The Star Dou Forest, located in the south-central part of the continent, remains lush and verdant even in winter.
Under Beibei's guidance, the group found an open area at the edge between the mixed zone and the outer zone, preparing to rest for a while before entering the mixed zone.
With Xu Zihuang and Beibei's cultivation and physical condition, they naturally weren't feeling tired yet, but they had to consider Tang Ya and Ning Tian.
Tang Ya was in a slightly better state. Although her Blue Silver Grass martial soul provided almost no enhancement to her physical strength, as a battle soul master, she often participated directly in fights against soul beasts and other soul masters.
Ning Tian, however, was breathing heavily, her ample chest rising and falling slightly.
Having been raised on meticulously prepared meals made from top-tier ingredients, Ning Tian, who was nearly seventeen, was only slightly shorter in height compared to Tang Ya.
Xu Zihuang and Beibei stood guard by the two girls, vigilantly observing their surroundings. Tang Ya took out a silver-white blanket made from soul beast fur from her soul tool and pulled Ning Tian to sit down.
She displayed absolute trust in Xu Zihuang and Beibei.
"Ning Tian, junior sister, even though you're a support-type soul master, you should train your physical condition more. Otherwise, you might suffer a big loss in the future," Tang Ya said with a playful smile as she chatted softly with Ning Tian. As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Xu Zihuang nearby.
Along the way, Yu Tianhuang had been following behind them, and compared to Beibei, she could more clearly sense his calm and steady breathing.
However, her unintentional words, combined with her glance at Xu Zihuang, inevitably led to some misunderstandings.
Upon hearing Tang Ya's words, Ning Tian froze instantly. Her water-blue eyes were filled with shyness and disbelief. She never expected Tang Ya, who always seemed so innocent, to say something so bold.
Tang Ya, meeting Ning Tian's gaze, suddenly realized her mistake. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she raised her hand to pat her cheek.
"Good heavens, Tang Ya, what did you just say?!"
Being pure-hearted didn't mean she was clueless. Moreover, soul masters were exposed to more things than ordinary people, and maturing early was common.
Beibei rubbed his forehead with a wry expression.
Only Xu Zihuang remained calm, offering a gentle smile to ease the awkwardness.
"By the way, Senior Sister Xiao Ya, I already know the types of soul beasts Ning Tian needs to hunt for her fourth soul ring. But I don't know your plans for hunting a soul beast for your fourth soul ring. I've trained in the mixed zone with Senior Brother He from the Soul Tool Department for some time and know a few areas where specific soul beasts are active. Perhaps some of the soul beasts I know about might be suitable for you," Xu Zihuang said.
"Uh… cough cough." Tang Ya coughed lightly. Seeing that Xu Zihuang seemed completely unaware of the ambiguity in her earlier words, her expression softened slightly.
"My first three soul rings come from a hundred-year Mandragora Snake, a hundred-year Ghost Vine, and a thousand-year Crypt Spider. Beibei and I discussed it, and considering my first three soul skills and the enhancement to my Blue Silver Grass martial soul, my primary target is a thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider. But I also know that Human-Faced Demon Spiders are very rare, so it'll depend on luck."
Beibei chimed in, "Besides the Human-Faced Demon Spider, a Crypt Spider would also be suitable for Xiao Ya's fourth soul ring. Her third soul ring was from a thousand-year Crypt Spider that you, Tianhuang, helped her hunt. If she fuses with another, stronger Crypt Spider soul ring, it would not only enhance her third soul skill, Blue Silver Prison, but also provide a fourth soul skill for self-protection. In terms of future potential, it wouldn't be inferior to a Human-Faced Demon Spider soul ring. But as Xiao Ya said, encountering either of these soul beasts depends largely on luck."
"If Senior Sister Xiao Ya's primary targets are these two soul beasts, there's a place we could try," Xu Zihuang said seriously, nodding.
"When I was training in the mixed zone with Senior Brother He, I once observed from a distance an area covered in Human-Faced Demon Spider webs. That should be a gathering spot for them."
"Human-Faced Demon Spiders?!" Tang Ya's eyes widened with excitement as she exclaimed, "Beibei, I'll choose a Human-Faced Demon Spider for my fourth soul ring, then."
With such a high-quality soul ring option available, she naturally didn't want to miss it. As one of the top-tier spider-type soul beasts, a Human-Faced Demon Spider would surely grant her a powerful control-type soul skill, Web Binding.
This was a conclusion reached by every Blue Silver Grass martial soul user in the Tang Sect over tens of thousands of years.
Ning Tian's eyes flickered slightly, and Beibei, catching the implication in Xu Zihuang's words, frowned.
"Tianhuang, if it's a gathering spot for Human-Faced Demon Spiders, there must be quite a few of them there. For them to claim an area in the mixed zone, the lead female spider's cultivation must be considerable."
This was a characteristic of Human-Faced Demon Spiders. A pregnant female spider would find a safe place to nurture her offspring alone.
Unlike other top-tier soul beasts, Human-Faced Demon Spiders had a strong reproductive ability, often giving birth to over a hundred spiderlings at once. The reason they were so rare was that the spiderlings would kill and devour each other, with only a few strong ones surviving. After consuming their siblings' corpses, the surviving spiderlings would quickly pass through their juvenile phase, gaining enough strength to live independently.
Xu Zihuang smiled calmly.
"I carefully observed the largest web in that area, which was spun by the lead female spider. Its diameter doesn't exceed twenty-five meters. Based on that, the female spider's cultivation is likely between four and five thousand years, perfect for Senior Sister Xiao Ya's fourth soul ring. We should give it a try. With our strength, Beibei, we can handle it."
"Less than five thousand years of cultivation?" Beibei's mind stirred.
His greatest concern was that the female spider's cultivation might be too high, perhaps approaching ten thousand years. A Human-Faced Demon Spider of that level, in the vast Star Dou Forest, would require significant effort to defeat and kill.
Moreover, Tang Ya wouldn't be able to absorb such a soul ring, making it a wasted effort.
But now that Xu Zihuang had confirmed the female spider's cultivation was under five thousand years, it was indeed feasible.
Suddenly, Xu Zihuang and Beibei, who had been talking, simultaneously turned their gazes to the left front.
A sound like scales sliding over grass, trees, and dry leaves abruptly rang out.
Ning Tian and Tang Ya reacted as well. Xu Zihuang pulled Ning Tian behind him for protection, while Tang Ya moved to stand beside Xu Zihuang and Beibei, activating her Purple Demon Eyes.
Two yellow and one purple soul ring rose from beneath Tang Ya's feet, pulsing rhythmically. Dark blue-black vines sprouted wildly from her body in an instant.
Ever since she fused with the thousand-year Crypt Spider soul ring, the color of her Blue Silver Grass had changed from deep blue to blue-black.
A flash of purple gleamed in Tang Ya's eyes as she said excitedly, "Tianhuang, Beibei, it's a peach-colored snake with a protrusion on its forehead. It should be a thousand-year Mandragora Snake. If its cultivation is suitable, it would be a good choice for my fourth soul ring."
"It's indeed a Mandragora Snake, but judging by its color and length, its cultivation is only about three thousand two hundred years," Xu Zihuang said, releasing his Golden Eyes martial soul and giving a highly precise judgment.
How could the Tang Sect's Purple Demon Eyes compare to the innate abilities of his Golden Eyes martial soul?
"Gu gu—" With a strange cry, the thousand-year Mandragora Snake turned into a pink blur and lunged toward the group. A sweet, toxic mist filled the air.
Though not as formidable as a Human-Faced Demon Spider, the Mandragora Snake was still a powerful poison-type soul beast. It carried a neurotoxin, had a body as hard as iron, was nearly impervious to blades, and moved with incredible speed. Its most terrifying trait, however, was its aggression. It almost always attacked humans on sight.
Xu Zihuang and Beibei remained unfazed; a mere thousand-year soul beast posed no threat to them. Ning Tian, aware of this, didn't release her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda to assist.
Tang Ya snorted coldly and took action one step ahead of the two of them.
As her purple third soul ring glowed, sixteen pitch-black Blue Silver Grass strands surged from the ground beneath the pink blur, instantly weaving together to form a single-target prison.
This was Tang Ya's third soul skill, Blue Silver Prison. As a thousand-year soul skill, it was instantaneous but could only target a single enemy.
A three-thousand-year Mandragora Snake wasn't so easily subdued. Its pink glow intensified, and its speed surged, allowing it to slip through the Blue Silver Prison just as it closed.
But in the next moment, it was encased in a sharply angled, dark red crystal. The Mandragora Snake's body, still in its lunging pose, was frozen within the crystal, which shimmered with a magnificent glow, like amber preserved from ancient times.
Undoubtedly, this was Xu Zihuang's doing. This demonstrated the power of his second soul skill compared to Tang Ya's Blue Silver Prison. Not only was it instantaneous, but it could also be locked onto with mental power.
With his current level of intangible mental power, he could lock onto anything within a two-kilometer radius.
In other words, anything within a one-kilometer radius centered on him couldn't escape his second soul skill, Mirror of Destruction, and could only withstand it head-on.
Among control-type soul skills, this was considered the most domineering of strong control skills.
With a wave of his right hand, Xu Zihuang used soul power to dispel the toxic mist of the three-thousand-year Mandragora Snake in the air.
Tang Ya examined the Mandragora Snake, about three meters long, entirely pink with ruby-like eyes, trapped in the dark red crystal. She exclaimed in surprise, "Spot on! Judging by its length and color, this Mandragora Snake has just reached three thousand two hundred years of cultivation. Tianhuang, how did you do that?"
After molting, a thousand-year-old Mandragora Snake's color changes from dark green to pink, and its body shrinks to one meter. It grows one meter every hundred years, and every thousand years, its body shrinks again as its color deepens.
Tang Ya was unaware of the dynamic vision innate to Xu Zihuang's Golden Eyes martial soul.
"It's an innate ability of my martial soul, probably similar to your Tang Sect's Purple Demon Eyes," Xu Zihuang replied with a smile.
Tang Ya studied him seriously and sighed, "Tianhuang, with your martial soul, you'd be perfect for cultivating our Tang Sect's techniques. It's a pity…"
Her ever-wandering thoughts drifted to Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao's martial soul is also eyes, but his soul power is only at level nineteen. I don't know if he'll break through to level twenty before the next semester starts. Beibei, how about giving him the Soul Ascension Pill you gave me?"
Beibei pondered for a moment, his expression serious. "Xiao Ya, there are some things we can't help with. If we give Yuhao the Soul Ascension Pill this time, what about next time? Honestly, we don't have to insist on keeping Yuhao at the academy. The pressure he's under there is too great. Leaving the academy might not be a bad thing."
Thinking of Huo Yuhao's increasingly gloomy demeanor recently, Beibei's gaze deepened.
Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian exchanged a glance but stayed silent, not interfering in Tang Sect's internal matters.
Xu Zihuang was entirely indifferent to Huo Yuhao, and while Ning Tian didn't have a favorable opinion of him, she wouldn't show it in front of Tang Ya and Beibei.
Tang Ya thought for a moment in silence and felt that Beibei made some sense.
"You're right, Beibei. Yuhao has shown some talent in soul tool crafting, hasn't he? If he fails the Soul Tool Department's advancement assessment, he could stay in Shrek City and contribute to rebuilding our Tang Sect."
After this brief interlude, the group rested a bit longer before entering the mixed zone, heading toward the Human-Faced Demon Spider gathering spot under Xu Zihuang's lead.
However, halfway there, they luckily encountered a soul beast perfectly suited for Ning Tian in both cultivation and attributes.
"Ang—" A sharp, mournful elephant cry echoed through the sky, causing the surrounding flora to tremble. A massive creature collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
It was a giant elephant, over ten meters long and more than five meters tall at the shoulder. Its exaggeratedly muscular body was covered in crystalline yellow keratin that shattered like ice crystals, falling with a clatter. One of its massive white tusks was broken, stained with crimson blood. Its equally massive, yellow-furred trunk twitched faintly, barely clinging to life.
Beibei and Tang Ya stood near the elephant's trunk, while Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian stood on its enormous head.
A solid crystal spear was deeply embedded in the elephant's eye, piercing its brain. Ning Tian gripped the spear's handle and, with a slight effort, broke through its cerebral cortex.
A luxurious purple soul ring slowly formed above the corpse.
Xu Zihuang, carrying Ning Tian, landed on a patch of ground untainted by blood and nodded to her.
Without hesitation, Ning Tian sat cross-legged, summoned her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, and began fusing with the Diamond Mammoth's soul ring.
As dusk settled, the radiant glow of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda shone brilliantly. Against its light, Ning Tian seemed to gain a soft, rounded beauty, exuding an air of noble elegance.
Xu Zihuang casually stored the Diamond Mammoth's two tusks in his storage soul tool. Beibei and Tang Ya joined them to guard Ning Tian.
Beibei mused, "I didn't expect to encounter a Diamond Mammoth in the outer part of the mixed zone."
"I remember the academy mentioned that Diamond Mammoths were nearly extinct long ago. Looks like our luck is really good this time," Tang Ya said cheerfully, without Beibei's deeper concerns.
The near extinction of Diamond Mammoths was due not only to their low reproductive rate—producing only one offspring at a time—but also to relentless hunting by human soul masters.
One reason was the Diamond Mammoth's precious soul ring.
Though not as powerful as the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, the Diamond Mammoth was a second-tier formidable soul beast. Its defense and strength were terrifying, and its tusks were incredibly sharp.
It also possessed a range-control innate soul skill. Aside from lacking long-range attack methods, it was nearly perfect in every other aspect.
In the Seven Great Sects of ten thousand years ago, the Elephant Armor Sect's direct lineage martial soul was the Diamond Mammoth, a testament to the soul beast's strength.
Naturally, its soul ring was highly sought after by soul masters.
The other reason was the unique material of the Diamond Mammoth's tusks, which could be used as auxiliary materials for crafting high-tier soul tools. After the collision of the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent, Diamond Mammoths neared extinction within a mere thousand years.
This Diamond Mammoth, with nearly five thousand years of cultivation, was stronger than many ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Unfortunately, it had encountered Xu Zihuang, a freak who, at the Soul Ancestor level, possessed the combat power of a Soul Emperor.
After storing the tusks, Xu Zihuang's brows twitched as he glanced toward the depths of the Star Dou Forest. With mental power strong enough, one could faintly sense certain premonitions.
However, he didn't dwell on it. With Gu Lao, a level ninety-eight Super Douluo, secretly following them, no issues would arise.
An hour later, night had fully enveloped the Star Dou Forest.
The Diamond Mammoth's soul ring had completely fused with Ning Tian's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial soul. She opened her water-blue eyes, and for a moment, the radiant glow of the pagoda enveloped her body before slowly dissipating.
Two yellow and two purple soul rings rose from her feet, signifying that Ning Tian had broken through to the Soul Ancestor realm.
"Congratulations, Ning Tian, junior sister," Tang Ya said with a grin, taking Ning Tian's hand.
Ning Tian gave a refined smile and exchanged a look with Xu Zihuang. Given their relationship, words like "thank you" were unnecessary.
But at that moment, the ground trembled violently, a true earth-shaking quake.
Tang Ya and Ning Tian nearly lost their balance and fell.
Xu Zihuang and Beibei quickly moved in front of them. In the darkness, a few hundred meters away, what looked like a small hill was moving.
It wasn't a hill but an even larger Diamond Mammoth. This one was at least thirty meters long, with legs ten meters tall. Its yellow, fur-covered skin was coated in white crystalline keratin, truly resembling diamonds—a mark of a Diamond Mammoth reaching ten thousand years of cultivation.
Upon seeing the corpse of the thousand-year Diamond Mammoth before the group, its crystalline yellow eyes turned blood-red. Its massive trunk rose like a canopy, covering the sky.
A furious elephant cry, laced with intense sorrow and rage, thundered out.
In an instant, an unparalleled sonic wave erupted, creating a massive shockwave.
Ancient trees tens of meters tall shattered instantly, disintegrating into dust. The terrifying soundwave ravaged an area of several hundred meters, obliterating all plants within its range.
Tang Ya and Ning Tian staggered, nearly falling, but Xu Zihuang and Beibei shielded them, absorbing most of the impact.
As the saying goes, lion's roar, elephant's cry, dragon's chant, tiger's howl.
Sonic soul skills weren't exclusive to lion-type soul beasts.
Amid the sonic onslaught, the ten-thousand-year Diamond Mammoth charged toward Xu Zihuang and Beibei.
The group realized that the thousand-year Diamond Mammoth, now Ning Tian's fourth soul ring, was likely the offspring of this ten-thousand-year Diamond Mammoth.
Even the usually refined Beibei's expression turned gravely serious.
"A Diamond Mammoth with over thirty thousand years of cultivation."
Xu Zihuang, however, remained calm and stepped forward to meet the thirty-thousand-year Diamond Mammoth.
Beibei froze, unable to react in time. As the ground trembled, the Diamond Mammoth reached Xu Zihuang. With another furious cry piercing the clouds, its massive hooves bore down on him with overwhelming force.
Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened. As three purple and two black soul rings appeared, his fifth soul ring, profound, suddenly glowed.
In the space behind him, an illusory silver eyeball materialized—the form of the pure mental-type Evil Eye Tyrant that had become his fifth soul ring.
The eyeball's pupil contracted, and silver light instantly enveloped a two-kilometer radius. The air distorted violently, and everything seemed to become unreal. All plants within this range withered at an alarming rate—not destroyed outright but disrupted at the life-chain level, their structures thrown into chaos by the terrifying mental power.
Fifth soul skill, Mental Storm!
The silver light formed wave-like silver patterns, resembling a bright silver ocean suspended in the air, with Xu Zihuang at its center.
Then, the silver policyholders: silver wave patterns trembled faintly. Where they passed, no physical destruction occurred, but when the tremor reached the thirty-thousand-year Diamond Mammoth, the diamond-like keratin on its massive body developed countless fine cracks, and its skin formed large, exaggerated wrinkles. The wrinkles deepened and protruded until the beast exploded into a mist of blood, scattering across the sky.
A powerful soul beast with over thirty thousand years of cultivation, the Diamond Mammoth, was reduced to nothing.
This was Xu Zihuang's fifth soul skill, his only pure mental-attribute attack soul skill.
Its terrifying mental power was destroyed from within, disrupting the life chain of any living being until it collapsed.
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