External Soul Bone

Lin Feng decided to end his training in the Star Dou Great Forest. He had already mastered all his skills, and what remained was a matter of raw strength. With his current power, he could not defeat soul beasts over ten thousand years old, while there was no need to fight those he could defeat. More importantly, the food in the two Storage Soul Tools he and Han Ping had brought was nearly gone. He could catch whatever meat or fish he wanted and roast it in the wild, but it tasted awful. He had no idea how those people roaming the martial world in Wuxia novels managed to eat such things outdoors. Grilled meat without marinating or dipping sauces was simply terrible.

Before leaving, however, he wanted to fight that Ten-thousand-year Blazing Lion one more time and test his limits. After that, he would turn around and head home.

When they returned to the Blazing Lion's territory, Lin Feng found that he rather liked the Soul Beast World's law of the jungle and sense of territory. Powerful soul beasts generally claimed an area as their territory. Apart from herd-dwelling soul beasts, a lone soul beast's territory contained only itself. Thus, fighting powerful soul beasts actually carried little risk of interference from other soul beasts.

The two arrived at the Blazing Lion's lair. Same old arrangement: Han Ping stood guard while Lin Feng fought. With a flick of his hand, Lin Feng sent a sword qi into the lion's den. The next second, the Blazing Lion charged out. After leaving its lair, it glanced at Lin Feng, and Lin Feng somehow saw contempt and impatience in its eyes. The lion was probably thinking, You little Kala-mi, are you sick? Coming here to die and interrupting my sleep.

Lin Feng drew Water Attribute Soul Power from his Dantian and poured it into the Heavenly Sword before raising the sword and attacking the Blazing Lion. The Blazing Lion was naturally Fire attribute. Fire countered Gold and secondarily countered Wood, so those two attributes were heavily suppressed when fighting it. Fortunately, Water Attribute restrained Fire attribute. Still, the Blazing Lion was a ten-thousand-year soul beast, its entire body wreathed in flames. Though water countered fire, Lin Feng's Soul Power could only barely protect him from being eroded by the flames.

Seeing Lin Feng charge at it, the Blazing Lion opened its mouth and spat out a ball of flame. Lin Feng unleashed his First Soul Ring Soul Skill, and Water Attribute sword qi shot toward the fire. The sword qi collided with the flames, and the impact rebounded toward him. Lin Feng flew backward to disperse the force, bracing himself against a large tree with both feet before standing firm. He swung his left hand and unleashed a palm strike from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. A blue dragon-shaped current formed from Soul Power surged at the Blazing Lion. The lion rushed forward and tore apart the dragon-shaped current with both claws before continuing its charge, opening its jaws to bite Lin Feng.

Lin Feng leaped into the air, swept overhead, then dove backward. With his left hand, he unleashed Dragon Soaring in the Heavens from above. Another blue "giant dragon" struck at the Blazing Lion's back. At the same time, the First Spirit Ring on the Heavenly Sword in his right hand flashed. Lin Feng increased the flow of Water Attribute Soul Power, firing a burst of sword qi twice as powerful as before at the Blazing Lion's back as well. The Blazing Lion's weak points were its eyes, throat, and back. Attacking from the air, he could only target its back. Naturally, the Blazing Lion knew where its weaknesses lay, so the flames around its back were especially fierce. The blue "giant dragon" arrived first and wore down the flames, barely consuming around seventy percent of them. The sword qi followed, consuming the remaining flames, but it only cut a wound across the Blazing Lion's back and failed to inflict any serious injury.

Lin Feng flipped through the air and landed on the ground, once again facing off against the Blazing Lion. He considered that last attack. It had seemed to injure the Blazing Lion, but in truth, it had not affected the lion's combat strength at all. His strength was indeed still far too lacking against a ten-thousand-year Blazing Lion. After sensing the Soul Power remaining in his body, Lin Feng prepared to make one final attempt. No matter the outcome, this battle would end afterward.

He raised his sword and fired another blast of sword qi directly at the Blazing Lion's eyes. The lion lifted its head and spat a ball of flame from its mouth. At the same time, Lin Feng dropped low and slid beneath the Blazing Lion, the Heavenly Sword aimed straight at its throat. Seeing this, the Blazing Lion leaped up and pressed down with its aura, trying to crush him. Taking advantage of that instant, Lin Feng shifted sideways through the air and left his original position. He planted his right foot and borrowed the force to leap up again, drawing the Gold Attribute Soul Power within him into his Water Attribute Soul Power. The fused Soul Power circulated instantly. Dragon Soaring in the Heavens in his left hand, First Soul Skill in his right—a "giant dragon" and a streak of sword qi once again shot toward the Blazing Lion's back.

The Blazing Lion had suffered from this once before, so the flames on its back were far stronger than before. Yet under the power of Lin Feng's fused Soul Power, its defenses were still torn open, and its back was injured. The Blazing Lion let out an earth-shaking roar and spat blood from its mouth. Lin Feng flew backward and shouted, "Uncle Han!" As Lin Feng retreated, Han Ping stepped forward and blocked the enraged Blazing Lion, which was about to counterattack. Releasing the aura of a Soul King, Han Ping faced it down. The Blazing Lion gave an unwilling low growl, turned, and left. From the forcefulness of its departure, it was clear that although Lin Feng had struck one of its vital points, it had not suffered a fatal injury and still retained the strength to fight.

Just as Lin Feng flew backward, Han Ping stepped forward to confront the Blazing Lion, and Lin Feng landed and let out a sigh of relief, two spikes burst from beneath the ground and shot at Lin Feng, aimed directly at his heart.

Fortunately, Lin Feng's Spiritual Power was at the Soul Ancestor level, and his reactions were quick enough. On top of that, the countless repetitions of Basic Sword Techniques had long become instinct. He raised the Heavenly Sword and swept it upward, knocking aside the two spikes. Only when the spikes flew back did Lin Feng see that they were not spikes at all—they were clearly two Spider Legs from a Man Faced Demon Spider. After the two Spider Legs were knocked away by Lin Feng's sword, the upper body of the Man Faced Demon Spider was forced backward. At the same time, the four Spider Legs on its lower body stabbed toward Lin Feng again.

Han Ping wanted to step forward and save him. He knew perfectly well that less than a tenth of Lin Feng's Soul Power remained. Yet after pausing briefly, he stopped himself.

Although Lin Feng had little Soul Power left, this Man Faced Demon Spider was not very old either, only around seventeen hundred years. It was not difficult to handle. The Man Faced Demon Spider excelled at concealment, ambushes, and its unpredictable webs, but its direct combat power was still not particularly strong.

Lin Feng's Heavenly Sword clashed rapidly against the Man Faced Demon Spider's Spider Legs. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged over a hundred direct blows. The Heavenly Sword was incomparably sharp, and four of the Man Faced Demon Spider's eight Spider Legs had already shattered. The Man Faced Demon Spider pulled back and retreated. A web instantly appeared and wrapped toward Lin Feng. Lin Feng raised the Heavenly Sword and slashed downward, cutting the web apart. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the Heavenly Sword, sending it flying straight at the retreating Man Faced Demon Spider. It struck the spider's face and pierced directly in. The Man Faced Demon Spider died on the spot, and a Purple Soul Ring floated out from its body.

Lin Feng fell to the ground in exhaustion, and Han Ping hurriedly flew to his side to prevent another ambush. With Han Ping guarding him, Lin Feng quickly regulated his breathing, healed his injuries, and restored his Soul Power. The Blazing Lion had been driven away by Han Ping's aura, and no other soul beasts would appear in its territory for a while. For now, this was a rare safe haven.

An hour later, Lin Feng finished regulating his breathing. His Soul Power had fully recovered, and the internal injuries from the battle had stabilized. He could slowly recuperate on the journey home.

Lin Feng said, "I never expected that after fighting the Blazing Lion, I would nearly let a Man Faced Demon Spider reap the benefits. And it was only a thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider."

Han Ping said, "This Man Faced Demon Spider must have had its eyes on you for a long time, Young Master. You have undergone Medicinal Baths since childhood, your Soul Power cultivation is solid, and your flesh and blood contain abundant Spiritual Qi. It probably encountered your blood when it fell during one of the times you were injured in battle, so it kept hiding and waiting to ambush us. I just never expected it to dare follow us into the Blazing Lion's territory, or that neither we nor the Blazing Lion would notice it. The Man Faced Demon Spider's concealment ability truly is extraordinary."

Lin Feng said, "Indeed. Without such outstanding concealment ability, something hated by humans and abandoned by soul beasts would not have survived until now. Still, it did not come here for nothing. Uncle Han, let me show you something."

Lin Feng walked over to the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse and fired a palm strike, shattering the body. A small mass emitting a dark glow fell out. Lin Feng picked it up and froze. It was this!

Han Ping was equally shocked as he looked at the object in Lin Feng's hand. "It is actually a soul bone. I never expected a mere thousand-year soul beast to drop a soul bone!"

Lin Feng said, "Yes. Not only is it a soul bone, it is an External Soul Bone." It was the same External Soul Bone as Tang San's—the Eight Spider Lances. Lin Feng suddenly thought, Could this be Tang San's? He was three years older than Tang San. Judging by the timeline, Tang San would soon awaken his martial soul. In a little over six years, Tang San would come to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his Third Soul Ring. This Man Faced Demon Spider was seventeen hundred years old, while Tang San's was just over two thousand years old. With a difference of three hundred years, and given the Man Faced Demon Spider's habit of increasing its cultivation by devouring, it was highly possible. After all, the chances of a thousand-year soul beast dropping an External Soul Bone twice within the same species were, in Lin Feng's view, no less unlikely than someone winning the top prize in the Double Color Ball lottery twice in a row.

However, Lin Feng did not intend to keep guessing. He would find out when he had the chance to meet Tang San in a few years. After all, Tang San would be coming to Heaven Dou City to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.