"What!" Qian Renxue’s beautiful eyes fixed on the ball of dark purple flame, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she speculated inwardly.
Even from such a distance, Qian Renxue still felt the scorching, intense heat.
"It’s not over yet," Mo Chen replied calmly, shaking his head slightly.
His gaze never left the area shrouded in flames.
Just then, a roar echoed through the mountain forest, and the rhinoceros burst out from the thicket, bearing the raging fire.
Its skin, which had once shimmered with golden light, was now burned a deep, fiery red, as if it were a ripened apple. Under the glare of the flames, its already incredibly hard horn had turned completely blood-red, shimmering with a chilling, menacing light.
A frenzied, bloodthirsty look flickered in the rhinoceros's eyes, like a demon from hell. It stared fixedly at Mo Chen before it and launched an attack without the slightest hesitation.
The sharp horn, like a pointed spear, thrust straight toward Mo Chen with ferocious momentum.
Faced with such a fierce assault, Mo Chen did not show the slightest sign of panic.
"Eighth Soul Ring, Second Spirit Skill: Torch Dragon’s Tail—Galaxy Swing!"
As his words fell, his body was instantly enveloped in a thick layer of violet smoke. A low, deafening dragon roar emerged from within the mist.
In the next instant, a massive, pitch-black dragon lunged out from the smoke.
The black dragon’s glowing tail lashed out like a whip, striking the rhinoceros with brutal force. With a crisp, cracking sound, the rhinoceros’s massive body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string. After arcing through the air, it slammed heavily into the side of the valley.
The thunderous roar and violent tremors from the impact shook the entire valley, and the rhinoceros’s shrill, agonizing cries echoed through the mountains for a long time.
The black dragon’s massive, majestic form circled in the air like a cloud blocking the sun. Its cold, glowing dragon eyes stared fixedly at the rhinoceros, which was now collapsed on the ground, unable to rise.
"Go, deal the final blow!" The black dragon opened its cavernous maw and exhaled a stream of scorching hot air. Amidst this heatwave, a razor-sharp dagger fell from the black dragon, dropping straight to the ground with a crisp metallic clatter.
Qian Renxue walked up quickly and bent down to pick up the dagger.
When her gaze fell upon the object in her hand, she was momentarily stunned. The dagger was pitch black, its blade shimmering with a chilling, cold light. Its surface was covered in mysterious purple patterns, like flowing lightning, emanating an eerie and powerful aura.
Holding such a lethal weapon, Qian Renxue’s heartbeat quickened involuntarily, and her emotions were hard to settle for a long while.
She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and walked to the side of the rhinoceros.
The rhinoceros was barely breathing, its flame of life flickering out, yet one could still feel its weak gasps and painful tremors.
Qian Renxue felt not a shred of pity. Her eyes were as cold as millennial ice. Without hesitation, she raised the dagger and used all her strength to plunge it into the rhinoceros’s neck.
With a muffled "puchi" sound, the dagger sank into the flesh.
Struck by this fatal blow, the rhinoceros struggled instinctively, its limbs kicking wildly and stirring up a cloud of dust. But soon, its movements ceased, and it finally lost all signs of life.
At the same time, a dense, black Soul Ring slowly rose from the carcass, hovering in the air and emitting waves of powerful Soul Power.
Seeing this, Qian Renxue dared not delay a moment. She quickly sat cross-legged on the spot, closed her eyes, adjusted her breathing, and began to absorb the Soul Ring.
Just as she closed her eyes and focused her mind to guide the Soul Ring into her body, a piercing, deafening cry suddenly echoed from the depths of the valley.
The sound was like a bolt of lightning, terrifyingly loud, causing the birds in the forest to scatter in flight and the beasts to cower and tremble on the ground.
"Not good, that thing is out!" Danyu’s heart tightened, his face instantly turning grave. He instinctively clenched his fists, and a surging, powerful current of water erupted from his body, rapidly enveloping him like a transparent shield.
In the blink of an eye, the water twisted and transformed; with a flash of dazzling light, a water dragon emerged. It circled and coiled in the air, complementing the black dragon.
"Who is it?" The black dragon’s low, majestic voice suddenly rang out like thunder across the sky, making one tremble.
The water dragon frowned, its eyes fixed like two sharp arrows on the figure emerging in the distance that seemed to blot out the sky. It said in a deep voice, "The absolute monarch of Divine Eagle Valley: the Divine Bird, Garuda!"
As the distance closed, the powerful Soul Power pressure radiating from Garuda grew stronger, making the very air around them tremble under the strain.
Feeling this terrifying pressure, the black dragon let out a long, hot breath. It turned to the water dragon and said firmly, "Protect Xiaoxue. She is currently absorbing the Soul Ring; she must not be disturbed or affected in any way."
Having said that, the black dragon did not hesitate; it took off with a roar of wind, rushing rapidly toward the direction Garuda was coming from.
The water dragon circled in the air for a moment, seemingly struggling internally, but after a brief thought, it reached a decision. Its massive body began to descend slowly. As it moved, the surrounding air was stirred into a small whirlwind.
When the water dragon landed completely, its massive form acted like a protective shell, wrapping around Qian Renxue. With the water dragon’s protection, Qian Renxue could absorb the Soul Ring in peace.
Meanwhile, the black dragon was charging forward at an astonishing speed. It moved as fast as a lightning bolt across the horizon, even surpassing the speed of sound.
In the blink of an eye, the black dragon collided head-on with Garuda.
A tremendous boom followed, as if the space itself were about to be torn asunder. A powerful, violent recoil force surged forth, and the black dragon was thrown backward, uncontrolled, like a kite with a snapped string.
The black dragon struggled to control its flight, but the recoil was so immense that it could barely cope. After a difficult struggle, the black dragon finally managed to stabilize itself.
However, its eyes remained locked on Garuda before it. Only now did the black dragon see Garuda in its entirety.
Garuda’s wingspan was over a thousand meters—a length that was truly staggering. Its claws, sharp as steel blades, shimmered with a chilling light, and its body was covered in dazzling golden feathers. Its crimson eyes revealed endless majesty and dominance, but most striking of all were the flames constantly burning upon it.
These flames were a blinding golden color, interweaving and clashing with the purple flames of the black dragon, seemingly holding the upper hand.
Looking at the powerful and fierce Garuda before it, the black dragon muttered to itself, "This is no Garuda. This is clearly a Three-Legged Golden Crow!" (Irrespective of mythology, this is just a common hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast; one might think of it as a beast that simply took the name of the Golden Crow.)
Before the words had faded, the Golden Crow flapped its wings violently.
Instantly, a scorching, high-temperature heat accompanied by a violent hurricane swept in all directions. Everywhere it passed, the air ignited, turning into a sea of fire. Even the water dragon protecting Qian Renxue had steam rising from its body due to the intense heat.
Dragons have always possessed a proud spirit. Faced with such blatant provocation, even the black dragon could not help but feel a surge of anger. Although the gap in their strength was like clouds and mud, the black dragon’s proud nature would not allow it to shrink back.
It opened its cavernous jaws, and a ball of terrifying, dark purple energy began to gather incessantly. As time passed, the energy grew larger and more dazzling, as if it contained the power to destroy the world.
"You reckless, giant rooster, you have truly annoyed me today!" the black dragon roared.
Before it finished speaking, the massive energy it had condensed shot toward the Golden Crow like a bolt of lightning.
Faced with the purple beam speeding toward it, a trace of disdain flickered in the Golden Crow’s eyes. It reacted with lightning speed, instantly folding its large, magnificent wings to wrap its body into an indestructible sphere.
With a loud boom, the powerful purple beam slammed into the folded wings of the Golden Crow.
In an instant, the purple and golden flames—different in color but equally fierce and violent—intertwined, engaging in a series of intense exchanges. They were like two ferocious beasts, crazily biting and devouring one another, neither gaining the upper hand.
However, when a flash of mockery appeared in the Golden Crow’s eyes, Mo Chen’s defensive attack was instantly shattered. A golden breath instantly engulfed the place where Mo Chen stood.
At that moment, a black shadow instantly flashed behind the Golden Crow. Taking advantage of the Crow’s focus on the frontal attack, the black dragon had silently maneuvered to its back, putting all its might into a powerful tail strike against the Golden Crow.
However, unexpectedly, this strike—capable of shattering mountains and splitting stones—only caused the Golden Crow to sway slightly, causing no substantive damage or effect. It seemed that this ostensibly invincible strike was nothing more than a minor annoyance to the highly defensive Golden Crow.
"What!"
The black dragon exclaimed inwardly, but before it could recover from the shock, the Golden Crow had already gathered energy as dazzling as the sun in its mouth.
"Not good! It’s too close; there’s no time to dodge!" The black dragon’s face changed dramatically; it knew it was in trouble.
Seeing that terrifying energy sweeping toward it at an astonishing speed, as if to swallow it whole, the black dragon’s body suddenly erupted with a dazzling purple light, like the brightest star in the night sky.
With the flash of purple light, the black dragon shouted, "Sixth Soul Skill: Torch Dragon’s Heart—Rebirth!"
In an instant, the surging energy flowed like a burst dam, completely swallowing the black dragon. Amidst the onslaught, the black dragon felt only endless pressure and violent force, crazily tearing and slamming against its body.
A series of cracking sounds followed as the black dragon’s incredibly hard black scales began to shed, falling like raindrops. Then, shocking wounds appeared rapidly across its body, with blood gushing out and staining the surrounding air.
As time passed, when the energy finally dissipated, the black dragon appeared before them covered in wounds, a tragic sight to behold. Its body was riddled with cuts, each deep to the bone, soaked in blood. Even at the corners of its mouth, traces of undried blood remained.
Despite suffering such heavy damage, the black dragon still endured the excruciating pain, staring fixedly at the Golden Crow with eyes full of unyielding will. Meanwhile, due to the activation of the Rebirth skill, the horrific wounds on the black dragon’s body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"A 700,000-year Soul Beast, is that all you've got?" Even having just returned from the gates of death, the black dragon did not intend to bow its head to the beast before it.
"Human, for tens of thousands of years, you are the first to survive three strikes from me." A remarkably mature female voice suddenly emanated from the Golden Crow.
The Golden Crow suddenly speaking took the black dragon by surprise. After all, such a powerful being would typically be too arrogant to converse with humans.
"Human, your talent is excellent. To reach level 81 at age 21, I am truly filled with curiosity about you," the Golden Crow continued.
"My time is nearing its end. In my current physical state, I must not only guard against attacks from other Soul Beasts in Divine Eagle Valley but also protect my child and withstand the coming heavenly tribulation." Shaking its head, the black dragon could even see a trace of sorrow in the Golden Crow’s eyes.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Human, I can spare your life, and I can also spare your two companions."
"I want you to swear by your Martial Soul now: regardless of whether you achieve godhood in the future, you must protect my child."
Hearing the Golden Crow’s words, the black dragon was completely unable to make sense of the situation.
"My current physical condition cannot withstand the next heavenly tribulation. If I die, my child will certainly not survive to adulthood. Therefore, I wish to sacrifice myself to you and become your second Martial Soul!"