Daynight Qilin

Three Emerald Poisonous Flood Dragons rose from Dugu Yan's palm, hissing as they lunged toward the Thousand-Year Spirit Healing Flower King.

Where the flood dragons passed, the light blue healing pollen sizzled as it was corroded, and a strange, sweet, and fishy smell filled the air.

The Flower King's trunk trembled, and hundreds of vines lashed out like giant pythons.

The flowers at the end of each vine bloomed simultaneously, scattering a sky full of light golden dots—this was the Flower King's Healing Domain, which could rapidly restore allies within its range while weakening the effects of poison.

"Yanzi, be careful!" Ye Lingling exclaimed softly. The Nine Heart Begonia above her head spun faster, its purple-gold radiance enveloping Dugu Yan. "My healing can temporarily counteract its domain suppression!"

A flash of emerald light flickered in Dugu Yan's eyes as she darted between the vines.

She controlled the three flood dragons with her hands, executing a masterful coordinated attack—one flood dragon attacked head-on, drawing fire; the other two flanked, aiming directly for three nodes on the Flower King's trunk that glowed faintly.

Those were the Flower King's healing cores!

"Smart." Yu Tiancheng watched from the sidelines, praising her inwardly.

Dugu Yan not only had a ruthless fighting style but also remarkably precise tactical vision.

She realized that although the Flower King was a healing Soul Beast, its healing abilities must have a source of support. If the core was destroyed, its sustained combat ability would be crippled.

The vines thrashed wildly, plowing deep furrows into the ground.

But Dugu Yan's movements were as agile as a snake's, always evading at the last moment.

The controllability of the Emerald Phosphorous Flood Dragon Poison's Fourth Soul Skill far exceeded expectations. The three flood dragons seemed to possess sentience, their attacks angled with cunning and ferocity.

"Screech—!"

One flood dragon finally tore through the protective layer on the Flower King's trunk and bit fiercely into a glowing node.

The Flower King trembled violently, and the healing light dots it scattered instantly dimmed by a third.

Dugu Yan seized the opportunity. The other two flood dragons exerted their strength simultaneously, tearing open gaps in the other two nodes!

With all three cores damaged, the Flower King's vine attacks became noticeably disordered. The Healing Domain began to collapse, the light golden dots flickering like candles in the wind.

"Now!" Dugu Yan shouted coquettishly. The three flood dragons suddenly merged into a single emerald stream of light, piercing directly into the pistil at the center of the Flower King's main trunk—

That was the true vital point.

"Pfft—!"

The emerald light passed through its body.

The Flower King's movements froze.

Its vines drooped powerlessly, its light blue flowers withered rapidly, and the entire giant tree lost its vitality at a visible rate.

Three breaths later, the trunk cracked with a "creak" and crumbled into a pile of rotten wood.

Ye Lingling stepped forward and solemnly bowed to Dugu Yan. "Yanzi, thank you."

Then, with a swift stroke, she cut off the Flower King's final pistil.

A pale purple Soul Ring slowly rose, its color warm and emitting a comforting healing aura.

"Between us, there's no need for thanks," Dugu Yan said, wiping the sweat from her brow with a smile. "Hurry and absorb it; this Soul Ring is of excellent quality."

Ye Lingling sat down cross-legged and began to absorb it.

The process was exceptionally smooth—as fellow healing-type Soul Masters, the Flower King's Soul Power was naturally compatible with hers.

Two and a half hours later, she opened her eyes. Her Soul Power was stable at level forty-two, and her fourth Soul Ring had faint golden patterns swirling within its pale purple hue.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Flower Rain Resurrection."

As Ye Lingling demonstrated, she waved her hand, and light golden petals rained down. Everyone felt their fatigue vanish, and even their Soul Power recovered slightly. "Area healing, with sustained Soul Power recovery, lasting up to thirty breaths."

"Miss Ye's current healing ability is likely superior to that of many healing Soul Masters at the Soul King level," Liu Erlong praised directly.

With this, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had successfully obtained their Soul Rings. Everyone's gaze turned collectively to Yu Tiancheng.

The target: a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast.

In the deepest part of the Sunset Forest, the environment was vastly different from the outer regions.

Here, ancient trees towered a hundred zhang high, their canopies blocking out the sun, casting the area in dim light like night.

The ground was covered in thick moss, which made no sound underfoot. An ancient, heavy, and heart-pounding aura flowed through the air.

"This is the core forbidden zone of the Sunset Forest," Dugu Bo said, his expression more solemn than ever. "Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old often reside here. Kid, are you sure you want to search for a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast here?"

"I'm sure," Yu Tiancheng said, scanning his surroundings. "Only in an environment like this can the Soul Beast I need be nurtured."

He closed his eyes and focused, his Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul sensing faintly. After a moment, he opened his eyes and pointed northeast. "Over there... there are strong spatial-temporal fluctuations."

Everyone followed the direction he pointed.

The further they walked, the stranger the surroundings became—some trees were lush and green on one side, withered on the other; some rocks were smooth as mirrors on one surface, severely weathered on the other; they could even see birds suspended in mid-air, their wings flapping but making no forward progress...

"The flow of time is chaotic," Yu Tiancheng whispered. "The rules of space-time here are distorted by some power."

Dugu Bo gasped. "A Soul Beast that can affect the rules of heaven and earth... at least thirty thousand years of cultivation. Kid, this might be beyond your limits."

"Let's go take a look," Yu Tiancheng said, his steps unwavering.

After passing through a distorted forest area, the scene ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a circular clearing a hundred zhang in diameter. The center of the clearing was devoid of vegetation, only bare, grayish-white rocks.

What was most shocking was the bizarrely shifting scenery within the clearing--

On the left half, plants grew wildly, bloomed, bore fruit, withered, and rotted, completing a full cycle of life in just ten breaths; on the right half, however, time seemed to have stopped, a fallen leaf suspended in mid-air, frozen in place.

And in the very center of the clearing stood a colossal beast, entirely silver-gray.

It resembled a Qilin but possessed a majestic dragon's head, its body covered in crystal-like scales, beneath each scale, a flowing light pulsed as if sealing the stars.

Most awe-inspiring were its eyes--the left eye was pure white like the midday sun, the right eye pitch-black like the midnight abyss, and deep within its pupils, the long river of time seemed to flow.

"Daynight Qilin..." Dugu Bo's voice trembled, a tremor mixed with shock and fear, "The legendary top-tier Time-Space Soul Beast, master of day and night, the passage of time... it actually exists!"

Liu Erlong's face paled: "This pressure... it's definitely over twenty thousand years!"

Yu Tiancheng stared at the colossal beast, his heart pounding.

He could clearly feel his Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul resonating violently within him--a pulsation of drawing from the same source, and also the fighting spirit of strong individuals repelling each other.

The Daynight Qilin slowly turned its head, its strange eyes looking towards the group.

The left eye blazed brightly, and everyone felt the surroundings instantly illuminated like day, blindingly bright; the right eye was dark, swallowing the light, and everything returned to darkness.

Day and night alternated in its eyes, and time lost its order around it.

"It's found us," Dugu Bo said solemnly, "Prepare to fight--no, prepare to retreat! We can't handle this Soul Beast!"