External Spirit Bone

Lie Xu continued.

"As for this Fate Head Bone that Yue'er gave me, besides greatly amplifying my mental power and protecting my consciousness from being harmed by those with significantly higher mental strength, it can passively negate three mental attacks per day, regardless of level.

It also granted me mastery over the power of fate, allowing me to manifest an Eye of Fate between my brows. It can see through illusions and point straight to the origin; illusions are essentially useless against me.

Furthermore, during a duel, I can use this Eye of Fate to unleash a Fate Verdict, afflicting my opponent with misfortune. It causes their soul power to circulate sluggishly and their movements to become distorted, creating opportunities for me.

Those struck by the Fate Verdict of the Eye of Fate will find everything going against them for a period of time."

"Ah? Everything going against them?"

After hearing this, Qian Renxue's small cherry lips parted slightly in shock.

"Yes."

Lie Xu nodded and continued: "The situation depends on one's personal fortune. Those with heavy fortune might just find themselves choking on water easily or having an unstable state of mind while cultivating soul power.

If their fortune is shallow, they might easily suffer a soul ring backlash while absorbing one, or provoke the disgust, hostility, or even attacks from others or soul beasts..."

At this, not only was Qian Renxue silent, but the entire group around them fell silent as well.

What kind of monster was this? Could such a disgusting skill really be possessed by a human?

It was simply a case of 'whoever I glare at suffers bad luck,' and they wouldn't even know they had been sabotaged...

While they were talking, the group had arrived at the second stop of their journey—the Iron Paulownia Forest.

The Iron Paulownia Forest, as the name suggests, consisted of trees with extremely dense trunks and a texture as hard as metal. Ordinary logging tools could not damage them at all.

Even a small twig falling to the ground would emit a crisp, metallic chime.

Moreover, these trees were difficult to ignite, but once lit, they burned for a long time without producing flames or smoke, releasing only a faint, grassy fragrance.

Therefore, they were often used by nobles to heat their rooms during winter.

However, not all nobles could afford them; only those at the very top of power, wealth, and status could.

This was not only because logging them required venturing deep into the Star Dou Great Forest, but also because it required a soul master to do the cutting.

More importantly, a group of birds that fed exclusively on the fruits of the Iron Paulownia tree lived here—the Golden Scale Bird.

These birds resided in the canopies of these towering Iron Paulownia trees, living either alone or in family units, and every tree served as the territory for the Golden Scale Bird living atop it.

If you cut down one tree, you would not only provoke the Golden Scale Bird above it, but if your movements were too large, there was a high probability of drawing the hostility of the Golden Scale Birds in the surrounding trees.

This was precisely why the Iron Paulownia tree was so precious.

The Golden Scale Bird fed on the seeds of the Iron Paulownia tree from a young age, causing its soft feathers to gradually harden into scale-like plumage.

Because they lived in the canopy year-round and were close to light-attribute soul power, they were called Golden Scale Birds.

The group slowly entered the depths of the Iron Paulownia Forest, trying their best not to disturb the Golden Scale Birds in the other trees.

"Xue'er, look at that one."

Qian Renxue looked in the direction Lie Xu was pointing.

"A Golden Scale Bird!"

Qian Renxue whispered in surprise.

The Golden Scale Bird was coiled in its nest atop the canopy, its soul power surging violently, rising and falling significantly.

"Is it breaking through?"

"Yes."

Chi Yuan looked up and added: "And it is a Golden Scale Bird about to break through the four-thousand-year mark."

"Four thousand years!!!"

For a Golden Scale Bird, its feathers begin to harden at one hundred years; by one thousand years, the entire body is hardened. After breaking through, a circle of golden patterns appears on its feathers. At two thousand years, there are two circles, and so on, until ten thousand years, when the feathers become almost pure gold...

The group looked up and saw that the fourth golden ring on the bird's feathers was indeed about to form.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it now, strike while it's vulnerable!!!"

Qian Renxue prepared to summon her martial soul, intending to ambush the Golden Scale Bird at this critical moment of its breakthrough.

"Wait a little longer."

Lie Xu reached out and pulled back the advancing Qian Renxue.

"Brother Xu, what are we waiting for? Isn't this the best opportunity to strike?"

Qian Renxue was very confused. Although this Golden Scale Bird, which was about to break through four thousand years, was a few hundred years older than the limit she intended to hunt, it wasn't a huge problem. She was already a first-ring soul master, and with the soul power gained from her first soul ring and the previous boost from the 99,999-year Angel God Suit soul bone, she already had about twenty-six levels of soul power.

Therefore, while it was risky, it wouldn't be too dangerous. If she missed this one, it would take a lot of effort to find another suitable one.

"Wait for it to finish its advancement."

Lie Xu narrowed his eyes.

"Wouldn't that make it even harder to hunt?"

Qian Renxue's mind was full of question marks.

"Listen to me. If we're lucky, you're in for a little surprise."

Qian Renxue pouted slightly but had no choice but to wait. Her Brother Xu must have his reasons for saying so, and she trusted him implicitly.

The group waited quietly beneath the tree. The Golden Scale Bird possessed a solid foundation; in just two short hours, it had successfully broken through, stepping into the ranks of four-thousand-year soul beasts.

"Chirp!!!"

The Golden Scale Bird let out a joyful cry to celebrate its successful breakthrough, completely unaware of the dozen pairs of predatory eyes watching from below.

"Now, strike!!!"

The moment the Golden Scale Bird cried out, Lie Xu activated the skill of his Fate Skull—Fate Verdict!

An invisible force of fate instantly struck the chirping Golden Scale Bird.

The nest, which had been woven from Iron Paulownia Wood and inhabited by the bird for thousands of years, suddenly fell apart. Caught off guard, the Golden Scale Bird tumbled down along with the scattered debris of its home.

It collided repeatedly with the branches of the Iron Paulownia Tree on the way down, leaving it no room to adjust its posture as it plummeted straight down from the hundred-zhang-tall towering giant.

Before it even hit the ground, Qian Renxue had already summoned her martial soul the instant Lie Xu gave the order.

"First Soul Skill, Dance of Holy Light!!!"

Qian Renxue floated upward, performing a breathtaking dance in the air as dense, platinum-colored light feathers unleashed a barrage of light blades upon the Golden Scale Bird.

They struck its scales, which were as hard as metal and stone, producing a rhythmic "ding-ding-dong-dong" sound.

Restricted by the lack of space, the Golden Scale Bird could not mount an effective defense and was forced to take the hits head-on.

By the time it hit the ground, it was covered in wounds. The moment it landed, Lie Xu immediately activated the domain skill of his torso soul bone—Ten Thousand Beasts.

As the domain unfolded, Qian Renxue's soul bone skill—Angel's Light—followed closely behind.

This combination was executed with incredible skill and tacit understanding. The Golden Scale Bird was already on the verge of death, and as it watched the humans approaching step by step, its eyes were filled with extreme resentment. Today should have been a joyous occasion for its advancement, yet it had been ambushed to death by these detestable humans...

After ending the Golden Scale Bird's life, Qian Renxue sat down on the ground and began to absorb the deep purple four-thousand-year soul ring.

This time, the process went much more smoothly than the last. Once Qian Renxue finished the absorption, Lie Xu hurried over to examine the carcass of the Golden Scale Bird.

"This is..."