"Fifth Soul Skill, Thorny Bone Spikes!"
As the fifth soul ring beneath the Porcupinefish Douluo lit up, countless sharp bone spikes shot out, easily cutting through the soul beasts once again.
But soon after, the soul beasts he had just dealt with charged out once more, even faster than before.
Seeing this, Porcupinefish Douluo was startled. Could there be a Fallen manipulating these soul beasts from the shadows? Why do they keep coming in waves, as if it would never end?
To better protect Qian Renxue from being disturbed, Porcupinefish Douluo flashed to her side, raised his hands, and activated his soul power. Instantly, a barrier of light enveloped her body.
At that moment, Nether Tiger and Fangs collided with the light shield released by Porcupinefish Douluo, followed by the rest of the shadow soldiers. Due to their high speed, they couldn't stop in time and helplessly slammed into it. After all... it was their king's command.
Thorn Porcupinefish saw the eight shadow soldiers gathered in one place and was about to release another soul skill to deal with these bothersome soul beasts when, suddenly, Qian Renxue, who had been absorbing her sixth soul ring, slowly opened her eyes.
Her violet eyes, as beautiful as the stars, sparkled faintly. Behind her, a three-meter-tall angelic figure appeared, with six wings unfurling from its back. The figure's noble face radiated a sacred golden light, causing the shadow soldiers to instinctively retreat a few steps.
These shadow soldiers originated from darkness, and faced with such blinding holy light, even their king would be temporarily suppressed, let alone them.
Seeing that Qian Renxue had finished absorbing the soul ring, Cheng Xiao willed the shadow soldiers surrounding her to dissolve into wisps of black mist, vanishing before Snake Spear Douluo and Qian Renxue's eyes.
The shadow soldiers came and went quickly, as if everything had happened in an instant. Before Snake Spear Douluo could even unleash his ultimate move, they had retreated like the tide.
After the shadow soldiers had dispersed, a dark silhouette flickered momentarily in the shadows of the forest, not far from the two.
"You... you successfully absorbed it, young master?" came the humble voice of Porcupinefish Douluo.
As the golden glow around Qian Renxue gradually faded, the sixth black soul ring surrounding her body fully took form. With her enhanced spiritual power, she immediately sensed that something was off.
"Those soul beasts didn't seem to be made of flesh and blood. They all shared the same dark attribute," Qian Renxue said thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Young master, let me explain..." Porcupinefish Douluo's voice echoed in her ears. Using a technique available only to high-level soul masters, he transmitted sound directly to her, recounting the strange events that had just occurred.
"So, Uncle Yulong saw the Man-Faced Demon Spider and rushed out to prevent it from interfering with my soul ring absorption, correct?" Qian Renxue stood up, dusted herself off, and spoke calmly.
"Yes... that's exactly what happened," Porcupinefish Douluo replied.
As he finished speaking, another figure appeared beside them. It was Snake Spear Douluo, Yulong, returning from his pursuit of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
"Uncle Yulong, did you manage to kill the Man-Faced Demon Spider?" Qian Renxue asked as she scanned the area, her eyes flashing with a faint golden light.
"Young master, the Man-Faced Demon Spider was quite peculiar. I had to kill it twice before it finally stayed dead. Strangely, when it died, it left no body, nor did it drop a soul ring," Snake Spear Douluo said, recounting the odd events.
Everyone knew that when a soul beast was killed by a soul master, its body would remain and a soul ring would appear. Yet this pitch-black, armored Man-Faced Demon Spider didn't follow that rule. Yulong had to kill it twice, and even then, its body vanished without a trace, and no soul ring appeared. He had never seen a soul beast like it before.
Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue lightly tapped her chin. She then released her Seraphim Martial Soul and spoke slowly, "Just now, Uncle Porcupinefish also encountered something strange. But for some reason, my Seraphim Martial Soul seemed to resonate with it."
"It felt as if my Seraphim was telling me that somewhere nearby, there is another being with a soul as powerful as my own Seraphim Martial Soul."
Both Snake Spear Douluo and Thorn Dolphin Douluo were stunned. They were well aware of the Seraphim Martial Soul's divine status—truly a god-level martial soul. Now, their young master was saying that there was another god-level martial soul nearby, which was hard for them to believe.
"Young master, perhaps you're mistaken. Your Seraphim Martial Soul is unique; even across the entire continent, no martial soul could rival its quality," Snake Spear Douluo whispered.
"I'm not mistaken. The feeling is subtle, but I'm sure of it. Whoever possesses a martial soul like mine is still nearby," Qian Renxue said with certainty.
At this, both Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo fell silent. As her protectors, they knew when to speak and when to hold their tongues.
"Alright, both of you can return for now. I've finished absorbing my sixth soul ring, but I want to stay here for a while and see if those dark soul beasts reappear," Qian Renxue said as she gracefully seated herself on a large stone, appearing as though she was waiting for someone.
Both Snake Spear Douluo and Thorn Dolphin Douluo exchanged bitter glances. They wanted to refuse but knew her too well. After all these years of serving her, they had come to understand her personality.
Without any further protest, they bowed in unison and then disappeared from Qian Renxue's sight.
"Heh, although they possess dark attributes, they triggered a reaction from my Seraphim Martial Soul. It seems the person summoning these soul beasts to disturb my soul ring absorption is after the corpse of the Three-Eyed Golden Ape," Qian Renxue mused as her gaze landed on the long-dead ape. Killing this powerful, spiritual soul beast had taken quite a bit of effort.
Qian Renxue was intelligent. From what Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo had recounted, it was clear that those creatures were not typical soul beasts. They had the appearance and abilities of soul beasts, but their essence resembled energy constructs.
Moreover, these beasts were intelligent and purposeful. They even knew how to lure Snake Spear Douluo away and then distract Porcupinefish Douluo, all to interfere with her absorption of the soul ring while trying to take away the Three-Eyed Golden Ape.
The signs indicated that this was no ordinary soul beast behavior. Even the highly intelligent Three-Eyed Golden Ape wouldn't have such strategic thinking. From a certain perspective, these actions resembled those of a human soul master.
"I'm curious to see which soul master is capable of commanding soul beasts in battle and can even resonate with my Seraphim Martial Soul. Since you want the corpse of the Three-Eyed Golden Ape, I'll wait here for you. In the meantime, I can regulate my chaotic soul power," Qian Renxue thought as she sat cross-legged on the stone, her mind racing.
...
Leaning against a nearby tree, Cheng Xiao sighed helplessly.
He hadn't expected that after absorbing the soul ring, Qian Renxue wouldn't leave but would instead wait in place. This was not how the plot was supposed to unfold! At this point, Cheng Xiao's shadow power was down to a mere tenth of its original strength. The effort required to continuously resurrect the shadow soldiers, especially in such large numbers and multiple times, had nearly drained him.
At times, Cheng Xiao really wanted to say, "I'm out, really out. You've drained me completely, not a drop left."