I Traveled to Douluo and Split into Five People

"Even Spirit Hall, after all these years, has no comprehensive physical data on what happens after a Spirit Bone is absorbed and then stripped away. When the time comes, no one knows what might be added to the body or what might be lost."

In the end, Tang Yin decided to wait until they found a suitable spirit beast before making a decision. He and Tian Rui packed their things and headed straight for Sunset Forest. An Lan also needed a new Spirit Ring, so he chose to enter Sunset Forest from a different location.

Zhou Xuefeng was quite tempted by Tang Yin's idea, but he was still a long way from his next Spirit Ring. In his spare time from cultivation, he continued trying to use Blue Silver Grass Soul Power to open up Zhu Zhuyu's meridians in advance. In a few months, it would be time for her Martial Soul awakening, and then they could verify the results.

Waiting for Immortal Herbs.

The three split into two groups and entered Sunset Forest separately. Tang Yin was looking for a strength-type spirit beast. At present, his First Spirit Skill provided a fourteen-percent strength boost and came with air-pressure-based enemy detection; his Second Spirit Skill gave a twenty-percent attack boost, ignored defense, and had twenty-percent penetration. His Third Spirit Skill could boost brute force and defense alike.

As for Tian Rui, he had a sudden idea and wanted to find a spirit beast with the Holy Attribute. The Golden Feather Luan Bird's Flame Attribute and Sun Attribute were not far removed from light. Adding a Spirit Ring with the Holy Attribute might grant additional bonuses.

If it had only been Qian Renxue, An Lan would have wanted to experiment with some other methods. But with Qian Jun and Jiang Mo following them, he obediently searched for a fire-attributed bird-type spirit beast instead. His first and second spirit skills were both boosts, so his third should have a purely offensive ability—or, better yet, the Weaponization Skill he wanted most. Then he could find a pure boosting skill for his fourth. Of course, if he encountered some powerful spirit beast with an extraordinary bloodline, then whether it was offensive or boosting did not matter. Improving his Martial Soul bloodline was what mattered most.

Unfortunately, the Golden Feather Luan Bird Martial Soul was a mutant variation. There were Luan Bird Martial Souls in the world of soul masters, but most were wind-attributed, with the occasional light or water attribute. Flame-attributed ones were extremely rare; Spirit Hall's records contained only a handful of cases. He wondered whether they existed on that continent across the sea.

Sun Moon Continent also had a dragon-type Martial Soul called something like the Purple Brilliant Dragon, didn't it?

It sounded pretty badass.

"Hey! You're spacing out in a place like this? Are you trying to die?"

The previous three times she had added Spirit Rings, Qian Daoliu had found and captured the spirit beasts directly for Qian Renxue. Now that she and An Lan had entered Sunset Forest alone, she felt excited, her fighting spirit blazing. Still, she had her wits about her and remained highly vigilant.

Yet when she turned around, she found An Lan absent-minded, his thoughts drifting somewhere else.

"Because you're here, I feel at ease."

"Y-you..." Qian Renxue was struck by an inexplicable emotion and could not speak. With a cold snort, she put her hands on her hips. "Then follow this young lady properly! Space out again, and watch your ears."

In the other direction, Tian Rui and Tang Yin moved quickly. They were looking for a strength-type spirit beast for Tang Yin first, and there were plenty in the forest. Lions, tigers, bears, apes, bulls, and more could be found everywhere.

Not long after entering the area frequented by Millennium Spirit Beasts, they encountered several spirit beasts suitable for the Clear Sky Hammer in quick succession. But since they had options, they naturally needed to choose carefully and find the best one.

After wandering around for several days, they finally settled on a Rock Crushing Giant Rhinoceros. It possessed both formidable strength and defense, but it was more than five thousand years old.

Tang Yin turned to Tian Rui. Tian Rui took out a Spirit Bone—a Millennium Right Arm Bone from an ape-type spirit beast. It barely counted as strength-type. It was one of the highest-year Spirit Bones they had obtained when Zhou Xuefeng had mingled with Spirit Hunting Squads in Star Dou Great Forest. They also had two other Millennium Spirit Bones, one Skull Bone and one Gale Wolf Left Leg Bone, as well as three Century Spirit Bones that were hardly worth mentioning.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Tian Rui was still hesitant. Tang Yin did not have a blood feud like Zhou Xuefeng, nor was he limited by his Martial Soul attribute like Ning Yulin. Why did he need to risk his life like this?

Taking a deep breath, Tang Yin pressed the Spirit Bone against his right arm and began absorbing it.

"At our core, we're all the same. If we don't take a gamble while things are stable, are we supposed to wait until those things up there come down before we start fighting?"

The famous Erlang Shen once said that when it was time to work hard, people did not work hard enough. They always thought being almost there was good enough, but when the crucial moment came, they were always short by just that little bit.

Tian Rui stopped trying to dissuade him.

Originally, Tang Yin had wanted to absorb Spirit Bones from every part of his body before directly challenging a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast. But leaving aside whether the two of them could defeat one, the spiritual shock of a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring was not something they could gamble on. Besides, if he absorbed too many parts and then lost too much Soul Power when stripping them away later, causing permanent damage to his body, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Three Rings 2

The absorption process lasted for over ten minutes.

Tang Yin gained a skill called Demon Ape's Violent Assault.

Its effect was fairly ordinary. It increased strength by twenty percent, while demonic ape energy enveloped his arm and doubled its defensive power.

"My physical condition has improved as expected. Good. Get ready to make a move."

He nodded to Tian Rui. They would use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to deal with this spirit beast. If either of them fought alone, they might not be able to handle the thick-skinned, durable Rock Crushing Giant Rhinoceros that was more than five thousand years old.

They would use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill directly and end this quickly.

Golden Feather Luan Bird and Clear Sky Hammer.

Neither of them had Spirit Rings on their other Martial Souls, so they were less powerful to use than these two Martial Souls with Spirit Rings.

They quietly approached, closing the distance to the giant rhinoceros before rapidly fusing. Other people's Martial Soul Fusion Skills required a certain amount of coordination and training, but the five of them were of one mind, so the casting delay was extremely short.

Their figures vanished, replaced by a massive dark-red bird burning with black-red flames. Several tail feathers extended from its rear, while several short feathers of a different color from the rest of its plumage decorated the corners of its eyes and brow. It spread its wings and flew forward, its wingspan exceeding five meters.

It charged at the giant rhinoceros. Over that short distance, countless flaming feathers drifted down and set the ground ablaze in an instant. Setting fire to the mountains meant prison for life. Though there were no laws against arson here, if the flames spread, the environmental damage would be too great. It might trigger a spirit beast riot, making it inconvenient to hunt other spirit beasts afterward.

Using its control ability, it drew in the flames around it and transformed them into a stream of fire breath that shot toward the giant rhinoceros.

The rhinoceros lowered its head and scraped the ground with its forelegs. A dim, dark gleam surfaced over its body, and then it charged directly into the pillar of fire. It smashed the fire pillar into sparks that filled the sky, while only a few wisps of smoke rose from its body.

Inside the Martial Soul Fusion space, Tang Yin was delighted.

"This thing can actually use Earth Power to strengthen itself."

Such an ability was rare even among earth-attributed spirit beasts. Fortunately, it had not yet broken through ten thousand years.

That earlier pillar of fire had merely been released by using the fusion skill to gather the surrounding flames. Its intensity had not been high. The fusion skill's own flames were far more powerful.

The dark-red flames approached black.

They were scorching hot and possessed formidable penetrating power.

Avoiding the giant rhinoceros's charge, the two controlled the fusion skill and flew into the air. They gathered energy and spat out a thin, elongated stream of flame at the giant rhinoceros. Fearless, it tried to repeat the same tactic.

After a second of stalemate, the black-red line of fire pierced through its hide, bored deep into its body, and burst out through its abdomen.

Seeing this, the two increased their output. Before the giant rhinoceros could let out a dying cry, the rear half of its body rapidly released a rich aroma of cooked meat. Its organs were charred and ceased functioning.

It died.

It was not quite an instant kill, but it had still been a crushing victory.

The fusion ended. They returned to their human forms and fell from the air. Their legs went weak, and they dropped to their knees at the same time. To end the fight quickly, they had maintained maximum output. Their physical strength and Soul Power had been depleted too heavily in too short a time, and now even their meridians ached faintly.

A deep-purple Spirit Ring rose up.

Tian Rui suddenly had the feeling that he could absorb this Spirit Ring as well.

Could it be that spirit beasts defeated while in a Martial Soul Fusion Skill state could be absorbed by either party to the fusion?

The restriction on Spirit Ring absorption was that only the killer could absorb it. In that case, it did not seem impossible.

Could they maintain the Martial Soul Fusion Skill while absorbing a Spirit Ring?

There had been plenty of people throughout history who possessed Martial Soul Fusion Skills, but he did not know whether anyone had tried it. Still, this was clearly not a suitable time for experimentation.

After Tang Yin recovered some strength, Tian Rui stood guard while he began absorbing the Spirit Ring immediately.

The Spirit Ring settled onto the Clear Sky Hammer. Only a few seconds later, Tang Yin's face suddenly twisted in pain. Absorbing that Millennium Spirit Bone had improved his physical constitution, but the meridians inside his body were not yet accustomed to being washed by Soul Power beyond his current level. The sudden impact gave him the illusion that his insides were being torn apart piece by piece.

But his constitution had already been strengthened. An illusion was only an illusion.

After several minutes of torment, his meridians adapted to the current intensity. He successfully absorbed and contained the power, guiding it into his dantian.

Next came the gradual assimilation of the Spirit Ring's energy into his own, until it completely became part of the Clear Sky Hammer. That required slow, painstaking work. There was no rushing it.

Seeing Tang Yin settle into a stable state, Tian Rui went over and rummaged through the giant rhinoceros's corpse. He found no Spirit Bone.

Could it be that we could only get Spirit Bones when we teamed up with other people?

Remembering what had happened before, he could not help muttering to himself.

When they needed Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts later, they could team up with others and see whether Spirit Bones would drop.

Tang Yin did not finish absorbing the Spirit Ring until nightfall. He spent another few minutes comprehending the information from his spirit skill. The primary effect of this Third Spirit Skill was defense. By using Soul Power to resonate with the earth, it formed a layer of protective energy over the body, providing exceptional defense. Its secondary effect boosted the power with which he swung the Clear Sky Hammer. That protective energy could also be applied to the hammer, continuously increasing its weight until he could no longer bear it.

Of course, the speed of the enhancement was an issue.

After standing up and testing it, Tang Yin discovered that this spirit skill could actually accumulate power. The longer he stood on the ground, the stronger the protective energy became, and the heavier the hammer could grow, until he himself could no longer endure it.

Its only drawback was that his feet could not leave the ground while it was charging, or the process would be interrupted.

"Not bad."

Tang Yin let out a breath of relief. Next, they only needed to find Zhou Xuefeng and verify how much Soul Power would be lost when stripping away a Spirit Bone. After absorbing a Spirit Bone and taking in a Spirit Ring beyond his limit, he estimated that his Soul Power was now very close to level thirty-five.

It had saved him more than half a year of cultivation.

"Rest for the night. Once I've recovered, we'll continue looking for a spirit beast suitable for me."

Tian Rui waved a hand and climbed onto a thick tree branch to rest. Tang Yin's Spirit Ring absorption had replenished his earlier weakened condition, but Tian Rui had not fully recovered yet. Tang Yin nodded and climbed onto another branch, cultivating while keeping watch through the night.

On An Lan's side, they found a suitable spirit beast earlier than Tang Yin and Tian Rui did: a Flame Cloud Sparrow that was more than two thousand years old. He gained a spirit skill that was half control and half offense.

It released a Flame Storm to attack and carried a stunning effect.

Unfortunately, it was not a guaranteed stun. Its effect was merely passable, and An Lan was not very satisfied. His Soul Power had not increased much either. It had risen a little beyond level thirty-one but had not reached level thirty-two. He too began looking forward to Tang Yin's results—what reaction would stripping off a Spirit Bone cause, and how serious would the aftereffects be?

They did not try to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. With the two old men secretly following them, it would be troublesome if they found the place.

Dragging the somewhat unwilling Qian Renxue along, he left Sunset Forest.

"Are spirit beasts with the Holy Attribute really this rare?"

Because of Tian Rui's sudden idea, the two had spent nearly a month in Sunset Forest without finding a single spirit beast with the Holy Attribute. Tang Yin was nearly out of patience. They had accomplished nothing for so long; it had all been wasted time.

"Fine."

Unable to find one, Tian Rui decided to give up as well. Once they had the time and strength, they could search properly and thoroughly.

Three Rings 3

The ways of the world were wondrous and beyond explanation.

As the two headed back, intending to hunt a flame-attributed spirit beast they had encountered earlier, they ran into a spirit beast with the Holy Attribute instead. Its age was slightly low, perhaps only around fifteen hundred years.

A Five-Colored Glazed Peacock, rumored to possess Phoenix Bloodline.

It was extremely rare.

"Looks like luck really can't be stopped once it comes! Move!"

A mere Millennium Spirit Beast did not require the two to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill again. Each summoned his Martial Soul and rushed forward. Tian Rui unleashed his First Spirit Skill and fired several flaming feathers from a distance. They embedded themselves around the peacock, forming a birdcage. Tang Yin charged forward in great strides, activating his Third Spirit Skill. Every step he took caused a faint tremor in the ground, while the Clear Sky Hammer swiftly took on a deep, shadowy glow, radiating overwhelming momentum.

Before the two could approach, a burst of glazed light flashed. The flaming-feather cage Tian Rui had launched silently melted away in an instant. The peacock immediately flew into the air and fled into the distance.

"Holy shit?! Purification?"

Tian Rui was stunned.

Normally, peacock-type spirit beasts could fly, but they were not particularly fast. Yet beneath that light, this Five-Colored Glazed Peacock nearly vanished from their sight in an instant.

"Quick, chase it!"

It was rare enough to encounter a spirit beast with an unusual bloodline; they absolutely could not let it escape. Though shared high-level Spirit Rings would overwrite spirit skills later on, bloodline improvements would not be canceled. Only the stronger bloodline would overwrite the weaker one.

In other words, if Tian Rui successfully absorbed this spirit beast's bloodline, it could later spread to the others through sharing.

The two could only use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill again. This time, it was a fusion of two Golden Feather Luan Birds.

They streaked through the sky as a red line of fire, chasing after the fleeing peacock.

"I hope that thing doesn't run into some area where Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts roam."

Otherwise, they would have no choice but to give it up painfully.

Fortunately, it did not flee deeper into the forest. Whether because it possessed greater intelligence or because of its instinct to seek fortune and avoid disaster, it knew that entering the territory of Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts would not be safe either. It would simply be eaten.

The chase continued.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate, neither too close nor too far apart.

Suddenly, the peacock seemed to sense some danger. It abruptly braked in midair and was about to turn and fly in another direction. But in a life-or-death pursuit like this, one second was enough to decide the outcome.

The two unleashed their Soul Power and accelerated instantly. The Golden Feather Luan Bird Plus spat out a stream of flame that burned through one of its wings.

The peacock traced an arc through the air and plummeted in panic. With one wing gone, it could no longer maintain its balance in flight. The instant it hit the ground, afraid that it might possess some hidden ability, Tian Rui wasted no words and ended its life directly.

He then began absorbing it at once.

Naturally, Tang Yin stood guard beside him. He found the peacock's inexplicable sudden stop strange and turned to survey the surroundings, but he found nothing.

Behind the bushes, a dark-green figure concealed behind a tree stood as still as a javelin, suppressing its aura as it silently watched the two.

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?

Interesting.