Both Soul Beasts had suffered grievous wounds and were now utterly crazed, their bodies thrashing constantly as they tried to break free of the huge net, kill each other after their long battle, and, more than anything, kill Xu Zhengyang, the human enemy who had suddenly appeared.
But Xu Zhengyang would not give them that chance. Both Soul Beasts were now gravely wounded-their very foundations could even be said to have been damaged-and he would never give them a chance to escape.
Enduring his injuries, Xu Zhengyang waved his hand again. Countless poisons instantly flew out of his Soul Tool, blanketing everything within a ten-meter radius.
These were all the poisons Xu Zhengyang had collected during his year in Sunset Forest, some of them even thousand-year poisons. No matter how formidable these two Soul Beasts' bodies were, they would have little chance of escaping so many poisons of so many different kinds.
As the battle continued, the two top-tier Soul Beasts remained exceptionally defiant and ferocious, but their movements gradually slowed. Even after they broke free of the Thunder Flame Enemy-Binding Net with all their might, Xu Zhengyang kept launching sneak attacks from time to time, striking their wounds with his full strength.
Meanwhile, the two Soul Beasts' originally bright red blood actually began turning a deep blue. This was the effect of Xu Zhengyang's various poisons.
A full three hours passed before the two Soul Beasts lay dying on the ground, their poisons taking effect and their injuries far too severe.
Even Xu Zhengyang sat on the ground. He knew that fighting these two top-tier Soul Beasts was simply too dangerous, and the expenditure of Soul Power was enormous as well. Had he not first let them fight each other to the death, he would have had no chance at all. As a mere Grand Soul Master, he could not possibly handle these two Soul Beasts.
After resting briefly, Xu Zhengyang dragged the two dying Soul Beasts away and quickly left the area. The battle here had been too brutal, and he feared it would soon draw other people, or even other Soul Beasts.
After finding a safe place, Xu Zhengyang pierced the two Soul Beasts' heads. Two purple Soul Rings instantly appeared over their corpses.
After making some arrangements around the area, Xu Zhengyang sat cross-legged before the Nether Flame Demon Tiger, preparing to absorb its Soul Ring.
In terms of Soul Ring quality, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's would actually have been better, but its age was too low, and it did not suit him. Even if it went to waste, there was nothing he could do.
Xu Zhengyang hesitated only briefly over the Nether Flame Demon Tiger's Soul Ring before quickly making up his mind.
Xu Zhengyang hesitated no longer and decided to absorb the Soul Ring. He had already done so much and risked his life for so long. He could not possibly give up at this final juncture.
Sitting cross-legged beside the Nether Flame Demon Tiger, Xu Zhengyang summoned his Martial Soul, the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, and used his spiritual power to guide the purple Soul Ring slowly onto it.
In a single instant, a force like roaring mountains and a surging tsunami spread throughout his body. It was scorching as flame, yet freezing as hell.
Xu Zhengyang felt as though this force would crush him in an instant. Blood began seeping through the skin all over his body, and even his bones seemed to be twisted to pieces in that moment. Even his blood seemed on the verge of evaporating.
Yet even as Xu Zhengyang's entire face contorted, he held on. I absolutely cannot die. Nothing can happen to me. This Soul Ring may be a little beyond my age limit, but I can definitely withstand it.
Time and again, on the brink of collapse, Xu Zhengyang struggled with all his might. He faced the terrifying onslaught of Soul Power again and again, but held on throughout.
Just then, a vertical eye suddenly opened on the forehead of Xu Zhengyang's pain-contorted face. It emitted a strange gray energy and even began absorbing the mountain-roaring, tsunami-surging pressure within him.
As the energy flowed into it, the vertical eye grew deeper and more unfathomable, even revealing a trace of inexplicable light. It also grew slightly larger.
Only after a full two days did Xu Zhengyang slowly open his eyes. His body seemed brimming with strength, a strength that seemed to come from every muscle and bone. His entire body was like a furnace, seemingly ready to explode at any moment, and his strength had become inexhaustible, impossible to use up.
Xu Zhengyang felt that he no longer quite resembled a normal person. Instead, he was somewhat like a ferocious tiger. His body's ability to recover, in particular, had also become even more formidable.
"What's going on? I feel as though my entire body has undergone a transformation, changing in a more powerful, more profound direction. It feels as though my whole body, even my bloodline, has changed."
"Could my earlier guess have been right? Tigers have a pure Yang physique, and the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear is my body. After absorbing three tiger Soul Rings in succession, especially beyond my level, along with all these years of tempering, my entire body has begun transforming toward a pure Yang physique."
At that thought, Xu Zhengyang brought out the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear. Just as he had expected, its huge tiger head radiated a terrifying presence, and the entire spear stood proudly upright, its scorching heat even stronger than before.
Xu Zhengyang could clearly sense what seemed to be a cage inside the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear's tiger head, imprisoning something terrifying. That thing seemed to be trying with all its might to burst out.
"Interesting. For Soul Masters, the third and seventh Soul Rings are the most crucial. The third Soul Ring is a bottleneck for countless people, as well as the direction of their future development, while the seventh Soul Ring determines the strength of their Martial Soul True Body."
"It seems that as long as I keep absorbing tiger-type Soul Rings and keep exceeding my own limits when absorbing them, sooner or later, I'll become powerful enough to make everyone tremble in fear."
After examining his body, Xu Zhengyang did not dwell on these matters and instead began dissecting the two Soul Beasts' corpses.
He found nothing unexpected on the Nether Flame Demon Tiger, but when he began dissecting the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's corpse, his expression suddenly changed.
Xu Zhengyang quickened his dissection and soon sensed unusual Soul Power fluctuations in the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's right palm. Once he had finished dissecting it, he discovered a dark golden bone.
The bone was about the size of a palm's skeletal structure, but five long, narrow blades extended from its front, like a miniature Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's claw. In particular, a dark golden glow flowed over it, making it look like a sharp weapon.
"A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone, and a right palm bone at that. Could it really be such a coincidence? Is this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear the Soul Beast that provided Huo Yuhao's External Soul Bone?"
Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears were exceedingly rare Soul Beasts. Even in Star Dou Great Forest, there probably were not many two-thousand-year-old Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears, and the chance of a Soul Bone appearing was even lower.
When Xu Zhengyang had seen the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear fighting the Nether Flame Demon Tiger, he had already formed a guess about this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear and felt that something was amiss. That was why he had attacked it with all his might.
Now it seemed his guess had been right. This was the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear that had provided Huo Yuhao's right palm External Soul Bone, as well as the Soul Beast that had provided the third Soul Ring for Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soulcrush Cauldron in the original story.