Golden Crow Vine Wound Around Him, Third Soul Ring Target Set

The bloodstains left behind by the Black Market Soul Hunting Group had yet to dissipate from the forest.

Several corpses had been gnawed down to bare bones by venomous insects. Shreds of black clothing hung from blades of grass, swaying gently whenever the wind blew.

Hu Liena stood at the mouth of the valley, still holding the damaged Iron Tablet she had found on one of the bodies.

The edges of the Iron Tablet had been polished clean.

Yet the faint hammer mark that remained felt like a thorn lodged in everyone's heart.

She glanced at Di Yao and lowered her voice. "Do you think it was Tang Hao?"

Di Yao did not answer immediately.

He sat atop a Black Stone, with the last Immortal Herb laid out before him.

Golden Crow Vine.

The vine was dark gold from end to end, its branches slender and long. It looked less like a plant than a tiny golden serpent lying dormant.

Every narrow leaf bore natural veins resembling the pattern of a three-legged bird.

It did not possess the flame-core-like pulsing of the Fusang Red Heart Lotus, nor did it have the dazzling sharpness of the Great Sun Blazing Grass.

Yet Di Yao's gaze was more serious as he looked at it than it had been with either of the previous two herbs.

Because he could feel it.

This Golden Crow Vine was far more compatible with Demon Emperor Di Jun than the previous two plants had been.

Dugu Bo leaned against an ancient tree nearby, his expression grim.

He was clearly still displeased that the Black Market Soul Hunting Group had managed to get close to the Herb Garden.

Hearing Hu Liena's question, he snorted coldly. "Even if it wasn't Tang Hao, it has something to do with the Clear Sky Sect."

Dugu Yan's expression changed slightly.

"The Clear Sky Sect?"

She did not know much about the Clear Sky Sect.

But she had still heard of its titles: the continent's foremost Tool Spirit, the former head of the Upper Three Sects, and the Clear Sky Hammer.

Hu Liena put away the Iron Tablet and frowned. "Tang Hao has already shown himself once. If he really is directing the Black Market Soul Hunting Group from behind the scenes, then he must be watching this place now."

As she spoke, her gaze could not help falling on Di Yao.

Di Yao had just undergone the refinement of two Immortal Herbs. Though some of his wounds had healed, his complexion was still far from good.

Continuing to absorb the Golden Crow Vine in this condition, then going out to hunt his Third Soul Ring, was far too rushed no matter how she looked at it.

But Hu Liena already knew that she could not persuade him.

She could only try to make her voice sound less harsh.

"At least rest for a day."

Di Yao raised his eyes.

"The enemy already knows that I need a Third Soul Ring."

Hu Liena gritted her teeth. "That's why you need to be even more careful."

Di Yao looked at the Golden Crow Vine in his palm, his tone steady. "They know I need a Third Soul Ring, but they don't know what kind of Soul Ring I want."

"Delay for a day, and you give them time to find out."

"Moving now is the fastest way."

Hu Liena said nothing for a moment.

She did not like the way Di Yao spoke.

He was too calm.

So calm that it was as though his injuries and his life were merely costs that could be calculated.

Standing nearby, Dugu Yan could not help muttering, "Why do you cultivate like you're running for your life?"

Di Yao glanced at her.

"I am."

Dugu Yan choked on her words. After a long pause, she frowned. "Aren't you a genius valued by Spirit Hall? Who could keep forcing you like this?"

Di Yao lowered his gaze.

The Golden Crow Vine grew faintly warm in his palm.

"The more valuable something is, the more people want to take it."

Dugu Yan froze for a moment.

Hu Liena also fell silent.

It was not pleasant to hear.

But it was true.

Since awakening his Spirit, Di Yao had never truly known peace.

The Branch Hall master wanted to keep him. The Elder Palace wanted to test him. The Worship Hall wanted to judge him. Seven Treasures wanted to scheme against him. Tang Hao wanted to kill him.

Now even the Black Market Soul Hunting Group had found their way here.

Of course he was in a hurry.

Because everyone was waiting to reach for him when he was weak.

And what he had to do was make himself more valuable and harder to touch before anyone could reach for him.

Di Yao picked up the Golden Crow Vine and slowly placed it in his mouth.

The moment the vine entered his mouth, it did not erupt like the previous two Immortal Herbs had.

It was quiet.

Quiet to the point of being almost strange.

The Golden Crow Vine transformed into a wisp of dark golden medicinal power. It flowed down his throat and entered his meridians, where it seemed to possess a will of its own as it wrapped around the surging Great Sun Golden Flame within Di Yao.

Hu Liena had already tensed, ready to deal with any sudden change.

But this time, no flames exploded from Di Yao's body, nor were there any signs that his body was about to rupture.

He merely closed his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes.

"This herb doesn't seem like it's here to burn him."

Yue Guan stepped out from the shadows of the trees, a trace of amusement in his voice. "It's more like it's building him a bridge."

Dugu Bo did not refute him.

He had seen it as well.

The Fusang Red Heart Lotus had stabilized the Core Flame.

The Great Sun Blazing Grass had tempered Di Yao's body.

And the Golden Crow Vine was connecting the flames, physical body, and Spirit within Di Yao.

Behind Di Yao, a Dark Gold Sun slowly emerged.

Within the great sun, the phantom of the Three-Legged Golden Crow did not merely beat its wings for the first time. Instead, it lowered its head slightly, as if pecking at the golden vine entwined around the sun.

As the medicinal power of the Golden Crow Vine was refined, the feather patterns on the Three-Legged Golden Crow grew clearer.

Especially around the edges of its wings, where faint halos like sun crowns began to appear.

Hu Liena watched in a daze.

She suddenly felt that Di Yao's Spirit was completely different from ordinary Spirits.

When ordinary Soul Masters absorbed Soul Rings, they gained new abilities for their Spirits.

But Di Yao seemed to be piecing something back together.

Little by little, he was turning the name "Demon Emperor Di Jun" from a phantom into something real.

Dugu Yan was staring blankly as well.

Her mouth remained unconvinced, but the shock in her eyes could not be hidden.

"Is that even a Spirit?"

she murmured.

Hu Liena did not answer.

Because she did not know either.

A moment later, Di Yao slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of dark gold firelight passed through his gaze.

He raised a hand.

Great Sun Golden Flame ignited in his palm.

Compared to before, the flames were finer and steadier.

They were no longer simply burning outward. Instead, it was as though something had bound their core. They were quiet, yet somehow felt even more dangerous.

Di Yao clenched his hand.

"That's enough."

Hu Liena looked at him, concern still in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

Di Yao rose to his feet.

"I'm better suited to absorbing a Soul Ring than I was just now."

Hu Liena's brows knitted together. "I asked how your body feels."

Di Yao looked at her.

Her tone was hard, but urgency hid in her eyes.

Di Yao was silent for a breath before answering, "I can endure it."

Hu Liena's expression darkened.

"Every time I ask you, all you ever say is that you can endure it."

Di Yao replied blandly, "Because that's enough."

Hu Liena turned her head away in anger.

Dugu Bo watched the two of them, snorted, and casually tossed over a rolled beast-hide map.

"At the southeastern Broken Cliff of Sunset Forest, there is a Corona Golden Eagle King."

The beast-hide map landed in Di Yao's hands.

Di Yao unfolded it and looked.

The map depicted a stretch of cliff terrain, with several lines of scrawled writing beside it.

Corona Golden Eagle King.

Avian Soul Beast.

Fire attribute.

Close to ten thousand years old.

Could absorb sunlight to recover from injuries and command low-level avian Soul Beasts.

It had occupied the southeastern Broken Cliff for many years and rarely landed.

After Di Yao finished reading, his eyes finally showed a trace of emotion.

"Sun Crown bloodline?"

Dugu Bo's voice was cold. "It does not possess a true solar bloodline, but within Sunset Forest, it is already the Soul Beast closest to the sun."

The moment Hu Liena heard the words "close to ten thousand years," her expression changed sharply.

"A Third Soul Ring close to ten thousand years? Are you insane?"

Dugu Yan could not help speaking up as well. "Isn't a thousand-year Soul Ring already outrageous for a Third Soul Ring? Close to ten thousand years? Do you really think you're some kind of monster?"

Di Yao closed the beast-hide map.

"I am."

Dugu Yan was left speechless again.

Hu Liena frowned at him. "Di Yao, I know you want to exceed the limit, but this isn't your second ring. A Third Soul Ring close to ten thousand years—the lingering will of the Soul Beast will directly assault your mind, and you just—"

"I know."

Di Yao interrupted her.

His voice was not heavy, yet it stopped Hu Liena's words.

Di Yao looked at Dugu Bo.

"Is it worthy of Demon Emperor Di Jun?"

Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment.

This time, he did not mock him.

He stared at Di Yao for several breaths before slowly saying, "It is worthy."

"But you may not be able to swallow it."

Di Yao nodded.

"Then that's enough."

Hu Liena drew a deep breath.

She knew what that meant. The matter was decided.

Di Yao never changed his target because of danger.

Unless that target was not worth it.

And in his eyes, the Corona Golden Eagle King was clearly worth it.

Yue Guan chuckled softly, though there was little humor in his tone. "Kid, you should know that His Excellency sent us to protect you, not to watch you smash yourself to death against a Soul Ring."

Di Yao looked at Yue Guan.

"Do not intervene unless it becomes a matter of life and death."

Yue Guan raised a brow. "You certainly know how to order around a Title Douluo."

Di Yao said, "If I need you to suppress my Third Soul Ring for me to absorb it, then there will be no point in talking about becoming a god in the future."

The moment he said that, the surroundings fell silent.

The look in Dugu Bo's eyes as he watched Di Yao changed once more.

Mad.

But not blindly so.

Every time this kid spoke of becoming a god, he did not sound like he was dreaming.

It was more like he was planning a road he had to walk to the end.

Hu Liena clenched her fists, then finally said coldly, "I'm going with you."

Di Yao did not refuse.

"You'll handle the beast horde."

Hu Liena froze for a moment.

Di Yao looked at her calmly. "The Corona Golden Eagle King can command low-ranking birds. Your Charm can throw them into disarray."

The trace of anger in Hu Liena's heart suddenly stalled.

She had originally thought Di Yao was letting her come only because she was already part of the team.

But Di Yao had already factored her role into the soul beast hunting plan.

That meant he needed her.

Not as a spectator.

But for her abilities.

Hu Liena pressed her lips together, lowering her voice. "Understood."

Dugu Yan stood nearby, watching the two of them with some discomfort.

She realized that she was actually a little envious.

Hu Liena could follow Di Yao into battle.

While she could only stay behind and wait for Grandfather to protect her.

That feeling made her deeply uncomfortable.

Dugu Bo glanced at her, seeming to see through her thoughts, and said coldly, "You stay."

Dugu Yan gritted her teeth. "Grandfather, I—"

"You'd only be dead weight if you went now."

Dugu Bo was blunt.

Dugu Yan's face turned pale. Her lips moved, but in the end, she lowered her head.

Di Yao glanced at her.

"If you want to go, get your poison under control first."

Dugu Yan abruptly raised her head, anger in her eyes along with the unwillingness of having been struck where it hurt.

"Just you wait."

Di Yao did not smile. He merely nodded.

"I'll wait until you're worth it."

Dugu Yan's teeth itched with anger, but she did not curse him again.

Because those words were harsh, yet they also seemed to give her a goal.

Half an hour later.

Di Yao, Hu Liena, Dugu Bo, and Yue Guan, who was secretly guarding their path, left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and headed for the southeastern Broken Cliff of Sunset Forest.

The mist in the forest gradually dispersed.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting shafts of golden light across the ground.

Di Yao walked at the front, holding the beast-hide map in his hand.

Hu Liena followed slightly behind and to his side, glancing at his back from time to time.

She suddenly spoke. "Di Yao."

"Mm."

"You said earlier that what you wanted wasn't a Soul Ring."

Di Yao did not slow his pace.

Hu Liena looked at him and lowered her voice. "Then what do you actually want?"

Di Yao raised his head.

In the distance, the outline of the Broken Cliff had already appeared faintly at the end of the forest sea.

Sunlight fell upon that towering cliff, making it look like a golden crown.

A faint dark-golden glow lit up in Di Yao's eyes.

"A Domain Cornerstone."

Hu Liena's heart trembled.

A domain—something even a Title Douluo might not possess.

And Di Yao was only level thirty, yet he had already begun constructing such a thing. Hu Liena looked at his profile and suddenly felt that he was not chasing after people his own age. He was not even chasing ordinary geniuses. From the very beginning, his eyes had been fixed on the positions occupied by those monsters at the very peak of the continent.

Even higher.