Now that it was almost certain that the sixteen-thousand-year-old Dark Demon Evil God Tiger before him was the sixty-thousand-year-old one Tang San had encountered, Yu Tianling chose to strike decisively to prevent any mishaps.
"God of War Domain!"
Yu Tianling suddenly leaped out of the bushes, blood-red light flaring around him. The instant he landed, he completed Martial Soul Possession, and the blood-red light spread outward, enveloping the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger once again.
In an instant, Yu Tianling's strength increased dramatically, while the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger felt a portion of the strength within its body vanish into thin air.
His domain was activated!
The phantom of an extraordinarily imposing young man appeared behind Yu Tianling. Clad in armor, the young man held a longsword that also radiated blood-red light, matching the light within the domain.
Like Yu Tianling, the young man's phantom stared fixedly at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, bristling with killing intent.
Since Zhu Zhuqing was behind Yu Tianling, she did not see the young phantom's face. Otherwise, she would certainly have been shocked, because the phantom looked remarkably similar to Yu Tianling-one could even say it looked exactly like him.
Zhu Zhuqing, who remained in hiding, and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger were both staring intently at Yu Tianling. Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat nervous, worried about his safety, while the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's gaze was filled with nothing but hatred.
It had never expected that, with the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole waiting behind, it would go from being the oriole to being the mantis!
This time, facing a human Soul Master, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger did not hesitate at all and intended to activate its skill immediately to drag Yu Tianling into another space.
"Hmph! As if I'd let you succeed!"
Seeing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's movements, Yu Tianling snorted coldly, then struck swiftly and decisively.
Among the six Soul Rings surrounding him, the second, first, and fifth lit up in succession.
Second Soul Skill, Spatial Thorns.
In a flash, thorns that appeared out of nowhere completely entwined the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Their spikes pierced straight into its body, binding it firmly.
For a moment, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger actually could not activate its Age Reversal skill.
Left with no alternative, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could only abruptly swell its entire body to break free of the thorns, after which it had to face Yu Tianling's next attack.
First Soul Skill, Spatial Assault.
His First Soul Ring had long since advanced to the thousand-year level, considerably enhancing the skill's capabilities. He appeared beside the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as though teleporting, giving it no chance whatsoever to catch its breath.
While the effects of his First Soul Skill still remained on him, his Fifth Soul Skill, Forbidden Slash, abruptly followed.
Yu Tianling had obtained his Fifth Soul Skill from a Confinement Sword Dragon he had hunted after following Bibi Dong into a special valley.
After reaching Level 50 back then, Yu Tianling had originally planned to follow Ghost Douluo to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a Soul Ring. Unexpectedly, Bibi Dong had taken him straight to the valley, where they found the Confinement Sword Dragon, a rare Soul Beast not even recorded in the reference materials.
His Fifth Soul Skill, Forbidden Slash, could cleave anything and triumph over all it struck. Upon activation, it formed a jet-black longsword in his hand and increased damage by seventy percent. A single slash injured both body and soul, with a fifty-percent chance of drawing the opponent's soul into the Gloomy Space, as though placing it in solitary confinement.
This was Yu Tianling's first time using Forbidden Slash against a Soul Beast. A jet-black longsword condensed in his hand, and he slashed heavily toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's neck. At the same time, the young phantom behind him also held a longsword and mirrored his movements exactly. In an instant, the two longswords seemed to merge into one.
After the jet-black longsword struck the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, black light suddenly flashed across the blade. Joy stirred within Yu Tianling at the sight. He had not expected this very first attack to successfully trigger the hidden skill.
Sure enough, after Yu Tianling darted back several steps, he saw that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's eyes were vacant. Its soul had already been drawn into the Gloomy Space.
Now was the perfect opportunity to attack!
Without the slightest hesitation or pause, Yu Tianling activated his Fifth Soul Skill again, thrusting straight toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's heart.
Without encountering the slightest resistance, the jet-black longsword pierced the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's heart. Yu Tianling withdrew his Soul Power, and the longsword slowly vanished. The pain also jolted the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger awake, but nothing could turn the tide now. In the end, it died unwillingly, and a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring slowly condensed above its corpse.
Even now, Yu Tianling did not let down his guard.
As Yu Tianling stood ready, a black spatial rift abruptly appeared, and a peculiar pearl emerged from the Dark Evil God Tiger's corpse. The pearl appeared pitch-black all over, yet radiated both cyan and blue light. It was precisely the Soul Pearl that Tang San had failed to obtain in the original story.
The instant the Soul Pearl appeared, it tried to slip into the spatial rift just as it had in the original story. But how could Yu Tianling let it have its way? This Soul Pearl was exactly what he had been waiting for. After all, he had no shortage of Soul Rings now.
He decisively activated his Fourth Soul Skill, Ice and Fire Dragon Claw Hand, drawing the Soul Pearl firmly into his right hand, and used Ultimate Ice to freeze the Soul Skill until the Soul Pearl stopped moving.
"Is this the Soul Pearl that later earned the protagonist of Heavenly Jewel Change the title of God of Destruction? From now on, it's mine!"
After examining it briefly, Yu Tianling stuffed it straight into his storage ring.
He then went over to the Dark Night Bodhi Fruit and followed the same method, sealing the fruit in Ultimate Ice to prevent its essence from dissipating after it was picked.
Only after seeing that it was completely sealed in ice did Yu Tianling pick the fruit. Then he hurried over to Zhu Zhuqing and, without pausing at all, pulled her along as he flew toward the outer perimeter.
In Yu Tianling's own later words, this was no place to linger!
Meanwhile, within the Lake of Life in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
As though sensing something, a silver dragon opened its eyes with difficulty, its gaze filled with confusion and surprise.
"Hmm? How could the power of the two Dragon Kings of Ice and Fire...?"
Perhaps because its injuries were too severe, however, the silver dragon fell back into a deep sleep before it could work anything out.
"The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings?!!!"
The Soul Beasts guarding the dragon were utterly shocked upon hearing its words.
"Di Tian, what did our lord mean? Could our lord have sensed the power of the two Dragon Kings of Ice and Fire just now?!"
Di Tian!
If anyone from Douluo Continent II heard this name, they would certainly tremble in fear. He was none other than Beast God Di Tian. What would make jaws drop was that such a powerful Soul Beast could now only undertake the task of guarding the silver dragon and healing its injuries, leaving one unable to help wondering just who the silver dragon was.
"Whether that's the case or not, we need to investigate. Right now, we don't know when our lord will wake again. We can't wait here for our lord to give us an answer."
After hearing the question from the Soul Beast beside him, Di Tian quickly made his decision, then instructed her to investigate.
"Bi Ji, send your clansmen to investigate the Star Dou Great Forest thoroughly. See whether anything strange happened during that stretch of time just now. If anything did, have them send word back, and we'll go take a look then."
"All right, I'll go notify them now."
As Bi Ji departed, the Lake of Life fell silent once more.