The Five-Thousand-Year Third Soul Ring? Gu Ling's Madness!

At that moment, Gu Ling's face was full of disbelief. Qin Ming's soul skill activation had actually failed?

Although that state had lasted only an extremely brief moment, probably around a second, one second was already enough for many things to happen in a real battle!

Pfft!

Another enormous bone spike suddenly shot up from beneath Qin Ming's feet. He could only force himself into a backward flip with his own reaction speed, the sharp spike nearly grazing past his chest.

Only after that strange restriction vanished did Qin Ming's soul skill return to normal.

Gu Ling, hiding not far away, became completely alert when he saw this and said:

"This is a sonic attack! And after being struck by it, the opponent can't activate soul skills for a short time? What a bizarre skill!"

Although he still could not completely determine the exact mechanism behind this ability, perhaps it used special sound waves to shake Soul Power, or perhaps it interfered with the circulation of Soul Power within a soul master's body.

But its effect was extremely obvious.

After being hit, Qin Ming had been unable to activate soul skills normally for at least around a second!

One second sounded short, but when combined with this soul beast's ground-spike ability... it became entirely different! First, use the sound waves to interrupt the enemy's soul skill, then have bone spikes rise across a wide area from the ground.

Block their movement! Limit their dodges! Or even pierce straight through them!

Gu Ling's originally vague idea for his third soul skill suddenly seemed to have found a real-life template!

Strong offense! Control! Wide-area attacks! It even possessed a special ability to disrupt soul skills!

Gu Ling could not help licking his lips as he muttered in a low voice:

"Isn't this exactly the soul beast I've been looking for?"

He had searched the Star Dou Great Forest for most of the day without encountering a suitable target. Who would have thought that he would run into one here with the Imperial Dou Team?

Moreover, judging from the strength this soul beast had displayed so far, its cultivation clearly surpassed that of an ordinary thousand-year soul beast, yet it was not so strong that Qin Ming found it truly difficult to handle.

If its age was suitable, then his third Soul Ring might already be settled!

At that thought, Gu Ling no longer stayed hidden at the side to watch. Instead, he suddenly called out to Qin Ming in the distance:

"I'll lend you a hand!"

Qin Ming had naturally noticed Gu Ling, who had saved Ye Lingling earlier. However, he had been entangled by the soul beast in front of him and had no chance to go over and check the situation.

Now that Gu Ling had volunteered, Qin Ming did not know who this suddenly appearing youth was, but the fact that Gu Ling had saved Ye Lingling was indisputable.

Besides, this was clearly not the time to ask about his identity.

"Alright!"

Qin Ming did not hesitate and immediately nodded.

"You be careful too!"

As soon as those words fell, the look in his eyes changed completely. The reason he had held back until now was, on one hand, because he was worried that the battle would cause too much commotion and affect Ye Lingling, who was absorbing her Soul Ring.

On the other hand, he did not want to expend too much Soul Power in the Star Dou Great Forest. After all, new soul beasts could appear here at any time.

But Ye Lingling had nearly been ambushed just now. That had completely exhausted Qin Ming's patience for dragging things out. He had to deal with this soul beast as quickly as possible!

With that thought, Qin Ming took a deep breath. Then, a far more terrifying fluctuation of Soul Power erupted from his body!

"Sixth Soul Skill, Heaven-Burning Flames!"

Qin Ming let out a furious shout, and terrifying crimson flames instantly soared into the sky. The surrounding forest, which had originally been somewhat dim, was dyed crimson at that moment.

The Blazing Fire Wolf behind him threw back its head and roared as endless flames gathered wildly!

Gu Ling's expression changed slightly when he saw this, and he hurriedly called out:

"Wait!"

"Don't kill it outright. I want that soul beast!"

Hearing Gu Ling suddenly say that, Qin Ming, who had been about to unleash his sixth soul skill completely, was visibly stunned.

"You want it?"

He instinctively looked toward Gu Ling. After sensing him slightly with his spiritual power, the confusion in his eyes deepened at once.

"Soul Power fluctuations around level thirty?"

"No, it seems to be even higher."

Although the black-clad youth's Soul Power aura had been deliberately restrained, Qin Ming was a six-ring Soul Emperor. His perception naturally could not be compared to young soul masters like Yu Tianheng and the others.

The Soul Power within Gu Ling was exceptionally dense, clearly exceeding the level an ordinary level-thirty Quasi-Soul Elder should possess. It had even... faintly entered level thirty-four or above.

"You want to use it as your third Soul Ring?"

Gu Ling did not deny it and explained:

"That's right. I came to the Star Dou Great Forest specifically to find my third Soul Ring. After seeing this thing's abilities, I think it suits me very well."

As he spoke, Gu Ling raised a hand and pointed at the enormous soul beast in the distance.

Qin Ming's brows immediately furrowed at that, and he said in a deep voice:

"It is suitable, but I'm afraid you won't be able to absorb it."

As he spoke, Soul Power trembled faintly beneath Qin Ming's feet. The Heaven-Burning Flames that had already gathered were not unleashed immediately. Instead, under the Blazing Fire Wolf's control, they were temporarily held around his body.

The giant soul beast seemed to sense Qin Ming's suddenly surging aura as well. For a moment, it did not dare to pounce recklessly, merely lowering its body and continuously letting out low growls.

Taking the opportunity, Qin Ming said gravely:

"This soul beast is called an Earthbone Demon Armor Beast, an extremely rare strong offensive-type soul beast."

"This kind of soul beast is covered in thick armor. Its strength and defense are both formidable, but those are not what make it truly dangerous. Its true danger lies in its two special abilities."

Gu Ling's eyes flickered slightly at that, and he appeared thoughtful.

Qin Ming continued:

"The first is the Earthbone Spikes you saw earlier."

"It can inject Soul Power into the ground, then use its own Soul Power to condense a large number of hard bone spikes and attack from beneath the enemy's feet. The higher its cultivation, the wider the area its bone spikes can cover."

"And it does not simply rely on those spikes to injure its enemies."

"Most of the time, it uses the bone spikes to continuously block its prey's paths of escape, forcing them into an area it has prepared in advance before launching a fatal attack."

Upon hearing that, the corners of Gu Ling's mouth could not help lifting slightly. Isn't this exactly the ability I want most? It suits me even better than what I had imagined!

Qin Ming did not notice the change in Gu Ling's expression and continued explaining:

"As for its second ability... it is called Demon Sound Roar."

"This sound wave itself has a certain mental-shaking effect, but the truly troublesome part is that it can briefly disrupt the circulation of Soul Power within a soul master's body. If a soul master is hit head-on while releasing a soul skill, the skill may be interrupted directly."

"Some soul masters with lower cultivation might even become completely unable to mobilize Soul Power and activate soul skills properly for a short time."