Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle and Absorbing Third Spirit Ring

The afternoon of the following day, deep within the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The air was humid and muggy, and the occasional roar of a spirit beast echoed from afar.

Su Mo followed closely beside Golden Crocodile Douluo, walking forward slowly.

This trip deep into the Star Dou Great Forest was to hunt a third spirit ring for Su Mo.

Originally, Qian Xunji should have brought Su Mo, but he was only an early-stage Titled Douluo, and Qian Daoliu worried he wasn't up to it, so he had Level 98 Golden Crocodile Douluo make the trip once more.

As they walked, Golden Crocodile Douluo suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He raised his head and gazed into the sky.

Su Mo followed his line of sight, but saw nothing.

With his current strength, his sensory range naturally could not compare to Golden Crocodile Douluo's.

Before long, a sharp cry suddenly came from high above.

Immediately following, a giant bird burst through the clouds.

Su Mo squinted, gradually making out the appearance of the giant fowl.

It was a giant eagle nearly five meters in length, with a wingspan stretching well over ten meters.

Its entire body was covered in black-and-gold feathers that gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster under the sunlight, each feather looking as though it were forged from refined iron.

Most eye-catching of all were the feathers along the edges of its wings, standing straight like swords with their edges radiating a chilling, frosty light, as though a gentle sweep could tear an enemy apart.

"Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle." Golden Crocodile Douluo narrowed his eyes slightly. "An aerial spirit beast skilled in mid-air ambush. Its sword feathers can detach for ranged attacks, and its speed is extremely fast. It's quite a suitable spirit beast for you."

He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on the giant eagle for a while before his brow furrowed slightly.

"However, this one already has five thousand years of cultivation, which is already the limit for an ordinary spirit master's fourth spirit ring.

Xiao Mo, to be safe, should we look around some more?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo turned his head to look at Su Mo, asking with concern.

Su Mo did not answer immediately.

He stood quietly in place, tilting his head up to gaze at the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle circling in the sky.

According to the spirit ring limits of the Douluo Continent's spirit master world, the age of a third spirit ring should be around seventeen hundred years.

Five thousand years exceeded that by nearly three times; if an ordinary spirit master were to absorb it rashly, it would be courting death.

Yet he had a strong intuition that he could absorb it.

Moreover, over the past year, he had consumed quite a bit of high-age whale rubber, and coupled with uninterrupted daily physical training and medicinal bath nourishment, his physical fitness had long since far surpassed spirit masters of the same rank.

Most importantly, he trusted his own intuition.

"Grandpa Crocodile." Su Mo withdrew his gaze and said firmly, "Trust me, I can absorb its spirit ring."

Golden Crocodile Douluo fell silent for a moment.

He vividly remembered the circumstances of Su Mo's first two spirit ring absorptions; perhaps this time, it would actually work out.

"Are you certain?" He still asked once more.

"Mn." Su Mo nodded, his gaze firm.

"Alright, then it shall be as you wish."

The moment those words fell, the aura surrounding Golden Crocodile Douluo changed abruptly.

His Golden Crocodile King martial soul suddenly released, and nine spirit rings lit up one by one from beneath his feet: two yellows, two purples, four blacks, and one red.

The final hundred-thousand-year spirit ring was as crimson as blood, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

The next instant, Golden Crocodile Douluo soared into the air.

Transforming into a stream of golden light, he dashed straight toward the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle high in the sky at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to catch.

Su Mo stood below, looking up at the golden light breaking through the air, his pupils shifting slightly.

Pity he lacked flight capabilities; otherwise, he would have truly loved to fight this battle himself.

High in the sky.

The Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle had originally been searching for today's prey.

Suddenly, an aura of terrifying extremity surged into the sky from below.

The strength of that aura made its hair stand on end instantly.

It dropped its head abruptly, catching sight of a stream of golden light rapidly closing in on it at an alarming speed.

What chilled it to the bone most of all was the blood-red spirit ring revolving around that figure.

The Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle flapped its wings violently, altering its direction to flee.

Yet.

In the face of absolute strength, any struggle was futile.

Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't even use any spirit skills.

He simply rushed above the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle, raised a foot, and stomped down fiercely!

The Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle let out an immensely miserable shriek, its body plunging straight toward the ground like a meteorite.

Bang--!!!

A loud crash shook the Star Dou Great Forest as the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle smashed heavily into the ground.

Its body lay within a crater, twitching slightly. Its pupils, previously sharp and fierce, now held only terror and despair, with fresh blood continuously seeping from the corners of its beak.

With a single strike alone, the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle was already on its last breath.

Golden Crocodile Douluo dropped back down beside Su Mo, his expression as calm as usual, as though he had just casually swatted away a flying insect.

"Go ahead, Xiao Mo." He said indifferently.

"Thank you, Grandpa Crocodile."

Su Mo stepped forward toward the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle, released his Asura Demon Sword martial soul, and stabbed it cleanly into its vital spot.

The instant the blade pierced through flesh and blood, the body of the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle shuddered violently before completely losing all vitality.

A mist of blood overflowed.

The Asura Demon Sword glowed faintly once more, absorbing the vital energy.

Su Mo could feel a warm current surging from the sword blade into his body, this strength even more powerful than the previous two times.

A moment later, a profound purple spirit ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Black Gold Sword-Feather Eagle.

Su Mo sat cross-legged at the edge of the giant crater.

He closed his eyes, guiding the spirit ring to draw near him.

The very second the spirit ring touched his body.

Violent energy poured frantically into his limbs and bones.

That energy was fierce and overbearing, rampaging back and forth within his body as if trying to tear his meridians apart.

Pain!

Too painful!

Su Mo clenched his teeth tightly, his body trembling violently while the veins on his forehead bulged.

Right at that moment, an abnormal change occurred.

Su Mo suddenly felt a warm current well up inside him, flowing slowly through his body.

The rampaging, violent energy actually gradually calmed down, the tearing pain instantly diminishing by a large margin. His trembling body gradually stabilized, and his tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly as well.

Golden Crocodile Douluo had been guarding right beside him, his gaze fixed intently on Su Mo.

Just as Su Mo had trembled violently earlier, his hand had already raised, spirit power primed and ready to strike and interrupt at any moment.

Fortunately, before long, Su Mo stabilized.

Golden Crocodile Douluo slowly lowered his hand and let out a long breath of relief.

Yet a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Clearly, it had been the prelude to imminent loss of control just moments ago, yet in a split second, that violent aura had settled down.

However, he could not discern the reason behind it.

Golden Crocodile Douluo narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing intently for a moment, but detected nothing at all.

He shook his head, thinking no more of it.

As long as Su Mo was unharmed, that was enough; as for the rest, Su Mo inherently carried a hint of mystery about him, and perhaps this was simply his extraordinary nature.

Time ticked away second by second.

The process of absorbing the spirit ring gradually neared its end.

However, right as it was about to conclude, an abrupt change occurred!

Su Mo suddenly felt a tearing pain erupt from his back!

That kind of pain was completely different from the impact when the spirit ring had first entered his body.

It was a tearing sensation originating from his very bones, as though something was bit by bit forcing open his skin and flesh, about to burst forth from within his body.