Hu Liena and the others felt the world fall silent. All they could hear was their own wildly pounding hearts, their breaths squeezing out involuntarily as they stared fixedly at the Soul Beast before them.
The Soul Beast's pitch-black fur was covered in dark red markings. Its body was over eight meters long, its limbs thick and powerful, and its claw tips gleamed with a cold, metallic light.
Its eyes were red, a savage and cunning light swirling within its pupils. The character for "king" on its forehead was black, with a gloomy, mistlike texture.
"What is this?"
Hu Liena and the others, who had read quite a few illustrated guides to Soul Beasts, frantically tried to work out just what kind of Soul Beast stood before them. They sought any relevant records, hoping to find a corresponding weakness they could use to hold it in check and win a chance to escape!
Yet even after thinking for a long time, they could not think of a single Soul Beast that matched it.
"How did we run into this Soul Beast? This Soul Beast actually isn't extinct?!"
Qian Renxue's shocked voice rang out in Jing Shanshan's consciousness, and his fear was temporarily pushed down a little by curiosity.
"You recognize it?"
"Yes!"
The voice Qian Renxue sent into his consciousness carried disbelief.
"This Soul Beast is called the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. By all rights, it should have gone extinct long ago! Why is one here? Judging by its appearance, it has at least fifty thousand years of cultivation!"
Had Qian Renxue's family not kept records of numerous evil creatures, including this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which had been specially marked as extinct, she would not have recognized its true identity at first glance.
"Oh?! Why are you so certain the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger went extinct?"
Hearing that it was something so rare stirred Jing Shanshan's desire to collect it.
"Because the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger increases its strength by devouring other Soul Beasts or humans!
"This tyrannical way of growing means that the moment one appears, all the surrounding Soul Beasts immediately gang up on it. It is often snuffed out before it can grow.
"Among humans, I don't know about the other factions, but if anyone from my clan encounters a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, they will absolutely act to kill it before it can grow."
Jing Shanshan's eyes brightened further, then dimmed.
After his earlier experience with Qian Daoliu, he had gained a more precise understanding of where his own strength stood.
He did not seem to have any confidence in taking down this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger...
"It only appeared before us when we were about to leave the Star Dou Great Forest. If this isn't a coincidence, does that mean we're the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's targets?"
This was what Qian Renxue could not understand. What was there in this group worth such effort from this Soul Beast?
To put it plainly, it had gone to all that trouble to shadow them in hiding, only jumping out when they were about to leave, just to eat small fry like them. Wouldn't it spend more than it gained from eating them?
Could it be after her?
That shouldn't be!
Leaving aside the question of how she had been discovered, she was now merely a wisp of lingering consciousness. Never mind Soul Power-even her divinity had dissipated with the shattering of her divine core. Eating her would not improve its strength.
What was there about anyone present that had caught this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's interest?
"With this kind of imposing presence, this Soul Beast is probably fifty thousand years old."
Hu Lina's face was deathly pale.
A fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, in equivalent terms, was comparable to a peak Soul Douluo among human Soul Masters, or even close to a Titled Douluo.
The strongest on their side was Yan, merely a four-ring Soul Ancestor approaching Soul King. The enormous gulf in levels could not be bridged by any amount of skill or experience.
"I'll stay and do my best to hold it off. Yan, Xie Yue, Zhou Ding, you... you all split up and run. Whoever can get away should get away!"
Hu Lina's voice sounded as though she had barely managed to calm herself.
Escaping successfully together was utterly impossible. In that case, they might as well leave some people behind to hold it off, giving the others a sliver more hope of escape.
"You can't hold it off. The three of us together might have some effect."
Xie Yue's voice was cold. He rejected Hu Liena's proposal outright and stood beside her.
"What kind of joke is that!"
Forcing down his fear, Yan slowly stepped in front of Hu Liena and Xie Yue.
Knowing that saying more was useless, Hu Liena shouted without turning her head.
"Run!!!"
Only after quite a while did Zhou Ding and the other two manage to suppress a little of their fear and move their legs, which had been shaking like chaff in a sieve.
"Jing Shanshan, is this all the courage you've got, kid? Why aren't you running?"
Noticing that Jing Shanshan and "Shi Lang," Qian Renxue, had not left, Yan sounded exasperated, as though dealing with children who did not know better.
Jing Shanshan said nothing. His gaze remained fixed solemnly on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as hundreds of golden ripples spread through the space behind him.
The Martial Souls within the Gate of Babylon that possessed holy attributes were already poised to strike. With a single thought from Jing Shanshan, these Martial Souls that countered evil attributes would shoot toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger at tremendous speed.
"Shi Lang," Qian Renxue, slowly stepped in front of Jing Shanshan.
At the very moment Yan questioned them, Qian Ren noticed something through her special connection with Jing Shanshan.
Just now, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's spiritual sense had suddenly swept over Jing Shanshan, seemingly unintentionally?!
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's target was Jing Shanshan?! That was why it had shown no intention whatsoever of pursuing Zhou Ding and the other two when they turned and ran.
Why?
Apart from his very unusual Martial Soul, Jing Shanshan only had level 10 Soul Power. Eating Jing Shanshan would not give the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger much of an improvement, nor would it gain the Gate of Babylon Martial Soul.
Qian Renxue could not understand, but she understood one thing.
If Jing Shanshan died here, that pitiful goal of hers would come to an end right here.
"Stand down."
Seeing Qian Renxue so bravely shielding him, Jing Shanshan felt nothing but a headache!
Hadn't he told Qian Renxue that any injury to her current body would be reflected one hundred percent onto his own body?!
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger cautiously took a step forward. Everyone braced as though facing a formidable enemy, instantly circulating the Soul Power in their bodies!
Just then, a gigantic chrysanthemum blossomed in the air before the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
Terrifying Soul Power burst from the chrysanthemum. Its golden petals overlapped in layer upon layer, each as sharp as a blade, and instantly shot toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
As though it had long known someone was hiding nearby, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger simply leaped backward, easily dodging the attack and putting a safe distance between itself and the chrysanthemum.
At the center of the chrysanthemum, a slender figure hovered in midair, his skin as delicate as a baby's and his features bewitching, making it impossible to tell whether he was male or female.
An elder of Spirit Hall's Elder Hall, a level 95 Titled Douluo-Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"Elder Ju!"
Seeing Elder Ju, who had always kept her company in Spirit Hall, appear, Hu Liena was instantly wild with joy, no different from someone suddenly grasping a life-saving straw in the depths of despair.
Her heartstrings, stretched taut to the limit a second earlier, abruptly relaxed. Tears nearly welled up in her eyes. The feeling of surviving a brush with death truly filled her with wild joy.
With this level 95 Titled Douluo here to deal with a mere unknown fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, the advantage was theirs! Wouldn't capturing it be as easy as reaching out a hand?!
Chrysanthemum Douluo's appearance undoubtedly gave Hu Liena and the others a powerful calming injection.
Unexpectedly, rather than the resigned yet confident expression they had anticipated, Hu Liena and the others saw Chrysanthemum Douluo looking as though he faced a formidable enemy.
An ominous premonition rose within them, impossible to suppress.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's Seventh Soul Ring appeared around him, and he looked ready to activate his Soul Martial True Body at any moment.
"A Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. It really is this Soul Beast-and a sixty-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger at that!"