In the Wilds of Ice Heaven Continent
In a desolate forest, a beast as massive as a tank was sent flying, crashing through several large trees and scattering birds in every direction.
This beast was powerfully built, with sturdy limbs, a broad back, and sharp fangs that could tear apart any opponent. The aura it emitted clearly indicated it was a Stage Two Late-stage Demonic Boar, equivalent to a human cultivator at Late-stage Foundation Establishment.
However, at this moment, the boar's bones were shattered throughout its body. It trembled, its eyes fixated on its opponent with a look of fear.
Not far from the boar, a handsome young man with a peculiar silver-white right eye, in which a crescent moon seemed to hover, gazed coldly at it. Behind the youth, a faint illusory image of a Black Bear flickered in and out of existence, emanating dense Earth-attribute spiritual energy as if it could devour mountains and earth. The imposing aura from the illusory Black Bear made the Demonic Boar tremble uncontrollably, unwilling to fight back.
This was one of the Four Spirit Soul Guarding Arts, the Earth Bear Soul Guardian.
Luo Ren had been away from Yan Ruoxue for ten days. This time, he was teleported to a vast, desolate forest. Having successfully condensed the Earth Spirit Cauldron and Profound Water Cauldron, his control over heaven and earth spiritual qi even surpassed that of spirit roots. Thus, Luo Ren decided to practice the Profound-grade Peak-quality martial skill, the Four Spirit Soul Guarding Arts.
Within his Dantian, the Earth Spirit Cauldron rapidly spun, swallowing and expelling countless strands of Earth-attribute spiritual qi, all of which transformed into spiritual energy, allowing Luo Ren to manipulate it, activate the martial skill, and form the majestic and extraordinary illusory Earth Bear.
Roar!
The illusory Earth Bear tilted its head and roared, its aura tightly bound to Luo Ren's, causing low-level demonic beasts within a hundred-mile radius to shiver and dare not make another sound.
"Hmph, you seemed quite ferocious when you ambushed me, treating me like prey," Luo Ren said coldly to the Demonic Boar. Daring to treat him as prey meant death.
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Ren's figure moved rapidly, the illusory Earth Bear following closely behind like a loyal guardian.
Luo Ren raised both fists. The Earth Bear simultaneously followed suit. Innumerable strands of Earth-attribute spiritual energy empowered his fists, launching a powerful strike towards the Demonic Boar.
Grrr…
The Demonic Boar was unwilling to die. Enduring the pain, it turned and stood up, its sharp fangs piercing directly towards Luo Ren.
Luo Ren remained cold and emotionless. Faced with the attack from the two bone-blade-like fangs, he didn't retreat a single step. The illusory Earth Bear roared, shaking mountains and rivers, and fiercely punched forward.
Fangs collided with the Bear's paw.
Crack!
A snapping sound echoed. The boar's fangs, originally hard as steel, broke into two pieces, and the powerful force sent it flying again.
Seeing the dying Demonic Boar, Luo Ren continued his pursuit. The Earth Bear extended its two mighty arms, strongly twisting the Demonic Boar's neck.
Crack!
Its neck bone snapped. The Stage Two Late-stage Demonic Boar was dead beyond revival.
Looking at the boar's corpse, the crescent moon within Luo Ren's right eye emitted a peculiar light. The Demonic Boar's dissipating soul had no resistance whatsoever and was sucked inside.
"The soul strength is too low," Luo Ren felt his soul power increase by only a tiny bit and shook his head in disappointment.
Seizing the enemy's soul to enhance one's own.
This was one of the abilities of the White Moon Soul-Stealing Eye. However, it could only forcibly seize the souls of enemies at or below one's own cultivation level. Absorbing enemies with stronger souls could easily lead to a backlash, causing severe soul damage.
And the soul of a Stage Two demonic beast like the Demonic Boar had little significant effect on Luo Ren at this moment.
"I could have infused soul power into the Earth Bear to increase its attack capability. However, the identity of a Soul Cultivator is too sensitive. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't casually use soul power."
Luo Ren pondered. After practicing, he discovered that the Four Spirit Soul Guarding Arts were also a type of soul martial skill. Besides spiritual energy, soul power could also be used to increase its might.
Relaxing his body, the illusory Earth Bear behind him dissipated, and his majestic, cold aura receded. If his right eye weren't so peculiar, Luo Ren would now look like a harmless mortal.
One Month Later
Luo Ren still lingered in the dense forest. He chose various Stage Three demonic beasts to train against, increasing his combat experience. His cultivation, which had been unstable due to rapid breakthroughs, gradually solidified. His ability to manipulate spiritual energy matured day by day, showing considerable progress.
"My current martial skills only include the Earth Bear from the Four Spirit Soul Guarding Arts. Although I can manipulate Water-attribute spiritual energy, I lack suitable martial skills to employ it."
Luo Ren summarized his weaknesses. His current combat techniques were too few, and he lacked various defensive martial skills and movement techniques, leading to many disadvantages when fighting demonic beasts with powerful offensive capabilities and flexible speed.
If not for the White Moon Soul-Stealing Eye's ability to discern enemy weaknesses, Luo Ren might have suffered severe injuries many times over.
"The System hasn't issued new missions yet. It seems I need to find a way to leave this forest," Luo Ren thought to himself, standing up and setting off.
"Kim Nhi, when will the System be eligible for an upgrade?"
Luo Ren moved while asking. He urgently wanted to increase the System's functions; its current mission-providing function was simply not enough.
Kim Nhi's small figure appeared beside him. She rolled her large eyes and replied:
"For the System to upgrade, Young Master must at least successfully condense Three Cauldrons, or his soul power must approach the Nascent Soul realm."
Luo Ren smiled wryly. Inside his Dantian, the Earth Spirit Cauldron and Profound Water Cauldron continued to swallow and expel spiritual qi, gradually increasing his strength. Thanks to this, for the past month, he only needed to practice combat without the monotonous boredom of seated cultivation.
However, Luo Ren also knew that condensing cauldrons was incredibly difficult. Last time, it was thanks to two types of abundant spiritual energy-providing items, plus the assistance of his wife, the Nascent Soul cultivator Yan Ruoxue, in refining them. It could be said that it was a combination of various fortuitous encounters that led to his successful cauldron condensation. The next cauldron condensation would likely not be so easy.
As night approached, the forest plunged into darkness.
BOOM! BOOM!
CRASH!
The ground suddenly shook violently. The resounding sounds of battle reached him. Luo Ren immediately paid attention. He recalled the two Black Mountain Bears fighting over the Earth Spirit Grass, and associating it with the battle sounds still echoing in his ears, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Normally, demonic beasts had their own territories and rarely left to fight others. Thus, instances of large-scale demonic beast battles were extremely rare, unless conflicts arose over territory or rare heaven and earth treasures.
Based on the vibrating sounds, Luo Ren estimated that this battle was larger in scale than the previous fight between the two Stage Three Black Mountain Bears.
Insight through Ten Thousand Miles!
His soul power rapidly circulated. Around Luo Ren's eye, ferocious green veins appeared, covering half of his face, activating one of the functions of the White Moon Soul-Stealing Eye.
Luo Ren's vision began to expand. A hundred-mile radius around him was entirely within his control. With Luo Ren's current cultivation, the Insight through Ten Thousand Miles ability was still far from its full potential, barely maintaining a 200-mile radius.
However, that was enough. Luo Ren had already observed the ongoing battle approximately 60 miles away from him.
He saw three demonic beasts locked in intense combat, or rather, two were ganging up on one.
Luo Ren observed while rapidly moving closer to the battlefield.
The battle continued. Countless trees fell, the ground was chaotic, and the roaring sounds made the quiet forest atmosphere fierce.
Luo Ren found a large cliff and hid behind it, observing the situation.
He saw a Gorilla covered in black fur, with a ferocious face and two powerful arms, uprooting an ancient tree to use as a weapon. It was allied with a Fire Phoenix covered in flames, with two sharp talons and a long, hard, drill-like beak ready to pierce through its opponent.
Their opponent was a spirit snake about 30 meters long, its body wide enough that it would take about five adult men to embrace it. The spirit snake was pure white, its entire body covered in countless small, exquisite white scales, smooth and glistening like jade, no less than any work of art. Its large, round, blinking eyes angrily stared at its two encircling enemies.
Kim Nhi hovered in the air, observing the three demonic beasts and opening her mouth:
"Brute Force Gorilla, Stage Three Mid-stage demonic beast."
"Blazing Flame Bird, Stage Three Mid-stage demonic beast."
At this point, she looked towards the white spirit snake, her eyes showing a hint of surprise as she exclaimed: "White Star Serpent! I didn't expect it to have a trace of its ancestor's bloodline. Although not dense, it's still extremely rare!"
"Indeed extraordinary. Being only Stage Three Early-stage, it can actually withstand the combined efforts of two Stage Three Mid-stage opponents," Luo Ren commented. Although he didn't know what bloodline the White Star Serpentpossessed, the fact that it could fight two opponents and overcome their higher cultivation clearly showed it was formidable. Furthermore, its ability to surprise someone as perceptive as Kim Nhi was enough to prove its extraordinary nature.
Luo Ren continued to observe the battle. The Brute Force Gorilla continuously wielded the ancient tree, smashing it directly at the White Star Serpent's head. Faced with the enemy's incredibly brutal offense, the White Star Serpentavoided the heavy blows, gracefully dodging with extreme dexterity. At the same time, its small mouth continuously spat out white light energy to counter the flames launched by the Blazing Flame Bird.
Boom!
Colliding forces continuously crashed. Countless low-level demonic beasts nearby died in the sea of fire. The smell of roasted meat spread, incredibly stimulating.
"What kind of power is the White Star Serpent using?" Looking at the white light continuously erupting from the snake's mouth, Luo Ren couldn't help but ask.
"It's Star Power. The White Star Serpent is proficient in the Star attribute," Kim Nhi answered his question, her small hand pointing to the exquisitely glowing scales of the White Star Serpent, saying gravely:
"Young Master, look closely at the scales on its body. Do you notice anything special?"
Luo Ren followed her instructions and observed, exclaiming in surprise: "Those scales are absorbing some kind of power to replenish the White Star Serpent's strength!"
"That's right, it's Star Power from the stars," Kim Nhi looked up at the night sky, where countless stars twinkled, her small face rarely showing such seriousness.
Before Luo Ren could be surprised, she continued: "The White Star Serpent's ancestor is the ancient famous demonic beast, the Grand White Star-Devouring Serpent. With a single gulp, it could devour a star, absorbing its essence to increase its combat power."
"In ancient times, even in the Immortal Realm, beings like the Grand White Star-Devouring Serpent were overlords of their regions. Although their clan was sparse and couldn't compare to the Dragon Clan, in terms of individual combat power, even the Dragon Clan feared them by three parts."
"That terrifying!" Luo Ren exclaimed gravely. The Dragon Clan had always held a transcendent position in his eyes. In the Ice Heaven Continent, the Dragon Clan only existed in legends. Yet, in terms of combat power, they feared the Grand White Star-Devouring Serpent, which showed just how powerful this type of demonic beast was.
"Although the White Star Serpent isn't as tyrannical as its ancestor, it can still absorb some Star Power from the stars to increase its combat power."
"The reason those two teamed up must be because they realized the White Star Serpent was difficult to deal with. They want to eliminate it first before competing for that Spirit Herb," Kim Nhi analyzed, looking at the purplish herb swaying maturely in the wind far from the battlefield.
Luo Ren had also noticed the Spirit Herb long ago, but he didn't recognize its origin or effects.
"It's Shape-Shifting Grass. It can instantly allow a demonic beast to transform into human form upon refinement."
Kim Nhi truly was a treasury of knowledge. Other than the Immortal Proliferation Scripture, Luo Ren had never seen anything that could stump her.
"No wonder they're so frantic!" Luo Ren sighed. Normally, for a demonic beast to transform into human form, it needed to be Stage Five or higher, equivalent to a human Soul Transformation realm expert. Shape-shifting made it much easier for demonic beasts to absorb spiritual qi, greatly increasing their cultivation speed, and their actions also became incredibly convenient. And the Shape-Shifting Grass could instantly allow a demonic beast to transform into human form. This was an invaluable treasure in the eyes of demonic beasts below Stage Five.
"Looking at the environment here, it's clearly the White Star Serpent's territory. Those two are thieves, and they're shamelessly ganging up on it," Kim Nhi pouted her small lips, looking down on the two demonic beasts.
"Not good, it's about to rain!" Luo Ren's expression changed. He saw dark clouds rapidly cover the sky. The Star Powerthat had been supporting the White Star Serpent was obscured, and its strength would rapidly decline.
Indeed, as expected, the sudden disappearance of the enhancing power made the White Star Serpent stumble. The white scales on its body no longer glowed. The Blazing Flame Bird unexpectedly plunged its sharp talons, covered in flames, into its body.
HISS!
A resounding sound. The snake's body painfully fell to the ground. This attack was too severe; the White Star Serpentwas not lightly injured.
"Not good, be careful!" Luo Ren saw the Brute Force Gorilla aiming to strike the White Star Serpent's head. His heart instantly filled with worry, and he opened his mouth to warn. Compared to the other two, Luo Ren clearly admired the White Star Serpent.
His voice also attracted the attention of the three demonic beasts. The Brute Force Gorilla quickly stopped its attack, cautiously staring at Luo Ren.
The White Star Serpent looked at Luo Ren's rapidly approaching figure, its large eyes blinking, unsure of what to think.
"Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!" The Blazing Flame Bird was hot-tempered. Its two wings condensed flames and shot towards Luo Ren.
ROAR!
The illusory Earth Bear rapidly appeared behind Luo Ren. Compared to a month ago, it was now clearly twice as large, as Luo Ren's ability to manipulate spiritual energy had greatly increased.
Luo Ren coldly looked at the charging Blazing Flame Bird. Within his Dantian, the Earth Spirit Cauldron rapidly spun. Countless strands of Earth-attribute spiritual energy were mobilized. The illusory Earth Bear rapidly condensed, no different from a real demonic beast.
"Get lost!" Luo Ren shouted, his two hands making a clenching motion.
Behind Luo Ren, the Earth Bear extended its two large, domineering arms, unexpectedly clamping down on one of the Blazing Flame Bird's wings as it attacked, then spun its body and threw it forcefully.
WHOOSH!
CRASH! CRASH!
Colliding with three ancient trees in succession, the Blazing Flame Bird's body awkwardly took flight, already covered in several wounds. It cleverly flew back to the Brute Force Gorilla, both pairs of eyes cautiously staring at Luo Ren.
At this moment, Luo Ren also ran to the side of the White Star Serpent. Looking at its confused and curious eyes, he warmly smiled and said: "Let me help you!"
"Ding! Triggering side quest: Conquer the Spirit Serpent. Reward: One Earth-grade martial skill summon."
At the same time, the System's voice rang out again, making Luo Ren's expression strange. He quickly opened it to investigate.
Mission Note: The White Spirit Serpent possesses an extraordinary bloodline, a significant aid on the path to becoming an Overlord.
Luo Ren closed the System. Even without the mission, he had decided to act. He turned and looked directly into the White Star Serpent's wide-open eyes, gently asking again: "Can I help you?"
Looking at the silver-white eye with the peculiar crescent moon that held the young man's sincerity, a difficult-to-describe sense of familiarity suddenly arose. The White Star Serpent's eyes curved into crescent shapes, and its small head nodded.
"Hahaha, then let's fight!"
The youth's confident laughter echoed, shaking the entire forest…
Facing them, the Brute Force Gorilla and Blazing Flame Bird were unusually solemn.