At the same time, it twisted its thick, long body and lunged at Feng Piaoling, jaws snapping.
The light barrier released by the scabbard of the Thunder Tribulation Sword had been designed by Feng Piaoling to resemble the protective astral energy he envisioned the Green Lotus Sword Art would produce.
Besides providing excellent defense, it could completely block out poisonous gas.
"Looking for death." Feng Piaoling completely ignored the Datura Snake's poisonous mist. He channeled Soul Power into the Thunder Tribulation Sword and, using the eighth form of the Nine Gale Swords, Wind Leaves No Trace, as his lead, flicked the blade up in a backhanded strike.
Beneath the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest, the Thunder Tribulation Sword reflected a hazy blue-green light. It was like a breeze drifting through a secluded valley, flowing without end.
The blow cleaved the Datura Snake's head in two and continued on to sever its thick, long body.
In the original story, Tang Ya and Bei Bei had only barely managed to kill the powerful thousand-year Soul Beast, the Datura Snake, with Huo Yuhao's help. But at Feng Piaoling's hands, it had not even lasted two moves before it fell to the ground in two pieces, clearly not long for this world.
Tang Ya was dumbstruck. Huo Yuhao was dumbstruck. Bei Bei was dumbstruck too.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, residing in Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea, saw this and the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
This was exactly how that cunning brat had nearly chopped him up earlier.
If his mental strength hadn't been formidable enough to let him dodge in advance, he would have been dead as a doornail by now.
"This Datura Snake isn't suitable for me."
Feng Piaoling sheathed his sword and paid no mind to what the other three were doing. He simply spoke in a calm voice, then leaned against a nearby tree with his sword in his arms.
Tang Ya froze for a moment, then cried out in astonishment, "S-so impressive."
Bei Bei hurriedly took out a short knife and handed it to her. "Xiao Ya, since Brother Feng doesn't want this Datura Snake, you can absorb its Spirit Ring. It's just right for you."
"Mm." Tang Ya knew the Datura Snake wouldn't last much longer. After taking the short knife, she immediately plunged it into the snake's eye.
The Datura Snake let out a pained wail and breathed its last. A purple Spirit Ring then appeared above its corpse.
"Th-thank you." Tang Ya's lips parted slightly as she looked at Feng Piaoling, her gaze tinged with shame.
After all, not long ago, she had joined Bei Bei in speaking up for Huo Yuhao and ostracizing Feng Piaoling.
Seeing that Feng Piaoling had helped his beloved find a suitable Spirit Ring, Bei Bei also looked at him with a trace of guilt.
As for Huo Yuhao, after seeing Feng Piaoling kill the thousand-year Datura Snake with two sword strikes, he couldn't help thinking again about his ten-year Wind Baboon First Spirit Ring. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.
He began to resent Feng Piaoling. Why—why hadn't he told him sooner?
If he'd known Feng Piaoling was this strong, he wouldn't have absorbed that damned ten-year Wind Baboon First Spirit Ring.
For all he knew, he might even have received Brother Sky Dream's sacrifice as his First Spirit Ring.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao once again recalled the terror of being at the mercy of the ten-year Wind Baboon.
Feng Piaoling paid no mind to the others. He simply began to look forward to what kind of Third Spirit Ring Huo Yuhao's luck might provide him.
Whether or not the Datura Snake suited the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, it was certainly suitable for Tang Ya. After all, her first two Spirit Rings had both leaned toward poison. It was too late for her to switch to a life attribute now.
As for him, his Third Spirit Ring would likely be somewhere between five thousand and ten thousand years old.
He wondered what kind of Soul Beast it would be.
Time passed second by second as Tang Ya absorbed the Spirit Ring.
Her figure seemed to grow a little taller and more slender. Her aura grew stronger at an astonishing rate, and her skin took on a brighter luster.
An hour later, Tang Ya finished absorbing the Spirit Ring.
"Phew..." She let out a long breath and slowly opened her eyes. Her lovely, limpid eyes sparkled, and her whole being seemed to have gained a new vitality.
Her Soul Power had also reached level thirty-one.
"I did it!" Tang Ya sprang excitedly to her feet. As she urged her Soul Power, two yellow and one purple Spirit Rings rose from beneath her feet.
Before she could share her joy at breaking through to become a Soul Elder, Feng Piaoling, who had been keeping watch nearby, spoke up. "Now that you've finished absorbing it, it's time to find a Spirit Ring for me."
"Okay." Feng Piaoling had just killed the Datura Snake for her, so Tang Ya agreed without a second thought.
Since Tang Ya had agreed, Bei Bei naturally had nothing to say. As for Huo Yuhao, he wore the same aloof, solitary expression as before.
Before he had received Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice, no matter how he looked at Feng Piaoling, he felt safe.
Now, no matter how he looked at him, Feng Piaoling rubbed him the wrong way.
Without realizing it, the ten-year Wind Baboon Spirit Ring had become a nightmare Huo Yuhao could never shake.
The four continued deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Their formation stayed the same: Tang Ya led the way, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei followed one pace behind her, and Feng Piaoling was two paces back.
But instead of rushing ahead at full speed, they now moved at a steady walking pace.
The deeper they went into the Star Dou Great Forest, the more dangerous it became. They couldn't charge ahead recklessly like before; they had to be careful.
Tang Ya had originally wanted Feng Piaoling to take the lead.
After all, he was quite possibly the strongest of the four.
But Feng Piaoling refused, saying he had never been in the habit of turning his back on others.
Two and a half hours later, the figure of a giant bear lying on the ground came into view.
The bear was over five meters long and extremely massive. Its black fur glinted with a faint metallic sheen.
It had clearly suffered severe injuries. Blood covered its body, and it seemed to have fought a powerful Soul Beast not long ago.
When it saw Feng Piaoling and the others approach, it let out a weak roar but didn't get up.
It had clearly lost the ability to move.
Seeing this, the corner of Feng Piaoling's mouth twitched slightly. Judging by its size, it was undoubtedly a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
The two-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in the original story had been able to defeat a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. This one had to be at least five thousand years old.
Before leaving the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran had bestowed upon him a giant Level 8 Soul Tool sword.
Normally, Feng Piaoling would only have been confident of killing a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear by using that sword.
After all, the thing's defense was simply terrifying. Ordinary methods couldn't even scratch it.
Now, this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was badly wounded and unable to move. It had become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Well, wasn't Huo Yuhao a Child of Destiny, after all?
With him around, they'd even stumbled upon a stroke of luck like this.
At the same time, Bei Bei recognized the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear too.
"It's a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—and at least five thousand years old. How could such a powerful Soul Beast appear on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
The sight of the giant bear made Bei Bei suck in a sharp breath.
When Tang Ya heard it was a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, her face turned pale with fright.
It was fortunate the beast was injured. Otherwise, all four of them might have died here today.
Seeing how terrified Bei Bei and Tang Ya were of this Soul Beast, Huo Yuhao realized just how fearsome it was.
Just then, the voice of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rang out in his mind:
"Damn it, damn it, I'm furious! This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear carries the lingering aura of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast that once hunted me. It must have been drawn over by the enormous energy fluctuations created when that ten-thousand-year Soul Beast sacrificed itself to me. When it couldn't find me, it casually beat this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear half to death. And now this cunning brat Feng Piaoling gets to benefit from it! I'm furious! I'm furious!"
Before you continue