Chapter 12: Obtaining the Soul Ring
The Golden Extreme Beast is a type of Spirit Beast that feeds on ore.
Consuming ore year-round makes their hide as hard as iron, making it difficult for ordinary swords to injure them in the slightest.
Their claws are extremely sharp, capable of easily slicing through various solid metallic ores.
If they strike a human body, they can instantly tear a person into pieces.
In addition, when encountering danger, they will immediately burrow into the ground to escape.
Their powerful defense and attack power, combined with their flexible evasion abilities, naturally cause the difficulty of hunting a Golden Extreme Beast to skyrocket.
Even Soul Hunting Groups that specialize in hunting Martial Souls do not want to provoke them.
However, this was indeed an extremely suitable Spirit Beast for Lin Yang.
As time passed, Lin Yang searched through the vast forest, checking places suitable for the Golden Extreme Beast's survival, but found no trace of it.
He sighed softly; if this last location didn't have a Golden Extreme Beast, he would have to settle for the next best thing and search for his other intended targets.
Subsequently, the two of them passed through the shrubbery and arrived at a rocky area.
Upon reaching this area, Lin Yang immediately spotted various fragments of gnawed ore.
Undoubtedly, these were the food remains left behind by a Golden Extreme Beast.
There was definitely a Golden Extreme Beast in this area.
Lin Yang's breathing quickened slightly, and he quietly signaled to Zhao Bufan.
Zhao Bufan nodded slightly, his footsteps becoming light as he began to trail far behind Lin Yang.
Lin Yang possessed the Transparent World, so concealing his aura was as simple as eating or drinking.
Using the rocks and shrubs as cover, he finally found the target beneath a massive, shaded rock wall.
It was a Spirit Beast nearly ten meters long, resembling a giant lizard, its entire body covered in dark-gold horny scales that looked hard and heavy.
Most striking were the several short but thick spikes growing along its spine.
It appeared extremely ferocious and full of power.
Lin Yang silently counted seven short spikes, representing that this Golden Extreme Beast was seven hundred years old.
A seven-hundred-year Soul Ring was already equivalent to the second Soul Ring of an average Soul Master.
Should he choose it?
If he did, he might face the risk of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his current level.
If he didn't, it might be difficult to find another Golden Extreme Beast in the short term.
This thought only crossed Lin Yang's mind for two seconds before he immediately made his choice: he would choose this one.
Naturally, Lin Yang didn't make this decision on a whim.
To absorb a Soul Ring beyond one's level, the most important factor was physical constitution.
Half a year of desperate training combined with Sun Breathing had allowed him to further excavate his body's potential.
Another reason was the Demon Blood Martial Soul.
Even if he couldn't endure it, with the Demon Blood Martial Soul present, his body would recover; at worst, he would only lose a Soul Ring.
No sooner said than done.
With a thought from Lin Yang, "Scarlet Edge" appeared in his hand, and his gaze suddenly became sharp.
In the next instant, his figure shot out like an arrow from a bow.
The cold blade was wrapped in spiraling, blazing flames as it lunged fiercely toward the Golden Extreme Beast's eyeball.
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust!"
The Golden Extreme Beast's eyeballs were small, but they were enough for Lin Yang.
Clang—!
Just as the tip of the Nichirin blade was about to pierce the eyeball,
The Golden Extreme Beast, having already reacted, snapped its eyes shut, its thick hide instantly shielding the eyes firmly.
The blade tip collided with the hide, immediately emitting the sound of clashing metal.
Lin Yang's arm shook violently, and the web between his thumb and forefinger instantly went numb; the Golden Extreme Beast's defense far exceeded his estimates.
Using the recoil, Lin Yang twisted his body in mid-air and flew backward.
The soles of his shoes ground against the earth, leaving two straight tracks.
By now, the Golden Extreme Beast had fully reacted, its dark-gold vertical pupils instantly locking onto the uninvited guest, Lin Yang.
It opened its mouth wide and let out a low roar that sounded like metal grinding.
"Whew... not bad, very impressive!"
Lin Yang took a deep breath, and a large amount of oxygen and Soul Power began to fill his entire body.
A flame-shaped crimson scar quietly appeared on his forehead, as if a ball of fire was burning silently beneath his skin.
Demon Slayer Mark, activate!
After activating the Demon Slayer Mark, Lin Yang felt his heart thumping like a drum, and the Soul Power throughout his body seemed to boil, flowing from his heart to his four limbs and hundred bones.
The Golden Extreme Beast also seemed to sense that this human's aura was surging abruptly, gradually becoming dangerous.
Its thick limbs braced against the ground, and its dark-gold scales creaked.
In the next moment, its limbs exerted sudden force.
Its massive body was like a heavy chariot, carrying an aura that could crush everything as it crashed toward Lin Yang.
Dust flew and the momentum was terrifying, as if even a wall of bronze or iron would be smashed to pieces before it.
However, from the perspective of the Transparent World, the Golden Extreme Beast's seemingly unstoppable charge was full of flaws and openings.
The direction of every muscle fiber and the weight-bearing nodes between every bone were clearly visible.
Including the ultimate weapon it was currently hiding: those extremely sharp claws.
At the moment it was about to collide with Lin Yang, a hint of cunning flashed in the Golden Extreme Beast's eyes.
Its claws, which had been held back, suddenly swung out.
Five hooked claws, as if forged from fine iron, sprang out, instantly slicing through the air with a sharp sonic boom.
They slashed toward Lin Yang's body with lightning speed.
This move by the Golden Extreme Beast was extremely insidious; countless Soul Masters had fallen to this technique.
Squelch—!
The sharp claws slashed through, but they only tore apart an afterimage.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow!"
Lin Yang's calm voice came from above the Golden Extreme Beast.
As the Golden Extreme Beast looked up in astonishment, it found its vision already filled by a brilliant arc of fire.
"Sun Breathing, Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation!"
Precise! Swift!
Graceful! Radiant!
Following a beautiful arc, the flame-wrapped Nichirin blade lightly grazed the gap where its neck connected to its head.
Boom!
The Golden Extreme Beast's massive, hideous head was suddenly severed from its body, falling to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Bright red blood quickly stained the rocks beneath it.
A bright yellow Soul Ring slowly condensed from above the corpse.
Phew..."
Lin Yang exhaled softly, the Demon Slayer Mark faded, and his surging Soul Power slowly returned to calm.
At this moment, Zhao Bufan, who was hiding in the distance, looked completely bewildered.
Just now, when he saw Lin Yang being torn apart, he felt as if the sky was collapsing.
But he hadn't expected that in the blink of an eye, the terrifying Golden Extreme Beast's head would already be on the ground.
But then again, what was his role?
Hadn't they agreed to set an ambush to prevent the Golden Extreme Beast from escaping?
He had spent so much time preparing, only to end up as a mere spectator.
"Zhao Bufan."
"Yes, Boss!" Zhao Bufan immediately stepped out from his ambush spot.
"Protect me; I'm going to absorb the Soul Ring."
"Alright, don't worry, Boss."
Zhao Bufan said, thumping his chest.
Lin Yang used his Soul Power to guide the Soul Ring as he found the Golden Extreme Beast's cave nearby.
After a brief cleanup, he made some arrangements.
These arrangements were not just for Spirit Beasts, but also for people.
One must always be wary of others, especially since he and Zhao Bufan were involved in a Soul Bone transaction.
After adjusting his state to its peak, Lin Yang looked at the Soul Ring before him, a sharp light flashing in his eyes as he drew the Soul Ring toward him with his Soul Power.
The yellow Soul Ring contracted rapidly, fitting onto the Nichirin blade with unerring precision.
The moment it was fitted, Lin Yang instantly felt an unprecedentedly massive pressure, making the bones throughout his body creak.
A sharp and violent energy, like a dam bursting, surged frantically into his body along the Martial Soul.
In the blink of an eye, it spread to every part of his body, as if it were about to make him explode.
Lin Yang naturally dared not be careless, concentrating fully on circulating the Great Sun Meditation Method, guiding this power to be continuously refined into Soul Power.
The energy contained within a seven-hundred-year Soul Ring was far beyond imagination.
To completely refine it was destined to be a slow and painstaking process.
Just then, Lin Yang noticed something was quietly absorbing the Soul Ring's energy.
Lin Yang focused his mind to investigate and discovered that the source of the energy absorption was actually his Demon Blood Martial Soul.
Strangely, after absorbing the Soul Ring's energy, the Demon Blood Martial Soul actually had a long-lost feeling of being 'full.'
Could it be that under his strict 'fasting,' the Demon Blood Martial Soul had stopped eating flesh and blood and switched to eating Soul Rings?