After saying goodbye to Bai Chenxiang, Tang Feng led Tang Jian and sped off in the northeast direction.
The sea breeze whistled in my ears, and beneath my feet stretched an endless expanse of blue.
Their target was the " Magma Sea " region, about three thousand miles from Sea God Island.
Before his departure, Sea Horse Douluo had given a detailed introduction to that sea area.
" The Magma Sea, as the name suggests, is a place where countless volcanic lava flows beneath the surface. The terrain is extremely complex, the seawater is very hot, and fiery red lava spews out everywhere. Ordinary ships dare not approach it, and even Sea Soul Beast rarely venture there."
"But there dwells a true overlord, the Lava Black Tortoise. Its cultivation exceeds one hundred thousand years, and its size is as massive as a mountain. Its carapace is the hardest in the ocean, and its strength is terrifying. Even the Evil Orca King is unwilling to provoke it lightly."
According to the nautical chart provided by Sea Horse Douluo, the two would need to fly for a full ten days.
The ten-day journey was long and monotonous. Beneath our feet was always that endless blue sky, and above our heads was always that boundless heaven.
During the day, the two traveled, and fortunately, Tang Feng was able to carry the burly Tang Jian through the air thanks to the support of his Soul Core.
At night, they would find a rock protruding from the sea to rest on. Under the starlight, they would eat simple dry rations and then meditate to regulate their breathing.
On the afternoon of the eleventh day, the two finally arrived at the " Magma Sea " area.
The seawater here is noticeably darker than elsewhere, displaying a fiery red hue. Beneath the surface, volcanic lava can be faintly seen flowing.
Tang Feng hovered in the air, his spiritual power spreading out like a tide, carefully sensing this sea area.
The two began searching and traversing the airspace above this Magma Sea.
One day, two days, three days...
On the twelfth day, the two had searched almost the entire Magma Sea before finally spotting it on a volcanic rock beach.
That was a mountain.
A moving, living mountain.
The Lava Black Tortoise lay quietly on the reef, its limbs half-retracted, as if it had become one with the sea. Its carapace was over twenty feet in diameter, a deep crimson red, and covered with countless ancient patterns, as if engraved with the marks of time.
No Soul Beast dared to approach the area within a radius of several miles.
"Ten thousand years..." Tang Jian murmured, his eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.
Tang Feng also stared at the giant tortoise, but his eyes only held a calm scrutiny as he whispered, "Its speed isn't fast, but its defense is probably the strongest I've ever seen among Soul Beast."
Tang Jian looked at him. "How do you plan to fight?"
Tang Feng's lips curled slightly upward. "I'll launch a direct, forceful attack to suppress it and break through its defenses. You then find an opportunity to strike."
Tang Jian nodded solemnly.
The battle erupted instantly.
Tang Feng gave the Lava Black Tortoise no time to react. With a sudden flap of his Flame Dragon Wings, he transformed into a streak of dark golden light, raising his 160,000-pound Clear Sky Hammer high and delivering a simple yet powerful straight slash, carrying the force to Mountain Collapse, and smashing it fiercely into the tortoise shell!
boom!
The deafening roar was deafening!
The Lava Black Tortoise roared in pain. Its massive head emerged from its shell, its murky eyes fixed on the human who dared to offend it. Its jaws opened, and a jet of fiery red magma shot out!
Tang Feng neither dodged nor evaded, but swept his Clear Sky Hammer horizontally, smashing the magma pillar into a sky full of flames!
" Gravity Domain, activate!"
An invisible pressure suddenly descended, and the massive body of the Lava Black Tortoise sank abruptly, its limbs carving deep furrows into the rocks!
But it was, after all, a ruler of a hundred thousand years. After a brief moment of shock and anger, it quickly adapted to the sudden pressure. Roaring, it exerted force with all four limbs and charged towards Tang Feng against ten times the force of gravity!
"Good timing!"
Instead of retreating, Tang Feng advanced, unleashing the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes succession: the Shock Formula, the Collapse Formula, the Break Formula, and the Pierce Formula! One hammer blow after another, each as heavy as a mountain, each blow striking the most solid part of the tortoise shell!
The Lava Black Tortoise's charge was abruptly halted!
It angrily shook its head, attempting to attack Tang Feng with spewing lava. But Tang Feng moved like Gui Mei, narrowly dodging each attack and then retaliating with a heavy blow!
A man and a tortoise engage in a fierce battle on the volcanic rocky beach!
Tang Jian quietly lurked a hundred feet away, concealing all his aura, waiting for the giant tortoise to reveal a weakness.
A stick of incense.
Two sticks of incense.
Three incense sticks.
The Lava Black Tortoise's attacks gradually slowed down. Although its defense was astonishing, even a 100,000-year-old overlord was beginning to feel the strain from Tang Feng's continuous heavy hammer blows. Several small cracks began to appear on its once unmoved shell.
Seeing that the Lava Black Tortoise had been almost completely depleted, Tang Feng roared, and a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted from the Clear Sky Hammer!
Fifth Soul Skill: Heaven-Burning Meteor Strike!
The hammer, carrying the force of a falling meteor, slammed into the deepest crack in the tortoise shell!
Click!
The sound of the tortoise shell shattering was crystal clear!
The Lava Black Tortoise let out a painful hiss, and its massive body swayed violently!
Tang Jian seized the opportunity and shot straight at the target from a hundred feet away like a crimson meteor! The crimson patterns on the Clear Sky Hammer flowed like lava, and the " Evil Shatter " skill from his 80,000-year-old Right Leg Bone was unleashed at the same time!
This was the strongest blow of his entire life!
"Break!!"
boom!!!!
The Clear Sky Hammer slammed heavily onto the crack that Tang Feng had blasted open!
Physical damage, mental damage, and fire damage! A triple attack, all crashing in at once!
The Lava Black Tortoise's mountain-like body finally stopped moving.
The light in its murky, enormous eyes gradually faded. It took one last look at the two humans who had joined forces to defeat it, and let out a long, seemingly liberated sigh.
A blood-red Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse, hovering in the dark seawater, radiating a dazzling light.
Tang Jian was slightly out of breath, staring intently at the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, his eyes filled with barely suppressed excitement.
Tang Feng landed beside him, patted his shoulder, and his gaze sharpened.
Within the corpse of the Lava Black Tortoise, a ball of fiery red light was slowly gathering.
He strode forward and plunged his palm into the ball of light.
A moment later, he took out a piece of Torso Bone that was fiery red all over and had countless ancient patterns flowing on its surface.
A hint of surprise flashed in Tang Feng's eyes, " The Hundred Thousand Year Lava Black Tortoise Torso Bone."
Tang Jian was stunned.
Torso Bone! The rarest and most precious part of the six Soul Bone. Countless people spend their entire lives without ever seeing Torso Bone that is more than ten thousand years old.
Now, a 100,000-year-old Torso Bone lies before him.
"Don't just stand there, absorb the Soul Ring first, then the Soul Bone." His voice was slightly breathless, but it carried a smile.
Tang Jian nodded emphatically, sat cross-legged on the seabed reef, and guided the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring into his body.
Tang Feng did not leave, but stood quietly beside him, protecting him.
One day and one night.
When Tang Jian opened his eyes again, his aura was completely different.
Those eyes now burned with dark red flames, intertwining with their original crimson color to create an eerie yet majestic light.
He slowly rose, his right hand making a grasping motion, and the Clear Sky Hammer fell into his palm as if summoned. Under his feet, eight Soul Ring, yellow, purple, black, and red, pulsed slowly.
The hammer had become even thicker and heavier, its weight now exceeding 40,000 jin (approximately 20,000 kg).
" Level 84." Tang Jian's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "With the level one reward from the Fourth Trial and the upgrade to his Left Leg Soul Bone, I've reached Level 84 directly."
Tang Feng's eyes lit up. "What about Soul Skill?"
Tang Jian closed his eyes, sensing the memories transmitted through his Eighth Soul Ring. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said, word by word:
" Eighth Soul Skill, two of them."
"The first one Lava Heavy Armor. It is a protective armor formed by condensing the power of lava, increasing defense by 300% for five minutes. During this time, 30% of the physical attacks received will be reflected back to the attacker."
Tang Feng raised an eyebrow slightly. Defense plus reflection—this Soul Skill is similar to Niu Zhen's " Mountain's Wrath," but with a stronger effect.
"The second one Lava Sea-Suppressing Hammer. It concentrates the power of the Lava Black Tortoise into a single hammer blow, descending from the sky like a giant turtle suppressing the sea. It's an area-of-effect attack; enemies within a hundred feet radius will be immobilized by the lava's power, unable to move, while simultaneously enduring the heavy hammer's impact. The immobilization time depends on the enemy's cultivation level; for an ordinary Soul Douluo, it's approximately three seconds."
Tang Feng's lips curled up in a smile.
A ranged immobilization combined with a ranged attack! This Soul Skill perfectly compensates for Tang Jian's weakness in crowd control.
Then, Tang Feng handed him the Soul Bone and said, "Take advantage of your good condition now and absorb it quickly. The fusion time for the Torso Bone is longer than that for the limb bones."
Tang Jian took a deep breath, accepted the Soul Bone, and sat down cross-legged.
Another day and night passed.
When he opened his eyes again, his breathing had increased dramatically.
"Level 86." He couldn't hide his elation. "My physical strength... has increased by at least 100%, and the weight of the Clear Sky Hammer has reached 50,000 jin."
Tang Feng nodded. "What about the Soul Bone Skill?"
"Two too." Tang Jian stood up, his eyes filled with joy. "The first one is the Black Tortoise Undying Body. It's a passive skill; there's a 50% chance it will completely negate any attack for one minute."
Tang Feng's eyes lit up. Complete immunity! This was a true divine skill.
"Secondly, the Black Tortoise Damage-Reflection Armor. Once activated, within ten seconds, all physical damage received is reflected back to the attacker. The user remains unharmed."
Tang Feng gasped.
A full rebound; within ten seconds, any physical attack is suicidal.
He looked at Tang Jian, his eyes filled with satisfaction. " Brother Jian, you're now... I'm afraid ordinary Titled Douluo are no match for you at all."
Tang Jian grinned, his smile brimming with delight.
He knew that from this moment on, he finally had the confidence to charge into battle for Tang Feng.
Without lingering, the two packed up and immediately began their journey home.
The journey went relatively smoothly, and there was no need to search on the way back, so the two slowed down. They traveled while familiarizing themselves with their newly acquired Soul Power and skills.
At the same time, Tang Feng also passed on the Great Sumeru Hammer to him. With Tang Jian's current physical strength, possessing four 40,000-year-old limb Soul Bone and one 100,000-year-old Torso Bone, he was fully capable of controlling the violent energy after the Ring Detonation.