"Tianling, you've studied Soul Beasts quite extensively. Do you have any recommendations for my sister's and my fourth Soul Rings?"
Xie Yue took a few steps forward to Yu Tianling's side and asked.
Hearing Xie Yue's question, Hu Liena stopped chatting with Zhu Zhuqing and listened attentively.
"Brother Yue, after absorbing the immortal herbs, you and Sister Na should be able to withstand the impact of Soul Beasts below ten thousand years old. In other words, your fourth Soul Rings can absolutely exceed the five-thousand-year age limit. You can choose Soul Beasts approaching ten thousand years old."
The choice of Soul Beast determined the Soul Skill and its power, so Yu Tianling naturally dared not be careless. He thought for a moment before offering his analysis.
"Beyond the age limit?! Can we really do that?"
Hu Liena could not help clenching her right hand, feeling a little unsure of herself.
Did she not want a Soul Ring beyond the age limit?
No!
She wanted one desperately. Every one of Yu Tianling's Soul Rings had been absorbed beyond the age limit, which had made him so powerful. Hu Liena wanted to become stronger too, but absorbing Soul Rings beyond the age limit meant taking greater risks.
"Nana, don't worry. After absorbing the immortal herbs, your physical constitutions and aptitudes have both improved tremendously. You'll definitely be fine absorbing Soul Rings below ten thousand years old."
Hearing Hu Liena's words, Chrysanthemum Douluo explained gently.
"That's wonderful!"
"Thank you for granting us the immortal herbs, Holy Son. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have dared dream of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the age limit, below ten thousand years old, for my fourth Soul Ring."
Hearing the words of Chrysanthemum Douluo, an expert on immortal herbs, Xie Yue nearly shouted with excitement and could not help thanking Yu Tianling sincerely once again.
"Ah, if only I'd known! I would have broken through to Level 40 later and obtained my Soul Ring later. A Soul Ring beyond the age limit-I want one too."
Yan looked as though he had suffered a crushing blow. For the first time, he wished he had broken through more slowly. Back then, as soon as he reached Level 40, he had followed an academy teacher to the Star Dou Great Forest and obtained a four-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old fourth Soul Ring.
"Hahaha."
Hearing Yan's words, everyone present could not help laughing aloud. He really looked like a resentful wife shut away in her boudoir; it was far too funny.
And so they chatted along the way. Zhu Zhuqing also grew familiar with the others, and they talked and laughed throughout the journey.
"For the fourth Soul Ring, Sister Na could choose a Phantom Bird, a Ghost Tiger, or a Jade Bird. For Brother Yue, I'd recommend a Shadow-Seizing Bamboo, a Six-Winged Flying Serpent, or a Purplish-Brown Griffin."
After carefully considering their choices of Soul Beasts for a while, Yu Tianling finally gave his answer before they reached the Forest Hotel.
"All right, we'll follow your advice."
Hu Liena and Xie Yue had no objections whatsoever to Yu Tianling's recommendations. They knew they could not go wrong leaving it to him.
Afterward, the others booked rooms beside Yu Tianling's and Zhu Zhuqing's rooms in the hotel. Once they finished dinner that evening, they returned to their own rooms to rest.
Inside the Sunset Forest.
The group arrived early in the morning.
"This Shadow-Seizing Bamboo has nine segments and nine leaves, which proves it's over nine thousand years old. It's just right for Brother Yue. This is also the Soul Beast I consider most suitable for him. Its Soul Skill should have extremely strong control capabilities, helping Brother Yue perform better in battle. Ghost Elder, please subdue it yourself."
Looking at the unremarkable, deep-black bamboo standing behind a patch of grass, Yu Tianling observed it carefully and could not help feeling delighted. He then turned to Ghost Douluo beside him and gave the instruction.
The others were delighted too. They had not expected to find a suitable Soul Ring just after arriving in the Sunset Forest, let alone a Shadow-Seizing Bamboo, a relatively powerful Soul Beast among plant-type Soul Beasts.
"All right, leave it to me."
Ghost Douluo nodded, then immediately turned invisible and vanished from the vicinity.
In an instant, Ghost Douluo's second Soul Skill, Soul-Devouring Claw, abruptly appeared around the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo. Deep-black claws attacked it, leaving deep gashes across its body from which dark-green sap flowed.
Realizing it was under attack, the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo hurriedly retaliated. In an instant, as its branches and leaves swayed, everything within three meters sank into darkness, and no presence could be sensed inside.
The Shadow-Seizing Bamboo's ability was to summon a shroud of darkness. Any creature caught within it, provided it was not strong enough, could lose its way in the darkness and become a dizzy, directionless fly.
"Heh, trying to play with darkness in front of me? You're not qualified!"
At the sight before him, Gui Mei merely gave a disdainful smile, then activated his second Soul Skill again and charged straight into the shroud of darkness.
Never mind that he was a Titled Douluo, far more powerful than this living target of just over nine thousand years; even his current Ultimate Darkness attribute was more profound than the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo's darkness. The two were not on the same level at all. Had the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo been a hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast, he might have found it somewhat troublesome, but a nine-thousand-year-old one? Gui Mei could only say, Sorry, but become Xie Yue's Soul Ring!
Crack!
With a crisp crack, the darkness surrounding the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo receded, and Gui Mei's figure appeared.
Only then did everyone clearly see the situation before them.
The Shadow-Seizing Bamboo had been severed at the waist and lay bent helplessly on the ground, already at death's door.
"Go ahead, Brother Yue. Just stab into the roots of the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo."
"All right."
Xie Yue summoned his Martial Soul and went straight to the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo. Without giving it a chance to cling to life, he delivered a fatal slash.
Then Xie Yue sat down on the spot and began absorbing the deep-purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring rising from the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo.
With two Titled Douluo powerhouses guarding him, Xie Yue had no need to worry about his safety.
As the deep-purple Soul Ring slowly settled onto the Moon Blade, Xie Yue instantly felt the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo's immense resentment. Soul Masters who absorbed Plant-type Soul Beasts were already few, and the Shadow-Seizing Bamboo was fairly powerful, which had allowed it to grow for over nine thousand years near the outer edge of the forest. It had never imagined it would be killed by a Titled Douluo today.
But this resentment was nothing to Xie Yue, who had once witnessed his parents being killed in a Soul Beast rampage. The resentment struggled against Xie Yue's powerful will for only a short while before suffering complete defeat, ultimately leaving it no choice but to let Xie Yue absorb the Soul Ring's power.
"He's made it through. Looks like the Yue boy will be fine from here on."
Only when he saw Xie Yue's expression become calm again did Chrysanthemum Douluo relax.
Although he knew and was certain that the two could withstand Soul Rings over nine thousand years old after absorbing the immortal herbs, that did not stop him from worrying. He had practically watched the two of them grow up and knew their parents had died tragically in the beast tide. His heart ached for them, and over the years, he had treated them like his own grandson and granddaughter. So when he saw Xie Yue suddenly show pain, Chrysanthemum Douluo could not help becoming anxious.
At that moment, a great surge of Soul Power coursed through Xie Yue's body, constantly washing through every part of him. His internal organs suffered damage again and again, but at the same time, the lingering medicinal power of the immortal herb quickly healed them, making them tougher than before. Through this repeating cycle, Xie Yue grew stronger from the inside out.