its volcanic territory, where it could control natural lava, it feared no soul beast of the same level, hence the name "Lord."

Tang San grew serious. The Flame Lord was no easy opponent. Even outside, it could still convert Soul Power into lava, create a territory, and carry out long-range artillery strikes. Yet its close combat ability was not weak either, and with no obvious shortcomings, it was very hard to kill.

However, the Flame Lord still had to obey the rules of attribute restraint.

Water countered fire.

A ten-thousand-year Flame Lord, without lava to replenish its Soul Power, could not evaporate over a hundred tons of river water either.

It was as if Gula had eyes in the back of his head. He precisely dodged the lava fireballs the Flame Lord hurled at him. His slightly small wings flapped with force, working together with his Psychic Power to unleash his full speed.

Racing all the way forward, he soon arrived above the trap, and Gula flew over it naturally. A Flame Lord would not easily leave the vicinity of its territory, but what had Gula done to make it chase him out?

It was actually very simple. He had poured a large amount of soul beast feces into the volcanic crater where the Flame Lord lived.

Aside from being unable to speak, Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts already had intelligence no weaker than humans. They understood shame and had their own likes and dislikes. Besides, even if they had not awakened intelligence, only Plant Type soul beasts would like feces.

So, as expected, the Flame Lord literally exploded, blasting into several hundred chunks of molten rock to rid itself of the feces on its body.

After re-forming, it chased Gula down like it had gone mad.