Yu Tianxin knew his older cousin's strength inside out.
These packs of Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards would certainly leave him battered and bedraggled, but they would hardly put his life in danger.
He was happy to see Yu Tianheng suffer a setback.
However, before he could leave the dangerous area completely, trouble struck.
Two purple lightning spears shot out of the thick smoke toward him, forcing him back.
Amid the billowing smoke and dust, two figures appeared, each nearly nine meters long and radiating an oppressive presence.
"How did Purple Lightning Horned Dragons over nine thousand years old end up here?"
Yu Tianxin swallowed.
Purple Lightning Horned Dragons were the evolved form of Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards, with a single horn growing from their foreheads that could store electricity.
In the Thunder Mist Cavern, these were unquestionably soul beasts of the "ancient ancestor" class.
And two had appeared at once.
"Head back!"
Facing soul beasts whose strength approached that of a Soul King, Yu Tianxin knew he was no match.
He would have to let his cousin and the others share some of the pressure.
"Yu Tianheng, your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's ultimate lightning doesn't seem very effective against these thunder lizards. Why don't you let me handle them?"
A languid, cool voice interrupted Yu Tianheng just as he was about to unleash his third soul skill.
Dugu Yan stepped forward, a confident smile curving her lips.
An eerie green gleam flashed in her eyes, and three soul rings-two yellow and one purple-suddenly rose beneath her feet.
"First soul skill, Jade-Phosphorus Poison Mist!"
Dugu Yan's martial soul, the Jade-Phosphorus Poison Jiao, opened its mouth and spewed emerald poison mist over the fan-shaped area ahead.
In an instant, emerald poison mist so dense it seemed impossible to disperse swept outward from her like a tsunami.
Behind her, Meng Yiran tapped the Dragon-Snake Scepter in her hand against the ground.
Her soul power became a current of air, forming a wall of wind in front of Yu Tianheng that pushed outward.
They had fought so many matches at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Neither needed to exchange a word to know what she should do.
"Hiss, hiss-"
Wherever the poison mist passed, the previously ferocious Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards immediately grew agitated.
Some of the quicker Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards escaped the poisonous zone.
The remaining dozens collapsed to the ground in convulsions, their vitality fading as the scales covering their bodies rapidly blackened and rotted. More than half died on the spot.
"What vicious poison!"
The direct descendants of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan exclaimed in amazement, storm-tossed waves surging through their hearts.
They had thought Dugu Yan was merely a support or control system soul master. They had never expected her poison mist to possess such terrifying killing power!
She was not the slightest bit weaker than power attack system soul masters like them.
Only then did Yu Tianheng notice the change in Dugu Yan's martial soul.
Before he could ask about it, a barrage of lightning flashes, thunderclaps, and explosions erupted up ahead.
Yu Tianxin and the others fled in disarray, with two nine-thousand-year soul beasts pursuing them relentlessly.
Worse still, the commotion directly stirred the other soul beasts in the Thunder Mist Cavern into a frenzy.
More and more soul beasts were caught up in the fighting, enraged, or driven into flight.
Eventually, it triggered a beast tide.
At the sight of the densely packed beasts behind Yu Tianxin, Yu Tianheng's face turned green.
What was his younger cousin doing?
Was he trying to trigger a beast tide to eliminate his rival for the position of future clan heir?
"Third soul skill, Dragon's Wrath!"
Yu Tianheng took the initiative to meet them, sharing the burden of his troublemaking younger cousin.
He had always kept the bigger picture in mind.
If they did not drive back these two Purple Lightning Horned Dragons before they summoned more Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Their party would inevitably suffer casualties.
As their leader, he could hardly escape responsibility.
"Kill!"
The Dragon's Wrath soul skill increased Yu Tianheng's attack power by one hundred percent.
But its side effect also plunged him into a berserk state.
The two prodigies of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan faced off against the two Purple Lightning Horned Dragons, with no attention to spare for anything else.
The others descended into chaos as well, scattered and separated by the charging beasts.
"Let's go," Chen Zhuo said.
He called Dugu Yan over, and the two quietly withdrew behind the others.
A cloud of smoke from a lightning strike drifted past, and their figures vanished.
Ye Lingling caught sight of this, and her eyelid twitched.
She noticed only because she had kept her gaze on Chen Zhuo all along.
Surrounded by beasts, this man had not used a single soul skill from beginning to end.
That did not match the information she had gathered at all.
Something was wrong-ten parts out of nine!
Ye Lingling instinctively wanted to call out to Dugu Yan.
Then she felt a tug at the back of her clothes.
"Don't draw attention. Follow me."
Ye Lingling turned and saw Meng Yiran's expressionless face.
There was no trace of panic. Meng Yiran seemed to have known all along that this would happen.
That eased the unease in Ye Lingling's heart.
Then she saw Meng Yiran swing the Dragon-Snake Scepter in her hand.
She did not even use a soul skill.
Every soul beast that lunged at them was killed by Meng Yiran with a single thrust of her scepter.
"Look out!"
A Spider-Tailed Viper sprang up, lunging straight for the back of Meng Yiran's neck.
Ye Lingling hurriedly warned her and summoned her own martial soul, the Nine Heart Begonia.
Even though she had no offensive power at all, she was determined to block this fatal strike for Meng Yiran.
"Don't do that next time."
"If your martial soul is poisoned, it will affect you too."
The second soul ring beneath Meng Yiran's feet flashed, and she darted forward, her body becoming several serpentine phantoms.
What Ye Lingling saw as a deadly threat was nothing out of the ordinary to her.
Whoosh!
All that remained in her original position was a Snake Blade embedded in the viper's head.
Meng Yiran had casually killed yet another thousand-year soul beast.
Ye Lingling was utterly shaken.
"Stop staring. Let's get going."
Meng Yiran took Ye Lingling's hand. With soul power circulating through them, the two leaped between the rock walls like antelopes.
In the blink of an eye, they were already several dozen feet away.
"Young master, is it really all right to leave Yiran alone to face those beasts?"
Dugu Yan was still somewhat worried about Meng Yiran.
After all, she was only at level thirty.
For an ordinary soul master, encountering even one thousand-year soul beast was a life-or-death struggle.
And right now, there was an entire pack of thousand-year soul beasts in the Thunder Mist Cavern alone.
"Don't worry."
"Do you really think just any stray cat or dog's martial soul could be called the best in the world?"
"That little sister Lingling of yours isn't so simple, either."
Chen Zhuo understood the battle below perfectly.
He was the one who had secretly lured those two Purple Lightning Horned Dragons over with his spiritual power.
They had served to create chaos and an opportunity to slip away.
"Next, it's time to take care of your business."
Dugu Yan had never come on this trip to find some thousand-year soul beast.
How could Chen Zhuo's standards for his Red Flower Double Staff be limited to the so-called optimal soul ring configuration?
Anyone who truly believed Yu Xiaogang's Ten Great Theories of Martial Souls would ruin their entire life.
As for Dugu Yan's fourth soul ring, the goal was clear.
She would surpass the optimal soul ring configuration and absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring beyond her level!
That made staying in the Thunder Mist Cavern utterly pointless.
The ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the next level, the Dragonbone Abyss, were their true targets.
It was a vast underground hollow.
A man-made staircase spiraled downward.
The farther down they went, the stronger the smell of sulfur became.
Sparks also drifted through the air.
As they walked, they occasionally saw charred bones scattered about.
This was the second level of the Thunder Dragon Nest.
For those with fewer than five soul rings, it was an absolute death zone.
But that did not include Chen Zhuo.
Deep underground, a dormant Red-Scaled Flame Python opened its gleaming golden slit pupils.
It crawled out of its cave, its body, more than twenty meters long, winding across the ground.
It crushed the many skeletal remains scattered over the earth.
As one of this region's overlords, it was already more than twenty thousand years old.
Wherever the Red-Scaled Flame Python went, the other beasts retreated.
"Hiss, hiss-"
Under Dugu Yan's shocked gaze, this serpent king, whose cultivation matched a high-level Soul Emperor's, came before Chen Zhuo and lowered its noble head.
"Come on. Take us around."
Chen Zhuo climbed straight onto the Red-Scaled Flame Python's back and beckoned to Dugu Yan.
He motioned for her to hurry and join him.
Before you continue