The new martial soul phantom was quite different from what everyone had imagined.
Han Li had previously envisioned the appearance of the Nine Heads, considering that Ma Hongjun's martial soul evolved into a Seven-Headed Fire Phoenix after consuming the inner core of the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent Neidan. Or perhaps Du Gu Yan's martial soul would directly transform into the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent. However, he had not expected it to turn out like this.
The current form of the Flame Wing Serpent Martial Soul had not changed much overall, and it had not even grown any extra heads. Instead, nine golden-red shadows resembling the sun peculiarly arranged themselves atop its head, giving it an aura of sanctity.
It was likely due to the high concentration of serpent characteristics that its originally semi-draconic head had reverted to a serpent-like appearance, quite similar to the head of the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent. The previously vermilion exterior had completely transformed into a golden-red color through this evolution, making it look significantly more beautiful than before.
Additionally, a mark resembling both a serpent and a flame had appeared on Du Gu Yan's forehead. Coupled with her now golden-red hair and noticeably fairer skin, it gave her a strikingly heroic appearance, one that was almost too dazzling to look at, as if even a glance could cause burns.
It was worth noting that Du Gu Yan's previously well-defined figure had become even more impressive, with a slimmer waist, enhancing her formidable aura while simultaneously evoking a strong desire for conquest.
Han Li couldn't help but blink, marveling internally at the wonders of martial soul evolution. Each evolution was like becoming a different person, and coincidentally, he had witnessed and experienced every stage of it.
However, the biggest reaction in the scene did not come from Han Li but from the other two girls. Their eyes widened as they stared at Du Gu Yan, brimming with envy.
"That's wonderful."
Du Gu Bo suddenly spoke, visibly uncomfortable due to his own martial soul being suppressed. Yet, his expression was one of immense excitement. With that, Du Gu Yan awakened, opened her eyes, and stood up, a beautiful smile spreading across her face.
At the same time, her soul rings appeared above her head, with the golden-red ring at the top catching everyone's attention.
"A golden-red ring, is this the life soul ring you mentioned, Xiao Li?"
Du Gu Bo's voice trembled slightly, as Du Gu Yan's gains had far exceeded his expectations.
"Grandpa, you're right. It's a life soul ring that can grow with me. It's a bit of a pity though. If I had known it would turn out this way, I would have made it my seventh ring."
Du Gu Yan was first delighted, then slightly regretful as she responded. As she spoke, the soul ring above her head pulsed, seemingly echoing her words.
"The energy of the neidan is limited. If it were the seventh ring, it might not have been able to form a life soul ring while enhancing the martial soul. This is already quite good."
Seeing her somewhat greedy expression, Han Li added. He had considered this issue before, but after calculating with planar consciousness, he had decided to make it her sixth ring to maximize efficiency. Moreover, before reaching the Soul Sage level, the martial soul upgrade driving the fire attribute to evolve into the ultimate fire would greatly aid in forming a soul core later on.
"Hehe, I was just saying."
Du Gu Yan laughed a bit sheepishly, admitting she had been a little too greedy. However, the next moment, she cheerfully looked at the others.
"My gains aren't limited to this. Do you want to guess what else? Oh, Xiao Li, you're not allowed to guess."
Du Gu Yan directly imposed a silence spell, and Han Li smiled and closed his mouth. He had no choice; he couldn't refuse the threatening look from the newly transformed snake girl if he wanted to enjoy her newly slimmed waist in the future.
Guang Ling shot him a disdainful look but eagerly joined the guessing game, unable to resist such a simple challenge.
In the back-and-forth, Du Gu Yan's information was updated.
The sixth soul ring currently has a lifespan of fifty thousand years, but considering its ability to continue growing, this could be overlooked.
As for the soul skill, Du Gu Yan named it Nine Suns Radiance. It was a flexible technique that could focus on a single point or attack a broad area. When using the soul skill, the nine golden-red suns floating above the martial soul's head would emit fire attribute rays, which Du Gu Yan could control freely. These rays could also merge to form a more potent attack.
Furthermore, Du Gu Yan could choose to directly summon all nine blazing suns, creating a bombardment zone within the range of her spiritual power, or even causing them to self-destruct. However, this would result in a significantly longer recovery period.
Overall, her sixth soul skill could be seen as a martial soul true form that doesn't enhance her abilities but significantly boosts her attack power.
Lastly, her greatest gain was a domain, which she named the Blazing Sun Domain.
When the domain is activated, a scene of nine suns filling the sky appears, and the ground below transforms into a sea of fire. Within the domain, Du Gu Yan's fire damage increases by 100%, and she gains the ability to transform into flames, allowing her to avoid physical damage to the greatest extent.
Enemies within the domain find their soul power and spiritual power igniting over time, continuously suffering from fire poison erosion. The most extreme aspect was that, possibly due to the ultimate fire, other elements were directly repelled within the domain, rendering them unusable. This was similar to one of the effects in Han Li's Ice-Fire Domain.
"Go for it, Sister Yan! If one day you can combine this with the Deathgod Domain, then you could dominate battles at the same level," Han Li encouraged with a smile, only to earn a roll of the eyes.
"The Blazing Sun Domain consumes too much. I can't afford to use it now. I'll think about combining them in the future," Du Gu Yan replied, her expression turning bitter after initially being thrilled upon discovering she had reached level 67.
"Hahaha, take your time. When you reach level 70, that's when the domain will start to show its true power," Du Gu Bo laughed heartily, unable to hide his joy. His granddaughter possessed two domains, one of which was an innate domain of her martial soul, truly showing the prestige of a top-tier snake martial soul family on the continent.
Good news brought a lively atmosphere to the courtyard once again. As night fell, the residence grew quiet, promising another night of sweet dreams.
The next day, they all paused their cultivation briefly, sleeping in until the sun was high in the sky. They then went to the town's commerce guild to exchange some supplies, taking a rare break from their busy lives.
In the afternoon, the three girls went out shopping, while the four men played chess by the pond in the courtyard, chatting casually and enjoying long-missed leisure. There was no need to worry about the three girls. They still occasionally leaked killing intent, and this wasn't a place frequented by soul masters. It was good enough that they didn't bully others.
Sure enough, they didn't return until dusk, clearly in high spirits. Not only had they brought back food, but they also had gifts for everyone.
The next morning, a luxurious carriage set off again, leaving the small town and heading towards the Star Dou Forest. When they reappeared, it was more than ten days later. Avoiding other people's eyes, they entered the Star Dou Forest.
"Does Bing'er's sixth soul ring require us to go to the Frozen Forest?" Guang Ling seemed to remember, after some time in the forest, that this trip wasn't just for Han Li; both Xiu'er and Shui Bing'er also needed to acquire soul rings.
"No need. There's also a suitable soul beast for Bing'er here—a Snow Kite that unexpectedly resides in this area," Han Li replied with a smile. Whether it was truly unexpected, only he knew for sure.
Such a coincidence? The group blinked in surprise but didn't question further, accepting Han Li's explanation.
After all, it's the Star Dou Forest. It's not unusual for anything to appear here, especially if Han Li says so.
After half a day of travel, Han Li, leading the way, raised his hand to stop everyone and instructed them to hide their auras as much as possible.
As expected, about ten minutes later, an enraged Snow Kite was chasing after a Dark Gold Bear that was holding an egg. The bear kept turning back to hurl boulders, creating a comical scene that made the group cover their faces in exasperation.
Han Li watched the scene with an unchanged expression. He had done his best; only after communicating with his good son did he realize that the previous plane consciousness also had its difficulties.
This situation was already optimized by him. Otherwise, it would have been even more absurd.
"Master, Martial Uncle, Grandpa, let's do this together. Keep the commotion to a minimum to avoid affecting the subsequent events," Han Li urged, seeing the group enjoying the spectacle.
"Alright, here we go."
Though the scene was amusing, the group had seen even more outrageous events over the years and quickly took action.
The combined efforts of the three Super Douluo were swift and decisive, leaving no chance for the two special actors (the Snow Kite and the Dark Gold Bear) to resist, and they quickly fell into unconsciousness.
Guang Ling discreetly slipped the bird egg into his storage space, planning to use it as food later.
Everything went smoothly as if orchestrated by fate. The two girls absorbed the soul rings effortlessly and also obtained two soul bones.
They didn't immediately absorb the soul bones, opting to store them for now.
They remembered Guang Ling's advice that once their soul cores formed, these items could accelerate their cultivation, making immediate absorption a bit wasteful.
Both girls reached levels 62 and 66, respectively, with Shui Bing'er's level showing the most significant leap, jumping nine levels within a year.
However, her period of explosive growth was over. The gap in required soul power for further advancement was increasing, and they had to rely on their dual cultivation to compensate for the slow progress in cultivating ultimate attributes before reaching Soul Sage.
It's worth noting that her significant growth was partly due to Han Li taking care of her and Du Gu Yan, giving them a share of the gains from the major battle in the Slaughter City.
Xiu'er and Du Gu Bo, on the other hand, only got a small share of that slaughter battle.
Despite this, the group was very satisfied with their progress over the year.
Even though their soul power growth wasn't as fast as before, they had made significant strides in physical strength, spiritual power, and combat abilities—achievements unimaginable to others.
Their peers were still struggling at the Soul Elder and Soul Ancestor stages, and that was the best among them.
"Alright, we've sorted out the targets. Xiao Li, what's your goal?"
"Do you mean the Dark Devilgod Tiger? Look over there."
Han Li's lips curved into a slight smile as he pointed toward the northwest. In the sky above the forest, numerous flying soul beasts were fleeing frantically.