As the three of them lay down inside the hibernation pods, a wave of dizziness washed over them.
When they opened their eyes again, they had appeared inside the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform. Lush, verdant trees surrounded them.
The three of them scanned their surroundings.
A trace of nervousness crossed Xie Xie's face. He looked at Chen Zhou and asked:
"Brother Chen, what should we do now?"
"Should we start hunting Soul Beasts as soon as we get in, or do we need to do something else?"
"Just follow me. I can quickly pinpoint the Soul Beasts' locations, then we'll go hunt them."
Chen Zhou's voice was calm.
As he raised his hand, a massive Water Dragon slowly materialized behind him.
The Water Dragon was in a strange state. Its body seemed to swell, then shrink again, while its once water-blue scales seemed especially bizarre.
Chen Zhou's Water Dragon King Martial Soul was currently in a crucial transitional state between the Water Dragon King and the Primordial Dragon. It had neither fully evolved into the Primordial Dragon nor remained within the Water Dragon King's bounds.
This state would last for a long time. It was part of the Primordial Dragon's adaptation to the Douluo World.
If it evolved into the Primordial Dragon without first adapting, Chen Zhou's Martial Soul would be greatly affected.
It might even be ruined because the Martial Soul could not adapt to the Douluo World, or because Chen Zhou could not withstand the process.
Even so, the Water Dragon King's body was already several times larger than a normal Martial Soul.
Xie Xie stared at the enormous creature behind Chen Zhou, shock written across his face.
This wasn't his first time seeing this Martial Soul.
Since last year, whenever Chen Zhou summoned his Martial Soul, it had looked like this. It had only grown even larger since then.
A deep dragon's rumble rang out. The gigantic Water Dragon King raised its head to the sky and let out an angry roar.
The next moment, a terrifying force swept outward. Countless droplets gathered and began to probe the surroundings, searching for traces of other living things that contained water.
Chen Zhou closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings for two seconds. Then he pushed off the ground and shot forward, with Na'er and Xie Xie close behind.
Chen Zhou was currently at the three-ring level, while the other two were at the two-ring level. Though he was a Soul Ring ahead of them, he didn't move at full speed, so the two of them had no trouble keeping up.
They moved quickly, with a clear goal in mind.
As the grass parted, the first thing they saw was a gigantic rhinoceros.
It was an oddly shaped rhinoceros with two spirit horns.
The moment it spotted Chen Zhou, it charged straight at him without hesitation.
Feeling the aura of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast coming from it, Xie Xie knitted his brows. He stopped abruptly, his eyes filled with wariness.
"Brother Chen, watch out! This rhinoceros has been around for at least five hundred years. It's very strong."
Xie Xie's voice held a note of caution, but before he could say anything more, the black Soul Ring gave off a deep glow. As his first Soul Skill lit up, Clear Stream Dragon Breath erupted.
A terrifying dragon's breath shot out. A thick torrent of water slammed into the rhinoceros, and the overwhelming force swept through it, instantly reducing it to a sky full of specks of light.
Watching Chen Zhou kill a Hundred-Year Soul Beast with a casual strike, Xie Xie swallowed unconsciously.
But before he could react, Chen Zhou had already turned his gaze to the left.
The stream of water he had unleashed abruptly split into thirty-six currents as Chen Zhou flipped his hand. Then all thirty-six surged toward the side once more.
It happened so suddenly that the people to the left were clearly caught off guard.
Only after Chen Zhou's attack struck did they seem to come to their senses.
Two figures suddenly darted out. One was covered in fur like a wolf's, while the other had eyes that were pitch-black.
The two charged straight at Chen Zhou, but before they could get close, the streams of water pierced through their bodies like spikes.
Yet their brief delay gave a third figure time to suddenly bolt off to the side.
Chen Zhou's gaze swept toward the fleeing figure. It was a girl, and one he knew well:
"Senior Sister Mu Xi, why are you running?"
A trace of confusion crossed Chen Zhou's eyes. The golden-haired girl running behind him was none other than his senior sister, Mu Xi.
He had not gotten along well with her lately, but he couldn't kill her inside the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform.
So when she had seen him and immediately run, Chen Zhou was left completely baffled.
However, he didn't pay her much attention.
The main reason they had come here was to improve their cultivation, or rather, to raise their Soul Ring ages.
So he had no intention of chasing Mu Xi. Instead, he swiftly raced toward other places where Soul Beasts could be found.
Chen Zhou didn't keep all the kills for himself. He found two Hundred-Year Soul Beasts and let Xie Xie and Na'er deal with one each.
Na'er had excellent combat skills. These basic Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were no challenge for her.
Xie Xie, on the other hand, kept making mistakes. Still, with Chen Zhou helping him, Xie Xie also killed a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and his Soul Ring age increased.
Seeing that both their Soul Power and Soul Ring ages had increased, Chen Zhou remained calm as he scanned his surroundings.
Just as he was about to lead the other two away, a figure suddenly sprang out of the grass.
The figure had appeared so abruptly that Chen Zhou hadn't reacted in time.
By the time he spotted the attacker, a sky full of vines and sharp ice spikes was already flying toward him.
And that wasn't all. Two men and a woman appeared beside the figure.
Vines filled the woman's hands.
One of the men threw his head back and roared, a brown giant bear appearing behind him. The other had a long sword in his hand.
The four of them charged at the trio from two directions.
It had happened suddenly, but hunting Soul Beasts inside the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform was clearly more difficult than hunting ordinary Soul Masters.
So Soul Masters who entered in groups or as teams would often choose to hunt other Soul Masters together.
Chen Zhou had encountered this before.
Without his third Soul Skill, even with strength that far surpassed theirs, he would have a hard time making sure he wouldn't be killed when facing a group attack.
Or, rather, he would have trouble emerging unscathed without using his Undying Body.
But things were different now. As three of them charged toward him, Chen Zhou's expression remained utterly calm.
Meanwhile, Na'er raised her hand slightly. The girl was holding the Silver Dragon Spear.
As a sky full of vines came surging toward her, her gaze turned icy. She slowly lifted her hand, and flames ignited along the spear.
Facing the oncoming vines, Na'er paused for an instant, then shot forward at once.