[Soul Bone Skill: Teleportation]
Within the Magic Cloud Sparrow's line of sight, Xia Ran's figure wavered for an instant, seemingly retreating a few steps.
But none of that mattered. Faced with its absolute speed, it was confident this strike would hit!
Just as it expected, a black streak of light shot through the air and pierced straight through Xia Ran's left chest, right where his heart was.
At the same time, a figure suddenly appeared behind the thousand-year-old Magic Cloud Sparrow.
[Slash]
The Black Blade flashed into view. While its opponent was still caught off guard, Xia Ran immediately slashed down at the small creature.
Perhaps acting on instinct, the little Magic Cloud Sparrow twisted aside with all its strength in that moment of crisis, narrowly dodging the fatal blow!
But the slash still cut off its left wing. Dark Attribute energy erupted and invaded its body, leaving it completely unconscious.
Its piercing screech abruptly stopped. Only then did the Ten-Thousand-Year Magic Cloud Sparrow realize it had attacked a decoy!
Turning to look at the sky, it saw Xia Ran staring back at it, holding a blade in one hand and the badly injured, unconscious Little Skylark in the other.
Rage flooded its mind in an instant. The Ten-Thousand-Year Magic Cloud Sparrow unleashed a terrifying aura, and a storm of arrows shot toward Xia Ran.
Xia Ran was aghast. Suspended in midair, he couldn't dodge at all and could only watch as countless arrows came flying at him.
If he used Void to evade, the Magic Cloud Sparrow in his hand would surely fall, allowing its companion to rescue it. Then all his careful planning would have been for nothing.
His mind raced for a solution. At the critical moment, he held the Little Skylark in front of himself.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Magic Cloud Sparrow looked horrified and hurriedly dispelled its attack!
The entire storm of arrows vanished less than five meters from Xia Ran.
As he landed, Xia Ran let out a breath of relief. If all those arrows had hit him just now, he would've been badly injured at the very least.
The Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow was simply too powerful, and its abilities were incredibly strange. Even a Soul Saint might not be able to take it down with absolute certainty under normal circumstances.
If Xia Ran had to face it alone, surviving wouldn't be a problem. But he truly wasn't confident he could kill it.
Now, though, the situation had turned around. He suspected the two Soul Beasts must have been closely bonded; otherwise, the Ten-Thousand-Year Magic Cloud Sparrow wouldn't have rushed to the front every time.
"Offer yourself to me, and I'll let it go!"
Chapter 55: The Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow's Sacrifice
Xia Ran held the unconscious Little Skylark in one hand and pointed his blade at its neck with the other.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Magic Cloud Sparrow saw this and bared a ferocious, almost human expression, its gaze fixed on Xia Ran.
Once a Soul Beast reached the ten-thousand-year level, it could more or less understand what humans said. As long as Xia Ran kept things simple, he believed it should understand him.
And as a top-level Soul Beast, the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow had considerable intelligence. Otherwise, it wouldn't have brought its companion along to hunt humans.
So even though it had only twenty thousand years of cultivation, it ought to be capable of sacrificing itself. If not, then trading one life for another was still an option!
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"Chirp, chirp~"
Sure enough, it actually called out. Xia Ran could only stare in dismay—he couldn't understand a word!
"I swear on my Martial Soul: if you sacrifice yourself to me, I'll let it go."
"Otherwise, may my Martial Soul shatter and take my life!"
Xia Ran could only try to communicate with it. If that didn't work, he'd have to think of something else.
One way or another, he was determined to get this Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow's Soul Ring today!
It was a little too old, but the Whale Rubber he'd consumed over the years hadn't been for nothing. Besides, since the Soul Ring's attribute matched his Martial Soul, it would be much easier to absorb.
Of course, if it sacrificed itself willingly, he wouldn't even have to consider using Soul Shock.
"Chirp!"
It was still calling out, but Xia Ran couldn't understand it at all!
The standoff grew increasingly tense. After a long while, the Magic Cloud Sparrow finally made its choice.
It flew up to Xia Ran, looking resigned, with sorrow in its almost human expression. Soul Power began to peel away from its body, and its life force rapidly dwindled.
Xia Ran guessed that this was the beginning of the Soul Beast sacrifice.
As time slowly passed, the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow fell silent. A black Soul Ring took shape and sank into Xia Ran's body.
Immediately, Xia Ran, still in Martial Soul Possession, felt a tremendous surge of energy fill his meridians. It moved several times faster than his usual cultivation!
Yet despite its speed, his body felt no discomfort. Instead, his Soul Power Level began to rise rapidly.
Level 51, 52, 53... 60!
His Soul Power hit a bottleneck again. Xia Ran had guessed correctly: awakening his Second Martial Soul and fusing the two Soul Bones had increased his Soul Power by far more than ten levels.
"Once I absorb another Soul Ring, I'll be able to advance straight to Soul Emperor."
Yellow, purple, purple, purple, black—the five Soul Rings emerged and slowly revolved behind Xia Ran.
[Fifth Soul Skill: Shadow Arrow] [Concentrates Soul Power into Dark Attribute arrows. Hitting an enemy deals damage and can inflict the Soul Breaking effect.] [Soul Breaking: Reduces the enemy's maximum Soul Power by 20%.]
A strange glint flashed across the black Soul Ring, and a black arrow appeared out of thin air, hovering beside Xia Ran.
"I finally have an attack skill!"
Five Soul Rings, and only one attack skill. Apart from support Soul Masters, Xia Ran was probably the only one who'd chosen to do things this way.
For years, he'd relied on his proficiency with his Soul Skills to fight. Most of the damage he dealt was with ordinary attacks. Things had improved since he got the Black Blade, but before that, he'd lost plenty of times in the Soul Fighting Arena.
Now, he was extremely satisfied with this Fifth Soul Skill. Not only was it an attack skill, it was a ranged attack skill, too.
With his current Soul Power, he could fire thirty or forty arrows at once. With that many, no matter how agile his opponent was, they couldn't dodge them all.
As he savored his excitement, a strange energy began to surge behind him.
"What's this? An External Soul Bone!"
Thanks to Zhu Zhuqing's earlier experience absorbing the Eight Spider Lances, Xia Ran was certain this sensation could only mean he was growing an External Soul Bone!
"Let it go!"
"I can help you form an External Soul Bone!"
A strange woman's voice rang out in his Sea of Consciousness. Xia Ran froze.
"You're the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow?"
"Human! I accept that I've lost today. Let it go, and I'll help you form an External Soul Bone!"
At that, Xia Ran used his mental power to communicate with it.
It was probably because of the sacrifice that its soul could communicate with him briefly.
"Don't worry. I've already sworn on my Martial Soul that I won't take its life."
"If I release it now, in its current condition, it'll die at the jaws of another Soul Beast. Help me form the External Soul Bone, and I'll find it a secluded place to recover."
The other party seemed to weigh the pros and cons. Only after quite some time did it reply.
"Agreed. If you dare go back on your word..."
Its voice cut off before it could finish. Clearly, it knew it had no bargaining chips left.
Even if it didn't help this human form the External Soul Bone, he could still fuse with it on his own.
It regretted provoking someone it shouldn't have.
It had meant to use this human as a trial target to train its offspring. Instead, it had ended up sacrificing itself.
All it could do now was hope he would keep his promise.
With that thought, it used the last trace of its soul power to help the human form an External Soul Bone.
Xia Ran felt the energy in his back gathering on its own, and the sensation grew stronger as the energy grew more immense.
Moments later, pain tore through his skin, and a pair of pure black wings burst open.
Xia Ran's shirt was instantly ripped to shreds. The gale stirred by the spreading wings swept the dead leaves away, leaving an empty space around him.
From a distance, it looked as if leaves were raining down.
Xia Ran's upper body was bare. His ink-black hair fluttered as Soul Power coursed through him, and his wings beat slowly behind him, stirring up gusts of wind.
"Human! Remember what you promised me!"
With those final words, the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow's voice vanished from Xia Ran's Sea of Consciousness.
He tried to find its sleeping soul, but no matter how long he searched, he couldn't locate it.
"Has its soul power been completely exhausted?"
That made sense. The soul of a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast was ultimately weaker than Da Ming and Er Ming. It seemed the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow had truly vanished!
Once things had settled down, Xia Ran began examining his condition.
With the help of the other party's soul power, the External Soul Bone had now completely fused with him.
[External Soul Bone: Shadow Demon Cloud Wings] Grants the ability to fly and also possesses a Soul Bone Skill. [Shadow Demon Cloud Slash: Concentrates Soul Power in both wings and releases two Dark Attribute slashes.]
The skill was somewhat like a sword-energy attack. Its power depended on how much Soul Power he used. All in all, it was a fairly standard attack skill.
He could try channeling the slash through the Black Blade later. After all, his wings were just conduits for releasing energy, and the Black Blade was a weapon—so it ought to work, too.
Xia Ran hadn't expected such a huge haul after only a few days in the forest.
The Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow's ten-thousand-year Soul Ring!
An External Soul Bone that granted the ability to fly!
With a smile on his lips, Xia Ran looked down at the Little Skylark in his hand, feeling quite pleased.
He'd cut off one of its wings. It definitely wouldn't be able to survive on its own anytime soon.
Before you continue