Deceptive Soul Skill

The entire process of absorbing the soul ring went smoothly, taking only about an hour before Lin Ye completed the absorption.

When he stood up again, he could already feel the changes within himself—his soul power had jumped straight to rank 18.

His Mental Power had also increased significantly. Without needing to focus deliberately, a casual glance revealed the tiniest dust particles in the air, the fluttering wings of mosquitoes in flight—all crystal clear in his vision. Every movement of matter appeared dozens of times slower to him, and within a hundred meters, even the slightest rustle of wind or grass was now perceived with perfect clarity.

The marked improvement in Mental Power let Lin Ye breathe a sigh of relief. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hadn't lied to him after all.

First Soul Skill: Void.

When the Void skill was activated, it allowed him to enter a Void State. In this state, all physical attacks were rendered immune.

Soul skills and mental-type attacks would reduce the effective duration of the Void State, or even break it outright.

However, as long as the Void State remained unbroken, he would not suffer any substantial damage.

Moreover, this soul skill could not only be applied to himself but also cast on others.

Most importantly, the Void State essentially turned him into a Soul Body. In this form, he could invade the Physical Body of others.

Once the invasion was successful, he could usurp the host's body, temporarily controlling it. In doing so, he could also use the opponent's martial soul and soul skills.

The only downside was that he couldn't permanently occupy the other's Physical Body, as the skill couldn't last for too long.

After understanding the effects of the skill, Lin Ye's eyes grew brighter and brighter, like two glowing lightbulbs. This soul skill was practically a god-tier trick for messing with people.

From now on, if he took a disliking to someone, he'd just use the Void skill to possess them, then stir up trouble with their body, racking up hatred and causing chaos. Hehehe...

If there was one person Lin Ye found most irritating, it was naturally Tang San. Such a treasure of a soul skill—Tang San absolutely had to be the first to enjoy it.

In a while, Tang San would arrive. When he did, Lin Ye would take control of his body and help him absorb his First Soul Ring.

But since it was for Tang San, he'd just scrape together a ten-year soul ring for him. Hehehe...

With that thought, a thick grin spread across his face. Tang San, from now on, your soul rings are my business.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted its head, utterly puzzled. What was this two-legged beast grinning about?

After laughing for a good while, his emotions finally settled. Lin Ye gave the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's big head a firm rub and said with a smile, "I need to head back. Thanks a lot this time. Next time I come, I'll bring you some good food."

With his goal achieved, it was naturally time to return home.

At first, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was a bit annoyed by the rubbing, but the mention of good food instantly turned its mood from cloudy to sunny. "Take me with you. I'll go with you guys."

"Huh? What did you say?" Lin Ye thought he'd misheard.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion snorted. "Hmph, can't I go out and see the human world?"

Oh, so that's it! Lin Ye understood. The Auspicious Beast wanted to see the outside world's splendor—that was perfectly normal.

"It's not impossible for you to come with us, but it's not great for a soul beast to walk around in the human world. How about you transform? What do you think?"

As he said this, a hint of peculiarity flickered in Lin Ye's eyes, anticipation stirring within him. When the Three-Eyed Golden Lion transformed, she'd be a little beauty too, hehehe.

Under normal circumstances, a soul beast could only choose to transform into human form after reaching a cultivation of a hundred thousand years. But that meant abandoning those hundred thousand years of cultivation and starting over from scratch.

Very few chose to rebuild.

Beyond a hundred thousand years, when a soul beast reached two hundred thousand years of cultivation, it was called a Fierce Beast. Fierce Beasts could also take human form, just like Bing Di.

But that was only in appearance—they were still soul beasts at their core.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was an exception, though. Even with its cultivation far below a hundred thousand years, it could still transform, and it could possess both human and soul beast forms, switching freely between them.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast was just that impressive—no one could deny it.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook its big head. "No, I haven't decided what form to take yet."

Transformation wasn't something to be taken lightly. It only had one chance in its lifetime, and once it transformed, there was no going back.

Lin Ye's eyes lit up. From the sound of it, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was willing to transform—it just hadn't settled on a form yet.

That was more than enough. Haste makes waste; some things had to be taken step by step.

"Can you shrink down a bit?" Lin Ye kept his expression well-controlled, hiding the scheming in his heart from others.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion answered with action. Golden light rippled across its body as it rapidly shrank, ending up only about forty centimeters long—even smaller than a Tabby Cat.

Seeing this, Lin Ye's joy was plain on his face. He bent down, scooped up the cat-sized Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and rubbed its round head.

"You're being rude, rude!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion felt insulted and stomped its paws in anger.

Lin Ye chuckled, unfazed, and suggested, "How about I give you a name?"

Without waiting for the beast's consent, he went on, "Let me think... Hmm... how about Da Huang? What do you think?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion: "..."

Did it really think This Seat knew nothing?

It glared fiercely at Lin Ye, its mouth slightly open, baring a row of sharp teeth.

"Alright, alright, just joking with you. Why get so worked up?" Lin Ye quickly soothed it.

After a pause, he continued, "You'll take my surname. As for the name... let's go with Qiu'er. Lin Qiu'er. It's settled."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's expression softened a bit. This name was passable—at least it wasn't as ridiculous and stupid as the last one.

It turned its head away with an air of pride, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Lin Ye simply took that as tacit agreement.

True to the pride of an Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had no intention of being cradled like a pet. With a single leap, it landed steadily on Lin Ye's shoulder.

And so, Lin Ye, Lin Qiu'er, and Xue Di—a group of three people and one cat—set off on the return journey.

Just as they were about to leave the Star Dou Great Forest, a soul beast suddenly appeared, blocking their path.

This soul beast was over five meters in length, exceedingly robust, and somewhat resembled a lion. Its unique feature was three identical massive heads, each over a meter in diameter, with terrifying fangs gleaming in a red-gold luster.

"Scarlet King, what are you doing?" Xue Di asked with a frown.

This sudden soul beast, known as the Scarlet King, had a true form as a Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff. Its cultivation had reached 300,000 years, making it one of the kings of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Xue Di, I mean no offense," the Scarlet King said, lowering its proud head before her.

Then it glanced at Lin Ye, but quickly shifted its gaze to Lin Qiu'er. "Auspicious Beast, let me go out with you. Your safety needs protection."

"No way." Before Lin Qiu'er could speak, Lin Ye was the first to lose his composure.

He had ulterior motives for taking Lin Qiu'er away—how could he let the Scarlet King, that big spotlight, ruin his plans?