Third Soul Skill: Evil Phoenix God-Slaying Slash!

Yue Guan turned to the scout and asked, "Is there a suitable five-thousand-year-old evil-attribute spirit beast nearby?"

"Yes, there is, there is."

The scout pointed toward the depths of the Dark Withered Forest.

"Twenty miles ahead, there is a dead, silent place shrouded in fog year-round. There stands a lone peak, and living upon it is a Hell Soul Yama Vulture, exactly five thousand years old."

Yue Guan flicked his sleeve. "You lot, lead the way!"

"Yes!"

About a quarter of an hour later.

The group arrived in the deeper reaches of the Dark Withered Forest.

The mountain path became increasingly treacherous; all vegetation had vanished, and the exposed rocks took on an eerie, ink-black hue.

"Elder, Lord Su Ming, the spirit beast is right here." The scout looked up toward the lone peak.

But the fog was too thick; nothing could be seen.

Just then, the spirit beast on the lone peak seemed to notice Su Ming and the others, suddenly letting out a sharp, piercing cry.

Screech!

Accompanying this long cry, a dense, chilling aura of evil slammed down from above, heavy as Mount Tai.

Everyone, be on guard!

Su Ming looked up.

He saw the black fog above instantly torn apart by two massive wings spanning over ten meters.

The spirit beast's wings blotted out the sky, its body covered in black feathers that shimmered with a cold, metallic luster.

Its talons were like steel hooks, still stained with dark red, undried blood.

Most eerie and terrifying of all was its head; it had no feathers, the skull exposed directly to the air, giving it the appearance of something both dead and alive!

Hell Soul Yama Vulture!

Seeing the humans intrude upon its territory, it did not hesitate. With a violent flap of its wings, countless wind blades formed from black evil energy swept toward the group like a rainstorm.

"Hmph, how dare you act so rampant, beast!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo made his move!

Boom!

With a dull roar, the spirit power within Yue Guan erupted.

A massive chrysanthemum spirit, golden throughout and radiating a noble aura, manifested behind Yue Guan—it was the Heavenly Chrysanthemum.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!

Nine blindingly bright spirit rings pulsed beneath his feet. The absolute aura of a Titled Douluo instantly scattered the black fog for miles around.

Yue Guan pressed his right hand into the void, and the fifth black spirit ring beneath his feet flared with light.

Golden petals filled the sky, instantly coalescing into a towering golden blade dozens of meters long.

The giant blade, carrying the force of an overwhelming tide, tore through the air and slashed fiercely into the chest of the Hell Soul Yama Vulture.

"Get down here for This Seat!"

Bang!

A dull thud of flesh colliding with energy echoed through the valley.

Faced with such an absolute disparity in strength, the five-thousand-year-old spirit beast didn't even have time to scream before it was defeated.

As blood sprayed wildly, its massive body fell limply, crashing into the pile of rocks and creating a deep crater in the ground.

The Hell Soul Yama Vulture lay in the center of the pit, twitching violently as mouthfuls of blood mixed with visceral fragments spewed from its beak; it was clearly on the verge of death.

"Su Ming, do it!" Yue Guan shouted in a low voice.

Su Ming did not hesitate in the slightest.

He tapped his toes against the ground and instantly arrived at the edge of the crater.

Looking down at the fierce beast still struggling to take flight, Su Ming's expression was cold. He gathered his extreme evil spirit power into the palm of his right hand.

Smack!

With a single strike, he shattered the skull of the Hell Soul Yama Vulture.

The massive body of the Hell Soul Yama Vulture stiffened, then went completely limp in a pool of blood, drawing its final breath.

Hum!

A few seconds later, energy resembling starlight seeped out from the spirit beast's corpse.

The energy rapidly condensed and combined in mid-air, and finally, a deep purple spirit ring slowly appeared.

"Hoo..."

Su Ming let out a long breath.

He did not hesitate in the slightest, sitting cross-legged directly beside the corpse of the fierce beast.

He guided the spirit ring with his mind, slowly drawing it into his body.

Boom!

The moment the spirit ring entered his body, an incredibly violent surge of energy instantly rushed through his meridians and into Su Ming's body.

Su Ming gritted his teeth, his expression cold and stern.

His powerful physique displayed absolute suppression at this moment.

Although those meridians were swelling violently, they held that energy firmly in check, not allowing even the slightest rupture to occur.

Not only that, but as this five-thousand-year spirit power surged through him, the medicinal potency remaining in Su Ming's body was also refined once again!

As time passed, the energy within Su Ming gradually returned to calm, but another controllable, massive surge of energy began to skyrocket!

It was his spirit power level!

Level thirty-one!

Level thirty-two!

It was unstoppable!

Level thirty-five!

This energy was too vast, a nearly cathartic explosion that almost caused Su Ming to lose his stability.

Fortunately, Su Ming had prepared for this in advance.

Finally, three hours later, the energy slowly subsided!

And Su Ming's spirit power level had terrifyingly settled at the formidable height of level thirty-nine!

Advancing from a Great Spirit Master to a Spirit Elder, he had broken through nine levels in a row after absorbing the spirit ring!

How terrifying was that?

No one would believe it if they heard it.

However, this was not solely the effect of the spirit ring; it was the result of the triple buff of the spirit ring, the Ice and Fire Golden Body, and the immortal herb!

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, two streaks of solid, pitch-black ink light flashing deep within his pupils.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had been standing to the side guarding him, stood there in a daze.

Absorbing one spirit ring caused his spirit power to explode by nine levels?

Was he even human?

His eyes were wide as saucers, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Su Ming stood up from the ground.

He flexed his wrists, feeling the earth-shattering, terrifying power within his body, his expression calm.

"Time to test the power of the third spirit ability."

Su Ming's black eyes narrowed, and the pitch-black Evil Phoenix spirit manifested behind him, its wings flapping once.

At the same time, the third spirit ring he had just absorbed shone with a brilliant purple light.

All the evil-attributed energy in Su Ming's body began to converge frantically toward the palm of his right hand.

Hum!

The black energy gathered and compressed continuously!

In the blink of an eye, a circular light slash several feet in diameter, radiating an aura of coldness and death, took shape in his right hand.

Third spirit ability: Evil Phoenix God-Slaying Slash!

Su Ming's gaze turned cold; he flicked his right hand and swung it down toward the slope directly in front of him.

Rip!

The circular light slash flew from his hand, and everything within a hundred-meter radius in its path—whether earth or air—was instantly vaporized.

The ground was split in two!

It left behind a pitch-black chasm a hundred meters long and bottomless.

Along the edges of the chasm, black flames that continued to corrode the rock clung stickily to the surface.

Seeing this, Su Ming nodded with satisfaction.

This strike concentrated all his attack power into a single point.

There was no flashy area-of-effect bombardment; there was only the ultimate effect of armor penetration, corrosion, and soul tearing.