A chilling sense of crisis instantly swept over her entire body. Relying on the astonishing reaction speed of a Titled Douluo, Man Yi's body transformed into an afterimage, retreating explosively backward in the nick of time. She barely, and dangerously, managed to exit the range of that fatal trajectory just before the reappearing wind blade reached her.
After standing firm, Man Yi looked at the wind blade slowly dissipating in front of her, and her Soul Power shield, which had been silently sliced through, her face filled with shock.
She slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air, her voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity:
"To recreate a fact that has already occurred in the past, this ability is too dangerous and too powerful."
Xu Jiujiu also recovered from her shock. She looked at Caelus, her expression turning slightly odd as she murmured:
"Dreamlike Bubble... This Spirit Ability, while powerful, feels... incredibly insidious, doesn't it?"
An attack that is absolutely impossible to defend against; even someone much stronger than Caelus, if they don't understand his Spirit Ability, would definitely be instantly killed on first encounter.
"Although the Spirit Ability is strong, the consumption of Soul Power is simply too great."
Although Caelus was quite satisfied with the effect of Dreamlike Bubble, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed when he sensed that nearly half of the Soul Power in his body had been suddenly depleted.
"Moreover, it requires me to leave behind the 'phenomenon' of the attack beforehand, so the limitations are not small either."
Time-element Martial Soul Abilities are notoriously known for their massive Soul Power consumption, and he was no exception.
Furthermore, with his current cultivation, he could only reproduce "phenomena" that he himself had created, and could not directly utilize phenomena caused by his opponent.
This meant that in actual combat, he must predict the flow of battle, set up the attack in key locations, and then wait or guide the enemy to a specific spot before unleashing this fatal strike.
This was a Spirit Ability with immense potential, but one that also severely tested combat wisdom and tactical planning ability.
Seeing that Caelus had obtained such a powerful and unreasonable Spirit Ability yet still seemed dissatisfied, Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but glare at him irritably.
"Don't you also possess the innate ability to foresee the future?"
She reminded him.
"If you combine your innate talent with this first Spirit Ability and use them properly, challenging stronger opponents beyond your rank will certainly not be difficult."
Caelus gave an embarrassed smile, realizing that he seemed to be getting greedy.
Relying on his two great innate talents, combined with this first Spirit Ability, even though he was only a one-ring Soul Master, the threat he posed in battle was indeed comparable to many high-level Soul Masters.
"It's truly strange. How could a mere hundred-year spirit ring grant you such a powerful Spirit Ability?"
Xu Jiujiu lightly tapped her lips with a slender finger, her face showing confusion.
Caelus's heart slightly tightened.
A hundred-year spirit ring was naturally insufficient to grant such a nearly Heaven-Defying Spirit Ability, but the strength of his Spirit Ability was fundamentally unrelated to the spirit ring. Its root lay in the unimaginably high status of the Regent of Time Martial Soul.
However, the truth behind this was a secret that absolutely could not be revealed to outsiders.
Fortunately, Xu Jiujiu did not dwell too much on this matter.
After all, Martial Soul Abilities on the Douluo Continent were inherently bizarre and varied, and Caelus's Martial Soul was an extremely rare time attribute. Obtaining some powerful Martial Soul Abilities that defied common sense was not entirely unacceptable.
Having obtained his first spirit ring and a Spirit Ability with a unique mechanism, Caelus, who had officially entered the ranks of Soul Masters, was in a pleasant mood.
But he knew that the purpose of this trip was not yet fully accomplished.
"In any case, congratulations, Caelus."
Xu Jiujiu congratulated him with a smile, then said.
"Next, it's time to acquire my third spirit ring."
Caelus asked curiously:
"Your Highness, since the Star Crown Martial Soul is so unique, finding a suitable thousand-year Soul Beast must not be easy, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jiujiu revealed a calm smile tinged with a slight sense of superiority:
"For Loose Cultivators or small Sects, that is true; they often rely on luck. But our Star Crown Sect has a Legacy spanning ten thousand years. Our ancestors have long compiled and categorized the most suitable types of Soul Beasts for the Star Crown Martial Soul, the corresponding Spirit Ability effects, and even the optimal hunting age limits, forming a complete Legacy system."
She explained patiently, as if opening a door to a new World for Caelus:
"What type of Soul Beast my third spirit ring requires, and what kind of Spirit Ability I can obtain, was already planned out for me by the imperial family and the Sect long before my cultivation reached the Bottleneck. We have even preemptively locked onto the general area where the target is located and its activity patterns."
Caelus understood immediately; this was the vast difference between having a background and having none.
Ordinary Soul Masters needed to risk their lives searching for a needle in a haystack within the vast forest, whereas a favored daughter of heaven like Xu Jiujiu only needed to proceed methodically to the designated location and hunt the marked Soul Beast whose age and attributes perfectly matched her needs.
This greatly reduced the risk and ensured the quality and suitability of the Spirit Ability.
"So that's how it is."
Caelus nodded. This was the foundation of a major power.
"Let's go. The target isn't too far from here."
Nebula Douluo Man Yi spoke, clearly knowing the exact location.
Led by her, the three changed direction and proceeded toward another specific area within the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The entire process was clearly directed and without hesitation, completely different from the previous situation when they had to carefully search and identify Soul Beasts for Caelus... Meanwhile, deep within the Evil Demon Forest in the Sun Moon Empire, at the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
In a secret chamber filled with a rich herbal fragrance, where the walls were inscribed with soul-gathering and strengthening arrays, Castorice was soaking in a massive bathtub carved from a type of warm jade.
The water in the pool was not ordinary clear water, but a viscous, vibrant emerald green.
The dense elemental energy of heaven and earth, mixed with the essence of dozens of rare medicinal ingredients, formed a massive medicinal potency that continuously seeped through the pores of her entire body into her limbs and bones, nourishing her Meridians, strengthening her body, and accelerating the recovery and growth of her Soul Power.
This was one of the rewards from Ye Xishui after she successfully absorbed her first thousand-year spirit ring.
Her eyes slightly closed, she silently circulated the core meditation technique personally imparted by Ye Xishui, belonging to the Death God Douluo—the Death God Meditation Technique.
This meditation technique was domineering and highly efficient, greatly accelerating the condensation of Soul Power. Its effect was even better in this environment where life energy and death aura intertwined, guiding the medicinal potency to form a marvelous balance and cycle with her own death-attribute Soul Power.
Scarlet Douluo Fei Yan, who was guarding nearby, watched Castorice, whose aura was gradually solidifying in the pool, a trace of envy flashing in her scarlet eyes, and she casually said:
"Little Holy Maiden, this pool of Hundred Grass Jade Marrow Paste consumed quite a few treasures from the Cult. Just one of the main ingredients, the five-thousand-year-old Spiritual Plant, is worth five hundred thousand gold coin, plus the other auxiliary materials and the consumption of this Soul Warming Jade Pool... Tsk tsk, the total value of this pool of medicinal liquid is probably close to eight million gold coin. The Supreme Cult Master is truly generous toward you."