Still Talking Tough

With Soul Power coursing into it, purple arcs of electricity continuously danced across the blade of Whale Tooth in Xu Zihuang's hand. The blade curved slightly, its tip pointing straight ahead.

At the same time, two Soul Rings rapidly rose from beneath his feet. The bright purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring radiated a noble aura.

His indifferent Golden Eye seemed capable of seeing through any illusion in the world.

Brother really did not misjudge him. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm smugly thought within Xu Zihuang's Sea of Consciousness.

Roar— A deep growl sounded without warning. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger revealed itself fifty meters in front of Xu Zihuang. Blood-red light gleamed in its eyes, while the Evil God Hook behind it swayed gently from side to side. With every swing, the air rippled with strange halos of light.

Its body was black, yet the energy fluctuations it emitted were gray—an evil gray. With every step it took forward, the surrounding vegetation parted of its own accord. Its advance was slow, but the aura around it grew increasingly formidable.

Affected by those gray energy fluctuations enveloping its entire body, even Xu Zihuang's vision distorted slightly.

He had lost the initiative from the very beginning.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger moved. In stark contrast to its previous slow and steady manner, the instant it moved, Xu Zihuang felt a foul wind rush toward him as the surrounding air churned violently. A fierce gale swept forth, and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger abruptly vanished from his sight.

Wind Attribute control?

Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened, but he was not surprised. During his childhood, he had read records concerning top-tier Soul Beasts like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

One of the most important reasons the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was so powerful was because it possessed control over six attributes.

Wind, lightning, darkness, evil, time, and space.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger that had vanished from Xu Zihuang's view had not used the Space Attribute soul skill—Instant Transmission. It had merely used its control over the Wind Attribute to greatly increase its speed.

There were still traces to follow.

The brilliant golden patterns around his pupils flared brightly. Under Xu Zihuang's control, the Martial Soul Instinct of the Golden Eye was pushed to its limit. Dynamic Vision allowed him to slow the scenes within his field of view by dozens of times at will, and he almost instantly caught sight of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

Using his right foot as a pivot, he spun around sharply. By then, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had already closed to within three meters of him. Its pair of black tiger claws reflected no light whatsoever, like phantoms lurking in the darkness. One claw struck toward the back of Xu Zihuang's head, while the other lashed toward his waist.

Its speed was breathtaking.

Its speed had not compromised its strength either. Its immense force was completely contained within its tiger claws. Only when the claws were less than a foot from his body did Xu Zihuang clearly sense the terrifying power within them.

Even with his Body Strength, he would definitely suffer severe injuries if he were struck.

Xu Zihuang could indeed use the Martial Soul Instinct of the Golden Eye to slow the images in his vision, but the passage of time in the outside world remained real.

Although he had reacted in time, it was obviously too late to evade.

Mirror Shatter.

Xu Zihuang did not dare be careless. He immediately unleashed the powerful second soul skill he had obtained from the Evil Spirit Orca.

Dark red ripples arrived in an instant. Under the precise control of his Spiritual Power, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, along with the space it occupied, instantly solidified into Dark Red Crystal.

Break! Xu Zihuang uttered softly. Dense fine cracks immediately appeared across the Dark Red Crystal covering the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's entire body before it shattered with a thunderous crash.

Yet this skill, which had never failed him before, did not inflict even the slightest injury upon the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

A domain? Xu Zihuang rapidly retreated, studying the gray currents of air around the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. His emotions did not fluctuate much, because he had never expected to kill it in a single strike.

A top-tier Soul Beast like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could potentially challenge an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast even at the Ten-Thousand-Year level.

Judging from its size and the number of joints on its Evil God Hook, this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had a Cultivation exceeding eight thousand years. A Dark Demon Evil God Tiger of this level could leave even experienced Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts with little ability to resist.

If its origin had not been severely damaged, Xu Zihuang likely would not even have been qualified to fight it.

After missing its strike, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger also retreated several steps.

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Xu Zihuang and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stood facing each other, one man and one tiger locked in confrontation. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger did not roar again. Its icy blood-red eyes appeared terrifyingly calm.

Yet deep within them flickered greed and intelligence.

Its greed stemmed from the pure Soul Power fluctuation it sensed from Xu Zihuang. It knew very well that devouring this human would probably be even more effective than devouring several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

As for its intelligence, it had discovered that this weak human was not as easy to deal with as it had expected. As it searched for Xu Zihuang's weaknesses, its resolve to devour him only grew firmer.

"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, didn't you say earlier that you could assist me? Why can't you even use your Spiritual Power to lock onto this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger?" With the immediate danger temporarily lifted, Xu Zihuang questioned Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who resided in his Sea of Consciousness, with some dissatisfaction.

Although he knew Sky Dream Ice Silkworm really was useless, its Spiritual Power cultivated over a million years should at least have been somewhat useful.

Xu Zihuang's words nearly left Sky Dream Ice Silkworm speechless. But it had always refused to admit that it was useless, and it was still talking tough.

"That guy's domain cut off Brother's Spiritual Power. What could Brother do?"

It was quite frustrated as well.

If the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's ability had not been able to block its Spiritual Power, it would not have fallen into its hands in the first place.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sensed that the grand image it had just established had been somewhat damaged, so it felt it was necessary to salvage it.

"Cough, cough. Actually, that guy isn't in very good condition either. It just used its domain again, so it should be nearing its limit."

Xu Zihuang could not be bothered to pay Sky Dream Ice Silkworm any more attention. Even without its explanation, he had already noticed that.

Especially after being nourished by the life aura of Life Gold, he could sense the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's life force rapidly draining away.