It was not a native soul beast of the Sunset Forest, but rather one that had been beaten out of the Star Dou Forest by Bear Lord.
Originally, its life had been wonderful—secretly devouring a few soul beasts every day, slowly increasing its cultivation.
But that day, it failed to restrain itself and swallowed an Darkgolden Dreadclaw Bear that practically delivered itself to its door. No sooner had it finished eating than Bear Lord tracked it down.
Because that Darkgolden Dreadclaw Bear was Bear Lord's descendant—direct bloodline even. Facing the terrifying Bear Lord, even with its heaven-defying bloodline, the Dark Devilgod Tiger could only be beaten half-dead.
If not for relying on its trump card, it would've already died in the Star Dou Forest. After narrowly escaping, it ran straight to the Sunset Forest to heal and hide.
"Hmph, revenge isn't too late even after ten years. Just you wait, Bear Lord. When the time comes, I'll swallow that stupid auspicious beast of yours first."
"But this Sunset Forest… there's barely any decent soul beasts left to eat. Truly pathetic."
A trace of worry flashed in the blood-red eyes of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. Over the past two years, it had nearly eaten all the soul beasts over ten thousand years old in the Sunset Forest. Even the large tribe of Redfire Monkeys had just been wiped out by it.
"All because of that damn poisonous miasma—killed off so many soul beasts. If all that had been mine, how great would that be."
Thinking of that region of toxic fog, the Dark Devilgod Tiger let out an angry roar.
"Hmm? Wait. That poisonous miasma covers such a wide area… could something good be inside?"
Its scorpion-tail flicked. A thought flashed through its mind like lightning.
In the world of soul beasts, danger and fortune always came hand in hand.
"Hm… it's not far from here. I might as well take a look. Consider it a stroll after a meal."
With that thought, the Dark Devilgod Tiger swayed its massive body and slowly disappeared into the forest. A faint black mist began rising around it.
"Young Master, where are we going to find a soul ring for you? This Sunset Forest seems a bit barren."
"How about returning to the sect and having Elder Jin send someone to catch a soul beast from the Star Dou Forest?"
Within the Ice-and-Fire Yin Yang Well, three figures gradually floated upward.
Two of them were Lang Ya and Yu Tao, whom Jiang Jue had recently released. At this moment, Yu Tao was making a suggestion to Jiang Jue.
"What are you babbling for? Just listen to the Young Master."
Lang Ya raised his hand and flicked Yu Tao sharply on the head, glaring at him.
"No rush. Sunset Forest is huge—there'll definitely be something. Later I'll have a local lead the way."
Jiang Jue shook his head calmly, unbothered.
"Exactly. Young Master's luck is sky-high. What if a suitable soul beast just walks right up to us?"
Lang Ya joked in support.
"Huh? Weird. Why aren't these vines attacking us?"
Yu Tao scratched his head, looking at the thick vines hanging from the cliffside. Normally, flying openly like this should've triggered an immediate attack.
But instead, all the vines on the cliffside were frantically retreating into cracks, as if they had seen something terrifying.
"I think they're scared by our Young Master's heroic presence."
Yu Tao said smugly, obviously flattering Jiang Jue.
"You…"
Jiang Jue simply smiled and said nothing.
As they neared the rainbow-colored poisonous fog, a flash of white light appeared in Jiang Jue's hand—revealing a bright pearl. Instantly, the surrounding poison gas retreated.
This was the pearl nurtured for ten thousand years by the Youyou—capable of purifying all toxins.
Before long, the three reached the upper valley and walked beyond the miasma.
For some reason, as Jiang Jue walked, the vertical third eye on his forehead flickered slightly. A peculiar, intuitive sense of auspiciousness rose within him.
"What's this feeling? Could something good be about to happen?"
Jiang Jue smiled faintly and pushed the thought aside. Despite carrying so much fate and fortune, he felt like they had never actually manifested.
Still, he didn't think too much about it—strength was what truly mattered.
"Never expected this. These Biphlogis Blossoms—rare and precious outside—are everywhere here."
Walking through the rainbow fog, Lang Ya couldn't help sighing as he looked at the glowing flowers on both sides.
Soon, the three left the miasma and emerged outside.
"Ahh, fresh air is wonderful."
Yu Tao stretched lazily, enjoying the feeling.
"Wait—why is there a huge tiger here?!"
Before he could finish savoring the air, he caught sight of a strange tiger shrouded in black mist approaching from the distance.
The tiger paused upon seeing them, then its blood-red eyes lit up. A deep rumbling growl came from its throat.
A gift from nature!
It had been starving with no prey—which made these three humans perfect. Two were even Soul Douluo, a fine dessert after it finished eating.
But strangely, when its eyes fell upon the weakest of the three—Jiang Jue—it felt an inexplicable sense of destiny.
Jiang Jue's eyes lit up as well. He took back his earlier words—sometimes, luck really mattered!
"Uh… seriously? A soul beast is actually delivering itself to us?"
Lang Ya froze, sensing the evil aura of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. This was absolutely perfect for the Young Master.
"But something seems off… why does this soul beast look like a Dark Devilgod Tiger?"
As the tiger emerged clearly from the mist, Lang Ya felt his heart skip.
"It's not like. It is a Dark Devilgod Tiger."
Jiang Jue's lips curled upward as he watched it approach.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger stood at the very top of both the food chain and the bloodline hierarchy among soul beasts. It carried a trace of Evil God blood.
It possessed multiple attributes—primarily evil, darkness, wind, and lightning. Its evil attribute was extremely sinister. It even possessed innate talents related to time and space.
Zhang Peng's Scorpion-Tiger martial soul inherited only its darkness, evil, and lightning attributes—yet that alone supported Zhang Peng's cultivation to Super Douluo.
From that alone, one could imagine how terrifying the real thing was.
"Protect the Young Master!"
Lang Ya roared, stepping with Yu Tao in front of Jiang Jue.
They could instantly feel it—the two of them together were no match for this soul beast.
"What are you panicking for?"
Jiang Jue pushed them aside with both hands, speaking calmly.
With a wave, the Soul-Refining Banner appeared.
"Ice Emperor, didn't you say you wanted to stretch your limbs after absorbing the Ice Spring power? Well, here's your chance."
As he spoke, a beam of emerald light burst from the banner, taking the form of a girl in a green dress—radiating the aura of a primeval fierce beast.
"Ah—wait—that isn't right!"
Feeling the terrifying aura of the girl, the Dark Devilgod Tiger froze mid-step. Its tiger eyes widened in shock.
"That's the Ice Emperor?! I'm supposed to fight the Ice Emperor?!"
In the next instant, the Dark Devilgod Tiger turned and ran at full speed.
The reason it lived so long wasn't just its strength—it was its perfect instinct for danger: if something felt wrong, it fled immediately.
"You think you can run?"
A cold voice echoed from afar.
(End of Chapter)