Choice of Swiftness and the Blazing Azure Luan's Appearance

Having successfully secured 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 increasingly apparent, while more and more crimson rocks appeared around them, creating a strange sight as though the land had been seared by blazing fire for ages.

When they reached an area filled with jagged rocks, a series of sharp, hurried screeches suddenly came from ahead. Countless gray shadows darted rapidly through the Stone Forest, stirring gusts of wind in their wake.

"It's a troop of Swift Monkeys!" Dongyue Ling's gaze sharpened as he recognized them at once. The monkeys were not large, covered in gray fur, with long and powerful limbs. They leaped through the craggy rocks as swiftly as if they were 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, it is extremely difficult for them to cultivate to high ages. Even ten-thousand-year individuals are exceedingly rare within their troop, and they can only occupy the middle to lower ranks of the soul beast food chain."

Li Xuansheng swept his gaze over the monkeys and swiftly locked onto one that was slightly larger, especially nimble, and had a conspicuous tuft of white fur on its forehead. "That one is roughly five thousand three hundred years old. It's perfect for A-Lin." He pointed toward the target.

Dongyue Lin, the chubby boy, watched the astonishingly swift monkey with both nervousness and anticipation. His Glazed Ring was an auxiliary-type martial soul. If he could gain a soul skill that enhanced speed, it would be immensely meaningful whether for strengthening the team or saving his own life.

"End this quickly. Don't alert the entire troop," Dongyue Qingxuan ordered.

The strategy was simple: exploit the Swift Monkey's weak defense. Li Xuansheng, Dongyue Ling, and the others quickly spread out, driving and harassing the troop from the flanks to create confusion. Meanwhile, Li Xuanbei quietly released vines from the Book of Nature and laid a trap across the ground.

The white-foreheaded Swift Monkey was exceptionally alert, but under the deliberate pressure of the group as they drove it and compressed its range of movement, it ultimately stepped into the area where Li Xuanbei had planted the vines.

"Got it!" Li Xuanbei shouted.

"Second soul skill, Ringlight Binding!" Dongyue Xuejian's Heavenly Heart Ring flew out almost at the same time. Two white rings precisely locked around the white-foreheaded monkey's legs, causing its body to falter.

Just as it struggled to snap the restraints through brute force, Li Xuansheng moved. He did not use a soul skill that consumed enormous amounts of power. Instead, he simply poured soul power into his legs and shot forward, the Divine Phoenix Halberd carrying a concentrated golden-red gleam as it stabbed out like lightning.

"Pfft!"

The halberd's tip slashed directly across 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 for which it was renowned had ultimately failed to save its life in the face of layered restraints, absolute power, and precision. Seeing this, the troop let out terrified shrieks before scattering in all directions and 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 ring. In just over an hour, he successfully broke through and officially became a level forty-one Soul Ancestor.

He jumped up excitedly and displayed his fourth soul skill. "My fourth soul skill is called Swift Radiance! It can place a high-speed state on a single target 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 usefulness of such a powerful single-target acceleration soul skill within 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 at once. Yet single-target skills also meant concentrated strength. A support skill that could only affect one person was proof that its potency was certainly not weak.

After a brief rest, the team set out once more. As they continued deeper in, the fire-element energy in the air grew denser and denser. They could even see faint red light seeping from cracks in the ground.

By afternoon, Elder Dongyue Qingxuan, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and made a gesture for silence. "There are powerful energy fluctuations ahead. Be careful," he said quietly.

Everyone immediately concealed their presence and carefully crept forward beneath the cover of the rocks. After climbing a higher crimson ridge, the view before them suddenly opened up, and everyone held their breath.

Below lay an enormous basin. At its center was one of the targets of their journey—the Blazing Azure Luan!

It was over five meters long, with a wingspan nearing ten meters. Its body was covered in crimson feathers like burning flames, while its long tail feathers were flowing and magnificent. A noble feathered crest rested atop its head, and its sharp eyes resembled burning amber. The scorching aura and pressure it emitted vastly surpassed those of ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts. This was clearly the powerful existence that had been misjudged as ten thousand years old but had actually reached twenty-one thousand years of cultivation!

At that moment, however, the noble Blazing Azure Luan was not alone. It was locked in a fierce battle with another soul beast. That creature was covered in dark-red scales, shaped like a massive lizard, and bore 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, tumbling rocks, and surging flames. The Blazing Azure Luan soared through the sky, and with every beat of its wings, it scattered countless fireballs the size of washbasins, smashing them toward the Lava Earth Dragon like a meteor shower of flame. At times, it dove down, its blazing claws savagely raking the earth dragon's back and leaving deep scorch marks.

Although the Lava Earth Dragon could not fly, its defense was extraordinarily formidable. Its dark-red scales gleamed as it withstood most of the fireball attacks, with only a few truly breaking through its defenses. Its thick tail swept like a giant whip, shattering massive boulders, while its huge jaws periodically spewed streams of scorching magma, forcing the Blazing Azure Luan in the air to dodge and maneuver.

"Boom!"

A scorching stream of magma collided with a dense rain of fire in midair, erupting with an ear-splitting roar. A violent energy shockwave swept outward, making even the distant onlookers feel their skin burn.

The explosive force and destructive power of a battle between ten-thousand-year soul beasts were plain to see!

Li Xuansheng stared fixedly at the Blazing Azure Luan as it weaved through the flames, elegant yet powerful, his gaze burning. This was his ideal opponent—the vessel for the fifth soul ring that could grant him the strongest attack!

"When they both suffer..." he murmured, tightening his grip on the Divine Phoenix Halberd. He had already made his decision in his heart.