The Fury of a Forty-Thousand-Year Soul Beast

The Red-Mane Explosive-Flame Wolf had completely lost its breath.

A pitch-black soul ring hovered above its corpse, scarlet blood energy flowing within it.

Li Zha gripped the Flaming-tipped Spear without circulating his Soul Power.

He intended to leave this place first.

The Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast was too close.

Absorbing a soul ring could not be disturbed.

Absorbing it here would only increase Gui Mei's burden.

But just as Li Zha turned to leave, the ten-thousand-year soul ring suddenly moved.

The black soul ring left the male wolf's corpse and slowly drifted toward him.

"Wait!"

Gui Mei abruptly turned his head.

He was controlling the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts to hold back the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast.

At the sight of this, even the Soul Power in his hands paused for half a beat.

"Did you draw the soul ring over?"

Li Zha lowered his head and looked at himself.

"No..."

"Then why is it approaching you on its own?"

Gui Mei had lived for nearly a century and had helped hunt countless soul beasts.

Whether the soul beast had been willing or not,

aside from the sacrifices of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts,

every soul ring had to be drawn in by a soul master's circulating Soul Power after it appeared.

Yet the soul ring before them defied all common sense.

It drifted to Li Zha's side by itself.

It circled the Flaming-tipped Spear once before stopping above Li Zha's head.

The soul ring did not immediately settle onto his martial soul.

It simply followed him.

Hu Liena could no longer spare any attention for the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast.

"This... the soul ring is seeking out a soul master on its own!"

Li Zha raised the Flaming-tipped Spear.

The direction its tip pointed was precisely where the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast stood.

The soul ring tilted along with it.

All the scarlet blood energy flowing within gathered in that direction.

"It's urging me to fulfill my promise."

Li Zha did not absorb it immediately.

"Let's change locations first."

"We can't do it here."

Gui Mei quickly came back to his senses as well.

"Nana, take him away!"

"Retreat southwest, no more than three hundred meters!"

"If you get too far away, the soul ring will lose its connection to the corpse.

Even if it is willing to follow you, it cannot change the time before the soul ring dissipates.

At most, one shichen! Li Zha, you must complete the absorption within one shichen!"

"Li Zha understands. Grandpa Gui, please allow me to call you that.

For what happened today, when Li Zha has the ability in the future, I will surely repay Grandpa Gui a hundredfold."

Li Zha bowed with utmost sincerity.

The corners of Gui Mei's mouth lifted slightly.

"Cut out that living-world nonsense. I only like things from the underworld. Hurry up and go!"

"Grandpa Gui! You must be careful too!"

Hu Liena hurriedly grabbed Li Zha by the arm.

"Follow me!"

Gui Mei's withered face remained fixed on the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast.

"Don't worry, Nana. Your Grandpa Gui is a Titled Douluo."

At that moment, the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast saw Li Zha trying to leave and immediately let out a roar.

Its prey, which it had toyed with for so long!

It had not even had enough fun yet!

Then a human had jumped out and speared it to death!

And he was an especially weak one at that!

It could not accept this!

It was like someone had snatched away its toy!

It was now utterly enraged.

"Roar!"

The Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast lowered its head, and the armor on its back rapidly turned red.

The surrounding temperature began to rise.

Gui Mei's expression changed drastically.

"It's about to use a soul skill!"

"Go!"

The next moment, the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast's front hoof struck the ground.

A vast expanse of red light surged through the cracks in the rocks toward Li Zha.

The ground quickly bulged, flames ready to erupt at any moment.

"Second Soul Skill, Ghost Gate!!"

In an instant, centered on Gui Mei himself!

Blood-red stone gates bearing skeletal ghost faces rose from the ground in all four directions!

Four gates stood in each direction!

They formed a square enclosure around both himself and his opponent!

More than a dozen black iron chains extended from each stone gate!

The ends of the chains were all connected to ghost hooks!

In an instant, he and the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast were sealed within the same area!

The cracks in the rocky ground

were also forced to halt after crashing into the blood-red stone gates!

"Roar!"

The Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast furiously turned to glare at Gui Mei!

Its breathing became incomparably heavy.

After turning its massive body around, it immediately charged at Gui Mei!

Gui Mei sneered.

"A mere forty-thousand-year soul beast—who gave you the nerve to dare charge at me?"

Just as the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast was about to ram into Gui Mei,

Gui Mei spread his arms, and massive amounts of black mist poured from his body.

The Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast plunged headfirst into the black mist.

It did not hit Gui Mei at all.

The next moment, Gui Mei was already on its back.

Black Soul Power transformed into several chains, fastening around the edges of the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast's shell.

"Up!"

His Soul Power erupted fiercely.

The front half of the Crimson Flame Heavy-Armored Beast's body was forcibly yanked off the ground.

Boom!

It lost its balance, and its head smashed into the rocky earth.

Beyond the blood-red stone gates, Li Zha looked back once.

Hu Liena immediately yanked him hard.

"Grandpa Gui said he'll handle it!"

"The most important thing for you now is absorbing the soul ring!"

Li Zha understood.

It was simply his first time witnessing the true power of a Titled Douluo.

It truly was terrifying beyond measure.

By then, the two had run several dozen meters away.

The black soul ring still followed behind Li Zha.

It did not drift quickly, yet it never fell behind.

Hu Liena could not help looking back at it several more times.

"A soul ring can be this obedient?"

"It has no other choice."

Hu Liena's steps slowed for half a beat.

She recalled the male wolf's pained howl when the female wolf had been devoured.

She also recalled how, before crashing into the boulder, the male wolf had looked toward Li Zha's right hand.

"It would rather become a human's soul ring just to take revenge."

"Can soul beasts really trust soul masters?"

Li Zha continued forward, glancing at the Flaming-tipped Spear in his hand as he answered.

"What it trusts is the Flaming-tipped Spear."

"Until its death, the only thing it saw clearly was this Flaming-tipped Spear."

Hu Liena pressed her lips together.

"Then you must survive."

"If you die while absorbing the soul ring, everything it did will have been for nothing!"

Li Zha's gaze was resolute. "I won't die."

"You say that every time!"

Hu Liena unconsciously tightened her grip on his hand.

"That is a soul ring over thirteen thousand years old!"

"Even if the soul ring is willing to follow you, it will not lower its age! At most, its extreme hatred will not affect you!"

"But even so, the Red-Mane Explosive-Flame Wolf was still a thirteen-thousand-year soul beast!"

Li Zha looked at her.

"Even if I do not absorb it now, the soul ring will dissipate. Besides, I promised it that I would accept its sacrifice."

"I'm not telling you to go back on your word!"

Hu Liena's chest rose and fell several times as she looked at Li Zha.

"I'm telling you not to force yourself!"

"If you can't endure it, stop. Forget any promises—only by staying alive will you have the chance to avenge it!"

Li Zha said nothing.

Once a ten-thousand-year soul ring had appeared,

there had never been any chance to stop.

The two continued onward.

Successive crashes rang out behind them.

Every time the ground shook, Hu Liena looked back.

Only after the dense trees completely blocked the rocky ground from view did she return her attention to Li Zha.

"There's a stone cave ahead."

Li Zha had noticed it too.

The cave entrance was narrow, surrounded by low shrubs, and its interior extended roughly a dozen meters deep.

Hu Liena entered first and inspected the inside.

She easily burned two poisonous insects less than a hundred years old to death with foxfire.

"This place will do!"

"I'll guard the entrance. Go inside and absorb it!"

"If you run into any problems, call for me immediately!"

Li Zha glanced at Hu Liena. "Thank you."

Then he turned and walked into the stone cave.

"Th-Thank for what..."

Hu Liena's face flushed faintly.

At that moment, the black soul ring also drifted in after Li Zha.