Six-Hundred-Year Ironclad Turtle

The members of the soul-hunting party did not dismiss Qi Dao's suggestion because of his age. Just over two hours later, they discovered traces of a large Ironclad Turtle on a stretch of rocky shore.

Several massive reefs clustered together on the rocky shore, leaving a relatively open space in the middle that looked like a makeshift nest.

A dark turtle over two meters long lay lazily within it.

Its shell gleamed with a metallic sheen. Its four legs looked thick and powerful, while its skin seemed to be covered in scales.

Qi Dao examined the Ironclad Turtle from afar, a look of delight appearing on his face.

"An Ironclad Turtle that's over six hundred years old!"

"This is the one!"

"Alright, we'll seriously wound it first, then let Dao finish it off!"

Without further ado, the soul-hunting party began discussing their strategy.

A moment later.

They slowly approached the Ironclad Turtle's nest. When they were just over ten meters away, Qi Dao's mother stepped forward and said, "Same old plan!"

With that, she summoned her martial soul.

A red gemstone floated into existence in her hand, while one white and one yellow soul ring rose beneath her feet.

At the same time, another lean middle-aged man from the soul-hunting party summoned his martial soul as well.

His martial soul was a bow.

Likewise, one white and one yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.

His name was Chen Huan. His martial soul was a bow, and he was a level twenty-six Grand Soul Master.

After Qi Dao's mother summoned her martial soul, her first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously.

As she chanted an incantation, two red beams shot into Chen Huan's body in succession.

Qi Dao's mother's first soul skill could grant a teammate a five-percent increase in soul power for one minute.

The boost was not high, and the duration was short, but obtaining a percentage-based soul skill from a ten-year soul ring was already exceptionally lucky.

Her second soul skill could slightly enhance a teammate's strength.

Though it was not percentage-based, the increase was still quite considerable for soul masters of the same realm.

After she buffed Chen Huan, he raised his hand and drew the bowstring.

Strangely, the instant he pulled it back, an arrow condensed out of thin air.

Then his second soul ring lit up. The arrowhead immediately became several degrees sharper, and spiraling currents of soul power gathered around it.

Qi Dao had heard Qi Mingyuan mention Chen Huan's second soul skill before.

His second soul skill was extremely practical, capable of increasing an arrow's piercing power.

A single shot was enough to severely wound most soul beasts under five hundred years old.

Paired with Qi Dao's mother's enhancement, the two effects stacked together could almost kill a five-hundred-year soul beast in one blow.

Its only flaw was its tremendous consumption. Once used, Chen Huan could only slack off and play a supporting role for the rest of the battle.

That was why Chen Huan usually acted as the opener. After heavily wounding the target with one strike, he left the rest to the other members of the soul-hunting party.

Bang!

The moment Chen Huan released the string, the arrow shot forth like a streak of light, tearing through the air with a sharp sonic boom as it flew straight toward the Ironclad Turtle's thick neck.

The Ironclad Turtle in the nest reacted at once, pulling its head back into its shell.

However, it still failed to completely evade the shot, only managing to avoid its soft, vulnerable neck.

The arrow still struck its head.

Splat!

The instant the arrowhead collided with its head, sparks flew everywhere. Yet it still pierced more than four or five inches into its skull before lingering briefly and dissolving into starlight.

Blood poured from its head.

The Ironclad Turtle immediately let out a strange hiss, then twisted its body and charged toward the soul-hunting party.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Ironclad Turtle was enormous and incredibly heavy. With every step it took, the ground seemed to tremble faintly.

"Ye Hui, restrain this big fellow. Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, block it from the front. Old Li, you're responsible for harassing and distracting it."

Zhang Long and Zhang Hu were the soul-hunting party's defensive soul masters, and their martial souls were shields.

Old Li was an agility-attack soul master whose martial soul was a cheetah.

Qi Mingyuan briefly laid out the plan before summoning his own martial soul.

An iron sword immediately appeared in his hand.

At the same time, three soul rings—white, yellow, and purple—rose beneath his feet.

Qi Mingyuan, level thirty-two Soul Elder!

The instant he unleashed his martial soul, two red beams shot into his body.

It was Mother Qi taking action, applying two enhancements to Father Qi.

Father Qi's eyes lit up, and he immediately dashed out.

At the same time, his first and second soul rings lit up.

First soul skill, Gale Step: slightly increased speed for five minutes.

Second soul skill, Sharp Sword: enhanced the sharpness of his martial soul.

Father Qi was originally a level thirty-two Soul Grandmaster, and with Mother Qi's enhancements, he took the lead and charged to the front, confronting the Ironclad Turtle.

At this moment, his swordsmanship proved immensely useful.

He used his footwork to nimbly evade the Ironclad Turtle's limited attacks while wielding his sword to strike specifically at its softer spots.

The relatively soft parts of an Ironclad Turtle were nothing more than its eyes, neck, limbs, tail, and a few other areas.

The members of the soul-hunting group coordinated seamlessly. In barely a minute, they easily subdued the Ironclad Turtle, leaving it completely unable to resist.

Seeing this, Father Qi shouted, "Qi Dao, it's your turn!"

Qi Dao nodded. He stepped forward, looked at the dying Ironclad Turtle, and without hesitation drew his sword and thrust it into the turtle's neck.

With a wet squelch, blood gushed from its neck.

The Ironclad Turtle finally stopped struggling.

At the same time, a yellow soul ring condensed above the Ironclad Turtle's body.

As he looked at the soul ring before him, anticipation flashed through Qi Dao's eyes.

The reason he had chosen the Ironclad Turtle as his first soul ring was that after a soul master absorbed a soul ring, their martial soul would gain some of the absorbed soul beast's traits.

For example, after Tang San absorbed the Datura Snake soul ring in the original work, his Blue Silver Grass gained the Datura Snake's paralyzing venom. Later, after absorbing the Man-Faced Demon Spider, it gained the Man-Faced Demon Spider's toxicity as well.

After mastering the visualization method, Qi Dao's cultivation speed had improved considerably. However, his martial soul still possessed a flaw.

Although he had noticed over the past few years that, as his connection with Wushuang deepened, roughly one-tenth of the cracks on the Peerless Sword had healed, the progress was simply far too slow.

That was why he wanted to use soul ring absorption to speed up Wushuang's repair process.

The Ironclad Turtle's greatest feature was undoubtedly its turtle shell, as hard as black iron.

Though it was only a six-hundred-year soul beast, even Father Qi, a Soul Grandmaster, had found it difficult to break through that shell's defenses.

Qi Dao wanted to add the Ironclad Turtle shell's hardness to Wushuang.

"Qi Dao, are you ready?" Father Qi asked with a solemn expression.

"Don't worry. I'm confident!"

Qi Dao reassured him, then, under the worried gazes of Father Qi and Mother Qi and the watchful eyes of the soul-hunting group, calmly sat cross-legged nearby and began absorbing the soul ring.

The scene was utterly silent.

The members of the soul-hunting group watched the scene intently.

No one knew whether Qi Dao would succeed!