Earthbone Demon Armor Beast!

When those Soul Beasts had rushed out earlier, Gu Ling had vaguely sensed something—a faint Soul Power fluctuation moving rapidly underground!

"Could there be another Soul Beast hiding underground?"

Gu Ling's gaze sharpened instantly as he shouted in a low voice.

The next moment, the previously calm soil behind Ye Lingling suddenly bulged slightly.

Immediately afterward, a large patch of earth exploded!

A ferocious grayish-brown Soul Beast burrowed straight out of the ground!

Its body was not particularly huge, only a little over two meters long, but its limbs were incredibly thick. Its two front claws resembled iron shovels specially made for digging through rock.

What drew the most attention, however, was its gaping maw, which occupied nearly half its head. Two rows of ghastly white fangs protruded outward, making it impossible to doubt that even a rock could be crushed if bitten by that mouth!

At that moment, it was less than two meters from Ye Lingling. Her eyes remained shut as her third Soul Ring continued merging into her body, with no sign of waking up.

"Ling Ling, watch your back!"

Dugu Yan was the first to notice what was happening behind her. The moment she saw that Soul Beast appear behind Ye Lingling, her face turned pale.

"Not good!"

Yu Tianheng whipped around, but the instant his attention wavered, the wolf-shaped Soul Beast before him pounced. He could only forcefully raise his dragon claws to block.

Bang!

Yu Tianheng was sent stumbling back several steps.

"Teacher Qin!"

Dugu Yan cried out anxiously.

Qin Ming, not far away, had naturally noticed the scene as well. His expression changed slightly. Though anxious, he did not immediately turn and charge over recklessly.

As a six-ringed Soul Emperor, Qin Ming knew that although he was more than ten meters from Ye Lingling, if he went all out, he could still reach her in time before that Soul Beast truly bit down and save her.

The real problem was that the giant Soul Beast before him was still blocking the way. If he forcibly broke away from the battle now, it would certainly seize the chance to pursue him, potentially throwing the situation into even greater chaos.

With that thought, a fierce glint flashed through Qin Ming's eyes as he said coldly,

"Then I'll deal with you first!"

As his words fell, a Soul Power fluctuation far more terrifying than before erupted violently from his body. Six Soul Rings around him began pulsing rapidly.

Especially the last black Soul Ring, which lit up completely at that moment!

Blazing flames surged wildly around Qin Ming's body. The phantom of the Blazing Fire Wolf behind him seemed to come fully alive, throwing back its head and releasing an earth-shaking roar.

Qin Ming clearly had no intention of dragging this out any longer. He intended to use his sixth soul skill to kill the Soul Beast before him on the spot, then immediately rush over to save Ye Lingling!

"Sixth soul skill—"

However, at the very instant Qin Ming prepared to unleash his soul skill,

the Soul Beast that had burrowed out from behind Ye Lingling suddenly opened its huge jaws, its sharp fangs drawing closer and closer to Ye Lingling's neck!

But in the next moment—

Bzzz—!

An extremely unusual spatial fluctuation suddenly came from behind Ye Lingling. The next second, a black figure appeared behind her without warning!

"What is this?"

Qin Ming's pupils contracted sharply. He had been ready to use his sixth soul skill to finish the Soul Beast before him and then save her at top speed. Yet at this moment, someone had moved faster than him—so fast that he had not even seen how that person had crossed the distance!

At the same time,

a ferocious dragon claw covered in ghastly white bone armor suddenly reached out from the void!

Bang! Before the Soul Beast could even react to what had happened, Gu Ling's bone claw had already slammed viciously into its lower jaw!

The immense force smashed its open mouth shut upward!

Crack! Several ghastly white fangs shattered on the spot!

"Awooo—!"

The Soul Beast let out a miserable scream.

But Gu Ling's attack did not stop there. The instant he landed, his body twisted sharply, and the dragon tail made of segments of ghastly white vertebrae behind him swept out!

Boom!

The Soul Beast's enormous body was sent flying off the ground before crashing heavily into a nearby tree. The entire tree shook violently, and a rain of leaves fluttered down.

At that moment,

Qin Ming in the distance had even forgotten to continue casting his sixth soul skill. His gaze was fixed on Gu Ling, who had suddenly appeared behind Ye Lingling, and shock filled his eyes.

"What incredible speed!"

Qin Ming froze slightly. He felt that Gu Ling's strike just now could not have been accomplished through sheer speed alone! If it had only been speed, there should have been some trace of movement in between.

Even if ordinary Soul Masters could not see it clearly,

with Qin Ming's strength as a Soul Emperor, it was impossible for him not to catch even the slightest trace!

"Could it have been a teleportation-type soul skill?"

At that thought, the surprise in Qin Ming's eyes deepened.

On the other side, the Soul Beast let out a pained cry and was just about to rise from the ground.

Gu Ling had already raised his right hand. The yellow first Soul Ring on his body lit up, and several incomparably sharp, ghastly white bone spikes detached from around his arm and shot out.

"First soul skill, Spatial Rift Bone Spikes!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The bone spikes tore through the air!

Yet just as they were about to strike the Soul Beast, they suddenly vanished into thin air.

The next instant,

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Several bone spikes appeared bizarrely from the spaces to the left, right, and behind the Soul Beast, instantly piercing through its neck, abdomen, and the back of its head!

The Soul Beast's body stiffened abruptly before collapsing heavily to the ground, completely motionless.

The entire process had taken no more than a single breath!

Only then did Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan finally see the appearance of the youth who had suddenly appeared behind Ye Lingling. Dressed in black, he looked even younger than them. His arms were covered in ghastly white bone armor, his five fingers had become sharp dragon claws, and a ferocious bone tail swayed slowly behind him.

What the two found most unbelievable, however, were the two Soul Rings slowly pulsing around Gu Ling's body—the first yellow, the second purple!

"Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring?!"

"How is that possible?"

Yu Tianheng's pupils shrank sharply, while Dugu Yan could only stare blankly at Gu Ling.

Gu Ling, however, paid no attention to the stunned Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan beside him. His gaze passed directly over them and settled once again on the giant Soul Beast that had resumed its fierce battle with Qin Ming in the distance.

The distance had been too great earlier, and his attention had been on Ye Lingling and the others, so Gu Ling had not closely observed this Soul Beast's fighting style. But now that he had truly focused on it, he quickly noticed something unusual.

Boom!

Qin Ming was wreathed in blazing flames as his sharp wolf claws slammed into the giant beast's chest.

The next second, scorching fire exploded. The giant beast's massive body staggered back several steps, and the dark-purple armor on its chest was scorched black.

"Roar—!"

The Soul Beast suddenly threw back its head and released a deafening roar. Then, its two thick hind legs stomped down hard!

Boom!

An extremely unusual Soul Power fluctuation instantly spread through the ground.

The soil beneath Qin Ming's feet suddenly churned violently!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

One ghastly white bone spike after another, each two to three meters long, burst from the ground without warning!

"What?"

Qin Ming's expression changed slightly as he immediately darted aside.

Pfft!

The first bone spike nearly grazed his body as it shot past.

Yet before Qin Ming could steady himself,

the second! The third! The fourth! More enormous bone spikes burst from the ground in rapid succession!

And these bone spikes were not attacking at random.

The places where they emerged were almost all concentrated in the directions Qin Ming intended to dodge toward!

Thick bone spikes continuously rose from the ground, like a cage of white bones suddenly growing from beneath the earth, forcibly compressing the space Qin Ming had to move!

Seeing this, Gu Ling's eyes lit up at once as he murmured,

"Bone spikes?"

"Bone spikes that can attack enemies, alter the terrain, and seal off their movement space!"

Wasn't this exactly the ability he wanted most?

However, something even more surprising was yet to come. Qin Ming had clearly grown impatient with these bone spikes. A Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up, and Soul Power rapidly gathered as he prepared to directly use a soul skill to blast apart all the surrounding bone spikes!

But at that moment,

the giant beast suddenly opened its huge jaws.

A ring of visible dark-purple ripples suddenly spread from its mouth!

"Roar—!"

The sound wave swept outward. Qin Ming was already close to it and had no time to completely evade. His body was instantly struck by that ring of dark-purple sound waves.

The next moment,

Gu Ling clearly saw it.

The Soul Ring beneath Qin Ming's feet, which had been lit up moments ago, suddenly dimmed!

"What's going on?"

Qin Ming's expression changed slightly, and he was clearly stunned as well. He had obviously already mobilized his Soul Power, and his soul skill was ready to be unleashed.

But at the instant the sound wave struck him, the Soul Power within his body, which had been circulating along the soul skill's path, seemed to be forcibly interrupted by some unknown power!

"What? This Soul Beast can actually prevent its opponent from using soul skills for a short time?"

"Silence!?"