External Soul Bone

As Gu Yue vanished, the forest fell silent. Golden motes dispersed into the air as though they had never existed.

Fallen leaves continued to drift down, leaving only the ground plowed by battle and the grayish-white radiance that had yet to fade from the air.

Ziyang stood where he was and smiled faintly. "Your business is done. Let's go find the Ascension Platform guardian."

Na'er tidied herself up, her silver hair drifting behind her. She spun the spear in her hand, and it vanished into her palm. Then she dusted off her skirt, though there was no dust on it, and said indignantly, "Fine, let's go. Next time, I'll definitely defeat Gu Yue."

With that, the two humans, one beast, and one tiger headed deeper into the forest.

Austin Griffin seemed rather listless, as though he found what came next boring.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger followed behind them, its wings slightly tucked in. Its Evil God Hook swayed lightly, leaving a trail across the fallen leaves like a signpost pointing toward an unknown path.

The deeper they went into the forest, the dimmer the light became. Sunlight was sliced into fragments by the canopy, casting mottled shadows across the ground.

Ziyang's steps were slow, and he eventually stopped before an ancient tree.

They had finally found the Ascension Platform guardian: a hundred-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

It emerged from a cave, over three meters tall and covered in dark-golden fur that gleamed with a metallic luster beneath the sunlight.

Its arms were especially thick and powerful. Its two foreclaws were dark-golden blades over a meter long, scraping against the ground and throwing off sizzling sparks.

A hundred-year beast could battle a ten-thousand-year one.

That was the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, the tyrant of the jungle, the bear among all bears.

Ziyang's gaze settled on the massive bear, carrying a scrutinizing look. He said to Na'er beside him, "You don't need to act. Leave it to me."

"I don't need to deal with such a minor character." Na'er folded her arms across her chest.

"Fine." Ziyang smiled. "Austin Griffin, go."

At that, Austin Griffin raised both heads and glanced at the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear without the slightest interest. Then he looked at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger beside him, yawned, and pointed forward with his tail.

"Little Evil, you go. I'll leave this little thing to you."

"Just wait. I've been around for ten thousand years. Later, we'll properly see which of us is stronger." The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had a bit of a rebellious streak too.

There was a chain of restraint between this human and the two beasts, though it only went one way.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear let out a deafening roar, raising its dark-golden claws high and stirring up fierce wind pressure. But the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was faster.

Like a streak of black lightning.

The Evil God Tiger's body twisted through the air, and in the next instant, it appeared at the giant bear's side. Its tail lashed out, the Evil God Hook carving a pitch-black arc as it struck the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's waist.

The sound of shattering bones was crisp and brief. The giant bear's massive body was flung into the air, crashing through three ancient trees before rolling amid the fallen leaves.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear struggled to its feet, fury blazing in its pupils. As the forest tyrant of the outer region, when had it ever encountered something like this?

Even though its bloodline seemed to be suppressed by the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

It swung its claws, sending several golden blades of light screaming through the air.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger did not dodge.

It charged head-on, beating its wings and making an abrupt midair turn that defied the laws of physics. As it evaded the light blades, its foreclaws pressed down on the giant bear's head.

Black currents poured from its palms, burrowing like living creatures into the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's eyes, ears, mouth, and nostrils.

The giant bear's roar turned into a wail.

It wildly swung its claws, gouging deep trenches into the surrounding trunks, but the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger remained clinging to its back. The Evil God Hook stabbed in again and again, drawing bright-red blood.

As that blood fell onto the leaves, it let out corrosive sizzling sounds.

"It's over." The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's voice was icy, and a confident smile appeared on its face.

Its body suddenly expanded as its power erupted.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's movements became incredibly slow before it. Its pupils reflected the Evil God Tiger's gaping jaws and rows of sharp teeth.

Bite.

The sound of bones shattering rang especially clearly through the silent forest.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's head drooped at an unnatural angle. The light gradually faded from its dark-golden pupils, and its enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger leaped down from the corpse and shook the blood from its body.

The next moment, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's corpse began to glow.

The radiance seeped out from within, as though something inside was burning.

Its dark-golden body transformed into countless fine golden motes, swept up by the wind and spiraling into Ziyang and Na'er's bodies.

Once the motes dispersed, the true treasure finally revealed itself.

A segment of dark-golden bone appeared atop the fallen leaves, shaped like a palm.

Ziyang walked over and bent down to pick it up.

The palm bone felt slightly heavy in his hand and still retained some warmth, like freshly forged metal. He could sense the power contained within it—violent yet pure—flowing slowly inside the bone.

"So this is the Ascension Platform guardian's reward?" Ziyang muttered knowingly.

Na'er straightened up from beside a tree, silver hair falling over her shoulders. "It's a Soul Bone—an External Soul Bone, at that. Hurry and absorb it. I'll stand guard for you."

"Alright." Ziyang answered, then sat down cross-legged and held the palm bone flat above his right hand.

The bone lit up with golden light. Dark-golden radiance began to flow, approaching his palm as though it were alive.

The instant it touched him, a burning sensation pierced through his skin and into his marrow. He frowned but did not pull back his hand.

Gradually, the palm bone began to melt.

Like wax licked by flames, its edges softened and dripped away, transforming into dark-golden gel that seeped drop by drop into Ziyang's right palm.

Ziyang's breathing remained steady, completely unaffected by the violent energy.

The gel continued to pour in, and the shape of the palm bone gradually blurred before completely liquefying and wrapping around his entire right hand. Dark-golden light spilled from between his fingers, forming a faint mist in the air before rapidly being absorbed through his skin.

The fusion process was long and slow.

Na'er leaned against the tree trunk, her gaze fixed on Ziyang's twisted right hand.

Austin Griffin's two heads kept looking around, vigilantly watching for movement deeper in the forest.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger lay amid the fallen leaves with its wings tucked in. Only its tail occasionally twitched lightly. With it here, what blind Soul Beast would dare come close?

At last, the radiance receded.

Ziyang spread open his right hand. Fine dark-golden threads remained between the lines of his palm. He clenched his fist, and his bones gave a soft crack. When he spread his fingers, claws extended, and even the air seemed to tear apart.

"There's still plenty of time. Should we keep walking?" he asked Na'er.

"Let's go. Let's see if there's anything fun." Na'er was also curious about other Soul Masters. In the Spirit Pagoda, the Soul Masters she fought were all veterans. She wanted to fight some ordinary Soul Masters.

With that, the two of them continued exploring toward the outer region of the Ascension Platform.