Sixth Ring · Golden-Eyed Peng King
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When Nan Feng returned to Vast Sea City, it was already late autumn. The awning boat was moored at the eastern dock of the city, its hull cracked by the waves in the storm, and dark purple dragon blood crystals still clung to its sails. He handed the boat back to his contact in the Star Luo Empire, and without lingering in the city, he used the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch Earth Technique to head northwest. The Sea God Divine Power Crystal quietly settled in his dantian, its silver-blue light and the azure-gold light of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus reflecting each other deep within his soul, his Soul Power stuck firmly at a multiple of ten, level seventy.
The six months of preparation passed even faster within the Tower Spirit Space. Nan Feng secluded himself in a remote valley Vast Sea City, and the Tower Realm set up three layers of protection at the valley entrance, isolating all Spiritual Power fluctuations within a hundred paces. After the seventh layer of Samsara Power was fully activated, the time flow within the Tower Spirit Space stabilized at a ratio of ten to one; six months outside was equivalent to five years inside the tower. During those five years, he repeatedly compressed, condensed, and tempered the liquid Primordial World Power in his dantian. His level 70 Soul Power foundation became exceptionally stable under the dual nourishment of the Life Origin Stone and the Sea God Divine Power Crystal. Although his Soul Power was stuck at level 70 and could not be improved, the thickness of his meridian walls, the volume of his dantian, and the resilience of his soul space continued to increase.
The target for the Sixth Soul Ring was determined during the return voyage from Sea God Island. Old Huai used his spiritual senses to lock onto the Golden-Eyed Peng King, an 87,000-year-old, near-100,000-year-old Soul Beast, perched atop a precipitous peak in the southeast of the continent. The Roc King's lair was located at the highest point of a cliff, surrounded by deep valleys perpetually filled with corrosive poisonous fog. Ordinary Soul Master couldn't even reach the vicinity of the lair, but Nan Feng possessed the protection of the Tower Realm and the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch Technique, rendering the poisonous fog a threat to him.
On the morning of their departure, Nan Feng stood at the valley's exit, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light spreading out a map of Spiritual Power within a 500-step radius in his mind. The location of the Golden-Eyed Peng King was locked on a cliff 800 miles to the southeast. The dark golden spot of Soul Power Soul Power extremely dazzling in his perception, its concentration several times that of the Frost Giant Dragon, approaching the threshold of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. The Roc King's Soul Power fluctuations contained an extremely sharp Geng metal attribute, like countless sharp blades vibrating in the wind.
Nan Feng took a step southeast. Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, his figure left a trail of afterimages in the valley, instantly appearing a hundred paces away. He had traveled for three days, traversing plains and hills, arriving at the outer edge of the precipice on the evening of the fourth day. The precipice rose abruptly from a swamp, its walls steep and sheer, its summit shrouded in a dark golden halo. Poisonous mist churned within the swamp, the miasma condensing into a gray-green wall of fog in the twilight; even a trace of it would corrode the meridians of an ordinary Soul Master.
Nan Feng used the Tower Realm to separate the poisonous fog, stepping on the floating islands in the swamp towards the precipice. In the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light, the Golden-Eyed Peng King's light lay quietly dormant at the cliff top, its Soul Power fluctuations stable, as if in slumber. By the time he reached the foot of the precipice, it was already dark, and the rocks on the cliff face gleamed with a metallic sheen in the dark golden light. The roc king's lair was at the highest point of the cliff, at least several hundred feet high from the foot to the top. There were several protruding rock platforms on the cliff face that could be used for leverage, but ordinary Soul Master couldn't reach the first one with their jumping ability.
Nan Feng's dragon wings suddenly unfurled, their dark golden wing bones gleaming coldly in the twilight. The three-zhang-long wings flapped against the cliff face, lifting him off the ground. He flew upwards, skimming the cliff, the Tower Realm's protective light membrane forming three layers around him. The poisonous mist on the Tower Realm corroded the light membrane, leaving fine white marks, but the Return to Origin Power continuously flowed from the fourth-level tower gate, rapidly repairing the corrosion.
Halfway up the cliff, a sharp roc's cry suddenly echoed from the cliff top. The dark golden light Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light the Golden-Eyed Peng King within the treasure-appraising light abruptly flared, its Soul Power fluctuations shifting from steady to violent. The Roc King had awakened. The Nan Feng accelerated, flapping its dragon wings, and its body slid along the cliff face as it soared upwards. The dark golden halo at the cliff top exploded amidst the roc's cry, and a golden beam of light shot down from the top, as thick as a palace pillar. Wherever it passed, the rock on the cliff face was instantly melted, and molten lava dripped from the melting holes.
Nan Feng used the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch to move sideways, his figure flashing three times in the air, a golden beam grazing his left shoulder. The Tower Realm Shield on his left shoulder shattered a layer from the burning edge of the beam, his clothes were burned through, leaving a hot line of blood on his skin. He continued to fly upwards, and the Roc King fired several more golden beams in succession. Nan Feng used his dragon wings in conjunction with the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch to maneuver and dodge most of the beams in the air, but the third beam grazed his left arm, burning a hole through his outer robe.
The cliff top drew ever closer. Nan Feng used the last rocky platform for leverage, his dragon wings flapping with all their might, propelling him towards the summit like an arrow. The silhouette of the Golden-Eyed Peng King clearly emerged in the dark golden halo. The Roc King wasn't enormous, with a wingspan of about five meters, but its body was covered in dark golden scales, each one seemingly forged from pure gold. On its head were a pair of golden eyes, and the golden beams shooting from them were the very culprit that had melted through the cliff face.
As Peng Wang saw Nan Feng rush to the top of the cliff, it suddenly spread its wings, and golden scales burst open a dazzling curtain of light in the twilight. Nan Feng used the Tower Realm to suppress gravity, and a cyan-gold light membrane covered the top of the cliff, increasing gravity by 40%. Peng Wang's speed decreased sharply in the Tower Realm, but its Geng metal elemental Soul Power became even sharper under the gravity suppression, and golden beams of light condensed again in its golden eyes.
Nan Feng gave it no chance to attack. Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, it vanished from the front of the Roc King and reappeared to its side. Bone Spike shot from its palms, imbued with dark golden Primordial World Power, piercing towards the root of the Roc King's left wing. The Roc King took the blow head-on with its wing bones; the Bone Spike collided with the scales, exploding into a burst of golden sparks. A crack appeared on the scales, but it didn't penetrate. The Roc King swung its head, and golden beams from its golden eyes shot towards Nan Feng at close range. Nan Feng blocked with its dragon arm; the dragon scales on its right arm shone with an icy blue luster. The golden beams struck the dragon arm as if hitting an iron wall, bouncing off to the side.
The Roc King flapped its wings and soared into the air, attempting to create distance. Nan Feng pursued with the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, its figure flashing continuously in the air. It retrieved the Starfall Iron Staff from the Tower Spirit Space and hurled it. The iron rod, imbued with both Primordial World Power and the Power of Return to the Void, pierced through the twilight like a dark golden meteor, embedding itself into the Roc King's right wing. A bloody hole exploded in the golden scales on its right wing, and the Roc King let out a painful howl, its body swaying violently in the air.
Seizing the opportunity, Nan Feng suddenly contracted the Tower Realm, concentrating all gravity around Pengwang. Pengwang's body plummeted under the increased gravity, Nan Feng appeared above him using the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, pressing his palms down on Pengwang's back with Primordial World Power. The Mountain Suppression Art was activated at full power, pouring golden suppressive force from his palms, slamming Pengwang's body towards the cliff top. Pengwang struggled to take off again, but the suppressive force of the Mountain Suppression Art firmly pinned him to the cliff face.
When Nan Feng landed, Pengwang was already unable to move. He walked up to Pengwang, whose golden eyes reflected his image and the phantom of the tower in his palm. Nan Feng materialized the tower, and the base of the nine-story bronze tower pressed down on Pengwang's forehead. Primordial World Power poured out from the tower, completely suppressing Pengwang's Soul Power core.
As the Roc King died, a dense black Soul Ring rose from its body. The Soul Ring was 87,000 years old, black with an extremely thin red edge. Nan Feng sat cross-legged and used his Soul Power to guide the Soul Ring into his body.
The moment the Soul Ring entered his body, the violent energy of the Geng metal attribute poured into his meridians like a blade. Nan Feng felt excruciating pain in all his meridians from the cutting force of the Geng metal energy, and countless fine cracks appeared on his skin. But the fifth to seventh floors of the tower lit up simultaneously, and three forces— the Space-Time Power, the Samsara Power of Return to the Void, and the power of reincarnation—poured out from the tower gate, enveloping, suppressing, and transforming the Geng metal energy. Primordial World Power surged from his dantian, and the dark golden light collided head-on with the Geng metal energy in his meridians, flattening the violent energy layer by layer.
Three days and three nights. At dawn on the fourth day, the Golden-Eyed Peng King's Soul Ring was completely absorbed. Nan Feng opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. His Soul Power soared from level 70 to level 75. His meridians became more resilient under the tempering of Gengjin energy, and the liquid Primordial World Power in his dantian gained a layer of dark golden luster. The door on the sixth floor of the tower, which had cracked two-thirds of the way open, expanded again under the impact of the breakthrough in Soul Power. The amount of Power of Return to the Void surging out from the crack in the door was even greater, and the black annihilation patterns on the surface of the tower increased from five to six.
The sixth Soul Skill condenses into form. Tower Suppression: Return to the Void - a single-target ultimate suppression that can briefly suppress the flow of Soul Power at the level of Titled Douluo. The Power of Return to the Void can shatter the enemy's Soul Power attacks. When released through the tower, the annihilation effect of the Power of Return to the Void covers a radius of thirty steps, and all energy-based attacks within the range will be shattered.
Beside the Peng King's corpse, a dark golden Soul Bone floated. Head Soul Bone, 87,000 years old, with golden Peng feather patterns flowing across its surface. Nan Feng guided the Soul Bone Soul Bone into his body. The moment it merged with his head, his vision drastically changed. Previously, his vision consisted only of the five senses, but after the Peng bone merged, a golden halo appeared in his eyes. On the Spiritual Power map unfolding in his mind, the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light made every detail of every point of light exceptionally clear; even the subtle patterns within those points of Spiritual Power could be discerned. Distant scenery was brought closer, and the flow of Spiritual Power in the air appeared in his vision as golden threads.
Peng Eye - Illusion Breaker - Head Soul Bone Skill. When releasing perception with Peng Eye, one can see through all illusions and invisibility. When used in conjunction with the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light, the perception range is doubled. Nan Feng opened his eyes, and a layer of golden patterns formed in his Peng Eye with Peng Eyes. He looked at the poisonous fog on the cliff wall. The originally blurry fog wall presented a clear Spiritual Power structure in Peng Eye, and the direction of every wisp of miasma in the poisonous fog was clearly visible.
When absorbing the Head Soul Bone, Nan Feng used the tower's Return to Origin Power its origin to stabilize his foundation. His Soul Power increased by two levels after the Soul Bone was integrated, from level 75 to level 77. The Peng Eye quietly shimmered with golden light in their pupils, Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light light, expanding the range of perception from a radius of 500 steps to 1,000 steps.
The Old Huai poked its head out from the immortal tree, watching Nan Feng sitting cross-legged on the cliff top, stabilizing his Soul Power, and remained silent for a long time.
"Your Soul Power jumped from seventy to seventy-seven, an increase of seven levels." Old Huai's voice deepened. "You'll need at least a year and a half to consolidate your strength. Although your meridians have thickened considerably under the tempering of the Golden-Eyed Peng King's Soul Ring and Head Soul Bone, your level seventy-seven Soul Power foundation still needs time to solidify. After a year and a half, your Soul Power will naturally stabilize at around level seventy-nine. Only then should you consider the seventh ring."
Nan Feng stood up. His left arm and left shoulder still bore the marks of the golden beam's burn, but the wounds had scabbed over under the healing Return to Origin Power. The dragon wings on his back folded and conformed to his spine, and the Peng Eye shimmered with a faint golden light in their pupils. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light quietly spread in his mind. The Power of Return to the Void on the sixth level of the tower flowed slowly through his meridians, and the black annihilation patterns on the surface of the tower glowed slightly.
The poisonous fog on the cliff top gradually dissipated after the death of the Roc King. Nan Feng stood on the edge of the cliff, his Peng Eye gazing into the distance, the Spiritual Power spots within a thousand paces clearly appearing in his mind. The distant swamps, plains, and hills appeared as golden Spiritual Power veins in his Peng Eye, the flow of Spiritual Power between heaven and earth like a huge net, every node clearly visible.
He turned and walked down the cliff. Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, his figure flickered between the cliff face, landing back at the edge of the swamp after several leaps. His dragon wings folded, and the Tower Realm Light Membrane formed a faint cyan-gold shield on his body. His Peng Eye quietly shimmered with golden light in their pupils, Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light Aura expanded to a thousand steps. The emerald green light of the Life Origin Stone in his dantian, the silver-blue light of the Sea God Divine Power Crystal, and the cyan-gold light of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus intertwined deep within his soul.
The target of the seventh ring vaguely appeared in his perception. Old Huai had mentioned before that the Soul Beast of the seventh ring was in the Abyss, a 120,000-year-old Nine Netherworlds Dark Python. Nan Feng walked towards the central part of the continent, his steps, Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, were steady and powerful. His Soul Power was level 77, stuck at a level that was not a multiple of ten. Two-thirds of the sixth floor of the tower cracked open, and the Samsara patterns on the seventh floor were fully lit up. The Peng Eye quietly shimmered with golden light in their pupils.
A year and a half later, his Soul Power stabilized at level 79. Then Abyss. Then the Nine Netherworlds Dark Python. Then the seventh ring.
The red ribbon on his left wrist fluttered in the wind. Peng Eye gleamed slightly in his pupils, Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light quietly spread in his mind. Nan Feng took a step in the northwest direction, and his figure disappeared into the twilight at the edge of the swamp.