Soul Beast Riot, Life Gold, and a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone

Yan Jingchuan stood atop a tree, staring unblinkingly at the lake.

He was observing—observing that Golden Tortoiseshell and every Soul Beast gathered around it.

Time passed second by second. One hand rested against the trunk, and Yan Jingchuan made no other movement, save for his eyes shifting from time to time.

The night wind stirred his hair as the glow of dawn spread across the horizon.

Day had broken, and Yan Jingchuan had already formulated a plan.

After pondering for a moment, he crouched down and carefully explained his strategy for the target to the three Titled Douluo.

Among such a massive group of ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts, only the Holy Spirit Cult's three Titled Douluo could capture that Golden Tortoiseshell.

No matter how monstrous Yan Jingchuan was, he was currently only a two-ring Grand Soul Master. Charging in would be suicide. At most, he could rely on his soul tools to hold out a little longer, but being torn to pieces would only be a matter of time.

When Zhang Peng and the other two learned that Yan Jingchuan's true target was that sickly Golden Tortoiseshell, they visibly relaxed.

This was near the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. As Titled Douluo, the three of them knew all too well what lay within that core region.

If they were truly asked to capture some powerful ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, or even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, whether they could manage it was one question. Accidentally causing too much commotion and drawing the pursuit of ferocious beasts was another.

Whether they could even survive then would be uncertain.

That Golden Tortoiseshell, around thirty thousand years old, was obviously the easiest target to bully and the least difficult to cripple and take away.

None of the three considered the possibility of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. They only wanted to act quickly and leave this dangerous place.

How could Yan Jingchuan not understand that? That was why his arrangement centered on a swift battle.

Around noon, a sinister wind suddenly rose and dark clouds filled the sky. Several Soul Beasts seventy to eighty thousand years old had been dozing with narrowed eyes when they abruptly opened them.

Such a change was clearly abnormal. Most ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts had already developed rudimentary intelligence; there was no way they could fail to notice such an obvious disturbance.

Low growls sounded one after another. At that moment, Zhang Peng appeared above them.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"

"Eighth Soul Skill, Twelve Beast Envoys!"

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—two of Zhang Peng's nine Soul Rings lit up in succession as he immediately went all out.

A terrifying Martial Soul Avatar with the body of a tiger, the tail of a scorpion, and a pair of enormous wings descended. Immediately afterward, twelve Soul Beast spirits were summoned.

Zhang Peng's Scorpion Tiger Martial Soul was a subspecies of the Darkdemon Evil God Tiger. Though it was not as powerful as the Darkdemon Evil God Tiger, it possessed equally formidable evil attributes.

The Scorpion Tiger Martial Soul needed to continuously devour the blood and souls of Soul Beasts to evolve. This was also the core reason Zhang Peng had been classified as an Evil Soul Master.

The Twelve Beast Envoys were Zhang Peng's signature skill, capable of summoning twelve beast spirits each equivalent to an eight-ring Soul Douluo to assist in battle.

These so-called beast spirits were special entities formed from the souls of Soul Beasts he had absorbed, combined with his own spiritual power and soul power.

The beast spirits possessed extremely high physical resistance and dual attack attributes, combining physical and spiritual attacks. Zhang Peng could even merge into any beast spirit at any time to launch surprise attacks, catching his enemies off guard.

Moreover, the beast spirits' most powerful trait was that when attacked or damaged, they could absorb the souls of nearby ordinary Soul Beasts to replenish their expenditure, recovering while fighting.

Zhang Peng alone temporarily held back all the powerful Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old.

The beast spirits shrouded in black mist slaughtered each other with the Soul Beasts. Zhang Peng also restrained two flying Soul Beasts thirty to forty thousand years old, greatly reducing the pressure on Ming Lei and Youming.

The frontal battle instantly descended into chaos, with beast roars rising and falling without end.

"Ninth Soul Skill, Nether Lightning Escape!"

While everyone's attention was focused on Zhang Peng, a streak of pitch-black lightning flashed past at extreme speed, shooting straight toward the lake where the Golden Tortoiseshells were gathered.

The ninety-second-level Nether Lightning Douluo transformed into Nether Lightning, erupting with terrifying explosive force. In the blink of an eye, he arrived among several tiger-type Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old.

With the ninth-grade soul tool Nether Lightning Sword in one hand and the ninth-grade soul tool Purple Radiant Heavenly Dragon Sword in the other, purple and black lightning crazily reaped the lives of the lower-age Soul Beasts.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"

With his Ninth and Seventh Soul Skills combined, the Nether Lightning Douluo's explosive power climbed another level. In an instant, he closed in on a Golden Tortoiseshell over seventy thousand years old.

The moment Zhang Peng attacked, all the Soul Beasts had become alert. Seeing the Nether Lightning Douluo rushing at it, the Golden Tortoiseshell was so frightened that it immediately withdrew into its shell.

The glittering golden shell seemed coated in a layer of brilliant light, making its already formidable defenses utterly impregnable.

Unfortunately, it was facing the Nether Lightning Douluo. Ming Lei needed to absorb the aura of death to cultivate more effectively, giving him unimaginable sinister energy and penetrating power.

The Golden Tortoiseshell could block most attacks, but it could not emerge completely unscathed.

Knowing this, the Nether Lightning Douluo wielded his two ninth-grade soul tools with all his strength, repeatedly hacking at the Golden Tortoiseshell's shell.

Purple-black lightning flew in every direction, sending huge splashes into the air as the Golden Tortoiseshell let out pained howls.

The Soul Beasts guarding the Golden Tortoiseshells grew anxious at once. They rushed toward the Nether Lightning Douluo, wanting to eliminate him first. Even the high-age Soul Beasts battling Zhang Peng tried to break away and return to help.

Naturally, Zhang Peng would not let them have their way. He unleashed his Sixth and Ninth Soul Skills, continuously erupting with power as he tightly entangled them.

Watching from afar, Yan Jingchuan saw the Soul Beasts caught in a dilemma. They had to resist Zhang Peng's attacks while desperately trying to save the Golden Tortoiseshell beneath the Nether Lightning Douluo's sword. Pulled in both directions, they could not fully resolve either side. If a third person intervened, the Soul Beasts would have no attention to spare.

This was precisely Yan Jingchuan's tactic. Zhang Peng was the overt piece, restraining most of the Soul Beasts, while Ming Lei used his assault on the other Golden Tortoiseshells as bait to force the remaining Soul Beasts to come to their rescue.

As the beings the Soul Beasts had to protect, once the Golden Tortoiseshells were injured, they would inevitably become frantic. They could not kill Ming Lei quickly either. At that point, the Nether Douluo could swiftly step in and finish the job, leaving them no chance to interfere.

Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts might possess intelligence, but compared to humans, they were little different from three-year-old children. A small scheme was enough to make them run in circles.

Beside the Golden Tortoiseshell that contained Life Gold, the Nether Douluo suddenly appeared, seizing the moment.

"Ninth Soul Skill, Absolute Nether Blood Rakshasa!"

The Nether Douluo, who had already activated his Martial Soul Avatar, immediately opened with a killing move.

The Nether Douluo's Nether Sword Martial Soul possessed a very unique ability: it could open a companion space, similar to a small plane.

In battle, the Nether Douluo could freely move between real space and the companion space, making his attacks both tangible and illusory, unpredictable as ghosts and gods.

Thus, among all the Holy Spirit Cult's elders, he was regarded as both the most lethal and the most difficult to deal with.

The Golden Tortoiseshell, suffering from the backlash, widened its eyes. It hurriedly tried to defend itself, but it was already too late.

A bloody red radiance flared across its golden shell, and a cross-shaped rupture appeared in space.

Already incomparably weak, the Golden Tortoiseshell did not even have time to scream before the Nether Douluo's full-force strike heavily wounded it and knocked it unconscious on the spot.

"Success!"

Activating a controlling soul tool, chains of soul power wrapped around the Golden Tortoiseshell and lifted its entire body out of the lake.

Seeing that Youming had succeeded, Zhang Peng and Ming Lei began retreating without hesitation, leaving only the twelve beast spirits behind to cover their escape.

They carried that Golden Tortoiseshell as they rushed toward Yan Jingchuan.

Yan Jingchuan had long been prepared. With a casual toss, he dropped a Shrek Academy badge, framing Shrek Academy for the deed.

The Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul possessed him as he unleashed his Second Soul Skill with all his strength.

"Dark Condensing Soul Devourer!"

His soul power was drained dry as a vast darkness swallowed the forest, obscuring the Soul Beasts' vision and preventing their pursuit.

Zhang Peng grabbed Yan Jingchuan, whose soul power had been exhausted, and fled at full speed toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The surrounding trees rapidly blurred backward. After hastily using a milk bottle to recover some soul power, Yan Jingchuan turned to look at the Golden Tortoiseshell.

"Ming Lei, kill it. Stop carrying it around!"

Bringing such a huge creature would greatly slow them down. Attacking an auspicious Soul Beast beneath the ferocious beasts' very eyes meant discovery was only a matter of time. The ferocious beasts would certainly fly into a rage, so they had to get as far from the core region as possible.

Ming Lei was deeply confused upon hearing the order. If he killed this turtle, what about its Soul Ring? No one else would be able to absorb it. Surely they were not doing this solely for the Soul Bone? Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts did not guarantee Soul Bone drops.

Seeing that Ming Lei still wanted to ask something, Yan Jingchuan had no time to waste on explanations. Darkgolden Terrorclaws shot out, piercing through the Golden Tortoiseshell's head in a single strike.

A blood-red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly rose.

Zhang Peng and the other two were shaken to their cores. They had never imagined that this was actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

Yan Jingchuan moved cleanly and decisively, cutting open the Golden Tortoiseshell's corpse and removing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone and a piece of gold-green metal, then storing them all in his storage soul tool.

The Nether Douluo quickly came to his senses and discarded the useless corpse.