The Scarlet Flame Demon Bear truly lived up to its status as a seventeen-thousand-year high-ranking Soul Beast. Ning Yuhao and his companions had already seized every advantage, yet it still had not suffered a fatal wound. During the battle just now, the surrounding trees had carbonized before they even had time to burn, while the low shrubs and grass had turned straight to ash.
But through the Wicked Lord Shingan's detection, Ning Yuhao discovered that the flow of Soul Power had grown sluggish in several places on the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear's body-precisely where the Ice Empress had punctured holes in it.
If the other areas were roiling, raging flames, then around those holes, its Soul Power was like a deathly still ice field, as though it had frozen dead.
Ning Yuhao could not help frowning. If they wore it down to the end, they could certainly finish off the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear, but the commotion was too great and it was taking too long. He was even worried whether he would have time left to absorb the Soul Ring.
Just then, however, the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear seemed to sense something, and a trace of distinctly human struggle appeared on its already furious face.
When the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear launched its attack, the Ice Empress had hidden behind the Mudstone Barrier, only peeking out after the attack had passed. She had neither the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power nor Ning Yuhao's Wicked Lord Shingan.
It could be said that Soul Beasts from Wisdom Soul Rings were the most perfect summons to bring out through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. They possessed abundant combat experience and could fully control the battle without Ning Yuhao's commands. Those like the Azure Armored Black Tortoise, however, generally acted only on crude instincts. Any slightly delicate maneuver or coordination with other summoned Soul Beasts required commands from Ning Yuhao or the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Seeing this, the Ice Empress moved swiftly, charging out from behind the Mudstone Barrier again. Her tail stinger gleamed jade-green as she jabbed the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear twice more, this time directly in its knees.
The main issue was that the Ice Empress truly had no other option. Her Soul Ring was attached to the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul. Although she could emerge through the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's first floor, she could not use Soul Skills like the Azure Armored Black Tortoise. Fortunately, she still retained her racial abilities as an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.
With those two jabs, the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear whimpered, no longer roaring. Its body crashed to its knees before it prostrated itself on the ground.
This startled even the Ice Empress, who hurriedly leaped backward several times to put distance between herself and the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear.
"What's going on?" Ning Yuhao was also somewhat baffled. Activating Spiritual Detection, he could see that the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear was trembling all over. It seemed to want to flee, yet an instinctive pressure kept him kneeling in submission.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, however, seemed to suddenly think of something. "I think I know what's going on. Xiao Hao, don't just stand there. Hurry up and finish the fight!"
Ning Yuhao nodded and poured some more Soul Power into the Ice Empress's gradually dissipating body, then stepped out from behind the thoroughly dried Mudstone Barrier himself.
The Ice Empress struck first, climbing onto the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear and darting all over it. Her tail stinger whipped out afterimages as she stabbed specifically at its joints and vital points. By the time her Soul Power ran out and she returned to Ning Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, all the flames on the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear had gone out. The whole bear was as wilted as a frost-stricken eggplant, yet it remained prostrate on the ground, seemingly leaving itself at Ning Yuhao's disposal.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Empress's Pincer!" Ning Yuhao delayed no longer. Switching to his Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul, he slammed both hands down on the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear's head, killing it outright. A black Soul Ring slowly drifted out of it.
"This Scarlet Flame Demon Bear was presumably the overlord of this area. I just scanned around, and there aren't any powerful Soul Beasts within several kilometers."
Ning Yuhao sat down midway between the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear's corpse and its cave, then began absorbing the Soul Ring.
As soon as he began, Ning Yuhao felt a searing presence surge into his body. Vast fire-attribute Soul Power battered his insides. Fortunately, his meridians were tough enough. Although he could feel the impacts, they were not strong enough to tear them apart. Ning Yuhao focused on guiding this enormous mass of Soul Power, while the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress helped suppress it.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's immense spiritual power and the Ice Empress's Ultimate Ice attribute together were practically the natural bane of the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear's fire-attribute Soul Power. That enormous mass of fire-attribute Soul Power was suppressed, guided, and slowly absorbed by Ning Yuhao.
"Roar!" A violent presence appeared within Ning Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, spreading waves of red. Yet his Sea of Consciousness merely stirred with a slight ripple. As the water rippled outward, that presence vanished, and the Sea of Consciousness returned to gold.
Indeed, before other people absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, they had to consider not only how much their bodies could withstand, but also whether they could endure the "Spiritual Shock" that came with absorbing it.
But Ning Yuhao had never considered that point. Even setting aside the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, currently the Soul Beast with the strongest spiritual power on the Douluo Continent, and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, he alone had already weathered so many trials and possessed three Martial Souls, one of which was a spiritual-type Body Martial Soul. The "Spiritual Shock" of a seventeen-thousand-year Soul Beast could hardly stir up wind and waves.
Neither the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nor the Ice Empress intervened. Ning Yuhao easily extinguished the "Spiritual Shock" all on his own.
Only after a long while did Ning Yuhao stand up. His bearing had abruptly changed, and a blazing presence now radiated from him.
He had transformed from a Soul Grandmaster into a Soul Elder, and the push from that immense Soul Power had even brought him to rank 35.
This showed the importance of a Soul Ring's age. Had he merely absorbed a two- or three-thousand-year Soul Ring, he might only have gained one or two ranks. That difference of three or four ranks could mean more than a year of bitter cultivation.
"Let's leave first!" the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reminded him.
Their objective for this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was already complete, so naturally, they should not linger here any longer.
With his increased cultivation, Ning Yuhao moved even faster. Moreover, the farther he traveled toward the outskirts, the younger the Soul Beasts were and the less danger they posed. Before long, Ning Yuhao had withdrawn from the Star Dou Great Forest.
"All right, Brother Sky Dream, can you tell me why that happened now?" Ning Yuhao was also very curious about why the Scarlet Flame Demon Bear had suddenly stopped moving and stretched out its neck for slaughter.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm no longer kept him guessing. "Xiao Hao, do you still remember the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?"
"Of course I remember. That was the first time I encountered such a powerful Soul Beast, and my Wicked Lord Shingan awakened with her help."
"The Three-Eyed Golden Lion has another title: Ancient Auspicious Beast. In ancient times, when Soul Beasts still ruled, an Auspicious Beast would occasionally appear and would invariably be revered as an emperor. That's why she's also called the Emperor Auspicious Beast. No matter how powerful a Soul Beast is, it can only bow in worship before her. And any Soul Beast she chooses as food would never dare resist, other than to flee."