Just as everyone was about to offer their congratulations, Tang Feng suddenly walked towards the tiger's corpse.
He crouched down beside the still-warm Purple-Patterned Space-Rending Tiger, his palm pressing lightly, and a gentle stream of Soul Power probed into the corpse.
A moment later, he pulled a piece of Soul Bone from the tiger corpse's left leg.
It was a deep purple Left Leg Soul Bone with faint golden tiger stripes on its surface, its shape sleek and full of power. The moment the Soul Bone appeared, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder whistling around it.
" The Left Leg Soul Bone a 40,000-year-old Purple-Patterned Space-Rending Tiger."
Tang Feng examined him for a moment, then looked at Tang Jian, "Absorb the Soul Ring first, and fuse the Soul Bone after you've absorbed the Soul Ring."
Tang Jian paused for a moment, then grinned. "Okay."
Without saying much, he sat down cross-legged again, guiding the Soul Ring into his body and slowly refining the power of the newly acquired Soul Ring into his limbs and bones.
Energy surged like a burst dam, flooding into every inch of his meridians and bones. This was the desperate counterattack of a 40,000-year-old overlord before his death, the ultimate contest between wild will and human resilience.
Tang Jian clenched his teeth, his gums bleeding, and the veins on his forehead bulging like earthworms.
One hour, two hours, three hours...
As dusk enveloped the stone forest at the fourth hour, Tang Jian opened his eyes. His Soul Power fluctuations had stabilized at the peak of Level 62, just a hair's breadth away from level sixty-three.
He slowly rose to his feet, his bones cracking and popping softly, as if he had been reborn.
Tang Jian loosely clenched his right palm, and the Clear Sky Hammer fell into his palm as if summoned.
" The Clear Sky Hammer has reached ten thousand jin. The Sixth Soul Skill, ' Space-Rending Pursuit,' grants an extreme burst of acceleration, increasing attack speed by three hundred percent and strength by one hundred percent."
Tang Jian's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
Tang Feng nodded, then took out the purplish-gold Soul Bone and handed it to him, "Absorb it now."
Tang Jian took the Soul Bone, which was warm to the touch. He took a deep breath and pressed the Soul Bone against his left leg.
A pale purple light emanated from his left leg, the ultimate fusion of bloodline and power.
After a long while, the light faded, and Tang Jian opened his eyes to sense the skills transmitted by the Soul Bone.
"He broke through to Level 64 directly. His Soul Bone Skill, ' Space-Rending Step,' allows him to perform a short-distance spatial jump, similar to Teleportation, with a maximum range of 50 meters."
Tang Jian said excitedly again.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gasped in shock, even Tang Feng was slightly moved.
The Soul Bone that Tang Jian obtained, just like the Teleportation skill that Tang Feng himself acquired, gave a pure strength-type Power Attack System Soul Master a high-level spatial displacement ability, which was a qualitative change in his fighting style.
Tang Jian looked at Tang Feng intently, about to open his mouth to say something.
"Alright, alright, stop being so mushy, Brother Jian, you have a long road ahead of you!"
Tang Feng joked.
After Tang Jian completed the Soul Hunting, the team's overall strength was now vastly different from before.
Instead of rushing to leave, the group slowed down and moved cautiously towards the edge of the forest.
On the evening of the sixth day, the team reached the outskirts of the mixed zone and set up camp in a sheltered mountain hollow.
After days of travel, everyone was quite tired. After a simple barbecue dinner, they each found a place to meditate.
As night deepened, the campfire crackled. Tang Feng and Zhu Zhuqing sat side by side on the outskirts of the camp, where they were on night watch.
At the third quarter of the hour of midnight, a strange change occurred.
Niu Zhen's aura suddenly became chaotic, and his originally deep and powerful Soul Power began to surge violently.
Tang Feng sensed something was wrong and went to Niu Zhen's side. Everyone was also awakened and gathered around.
Soon, Niu Zhen's turbulent aura gradually subsided, and his Soul Power successfully broke through to level fifty.
Everyone offered their congratulations, Tang Feng said, "We're still in the mixed zone, so tomorrow we'll continue searching for a suitable defensive Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for Niu Zhen."
This search lasted for another ten days.
On the evening of the tenth day, Bai Chenxiang discovered the target deep in a hidden swamp during a high-altitude reconnaissance mission.
After landing, she excitedly exclaimed, "I found a huge turtle in a swamp six miles away! Its shell is yellowish-brown, and the patterns look like a cracked riverbed!"
Tang Feng inquired about the location and characteristics in detail, pondered for a moment, and then said with a smile, "That should be a Earth Dragon Turtle. Its age... is approximately between 16,000 and 18,000 years."
He looked at everyone, his tone filled with surprise. " The Earth Dragon Turtle possesses a rare Earth Dragon bloodline, making its defense top-tier among Soul Beast of the same age. It is extremely calm and rarely attacks unless provoked. However, once provoked, its shell can unleash the ' Earth Vein Protection ' skill, which is extremely difficult to break through, making it very suitable for Niu Zhen."
This was a battle without dramatic upheavals; the process was far less thrilling than that of the Purple-Patterned Space-Rending Tiger.
The group had a number of methods to deal with a defensive Soul Beast that was less than 20,000 years old. Whether it was Zhu Zhuqing's armor-piercing technique or Dugu Yan's deadly poison, both were very effective methods.
The battle lasted only fifteen minutes before the giant tortoise let out a long sigh and ceased breathing as if relieved.
It took Niu Zhen three whole hours to absorb the Soul Ring. When he opened his eyes again, he had an added layer of calm and heavy aura around him.
"Level 52, Fifth Soul Skill ' Dragon Turtle Protection '. Once activated, it connects to the earth, covering the entire body with a protective shield for 15 minutes, tripling defense and halving Soul Power consumption," Niu Zhen said happily, his lips curling into a wide smile.
More than two months have passed since Niu Zhen completed the Soul Hunting.
The group embarked on their journey home, and five days later they finally emerged from that boundless, vast forest.
When the long-awaited sunshine shone down on us without any obstruction, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath, as if an invisible burden had been lifted from their shoulders.
The Soul Hunting Town remained bustling. Adventurers came and went, and the taverns wafted the aroma of cheap beer and roasted meat. The group found the best hotel in town and booked seven superior rooms in one go.
Looking at his slightly tired companions, Tang Feng said, "Let's rest for two days. Everyone, get some rest and don't think about anything."
Why are there seven rooms for ten people? Of course, it's because there are only three couples here.
This time, the single Dugu Yan surprisingly didn't interfere, and Tang Feng and Zhu Zhuqing finally had a rare moment of intimacy alone. Like dry wood meeting a raging fire, the intensity of their encounter was beyond description.
On the morning of the third day, as dawn broke, Tang Feng gathered everyone in his room.
Two days of rest restored everyone's spirits and energy.
After nearly three months of Soul Hunting, everyone has grown to varying degrees.
Tang Jian stabilized at Level 64, Ye Lingling at level 63, Zhu Zhuqing broke through to level 65, Tai Long and Niu Zhen both entered the Soul King realm, both at level 52, Bai Chenxiang at level 46, Dugu Yan at level 67.
Oscar and Ning Rongrong had already reached level 59 in Soul Power two months ago.
"Before we set off, there's something we need to discuss." Tang Feng's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Oscar and Ning Rongrong, and he continued:
"The intense battles and training of the past two months have significantly boosted your Soul Power. With your current accumulation, you'll probably reach the Level 60 bottleneck in about a month."
He paused, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable seriousness. "Given your physical strength, your Sixth Soul Ring must be at least 30,000 years old. We need to plan this out in advance."
Tang Feng took out a map from his Soul Tool and spread it out on the table. It was a detailed map of the northwestern territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.
His fingertip traced across the map, marking several heavily inked mountain shapes. "From Soul Hunting Town to Vast Sea City, even at the fastest carriage speed, it would take more than two months. These mountain ranges all have records of ten-thousand- Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
He looked up at Oscar and Ning Rongrong:
"My suggestion is to not deliberately stop and wait, but continue on our way at a normal pace, maintaining our cultivation rhythm, and proceed along these mountain ranges. If we break through a bottleneck along the way, we can Soul Hunting on the spot in the mountains we pass through. What do you all think?"
Oscar and Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance and said without hesitation, " Brother Feng, of course we believe you! Let's just follow your suggested route."
Tang Feng looked at them without saying anything more. He put away the map and said, "It's settled then. Let's set off now, destination: Vast Sea City!"
The carriage drove Soul Hunting Town, its wheels rolling and kicking up dust as it headed northwest.
Tang Feng lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. In the distance, the outline of the Star Dou Great Forest was slowly blurring, and the road ahead was still very long.