Chapter 198: Persuasion Successful? Unexpected Occurrence
Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, the spatial structure was unusually stable, devoid of the chaotic rifts found elsewhere. Three figures came to a halt before an ancient, moss-draped rock crevice. Liu Yuan stood at the forefront, his purple-gold Three Pupils locked onto the seemingly empty clearing ahead. Not a single living creature was visible, yet the shadow cast at Liu Yuan's feet writhed and twisted in an unnatural, irregular rhythm.
"Come out," Liu Yuan commanded, his voice perfectly calm.
The moment the words left his lips, the air ahead violently distorted. A translucent, silver-gray silhouette slowly bled out from the Void Realm. This was the Hidden-Breaking Beast. Measuring roughly three meters in length, its sleek body was covered in short, silver-gray fur that possessed a bizarre, translucent texture. Beneath each of its four limbs swirled a mass of flowing shadow, allowing it to tread without making a single sound. With every step it took, its physical form rapidly flickered between a solid state and an ethereal phantom.
This was a terrifying hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast.
Sensing the deep, restrained spirit power radiating from the creature, Long Aotian instinctively took a half-step back. His expression grew solemn. "A hundred thousand years of cultivation... Its foundation is vastly superior to the one I absorbed. Spirit Beasts of this caliber possess incredibly resilient Soul wills and intelligence that rivals our own. Junior Brother, if you intend to force it to abandon its physical body and become a Soul Spirit, I am afraid it will be an arduous task."
Liu Yuan studied the Hidden-Breaking Beast, his brows knitting together. If this were merely an ordinary Spirit Beast of twenty or thirty thousand years, he would possess absolute certainty. However, a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast held not only immense wisdom but also an innate, unyielding pride. Within the brutal ecological chain of the Star Dou Great Forest, apex predators of this realm rarely bowed their heads to humans, preferring to fight to the bitter end.
"But my current physique can easily withstand a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast. I cannot simply settle for something with a few tens of thousands of years of cultivation," Liu Yuan sighed, a hint of helplessness in his tone. "However, Senior Brother, your concerns are completely valid. If it refuses to cooperate and I am forced to extract its Soul against its will, the success rate of the contract will plummet drastically. This is indeed quite troublesome."
Standing off to the side, Du Busi remained entirely unfazed. The old man took a casual step forward, his hands clasped loosely behind his back, and fixed the Hidden-Breaking Beast with an utterly indifferent gaze.
"Liu Yuan, Aotian, you two are overthinking this," Du Busi stated, his tone steady and commanding. "Whether it has lived for a hundred thousand years or a million years, as long as it has not ascended to godhood, the law of this land remains the same. The strong command respect."
He gestured toward the flickering beast. "Defeat it first. Strip away its ability to resist. This so-called 'willingness' you seek often blossoms quite naturally when a creature is pushed into a desperate corner. Do it."
Liu Yuan nodded, his previous hesitation vanishing instantly. "Understood, Master!"
"Then let us begin!"
Liu Yuan sprang into action. Naturally, he had no intention of clashing head-on with a hundred-thousand-year beast in a contest of brute strength. Instead, his spirit rings flared to life, and he instantly unleashed his fifth Spirit Ability.
Forbidden Domain.
A massive, ethereal spatial barrier materialized, instantly swallowing the Hidden-Breaking Beast. Within this isolated dimension, countless spectral eyes snapped open, their unblinking gazes locking onto the creature. Under the oppressive stare of the domain, every single one of the Hidden-Breaking Beast's attributes and abilities suffered a severe percentage reduction.
Feeling its power rapidly draining, the Hidden-Breaking Beast unleashed a furious, ear-piercing screech. It desperately attempted to phase back into the Void Realm to escape, but the moment its ethereal form brushed against the edge of the cage, the mysterious, absolute power of the Three Pupils violently rebounded it back into the center.
On the other side, Du Busi finally moved.
The Level 98 Super Douluo did not bother with flashy Spirit Abilities or grand displays of power. He simply stepped into the Forbidden Domain and threw a single, straightforward punch.
In that split second, the entire world seemed to freeze.
A terrifying torrent of emerald-green spirit power erupted from his fist, instantly shredding through all the spatial camouflage the Hidden-Breaking Beast had desperately erected. A suffocating pressure, heavy enough to shatter the very fabric of space, crashed directly into the beast's spine.
The Hidden-Breaking Beast twisted its body frantically, attempting to execute a spatial displacement to evade the catastrophic strike. Yet, in the face of the absolute, overwhelming strength of a Super Douluo, all its innate techniques were rendered entirely useless.
A dull, sickening impact echoed through the clearing. The Hidden-Breaking Beast's massive body was swatted from the air and slammed violently into the earth.
The solid rock beneath it instantly caved in, forming a massive, spider-webbed crater. The radiant silver-gray luster of its fur dimmed to a dull ash, and thick blood spilled uncontrollably from the corner of its maw.
Du Busi casually withdrew his hand and stood upright, turning his gaze back to his disciple. "It has lost the ability to resist. The rest is up to you."
Liu Yuan walked to the edge of the crater, looking down at the majestic Spirit Beast that now hovered on the fragile boundary between life and death.
He did not waste time with empty threats. Raising his hand, he condensed a swirling sphere of gray energy. With a gentle pull, he guided the small, ethereal form of the Earth-Splitting Rhino Soul Spirit out from Long Aotian's shoulder.
"Look closely," Liu Yuan instructed, pointing at the lively, glowing Rhino Soul Spirit. "This man beside me is my Senior Brother, Long Aotian. Just two hours ago, this creature faced the exact same predicament you do now. It was a twenty-thousand-year Earth-Splitting Rhino."
The Hidden-Breaking Beast weakly shifted its gaze toward the freely moving Rhino Soul Spirit. A flicker of genuine astonishment finally pierced through the dead, defeated silence in its eyes.
"You are a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast. You should be intimately aware of the terror that is the Lightning Tribulation," Liu Yuan said, squatting at the edge of the pit. His voice was calm, devoid of malice, simply stating an obvious fact. "In a few years, or perhaps a few decades, the heavens will send down the Lightning Tribulation. Even if your foundation allows you to survive it once, or perhaps twice, what about the third time? The final outcome remains the same. Annihilation. Your body will turn to ash, and your Soul will scatter back into the heavens and the earth."
"You only have two choices now."
Liu Yuan pointed toward the dark expanse of the ancient forest. "First, you can cling to your pride. You can die right here, right now, and be reduced to a lifeless spirit ring containing nothing but raw spirit power. Your immense intelligence, your centuries of combat experience, and the Origin you have painstakingly cultivated for a hundred thousand years will be wiped away. It will be as if you never existed."
He then lowered his hand, his gaze piercing. "Second, you can follow the path of this Rhino. Become a Soul Spirit and follow me."
Liu Yuan met the Hidden-Breaking Beast's wavering eyes, his tone carrying absolute conviction. "I am fifteen years old this year, and I have already reached level 60. Search this entire continent, and you will not find a single Spirit Master with talent superior to mine."
"My ultimate goal is to ascend and become a god. If I achieve godhood, you, as my Soul Spirit, will be granted eternal life. When that day comes, I can give you true freedom. I can provide you with the divine resources needed for evolution, and I can even let you witness the supreme power of the Laws that you could never hope to touch in this mortal lifetime."
"Now, you must make your choice."
The Hidden-Breaking Beast fell into a heavy silence. It assessed its own shattered state, looked at the calm youth before it, and finally shifted its gaze to Long Aotian, who stood tall and brimming with vibrant power.
Within its gray-blue eyes, the feral violence and stubborn pride gradually melted away, replaced by the deep, calculating contemplation of a highly intelligent predator weighing its survival.
As a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, its judgment was impeccable. Liu Yuan spoke the truth. If it remained stubborn, the only thing waiting for it in this crater was absolute death. And the youth standing above it truly possessed a terrifying, boundless future.
Slowly, painfully, the massive beast lowered its head against the shattered rock and let out a long, low whimper.
It was a sound of total compromise.
Witnessing this, a surge of joy washed over Liu Yuan.
"Very good," Liu Yuan said, rising to his feet. He immediately sent a mental projection into his Sea of Consciousness. "Elder Yi, please proceed."
However...
Just as the deep gray light of Electrolux began to condense, preparing to weave the complex runes of the contract, a sudden, thunderous voice exploded across the dead-silent clearing.
The voice was laced with a violent, suffocating surge of spirit power. The sheer magnitude of the newcomer's fury caused the surrounding space to violently distort and warp.
"Human! I have finally found you!"
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