Completing the Soul Rings (I)
Five years later.
Sea God Island, in front of the stone platform.
Li Xun sat cross-legged beneath the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar, his Soul Power contained as deep as an abyss, his aura so profound that it didn't seem like that of a young man in his early twenties.
Eight Soul Ring were neatly arranged, progressing from a hundred years to a hundred thousand years in succession. Only the ninth ring was empty. He was just one Soul Ring away from officially entering the realm of Titled Douluo.
Quasi-Titled Douluo.
After five years of arduous study, he finally stood before this threshold.
On the other side of the stone platform, Tang San finished his practice and stood up. His Soul Power surged around him, and the eight rings were neatly arranged. His aura was much stronger than it had been five years ago.
The fluctuations of the Quasi-Soul Douluo's Soul Power slowly subsided. He opened his eyes and looked in Li Xun's direction. "Brother Xun, as expected of you, your strength has always been one step ahead of mine."
Li Xun smiled and said, "Your Sixth Trial is almost over, what's the rush?"
Over the past five years, everyone on Sea God Island has made progress.
Tang San has overcome numerous challenges and is now at the Fifth Trial of the Sea God, his Soul Power reaching the level of Quasi-Soul Douluo.
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling have all broken through to the Soul Sage one after another, and their assessments are progressing steadily.
Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda amplified to an increasingly refined level, and Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat, honed by the Sea God's Light, was so fast that even Golden Crocodile Douluo praised it. Xiao Wu's gentle skills, combined with Tang San's control-type Soul Skill, made the two of them work together, even earning Bo Saixi's approval.
During these five years, Li Xun spent almost all his time on Sea God Island, except for the occasional return to the Spirit Hall to reunite with Qian Renxue.
He helped the women pass their tests, accompanied Tang San through trials, climbed the Sea God's Light to hone his Soul Power, and occasionally went to sea with Golden Crocodile Douluo to hunt a few Soul Beast for a change of pace. His days were fulfilling and busy.
The Sixth Trial of the Asura God required reaching the level of Titled Douluo, and this trial has now been passed. The Asura God Trial has recognized the Soul Power level of Quasi-Titled Douluo, and the Sixth Trial is now officially complete.
Today, the content of the Seventh Trial has been revealed.
Li Xun closed his eyes and sensed the ancient rune that appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his expression becoming somewhat complicated.
Tang San noticed his expression and asked, "What's the content of the Seventh Trial?"
Li Xun paused for a moment before saying, "Finish all the Soul Ring. The ninth ring of the First Martial Soul and all the Soul Ring of the Second Martial Soul must be filled. Moreover, each Soul Ring must be over 100,000 years old."
There was a moment of silence around the stone platform.
Ning Rongrong was the first to react, gasping in shock. "Each one is 100,000 years old?! Your First Martial Soul is one short, Second Martial Soul has nine empty slots, so you'd have to hunt ten Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"
"Hmm." Li Xun nodded. "The requirement for the Seventh Trial is to hunt down ten Soul Beast that are over 100,000 years old and collect all the Soul Ring."
Zhu Zhuqing crossed her arms, her brows slightly furrowed. "Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast aren't like cabbages; each one is more troublesome than the last. Ten... that number is outrageous."
Xiao Wu leaned closer, her rabbit ears twitching slightly. "And it has to be over 100,000 years old, anything younger won't do?"
"No," Li Xun. "The Seventh Trial is clearly stated: a minimum of 100,000 years, with no upper limit."
Golden Crocodile Douluo strolled over from the side, clicking his tongue gruffly. "Ten Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... Good heavens, if this were anywhere else, the entire continent combined couldn't hunt that many."
The Light Feather Douluo said calmly, "There are more 100,000-year-old Sea Soul Beast on the sea than on land. But even finding ten of them will take quite a while."
Bo Saixi, who had somehow appeared at the edge of the stone platform, spoke up upon hearing this, "In the deep sea trench to the northeast, there dwells the Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon, 120,000 years old, with extremely heavy malevolent energy. In the outer sea to the due east, there Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, 150,000 years old, infamous for its ferocity. In the southeast abyss, there is the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Poison Ray Mother, just over 100,000 years old, living in groups, and the difficulty in hunting her lies in the fact that she is always accompanied by hundreds of poisonous rays. Further north, there is also a 100,000-year-old Black-Armored Sea Turtle, whose defense is ridiculously strong; even ordinary Titled Douluo cannot break through its shell."
She named seven or eight in a row, then paused, saying, "Gathering ten isn't difficult; the challenge lies in dealing with each one, and they're scattered across different sea areas. Just getting there will take a considerable amount of time."
Tang San stepped forward. "Since we're scattered across different seas, let's go one by one. My Fifth Trial is almost over, so this is a good opportunity to hone my skills through actual combat."
Xiao Wu immediately chimed in, "I'm going too!"
Ning Rongrong raised her hand. "Take me with you, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's amplification will be very useful when hunting Soul Beast."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, but had already silently stood behind Li Xun. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. Ye Lingling said softly, "Leave the healing and sustain to me."
Bo Saixi looked at the group of young people, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his sea-blue eyes, and said calmly, "Since you all want to go, let's split up. Li Xun, which one will you hunt first?"
Li Xun thought for a moment, then looked at Bo Saixi: "The Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon is the closest, let's start with it. It's 120,000 years old, its malevolent energy is heavy, and its attributes match those of my Four Swords of Zhu Xian."
Golden Crocodile Douluo cracked his knuckles, grinned, and said, "Alright, this will be the first one. When do we set off?"
Li Xun looked up at the sky; the morning light was bright, and the sea breeze was gentle. "Meet at the dock early tomorrow morning. This journey is long; we'll have to spend the night on the ship."
The next morning, at the Sea God Island pier.
The ship was ready. Golden Crocodile Douluo squatted at the bow, munching on sea fruit, Light Feather Douluo stood by the ship's side, resting with his eyes closed. Tang San, along with Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, boarded the ship one after another. Bo Saixi boarded last, carrying a yellowed nautical chart.
"The Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon's territory is in this trench." Bo Saixi unfolded a sea chart, pointing to an area marked with dark red lines. "The trench is over a thousand feet deep, with complex terrain. It usually hides in the crevices of the rocks at the bottom, only surfacing to hunt. To lure it out, we must first find its entrance."
Li Xun leaned closer to look at the nautical chart, memorized the directions, and asked, "How do we guide it when we get there?"
Bo Saixi said, "The Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon is extremely sensitive to malevolent energy. Your body is covered in dense Asura malevolent energy. As long as you dive down to the vicinity of its cave entrance and release your malevolent energy, it will rush out on its own."
The speedboat departed Sea God Island, speeding northeast. This journey was longer than the one five years ago when they hunted the Silverback Devil Shark. The voyage took two days and two nights. The sea changed from Mo Lan to a near-black color, the waves were heavy and deep, and an inexplicable sense of oppression filled the air.
On the morning of the third day, Bo Saixi lowered the nautical chart and said, "We've arrived. We're right above this trench."
The speedboat came to a stop, and everyone walked to the side of the ship to look down. The sea below was pitch black and bottomless. Li Xun could vaguely sense a huge, slumbering, and malevolent aura deep in the seabed, heavy and turbid, like an undercurrent that had been suppressed for countless years.
"I'm going down." Li Xun took off his outer robe and stretched his limbs.
Golden Crocodile Douluo stopped him. "I'll go with you. The underwater terrain is complex; more people means more protection."
Light Feather Douluo also stepped forward. "The Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon is fast. I'll provide support from a distance to prevent it from flanking and attacking from behind."
Tang San said, "I'll provide support from above. The Sea God's Light can cover this area, so I can intervene immediately if things go wrong."
Bo Saixi nodded. "Tang San and I will stay on the ship. Golden Crocodile and Lightbow will accompany Li Xun as he dives. Remember, the Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon's aura can erode the spirit. Li Xun, although you have the Asura's aura protecting you, you still cannot be careless."
Li Xun nodded, and together with Golden Crocodile Douluo and Light Feather Douluo, they leaped into the sea.
The three descended at an extremely fast speed. Golden Crocodile Douluo used his golden Soul Power to create a protective shield to isolate the water pressure, Light Feather Douluo moved as lightly as a fish, and Li Xun directly broke through the seawater with his Soul Power.
The deeper they went, the darker it became, and the heavier the water pressure became. When they reached a depth of about 800 feet, a huge hole appeared in the rock wall below. The edges of the hole were covered with jagged, tooth-like rock spikes, and the surrounding area was littered with the skeletons of a large number of giant fish.
The lair of the Dark Demon Abyss Flood Dragon.