Er Ming Dies

During the pursuit, Er Ming continuously unleashed its Gravity Control Domain, an invisible force radiating from its body to blanket a radius of several hundred zhang.

Gu Qingshan felt his body grow significantly heavier than usual, each leap becoming more laborious than the last.

He could only rely on constant blinking to kite Er Ming.

An hour later, he had finally lured it far enough away.

Gu Qingshan sent a telepathic message to Bibi Dong: "Teacher, go assist Elder Chrysanthemum and the others. It would be best if you could knock out the Sky Azure Bull Python; I can handle things here on my own."

"Once I have slain the Titan Giant Ape, you can come over to absorb the spirit ring. After that, we shall kill the Sky Azure Bull Python together."

Bibi Dong hesitated for a moment: "Are you truly certain you can manage alone?"

One had to understand that in a one-on-one confrontation, it was incredibly difficult for a human to kill a spirit beast over a hundred thousand years old.

Gu Qingshan urged her: "Rest assured!"

Bibi Dong cast one final, deep look at her disciple, who was currently standing in a standoff against the Titan Giant Ape, before turning to rush toward the direction of Chrysanthemum Douluo and the others.

Seeing the human finally stop, Er Ming couldn't wait to leap forward, smashing a fist toward Gu Qingshan.

"Copper Wall and Iron Bastion."

"Defensive Stance."

"Martial Soul Avatar."

Gu Qingshan pushed his status to the limit, raising his shield to block.

"BOOM!"

Er Ming's fist slammed into the shield, the immense force pushing Gu Qingshan back and carving two long furrows into the ground with his heels.

Er Ming, however, was sent tumbling backward, suffering over a dozen wounds and sustaining significant injuries.

It climbed to its feet, staring at Gu Qingshan standing not far away, its black pupils filled with confusion.

Why? It had struck this human, yet it was the one sent flying back?

This human was bizarre!

Having lived for hundreds of thousands of years, it had seen countless human spirit masters, their spirit skills, spirit bones, and martial souls, but it had never encountered one capable of reflecting damage.

It was unwilling to accept this!

It refused to submit!

"ROAR!"

Er Ming roared at the sky once more, its eyes turning pure gold as the pupils vanished, leaving only two burning spheres of golden flame.

"Titan Avatar."

Er Ming transformed into the ancient Titan Giant Ape. At this moment, all its abilities increased fivefold, its strength tenfold. Every gesture caused space to tremble and the air to stagnate, while its defensive capabilities reached a near-invincible state.

"Human," Er Ming's voice rumbled like thunder.

"You deserve to die!"

It raised its right hand, palm facing upward, fingers splayed.

A massive energy sphere formed rapidly, and then, Er Ming blasted it forward.

"Titan Sky Cannon."

The Titan Giant Ape's strongest single-target attack skill, condensing the entirety of its strength into a single point before releasing it at an unimaginable speed.

The power of this blast was enough to wipe a mountain peak from the earth and create a new lake in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Surely, this detestable human would be dead now!

The next second, the energy sphere slammed into Gu Qingshan's shield.

"CRACK!"

The shield shattered.

The moment the shield broke, Gu Qingshan's body was struck by the shockwave of the energy sphere, sent flying dozens of zhang away. He collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth as he suffered grievous injuries.

Yet, Er Ming's condition was even worse—120% damage reflection, ignoring defense, ignoring levels, and ignoring all damage reduction.

Its right arm was almost completely severed from the shoulder down, held on by only a few shreds of skin.

Severely wounded, Er Ming was finally afraid; this human was a monster.

The more it fought, the worse its own injuries became. If it kept fighting, it would end up killing itself.

It struggled to crawl out of the ground, turning around to flee.

Seeing that Er Ming was about to run, Gu Qingshan would never let it have its way.

"Second Spirit Skill: Taunt."

"Hey grandson, come back here!"

Er Ming's body stiffened violently, coming to a halt.

Its body turned around against its will, and it involuntarily raised its fist.

Er Ming's eyes widened, his dark golden pupils filled with terror.

No, don't, stop fighting, I'm going to die.

But his body refused to obey him; under the Taunt effect, all of Er Ming's autonomous consciousness was suppressed, leaving only a single command: attack that human.

His fist ultimately slammed into the newly reformed Thorn Shield.

BOOM!

Er Ming collapsed, critically wounded and on the verge of death.

Gu Qingshan struggled to sit up, simultaneously sending a voice transmission to Bibi Dong: "Teacher, come quickly, it's time to finish him off."

On the other side, by the Lake of Life, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

Da Ming had raised the majority of his serpentine body from the lake, his thick torso standing like a pillar reaching toward the heavens above the water.

His scales shimmered with an azure luster under the sunlight. He kept his mouth agape, gathering Sky Azure Annihilation Thunder deep within his throat time and time again. Azure beams of light erupted from his maw one after another, each one powerful enough to raze a small mountain to the ground.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei dodged incessantly, both having sustained varying degrees of injury.

Just then, Bibi Dong's figure darted out from the woods and landed on the lake shore.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, Elder Ghost."

"Release the Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

Both men raised their hands simultaneously. Golden light and ghostly blue light surged from their bodies, intertwining, merging, and swirling in the air to form a translucent energy field that enveloped the Sky Azure Bull Python.

Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Polar Static Domain.

Da Ming's body froze instantly. His pupils remained fixed in a contracted state, his mouth locked in an open position; everything had come to a standstill.

Bibi Dong pushed her left hand forward, and a massive amount of purple-black poisonous mist surged out, seeping into Da Ming's scales, muscles, and bones.

A moment later, Da Ming toppled over by the lake, his snake body losing all support and hanging limp.

Bibi Dong instructed Yue Guan and Gui Mei: "The two of you stay here and guard the Sky Azure Bull Python while I finish absorbing the Titan Giant Ape's spirit ring."

"As you command!"

By the time Bibi Dong arrived, the battle had been over for a while.

She said nothing, glancing at Gu Qingshan, who had already recovered significantly, thanks to the bug-tier spirit bone, the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.

Gu Qingshan urged: "Teacher, absorb the spirit ring first; I will stand guard nearby."

Bibi Dong nodded, no longer hesitating. She drew her long sword and thrust it into Er Ming's chest. The dying Er Ming twitched a few times before finally losing all signs of life, and a blood-red hundred-thousand-year spirit ring manifested.

Her second martial soul, the Soul-Eating Spider Emperor, emerged, surrounded by three black spirit rings.

Bibi Dong sat cross-legged and began to absorb the Titan Giant Ape's spirit ring.

As for the spirit bone dropped by the Titan Giant Ape, Gu Qingshan had already collected it, intending to fuse with it once he returned to Martial Soul City.

A day later, Bibi Dong opened her eyes. A flash of brilliance crossed her purple pupils, and her aura was significantly stronger than it had been a day prior.

Bibi Dong stood up from the ground and looked at Gu Qingshan: "Let's go, to the Sky Azure Bull Python's side."

During the day that Bibi Dong spent absorbing the spirit ring, the Sky Azure Bull Python had attempted to self-destruct several times, only to be interrupted each time by Yue Guan and Gui Mei using the Polar Static Domain.