Golden Armored Rock Ox

The next day, after a quick wash, Lin Beiya returned to the Angel Temple.

Falling Devil Douluo, whom he had met a few times before, had already been waiting there for quite some time.

"Ready? Then let's get going."

"Sorry for the trouble, Seventh Elder."

"No trouble. I have high hopes for you, so you'd better make me proud!"

When he'd gone Soul Hunting for the first time, cautious Yu Lin had chosen to travel by carriage, wanting to be in good shape to face any dangers that might arise in the Star Dou Forest.

Falling Devil, however, was clearly more confident in his own strength. Traveling by carriage hadn't even crossed his mind.

He flashed in front of Lin Beiya, grabbed him by the back of the collar, and flew off toward the Star Dou Forest.

"Uh... well, senior!"

"What is it? Don't tell me you're afraid of heights."

"Not exactly. I was just wondering if you could carry me in a gentler way?"

Speechless, Lin Beiya pointed at the hand gripping his collar, suggesting that Falling Devil carry him another way.

Falling Devil raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse. With a wave of one hand, the Coiling Dragon Staff appeared in his grasp. It instantly grew into a cylinder wide enough for someone to stand on.

"You're a fussy one, aren't you? Get on."

"Hehe, thanks, senior."

They both jumped onto the Coiling Dragon Staff. Then, under Falling Devil's control of his Soul Power, it shot toward the Star Dou Forest.

"Any Soul Beast in mind for your Second Soul Ring?"

"I need a Golden Armored Rock Ox with a thousand years of cultivation."

Falling Devil thought, Just as I expected. He admired Lin Beiya's choice. If he put himself in the boy's shoes, he wouldn't have dared approach a thousand-year Soul Ring when he was at level twenty.

"Fine, then. We'll look for the Golden Armored Rock Ox."

It took them a day to reach the outer reaches of the Star Dou Forest. Falling Devil showed no intention of resting and headed straight into the forest with Lin Beiya.

"This isn't your first time Soul Hunting. Don't stray too far from me."

"I understand, senior."

The Aries Gold Cloth enveloped him. Lin Beiya immediately closed his eyes and followed close beside Falling Devil, taking one careful step at a time.

Golden Armored Rock Oxen were large herbivorous Soul Beasts. To find them, it made sense to look where the vegetation was thickest. Both men thought the same, and after figuring out which way to go, they headed east into the forest.

"You've got pretty sharp senses. You must have put a lot of work into them, huh?"

"Yes. I've always made a point of training that ability."

Watching Lin Beiya walk steadily with his eyes shut, Falling Devil felt nothing but admiration.

He wasn't some sheltered little kid like Little Angel, who might think keen senses were no use to a Soul Master. As long as Lin Beiya didn't neglect his cultivation, that was all that mattered.

"Just don't neglect your cultivation. No matter how sharp your senses are, you still need strength to back them up."

"I understand. Soul Power is the foundation of a Soul Master."

As they spoke, several wolf-shaped Soul Beasts appeared before them: a Nether Wolf pack led by a hundred-year Wolf King.

One glance was all it took for the Wolf King to realize that Falling Devil was someone they couldn't afford to provoke. It howled, and the pack quickly vanished into the woods.

"At least they know what's good for them."

Nether Wolf Soul Rings were useless to either of them. If they could help it, they didn't want to kill needlessly, so the pack's retreat suited them just fine.

Lin Beiya's ears twitched constantly, catching every sound from several kilometers away, even dozens of kilometers away.

After walking nearly a hundred kilometers, Lin Beiya heard the sound of flowing water.

"Senior, there's water about five kilometers ahead. Should we wait there for the Golden Armored Rock Ox?"

Falling Devil stroked his chin and thought it over before agreeing. It was better to stake out somewhere a Golden Armored Rock Ox was bound to visit than search blindly. He had no doubts about the water Lin Beiya had heard; the boy had already proven how keen his senses were on the way here.

"Sounds good. Let's wait by the water."

They walked several kilometers in the direction Lin Beiya had indicated, and a fairly narrow river came into view. After looking over the surroundings, they chose a giant tree on the far bank as their vantage point.

Falling Devil carried Lin Beiya up to a branch and sat down cross-legged.

"Here will do. Good view, and fairly well hidden."

Lin Beiya sat down cross-legged too, naturally making no objections. The two figures, one large and one small, patiently cultivated on a branch dozens of meters above the ground.

Soul Beasts of all kinds came to drink by the river from time to time. Whenever a carnivorous Soul Beast passed by, the herbivores would keep their distance and wait until it had finished drinking and left before approaching the water.

In that respect, Soul Beasts weren't much different from ordinary beasts. They had their own food chains, just the same.

None of these Soul Beasts were Lin Beiya's target, and neither of them wanted to disturb the area. When night fell, they ate some rations on the branch and waited with extraordinary patience.

Their patience paid off. After nearly ten hours of waiting on the branch, three figures, two large and one small, slowly appeared in their line of sight.

"They're here."

"Mm. The male's cultivation is close to fifteen hundred years, so he isn't right for you. The little one has less than two hundred years of cultivation, so that one won't do either. But the female is close to eleven hundred years. What do you think? Want to try?"

The Soul Beasts approaching them were the family of Golden Armored Rock Oxen they'd come to find.

Although their skin was golden, Golden Armored Rock Oxen with a hundred years of cultivation had curved patterns on their bodies, while those with a thousand years had patterns resembling auspicious clouds.

Looking closely, the bull had five cloud-shaped patterns on its body. That must have been what Falling Devil used to judge their cultivation.

Without hesitation, Lin Beiya gave Falling Devil a resolute look.

"I want the one with nearly eleven hundred years of cultivation."

"Good."

Falling Devil had said all he could to dissuade him, and he knew he couldn't change Lin Beiya's mind. He'd simply step in and interrupt the process if anything went wrong while the boy absorbed the Soul Ring. That was why Qian Daoliu had sent him.

Lin Beiya had no intention of handling the Soul Beast himself. This was his first time absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the theoretical limit, and he wanted to remain in peak condition throughout.

Falling Devil moved with incredible speed. In an instant, he appeared above the Golden Armored Rock Ox family, unleashing a terrifying surge of Soul Power. The bull and its calf were immediately pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Then Falling Devil knocked the cow unconscious with a single blow from his staff, wrapped it in Soul Power, and carried it back up to the branch.

"Come on, let's find somewhere else. Too many Soul Beasts come through here."

Grabbing Lin Beiya by the back of the collar, Falling Devil flew toward the forest's outskirts, leaving only the bull and its calf behind, crying out in anguish.

"Moo!!"

They reached an out-of-the-way spot near the outskirts, where few Soul Beasts ventured. Falling Devil threw the unconscious Golden Armored Rock Ox down, and it crashed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.

"Go ahead. The moment you can't hold on, I'll interrupt your absorption of the Soul Ring."

"I understand."

Lin Beiya slowly walked up to the cow and reached toward its eye. Starlight Extinction flashed into action.

As the stars surged, the Rock Ox's body shuddered for a moment, then fell completely still. A pale purple Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.

After exchanging a glance with Falling Devil, Lin Beiya sat cross-legged on the ground and steadied his breathing. Then he released his Martial Soul, the Divine Statue, and began drawing the Soul Ring toward him.