Blazing Fire Spirit Crow

"Sis... Sis Chi, tell us how absorbing this Soul Bone changed you," Lie Xu said, leaning against his chair and catching his breath.

"Mm-hmm."

Chi Yuan nodded and said to the two of them, "This Soul Bone not only increased the level of my flames, bringing their attribute infinitely close to Ultimate Fire, but also caused my Martial Soul to evolve."

As she spoke, Chi Yuan revealed her Martial Soul. The temperature in the room surged instantly. A black crow wrapped in scarlet flames circled around her, letting out cheerful caws.

"This is what my Martial Soul looks like after evolving. I've named it the Blazing Fire Spirit Crow."

"It seems this Soul Bone wasn't left behind by a bird with pure Phoenix blood, but by a Soul Beast like the three-legged Golden Crow from ancient Blue Star mythology. Why wasn't this Soul Beast recorded in the Spirit Hall's archives?"

At that thought, Lie Xu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he quickly came to terms with it. After all, he himself had crossed worlds, and had even awakened a Martial Soul like the Nine Spirit Primal Saint, one that had never appeared before. None of that was particularly strange. Besides, Soul Beasts died and were born every moment. The Spirit Hall couldn't possibly record every last detail, so a few variants were nothing unusual...

With that thought, Lie Xu stopped dwelling on it and asked, "Sis A-Yuan, are there any other changes?"

"There are others, but they're not as astonishing as the first two."

Qian Renxue puffed out her cheeks and said, "Sister A-Yuan, stop keeping us in suspense. Hurry up and tell us!"

"After absorbing the Soul Bone, my Soul Power rose by three levels, reaching level sixty-nine. I can feel that I'm close to breaking through to level seventy. Perhaps I'll become a Soul Saint once this trip is over. Also, this Soul Bone gave me two skills: an amplification skill and a domain skill.

Amplification skill: Blazing Sun; transform into a sun, increasing the power and speed of fire attacks by eighty percent.

Domain skill: Flame Purgatory; once the domain is expanded, all Martial Souls except those with Ultimate Attributes will be suppressed by me, and will also suffer continuous burning damage. Within this domain, if I use the amplification skill 'Blazing Sun' to transform into a sun, my attack power and speed will increase by another twenty percent, and my recovery ability will also increase by twenty percent."

"Wow, that's amazing." Qian Renxue was stunned. This Soul Bone, which was less than ninety thousand years old, really did have skills that could rival those of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Qian Renxue excitedly shook Lie Xu by the arm. "We really struck gold this time!"

"Yeah, we really were lucky."

Lie Xu agreed aloud, but in his heart, he kept scheming about how to find more heavenly treasures and have his Sister A-Yuan's Martial Soul evolve again. Maybe they could raise her fire attribute another notch and turn it into an Ultimate Attribute...

The eastern sky had begun to brighten. After tidying up, the group left the hotel together.

"Good Luck Hotel"!

As Lie Xu turned around, he happened to catch sight of the bold, flourishing characters on the hotel sign.

"That sign is quite fitting—a fine omen! And the calligraphy is excellent, with the style of a master. Very nice!"

Lie Xu couldn't help nodding.

"Hahaha, esteemed guest, you have a discerning eye! It's our small shop's honor to have hosted such distinguished guests. May you all gain what you seek and see your wishes fulfilled on this journey."

A kindly-looking middle-aged man chimed in with a cheerful laugh.

Hearing this, Lie Xu couldn't help admiring the proprietor's quick wit, though his face showed how much he enjoyed the compliment. After all, who didn't like hearing flattering words? Like a certain overseas wanderer who preferred to remain anonymous, with the surname Li...

"Hahaha, those are some nice words, boss!"

A nearby attendant, quick to read the room, pulled a small pouch of gold coins from his robes and handed it to the shopkeeper who had just spoken so cheerfully...

The group traveled light and set off at once, entering the Star Dou Great Forest.

Speed-type Soul Masters constantly darted ahead to scout the way, while messages were silently relayed back one after another. The team maintained a steady pace and advanced in orderly fashion toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lie Xu and the others, riding on Xiao Jiu's back, were in the middle of the formation. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, their branches crossing overhead like a vaulted ceiling and slicing the sunlight into fragments. Several narrow, winding paths snaked into the darkness. The farther they went, the harder the paths were to make out, until they gradually vanished beneath rampant weeds and vines. Blue Silver Grass swayed in the breeze everywhere.

The silence around them was terrifying. There were no birdsong or beastly roars, as if even the wind would freeze in this place.

The forest felt like an ancient tomb, asleep for ten thousand years, waiting to devour the unwary. As far as the eye could see, there was no end—only endless, identical forks in the path. Layers of towering trees blocked the sunlight completely. Only a few scattered rays slipped through gaps in the leaves, like faint stars in the dead of night, barely enough to illuminate the path beneath their feet.

Stepping into this place was like trespassing into another world, cut off from everything.

Dark, damp, oppressive, ancient, deep, vast...

A sense of awe and unease, rooted in the instincts of all living things, crept quietly into their hearts.

Lie Xu couldn't help sighing inwardly. There was no forest on Blue Star that could compare to the impact this one made. Even the Amazon rainforest, hailed as "the lungs of the Earth," seemed small and mild beside the Star Dou Great Forest before them.

Every inch of this land exuded a savage, ancient aura.

And they were only at the very outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, in the area where Soul Beasts under five hundred years old gathered. Yet even this was a death trap from which most ordinary people would never return if they strayed inside...

"Xiao Xue, what Soul Beasts are you planning to hunt for your First and Second Soul Rings?"

As the team moved forward, Qian Daoliu suddenly slowed his pace. His gaze settled on Qian Renxue, riding on Xiao Jiu's back, carrying both expectation and a hint of scrutiny.

Qian Renxue turned slightly, meeting Lie Xu's confident, gentle gaze. Reassured, she answered brightly, "Grandpa, I'm planning to hunt a Light Goddess Butterfly of around eighteen hundred years for my First Soul Ring. For my Second Soul Ring, I'm planning to hunt a Golden Scale Bird of around thirty-six hundred years."

"Hiss~"

When he heard that, Qian Daoliu couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. As the Great Enshrined of the Spirit Hall, he had once been unrivaled in the skies and had traveled across the continent and the oceans. He had seen his fair share of once-in-a-century geniuses.

Even so, his granddaughter's words had startled him. It was true that she had an Innate Soul Power of level twenty and could absorb Soul Rings beyond the usual limits. But the age of her First Soul Ring was more than twice the limit for a Second Soul Ring, while her Second Soul Ring came within a hair's breadth of the maximum age for a Fourth Soul Ring...

Such a Soul Ring Configuration had never been seen or heard of in the history of the entire Douluo Continent!

Even his own configuration of eight red rings and one black ring had come from the Angel God Trial, with the help of Angel Divine Power.

But then he thought of his granddaughter's talent, and Qian Daoliu fell silent...