Its canopy spread like an umbrella, its leaves edged as sharply as blades, while its opponent was a gigantic dark gold bear.
The bear was not particularly enormous, standing only four or five meters tall.
For a bear, however, it was exceptionally agile, dodging the Raging Blood Iron Birch's whipping branches several times.
Its claws left gashes deep enough to expose bone in the Raging Blood Iron Birch's trunk.
Yet when the Raging Blood Iron Birch's attacks landed on it, they seemed to do little more than tickle.
Its defenses were just as astonishing!
Crouching behind the bushes, Gui Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.
Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!
He recognized this Soul Beast.
When he had read the original novel in his previous life, this kind of Soul Beast had left a deep impression on him.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was an extremely rare bear-type Soul Beast with a thin trace of the ancient Behemoth bloodline.
And this bear had only four or five thousand years of cultivation, yet it was already beating a ten-thousand-year Raging Blood Iron Birch into submission.
Although Yue Guan and Gui Mei were knowledgeable and experienced, they had never actually seen a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
Gui Mei watched the battle for a while, his brows furrowing slightly. "There's something strange about this bear. Its cultivation clearly isn't high, yet its strength far surpasses that of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast."
Yue Guan nodded. "The Raging Blood Iron Birch is completely outmatched. At this rate, it'll probably be beaten to death before long."
He turned to Gui Yuan. "Xiao Yuan, it looks like we can't wait for them to wear each other down."
"Your second dad and I will intervene directly and finish this quickly."
Gui Yuan nodded. "I'll listen to you, Dad."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, then moved simultaneously.
Like two streaks of light, they appeared beside the two Soul Beasts in the blink of an eye, Soul Rings flashing beneath them.
"Sixth Soul Skill, Golden Stamens Radiate Flowing Rosy Clouds!"
The Sixth Soul Ring beneath Yue Guan rose, and golden stamens transformed into a sky full of streaming light that poured toward the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear like a meteor shower.
Gui Mei unleashed his fifth Soul Skill, Ghost Shadow Earth Pool Hand.
A mass of ghostly claws instantly emerged from the ground beneath the Raging Blood Iron Birch, holding it firmly in place to prevent it from escaping in the chaos.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clearly had not expected human Soul Masters to intervene.
An intense dark gold light suddenly erupted from its body, and all its fur became as hard as iron.
The golden streaks struck its body with a series of explosive booms.
When the dust cleared, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had actually suffered only superficial injuries.
"What powerful defenses!" Yue Guan's pupils contracted.
Although that attack had only been his sixth Soul Skill, with his cultivation, an ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Beast would have been severely injured, if not killed.
He had thought that, since this bear's presence was comparable to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast's, the attack would at least severely injure it.
Who could have imagined that it would suffer only minor injuries?
"Roar!"
Thoroughly enraged, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear locked its scarlet eyes on Yue Guan and swung a claw fiercely.
Five dark gold claw rays tore through the air, slashing toward Yue Guan with a terrifying howl.
Yue Guan did not dare take it lightly, and his Soul Rings lit up in succession.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Solitary Fragrance Admiring Itself!"
"Fifth Soul Skill, Gathering of Cold Blossoms!"
His fourth Soul Skill boosted all his attributes, while his fifth Soul Skill condensed a mass of sharp flying blades with homing capabilities.
The flying blades collided with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw in midair, producing an ear-piercing metallic screech.
Gui Mei frowned nearby.
This Soul Beast is rather strange. To think it's this powerful, he thought.
Then he stopped holding back and directly unleashed his Seventh Soul Skill.
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
He transformed into an enormous ghostly apparition, his presence surging severalfold.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Ghost Shadow Earth Pool Hand!"
More ghostly claws surged from the ground, tightly binding the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's limbs.
"Second Soul Skill, Soul Devouring Claw!"
Pitch-black claw shadows slammed into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's back and neck simultaneously.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear struggled wildly in pain, but with his Martial Soul Avatar active, the suppressive force of Gui Mei's netherworld power far exceeded what it had been before.
Yue Guan also seized the opportunity to launch successive attacks.
After two rounds of fierce exchanges, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear finally met its bitter end, its massive body crashing to the ground.
Meanwhile, the Raging Blood Iron Birch restrained by Gui Mei was also left on its last breath by a strike from Yue Guan.
The dark red blood markings on its trunk had already lost their luster, and its branches drooped limply.
Yue Guan beckoned behind him. "Xiao Yuan, come give it the finishing blow."
Gui Yuan stepped forward without using a dagger.
With a thought, the Darkin Bow appeared in his hand.
Delivering the finishing blow to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast like this with an ordinary blade was still somewhat difficult.
Moreover, Plant-type Soul Beasts possessed tenacious vitality. Although his dad and second dad were standing guard beside him, he did not want any accidents.
Most importantly, he had now reached rank thirty and could begin using the Darkin Bow. He wanted to test the might of this divine artifact.
Gui Yuan drew the bowstring, and darkin power gathered on the bow, forming an arrow as black as ink.
He aimed at the core of the Raging Blood Iron Birch's trunk and released.
Whoosh.
The black arrow cut through the air and pierced precisely through the Raging Blood Iron Birch. With a dull thud, the Raging Blood Iron Birch lost all signs of life, and a black Soul Ring slowly emerged from the break.
Gui Yuan put away the Darkin Bow, only to feel a wave of weakness within him.
He lowered his head to look at his hands and frowned. That single arrow had consumed a third of his Soul Power.
The consumption was far too terrifying!
Of course, its power was also immense.
The Darkin Bow was a divine artifact, after all, and the arrows it fired carried a faint trace of divine power.
Even a mere sliver-almost none at all-was enough to make this strike comparable to a Soul King's full-powered attack.
Yue Guan walked over and patted his shoulder. "Very good, very good. Just what you'd expect of a divine artifact."
Gui Yuan shook his head. "My cultivation is still too low. I can't bring out the divine artifact's true power at all."
Gui Mei said from beside them, "Meditate and recover your Soul Power first. It'll be better to absorb this Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring in peak condition."
Gui Yuan nodded, sat cross-legged, and began meditating.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei stood guard on either side.
About an hour later, Gui Yuan's Soul Power had fully recovered.
He opened his eyes again and was just about to draw over the Raging Blood Iron Birch's Soul Ring.
Just then, Gui Mei suddenly discovered something new. He crouched beside the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's corpse, beneath which a faint light was actually shining.
"This is..." Gui Mei felt around with his hand, his expression shifting slightly. "Old Chrysanthemum, look!"
Holding a dark gold bone fragment between his fingers, he pulled it free from the bear's corpse.
The bone fragment was shaped like a claw, its edges as sharp as blades, with fine golden patterns flowing across its surface.
"Is this a right-palm external Soul Bone?" Yue Guan leaned closer to look, his pupils abruptly contracting.
An external Soul Bone was second in value only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
"Xiao Yuan, our luck on this trip has been outrageously good."
Yue Guan held the Soul Bone out to him. "Put it away for now. We'll talk after you've absorbed the Raging Blood Iron Birch's Soul Ring."
"It's never too late to absorb an external Soul Bone, but if you don't absorb the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring soon, it'll disappear."
Neither Yue Guan nor Gui Mei had any intention of absorbing this external Soul Bone.
After all, given their current strength, an external Soul Bone would not be of much use to them, nor could they help it grow to a very high age.
Having Gui Yuan absorb it was the most suitable choice!