Green Blade Mantis

Time flew by, and ten months passed in the blink of an eye.

At the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Ci Xue had carefully arranged the surrounding poisonous miasma, blending all manner of deadly toxins within it. Anyone below the rank of Spirit Douluo who dared trespass would face near-certain death.

Every so often, he reinforced the poison formation to ensure nothing could go wrong.

Gui Mei also quietly visited the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well from time to time, partly to catch up with Chrysanthemum Guan and partly to bring matured rare medicinal herbs back to Spirit City.

During this time, Su Mo gave Gui Mei the Shadow Leopard left arm bone he had obtained earlier.

Though it was only around six thousand years old, its attributes were exceptionally compatible with Gui Mei's Martial Soul. In his hands, its effect was no less than that of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

When Gui Mei received the Soul Bone, his hands trembled slightly with emotion.

He had served Spirit Hall diligently for many years, yet had never been rewarded with a single Soul Bone.

And though he had known Su Mo for only a short time, Su Mo had not only given him an Immortal Herb, but now a Soul Bone as well. How could he not be moved?

Moreover, based on what Her Holiness the Pope had said during the meeting, he had already regarded Su Mo as the successor to the next Pope.

If he did not show his loyalty now, when would he?

He immediately dropped to one knee. "Your Highness, Gui Mei's life belongs to you from this day forward."

After ten months of arduous cultivation, Su Mo had completely refined the medicinal power of the Immortal Herbs in his body. He had gained poison immunity and immunity to ice and fire, while his physical constitution had improved dramatically.

Afterward, he refined the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, and his spiritual power surged by a great deal.

Now, absorbing a Spirit Ring over ten thousand years old was no longer a problem for him.

Bibi Dong's progress was equally astonishing.

Her Soul Power had long since broken through to level forty. With Golden Crocodile Douluo's help, she obtained her Fourth Spirit Ring in Sunset Forest.

It came from an eight-thousand-two-hundred-year-old Amethyst Demon Spider. Its Soul Skill, Thorn Spider Armor, formed a layer of purple-gold armor over her body when activated. The armor was covered in barbs and carried poison, allowing it to both defend and retaliate against attacks.

After consuming the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, her cultivation speed increased greatly. Her Soul Power had now reached level forty-four, and level forty-five was not far away.

Deep within the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Five figures moved slowly through the woods.

They were Su Mo, Bibi Dong, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and Chrysanthemum and Ghost.

After Su Mo emerged from seclusion, the group had headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest.

At that moment, Bibi Dong tightly held Su Mo's arm. Her two soft curves pressed against it as they chatted and laughed, their intimacy natural and unforced.

Su Mo and Bibi Dong both looked increasingly mature now, and they had grown considerably taller.

Su Mo's black hair fell to his shoulders, and his features were strikingly handsome.

Bibi Dong's waterfall-like hair cascaded to her waist, her figure's curves becoming ever more pronounced.

Just then, Golden Crocodile Douluo suddenly stopped and raised a hand in warning.

The other four immediately halted, and Su Mo and Bibi Dong stopped talking.

About fifty meters ahead, a Soul Beast lay quietly in wait.

It was a massive mantis-shaped Soul Beast with an emerald-green body, nearly three meters long and entirely covered in dark green armor.

The most eye-catching feature was its pair of dark green blade arms. Their outer edges were incomparably sharp, gleaming coldly and marked with several dark red patterns, while their inner sides were covered in dense, serrated barbs.

Two pairs of translucent wings were folded against its back, granting it astonishing speed during short bursts and charges.

The moment it sensed human Spirit Masters entering its territory, a violent gleam flashed through its eyes.

Its huge body instantly lowered into a perfect fighting stance. Its blade arms crossed in the air as the two pairs of wings on its back beat continuously.

"Green Blade Mantis." Golden Crocodile Douluo spoke calmly. "Twelve thousand years old. It excels in speed and offense, and its blade arms are incredibly sharp, said to be capable of cutting through metal and stone. Its weakness is its abdomen."

Su Mo fixed his gaze on the Green Blade Mantis.

"Not bad. It will do." His voice was calm.

He gently patted Bibi Dong's hand around his arm, signaling for her to let go.

Bibi Dong slowly withdrew her hand.

Su Mo stepped forward and released his Martial Soul, the Asura Demon Sword. One yellow and two purple Spirit Rings circled beneath his feet.

His First Spirit Ring and Second Spirit Ring lit up in succession, yellow and purple light reflecting off one another.

A faint layer of blood-colored energy armor covered his body.

His speed, strength, and defense surged instantly, and the attack power of his Asura Demon Sword Martial Soul rose sharply as well.

He became a blood-red afterimage, trailing a long streak behind him. In almost the blink of an eye, he closed in on the Green Blade Mantis and thrust the Asura Demon Sword straight at it.

The Green Blade Mantis was, after all, a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast. Its reaction speed was astonishing.

At the critical moment, its two blade arms crossed before it to block, colliding explosively with the sword tip.

The Green Blade Mantis slid several meters backward, plowing deep furrows into the ground before barely steadying itself.

Su Mo's forward charge also came to an abrupt stop.

Though the Green Blade Mantis lacked defensive power, its strength, attack, and speed were terrifying.

With the support of two enhancing Soul Skills, Su Mo's Soul Power might only have been level forty, but his overall strength was already comparable to that of an ordinary Soul King.

The fact that it had blocked this strike head-on was proof enough of the toughness of its blade arms and the sheer power behind them.

When the attack failed, Su Mo used the recoil to sweep backward and widen the distance.

But the Green Blade Mantis had already been thoroughly enraged.

The two pairs of wings on its back suddenly beat at high frequency, producing a piercing buzz. Its massive body transformed into a green streak of light and shot straight after Su Mo.

It was unbelievably fast, not inferior to Su Mo in the slightest, and caught up with him in an instant.

A cold flash gleamed as its two blade arms crossed and slashed down at Su Mo.

Su Mo raised his sword to block, and the clash of metal rang deafeningly through the forest.

A terrifying force traveled through the blade, making Su Mo's sword hand go numb.

Seeing its blade arms blocked, the Green Blade Mantis's assault became even fiercer.

Its twin blades fell in a raging storm of slashes, each strike carrying a shrill howl that tore through the air.

Su Mo fought as he retreated. Blood-red afterimages and green streaks continually collided among the trees, each clash erupting in blinding sparks.

In just a few breaths, the two had exchanged more than ten rounds.

Several cracks had already been carved into Su Mo's blood-colored armor by the Green Blade Mantis's terrifying blade arms, and it showed faint signs of shattering.

After another block, a soft crack sounded, and a pair of black-gold Sword Wings suddenly spread from Su Mo's back.

Countless Sword Feathers detached from the wings, becoming a dense rain of black swords that skimmed low over the ground and shot toward the Green Blade Mantis's abdomen.

The Green Blade Mantis hastily retreated, wildly swinging its twin blades in an attempt to block the sudden barrage of Sword Feathers.

Yet those black Sword Feathers seemed alive, tracing strange arcs through the air as they bypassed its blade arms and shot toward its abdomen from every tricky angle.

The Green Blade Mantis had no choice but to devote more of its attention to dealing with the Sword Feathers clinging to it like maggots to bone.