An hour later...
Yu Yuanzhen refined the medicinal power of the Thunderclap Immortal Lingzhi rather quickly. After all, he was a Titled Douluo.
He opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face. "Haha, that immortal herb of yours let me break through one level. I'm now a level ninety-three Titled Douluo."
Yu Xuan smiled. "Congratulations, Father."
The stronger Yu Yuanzhen was, the more help he could provide him.
Yu Yuanzhen stood, raised a hand, and smiled. "That's thanks to you. Let's go to the Star Dou Great Forest."
The two said no more. They turned and left the study, setting off for the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Star Dou Great Forest was as it had always been. Beneath its stillness lurked the natural law of the weak falling prey to the strong.
The two walked through the dense forest without stopping in the weaker outer region, heading toward the dangerous mixed region.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Within the small space beneath the Lake of Life.
The Silver Dragon King abruptly opened her eyes and summoned Di Tian.
"That young man has come to the Star Dou Great Forest again."
"He's here?" Di Tian's heart stirred. Bowing, he asked for instructions, "My lord, should I capture him and bring him here?"
The Silver Dragon King rolled her eyes at him and said softly, "Can't you think of anything besides capturing people?"
Di Tian looked embarrassed and asked quietly, "Then what would you have me do, since you specifically mentioned the young man with the Fire Dragon King Martial Soul?"
"I recall there's a rather fierce little fellow in the core region?" The Silver Dragon King pondered for a moment before asking.
"Yes." Di Tian nodded and waited for her next instruction.
The Silver Dragon King said, "Send that little fellow over to the young man."
Send it to the young man? Could she mean for that unruly Soul Beast to kill him?
No. If my lord wanted to make a move against the young man, there would be no need to rely on that unruly Soul Beast...
Could it be... that she's sending that Soul Beast out specifically for the young man to absorb its Soul Ring?
Thoughts churned in Di Tian's mind, and the more he considered it, the more alarmed he became.
He looked at the Silver Dragon King. Though he had doubts, he dared not say more. He bowed and answered, "I'll see to it at once."
Two figures appeared in a dense forest whose canopy blotted out the sky and sun.
Yu Yuanzhen looked at Yu Xuan and asked, "You absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for your Third Soul Ring. How many tens of thousands of years old do you intend your Fourth Soul Ring to be?"
Yu Xuan pondered for a moment. "With my current spiritual power and physical strength, I feel that thirty or forty thousand years would be no problem at all."
His body and spiritual power had grown noticeably stronger after the Fire Dragon King's baptism, which was why he had the confidence to say so.
"Thirty or forty thousand years?!" Yu Yuanzhen's eyelid twitched, and his tone was uncertain. "Generally speaking, only a Seven-Ring Soul Sage would be confident of absorbing a Soul Ring that old. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"No problem. Father, don't you trust me?"
Yu Xuan grinned. "While I was out gaining experience, I received the Fire Dragon King's baptism. My body, spiritual power, and appearance all underwent a transformation."
"The Fire Dragon King's baptism?"
Yu Yuanzhen knitted his brows, looking uneasy. "You even ran into the Fire Dragon King? Does the Fire Dragon King really exist in this world?"
Yu Xuan shrugged and said calmly, "The Fire Dragon King really does exist, but only a wisp of his remnant soul remains now."
"There's no danger, is there?"
Yu Xuan said, "There's no danger for now. He seems quite friendly toward me."
"That's good."
Yu Yuanzhen sighed with feeling, then remembered that Yu Xuan had always been levelheaded and immediately set aside his concerns. "Since you're confident, let's move a little closer to the core region. Soul Beasts thirty or forty thousand years old aren't easy to find in the mixed region."
Yu Xuan was about to reply when a beast's roar suddenly shook the heavens ahead.
"A Soul Beast is attacking!" Yu Yuanzhen's expression hardened. He instinctively raised a hand to protect Yu Xuan behind him, his gaze fixed on the forest ahead.
Trees toppled one after another ahead, sending dust billowing into the air. Within the haze, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly lit up. A Soul Beast four or five meters tall at the shoulder was faintly visible as it slowly approached them.
Before it came close, Yu Xuan sensed a faint presence. It was somewhat familiar, yet it made him uncomfortable.
"Baleful Qi?"
Yu Xuan's heart tightened as he looked at the Soul Beast blocking their path.
The Soul Beast's appearance had become clear.
Its entire body was crimson, and its head was that of a true evil dragon, with wide, fierce eyes and exposed fangs.
Though its body was covered in dragon scales, it was lean and powerful like a jackal, not at all bulky.
"This is... the Calamity Fire Yazi recorded in the sect's Illustrated Compendium of Exotic Beasts."
Yu Yuanzhen's pupils quivered as he exclaimed under his breath.
"Calamity Fire Yazi?" Yu Xuan frowned slightly, suddenly recalling something. "Father, the Heaven Dou Empire's Marshal Ge Long has a Martial Soul called Yazi too, doesn't he?"
He remembered that Yazi was the second of the dragon's nine sons, a creature born of a dragon and a jackal. The Soul Beast before him did match Yazi's appearance.
Ge Long's Martial Soul was called Yazi, but it was unclear whether the Yazi Martial Soul was lacking or Ge Long himself was. Either way, the Yazi Martial Soul had failed to show the slightest strength.
"This Calamity Fire Yazi is different from his Martial Soul."
Yu Yuanzhen shook his head, his expression grave. "Judging by its age, this Calamity Fire Yazi is about thirty-five thousand years old. According to the Illustrated Compendium of Exotic Beasts, once this kind of Soul Beast reaches ten thousand years of cultivation, its combat strength can rival that of an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. It's exceptionally terrifying."
The instant he finished speaking, the Calamity Fire Yazi revealed its full ferocity. Its agile body sprang up, pouncing at Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Xuan.
"It's coming. Xiao Xuan, protect yourself. I'm going in."
Yu Yuanzhen turned to warn him, then used Martial Soul Possession, forming a pair of thunder dragon claws and raising his hands to meet Yazi's pounce.
Fire and lightning exploded, and Yu Yuanzhen staggered back more than ten steps!
"What a ferocious beast..."
Yu Yuanzhen's gaze sharpened. Feeling the scorching burns on his palms, he hurriedly activated Martial Soul Avatar. His body fused with his Martial Soul, transforming him into a massive Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
"Roar!"
Yazi roared in fury. A vicious-looking blood sword formed in its mouth, and with the blade between its teeth, it flashed forward. In an instant, it reached Yu Yuanzhen and slashed sideways with the blood sword!
Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened. Lightning coiled around him, transforming into four thunder dragons that attacked Yazi from multiple directions.
"Boom!!"
Struck from all sides by the lightning, Yazi was sent flying backward. Yet the instant it was flung into the air, a blood-red light flashed, and a bloody gash appeared on Yu Yuanzhen's dragon body!
Yu Yuanzhen frowned, his body trembling. He had not expected a mere thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast to be so difficult to deal with. He hurriedly activated his Eighth Soul Skill.
Thick thunderclouds suddenly gathered in the sky, and countless bolts of lightning descended, all blasting toward Yazi.
"Roar!!"
After being injured, the Calamity Fire Yazi quickly steadied itself and swept its sword across the ground. A wall of fire erupted from the earth.
The thunderbolts struck the wall of fire, yet for a time they could not break through!
"So strong? Isn't its combat strength even fiercer than a Titan Giant Ape of the same age?"
Yu Xuan watched in utter astonishment. Was this really a thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast?