Half an hour passed, and Meng Hongchen had finished absorbing her third Soul Ring. Ye Fan and the others had also finished studying the External Soul Bone.
Now, all that remained was to decide who would absorb it.
Generally speaking, whichever person killed a Soul Beast would own its Soul Bone.
But this Soul Bone was somewhat different.
Given Meng Hongchen's personality, she definitely would not personally dissect the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse to search for the Soul Bone.
Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen would not do so either.
Strictly speaking, this Soul Bone belonged to Ye Fan.
That was also what Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen believed.
But Ye Fan ultimately refused them firmly. "Teacher, Brother Xiao Xiao, Sister Meng Meng!"
"You don't need to persuade me."
"This Soul Bone can only produce its greatest effect when paired with Sister Meng Meng's third Soul Ring."
Ye Fan thought to himself, What a joke. External Soul Bones may be rare, but with my Ring Teacher, what can't I get?
How could I possibly waste this opportunity on a mere thousand-year External Soul Bone?
Although the External Eight Spider Lances Soul Bone could evolve along with a Soul Master's cultivation,
its foundation was undoubtedly still lacking.
Since Ye Fan had said this much, Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen said nothing more.
Meng Hongchen said nothing, but happily threw herself onto Ye Fan and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Xiao Fan."
"Big Sister will definitely protect you."
Ye Fan could only helplessly accept Meng Hongchen's embrace.
In the end, Meng Hongchen accepted the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances, then sat down to absorb it. Her Soul Power broke through once more, reaching level 36 with astonishing speed.
Meng Hongchen's hunt for her third Soul Ring had come to an end. The next priority was obtaining Ye Fan's second and third Soul Rings.
This gave Ye Fan quite a headache.
He could not really follow Jing Hongchen and the others' suggestion and casually find some thousand-year Soul Beast to obtain one from. That would be a tremendous loss.
Left with no choice, Ye Fan once again asked the God of Destruction inside the ring.
"Teacher, are you there?"
"Have you found a lead for my second Soul Ring?"
But unfortunately, Ye Fan was met with a long silence.
"Could Teacher be in seclusion?"
"Or has he gone out?"
Ye Fan thought so.
Ye Fan could only delay Jing Hongchen and the others' progress in searching for a thousand-year Soul Beast while intermittently asking the God of Destruction in the ring.
Hearing this, the God of Destruction also had a headache.
Logically speaking, Ye Fan's second Soul Ring should have been the Ice Empress from the Far North.
But Ye Fan was currently traveling with Jing Hongchen and the others. He could not exactly have Ye Fan tell Jing Hongchen, "Teacher, I want to go to the Far North to obtain my second Soul Ring."
It would be strange if Jing Hongchen did not suspect that something was wrong with Ye Fan.
With no other choice, the God of Destruction could only continuously send out his divine sense to search for a suitable Soul Beast.
A long time passed.
"Hm? It's actually her!"
The God of Destruction seemed to have discovered something.
At last, he replied to Ye Fan. "Ye Fan, search in that direction. There is a Soul Beast there that suits you."
Upon receiving the God of Destruction's reply, Ye Fan was instantly overjoyed.
"Teacher, you finally showed up. That's great."
"I thought you were gone, old man!"
The God of Destruction in the ring was covered in black lines.
But in the end, he continued guiding Ye Fan toward the target.
In the real world, Ye Fan said to Jing Hongchen and the others, "Teacher, I can sense a pretty good Soul Beast suitable for me in that direction."
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen were all thrilled.
"This kid has finally found a Soul Beast he likes."
Thus, without the slightest suspicion, everyone followed Ye Fan toward the direction indicated by the God of Destruction.
Soon, following the guidance, they quickly entered a deep, secluded valley. Warm, soft golden light covered the ground between the slopes, and when they looked up, they saw a strange Soul Beast with an air of nobility.
It resembled a male lion, its entire body covered in translucent golden fur. Under the sunlight, it gleamed with shifting halos like crystal, while fine golden scales faintly showed beneath its fur. Its snout was somewhat longer than that of an ordinary lion-like beast.
Its four claws resembled dragon claws, with a cluster of flickering golden flames lingering beneath each one. Most remarkable of all was the third eye, a vertical pupil on its forehead. Its two eyes shone with gentle golden light, while the vertical pupil rippled with an eerie crimson glow. A faint aura of auspiciousness surrounded its body.
"What a beautiful Soul Beast!" Meng Hongchen was the first to cry out softly, her eyes filled with amazement.
As a Titled Douluo, Jing Hongchen immediately sensed that this beast's Soul Power foundation far surpassed that of an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast. Its aura was mysterious and extraordinary, but he did not think too deeply about the oddity. Turning to Ye Fan, he asked in a deep voice:
"Xiao Fan, are you sure it's this one? If you've decided, Teacher will make a move and help you restrain her!"
Ye Fan looked at the golden Soul Beast standing quietly there, its gaze clear and pure. The three-eyed Soul Beast before him overlapped with the descriptions from his memories.
"Three-Eyed Golden Lion—the Emperor Auspicious Beast!"
Ye Fan let out a mournful sigh.
"Fuck!"
"Ring Teacher, are you trying to get me killed?"
"If I kill her for a Soul Ring now,"
"won't the entire Star Dou Great Forest hunt me down?"
Ye Fan thought to himself, Did Ring Teacher do this intentionally or unintentionally? Why do I feel like I'm walking someone else's old path?
If that's really the case, then my Ring Teacher is way too formidable.
Thinking of this, Ye Fan hurriedly stopped Jing Hongchen, who was about to act. "Teacher, don't make a move yet."
"Who are you?"
At that moment, the Emperor Auspicious Beast in the distance also noticed Ye Fan, Jing Hongchen, and the others, speaking human words.
Hearing this, Ye Fan became even more certain that this talking Soul Beast was the Emperor Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen and the others saw that this three-eyed Soul Beast could actually speak.
They were instantly overjoyed. "A transformed Soul Beast?"
Even Jing Hongchen felt excited just thinking about it.
Xiao Hongchen, meanwhile, envied Ye Fan's ridiculously good luck. The Soul Beast he casually found was actually a transformed Soul Beast that could speak.
As for Meng Hongchen, she was sincerely happy for Ye Fan.
Just as everyone was feeling something different,
at the same time, the third eye on the Emperor Auspicious Beast's forehead continuously flashed, firing toward Jing Hongchen, Ye Fan, and the others.
For a moment, Jing Hongchen, Ye Fan, and the others were unable to move.
Then, the Emperor Auspicious Beast immediately tried to flee.
But Jing Hongchen was a mighty Titled Douluo. Although the Emperor Auspicious Beast could briefly control him with the Power of Destiny,
Jing Hongchen quickly regained his mobility. He activated his flying Soul Tool and, in a flash, caught up above the Emperor Auspicious Beast.
His Soul Power formed a hand that tightly gripped the Emperor Auspicious Beast by the neck.
No matter how she struggled, she could not break free.
"You cannot kill me!"
"If you kill me, you'll regret it."
"Oh? Then I'd like to see what we'll regret if we kill you."
As he spoke, Jing Hongchen sealed the Emperor Auspicious Beast's Soul Power and tossed her to Ye Fan.
"Xiao Fan, this is your second Soul Ring."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor Auspicious Beast struggled even harder. "Uncle Red King, save me!"
"Uncle Di Tian, save me!"
Jing Hongchen felt that those two names sounded familiar. "The fierce beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Jing Hongchen was horrified.
Ye Fan was also startled upon hearing those familiar names.
"Kill her!"
"Di Tian will arrive the next second."
After hesitating for a while, Ye Fan asked the God of Destruction in the ring, "Teacher, can you defeat an Ultimate Douluo?"
"At my peak, I could destroy one with a raised hand."
Hearing this, Ye Fan relaxed and was just about to seek fortune amid danger.
The next instant, the God of Destruction said, "Now? I can still deal with a soul body, but against a real Ultimate Douluo, I can only call upon the power of your body."
"My advice is to turn around and run."
Before you continue