Star Dou Great Forest.
An old man and a youth stood side by side, slowly making their way deeper into the forest.
"You brat, Sunset Forest was clearly closer, yet you insisted on coming to Star Dou Great Forest."
"Sunset Forest may be closer, but it still can't compare to Star Dou Great Forest. Besides, my target for my third Soul Ring is a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, so I'll have more choices here. And at your speed, coming to Star Dou Great Forest only takes another half a day."
The old man and youth were none other than Gu Yang and Bone Douluo, who had left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to hunt for his third Soul Ring.
"That's true enough. Star Dou Great Forest does have considerably more Soul Beasts, both in number and variety, than Sunset Forest. But it's also far more dangerous."
"With you here protecting me, Grandpa, do I still need to worry?"
"You brat, don't just keep buttering this old man up. Though I'm a rank ninety-five Titled Douluo, even I wouldn't dare claim I can roam all of Star Dou Great Forest unhindered, especially with a burden like you in tow."
"This time, we're heading into the depths of Star Dou Great Forest solely to hunt for a suitable third Soul Ring for you. But we mustn't get too close to its core."
"According to reliable information, at least three powerful hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts live at the heart of Star Dou Great Forest. Two of them are kings of the Soul Beast Realm: the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape."
"With the natural advantages of their Soul Beast bodies, a hundred-thousand-year Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape would probably force even Titled Douluo to give way before their might. If I were alone, I could still retreat with ease, but with you along..."
Glancing at Gu Yang, Bone Douluo continued, "The strangest thing is that even beings like the hundred-thousand-year Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape seem to submit to another hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. Just imagine how formidable that Soul Beast must be to make those two submit."
"It seems to be a rabbit... though it's been missing for some years now..."
By the end, even Bone Douluo sounded somewhat uncertain.
"All right, hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts aren't something you can deal with at present. Just treat it as gossip. You'd better think about what Soul Beast to choose for your third Soul Ring."
"Still a water-attribute Soul Beast?"
The Sky Azure Bull Python seems to be a water-attribute Soul Beast.
The thought inexplicably flashed through his mind.
Gu Yang had originally planned to choose a water-attribute Soul Beast for his second Soul Ring, only to happen upon a suitable Exploding Bamboo.
So this time, Gu Yang didn't make his answer too absolute either.
"For now, let's settle on either a water-attribute or wind-attribute Soul Beast for my third Soul Ring."
"Did you successfully absorb the Head Soul Bone Fengzhi gave you?"
Gu Yang nodded.
"That's good. With the Head Soul Bone strengthening your spiritual power, we won't have to worry about Soul Shock when you absorb a ten thousand year Soul Ring."
"By the way, what's your Head Soul Bone Skill?"
As a rule, a Soul Master's Soul Skills and Soul Bones were private matters, rarely disclosed to anyone except those closest to them.
Naturally, Gu Yang had no need to hide anything from Bone Douluo.
"The Soul Bone Skill is called Light of Piercing Illusions. It can see through all disguises and illusions."
"Besides that, it also grants immunity to all spiritual attacks."
Hearing this, Bone Douluo nodded thoughtfully. "That does fit the characteristics of a spiritual-type Head Soul Bone... hmm? Wait, that's not right!"
"That's equivalent to two skills!"
"Seeing through illusions and spiritual immunity. As a rule, only hundred-thousand-year Soul Bones should possess two skills. If I remember correctly, the Soul Bone Fengzhi gave you only had sixty thousand years of cultivation."
"And that spiritual immunity effect is far too outrageous. It would make sense for a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, but sixty thousand years... that's simply too inconceivable."
"Grandpa, it might be because of Shikotsumyaku!" Gu Yang voiced his guess.
"Grandpa, a Soul Bone is still a bone. The instant I absorbed it, I could feel it becoming one with me. There was no sense of rejection."
"My guess is that Shikotsumyaku developed the Soul Bone's abilities to their fullest extent."
Gu Yang's guess had a basis as well.
After a Soul Beast had lived and cultivated for so many years, could the power of its Soul Ring after death only be converted into a little Soul Skill?
Or was it that Soul Masters could only develop and use a small portion of a Soul Beast's Soul Ring?
The most direct demonstration was the Clear Sky Sect's Great Sumeru Hammer: Ring Detonation!
After Ring Detonation, a Soul Master's overall strength surged dramatically, so to a certain extent, Ring Detonation could be considered a deeper application of a Soul Ring's power.
A Soul Skill only brought out five percent of a Soul Ring's effect, while Ring Detonation could bring out fifty percent, or even more.
If that was true of Soul Rings, perhaps the same applied to Soul Bones, which embodied a Soul Beast's essence.
Others could only bring out a small portion of a Soul Bone's power after absorbing it, while Gu Yang, relying on Shikotsumyaku, happened to be able to bring out more.
That was all.
Bang!
Just as Gu Yang and Bone Douluo were chatting, a tremendous crash suddenly erupted deep within Star Dou Great Forest.
Countless birds took flight in alarm. The previously rather quiet depths of the forest instantly descended into an uproar, and many Soul Beasts fled.
At the sight, Bone Douluo dropped his joking attitude and moved in front of Gu Yang to protect him, his expression grave.
Before long, the two noticed an unusual presence among the fleeing Soul Beasts.
It was a pure-white steed, though calling it a horse wasn't entirely accurate, for its form was exceedingly peculiar. Its body resembled a horse's, but its head was more like a dragon's, with white dragon scales extending from its forehead down the back of its neck and along its entire spine.
Most striking of all was the diamond-shaped, pale-gold crystal on his forehead, which radiated a distinctive light.
"Is that a Heavenly Dragon Horse, a rare Soul Beast seldom seen on the continent?!"
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had an extensive collection of books, so Gu Yang and Bone Douluo were naturally very knowledgeable. They recognized the particularly eye-catching Heavenly Dragon Horse at a glance.
"Three and a half meters long and nearly two meters tall. This Heavenly Dragon Horse is over ten thousand years old," Bone Douluo judged as he examined it.
"Ten thousand years? That's enough! Grandpa, I'm choosing this Heavenly Dragon Horse for my third Soul Ring!" Gu Yang called out decisively.
Among the continent's seven basic attributes, earth, water, fire, and wind were relatively easy to find, since most Soul Beasts possessed those attributes.
Only the three higher attributes-light, darkness, and space-were comparatively rare.
The Heavenly Dragon Horse had the Radiant Sacred Dragon's bloodline, so its attribute was naturally the scarce light attribute. With its ten thousand years of cultivation on top of that, it couldn't have been more suitable as his third Soul Ring!
After all, light-attribute Soul Beasts weren't something one could encounter whenever one wished.
Sometimes, rarity was synonymous with strength. Blue Silver Grass, for instance, was so abundant that it gave people the impression of being trash.
In Bone Douluo's eyes, choosing the Heavenly Dragon Horse for the third Soul Ring could indeed be a good choice.
"Brat, be careful. These Soul Beasts seem to be fleeing in fear of something."