Chapter 16: Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle, Absorbing the Third Soul Ring
The afternoon of the next day, deep within the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The air was humid and sultry, with the occasional roar of a Soul Beast drifting in from afar.
Su Mo walked slowly alongside Golden Crocodile Douluo.
This trip deep into the Star Dou Great Forest was to hunt for Su Mo's third Soul Ring.
Originally, Qian Xunji was supposed to bring Su Mo, but since he was only a low-level Titled Douluo, Qian Daoliu was not at ease and had the ninety-eight-level Golden Crocodile Douluo take charge once again.
As they walked, Golden Crocodile Douluo suddenly stopped.
He raised his head and looked toward the sky.
Su Mo followed his gaze, but saw nothing.
With his current strength, his range of perception naturally could not compare to Golden Crocodile Douluo's.
Before long, a sharp cry suddenly rang out from high above.
Immediately after, a giant bird broke through the clouds.
Su Mo narrowed his eyes, gradually making out the appearance of the giant bird.
It was a giant eagle nearly five meters long, with a wingspan of over ten meters.
Its entire body was covered in black-gold feathers that shimmered with a cold, hard metallic luster under the sunlight, each one appearing as if forged from refined iron.
Most striking were the feathers at the edges of its wings; they stood erect like swords, their edges gleaming with a chilling light, as if a single gentle swipe could tear an enemy apart.
"Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle." Golden Crocodile Douluo narrowed his eyes slightly. "A flying-type Soul Beast, skilled in aerial surprise attacks. Its sword feathers can detach to attack, and its speed is extremely fast. It is a Soul Beast well-suited for you."
He paused, his gaze lingering on the giant eagle for a moment before his brows furrowed slightly.
"However, this one already has five thousand years of cultivation, which is the limit for an ordinary Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring. Xiao Mo, for the sake of caution, should we look for another?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo turned his head to look at Su Mo, asking with concern.
Su Mo did not answer immediately.
He stood quietly in place, looking up at the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle circling in the sky.
According to the limits of the Soul Master World in the Douluo Continent, the age of a third Soul Ring should be around one thousand seven hundred years.
Five thousand years was nearly three times that limit; if an ordinary Soul Master were to rashly absorb it, it would be courting death.
But he had a strong intuition that he could absorb it.
Moreover, over the past year, he had consumed quite a bit of high-age whale glue, and combined with daily, uninterrupted physical training and medicinal baths, his physical constitution had long since far surpassed that of Soul Masters at the same level.
Most importantly, he trusted his intuition.
"Grandpa Gold Crocodile." Su Mo withdrew his gaze and said firmly, "Believe in me, I can absorb its Soul Ring."
Golden Crocodile Douluo was silent for a moment.
The circumstances of Su Mo's previous two Soul Ring absorptions were still fresh in his memory; perhaps this time, it would really work as well.
"Are you sure?" He asked one more time.
"Yes." Su Mo nodded, his gaze steadfast.
"Very well, then I will follow your lead."
The moment his words fell, the aura around Golden Crocodile Douluo changed abruptly.
His Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul was released suddenly, and nine Soul Rings lit up one by one from beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red.
The final hundred thousand year spirit ring was as bright red as blood, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.
The next moment, Golden Crocodile Douluo soared into the air.
He transformed into a streak of golden light, rushing straight toward the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle high in the sky at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to track.
Su Mo stood below, looking up at the golden light that had pierced through the sky, his eyes flickering slightly.
It was a pity he did not have the ability to fly; otherwise, he truly would have wanted to handle this battle himself.
High in the sky.
The Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle had originally been searching for its prey for the day.
Suddenly, an extremely terrifying aura surged up from below.
The strength of that aura made its hair stand on end instantly.
It abruptly lowered its head and saw a streak of golden light approaching it at a terrifying speed.
What terrified it the most was the blood-red Soul Ring circling the figure.
The Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle flapped its wings violently, turning around to flee.
However.
In the face of absolute power, any struggle was futile.
Golden Crocodile Douluo did not even use any Soul skills.
He simply rushed above the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle, then raised a foot and stomped down fiercely!
The Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle let out an extremely shrill scream, its body plummeting straight toward the ground like a meteorite.
Bang—!!!
A loud bang reverberated through the Star Dou Great Forest as the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle smashed heavily into the ground.
Its body lay in the pit, twitching slightly. Its originally sharp and fierce pupils now held only terror and despair, and fresh blood continuously seeped from the corners of its beak.
With just a single blow, the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle was already on the verge of death.
Golden Crocodile Douluo landed back beside Su Mo, his expression as calm as usual, as if he had just casually swatted away a flying insect.
"Go ahead, Xiao Mo." He said indifferently.
"Thank you, Grandpa Gold Crocodile."
Su Mo stepped toward the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle, released his Asura Demon Sword Martial Soul, and cleanly pierced its vital point.
The moment the blade pierced through flesh and blood, the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle's body shuddered violently, then completely lost all signs of life.
A blood mist overflowed.
The Asura Demon Sword lit up with a faint glow once again, absorbing the blood energy.
Su Mo could feel a warm power surging from the sword into his body; this power was even stronger than the previous two times.
A moment later, a deep purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse of the Black Gold Sword Feather Eagle.
Su Mo sat cross-legged on the edge of the giant pit.
He closed his eyes and guided the Soul Ring toward himself.
The moment the Soul Ring touched his body.
Violent energy surged crazily into his limbs and bones.
That energy was fierce and overbearing, rampaging through his body as if it wanted to tear his meridians apart.
Pain!
It was too painful!
Su Mo gritted his teeth, his body trembling violently, veins bulging on his forehead.
Just then, a strange change occurred.
Su Mo suddenly felt a warm current rise within him, flowing slowly through his body.
The rampaging, violent energy actually gradually calmed down, and the tearing pain instantly diminished by more than half; his trembling body gradually stabilized, and his tightly furrowed brows also relaxed slightly.
Golden Crocodile Douluo kept watch by his side, his gaze fixed tightly on Su Mo.
Just a moment ago, when Su Mo was trembling violently, his hand had already been raised, his Soul Power ready to unleash, prepared to intervene and interrupt at any moment.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Su Mo stabilized.
Golden Crocodile Douluo slowly lowered his hand and let out a long sigh of relief.
But a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes.
Just now, it was clearly a precursor to losing control, yet in the blink of an eye, that violent aura had calmed down.
However, he could not see the reason for it.
Golden Crocodile Douluo narrowed his eyes slightly and focused his senses for a moment, but he detected nothing.
He shook his head and stopped overthinking it.
As long as Su Mo was unharmed, that was enough. As for the rest, Su Mo already possessed a touch of mystery, and perhaps this was simply what made him extraordinary.
Time passed minute by minute.
The process of absorbing the Soul Ring was gradually nearing its end.
However, just as it was about to end, a sudden change occurred!
Su Mo only felt a tearing, excruciating pain coming from his back!
That kind of pain was completely different from the impact when the Soul Ring had entered his body earlier.
It was a tearing sensation that seemed to seep from his very bones, as if something was slowly stretching his skin and flesh, about to break out from within his body.