Having successfully obtained Li Xuanbei's ideal fifth soul ring, the team's morale was high as they continued toward Redstone Mountain. The scorching heat in the air grew more obvious, while the crimson rocks around them became increasingly numerous, creating a strange landscape as if it had long been scorched by blazing flames.
As they entered an area filled with jagged rocks, a shrill, rapid series of squeaks suddenly came from ahead. Countless gray shadows darted through the Stone Forest at incredible speed, kicking up gusts of wind.
"It's a troop of Swift Monkeys!" Dongyue Ling's gaze sharpened as he immediately recognized them. The monkeys were not large, covered in gray fur, with long, powerful limbs. They leaped through the rugged rocks as swiftly as flying, moving so fast they nearly left afterimages. Just as Elder Mu Yi had said, their speed was among the best of Soul Beasts at the same cultivation level.
"These monkeys have fairly average attack and defense," Elder Li Tianji said. "Precisely because of that, they find it extremely difficult to cultivate to high ages. A troop producing even one with ten-thousand-year cultivation is exceedingly rare. They can only occupy the lower-middle ranks of the Soul Beast food chain."
Li Xuansheng swept his gaze across the troop and quickly locked onto one that was slightly larger, exceptionally agile, and had a striking tuft of white fur on its forehead. "That one is around five thousand three hundred years old. It's perfect for A-Lin." He pointed at the target.
Dongyue Lin, the little chubby boy, looked at the astonishingly fast monkey with both nervousness and anticipation. His Glazed Ring was an auxiliary martial soul. If he could gain a soul skill that enhanced speed, it would be tremendously meaningful whether for boosting the team or saving his own life.
"Make it quick. Don't alarm the entire troop," Dongyue Qingxuan ordered.
The strategy was simple: exploit the Swift Monkeys' weak defense. Li Xuansheng, Dongyue Ling, and the others quickly spread out, driving and disrupting the monkey troop from the flanks to create chaos. Meanwhile, Li Xuanbei quietly released vines from the Book of Nature, laying traps across the ground.
The white-foreheaded Swift Monkey was unusually vigilant, but under the group's deliberate herding and the gradual restriction of its movements, it ultimately stepped into the area where Li Xuanbei had laid his vines.
"Got it!" Li Xuanbei said in a low voice.
"Second soul skill, Ringlight Binding!" Dongyue Xuejian's Heavenly Heart Ring flew out almost simultaneously. Two white rings accurately locked around the white-foreheaded monkey's legs, halting its body.
Just as it struggled to break the restraints through brute force, Li Xuansheng moved. He did not use a soul skill that consumed a great deal of power. Instead, he merely channeled Soul Power into his legs and shot forward. The Divine Phoenix Halberd flashed with condensed golden-red light as it stabbed out like lightning.
"Pfft!"
The halberd's tip directly slashed the Swift Monkey's legs.
"A-Lin!" Li Xuansheng called, turning his head.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Dongyue Lin jogged forward and lightly drew his dagger across it, ending its life.
The speed that had made it famous ultimately could not save it before multiple restraints and absolute power and precision. At the sight, the monkey troop let out terrified shrieks and scattered in an instant, vanishing into the depths of the Stone Forest.
A purple soul ring slowly condensed.
Under the protection of the two elders, Dongyue Lin began absorbing the five-thousand-three-hundred-year soul ring. The process was far easier than Li Xuanbei's absorption of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast ring. In just over two hours, he successfully broke through and officially became a rank forty-one Soul Ancestor.
He excitedly jumped up and displayed his fourth soul skill. "My fourth soul skill is called Swift Radiance! It can grant a single target a high-speed state for a period of time, greatly increasing their movement and attack speed!"
"That's wonderful, A-Lin!" Dongyue Yu happily patted his younger brother on the shoulder. The others also offered their congratulations. The role of such a powerful single-target acceleration soul skill in a team could not be underestimated.
As everyone knew, in terms of support, single-target skills might seem inferior to group skills that could assist many people. Yet single-target skills also meant focused power. A support skill that could only affect one person was proof that its strength was absolutely not lacking.
After a brief rest, the team set out again. As they continued deeper in, the fire-element energy in the air grew increasingly dense. They could even see faint red light seeping from some cracks in the ground.
By the afternoon, Elder Dongyue Qingxuan, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped. He made a gesture for silence and said softly, "There are powerful energy fluctuations ahead. Be careful."
Everyone immediately suppressed their presence and carefully crept forward under the cover of the rocks. After climbing a relatively high crimson ridge, the scene before them suddenly opened up, and everyone held their breath.
Below lay an enormous basin. At its center stood one of the targets of their journey—the Blazing Azure Luan!
It was over five meters long, with a wingspan approaching ten meters. Its entire body was covered in crimson feathers that seemed to burn with flames. Its long tail feathers were elegant and magnificent, while a noble crest adorned its head. Its sharp eyes resembled burning amber. The scorching aura and pressure radiating from its body far surpassed those of an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It was clearly the powerful existence that had been mistakenly judged as ten thousand years old but had actually reached twenty-one thousand years of cultivation!
Yet this noble Blazing Azure Luan was not alone. It was fiercely battling another Soul Beast. That creature was covered in dark-red scales, shaped like a giant lizard with a single horn on its head—the Lava Earth Dragon! Judging by its aura, its cultivation was also close to twenty thousand years.
The battlefield of the two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts was filled with flying sand, shattered stones, and surging flames. The Blazing Azure Luan soared through the sky, its wings scattering countless fireballs the size of basins, which crashed toward the Lava Earth Dragon like a meteor shower of flame. At times, it dove down, its flame-wreathed talons viciously tearing at the earth dragon's back and leaving deep scorch marks.
Though the Lava Earth Dragon could not fly, its defense was astonishing. Its dark-red scales gleamed as they withstood most of the fireballs, with only a few truly managing to pierce its defenses. Its thick tail swept like a massive whip, smashing boulders one after another. From its gaping jaws, it periodically spewed scorching streams of magma, forcing the Blazing Azure Luan in the air to evade and maneuver.
"Boom!"
A scorching stream of magma collided with a dense rain of fire in midair, erupting with a deafening roar. A violent energy shockwave swept outward, making even the distant onlookers feel a burning pain across their skin.
The explosive force and destructive power of a battle between Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were plain to see!
Li Xuansheng stared intently at the Blazing Azure Luan as it weaved through the flames, graceful yet powerful, his gaze blazing. This was his ideal opponent—the vessel for the fifth soul ring that could grant him the strongest attack!
"Wait until they both suffer..." he muttered, tightening his grip around the Divine Phoenix Halberd. He had already made his decision.
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