The Holy Spirit Cult had been entrenched in the Evil Demon Forest for many years, and their understanding of this forest far exceeded external imagination.
Although they couldn't claim to know the core area like the back of their hand, they had long since mapped out detailed diagrams of the distribution of high-level Soul Beasts in the mixed zone and parts of the outer perimeter.
Therefore, Fei Yan's goal was clear, and she did not rush around like a headless fly; she only spent most of the day before finding her target in a secluded valley within the forest that was permeated with rich Death Qi.
It was a Soul Beast that was semi-transparent gray-white all over and shaped like a gigantic female demon.
It floated in mid-air, surrounded by the mournful howls of desolate vengeful Martial Souls, and wherever it passed, vegetation withered and life was extinguished—a thousand-year Soul Beast, the "Nether Howl Banshee," a highly pure and powerful death-attribute Soul Beast, whose age was precisely around 1,100 years, perfectly meeting Ye Xishui's requirements.
Although Castorice possessed the terrifying Physique of instant death upon contact, Ye Xishui did not require her to hunt it personally.
Although Ye Xishui was strict, she was not an unreasonable devil.
While she might be able to maneuver against a hundred-year Soul Beast relying on her Physique characteristics, facing a thousand-year Soul Beast that possessed long-range attack capabilities and powerful Martial Soul Abilities, the current Castorice had almost no chance of winning; forcing her to hunt it would be tantamount to suicide.
"Little Holy Maiden, step back a bit and watch me."
Fei Yan's petite figure stepped forward, a demonic smile appearing on her face.
She did not release any earth-shattering Soul Power fluctuations; she merely gently raised her small hands, which were encased in delicate lace gloves.
The next moment, countless scarlet threads, as fine as hair and nearly invisible, spread out from her fingertips as if they possessed life, silently filling the surrounding space.
Martial Soul, Marionette Puppet!
This was an extremely bizarre and rare mental control system Martial Soul.
Those scarlet threads instantly wrapped around the Nether Howl Banshee like venomous snakes.
The threads did not act upon the physical body, but rather directly penetrated its energy form, Entanglement and tying down its Soul core.
The Nether Howl Banshee let out a sharp, piercing shriek, and Death Qi erupted around her body as she tried to break free.
However, those scarlet threads were exceptionally tough and carried a power that corroded the Soul.
Fei Yan's fingers gently plucked the threads like the most agile Puppet master, and the Nether Howl Banshee's massive body, condensed from Death Qi, instantly became stiff and distorted, like a Puppet controlled by an invisible hand; the death energy it had condensed continuously dissipated under the interference of the threads.
This was one of the important reasons why Fei Yan was called an Evil Soul Master.
Her Martial Soul could not only control the bodies of living creatures but also directly interfere with and enslave Souls.
She could absorb the life force and Soul power of those she controlled through the threads to strengthen herself, an ability that orthodox Soul Masters undoubtedly viewed as utterly evil.
Under the absolute power suppression of a Level ninety-seven Super Douluo, even the Nether Howl Banshee, known for being bizarre and troublesome, was completely powerless to resist.
"Go, Little Holy Maiden, kill it."
Fei Yan, who had one hand on her hip and hadn't even displayed her Martial Soul, nodded toward Castorice.
Although the Sun Moon Empire had already developed spirit tool technology capable of preserving a spirit ring, allowing non-killers to absorb it, Castorice was right here, so that kind of spirit tool was unnecessary.
Moreover, Fei Yan was also a member of the traditional Soul Masters and did not particularly like using spirit tools.
Castorice did not hesitate at all, slowly walking forward and removing the purple gloves on her hands.
Those were glove-type spirit tools prepared for her by Ye Xishui, and more importantly, spirit tools designed to restrict her death ability, tailor-made for her by Ye Xishui.
After all, Castorice could not control her Death Physique, which made life inconvenient, hence the gloves.
For Ye Xishui, who was close to the Level Ten spirit tool Master Realm, manufacturing this type of spirit tool was not difficult for her.
As Castorice's fair hand touched the Nether Howl Banshee's body, purple-black death patterns instantly covered its entire body.
In just a moment, its struggles grew weaker and weaker. Finally, amidst its mournful wails, the massive Death Qi body collapsed with a crash, dissolving into specks of gray-white light, and in its original position, a spirit ring shimmering with deep purple light slowly condensed and floated.
That purple was deep and pure, representing the power of a thousand-year soul ring.
With the death of the Nether Howl Banshee, Fei Yan withdrew her scarlet threads.
"Little Holy Maiden, absorb it. This is the Supreme Cult Master's test for you. Don't disappoint her, and don't let me... come here for nothing."
Her tone carried a hint of imperceptible anticipation.
Castorice looked at the purple spirit ring emanating a dense aura of death and took a deep breath.
She could feel the Golden Scion Bloodline belonging to Castorice slightly boiling within her body, and in her mind, a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation came from the dormant consciousness of the Regent of Death, Ronova.
In the secluded valley of the Evil Demon Forest, Death Qi permeated the air.
Castorice sat down cross-legged beside the gray-white energy residue of the Nether Howl Banshee. She took a deep breath; the air, carrying the scent of decay and coldness, rushed into her lungs, making her even more alert.
She closed her eyes, sinking her thoughts inward, and began to guide the latent power within her body.
As her Soul Power circulated, a profound, spectral light emerged from her.
Following this, a heart-stopping phantom slowly materialized behind her—it was precisely her Martial Soul, the Regent of Death, Ronova.
Unlike Caelus's holy mystery as the Regent of Time, Ronova's phantom radiated a completely different aura.
She possessed silver-white hair as cold as moonlight, yet her pupils were pure gold. Upon closer inspection, the depths of her golden eyes were not round, but slowly rotating golden hexagrams emitting an ominous glow.
She wore an elegant yet elaborate black robe, adorned with dark red patterns that looked like dried blood, filled with Gothic strangeness and beauty.
Her overall demeanor was dangerous and cold, carrying the arrogance of one who looked down upon the life and death of all beings.
Most strikingly, a pair of huge wings composed of pitch-black feathers spread out behind her phantom.
And embedded upon these wings were countless eyeballs of varying sizes and pupil colors.
These eyeballs seemed to possess independent life, quietly observing the outside world, filled with an indescribable sense of mystery and horror.
Scarlet Douluo Fei Yan, who was guarding nearby, was seeing Castorice's Martial Soul with her own eyes for the first time.
Although she had long known its name from Castorice, personally witnessing this Martial Soul phantom, which exuded an aura of ultimate death and ominousness, still caused a flash of shock and solemnity in her scarlet eyes.
This Martial Soul... truly deserved the title "Regent of Death"; its status and bizarreness far surpassed the ordinary.
Castorice did not delay. Using her own Soul Power as a guide, she carefully reached out to touch the floating thousand-year soul ring that emitted a profound purple light.