Second Soul Skill, Slow

Next, it was naturally time to continue searching for a suitable soul beast for Ning Xiaochun.

They had originally intended to hunt the same type of soul beast as before, but an unexpected situation arose.

"I think that soul beast seems very suitable for me."

Ning Xiaochun suddenly stopped in his tracks, pointing toward a soul beast crawling very slowly not far away.

A Magic Tree Sloth!

It was a soul beast with an extremely slow crawling speed, but it survived in the Sunset Forest thanks to its exceptionally high defense and poison resistance; it belonged to the top-tier mutated soul beasts.

"That makes sense!"

Shui Bing'er nodded and immediately began her assault.

The battle ended faster than they had imagined.

The Magic Tree Sloth, a top-tier mutated soul beast renowned for its defense and poison resistance, had its movements frozen by Shui Bing'er's Ultimate Ice.

After its defenses were eroded by Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorus Serpent poison, its life was finally brought to an end by a precise "Soft Muscle Evil" from Ning Xiaochun, combined with a joint strike from the two women.

A deep purple thousand-year soul ring slowly rose from its massive body.

Ning Xiaochun did not hesitate; he immediately sat cross-legged, circulated his soul power, and guided the purple thousand-year soul ring into his body.

Having had the experience of absorbing one before, coupled with the evolution of his dual pagodas, his solid foundation, and the residual medicinal power of the Aromatic Silk Beauty protecting his body, the absorption process went exceptionally smoothly.

As the soul ring entered his body, warm and majestic energy flowed along his meridians, finally merging into his dantian, where it was steadily absorbed by the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda.

Second soul ring, complete!

Driven by the second soul ring, his soul power surged upward like a rising tide.

Twenty-one... twenty-two... twenty-three... It broke through obstacles all the way, finally stopping steadily at the threshold of level twenty-five!

"Level twenty-five!"

Ning Xiaochun opened his eyes, feeling the soul power that had grown once more within him, a look of pleasant surprise appearing on his young face.

He knew that most of the credit for this belonged to the massive medicinal power of the Aromatic Silk Beauty that remained undigested and hidden within his body. The efficacy of this immortal herb was even more persistent and domineering than he had imagined!

More importantly, the information regarding his second soul skill was clearly imprinted in his mind.

[Second Soul Skill: Foot-Stalling Bane]

Effect: Greatly reduces the target's movement and attack speed, making them feel as if they are trapped in deep-sea silt, causing their movements to become sluggish and making it difficult for them to pursue or dodge.

"Perfect!" Ning Xiaochun couldn't help but clench his fists. This soul skill, combined with his first soul skill "Soft Muscle Evil"—one weakening strength, the other reducing speed—was a perfect match!

In the future, when encountering power-attack or agility-attack opponents, he could directly turn them into sluggish, weak-legged shrimp! His safety would be greatly improved!

"Congratulations, Xiaochun!" Dugu Yan was the first to crowd around, excitement in her green eyes.

"Level twenty-five! Your leveling speed is just too fast! And the age of this second soul ring looks to be at least twelve hundred years, right? Your physical fitness is truly incredible!"

Although Shui Bing'er didn't speak, her ice-blue eyes also held a trace of gratification and satisfaction as she nodded slightly.

Even Hu Liena, who was following behind, had a flash of surprise in her eyes.

Absorbing a thousand-year soul ring so easily, with his soul power directly skyrocketing by five levels—this kid's potential was even deeper than she had imagined. The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect had truly struck gold.

Ning Xiaochun stood up and stretched his limbs, about to speak, when he heard a burst of unusually intense soul power collisions and beast roars coming from the dense forest not far away! The commotion was much greater than when they had hunted the Magic Tree Sloth just moments ago!

"Something's happening!" Dugu Yan became alert instantly, the phantom of the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor looming behind her.

"Let's go take a look." Shui Bing'er said briefly, taking the lead as she dashed toward the direction of the sound. Ning Xiaochun and Dugu Yan followed immediately, and Hu Liena trailed behind with great interest.

Passing through a patch of dense bushes, the scene before them startled everyone slightly.

In a relatively open clearing in the forest, a heaven-shaking battle was underway!

The two sides engaged in the fight were none other than two powerful thousand-year soul beasts!

One of them was a giant snake covered in silver-gray scales with a pair of translucent wings on its back, its speed so fast that it left streaks of afterimages in the air!

Its figure was agile, and every pounce carried the sound of wind and thunder. What it spat from its mouth was not venom, but condensed wind blades that cut through the air with sharp whistles!

It was the extremely rare mutated soul beast—the Lightning Demon Snake!

Confronting it was a giant bird with an ice-blue body, its feathers appearing as if carved from mysterious ice, its wings spanning five or six meters when spread!

Its eyes were as sharp as knives, and every flap of its wings scattered biting cold winds and ice spikes, freezing the ground into patches of frost. The shrill cries it emitted carried a soul-shaking power!

It was none other than another top-tier mutated soul beast—the Ice Demon Bird!

Both soul beasts were already covered in wounds and their auras were chaotic. One of the Lightning Demon Snake's wings seemed to be injured, making its flight posture somewhat unsteady.

The Ice Demon Bird's abdomen had also been slashed open by a wind blade, and ice-blue blood dripped continuously. Yet neither was willing to back down; clearly, they both viewed the other as a mortal enemy, or... excellent nourishment for evolution!

"Lightning Demon Snake! At least three thousand years of cultivation!" Dugu Yan's eyes lit up instantly, her voice filled with irrepressible excitement.

"This is a top-tier mutated soul beast! It possesses both wind and poison attributes! Its speed and attack are terrifying! And it is extremely rare! If my Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor can absorb its soul ring, I might be able to gain wind-attribute abilities to make up for my shortcomings in speed!"

"Ice Demon Bird, about four thousand years."

Shui Bing'er also stared intently at the giant ice-blue bird, her cold voice also carrying a ripple of emotion.

"Mutated from an ordinary Water Demon Bird, it feeds on snake and fish soul beasts, and its ice attribute is extremely pure. Its soul ring will be of great benefit to my Ice Phoenix!"

Ning Xiaochun realized what was happening. This was literally a pie falling from the sky!

They had just been worrying about where to find suitable spirit rings for Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan, and now two had been delivered right to their doorstep—both top-tier mutated spirit beasts with attributes that were a perfect match!

Talk about a pillow appearing just as you get sleepy! Ning Xiaochun's eyes lit up as he immediately began analyzing the situation.

"Both spirit beasts are at the end of their rope. After fighting this long, they probably don't have much strength left. We can swoop in and reap the rewards!"

He made a split-second decision, his young face wearing an expression of precision and ruthlessness.

"The moment they decide a winner, or if they both end up crippled, we strike! Sister Bing'er, you take the lead on the Ice Demon Bird; Sister Yan, you handle the Lightning Demon Snake! I'll use my spirit skills to weaken them!"

The two women nodded in unison, their eyes burning with fighting spirit. Hu Liena stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching with keen interest, seemingly curious to see what level of strength these two girls would reach after absorbing such powerful spirit rings.

The battle in the clearing had reached a fever pitch.

The Lightning Demon Snake let out a sharp hiss, ignoring its wounds as it transformed into a streak of silver-gray lightning, carrying razor-sharp wind blades as it launched a final assault on the Ice Demon Bird!

The Ice Demon Bird did not back down; it snapped its wings shut, firing off countless ice-blue feathers like arrows while simultaneously unleashing a highly concentrated beam of ice-blue light from its beak!

BOOM!!!

Wind blades and ice feathers, lightning and frost, collided violently in the center of the clearing! The terrifying shockwave snapped all the surrounding trees, and the ground was blasted into a massive crater, filling the air with dust and debris!

Both spirit beasts were sent flying backward by the explosion, slamming heavily into the ground. Their auras were withered to the extreme, and it was clear they had lost the ability to continue fighting!

"Now!"

A flash of light crossed Ning Xiaochun's eyes as he summoned the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda without hesitation! The dark, nine-story pagoda hovered above his palm, radiating a heart-stopping aura!

"The Nine Killings turn the dark tower, I advise you... not to be so headstrong."

The familiar opening line rang out, but this time, Ning Xiaochun's voice carried an unprecedented sense of decisiveness and sharpness!

"First: Soften!" A grayish light enveloped the heavily wounded Lightning Demon Snake and Ice Demon Bird, making their already weak bodies even more limp and powerless.

"Second: Slow!" His second spirit ring shone brilliantly! An invisible force of stagnation, like a quagmire, coiled around the two spirit beasts, making even their struggles agonizingly slow!

Two consecutive weakening spirit skills struck the two dying thousand-year spirit beasts with pinpoint accuracy! Having already exhausted their life force, they were now like fish on a chopping block, completely devoid of any power to resist!

"Do it!" Ning Xiaochun shouted.

Shui Bing'er had been ready and waiting. At his command, her figure vanished from the spot, reappearing an instant later above the Ice Demon Bird, the phantom of an Ice Phoenix spreading its wings and crying out behind her!

"First spirit skill, Ice Seal!"