The Earth King before them had nearly fifteen thousand years of cultivation. Even in the core region of the Sunset Forest, it was undoubtedly an exceptionally powerful Soul Beast.
The Earth King's enormous body emerged from the darkness.
Its icy eyes swept over the two of them before it finally turned toward Liu Erlong, her face cold, and let out a roar. It seemed to have sensed how difficult she would be to deal with.
After assessing the Earth King before her, Liu Erlong couldn't be bothered to keep pretending.
Seven bright Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet, circling her tall figure as they pulsed with light. A powerful surge of Soul Power appeared around her.
Then, ignoring whether the Earth King intended to attack first, she struck without another thought. She couldn't hold back any longer.
A Soul Ring on Liu Erlong's body flashed, as if granting her some kind of enhancement. She became a streak of bright red light and lunged straight at the Earth King.
Though she seemed rather hasty, she knew perfectly well that this wasn't the only Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the core region.
Her goal was to overwhelm the Earth King with a thunderous attack, intimidate the surrounding Soul Beasts, and avoid an endless stream of trouble.
The Earth King didn't simply stand there. As Liu Erlong closed in, it swung its enormous pincers down at the red streak she had become.
Under Mo Li's gaze, the Earth King didn't merely take the attack passively. He clearly saw it raise its pincers to meet Liu Erlong while flames spewed from the stinger on its tail.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the Earth King's massive body seemed to take a tremendous blow and was forced back a considerable distance. It had clearly lost the first exchange with Liu Erlong.
At the same time, the flames at the tip of the Earth King's tail had finished gathering. As its body retreated, a thick pillar of fire shot toward Liu Erlong's chest.
Faced with such a perilous situation, Liu Erlong's icy, beautiful face shifted ever so slightly, but she still looked cool and composed.
The instant the pillar of fire engulfed her, her fifth Soul Ring lit up. Almost at the same time, flames completely swallowed her body.
Liu Erlong had sent Mo Li far away before she attacked, and now he witnessed her being swallowed by the pillar of fire.
He had full confidence in the strength of Liu Erlong, a Soul Saint, but even so, the sight was so dangerous that he couldn't help worrying about her.
"Sister Erlong, watch out!" Mo Li shouted from afar.
"I know!"
Liu Erlong quickly showed him that his concern had been entirely unnecessary.
The next moment, the thick pillar of fire from the Earth King's tail was torn apart, scattering into a sky full of flames.
A breathtaking figure emerged from within, walking forward at an unhurried pace. Her long black hair streamed behind her, and the flames illuminated her slender form, making her look dazzling, like a female God of War.
The first, second, and fifth Soul Rings on her body continued to shine. Liu Erlong's expression remained cool, but her gaze grew steadily colder.
A pair of dragon wings suddenly unfurled behind her, and her entire presence surged once more.
Boosted by several Soul Skills, she flashed out of the sea of flames, moving many times faster than before.
Soul Beasts had always been keenly perceptive. The higher their cultivation, the more readily they sensed danger.
In this brief clash, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth King had been completely outmatched.
Realizing how difficult Liu Erlong was to fight, it had already begun to consider fleeing.
But Liu Erlong had locked onto it. The moment it showed signs of escape, she would likely strike with the force of thunder.
Only by fighting to the death would it have a chance to escape.
In an instant, red light burst from the Earth King's entire body. The air within a radius of dozens of square meters warped around it, and the ground beneath it cracked apart.
It slammed its two enormous front pincers against the ground, and a powerful shock wave rippled through the warped air.
At the sight of this, Mo Li suddenly remembered something: the Earth King's strongest skill, mentioned in the original story.
Magma Earth-Splitting Strike.
What made this skill formidable wasn't just its incredible destructive power. It was also the semicircular expanse of warped light that spread before the attack was unleashed.
Within the area where the air trembled beneath that distorted light, enemies could be stunned.
Once an opponent was pinned in place, a pillar of fire would erupt the next instant. Hot as magma, it would deliver a fatal blow.
"Get out of that light!" Mo Li shouted from a distance.
In the original story, Liu Erlong had taken a direct hit from a five-thousand-year Earth King. But this Earth King had cultivated for over ten thousand years.
No one could say for certain how much damage Magma Earth-Splitting Strike would inflict.
He couldn't help in the fight just yet, but at least he could warn her.
The instant Liu Erlong heard Mo Li's voice, she swept her dragon wings and darted out of the light's range.
Though its skill had missed, the Earth King's combination attack didn't stop. The cracked ground beneath it erupted with a deafening boom, and a scarlet pillar of fire shot into the sky.
The pillar was nearly ten meters in diameter, erupting right in the middle of the warped air.
It was exactly where Liu Erlong had been standing moments earlier.
That was close.
Mo Li let out a breath of relief.
During the battle, the surrounding forest had been scorched by the raging flames, and the ground was pocked with craters from the fighting.
Sister Erlong and this Earth King were each more destructive than the other.
Having missed its strike, the Earth King let out an angry roar.
Its red eyes glanced toward Mo Li in the distance. It had clearly realized that he wasn't as powerful as Liu Erlong.
The next moment, the Earth King's enormous body surged in Mo Li's direction. Its pale body hugged the ground as it crawled, moving so fast it seemed to fly.
At the same time, its tail, several meters long, became a streak of cold light, poised to deliver a fatal blow to Mo Li.
Seeing the Earth King turn and charge after him, Mo Li broke out in a cold sweat and cursed under his breath.
What a coward! It couldn't beat Sister Erlong, so it came after me!
But he didn't hesitate for an instant. He unleashed his first Soul Skill without a moment's delay and raced toward Liu Erlong.
His reaction was quick, but he was nowhere near as fast as the Earth King.
In just a few seconds, he was already within range of the Earth King's tail.
A streak of cold light, wrapped in black Soul Power, jabbed toward Mo Li.
Even with the aid of Peering at Heaven and Earth, Mo Li could only catch a flash of gray.
"Nine Nether Domain!"
In this moment of danger, Mo Li didn't dare let his guard down. He unleashed his domain at full strength, holding nothing back.
Within the domain, Black Flame surged upward, instantly igniting the Soul Power in the air. When the tail stinger entered the domain, its power was greatly weakened.
But even so, it still looked terrifying.
He gritted his teeth and strained to shift his body out of the way. As he dodged the vital spots, he summoned his Martial Soul and wrapped his body in Soul Power.
Against the attack of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, this meager defense was hardly anything, but it could at least offer a little resistance.
Just as Mo Li braced himself for the nearly fatal strike of its tail, a deafening dragon's roar rang out behind him.