The trees in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform stood taller, their branches and leaves thicker. The stench of decay filled the air.
Low growls rumbled through the forest's darkness. It wasn't just one beast, but a whole pack, answering one another from all directions.
Gu Yue spread her spiritual perception through the area. The wind element told her something was rushing toward them from the southeast—
"Soul Beasts are coming!"
"I know." Xiao Mu nodded, not the least bit surprised.
He raised his eyes to the patch of sky sliced apart by the treetops, lifted a hand, and snapped his fingers.
"True Monarch, set the mountain ablaze."
Jun Wu circled above the forest and let out a piercing cry, excitement in his voice.
Flames poured from the tips of his wings.
They landed on the canopy and spread in an instant. The entire forest went up in flames. Tongues of fire licked at the tree trunks, erupting in a blaze as dazzling as the sun.
The beasts' roars turned to wails amid the flames, then faded into silence.
A massive surge of spiritual power rushed toward the three of them from the forest. Though the Soul Beasts in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform were scattered, that was simply how its mechanics worked: spiritual power flowed toward the nearest Soul Masters.
As the spiritual power poured in, the Soul Ring beneath Xiao Mu's feet instantly took on a purple glow. Its light steadily deepened, advancing toward ten thousand years.
A third Soul Ring also appeared beneath his feet, and golden light shone in his eyes.
But that little spiritual power had to be split among the three of them and their six Soul Rings. Reaching ten thousand years wouldn't be easy.
Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform, in the Spirit Pagoda's monitoring room,
red alarm lights spun across the ceiling, casting everyone's faces in alternating light and shadow. Dozens of screens flickered at once, showing scenes from inside the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform—the forest was burning, Soul Beasts were fleeing, and the entire ecosystem was collapsing at a visible speed.
"Are you kidding me? This is like a mouse getting into a rice jar!"
One staff member roared. This was a huge loss—they'd paid for the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform but were enjoying the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.
That alone would have been bad enough, but they'd also wiped out so many Soul Beasts in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform. Repairing its environment would be a massive headache.
"Overtime again! We have to work overtime again!" Another staff member stared at the screen, voice trembling. "What do we do now? The fire's still spreading!"
"That's easy. Notify the tower master!" Another staff member was clearly experienced. If they called in the higher-ups, they wouldn't have to take the blame themselves.
Amid the sea of flames, Xiao Mu raised a hand. Jun Wu swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder. Golden-red flames rippled through his feathers, yet didn't burn Xiao Mu in the slightest.
"These guys are so weak. But with this fire, ordinary thousand-year Soul Beasts wouldn't dare come near."
Jun Wu was feeling rather pleased with himself. Now that he was a Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, he thought no Soul Beast could keep up with him.
"Brother, leveling up really is faster this way!" Na'er was a little excited, but then she remembered that if this were real life, with Jun Wu this powerful—
Di Tian would never let him live. Maybe ten thousand years ago, he might have had a chance, but certainly not now.
There was barely any forest left as it was. There was no way they could burn it down.
Xiao Mu glanced at Gu Yue and asked, "How come your Soul Spirit still isn't a thousand years old?"
Only then did Gu Yue realize she'd forgotten to change its color. She could kill a thousand-year Soul Beast later, then change it.
"I'm just a little short." Embarrassment colored her voice.
"Fine, then we'll find you a thousand-year Soul Beast!" Xiao Mu was speechless. He'd thought the trip was going perfectly, but it turned out Gu Yue was a deadweight.
Well, in the original story, she'd been indecisive too, unable to choose between either side.
No wonder the ancients said that if you couldn't make a clean break, you'd only bring trouble upon yourself.
The ancients had never lied to me.
The three of them continued onward, and the flames ahead parted on their own under Jun Wu's command.
Following behind Xiao Mu, Gu Yue looked at the charred trees around them. Everything felt so real, and so cruel. Perhaps humans had once used the same methods against the Star Dou Great Forest.
Na'er suddenly leaned close to Xiao Mu. "Brother, it seems like something's following us."
"I know. It's circling around us. It probably thinks we're prey." Xiao Mu thought it over briefly. "It should be a fire-attribute Soul Beast. The flames aren't doing it much harm."
"But it senses the danger, so it keeps circling nearby."
Suddenly, his force field shifted. He looked up at the path ahead. His Third Soul Ring flashed, and an image appeared in his eyes.
His third Soul Skill was observation. It let him see fifteen seconds into the future, with a fifteen-second cooldown.
Another OP Soul Skill. As long as the other side could see the future too, they could counter it.
Yet another Soul Skill that any powerful fighter would know how to use, but wouldn't bother with.
He suspected Jun Wu's ancestors had been fortune-tellers.
Before long, the flames split open fifty meters away, revealing a massive silhouette.
It was a giant tiger, nearly a zhang tall at the shoulder, its body a deep red and its fur gleaming like molten rock amid the embers. Its pupils were pure gold, like two burning stars, glaringly bright against the charred forest.
A three-thousand-year Flame Demon Tiger.
Its right forepaw rested on a charred rock, its claws sinking into the surface and leaving five molten grooves.
"Can you handle this one?" Xiao Mu asked.
Gu Yue nodded. "I think so."
She didn't dwell on what kind of Soul Beast it was. She could absorb the spiritual power later and raise her Soul Ring's age.
In the next moment, the Flame Demon Tiger finished sizing up the three of them and decided they were prey it could take.
It vanished from where it stood. Flames burst beneath its paws, and its figure refracted in the firelight like a burning meteor, hurtling straight toward Gu Yue.
"Let me!" A cold glint flashed in Na'er's silver eyes. The tip of her spear swept through an arc of silver and met the Flame Demon Tiger's claws head-on.
Metal rang against metal. Sparks flew, and the shockwave swept away every ember around them.
The Flame Demon Tiger was knocked back three steps. Na'er retreated one, the shaft of her spear trembling.
Even for her, facing a three-thousand-year Soul Beast was no small pressure.
"Na'er, Gu Yue, attack together!" Xiao Mu said.
The First Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up abruptly. His force field spread around him like an invisible film, extending toward Na'er.
He adjusted the vectors at the tip of the spear. The Silver Dragon Spear in Na'er's hands suddenly felt lighter, as if some force were supporting it.
Gu Yue also controlled the wind element, increasing Na'er's speed as she prepared to launch a charged strike.
"Brother, your move is so convenient. It can do anything!" Na'er exclaimed. With gravity reinforcing her attack, she could hit even harder.
She didn't hesitate. Leaping into the air, she drew a silver line through the sunlight with her spear, thrusting straight for the Flame Demon Tiger's eyes.
This time, she was faster, and her strike hit harder.
The Flame Demon Tiger roared, and deep-red flames burst before it in a massive flare, but Na'er's spear light had already pierced through them.
The spearhead sank into the Flame Demon Tiger's neck, and dark-red blood sprayed out at once.
"Roar—"
The Flame Demon Tiger thrashed in fury. But Xiao Mu wasn't about to give it that chance. His force field pressed down at the same time, doubling the gravity around it. The giant tiger's movements stalled, as if pinned beneath an invisible mountain.
"Now!"
Na'er pulled back her spear and flipped through the air, driving its silver light straight into the Flame Demon Tiger's throat.
Gu Yue attacked at that moment too. A massive wind blade came down from above and cleaved the Flame Demon Tiger in two.
The terror in the tiger's eyes vanished in that instant, and a great surge of spiritual power poured out.
As it entered their bodies, Gu Yue's two Soul Rings finally transformed into dazzling purple.