The Fifth Soul Ring Secured
The next instant, the Netherworld Phoenix flapped its wings violently, transforming itself into a dark golden streak of light, and shot towards the valley entrance—it wanted to escape.
"Do you think you can leave?" Bibi Dong sneered.
She didn't even move an inch; she simply raised her right hand casually, slightly bent her index finger, and gently pressed it towards the empty space in front of her.
The entire void suddenly froze, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand. The Netherworld Phoenix, which was flying at high speed, suddenly stopped, as if it had crashed into a wall made of steel, and was frozen in mid-air. Its wings were still flapping in vain, but it could not move even an inch.
This is the power of Titled Douluo. It wasn't even a full-force attack; a casual strike was enough to extinguish all the life force of a 50,000-year-old Soul Beast.
The Netherworld Phoenix let out a mournful cry, its dark golden flames suddenly surging, and the Netherworld Fire on its tail feathers rose several feet high. Its primordial Soul Power surged wildly in its meridians—this was the prelude to its Nirvana. Given just half a breath, it could be reborn from the ashes, making it many times more difficult to hunt down.
"Dream on." Bibi Dong's tone was indifferent, and she slightly hooked her fingertip. "Sixth Soul Skill, Eternal Wound."
Ripples suddenly appeared in the void behind her, and a colossal phantom of the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor slowly emerged, its entire body bathed in an eerie, dark green poisonous light. Its six ferocious spider legs stretched out in all directions, and its arms transformed into dark green spears. The next moment, two solidified dark green light blades shot out from between the spears, crossing in mid-air to form a dazzling X, carrying a terrifying aura that could tear through space and corrode everything, instantly slicing through the branches of the paulownia tree.
laugh--
After a soft sound, the cross-shaped light blade precisely pierced through the roots of the Netherworld Phoenix's wings, its body, and its tail feathers. Eternal Wound is Bibi Dong's strongest single-target attack Soul Skill, ignoring physical defense and reducing energy defense by 50%. After being hit, the wound will continue to spread and worsen, unable to heal itself, and can only be forcibly suppressed by Soul Power. Once the Soul Power is exhausted, the Phoenix will die.
The Netherworld Phoenix's body stiffened abruptly, its surging Nirvana Flame abruptly halted, as if its life force had been abruptly cut off. The power of its rebirth was about to erupt when it was interrupted by the devouring power of the Eternal Wound, leaving it only able to suppress its wounds with its Soul Power. It let out a mournful cry, its claws unable to grip the paulownia branch any longer, and its massive body crashed heavily to the ground below, its wings flapping futilely, unable to even stand, its aura rapidly fading.
The entire sequence of actions was lightning fast. From summoning the illusory image of his Martial Soul to severely injuring the Soul Beast with the cross-shaped light blade, it only took a few breaths. Ning Buhui stood behind the tree and beside the boulder, watching with a slight tightening in his heart. He had long known that Bibi Dong was powerful, but seeing firsthand how domineering Titled Douluo's Soul Skill were, even managing to nip a 50,000-year-old Soul Beast's innate talent in the bud, gave him a more direct understanding of the power levels in this world.
"Come here." Bibi Dong withdrew her Martial Soul phantom, glanced down at the dying Netherworld Phoenix on the rock, and said, "The devouring power of the Eternal Wound has temporarily suppressed its Soul Power, preventing it from using Nirvana. Now is the best time to kill it. Make your move."
Ning Buhui a deep breath and stepped forward. He looked at the Netherworld Phoenix struggling on the rock, and without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly activated his Soul Power, his right hand forming blades with sharp spatial power condensing at his fingertips.
Void Rending Slash.
With a low shout, a semi-transparent spatial rift instantly appeared, carrying a sharp edge that could cut through anything, precisely slicing through the Netherworld Phoenix's neck.
The Netherworld Phoenix let out a final, half-scream, its flames surging as if in a final struggle to undergo Nirvana. Bibi Dong, guarding nearby, suppressed it with her Soul Power, silencing it completely. The purple light in its eyes quickly dimmed, its dark gold feathers lost their luster, and the Netherworld Fire on its tail feathers slowly extinguished. A jet-black Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse, its energy profound and complete.
Ning Buhui a deep breath and stepped forward.
The corpse of the Netherworld Phoenix fell to the ground from mid-air, its dark golden feathers losing their luster, and the Netherworld Fire on its tail feathers completely extinguished. He crouched down and touched the cold feather with his fingertips—it felt as hard as refined iron, and a faint trace of the residual warmth of the dark fire attribute remained on its surface.
"Let's begin." Bibi Dong stood to the side, hands behind her back, keeping watch over their surroundings. "I'll guard them for you; no one will dare to disturb them."
Ning Buhui nodded, sat cross-legged beside the corpse of the Netherworld Phoenix, closed his eyes, and completely immersed his mind in his body. He activated his Soul Power, extending it towards the slowly rising Soul Ring above the corpse.
It was a deep black Soul Ring, corresponding to 50,000 years of cultivation. A layer of dark golden fire pattern lingered around its edge, gently pulsating with the rise and fall of the Soul Ring, radiating a powerful and violent energy fluctuation.
The Soul Ring, drawn by his Soul Power, slowly floated to the top of his head.
The next moment, the black Soul Ring suddenly contracted, carrying an irresistible pressure, and fell directly down onto his head.
boom--
Ning Buhui felt a deafening roar in his mind as an incredibly vast torrent of energy surged into his body through the meridians of his Martial Soul. Unlike the sharp pain that shot straight into his sea of consciousness when he absorbed the Head Soul Bone last time, this time the energy exploded simultaneously from all four limbs and bones—the dark fire source power of the 50,000-year-old Netherworld Phoenix split in two, one half like scalding magma, burning every inch of his meridians; the other half like a Netherworld icy spring, chilling the bones wherever it passed. The two forces, hot and cold, intertwined and rampaged wildly through his meridians, as if trying to tear his body apart from the inside.
His meridians were stretched so hard that they throbbed with excruciating pain, as if they were about to be torn apart at any moment. His bones crackled and popped, as if they were being repeatedly ground and reshaped. Fine beads of cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead and dripped down his jawline. Ning Buhui clenched his teeth so tightly that he bit his tongue until it tasted blood. He dared not be distracted for even a moment, enduring the tearing pain in his meridians. Using his own Soul Power as a guide, he slowly guided this violent energy, following the circulation path of his Martial Soul, trying to incorporate it into his own cycle.
As if sensing the pressure on the physical body, the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda trembled slightly, and a layer of warm, black-and-white light emanated from it. The black-and-white light was gentle yet resilient, as if it could encompass all things, gradually drawing in and enveloping the rampaging dark fire energy, slowly refining and purifying it, and then gently sending the tamed energy out along the meridians, into its own Soul Power origin.
Time passed by, second by second.
With the help of the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, the raging energy gradually calmed down, and the intertwined pain of hot and cold slowly receded like a tide. After an unknown amount of time, when the last wisp of dark golden energy completely merged into his body, Ning Buhui felt a lightness throughout his body, and an unprecedented sense of fullness surged from his limbs and bones.
He could clearly sense that his Soul Power had instantly reached level 52, and the fifth black Soul Ring had been firmly embedded in his Martial Soul.
At the same time, the effects of the two Soul Skill from his Fifth Soul Ring also appeared in his mind.
Ning Buhui slowly opened her eyes.
The sky was completely dark, and the miasma in the valley gleamed with a cold, Youyou light under the dark purple moonlight. Bibi Dong was still standing to the side. Seeing him open his eyes, she asked calmly, "How are you?"
Ning Buhui did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes again and focused his mind, carefully examining the two newly born abilities within his Martial Soul.
One was warm and bright, like the rising sun, brimming with vitality. The other was cold and deep, like the endless Reincarnation night, concealing a power of sealing.
He silently recited the name of the Soul Skill in his mind, then opened his eyes Bibi Dong, "Very good, even better than expected."
"Tell me about it." Bibi Dong walked up to him, her gaze calm and unwavering.
Ning Buhui stood up and dusted off his clothes. He raised his right hand and murmured, "Nine Hells Suppress the Soul, Phoenix Feather Nirvana."
Nine golden phoenix feathers slowly floated out from his palm, each about the length of a finger, gilded all over, with a faint, soft glow at the edges, trembling gently as if containing vibrant life. The phoenix feathers circled around him once, then hovered steadily in front of him, forming a neat fan shape.
"Fifth Soul Skill, [Yang - Phoenix Feather Nirvana]." Ning Buhui's voice echoed in the silent valley, "Nine phoenix feathers, each capable of locking onto a different target. Upon hitting a target, it can purify all negative status effects at once, instantly restoring 15% of maximum Soul Power and mental strength, and granting one second of invincibility."
He paused, then added, "If the target's Soul Power and mental strength are both below five percent, the Phoenix Feather will trigger Nirvana effect—restoring it to thirty percent within three seconds, during which time it will be invincible. However, there is a 10-minute cooldown after each use of the Soul Skill, meaning that a maximum of nine Phoenix Feathers can be generated within 10 minutes."
Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow slightly. With her keen insight, she instantly grasped the significance of this Soul Skill —nine phoenix feathers meant nine chances to save lives, capable of purification, restoring mana and spiritual energy, and even granting invincibility. In team battles, it was equivalent to giving everyone on the team an extra life. Although there was a 10-minute cooldown, it was still quite good.
"There's one more." Ning Buhui put away the golden phoenix feather, her eyes darkening slightly.
He raised his left hand, and a dark purple flame appeared at his fingertips. The flame had no heat whatsoever; instead, it exuded a bone-chilling coldness. As the flame flickered, it vaguely condensed into a palm-sized phantom of a Netherworld Phoenix, its wings opening and closing with an eerie rhythm.
"Nine Hells Soul Suppression, Samsara Netherfire." Ning Buhui's voice lowered slightly, "[Yin· Samsara Netherfire]: Injects Samsara Netherfire into the target's body, Samsara Mark. The mark lasts for sixty seconds, during which time it can seal any one of the target's first to Fifth Soul Ring Soul Skill, temporarily preventing them from activating it."
He looked at the dark purple flames dancing at his fingertips and said calmly, "Each person can only be imprinted with one Samsara Mark at most, with no cooldown limit."
The valley was silent for a few seconds.
Bibi Dong looked at him with a deep gaze. She understood, of course, what these two Soul Skill, one yin and one yang, meant—one was top-tier team sustain and survival, and the other was precise single-target sealing and suppression. One was support and the other control, yin and yang complementing each other, perfectly filling the two biggest gaps in his previous system.
"Okay." Bibi Dong said only one word, but her tone rarely carried a hint of approval. She turned and walked out of the valley. "Clean up the bodies, then return to the city."
Ning Buhui quickly disassembled and removed the corpse of the Netherworld Phoenix, then stored it in his storage ring. He followed behind her, glancing back at the ground where only some blood remained.
Fifth Soul Ring, obtained.
He walked with a brisk pace, clearly in a good mood and very satisfied with the Soul Skill he had acquired.