Condensing the Fourth Soul Ring, a Golden Tortoiseshell Delivered to His Doorstep

Morning light filtered through the forest and fell into the treehouse.

Gu Yuena straightened her clothes and said to Ye Ming, who was curled up on the bed with a look of utter despair, "You did well last night. I have something to do in the Lake of Life. You two can keep yourselves busy today."

"Be good. We'll continue tonight."

With that, she walked straight out of the treehouse, transformed into a silver dragon, and plunged into the Lake of Life.

"What a scumbag woman. Isn't this just pulling up her pants and refusing to acknowledge anyone?"

Ye Ming rubbed his waist and muttered, "She nearly drained all my dragon energy."

"Forget it. Time to condense my soul ring."

By the Lake of Life.

Ye Ming and Di Ruiqiu each found a spot rich in the energy of heaven and earth and sat down cross-legged.

With several great ferocious beasts standing guard, there was no need to worry about safety.

Within the territory of the Lake of Life, aside from gods, there truly weren't many people on this continent who dared to charge in by force.

"Hoo..."

After exhaling a breath of stale air, Ye Ming instantly entered a meditative state.

Gradually, the energy of heaven and earth surged around him.

Strands of dragon energy emerged. Golden and silver dragon horns protruded from his head, while golden dragon scales covered his body.

Three black ten-thousand-year soul rings rose from beneath his feet, pulsing around him.

As he breathed in and out, the energy of heaven and earth poured into him, becoming nourishment for condensing his soul ring.

At the position of his fourth soul ring, a white soul ring gently floated.

Ye Ming paid no attention to its color and continued absorbing the energy of heaven and earth.

The white soul ring darkened, then quietly turned yellow when it reached a critical point.

Its color still did not stop changing, continuing toward the purple of a thousand-year soul ring.

In the blink of an eye, the soul ring had completely turned black.

At this point, its color no longer changed, but its age continued to increase.

Ten thousand years... thirty thousand years... fifty thousand years... eighty thousand years...

At this point, every additional year of age brought Ye Ming intense pain throughout his body.

This pain was no less severe than having his body crushed in a stone mill.

Buzz!

Golden light appeared as Golden Dragon Overlord Form manifested.

Relying on this endurance, Ye Ming once again pushed the age of his fourth soul ring higher.

Originally, with his physique, it would already have been impressive for his fourth soul ring to reach fifty thousand years.

But a year of being crushed by the stone mill had drastically strengthened his body.

Even so, he still could not break through the hundred-thousand-year threshold.

A hundred thousand years was not only a barrier for soul beasts, but also a barrier for soul masters.

Ordinary soul masters could only absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring after reaching the level of Titled Douluo.

Yet Ye Ming wanted to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push his fourth soul ring to the hundred-thousand-year level!

He did not lack energy.

The energy accumulated in his body, combined with the energy absorbed from the Golden Tree and the rich energy of heaven and earth in the Lake of Life, was enough for him to condense several hundred-thousand-year soul rings.

Right now, this was a contest between Ye Ming and himself!

Golden Dragon Overlord Form could ultimately only defend against external forces. It did not increase Ye Ming's own endurance by much.

As the soul ring's age increased step by step, drops of blood seeped from his skin.

Strands of dragon energy intertwined with dragon blood, wrapping around him and forming a blood cocoon.

At some point, Di Tian, Bi Ji, and several other great ferocious beasts quietly appeared by the lakeshore.

"Why does Ye Ming have to push himself this hard..." Bi Ji covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.

Di Tian sighed softly. "Ye Ming is very strong-willed. He can only walk this path himself. None of us can help him."

"Still, I believe in him!"

I was a Golden Tortoiseshell, renowned throughout the Star Dou Great Forest for my exceptionally long lifespan and abundant fortune.

Within the forest, I was also regarded as a symbol of auspiciousness.

Though I could not compare to the Emperor Auspicious Beast, born from the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest, I was still considered an auspicious beast of fortune.

When ordinary soul beasts cultivated alongside me, their cultivation could rapidly increase.

One day, relying on my formidable defense, I quietly approached the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, where the Lake of Life was located.

Here, I absorbed the rich energy of heaven and earth released by an ice silkworm.

In a short time, my cultivation rapidly grew!

With the help of this energy of heaven and earth, I thoroughly established myself among hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

But I was not content to have my cultivation stagnate at a hundred thousand years.

So, while Di Tian, the soul beast overlord, was away, I quietly slipped into the depths of the Lake of Life.

I wanted to uncover the secret behind Di Tian becoming an overlord!

There had to be something extraordinary within the Lake of Life he guarded.

The moment I entered the Lake of Life, I was stunned by the rich life force and energy of heaven and earth in its waters.

No wonder!

No wonder Di Tian could become the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest. He had occupied such a treasure land!

I desperately swam toward the bottom of the lake, toward the place where the fluctuations of life were most concentrated.

At the bottom of the lake, I discovered a patch of ore filled with dense life force.

They smelled so delicious!

To me, they possessed a simply fatal allure.

I rushed forward and bit down.

At first, the life force within my body surged wildly.

But when the ore I swallowed reached a certain limit, it actually began devouring my life force in return.

My origin was consumed by the ore.

My lifespan also slowly began to disappear.

I was terrified. With no other choice, I had to sacrifice part of my origin power to completely refine the ore.

But I had lost too much of my origin, and I ended up falling asleep in the Lake of Life.

After an unknown amount of time, the rich energy of heaven and earth within the lake nourished my body and gradually restored me.

The moment I woke up, I saw a massive silver dragon, more than a hundred zhang in length, staring at me with teasing eyes.

Her voice echoed across the lakebed. "A mere Golden Tortoiseshell, and you dared to eat the treasure at my doorstep."

From this silver dragon, I sensed an aura far beyond Di Tian's.

Oh, great.

I knew I was finished.

But during my conversation with this silver dragon, I instead found a sliver of hope.

It was even a chance to become a god and break the shackles binding soul beasts.

After that strange metal devoured my lifespan, I no longer had a choice.

I could only agree to her terms, agree to this common ruler of soul beasts.

Crack, crack!

Crisp cracking sounds came from within the blood cocoon.

The next moment, dense soul power fluctuations spread from within.

The blood cocoon shattered, and Ye Ming quietly rose to his feet.

Gold and silver swirled within his eyes, while the dragon scales covering his body shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

Black, black, black, red—four immensely terrifying soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet, flashing with dazzling yet soul-stirring fiendish light.

Ye Ming glanced over Di Tian and the others, who were watching him anxiously, and smiled.

The hundred-thousand-year soul ring had been condensed successfully!

His own bottleneck had also been broken, and he had officially entered the Soul Ancestor realm.

As he slightly closed his eyes, the two soul skills bestowed by the hundred-thousand-year soul ring surfaced in his mind.

Fourth soul skill: Golden Dragon Devours the Heavens.

Once activated, it absorbed all energy of heaven and earth and elemental energy within a certain range into the user's body, using it to remove abnormal conditions, restore soul power, or enhance combat strength.

Overbearing!

The effect of removing abnormal conditions alone made this hundred-thousand-year soul ring worthwhile, not to mention that it could also selectively restore soul power or enhance combat power.

Fourth soul skill: Golden Dragon Wing Slash.

It condensed golden dragon wings for flight. The dragon wings could tear through the air to accelerate flight, and could also unleash three powerful dragon wing slashes.

Perfect!

With the ability to fly, another missing piece of his combat strength had been filled in!

The two soul skills bestowed by a hundred-thousand-year soul ring were terrifying indeed!

Just as Ye Ming was comprehending his soul skills, the surface of the Lake of Life suddenly burst apart.

The Elemental Silver Dragon shot out of the lake and casually tossed a turtle covered entirely in brilliant gold onto the shore.

"Ye Ming, Ye Ming~ I brought you a reward!"