After about a night had passed, and the next day began to brighten, the purplish-black light swirling around Dugu Yan finally calmed and stilled completely. She slowly opened her eyes. For a brief moment, an emerald-green light sparkled within them. Her aura was gloomier than before, chilling and exuding a sinister vibe.
"Yan'er, how do you feel?"
Dugu Bo immediately stepped forward, his face filled with concern.
Standing up, Dugu Yan stretched her limbs, feeling the surging power welling up within her, unable to suppress the excitement and joy on her face.
"Grandpa, my fifth soul skill is 'Soul-Devouring Poison Domain.'
After invocation, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison transforms into countless phantom serpent shadows, which automatically coil around the target, lock on, and inject soul-devouring poison into the target's body.
This toxin not only continuously erodes the target's body but leaves behind residual poison that keeps seeping into their spiritual power, causing ongoing mental interference and weakness.
Furthermore, the soul-devouring effect can even absorb a small portion of the target's soul power and feed it back to me!"
She passionately described the soul skill's effect.
A top-tier control soul skill, combining area control, sustained damage, mental interference, and soul power drain. It perfectly compensated for her previous weakness of relatively simple attack methods and complemented the character of the Amethyst Devouring Python.
"Not bad at all!"
Dugu Bo nodded with satisfaction.
This soul skill had tremendous potential, growing ever stronger as her cultivation increased. It would become an important asset with time. The others offered their congratulations, while Dugu Bo could not stop grinning — nothing delighted him more than his granddaughter obtaining such a powerful soul ring.
After a short rest and some light banter, the group didn't linger further. They followed Qian Renxue's guidance, proceeding southwest through the forest, setting the Sacred Feather Spirit Crane as their next objective.
After half a day's journey, the trees grew higher and denser, the air fresher and more humid, pulsing with vibrant life energy. Passing through a dense barrier of vines, the horizon suddenly opened up — before them lay a small, tranquil lake ringed by towering ancient trees. Its sapphire surface reflected the blue sky, white clouds, and surrounding greenery, like a hidden gem embedded within the forest.
At the lake's center, perched upon a smooth, round rock shaped by water, was their target —
a breathtaking avian spirit beast.
It resembled a crane, but was even more elegant and slender. Its feathers were flawless and pure white, shimmering gently in the dappling sunlight as if carved from pure light and jade. Long tail feathers flowed gracefully like ribbons of light, swaying softly with each subtle movement.
Most striking of all was its head. Instead of the red-crowned crest typical of a red-crowned crane, there was a beautiful tuft of feathers like molten gold, with a subtler luster, shaped almost like a small crown—a testament to its extraordinary nature.
At this moment, the bird bowed its head slightly, carefully preening its breast feathers with its long beak, expression serene.
A soft, warm white light radiated from its body, not blinding but making the nearby lake waters appear even clearer. Even the lakeside grass and trees seemed more lush and lively beneath its glow.
"That's the Sacred Feather Spirit Crane, no doubt!"
Ye Cien beamed with heartfelt delight, eyes brimming with unconcealed satisfaction.
"Thirteen thousand years of pure vitality and light energy—a perfect match for Linlin. This is the pinnacle of healing-type soul rings!"
Dugu Bo nodded.
"There's no time to delay. The sooner we settle this, the sooner we can help Miss Qian find her seventh soul ring."
He stepped forward, ready to take action. With his power, capturing a ten-thousand-year soul beast should have been easy.
But as his aura fluctuated faintly, before he could even move —
The Sacred Feather Spirit Crane suddenly looked up.
In its pure gemstone-like eyes flashed extreme fear and unease, white feathers ruffled ever so slightly — it clearly sensed an unavoidable crisis. Yet, it didn't even look in Dugu Bo and the others' direction.
"KREEEE—!"
A clear, frantic cry rang out. Suddenly, the crane spread its wings, a white light burst from its body, and it soared skyward, desperate to flee.
"Eh?"
Dugu Bo's gaze filled with both surprise and doubt. He was sure his own aura was perfectly concealed. Given his cultivation, a ten-thousand-year spirit beast shouldn't have been able to sense his killing intent so acutely.
But he didn't slow his pace. Just as the spirit crane was about to take off, a flash of green appeared in his vision — his skull bone skill activated instantly.
"Medusa's Gaze!"
Twin beams of refined gray-white light shot from his eyes, striking with perfect precision upon the spirit crane's talons as it rose from the ground.
"SKREEE!"
With a pained scream, the crane's talons were instantly covered by a grey-white petrified layer, stiffening and turning to stone. Its condensed flying force cut out; its body lurched, plummeting from low altitude and "splash!" crashed into the lake, sending up towering waves.
A crowd quickly gathered around the lake. The spirit crane flapped frantically upon the waters, desperately trying to swim, its movement hampered by petrified claws, further burdened by fear and injury—flight beyond its reach.
The Serpent Spear Douluo frowned slightly at the sight, speaking with surprise:
"This Sacred Feather Spirit Crane is too sensitive. Last time we passed, I don't remember it being this wary."
Qian Renxue also sensed something was wrong, but now wasn't the time for investigation. She instead turned to Ye Lingling.
"In any case, finish the absorption. Remaining here is not wise."
Ye Lingling nodded, staring at the beautiful yet struggling soul beast in the lake, readying herself.
Suddenly, a clear, youthful voice—though laced with an oppressive arrogance—rang out abruptly behind them:
"That's mine! Get out of the way!"
Chen Yi felt an instant chill, whipping around in alarm. The others tensed, channeling their soul power toward the source.
Not far away, in the shade of an ancient tree, there appeared — from who knows where — a strange soul beast.
It wasn't large, about two meters long and one meter tall. It resembled a lion but was even more elegant and majestic.
Covered in golden fur as if formed from condensed sunlight, every hair seemingly glowed with its own radiant shimmer. Its limbs were long and powerful, claws and teeth glinting coldly.
Most striking was a vertical slit in the center of its brow, tightly closed but faintly emitting a bizarre light, as though hiding a third eye.
A Three-Eyed Golden Lion!
The emperor beast of the Star Dou Forest!
Chen Yi's pupils shrank instantly, his heart filling with shock and disbelief.
Was it…truly born already? Though not as terrifying as when it appeared ten thousand years later, this was no newborn, that's for sure.
He suddenly recalled: in the original story, when the Three-Eyed Golden Lion first appeared, it already showed marks of 15,000 years of cultivation. Divine Beasts grow only slowly, step by step; there are no shortcuts. In other words, this "young-looking" divine beast had actually lived for more than five thousand years!
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stepped forward with a graceful yet arrogant stride, its golden gaze falling lightly over Chen Yi and his companions, embodying a born nobility that showed not a trace of fear before such powerful soul masters.
At last its gaze fell on Qian Renxue, tilting its majestic head and—what was that in its eyes? Greed and longing?
A clear, childish voice sounded again, this time directed straight at Qian Renxue, filled with unrestrained delight as if discovering a gourmet delicacy:
"Human...you smell so good."
…