The mist in the depths of the mountain forest had not yet dissipated when Ditian, during his routine patrol, caught a whiff of an unusual scent of blood. The odor was mixed with a foul stench like rotting flesh, distinctly different from the Aura of ordinary Yao Beasts, more akin to a mutated creature catalyzed by some evil Cultivation Technique. He stepped onto a rock over the morning dew, and with the Divine Travel Technique activated, a gray-gold afterimage flickered and moved through the treetops, reaching the source of the smell in moments—a hollow ravaged by corrosive poison.
Three wolf Yao Beast corpses lay on the ground, their fur bulging with greenish pustules that continuously oozed black blood, clearly victims of a sinister bone-eating Spell. Even more bizarrely, their eyeballs had been gouged out, replaced by two wriggling black insect pupae, on whose shells the blood-red runes of the Soul Devouring Sect faintly appeared.
"Warning! Soul Devouring Sect Gu erosion detected!"
"Wolf Yao Beast corpse residual soul sense fluctuation, immediate purification recommended!"
As soon as the System prompt sounded, the soil in the center of the hollow suddenly exploded. A giant wolf, its body wrapped in chains, burst out of the ground. Six spider-like jointed legs grew on either side of its wolf head, each segment covered with barbs, and at the end hung half a Cultivator's remains. It opened its gaping maw, spewing not ordinary beast breath, but dense, ghostly blue soul worms.
"Soul Devouring Sect mongrel…" Ditian's pupils constricted slightly, activating the Divine Travel Technique to its extreme, carving out afterimages within the swarm of soul worms. He remembered that Chen Wu's soul worms in the fourth battle could devour spiritual Qi, so he immediately circulated the Five Elements Art, generating vines with wood-attributed spiritual Qi under his feet, and transforming fire-attributed power into a barrier to burn the insect swarm. However, strangely, these soul worms could split and recombine; parts that were burned to ashes quickly regenerated from the runes on the giant wolf's body.
"Roar!" The giant wolf let out a roar mixed with the sound of metal scraping, "I am Qingyan of the Soul Devouring Sect, sent by Lord Chen Wu to take your dog life!"
"Chen Wu is already dead." Ditian swung his tail to sweep away the entangled spider legs, and golden light surged from his claws, "And you, you don't even have the right to be buried with him."
Qingyan flew into a rage upon hearing this, its surrounding chains suddenly tensed, and each link cracked open with bloody mouths, spewing out a black mist composed of a large number of soul worms. Ditian felt a sharp pain in his Sea of Consciousness, and an illusion of his cubs being gnawed by a swarm of insects appeared before his eyes. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, using the pain to dispel the illusion, while simultaneously activating the newly acquired [Soul Reversal] ability—with a flip of his palm, the devoured black mist of soul worms actually transformed into Five Elements spiritual Qi, feeding back into his body.
"What?! How could you…" Qingyan's roar abruptly stopped, because it saw five-colored light suddenly erupt around Ditian. The power of the Five Elements Art and the Incomplete Manual of the Soul Devouring Art merged within his body, forming a rapidly rotating spiritual Qi vortex. All approaching soul worms were sucked into the vortex, transforming into pure Five Elements Power.
"It's time to end this." Ditian murmured, simultaneously unleashing the Divine Travel Technique and the Five Elements Domain. Qingyan only felt a blur before its eyes, then found itself confined within a hundred-zhang Five Elements Domain. Its four spider legs were entangled by vines, its chains were severed by golden blades, and even its proud soul worms lost control, rushing towards Ditian.
"Soul Devouring Art: Soul Reversal!" Blood-red runes appeared on Ditian's claws; this was a counter-Spell comprehended from the Incomplete Manual. Qingyan watched in horror as its essence soul was forcibly dragged out. The resentful souls of the creatures it had once devoured actually surged back along the runes, biting at its wolf head and spider body. Ditian, meanwhile, sat cross-legged in the center of the Domain, absorbing the purified spiritual Qi like an old monk in meditation. Every wisp of black mist that entered his body made his Five Elements Power purer.
When the last soul worm was purified, Qingyan was left with only a tattered husk of a body. It stared fixedly at Ditian with its one remaining eye, its voice filled with unwillingness: "Do you think the Soul Devouring Sect only has this much capability? When the 'Hundred Ghosts Devouring Heaven Array' activates, all the Yao Beasts in this mountain forest will become sacrifices…"
"So I'll dismantle your array first." Ditian crushed Qingyan's head, holding up the condensed soul bead in his palm. "But before that—" He suddenly turned his head to look southeast, where dozens of foul-smelling Auras were rapidly approaching. "It seems your reinforcements have arrived."
On the mountain path, twelve Soul Devouring Sect Cultivators spread out in a fan shape. Each person had a living soul bead embedded in their chest and carried Magical Artifacts refined from Yao Beast bones. The leader was a one-eyed old man. He stared at the golden mane on Ditian's shoulder and neck, greed flashing in his pupils: "The Bloodline of the legendary Five Elements Divine Beast… If I capture you, Sect Master might even make me a branch master!"
"Ignorant." Ditian swung his tail, and the Five Elements Domain expanded again. The old man was about to form a hand seal, but found his spiritual Qi draining away like a burst dam, and the Yao Beast bone Magical Artifact in his hand directly shattered. The soul beads of the other Cultivators also exploded, and the imprisoned souls, purified by the Five Elements Power, regained clarity and, in turn, attacked their hosts.
"This is… Domain suppression?! You're clearly only at the Foundation Establishment Stage!" The one-eyed old man staggered backward, but his path was blocked by Ditian's Divine Travel Technique afterimage.
"Foundation Establishment Stage?" Ditian bared his menacing canine teeth. "Open your dog eyes and see—" His Aura suddenly soared, the pressure of Foundation Establishment Stage Ten descending like Mount Tai. An ancient Divine Beast phantom appeared within the Five Elements Domain, its Dragon head and tiger body outline making all the Cultivators tremble with fear.
Within five moves, all twelve Cultivators were annihilated. Ditian stood in the center of the pile of corpses, looking at the constantly condensing cluster of soul beads in his hand, and suddenly remembered Qingyan's dying words. He looked up at the overcast sky, a decision already made in his heart: he must take the initiative to attack and find their lair before the Soul Devouring Sect's grand array activated.
"Ding! Devoured the essence souls of Soul Devouring Sect Cultivators, Dao cultivation +120 years!"
"Skill unlocked: Soul Sense Tracking (can pinpoint the location of evil Cultivator soul fires)."
Ditian closed his eyes, his Divine Sense spreading westward along the residual soul fires. A hundred li away, in a valley shrouded in black mist, countless soul banners fluttered in the wind, and the "Hundred Ghosts Devouring Heaven Array" on the central altar was eighty percent complete. He opened his eyes, ghostly blue soul fires flickering in them—a special ability born from the Fusion of the Incomplete Manual of the Soul Devouring Art and the Five Elements Power.
"Mother, take good care of the cubs." Ditian let out a low growl towards the direction of the nest. "When I return, no evil Cultivator will have a foothold in this mountain forest."
"Ding! Your 51st offspring has been born…" The System's prompt sounded.
Immediately after.
"Ding! Your 52nd offspring has been born…"
...
"Ding! Your 63rd offspring has been born."
Ditian cast the Divine Travel Technique while looking at the panel before him, feeling confused.
"Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Stage Ten!"
"Dao Cultivation: 998 years!"
"Strength: 2200 kilograms!"
"Number of Descendants: 63"
"Spell: Divine Travel Technique"
"Spell: Five Elements Art"
"Spell: Five Elements Art"
"Spell: Soul Devouring Art"
As the first raindrop fell, Ditian's figure had already transformed into a streak of light, sweeping over the mountaintop. He knew that the real challenge had just begun, but at this moment, he was no longer the gray tiger who could only passively defend. The power of the Five Elements Bloodline surged within him, the counter-method of the Soul Devouring Art had become a killing move, and his Divine Travel Technique would ultimately make the Soul Devouring Sect Cultivators understand—what true instant kill meant.
In the depths of the mountain forest, the faint cries of the cubs could be heard. Ditian's lips curved into a murderous smile, and the cluster of soul beads in his claws erupted with dazzling light.