Yan's Fifth Soul Ring

In the center of the valley, the Magma Behemoth was going berserk.

It stood nearly eight meters tall, towering over even the lowest rock formations on either side of the valley walls.

Its entire body was covered in dark red rock armor, with scorching magma flowing through the gaps between the plates. Orange light seeped from these fissures, illuminating its body like a piece of white-hot iron.

With every step, its massive feet scorched the ground, sending white smoke rising from the gravel. The air was thick with the choking stench of sulfur and charred stone.

Its eyes were two balls of bright flame, devoid of pupils, consisting purely of flowing magma. When it opened its mouth, the churning red liquid in its throat was visible, and hot air hissed from between its teeth, washing over everything in front of it.

Eleven thousand years of cultivation. It had barely crossed the threshold of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast.

It was currently being besieged by three young people.

Xie Yue was the fastest. His Moon Blade spirit had already been released, and the two crescent-shaped blades danced in his hands. Every swing unleashed a silver-white blade aura that struck precisely at the gaps in the Magma Behemoth's armor.

But the effect was limited.

The Magma Behemoth's carapace was too thick, and its surface temperature was absurdly high. Xie Yue's blade auras could only leave shallow white marks upon impact. He dared not get too close for fear of being burned by the intense heat, so he could only harass it from mid-range.

Hu Liena stood in the rear, her hands constantly shifting through gestures. Her spirit was the Demon Fox, a mental control type. Pink mist drifted from her fingertips, winding around the Magma Behemoth's head in thin strands.

However, this creature possessed strong mental defenses. As a beast over ten thousand years old, while its intellect wasn't particularly sharp, its instinctive mental barriers were rock-solid.

Hu Liena's Charm skill, when applied to it, could at most slow its movements for half a second before being shaken off.

Yan was holding the front line.

His Flame Overlord spirit was fully unleashed, his body covered in a layer of rock armor, his fists wrapped in black Hellfire. He traded blows with the Magma Behemoth, each collision sparking a shower of embers and stone fragments.

But his cultivation was only at level 50, and going head-to-head with an eleven-thousand-year spirit beast was clearly a struggle. He had been swatted away by the Magma Behemoth's giant palm several times, rolling across the ground before managing to regain his footing.

"Yan, stop taking it head-on!" Hu Liena shouted from behind, her voice urgent.

"I know!" Yan replied, but his body surged forward anyway. That was simply his nature; when fighting, his mind was entirely focused on how to take down his opponent, never considering his own limits.

"Nana, increase the control! Its left hind leg is injured, I'm going for that spot!" Xie Yue's voice was much calmer, and even as he spoke, his movements never slowed.

The two Moon Blades spun into silver blurs in his hands as he circled half a turn around the Magma Behemoth, reaching its left rear flank.

Hu Liena's gestures changed, and the pink mist suddenly grew denser. Her fourth spirit skill, Demon Fox Roar, was released silently.

A mental shockwave slammed into the Magma Behemoth's head.

The Magma Behemoth's movements faltered, its head swaying as if it had been dazed.

In that split second, Xie Yue seized the opening.

His third spirit skill: Break.

A sharp, silver radiance condensed on his Moon Blades, slicing directly into the armor gap on the Magma Behemoth's left hind leg.

"Awoo!" The Magma Behemoth let out a pained howl, its left hind leg buckling as its body tilted to the left.

Magma sprayed from the wound, splashing onto the ground and burning black, charred pits into the earth.

"Good!" Yan seized the opportunity to rush forward, slamming a fist into the front of the Magma Behemoth. The black Hellfire wrapped around his fist, smashing heavily into the creature's chest plate.

"Boom!"

The force of the blow was significant, and a crack appeared on the Magma Behemoth's chest armor.

But the next second, the Magma Behemoth's mouth snapped open, and a torrent of high-temperature magma erupted from its throat!

"Get back!" Xie Yue shouted.

Yan couldn't dodge in time. Instinctively, he raised his arms, fully activating his second spirit skill, Granite Rock, causing the rock armor on his body to instantly double in thickness.

The magma slammed into him.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

The Granite Rock was instantly steamed into a layer of white vapor. The impact of the magma pushed Yan sliding back five or six meters, his boots leaving deep furrows in the ground.

The surface of his rock armor bubbled, and several sections began to crack.

"Yan!" Hu Liena cried out.

"I'm fine! I won't die!" Yan gritted his teeth, spitting a glob of blood from the corner of his mouth. His face was flushed red from the intense heat, and half of his eyebrows had been singed off.

Yue Guan watched all of this from the entrance of the valley, his face expressionless. His arms remained crossed over his chest as he leaned against the stone wall, looking as if he were watching children play house.

"Hurry up. Three of you, and you're struggling this much to kill one spirit beast?" Yue Guan spoke, his tone unhurried, carrying the casual air of an elder reprimanding his juniors.

Xie Yue ignored him, though his expression tightened.

He knew Yue Guan wasn't urging them on; he was testing them.

The training methods of Spirit Hall had always been this way. Whether you were a core disciple or a peripheral member, if you couldn't win, you couldn't win; no one would step in to save you. Yue Guan stood there only to ensure they didn't lose their lives; beyond that, he wouldn't lift a finger.

Xie Yue's gaze turned cold.

He glanced at Yan's condition, then at Hu Liena, making a rapid judgment in his mind.

"Hu Liena, full control, give me three seconds. Yan, get ready to finish it."

Upon hearing Xie Yue's words, Hu Liena didn't hesitate, immediately activating her fifth spirit skill.

The pink mist turned into a deep, blood-red hue. Her eyes shifted as well, the pupils turning from black to an eerie pale purple, the corners of her eyes tilting slightly upward, and her entire aura instantly shifting from seductive to dangerous.

Nine-Tailed Charm.

This was her strongest crowd-control skill, one of the signature soul skills of the Golden Generation.

An invisible mental shock erupted from her eyes, drilling straight into the Magma Behemoth's brain.

The Magma Behemoth's movements suddenly stiffened.

Those two burning eyes dimmed, its mouth hung half-open, and the magma churning in its throat ceased. It stood frozen in place, its four legs trembling slightly as if putting up a final struggle against something.

Three seconds.

Hu Liena could not manage any more than that. The mental barrier of this ten-thousand-year soul beast was too thick; even with Nine-Tailed Charm, she could only force control for this long.

Xie Yue moved, his fifth soul skill, Slaughter.

His two Moon Blades merged into one, the silver-white blade light surging more than threefold. He transformed into a streak of dark silver light, slicing in from beneath the Magma Behemoth's abdomen.

Swish! The light entered from the left flank and exited from the right.

The Magma Behemoth's massive body shuddered violently, a gaping fissure appearing across the rock armor of its belly. Magma gushed from the wound, spilling all over the ground.

It was not dead yet, but it was close.

"Quick, Yan, seize the chance!" Hu Liena shouted.

Yan did not need to be urged. The black flames on his fists burned at their peak, his first soul skill, Hell Magma Rush, fully charged. He shot forward like a cannonball, slamming a fist into the top of the Magma Behemoth's head.

Bang! The sound was dull, like a heavy boulder sinking into a mud pit.

The Magma Behemoth's head tilted to the side, and those two flame-like eyes extinguished completely. Its massive body collapsed with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.

The ground shook, and even from far away, Qin Chuan felt that slight tremor travel from the tree trunk into his legs.

A purple-black soul ring floated out from the Magma Behemoth's corpse.

The color was deep, approaching black but not yet reaching a pure, solid shade. It was a standard ten-thousand-year soul ring.