The Fifth Soul Ring, the Mysterious Elder

It was a glittering oval lake stretching for several hundred meters.

The moment Jiang Lin and the others approached, they felt a frosty aura rushing toward them.

Not only that, countless auras, some strong and some weak, flickered beneath the lake's surface. Yet without exception, none dared approach the lake's center in the slightest, for that was the domain of this great lake's ruler—the Cold Crystal Python.

"Little Dragon Girl, I'll have to trouble you."

Jiang Lin looked toward Little Dragon Girl beside him.

"It's nothing."

Little Dragon Girl's face was brimming with confidence. Though her cultivation was only at level 53, a Soul King, her actual combat strength was already infinitely close to that of a level 70 Soul Saint. The 27,000-year-old Cold Crystal Python was no challenge for her.

Then, with a beckoning gesture from Little Dragon Girl, all the snowflakes drifting through the heavens gathered together and condensed into an Ice Dragon that seemed both real and illusory.

The instant the dragon appeared, it let out a fierce dragon roar toward the center of the lake. Accompanying that roar was an incomparably terrifying draconic might!

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Provoked so severely, the Cold Crystal Python coiled at the lakebed naturally could not remain still. It immediately swung its serpent body covered in cold crystal scales and swam toward the shore.

Before long, a terrifying giant python over thirty meters long appeared before Jiang Lin and the others.

Feeling the chilling aura emanating from it, Jiang Lin's gaze narrowed slightly. He sensed an overwhelming suppression at the level of life itself!

"Little Dragon Girl, it's fortunate you're here. Without you, I could never have hunted such a terrifying Soul Beast on my own."

Little Dragon Girl nodded. With a thought, the Ice Dragon behind her leaped into the air and swung its dragon claws down at the Cold Crystal Python!

Sensing the pressure of the dragon's superior bloodline, the Cold Crystal Python's eyes instantly turned extremely solemn.

It then opened its fang-filled jaws, gathering vast amounts of Soul Power within them. Just as the dragon claws were about to strike its body, it unleashed a terrifying Cold Crystal Breath at the Ice Dragon.

In response, the Ice Dragon had no intention of taking the attack head-on. With the slightest beat of its enormous wings, it soared into the air.

Then the Ice Dragon opened its massive jaws, gathering endless frost. In the blink of an eye, a dark-blue wave of light containing an aura of destruction rose in its throat. It then transformed into a beam filled with the aura of death and annihilation, blasting toward the Cold Crystal Python!

"Boom!"

A deafening shockwave instantly swept back.

The instant the death beam collided with the Cold Crystal Breath, it pierced straight through it. Not only that, its power did not diminish in the slightest as it shot directly toward the Cold Crystal Python behind it, whose eyes were filled with shock and terror!

A miserable cry filled with unbearable pain rang out. Unable to dodge in time, the Cold Crystal Python was pierced through by the attack, exposing the crystalline white bones within its body.

After confirming that the Cold Crystal Python's aura had weakened to the extreme, Jiang Lin leaped up and landed beside its enormous body.

Without any hesitation, the King's Power Sword and Pure Yang Flame appeared instantly, and he charged straight at the Cold Crystal Python.

"Hiss—hiss—"

The death beam of the Ice Dragon had inflicted a fatal wound on the Cold Crystal Python. Thus, though it wanted to resist the attacks of the King's Power Sword and Pure Yang Flame, it could not move at all.

Before long, it completely lost its aura amid a despairing shriek, while an inky-black Soul Ring, jade-like in appearance, emerged from its corpse.

"Hm? Was my luck really this good? Another Soul Bone."

Just as Jiang Lin was about to sit down cross-legged, he sensed something. Pure Yang Flame immediately transformed into a fiery serpent, wrapping around an inky-black Soul Bone gleaming with a dark-blue luster and pulling it out from deep within the Cold Crystal Python's body before placing it in Jiang Lin's hand.

"Th-this is a Trunk Soul Bone?"

Seeing the shape of the Soul Bone in his hand, Jiang Lin's face immediately showed surprise and delight. Among all types of Soul Bones, the Trunk Soul Bone was the most valuable aside from an External Soul Bone. They were exceedingly rare and almost never circulated outside.

Moreover, judging from the power of the Cold Crystal Python's Soul Skill, it would provide Jiang Lin with an enormous boost!

"Phew..."

"I'll put it away first. The priority is to absorb the Soul Ring and break through to Soul King!"

After steadying his emotions slightly, Jiang Lin sat cross-legged and began fusing with and absorbing the inky-black Soul Ring.

Upon seeing this, Little Dragon Girl and Xiao Wu immediately tensed up, silently guarding Jiang Lin as they kept watch over him.

Several hours later, Jiang Lin's aura continued to rise. Seeing that he was about to complete his breakthrough, Little Dragon Girl and Xiao Wu finally relaxed.

However, before long, several figures clad in blue, each radiating powerful auras and terrifying pressure, appeared in midair.

"Hm? This is..."

After one of them swept his gaze over Jiang Lin and the others below, a trace of interest appeared on his face, and he descended directly.

"This is bad. I absolutely can't handle this person. But Jiang Lin is still breaking through—I absolutely can't let him be disturbed!"

Sensing the aura of the blue-clad figure, Little Dragon Girl's expression instantly became grave.

"Little Dragon Girl, this person..."

Worry also appeared in Xiao Wu's eyes. Even when she had still been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she would have had to deal with an aura like this with great caution. A single misstep could have meant death on the spot.

"Don't be afraid, Xiao Wu. I'm here."

After looking once more at Jiang Lin and Xiao Wu, a trace of resolve surfaced in Little Dragon Girl's eyes. She stepped forward and shielded them both behind her.

"Greetings, Senior. May I ask why you have come here?"

"If this old man is not mistaken, that nearly thirty-thousand-year-old Cold Crystal Python was severely injured by you alone, young lady. Only afterward did that boy finish it off and absorb its Soul Ring."

"Senior, your insight is truly sharp. That is indeed the case."

"Your Martial Soul should be an exceptionally precious dragon-type Martial Soul, yes? The destruction caused here has far exceeded the limits of ordinary Soul Masters."

Hearing the blue-clad elder's words, wariness and confusion appeared in Little Dragon Girl's eyes. She merely nodded lightly without saying anything more.

"Young lady, there is no need to be so wary of this old man. I mean you no harm."

The blue-clad elder gently stroked his beard and continued, "Could you release your Martial Soul and let this old man have a look?"

Little Dragon Girl frowned slightly. "Senior, if you have something to say, please speak plainly. There is no need to be so evasive."

"Haha, rest assured. This old man truly bears you no ill will. You should be able to see that this old man's strength far surpasses yours, correct? If this old man truly meant you harm, young lady, are you certain you could stop me?"

The blue-clad elder shook his head, his face full of a kindly smile, without the slightest hint of malice.

At those words, Little Dragon Girl fell silent. After a while, she finally compromised, because before this elder, she truly had no ability to resist at all!