"Devour," as the name implied, meant swallowing and absorbing. At its core, it took a target into oneself through "inclusion," then transformed it for one's own use.
In most novels, skills named "Devour" basically worked by forcibly absorbing life force or other forms of energy and matter, then converting them into one's own power.
But the "Devour" Xu Bai had acquired was different. Its source was his Beast Taming Space Martial Soul, and its targets were all kinds of matter from the outside world.
There was another point: when he used the "Devour" skill, what he consumed wasn't Soul Power, but spiritual power.
That was why, for Xu Bai, the happy dilemma he'd had after acquiring this skill had turned into nothing but happiness.
With spiritual power now on par with that of a weak Soul King, he could easily devour a hill dozens of meters tall in a short time if he went all out.
Though perfecting the Beast Taming Space's vast area was still a long and arduous road, it was no longer so far out of reach.
The only problem was that once the Beast Taming Space reached its later stages, its area might grow larger than Douluo Planet itself. Finding enough outside matter would then become an issue.
Perhaps by then, he'd have to turn his gaze to outer space. It wasn't as if he could devour all of Douluo Planet...
At the thought, Xu Bai shook his head slightly. Those matters were still far too distant for him. For now, he'd just have to take things one step at a time.
For instance, what he needed to do now was go out and record Soul Beasts, then use his Soul Emperor-level spiritual power to devour a few barren hills in Sunset Forest in a short time, temporarily completing the Beast Taming Space.
"Let's go, First."
Xu Bai turned and beckoned, about to put First into the Beast Taming Space. But as his gaze swept past the cave entrance, he abruptly froze, his raised hand hanging stiffly in the air as his expression turned remarkably colorful.
Because at the mouth of the cave not far away, someone had appeared without him noticing.
He was a handsome middle-aged man, dressed in a simple cyan robe. Silver hair and a beard fell to his waist, his figure was tall and straight, and his features were stern. A sword intent seemed to swirl around him.
From a distance, Xu Bai felt that the figure standing there wasn't a person at all, but a peerless sword hidden in its sheath.
Xu Bai had a vague feeling that this man had to be the legendary Sword Douluo.
But he didn't look like the snow-white-robed, sword-immortal figure from the comics. He was much closer to the heroic swordsman from the anime.
I just dug up a Titled Douluo's family grave, and now I've run into the man himself. What do I do? Asking online—pretty urgent...
Xu Bai felt like he was falling apart. Was the damn heavens playing a trick on him? The state of these graves made it clear that no one had visited in years. So why had Sword Douluo shown up right after he'd done something bad? How was that fair...
He looked at First. Its fur was already standing on end, its pupils narrowed to vertical slits as it warily watched the stranger.
But it was also quite restrained, never daring to meet the handsome middle-aged man's gaze.
Seeing this, Xu Bai remained calm. With a thought, a formation appeared under First's feet, followed by a flash of white light.
Under First's astonished gaze, he turned it into flecks of light and drew them into the Soul Mark on his right hand.
The man across from him was most likely the legendary Sword Douluo. First would be useless in front of a Super Douluo—and might even lose its life for nothing.
Seeing Xu Bai put First away, surprise flickered in the handsome man's eyes. Then he spoke mildly:
"Youngster, how did you get past the killing formation outside the valley and enter my Chen Clan's ancestral grounds?"
After a pause, his gaze swept over one of the empty graves, and his eyes flickered slightly. He added, "And steal my great-grandfather's tombstone."
"Great-grandfather? So he really is Sword Douluo..."
Xu Bai first drew in a sharp breath, then came back to himself and couldn't help freezing. "A killing formation? What killing formation?"
Wasn't the entrance just a huge cave with more than a dozen tunnels inside? First had pointed one out, and he'd gone in. He hadn't seen any formation from start to finish...
"Um, Senior, would you believe me if I said I wandered in by accident?"
Xu Bai asked cautiously.
"You've got some luck, kid."
Sword Douluo gave a slight nod, then continued, "Now explain why you stole my great-grandfather's tombstone."
Xu Bai fell silent. Did he really have to explain...
"Not talking? Then die!"
Sword Douluo's voice remained mild, but killing intent filled the air around him. In an instant, Xu Bai found it extremely difficult even to breathe.
He really is going to kill me...
That was the first thought that surfaced in Xu Bai's mind as he felt the killing intent, tangible as a solid object.
Before this, because he was a transmigrator, he'd basically approached life as if it were a game. It was less like living on Douluo Continent and more like playing a highly realistic single-player virtual game.
In his eyes, everyone but himself was an NPC.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to take the risk and contract the Sword Spirit, even knowing this was Sword Douluo's ancestral grave.
Only now did he suddenly realize that Douluo Continent was a real world...
But the thought lasted only an instant, quickly replaced by another—give in.
"My Martial Soul! It was because of my Martial Soul!"
He hurriedly spoke, afraid that if he was a moment too late, Sword Douluo's killing intent would grind him into dust.
"Let's hear it."
The corner of Sword Douluo's mouth curved in the faintest smile. Of course he knew it was because of the Martial Soul.
He'd arrived while Xu Bai was wiping down his elders' "tombstones."
At first, he'd found the human and tiger rather amusing. Xu Bai looked to be only about ten, yet he was still painstakingly and diligently wiping down his elders' "tombstones."
After all, the last time he'd come to this place was to bury his father.
Before his father died, he'd told him, "A swordsman must sever the ties of the mortal world and give his undivided attention to the sword."
But in the end, he hadn't managed to do all of that. He hadn't severed his ties to the mortal world; instead, he'd severed a few insignificant courtesies.
If the formation hadn't sounded its warning, he might have been like his elders, returning here only when he was on the verge of death, to have his descendants bury him here.
At first, he'd found it amusing to see Xu Bai wiping the "memorial tablets." Then he'd been baffled when Xu Bai revealed his Soul Mark and touched the "tombstone." Finally, he'd been deeply shaken.
Honestly, Sword Douluo was a level ninety-six Super Douluo who had roamed the continent for decades. What grand scenes hadn't he seen?
But forgive him—he really hadn't seen anything like this before.
First, a Soul Ring had condensed on its own. Then there was a Soul Elder who looked to be about ten. And finally, both his First and Second Soul Rings were Thousand-Year Soul Rings.
If he hadn't sensed it clearly and felt no trace of a Soul Beast's aura on Xu Bai, he'd almost have thought he'd struck incredible luck today and encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast.
Though it was a shame he hadn't met a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast, finding someone with such talent—who, by the looks of it, wasn't a disciple of either of the other two sects—was a good thing in its own right.
He'd have to find a way to get him...