Above the forest clearing, a dark barrier stood silently.
Even with the barrier of Soul Power blocking it, the intense heavenly lightning still attracted several greedy Soul Beast.
On the eastern side of the forest, a Lightning Leopard, nearly ten meters long and with a cultivation level of ninety thousand years, strutted along its powerful limbs, bright flashes of electricity occasionally crackling across them.
It was so fast that it could cover fifty meters in the blink of an eye, and it was rushing towards the center where the lightning had dissipated.
In the western sky above the forest, a large blue bird spread its wings, which were ten meters long. Because of its speed, the blue flames on its wings left long trails.
This is a Azure Flame Falcon with a cultivation level of around 90,000 years, and its target is also the central area of the Heavenly Thunder.
At the southernmost point, there was a small hill. With a sudden tremor, soil and rocks rolled down the hill, and it stood up straight from the spot.
Then, a huge tortoise head suddenly rose from the bottom of the hill, its two lantern-like eyes staring intently in Huo Yuhao's direction.
At a glance, it was recognized as a Mountain Turtle with a cultivation level of 99,900 years, and thick earth element was constantly filling the area.
Its limbs are covered with thick rocks, and its large tortoise paws are covered with countless sharp spikes made of hard rocks.
"Roar!"
Mountain Turtle raised its head and roared angrily at the sky. The sound waves spread rapidly through the air, flying past the distant Lightning Leopard and Azure Flame Falcon.
Without prior arrangement, the two Soul Beast with roughly the same cultivation level stopped in their tracks and looked at the enormous body of the Mountain Turtle in the distance.
It was as if the Mountain Turtle was saying, "This is my prey, and no one is allowed to touch it!"
These two Soul Beast were not inferior in cultivation level; in fact, their cultivation was almost on par with that of the Mountain Turtle.
However, given the size of the Mountain Turtle, the difference in their racial bloodline is still difficult to overcome.
This is why the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was able to chase after those Soul Beast that were close to the core area.
However, after pausing for a moment, the two Soul Beast charged out again.
They clearly understood that the heavenly lightning just now was brought about by the Soul Beast undergoing tribulation, and that tribulation had now dissipated.
This means that the Soul Beast has failed to break through, and the Soul Bone and similar things inside its body will not be Destruction.
If these Soul Beast, who are nearly 100,000 years old, can obtain what was left behind, they can almost immediately break through to 100,000 years old.
Although there is only a 10,000-year difference between 100,000 years and 90,000 years, the strength they can demonstrate is vastly different.
Therefore, even when facing an opponent as powerful as the Mountain Turtle, their inner greed still drove them forward.
"Roar!"
Seeing that the two Soul Beast had not retreated, Mountain Turtle was also annoyed. He roared again and strode heavily toward the open space where Huo Yuhao was.
However, a black figure appeared at the very top of these three Soul Beast, staring blankly at the three Soul Beast below.
This person was none other than ' Xuan Zi, ' an avatar summoned by Huo Yuhao's will.
As ' Xuan Zi ' watched the three Soul Beast approaching his main body, he slowly extended his palm. Countless tiny, earth-yellow energies on the ground instantly flew up and converged on his palm.
The three Soul Beast suddenly stopped in their tracks, instinctively looking up at the sky, a hint of fear flashing in their eyes.
A small mountain range instantly took shape in ' Xuan Zi's ' palm. Upon closer inspection, the mountain range was exactly the same as the one beneath his feet.
The other finger of ' Xuan Zi ' flashed with an earthy yellow light, and then he tapped the small mountain three times.
Immediately afterwards, three beams of earth-yellow light shot into the sky from the ground, instantly enveloping the three Soul Beast and immobilizing them in place.
"Roar... Roar... Screech!..."
The three roars were filled with fear. Faced with the inexplicably appearing pillar of light, they dared not move at all, for they had already keenly sensed the terror of the ' Xuan Zi ' in the sky.
Confined, the Mountain Turtle had already retreated into its shell, while the Lightning Leopard and the Azure Flame Falcon trembled and curled up on the ground, too afraid to move.
' Xuan Zi ' took a step forward into the void, and an invisible aura instantly swept across the entire forest.
A strong, resonant voice rang out.
"Roll!"
Then, with a wave of his hand, he released the three restraints. The three Soul Beast dared not linger and turned to flee for their lives.
Even the enormous Mountain Turtle fled at an unbelievable speed, causing the ground to shake violently.
' Xuan Zi ' watched the fleeing Soul Beast, then slowly descended to the ground, soon stopping in front of the barrier set up by Huo Yuhao.
Reaching out and touching the barrier, ' Xuan Zi ' walked straight into it.
At this moment, within the barrier, rampant crimson energy is filling the entire space.
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged in the center, a vortex gathering in his dantian, constantly devouring the Soul Power emanating from the blood-red Soul Ring.
Then, the vortex expanded again, and the previously chaotic energy rushed into Huo Yuhao's body. A blood-red Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.
Buzz!
A buzzing sound filled the space, and all the energy stopped flowing at that moment.
Only the dazzling red light illuminated this dark space.
Then, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes.
The purple eyes disappeared, replaced by two streaks of blood red.
Clear patterns appeared on those blood-red pupils, exactly the same as the six-pointed star petals of the dead Soul Beast.
Huo Yuhao blinked again, and saw that the patterns in those eyes were actually spinning, looking both eerie and dangerous.
"Call!"
Huo Yuhao slowly exhaled a white breath. As his Soul Power receded, he blinked again, and the red color and patterns in his eyes disappeared completely, returning to their original appearance.
Then, three Soul Ring— one gold and two red—rose directly beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, indicating that his apparent strength had completely reached the Soul Elder realm.
With a thought, Huo Yuhao saw the Soul Ring beneath his feet change color, turning into two yellow and one black, and he had already come up with a reason for it.
He raised his hand to retract the black barrier, then nodded to the ' Xuan Zi ' beside him.
' Xuan Zi ' reached out and hugged Huo Yuhao, then flew straight into the sky and headed towards Xiao Xiao and the others.
Huo Yuhao also took this opportunity to study his newly acquired Soul Skill.
The Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring granted him two Soul Skill.
A strange pair of eyes, known as the Eye of Spirit, which Huo Yuhao just revealed, can be used to deceive anyone who makes eye contact with them, causing them to be misled by the illusions created by his Spiritual Power.
Within the mental illusion, the enemy has no chance to resist; if their Spiritual Power is too weak, they may even die directly within the illusion.
When Huo Yuhao's first attack missed, it was because he was affected by this skill, causing a deviation in his Spiritual Power, which led to the attack missing.
As for the other skill of the Soul Ring, it seems to be activated in conjunction with the Eye of Spirit, which can generate a flame of Spiritual Power through the eyes, directly igniting the enemy's Spiritual Power out of thin air.
If used properly, it can even ignite the opponent's soul, making it a kind of bug-level skill.
Generally speaking, if the enemy's Spiritual Power is not strong enough, this mental fire will not be extinguished.
As for the Head Soul Bone's skills, they're a bit of a waste, since they're the only skills that grant immunity to both of these effects.
However, since this Soul Bone can increase one's Spiritual Power by 10%, it is not entirely useless.
Huo Yuhao was quite satisfied with what he had gained this time.