Death Scythe Dragon Lizard, First Soul Ring of the Scythe of Death

The carriage jolted forward along the forest path.

Qian Anci lifted the curtain, gazing at the verdant ancient trees flashing past outside; a grey glint flickered in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about?"

Qian Renxue sat beside him, her golden hair cascading like a waterfall, her golden eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

She clearly had not forgotten the strange clash of their martial souls during the awakening.

"Thinking about my first soul ring."

Qian Anci lowered the curtain, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Grandfather said to choose speed or sharpness... but my martial soul seems better suited for something else."

Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow.

This younger brother of hers had possessed a composure far beyond his years since childhood.

And now, he wanted to make his own decisions regarding his first soul ring?

"Suit yourself."

She gave a soft huff and said nothing more.

Yet, deep within those golden eyes, a complex emotion flickered.

Half a day later.

"This is the Star Dou Great Forest."

The voice of Azure Luan Douluo came from outside the carriage, cold as frost.

He stood with his hands behind his back at the front of the carriage, his azure robes fluttering as his gaze swept across the primeval sea of trees that blotted out the sky.

"It spans the two great empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo; a paradise for soul beasts, and a graveyard for soul masters."

Golden Crocodile Douluo leaped down from another carriage, his sturdy frame landing without making a single sound.

He grinned, revealing stark white teeth: "Young Master, Young Lady, stay close."

"The hundred-year soul beasts in this outer perimeter are no laughing matter."

Qian Anci and Qian Renxue stepped out of the carriage one after the other.

A thick scent of vegetation rushed to meet them, yet it was laced with the faint tang of blood.

"Young Master, Young Lady."

Azure Luan Douluo turned around, his expression uncharacteristically solemn.

"The selection of your first soul ring is of vital importance; it determines the foundation of your future soul skills."

"You are both at innate level twenty, and possess top-tier martial souls. Tell me, what kind of soul beasts do you intend to choose?"

Qian Renxue stepped forward, a confident light in her golden eyes.

"My Six-Winged Angel requires the holy attribute; my first choice would be a Bright White Tiger or a Holy Swan, around four hundred years of age."

Azure Luan Douluo nodded slightly: "Reasonable."

He turned to Qian Anci: "And you, Young Master?"

Qian Anci rubbed the palm of his right hand, where the icy touch of the Scythe of Death seemed to still linger.

Within his sea of consciousness.

Grey-white mist gently churned as the voice of Castorice rang out lazily:

"Tell him... you are looking for a soul beast with an aura of 'death'."

"Preferably one that can unleash extreme killing intent when on the verge of death."

Qian Anci raised his eyes, looking straight at Azure Luan Douluo.

"Elder Azure Luan, I am looking for a soul beast... one that can unleash extreme killing intent when on the verge of death."

"The attribute should lean toward darkness or death, and the age..."

He paused, and amidst the soft laughter of Castorice, he spat out the number:

"One thousand years."

"Absurd!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression changed, his voice booming like a bell.

"The limit for a first soul ring is four hundred and twenty-three years; that is common knowledge!"

"One thousand years? That is enough to make you explode and die!"

Qian Renxue also furrowed her brows, her golden eyes filled with scrutiny: "Anci, are you certain?"

Qian Anci's expression remained unchanged.

He slowly raised his right hand, a wisp of grey-white death energy swirling around his fingertips.

"Two Elders, Sister, you have forgotten..."

"My Martial Soul was born for death itself."

He stepped forward, deathly aura surging around his body, accompanied by a faint, low wailing sound as if it were an echo from the Underworld.

"The authority of Thanatos can naturally..."

"Shield me as I walk along the edge of death."

Azure Luan Douluo fell silent.

He stared at that wisp of deathly aura, recalling the grayish-white radiance that had torn through the golden light not long ago.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well."

"Since you have such confidence, Young Master, I shall accompany you to find that Millennium Soul Beast."

"But if there is true danger..."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "I will forcibly interrupt the absorption. Even if it damages your foundation, it is still better than losing your life."

"Many thanks, Elder Azure Luan."

Qian Anci bowed respectfully, though the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The four of them searched the border between the outer perimeter and the mixed zone of the forest for the better part of the day.

Finally, at the edge of a dark, damp swamp where the surrounding vegetation appeared withered and dead, Azure Luan Douluo came to a halt.

"Found it."

He lowered his voice and pointed toward a patch of rotting reeds ahead.

"Such dense dark attributes, and it carries a scent of... decaying death."

Following his guidance, Qian Anci saw...

Perched upon a piece of rotting wood in the center of the swamp were two hideous, pitch-black lizards with bone spurs growing from their backs!

Dark red soul fire flickered within their eye sockets, and as their jaws opened and closed, saliva dripped down, corroding the mud beneath them.

Azure Luan Douluo's pupils constricted.

"That is... the extremely rare Death Scythe Dragon Lizard?"

He lowered his voice, his tone tinged with a hint of surprise.

"When this type of Soul Beast is near death, it burns its life essence to unleash a strike that exceeds its limits!"

"The Soul Skill granted by its Soul Ring often carries an 'instant death' or 'grievous injury' effect!"

Relying on his keen perception of soul power, he instantly judged their cultivation levels.

"Young Master, your luck is good."

"The one on the left is smaller, with about four hundred years of cultivation—a safe choice."

"As for the one on the right..."

Azure Luan Douluo frowned slightly.

"That one's bone spurs have turned blood-red, and its tail blade is faintly wreathed in soul fire; I fear it has already surpassed twelve hundred years."

Qian Anci stared fixedly at that Millennium Death Scythe Lizard.

It seemed to sense something, as its pitch-black head suddenly snapped up, its dark red soul fire staring straight toward the direction where they were hiding.

In that gaze, there was no fear.

Only the extreme madness of a beast!

"That is the one."

Qian Anci said softly.

"I want that millennium one."

"Anci!"

Qian Renxue grabbed his wrist, her golden eyes filled with gravity.

"Are you truly choosing that twelve-hundred-year Soul Beast? It is three times your limit."

"I am not acting recklessly."

Qian Anci turned his head to look at her.

Gray light flickered within his deep pupils, causing Qian Renxue to startle slightly.

"Sister, my Martial Soul tells me..."

"It can withstand it."

"Besides, I need that near-death killing intent."

He called out softly in his heart, "Castorice, are you ready?"

"At any time, Anci."

Castorice's voice was gentle, yet it carried a reassuring strength.

"When you absorb the spirit ring, I will use the origin of the Underworld to protect your heart and meridians."

"But the pain..."

"Must be borne by you alone."

The corners of Qian Anci's mouth curled upward.

"That is enough."

He turned to Azure Luan Douluo and bowed respectfully, "Elder Azure Luan, please hunt that Millennium Lizard for me."

Azure Luan Douluo and Golden Crocodile Douluo exchanged a glance, both falling silent.

"...Very well."

Finally, Azure Luan Douluo nodded slowly.

He raised his right hand, and cyan spirit power condensed like a hurricane.

"Golden Crocodile, protect the young lady and the young master."

"Wait for me to deal with this beast..."

Before the words had even faded, Azure Luan Douluo's figure vanished from where he stood.

He had not even activated his martial soul.

With just a flicker of his figure, a sharp sonic boom erupted in the air!

"Hiss!"

The Millennium Death Scythe Lizard let out a piercing screech, its tail blade whipping out violently as a pitch-black slash tore through the air!

Yet, Azure Luan Douluo merely flicked his hand.

That strike, capable of killing a Soul Grand Master, dissipated like wisps of smoke!

The next instant.

He appeared above the lizard and pressed down with one palm.

The cyan spirit power transformed into a tangible storm, instantly crushing the lizard's spine while precisely leaving it with a final breath.

"Young Master, do it!"

Qian Anci walked forward slowly.

The Scythe of Death condensed in his hand, gray-white death energy swirling around the pitch-black blade as a dragon-shaped phantom drifted within it.

He looked at the Millennium spirit beast that was still screeching and struggling.

In his eyes, there was no pity.

"The harvest... begins."

The blade swept across, severing its throat.

As the lizard's final spark of life extinguished, a purple Millennium spirit ring slowly floated up from its corpse.

In this gloomy swamp, it emitted an eerie and alluring glow.

Qian Anci sat down cross-legged.

He could feel the power within his body boiling and cheering!

He could feel even more clearly that deep within the surging death energy, another dormant power—the Shadow of Pollux—was quietly awakening.

"Begin, Castorice."

"Mm."

Gray-white mist surged from his body, and in a place invisible to others, it transformed into a gentle hand that softly cradled the purple spirit ring.

And in the depths of that gray mist.

The outline of another spirit ring was slowly condensing...

That was a gift from the Underworld, the authority belonging to Pollux.

No hunting required, no absorption required.

It would be born the moment the first spirit ring fell into place.

Qian Anci channeled his spirit power.

He drove that purple Millennium spirit ring, fiercely...

Toward the Scythe of Death!