Melee

The Azure Bull Python beside him ignored the Titan Giant Ape's words, lost in deep thought. The two brothers had occupied the Lake of Life for tens of thousands of years, knowing every drop of its water like the back of their hands. How could such a powerful soul beast suddenly appear? Was there some corner of the forest they had yet to explore?

"Hmph, if it weren't for the suddenness of the situation, I would have gone up to trade blows with him at the very least. It's as if I were afraid of him; otherwise, why would I be acting like a stray dog now?"

The Titan Giant Ape hammered his chest in frustration and turned to look at the contemplative Azure Bull Python.

"Big Brother, say something!"

"Find the Emperor Auspicious Beast first."

The Azure Bull Python looked at his muscle-brained brother, speechless. Ten of you wouldn't be enough for that fellow to hammer into the ground...

The earth trembled and the forest shook as tens of millions of soul beasts stampeded toward the outer perimeter. Countless soul beasts were trampled to death along the way, and those that were not soul beasts met an even more certain fate.

"First Soul Skill: Sword of Judgment!"

"Fourth Soul Skill: Burning Heaven Fire Rain!"

"Are these soul beasts crazy? Charging toward the perimeter like they don't value their lives?"

Lion Douluo killed the incoming soul beasts while he and Qian Daoliu shielded the group, rushing rapidly toward the depths of the forest.

"Something is wrong!"

Qian Daoliu stopped in his tracks. "There are soul beasts! Their auras are incredibly powerful!!!"

"Bad, dodge quickly..."

Before Qian Daoliu's voice had fully faded, a tree trunk as thick as a man's waist came flying from ahead.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Angel Protection!!!"

"BOOM!!!"

The massive trunk smashed into the golden light barrier and shattered instantly.

As the dust settled, two giant beasts stood not far ahead of the group.

The black giant ape before them was covered in thick, pitch-black fur. Under the moonlight, its body shimmered with a dull, dark-gold luster. Its frame was as towering as a mountain; when it stood on all fours, its shoulders reached over seven meters high. Its muscles were as rugged as boulders, its eyes were like amber lanterns, and its claws were as sharp as iron.

A yellow gravitational current swirled around its body; anyone who drew near felt their bones and flesh being pulled by an invisible, heavy pressure, carrying the majestic, fierce aura of a forest overlord.

Beside this giant ape coiled a green-scaled python over thirty meters long, resembling a winding, dark-green hill.

The snake reared up, its massive bull-like head lowered. Its giant, bell-like eyes radiated a chilling coldness, with rolling anger flickering in their depths. Long, curved, spiral horns extended backward from its head, their keratin glowing with a verdant luster. Pale green water mist swirled around it like ribbons, forming a field of sluggishness.

The two beast kings swept their gazes across the group, instantly locking onto the small lion beast, Xiao Jiu, who lay unconscious in the arms of Qian Renxue at the center of the crowd.

They had keenly sensed a trace of energy from Xiao Jiu—the very same aura of the Emperor Auspicious Beast's origin that the mysterious soul beast had possessed.

"Humans!!!"

"Hand over the Emperor Auspicious Beast!!!"

The two enraged kings of the Star Dou Great Forest launched their attack instantly.

The Azure Bull Python's massive head reared up and lunged forward. Its thirty-meter-long dark-green body surged with immense power as it leaped, the pale green mist around it erupting and expanding. The field of sluggishness instantly enveloped a hundred-zhang radius. Falling leaves and floating dust hung suspended in mid-air, as if the world had been hit with a pause button.

Green light flowed across the horns on its head, and a massive amount of water-type soul power condensed into several ferocious giant water pythons. They tore through the air, whistling as they lunged at the two human Limit Douluo.

Behind it, the Titan Giant Ape stomped the ground, its dark, mountain-like body standing upright. Its rock-hard, knotted muscles tensed and bulged. As it slammed its fists into the earth, a yellow gravitational field crushed forward, causing the ground beneath it to collapse and crack layer by layer.

The giant ape's amber eyes gleamed with cold light. Its thick ape claws raked the ground, and heavy rock and soil surged into the sky, crashing forward like a collapsing mountain.

"Angel Domain!!!"

"Blazing Fire Domain!!!"

Qian Daoliu and Lie Yan reacted quickly, using their domains to counter the beasts.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Angel True Body!!!"

"Seventh Soul Skill: Lion True Body!!!"

"BOOM!"

Both activated their Martial Soul True Bodies. After a deafening roar, they were instantly locked in combat with the two beast kings.

Lion Douluo Lie Yan unleashed his Martial Soul True Body, and in an instant, flames tore through the damp, murky air of the forest. A flaming lion, its size capable of rivaling the Titan Giant Ape, appeared amidst the fire. Rolling crimson flames surged wildly along its sturdy body, and the mane around its neck transformed into a sea of fire that scorched the sky. Heat waves swept across the wilderness, and the surrounding vegetation carbonized the moment it touched the flames.

The thick lion tail whipped through the air, leaving trails of scorching fire waves that caused the ground to hiss and smoke.

Two manic beast roars shook the forest and pierced the air. Without any flashy soul skill probing, they collided with full-blown rage!

Crimson flames and dark earth collided violently, erupting into sky-high heat waves. Fists and lion claws clashed frantically, the heavy impacts causing the earth to tremble incessantly.

The flames scorched the giant ape's thick hide, releasing a charred stench, while the giant ape's heavy punches slammed into the fire lion's body, causing the flames to dissipate in bursts. Every collision between the two giants sent out violent shockwaves, snapping the surrounding towering trees in half.

High above in the clouds, Qian Daoliu's Angel True Body was fully unfurled. Three pairs of gilded wings spread out over dozens of meters, casting golden radiance over the forest. Clad in sacred golden armor that shimmered with light, he held a solid, brilliant Angel Holy Sword, its blade wreathed in wisps of judgmental holy light.

Hovering high above, he looked down, his gaze locked onto the Azure Bull Python. He did not rashly challenge the beast's massive water-based offensive head-on.

Whenever the Azure Bull Python lashed its giant tail, fired water pillars, or shifted its massive body, revealing a fleeting opening in its soul power flow, Qian Daoliu would use the advantage of his wings to dive. The holy sword, wrapped in sharp golden light, would slash down, the holy blade-light tearing through the green mist.

Whenever the Azure Bull Python turned in haste to block with its sluggish water mist, he would use his angel wings to nimbly withdraw, returning to the high altitude to circle and continue searching for openings to harass and restrain it...

While the battle here reached a fever pitch, in a remote and quiet mountain ravine deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, inside an inconspicuous cave, a strange beast lay quietly on the ground.

Its body resembled a vigorous lion, but a long, narrow eye stood vertically in the center of its forehead. Its vertical pupil opened and closed, flowing with mysterious luster. A soft, noble rose-gold glow rippled outward, casting mottled light on the dark rock walls and dispelling the gloom of the cave. Its entire body was covered in golden fur, like molten red gold, shimmering under the purple-gold light.

On the bluestone floor before it, a small figure was curled up—it was Lie Xu, who had been inexplicably snatched away earlier...