Chapter 78: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder
"Fifth Soul Skill, Dark God's Destruction!"
This was Xiao Yu's fifth soul skill, obtained from a thirty-thousand-year-old power-type soul beast. Its power was immense.
As the sword light flashed, a Silverfang Wolf, with over ten thousand years of cultivation, was sliced into pieces by him.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…"
After dealing with the last soul beast that had caught up, Xiao Yu stopped in place, gasping for breath.
Seeing this, Ye Lingling quickly summoned her martial soul, and white petal-like light gradually merged into Xiao Yu's body, restoring his soul power and healing his injuries.
At this moment, only Xiao Yu, Ye Lingling, Xue Qinghe, and Xue Ke remained. The guards that Xue Qinghe had brought along were all killed by the soul beasts in order to protect her and Xue Ke.
"Brother, those soul beasts shouldn't be chasing us anymore, right?"
Still trembling with fear, Xue Ke asked Xue Qinghe in a shaky voice.
"They shouldn't be."
Xue Qinghe comforted Xue Ke with a few words, then cast a resentful glance at Xiao Yu. She wasn't foolish; she had no grudge against the Azure Bull Python, so why would it go to such lengths against her?
The two great kings of the forest, the Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, were closely connected. For the Azure Bull Python to create such a big commotion, yet for the Titan Giant Ape to never appear, even with a simple thought, she knew that the Titan Giant Ape must have been killed by Xiao Yu. That's why the Azure Bull Python was so determined to kill him, and she had clearly become collateral damage.
Noticing Xue Qinghe's gaze, Xiao Yu didn't dare meet her eyes. He knew well that Qian Renxue must have already realized who the real culprit was.
When this girl was foolish, she was astonishingly foolish, but when she was sharp, she was sharper than anyone.
Just as Xiao Yu was secretly complaining about Qian Renxue, the ten-thousand-year-old spirit bone in his head suddenly released a warning.
"Not good, there's another soul beast!"
Without time to think, Xiao Yu pulled Ye Lingling back a few steps.
Startled by Xiao Yu's shout, Xue Qinghe instinctively pulled Xue Ke back as well.
Boom!
As the four retreated, a massive shadow leaped down from the distance, sending countless stones flying.
"The Titan Giant Ape!"
Xue Qinghe exclaimed. Looking closer, she said, "Judging by its cultivation, it should be over forty thousand, nearly fifty thousand years old!"
She then glanced at Xiao Yu, "Could this be a relative of that hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape?"
Xue Qinghe's guess wasn't far off. This Titan Giant Ape was indeed somewhat related to the rogue rabbit's sworn brother, the hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming. It was also the strongest among the ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts gathered by the Azure Bull Python.
A hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast had already gained intelligence. The Azure Bull Python knew there was definitely a Titled Douluo beside Xiao Yu, so from the beginning, it launched a small-scale beast tide to keep the Titled Douluo occupied. Then, it intentionally left a weak spot in the encirclement of soul beasts, so Xiao Yu would find that direction to break through, with the Titan Giant Ape lying in ambush ahead, waiting for Xiao Yu to stumble into it.
Damn, who would have thought that even soul beasts would use military tactics?
Looking at the Titan Giant Ape, which had clearly been waiting here for a long time, Xiao Yu couldn't help but curse silently. A Titan Giant Ape with nearly fifty thousand years of cultivation—no ordinary Soul Douluo would want to face that.
Suddenly, Xiao Yu turned around, activating the skill from his hundred-thousand-year-old head spirit bone—Death Stare. His eyes emitted a powerful spiritual shock, directly targeting Xue Ke.
Caught off guard, Xue Ke, with her Soul Grandmaster-level cultivation, couldn't withstand this move and immediately fainted, unconscious. Xiao Yu swiftly placed her into his Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch.
Xue Qinghe was stunned: "What are you doing?"
"A Titan Giant Ape with nearly fifty thousand years of cultivation has the combat power of a low-level Soul Douluo. My chances of winning alone are slim!"
Xiao Yu gripped the Hades Sword tightly in his hand and charged towards the Titan Giant Ape that was rushing towards him from the front. In a deep voice, he said, "Now that there are no people from the Heaven Dou Empire around you, there's no need to maintain your disguise. Help me!"
Xue Qinghe suddenly realized the situation. Though annoyed by Xiao Yu's commanding tone, she understood that soul beasts didn't care about human factions. If she wanted to survive, she had no choice but to fight alongside Xiao Yu to defeat the Titan Giant Ape before them.
Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel martial soul possessed her, bathing her in golden light. She had already lifted the disguise effect of her head spirit bone, revealing her true form. Two pairs of pure white wings emerged from her back, and six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—slowly rose from her body.
Seeing the sudden transformation of Xue Qinghe, Ye Lingling was utterly stunned. What was going on? The Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire was actually a woman!
"Lingling, support us first. I'll explain everything to you after we get out of here!"
Xiao Yu's voice rang in her ears, snapping Ye Lingling back to reality. She quickly summoned her Nine-Hearted Begonia and activated the Sacred Heart Domain. Soft purple light fell upon both Xiao Yu and Qian Renxue.
"A domain!"
Qian Renxue immediately sensed Ye Lingling's domain. After all, she herself possessed an innate domain and was extremely familiar with the sensation.
What surprised Qian Renxue even more was the sight of the four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—around Ye Lingling. She had thought that Xiao Yu came to the Star Dou Forest because Ye Lingling was breaking through to Soul Ancestor. But now it seemed that Ye Lingling was here to obtain her fifth soul ring.
While Qian Renxue was momentarily distracted, Xiao Yu had already taken the initiative and reached the Titan Giant Ape. He unleashed his third soul skill, Shadowbreaker, and shot forward like a black meteor, the sharp blade aimed directly at the Titan Giant Ape.
The Titan Giant Ape roared, raising its fist, which was as large as a boulder, and slammed it towards Xiao Yu with tremendous force.
In the ensuing clash, sword met fist, and Xiao Yu's body was flung back, flying for a considerable distance before he barely managed to stabilize himself. A bitter taste rose in his throat, but he forced himself not to spit out blood.
Though the Titan Giant Ape did not retreat, a visible wound was left on its fist by Xiao Yu's strike, with dark purple blood dripping from its thick arm onto the ground.
"Roar!"
Although it was just a minor wound, the Titan Giant Ape was enraged. Its lantern-sized eyes filled with endless cold fury. With a roar, it spat out a wave of earth-yellow energy towards Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu's expression changed. With no time to think, he activated his fourth soul skill, Thousand Shadows of the Hades Sword. Countless sword shadows surged forth from behind him, colliding with the beam of energy from the Titan Giant Ape.
At that moment, Qian Renxue arrived. Seeing the situation, she immediately used her fifth soul skill, Holy Sword. A longsword made of holy fire appeared in her hands, and she transformed into a golden lightning bolt, instantly reaching the Titan Giant Ape's side.
Qian Renxue's golden light intensified. She raised the Holy Sword with both hands and fiercely stabbed it towards the Titan Giant Ape's vital point. In an instant, the sword pierced through the Titan Giant Ape's tough hide, and the intense forces of holiness, light, fire, and judgment surged into the beast's body.
(End of Chapter)
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