(Ma Xiaotao beauty illustration)
Its body was extremely robust, like a lion magnified several times over, but its most eye-catching feature was its heads.
It had three identical massive heads!
Each head was over a meter in diameter, with outward-curving fangs more than half a foot long, gleaming with a reddish-gold luster like three sharp blades embedded in its mouths.
The six eyes on those three heads opened at once, their dark golden vertical pupils brimming with brutality and greed, as though they wanted to tear everything before them to shreds.
It was none other than—the Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff!
A terrifying existence whose cultivation had surpassed three hundred thousand years, ranked eighth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts!
Scarlet King!
Its three heads simultaneously threw back and roared at the sky!
"Roar—!"
The sound shook leaves from the trees, and even the gravel on the ground bounced from the vibrations.
Within ten miles, every soul beast lay prostrate on the ground. Even the fiercest predators did not dare make the slightest sound.
Scarlet King's gaze passed over Ma Xiaotao, passed over Wang Dong'er, and fell upon the corpse of the Swift Light Red Falcon beside the bonfire before shifting to Lin Ye.
More precisely, it fell upon the purple Soul Ring above Lin Ye's head that was slowly merging into his body.
Those dark golden vertical pupils suddenly contracted.
"Humans!"
Scarlet King spoke, its voice like two massive boulders grinding together—hoarse and heavy, carrying intense killing intent.
"You dare steal the Auspicious Beast's food!"
Hearing Scarlet King speak human language, surprise flashed across both Ma Xiaotao's and Wang Dong'er's faces.
"Food?" Ma Xiaotao's gaze swiftly swept over the Swift Light Red Falcon's corpse on the ground as thoughts raced through her mind.
Would a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast make such a huge fuss over food at the thousand-year level?
That made no sense.
What she did not know was that Scarlet King had been helping the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, hunt for food.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was extremely picky about its food. It only ate the brains of light-attribute soul beasts, and they had to be fresh, just as human soul masters had to absorb Soul Rings while they were still "hot."
Light-attribute soul beasts were already rare, and finding a suitable one was even harder.
This Swift Light Red Falcon had been chased down and injured by Scarlet King. Before it could retrieve it, Lin Ye's group had snatched it away.
Scarlet King did not give her a chance to think any further.
After roaring, it moved.
Its enormous dark-red body suddenly lunged forward, moving at an inconceivable speed like a streak of blood-red light skimming across the ground, charging straight at Lin Ye on the ground!
Ma Xiaotao's pupils shrank sharply.
Without time to think, she fiercely beat the flaming wings behind her back and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
She knew that with the opponent's strength, there was no chance of winning in a frontal clash.
But she had to give it everything she had. Otherwise, all three of them would die here.
Her Soul Rings lit up one after another.
Her second soul skill, Bathing Fire Phoenix, and third soul skill, Phoenix Wings Soaring, activated at the same time.
Dense flames erupted from within her body, enveloping her entirely.
Those flames were no longer ordinary crimson. They now carried a hint of dark golden radiance, their temperature soaring so sharply that even the surrounding air began to distort.
Bathing Fire Phoenix—her entire body burned with flames, increasing all attributes of her phoenix fire power and greatly boosting her flight speed.
Phoenix Wings Soaring—the massive flaming wings behind her spread even wider, their span reaching several meters. A phoenix tail condensed from fire trailed long streams of light behind her, raising the temperature by another hundred percent and expanding her attack range by fifty percent.
But even that speed was still nothing in Scarlet King's eyes.
Ma Xiaotao gritted her teeth and simultaneously activated the Soul Bone skills of the two leg Soul Bones.
She originally possessed three Soul Bones. After completing More Children More Blessings, all of them had been upgraded to over one hundred thousand years!
At this moment, the two leg Soul Bones originating from the same kind of soul beast had both reached one hundred and fifty thousand years!
Flames violently burst from the soles of her feet like twin thrusters, instantly propelling her speed to a whole new level!
Her figure left behind a crimson afterimage in the air.
At the same moment, the Soul Bone skill of her right arm Soul Bone, which had already been upgraded to one hundred and eighty thousand years, erupted with a thunderous burst!
Phoenix Burst Strike!
Her right fist, wrapped in intense dark golden flames, fiercely smashed toward Scarlet King's neck!
Boom—!
Fire scattered in every direction.
The power of this strike far surpassed the limit of Ma Xiaotao's usual all-out attacks.
With the amplification of a one-hundred-eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone, combined with the dual boosts of Bathing Fire Phoenix and Phoenix Wings Soaring, the power of that punch had come infinitely close to a Soul Douluo's full-force strike.
Scarlet King cried out in pain from the punch. Its enormous body staggered two steps to the side, and a patch of its dark-red fur was scorched black, wisps of smoke rising from it.
"Roar—!"
Scarlet King's three heads simultaneously turned toward Ma Xiaotao, their dark golden vertical pupils blazing with fierceness.
Having landed her blow, Ma Xiaotao did not linger. She immediately turned around and flew at full speed away from Lin Ye!
"Come after me, you beast!" she shouted provocatively as she flew, her voice carrying far through the night wind.
Scarlet King was indeed enraged by her.
The Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff was already a ferocious beast with a violent temper. Having been punched by a human soul master and then taunted so openly, how could it possibly endure that?
Its three heads roared in unison. Its four limbs abruptly exerted force, and its massive body became a streak of dark-red lightning as it pursued Ma Xiaotao!
"You actually have three fire-attribute Soul Bones over a hundred thousand years old?!"
Scarlet King's voice rang out as it ran, filled with barely restrained greed and fury. "Those are all our kin! Human, you deserve to die!"
It was faster than Ma Xiaotao. In just a few breaths, it had already closed a huge portion of the distance.
"Vicious Dog Boar Rush!"
Scarlet King let out a low growl. The dark-red fur over its entire body suddenly stood on end, while dark golden patterns surged wildly across its skin.
Its four limbs exerted force simultaneously, transforming its enormous body into a streak of blood-red lightning as it instantly charged toward Ma Xiaotao!
The impact was too terrifying, like an entire mountain crashing into her.
Before Ma Xiaotao could react, the violent shockwave struck her head-on.
She was flung away like a kite with its string cut, tumbling several times through the air before smashing heavily into the ground.
"Bang!"
The ground was smashed into a shallow crater beneath her, and dust billowed everywhere.
A piercing pain shot through her left arm. It was clearly injured.
After all, Scarlet King was not merely a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It was a three-hundred-thousand-year soul beast!
Ma Xiaotao's cultivation as a six-ringed Soul Emperor was simply nowhere near enough before it.
Scarlet King pursued her. Its enormous body descended from the sky, its three heads opening their bloodthirsty maws at once as they prepared to bite down on Ma Xiaotao lying on the ground!
"Light of the Butterfly God!"
A clear cry rang out.
Immediately afterward, dozens of blue-golden spheres of light whistled in from the rear flank, accurately exploding against Scarlet King's raised backside!
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
The light spheres exploded one after another, scattering fire in every direction. Scarlet King's backside was instantly blasted until its fur was scorched black, wisps of black smoke rising from it.
Wang Dong'er floated in midair, the wings of the Light Goddess Butterfly spread wide. Her pink-blue eyes were full of provocation, and there was even a mischievous smile at the corner of her lips.
"Now that I hit you there, you'll notice me, right!"
Scarlet King was dumbfounded.
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