Yu Xuan thought for a moment, then took out the Fire Dragon King's reverse scale and held it close to the narrow gap.
The gap suddenly rippled and spread apart to either side, revealing a spatial rift.
"Good thing you took that reverse scale. Otherwise, I'm afraid our corpses would be lying here too."
Yu Yuanzhen felt a surge of relief.
The two of them stepped out through the spatial rift. The red mist outside had already vanished.
Yu Xuan glanced around and said, "Looks like we were transported somewhere else, but it's still scorching hot here. We should still be somewhere around the volcano."
Yu Yuanzhen smiled, walked ahead, and beckoned to him. "Come on, let's keep looking for a suitable First Soul Ring for you."
Before long, the two found a mischievous Tail Blade Flame Dragon on a hillside strewn with jagged rocks.
The Soul Beast was scarlet all over and looked somewhat like an ankylosaurus, except that instead of a club at the end of its tail, it had a broad, twisted bone spike shaped like a sword blade.
It was bullying a pair of thousand-year-old rascal snakes.
As its name suggested, the Tail Blade Flame Dragon was a dragon, though not a true one. True dragons were nearly extinct in this age; it was merely a sub-fire dragon.
Clearly, this Soul Beast was suitable for Yu Xuan.
Yu Yuanzhen said, "This Tail Blade Flame Dragon is approximately fifteen hundred years old. Your body should be able to withstand the energy impact from its Soul Ring. I'll go catch it."
With that, he sprang into the air, his figure turning into a streak of lightning as he lunged straight at the Tail Blade Flame Dragon.
After slapping it half to death with a few mighty smacks, Yu Yuanzhen dragged its body back.
"Clang!"
Yu Yuanzhen tossed out a sharp dagger. "Xiao Xuan, use this knife to kill the Soul Beast."
"All right," Yu Xuan answered. He picked up the short blade and walked up to the Tail Blade Flame Dragon. With a friendly smile, he drove it viciously into the creature's eye as it stared at him in terror.
After he stirred the blade around, a purple Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.
Yu Xuan sat cross-legged beside the corpse and used his Soul Power to draw the purple Soul Ring over and absorb it.
A surge of scorching heat rushed into his body. Yu Xuan grunted and gritted his teeth, suppressing the discomfort as he guided the Soul Ring to fuse with his Martial Soul.
Suddenly, a faint light appeared on the Tail Blade Flame Dragon's tail.
Yu Yuanzhen's eyes lit up. He swiftly stripped away the flesh from its tail and extracted a flame-shaped greatsword covered in flame patterns.
"It's actually a legendary External Soul Bone, and a weapon-type External Soul Bone at that!"
Yu Yuanzhen had never expected such good fortune on this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest. First there was the secret realm, and then, after killing a thousand-year-old sub-fire dragon, they had even gotten an External Soul Bone.
"I'll put it away first and surprise Xiao Xuan with it later. He'll definitely be happy when he sees this External Soul Bone."
He lowered his voice, unable to keep from laughing.
Time passed, and eight hours went by.
For a level-ten Soul Master to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring was, after all, pushing things too far.
Yu Xuan did not dare relax for even a moment. Over the course of those hours, he felt as if he were surrounded by raging flames, the scorching heat leaving him somewhat numb.
Fortunately, he came through without mishap and successfully absorbed the Soul Ring.
Yu Xuan slowly opened his eyes to the sight of a burning pile of firewood and the pitch-black night.
Yes, eight hours had passed, and night had fallen long ago.
Yu Yuanzhen was turning a skewer of meat over the fire. Its enticing aroma drifted over, whetting Yu Xuan's appetite.
Yu Xuan also noticed pairs of eyes shining in every direction. Nearby Soul Beasts had probably been drawn over by the smell of meat, but Yu Yuanzhen's presence had cowed them into keeping their distance.
"Xiao Xuan, once I saw that your condition had stabilized, I lit a fire and cut some meat from the Tail Blade Flame Dragon to roast. You must be hungry. It'll be ready soon," Yu Yuanzhen said.
Yu Xuan swallowed. "I am a little hungry. Aren't we going back now?"
"We'll leave after we've eaten our fill." Yu Yuanzhen chuckled.
"You might not know this yet, but that Tail Blade Flame Dragon gave you more than a Soul Ring. It also dropped a Soul Bone."
"What kind of Soul Bone?" Yu Xuan could not help asking.
Yu Yuanzhen smiled. "It's an External Soul Bone, a weapon-type one. You noticed the bone spike at the end of the Tail Blade Flame Dragon's tail, didn't you? That Soul Bone evolved from it."
"A weapon-type Soul Bone? Where is it now?" Yu Xuan's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together.
An External Soul Bone!
It was a wondrous thing, a special existence outside the six main categories of Soul Bones.
Once absorbed, it could grow stronger along with the Soul Master's level, and even evolve.
Yu Yuanzhen smiled and took a greatsword out of his Soul Tool.
It was a flame-shaped bone sword, about 1.8 meters long, with a blade like undulating flames, an extended grip, and a broad handguard.
"What a sword!" Yu Xuan's eyes shone even brighter. It might not be a one-handed short sword, but a greatsword like this was even more domineering!
Yu Yuanzhen held it up in one hand and offered it to Yu Xuan. "Xiao Xuan, this External Soul Bone is yours. You've absorbed the Tail Blade Flame Dragon's Soul Ring, so absorbing its Soul Bone as well couldn't be more fitting."
"Thank you, Father." Yu Xuan accepted the greatsword with both hands. The blade felt heavy, and it really was long-taller than he was...
"We're father and son; there's no need for thanks." Yu Yuanzhen raised a hand and continued, "Put this bone sword away for now and absorb it when we return to the clan. Soul Bones aren't like Soul Rings; they don't dissipate after an hour or two."
"All right." Yu Xuan nodded slightly. Light flashed at his fingers, and the greatsword vanished.
As the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he naturally had a Storage Soul Tool.
"The meat's almost done."
Yu Yuanzhen carved a large piece of meat off the big skewer, then handed the entire remaining skewer to Yu Xuan.
The two ate with relish.
"Xiao Xuan, how much did your Soul Power cultivation increase after you absorbed the Thousand-Year Soul Ring? And what is your first Soul Skill?" Yu Yuanzhen asked casually after they had eaten their fill.
Yu Xuan said, "I reached level thirteen. My first Soul Skill is Mystic Flame Dragon Claw."
"Crimson-Gold Mystic Flame coils around the claws, ignoring most defenses. The burns it inflicts on wounds are extremely difficult to heal, and ordinary healing doesn't work."
Crimson-Gold Mystic Flame was the Fire Dragon King's innate flame, a very high grade of Ultimate Fire.
Simply put, the Soul Skill combined penetration with continuous burns. It was highly practical, and Yu Xuan was very satisfied.
Yu Yuanzhen was slightly surprised. "It's only a single Thousand-Year Soul Ring, yet this Soul Skill's effect is quite powerful."
Their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul also had a claw-type Soul Skill called Thunder Dragon Claw, but it simply could not compare to Mystic Flame Dragon Claw.
After finishing all the roast meat, the two set off for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Once Yu Yuanzhen's powerful presence had completely faded, Soul Beasts came from every direction, following the lingering scent to the place where the two had roasted their meat, only to find a few bones that hadn't been picked clean...