Two hours later, Lin Mu led the Myriad Demon King to Sea God Island.
Having thoroughly mastered the aerial route to and from the island, he had saved considerable time compared to his previous journeys.
"This is Sea God Island?"
Hovering in mid-air, the Myriad Demon King looked down at the island, his eyes filled with a mixture of solemnity and curiosity. This was the legendary sanctuary protected by the Sea God.
Just then, a strange, overwhelming power suddenly pressed down on him, forming an invisible, suffocating barrier that attempted to repel him from entering the airspace.
"This is the Sea God's Light?!"
Lin Mu quickly realized that the divine energy blocking the Myriad Demon King was the Sea God's Light, which had undoubtedly detected the entity's true identity as a massive soul beast.
"Your Majesty, shall we force our way in?" the Myriad Demon King asked, frowning. Although the pressure was nothing he couldn't handle, offending the majesty of a true god would be troublesome.
Hearing this, Lin Mu did not answer immediately. He simply gazed into the distance, his expression unreadable.
Not long after, Bo Saixi, dressed in her sweeping red robes, flew up from the island. When she saw the Myriad Demon King, her usually calm, serene expression finally cracked.
"Lin Mu, why did you bring him here?"
Bo Saixi's voice trembled with a mix of shock and anger. Bringing a great ferocious beast onto Sea God Island without authorization was practically blasphemous.
Although this beast wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, it was still an entity at the level of a Limit Douluo.
With Lin Mu already possessing the power of a demigod, the combined threat they posed could easily raze the entire Sea God Island.
"Bo Saixi, I brought him here simply to use him as the ninth soul ring for my disciple," Lin Mu said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Bo Saixi was completely dumbfounded. She had considered many terrifying possibilities, but this was the last one she would have ever imagined, simply because it was too absurd.
If it were an ordinary 100,000-year-old soul beast, she wouldn't be too surprised. After all, Lin Mu's strength was far above hers, and capturing a 100,000-year-old soul beast alive wouldn't be particularly difficult for him.
But this was a great ferocious beast with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, its raw strength is not inferior to a Limit Douluo.
Even if Lin Mu's strength was above it, capturing it alive and forcing it into submission should be simply impossible.
Yet, the astonishing reality was right in front of her. The terrifying soul beast had actually submitted to Lin Mu, and even knowing that it would be sacrificed to Tang San to become his ninth soul ring, it showed absolutely no intention of resisting.
"Are you sure Tang San can safely absorb such a high-age soul ring?" Bo Saixi asked, forcing herself to change the subject.
Although she couldn't understand how Lin Mu had managed to tame the soul beast, the idea of a newly ascended Titled Douluo absorbing a soul ring over 500,000 years old was far too risky.
Even she had only absorbed a 100,000-year-old god bestowed soul ring when she completed the final stage of her Eighth Red Top-level assessment.
"You don't need to worry about that. Since I chose to do this, I naturally have absolute confidence," Lin Mu said emphatically.
Seeing his unwavering certainty, Bo Saixi, though still deeply doubtful, didn't argue further.
Regardless of her fears, Tang San was Lin Mu's personal disciple. Lin Mu wouldn't risk the boy's life, especially since Tang San's rapid, miraculous improvement was entirely due to Lin Mu's guidance.
"In that case, follow me."
With a final, wary glance at the Myriad Demon King, Bo Saixi turned and flew toward the Sea Woman's Holy Pillar. Lin Mu and the Myriad Demon King immediately followed.
Meanwhile, at the Holy Pillar, Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong were locked in combat with the Sea Woman Douluo, while the rest of the team watched anxiously from the edge of the sea-within-a-sea.
Not long ago, Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan had successfully defeated the Sea Spear Douluo and the Sea Star Douluo, respectively.
This victory was largely thanks to the flawless support provided by Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong; otherwise, they would have had absolutely no chance of passing the trial.
Soon, Bo Saixi descended from the sky with Lin Mu and the Myriad Demon King in tow. Before anyone on the ground could fully react, the three had already landed beside them.
"Master! Didn't you leave just this morning?" Tang San asked, both surprised and delighted to see Lin Mu suddenly reappear.
He had thought his master would be gone for a while and hadn't expected him to return so quickly.
The rest of the team was equally surprised by the sudden arrival.
"I left Sea God Island mainly to secure your ninth soul ring," Lin Mu said, gesturing to the man beside him.
As the most powerful plant-type soul beast in existence, possessing the ultimate wood attribute, the Myriad Demon King was undoubtedly the most perfect fit for the Blue Silver Emperor martial soul.
Tang San followed his master's gaze and noticed the unfamiliar, stoic man. Although the stranger did not deliberately release his aura, Tang San immediately felt his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul being slightly suppressed.
Back when his Blue Silver Grass had not yet undergone its second awakening, he had often felt suppressed by higher-tier plant martial souls.
But since evolving into the Blue Silver Emperor, this was the very first time he had felt that innate, biological submission.
Could it be that this stranger possessed a plant-type martial soul even more powerful than the Blue Silver Emperor?
However, if that were the case, what did it have to do with the ninth soul ring his master had mentioned?
"He's not human. He is a soul beast. His true form is a Mutated Tree Monster with over 500,000 years of cultivation," Lin Mu announced, casually dropping the bombshell.
Upon hearing this, everyone, except Bo Saixi, who already knew the truth, was absolutely stunned.
Once they recovered from the initial shock, Yu Tianheng and the others hurriedly scrambled to hide behind Lin Mu, terrified that the ferocious beast might suddenly snap and attack them.
This wasn't just an ordinary 100,000-year soul beast; this was an entity with half a million years of cultivation.
If this soul beast harbored even the slightest ill will, a single, casual attack could easily wipe them all out. It was impossible to remain calm in its presence.
Compared to the others, Tang San remained relatively composed, though his eyes were wide. He looked up at Lin Mu, asking incredulously, "Master, can he really be my ninth soul ring?"
"I plan to make him your soul spirit. With his power, your Blue Silver Emperor martial soul will evolve to become even stronger," Lin Mu said, patting Tang San's shoulder with a slight smile.
Hearing this, Tang San's eyes lit up with brilliant intensity. His Blue Silver Emperor martial soul was already incredibly strong; in terms of innate martial soul quality alone, it was comparable to the Clear Sky Hammer.
If it were to advance even further, he might actually surpass Yu Tianheng's newly evolved Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
While the Clear Sky Hammer was recognized as the number one weapon martial soul in the world, its sheer, raw strength wasn't always a game-changer on its own.
Its true terror lay in its combination with the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate techniques, especially the Great Sumeru Hammer, which allowed a user to unleash power far exceeding their own limits.
If his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul could advance further now, and he later collected all nine soul rings for his Clear Sky Hammer, he might actually have a chance to catch up with his master's footsteps.
"Master's profound kindness... I will never forget it!"
Overcome with emotion, Tang San suddenly dropped to his knees, intending to kowtow deeply to Lin Mu.
Seeing this, Lin Mu quickly reached out and pulled him back up, a look of genuine satisfaction on his face. "There's no need for such heavy formalities between us. You are my disciple."
"Little San," Lin Mu continued, "once you fuse with this soul spirit, I'm certain you will easily crush the remaining tests."
Tang San was deeply moved by his master's relentless support. But then, a sobering thought struck him. The Sea God's trials were designed to test limits.
If he gained such a massive power boost now, the Sea God might artificially inflate the difficulty of his subsequent tests to compensate.
After all, his soul bone skills had already been disabled for this current trial; next time, the Sea God might restrict his soul rings or even his martial soul itself.
Thinking of this, Tang San looked at Lin Mu earnestly. "Master... could we perhaps postpone the fusion until after I complete the sixth trial?"