"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing was stunned for a moment, then realized what had happened. She glanced in the direction Jiang Siming had gone, then followed the others as they left.
After they had showered,
everyone noticed that their skin had become smoother and their bodies felt lighter. Oscar suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "I've broken through to level 30!"
Xiao Wu chimed in, "I'm level 30 too!"
Dai Mubai had successfully advanced to the rank of a Level 40 Soul Ancestor. Everyone else had also gained a level.
"Brother Siming, this really is amazing. I feel like my Phoenix Flame is purer now. And, well, my desire for that sort of thing seems to have gone down," Ma Hongjun said with a grin.
"By the way, where did Siming go? I'd better hurry over and let him beat me up again. Maybe I'll get more good stuff," Oscar said with a sleazy smile.
"Xiao Ao, how come I never realized you were such a shameless guy?" Dai Mubai said with a laugh.
"What do you mean? We should share blessings and hardships alike. How about you go be the punching bag? We'll sit back and collect the money," Dai Mubai joked.
Everyone burst out laughing.
By then, Jiang Siming was already on his way to the Sunset Forest.
This time, Jiang Siming planned to hunt a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It wouldn't be easy. Still, he wasn't sure just how much power he could unleash when fighting for his life. But he knew that too much comfort would only cause even the strongest to slowly fall into decline.
Although he could already trade blows with a Soul Saint, he had never truly fought an enemy to the death. In battle, even the stronger side could fall to someone weaker. A lion gave its all even when hunting a rabbit. Jiang Siming urgently needed a real fight to draw out his combat potential.
When he arrived at the Sunset Forest, Jiang Siming headed straight for the area near its center. The Sunset Forest couldn't compare to the Star Dou Great Forest, but it still had plenty of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Soul Masters often visited the forest's outskirts, but the area near its core was already extremely quiet.
Yet that sort of silence was often filled with danger. Jiang Siming began watching his surroundings and slowed down. His First Martial Soul had warned him of killing intent, and now his ability to sense it was finally proving useful.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from nearby. They said clouds followed dragons and wind followed tigers.
Jiang Siming summoned the Immortal Extinction Sword and slowly approached the grass ahead. There was no point in guarding against a thief forever. He decided to strike first.
Suddenly, a huge mouth lunged out of the grass and snapped at Jiang Siming with a roar.
"God of Slaughter Possession!" All his attributes instantly increased by 50%.
Jiang Siming threw himself to one side and swept his sword across. Pure white sword energy, imbued with endless killing force, sliced off half the Soul Beast's head. It died on the spot.
"A 6,500-year-old Black Rock Tiger. I shouldn't have gone all out." Jiang Siming shook his head, paying no heed to the deep purple Soul Ring slowly rising from its body.
Jiang Siming continued deeper into the forest.
"The Poison Barrier! Could this be the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
"This poison is far too concentrated to have formed naturally. I must be near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well," Jiang Siming thought.
A sudden idea came to him, and he summoned the Donghuang Bell Martial Soul. A wave of the Emperor's Aura pulsed outward from the bell, driving back the poison. With the Donghuang Bell hovering above his head, Jiang Siming slowly ventured into the Poison Barrier and successfully crossed it.
"It really works. When it's time to absorb a Soul Ring, I'll have a safe place to stay," Jiang Siming said, then walked back out of the Poison Barrier.
A few days later,
"Damn it, did I come to the wrong place? How is this supposed to be a Spirit Beast Forest? I'd settle for a ten-thousand-year-old dog!" Jiang Siming was on the verge of tears. He had killed more than ten thousand-year-old Soul Beasts and still hadn't come across a single Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
As Jiang Siming grumbled, he suddenly sensed killing intent coming from ahead, about 200 meters away. The presence was incredibly powerful.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you." Jiang Siming felt like singing that song.
He gripped the Immortal Extinction Sword and Immortal Slaying Sword in both hands.
He released his Soul Rings, all of which were purple.
"God of Slaughter Possession!" With a sweep of his sword, he cleared away all the weeds. A massive, dark-black tiger appeared before him.
"What kind of Soul Beast is this?" Jiang Siming was taken aback. He read about Soul Beasts in his spare time between Spirit Fights, but he had never seen one that looked like this. Looking at it was like looking at pure evil; he felt an urge to kill it at once.
The dark-black tiger suddenly let out a murky breath, radiating an evil aura. Its eyes stayed fixed on Jiang Siming.
Jiang Siming felt as if it had marked him as its prey. This Soul Beast was clearly no ordinary creature.
Neither man nor beast rushed to make the first move. Jiang Siming noticed the tiger's tail, which looked just like a hook and gleamed black.
"Evil God Hook." The words suddenly surfaced in Jiang Siming's mind, as though some force were guiding him to think of them.
"Could I really be this lucky? Is it the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger? But it's much smaller than the one described in the original story. It also lacks that layer of black light, said to have incredible defensive power. Still, it must be the reason I haven't encountered any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts." Jiang Siming wondered. If it really were the fifty-thousand-year-old one from the original story, could he even escape, let alone fight it? That was a serious question. After all, it had been able to contend with a Level 94 Tang San. Tang San had even had the Sea God Trident, three divine techniques, and Sea God's Light, yet he still hadn't managed to kill it. Instead, the tiger had dragged him into another dimension, and Tang San had only finished it off with Hidden Weapons. The Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Sunset Forest must have gone into hiding. After all, this creature had an absolute life-saving advantage: a skill that made both sides return to infancy. Probably only top-tier Soul Beasts like Daming and Erming could withstand it.
At last, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger couldn't hold back. Even though it was extremely cautious, it didn't believe that a mere Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster could pose a threat. Its instincts still warned it that Jiang Siming was dangerous.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger pushed off with its hind legs and swung its two enormous black paws at Jiang Siming. Jiang Siming gathered tremendous sword energy into the Immortal Extinction Sword and thrust.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger twisted in midair and dodged Jiang Siming's powerful attack.
Jiang Siming realized that this Soul Beast was incredibly clever and cautious. He had just gathered the sword energy without letting it leak out, hoping to deliver a fatal strike, but the tiger had dodged with ease.
After that exchange, both sides paused again. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger lowered its forelegs slightly, ready to spring.
Suddenly, a phantom appeared where the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had been. When it reappeared, it was behind Jiang Siming, spitting a streak of black light straight at the back of his head.
Jiang Siming summoned the Donghuang Bell and blocked the attack, but the shockwave still sent him pitching forward. In that instant, he had truly felt the breath of death.
"Damn, you really are cunning," Jiang Siming said through gritted teeth.
Fortunately, he had summoned the Donghuang Bell in time. Sensing the Emperor's Aura emanating from it, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger lost focus for a brief moment, giving Jiang Siming a chance to catch his breath.