Hunting Souls Begins, First Steps into the Star Dou

Star Dou Great Forest.

This was a hilly region in the southern part of the forest, where the temperature was noticeably higher than elsewhere.

It was a gathering place for fire-element soul beasts, occupying a considerable stretch of the Mixed Zone. Even the natural elemental energy of fire was especially dense here.

Fire-element soul beasts had always been irritable by nature. With this treasured land aiding their cultivation, conflicts naturally broke out often.

For most soul beasts, there was no concept of a beast race. Even notions like wolf clans, tiger clans, or rabbit clans were not particularly strong.

Survival of the fittest, the laws of nature, the adaptable survived, and the strong reigned supreme.

Flames flickered amid roars of beasts in every tone, rising and falling one after another.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. They sure are lively."

A streak of fire slowly descended onto a treetop in the distant woods.

Raising the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame and sensing the auras of the various soul beasts in the area, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

He had found the right place.

"The Star Dou Great Forest is also divided into different regions. This is where fire-element soul beasts are more numerous," Ma Xiaotao explained beside him.

"I can sense several soul beasts over fifty thousand years old." Xiao Yan nodded. Fire gleamed in his eyes, and the world before him underwent a subtle change.

Like markers on a map, trails of fire qi that only he could see rose from various places, condensing into beastly forms of different colors.

As they traveled, Xiao Yan could not help but marvel at how far beyond his expectations martial souls truly were.

They manifested the true self and allowed the physical body to begin advancing toward a Dharma body.

That meant he could not simply use a few lone bamboo stalks as soul rings for fun, as he had initially planned.

Nor could he simply kill a few soul beasts and absorb them as he had originally intended.

Xiao Yan vaguely sensed that every time he absorbed a soul ring, his entire being seemed to be baptized by those laws, bringing about a major transformation.

It was like gaining certain innate abilities as his illusory Dharma body gradually turned into something tangible.

Whether that gave his flames the ability to burn, or some unceasing regenerative property, depended on the soul ring he chose.

Thinking of a certain plant-system soul master whose first soul skill was Binding, Xiao Yan's mouth twitched.

Soul beasts only needed to wait, but he had far more to consider when choosing soul beasts to shape his Dharma body.

"But here's the question: what exactly does absorbing a soul ring feel like..."

Xiao Yan furrowed his brow. Although he had Ma Xiaotao's packaged memories, allowing him to experience it as though he had been there himself, it was ultimately still armchair theory.

If it was purely armchair theory, Xiao Yan understood it this way: after a soul beast was killed, some of its innate abilities and fragments of law would merge with the soul master's martial soul. A powerful martial soul naturally possessed certain abilities of its own, and combining them with a soul beast's abilities could result in a stronger soul skill.

Mental strength, the extent to which one had developed their martial soul, the martial soul's quality, the soul beast's bloodline, the soul beast's compatibility, and each individual's talent would all have a positive effect on the final soul skill's strength and its compatibility with the user.

Although he had great faith in his luck, Xiao Yan did not want to leave everything to chance. Since it would affect the strength of his Dharma body, he needed to choose carefully.

He immediately used the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame to thoroughly sense the strength of the several soul beasts over fifty thousand years old that he had locked onto.

An eighty-two-thousand-year mutated Blazing Gray Wolf. Its flames were especially effective against ghosts and evil spirits, and unless it burned itself out, they would never be extinguished.

This was somewhat useless to Xiao Yan. He himself possessed the trait that as long as a single breath remained, his flames would never go out, and they were already especially effective against all manner of evil spirits. Rather than using it as a soul ring, it would be better used as nourishment for the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

A sixty-seven-thousand-year Titan Flame God Ape, a mutated variety of the Titan Giant Ape, nurtured by earthfire. Wherever it passed became a sea of flames. It dwelled within an ancient area nearby.

Xiao Yan could roughly guess that the ability gained from absorbing this soul ring would likely be related to enhanced strength and borrowing the power of the earth's veins.

In this world where bloodlines mattered, such a top-tier soul beast was undoubtedly an excellent choice.

Xiao Yan did not find anything particularly eye-catching among the remaining soul beasts for the moment: King of the Earth, Crimson Flame Firebird, Fire-Scaled Lesser Dragon.

Their fire attributes were merely incidental. Xiao Yan immediately ruled them all out. Those things were only fit to enter the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

What he wanted was something centered on fire—something like the Ice Sky Snow Maiden, a pseudo-innately sacred spirit. Could he find a fire equivalent...

Preferably, a fire elemental lifeform with special abilities.

Xiao Yan did not intend to specifically seek out offensive skills. Having come to Douluo, he had to try those heaven-defying percentage-based or rule-based skills.

"Sister Xiaotao, what do you think of that sixty-thousand-year Titan Flame God Ape?" Having made up his mind, Xiao Yan transmitted the information in his mind to Ma Xiaotao. The two were currently in a resonant state, their soul power linked together.

This was a special state Xiao Yan had discovered after the flames within him and Ma Xiaotao resonated and merged. It was somewhat similar to the Haodong Power from the original story.

In this state, using the power within Ma Xiaotao as a catalyst, he could draw upon the power of bird-type fire beasts in the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame somewhat more strongly.

"Your luck is pretty good. This is a top-tier soul beast on the same level as the Titan Giant Ape. Its strength is unmatched, and it possesses both earth and fire attributes.

"Once a Titan Flame God Ape exceeds fifty thousand years, it can draw upon power from deep within the earth's veins and condense a massive lava divine body for battle."

Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes lit up.

Yan Shaozhe had mentioned this creature when teaching her how to choose soul rings. Though it was worlds apart from the Evil Fire Phoenix, Ma Xiaotao had once considered making this soul beast one of her own soul rings.

Its quality was simply too high, and it had abilities that could suit her. Just imagining condensing a gigantic flame construct and charging into close combat made Ma Xiaotao excited.

"Then it's settled. Let's see whether that fellow is willing to cooperate. If not, we'll have no choice but to shed tears while giving it a little boost."

Smacking his lips, Xiao Yan immediately took Ma Xiaotao with him, transforming into streaming fire as they flew toward the Titan Flame God Ape.

Though adding an earth attribute to his first soul ring felt a little off, Xiao Yan was not about to just stand around.

At worst, he could use divine-grade refinement to remove the earth aspect. If that caused it to drop in grade, then he could reserve a spot for it in the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. Once he confirmed the soul ring's nature, he could even try condensing a soul ring with the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

With a cheat in hand, Xiao Yan was not worried.

The first soul ring was rather important. He needed to carefully experience exactly what this thing was.

And it also needed to lay the foundation for shaping his Dharma body.

If only there were something pure...

Just as he was thinking that, Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly lit up.

As they fled into the distance, he actually sensed something that he had not detected earlier!

Pure essence of fire, with a trace of wood qi hidden within it!