Under the blood-red radiance, the surging ring of blood flames contracted and transformed into the second soul ring of Mu Yang's second martial soul: Iceflame Holy Shadow.
Immediately after, a beam of blood light shone onto Mu Yang's left arm, and the illusion of a cyan-colored arm bone flickered briefly before disappearing.
Feeling the once again surging power within him, Mu Yang opened his eyes.
At this moment, after successively attaching three hundred-thousand-year soul rings and gaining two hundred-thousand-year soul bones, Mu Yang's soul power level had leaped from level 70 quasi-Soul Sage when he first came to hunt souls, all the way up to level 79 Soul Sage.
And this still wasn't the final harvest from this soul hunt. Once he refined the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape right arm bone stored in his soul tool bracelet, his soul power level would definitely surge to level 80.
A full ten levels in the seven-ring stage, accumulated in a single soul hunt!
'A full-red soul ring configuration—who else could compare?!'
Looking down at the radiant hundred-thousand-year first and second soul rings on his body, Mu Yang couldn't help but feel a surge of heroic spirit in his heart.
Although the Iceflame Holy Shadow martial soul currently only had two soul rings attached, their quality was astonishingly high—its configuration far exceeded that of Bibi Dong, who was also a twin martial soul user.
Turning back to glance at the Iceflame Holy Shadow martial soul behind him, Mu Yang saw that the iceflame fire burning on its surface looked even more solid than before, no longer faintly illusory like in the past.
At the same time, the white markings at the center of the Iceflame Holy Shadow's brow, representing the Killing God Domain, also seemed to become more complete and profound.
"Be careful, someone strong is coming!"
At that moment, Huo Lie's expression changed as he looked solemnly toward the western night sky, warning the others.
In the next instant, Mu Yang sensed eight powerful auras quickly approaching from the west.
Without taking time to inspect the changes from having added two hundred-thousand-year soul rings and gaining two more soul bones, Mu Yang quickly put away the corpses of the now tiny pink-white rabbit and cyan snake, which had reverted to their original forms after the sacrifice. He then turned to Shui Bing'er and signaled, "Bing'er!"
"Ice Phoenix!"
With perfect coordination, Shui Bing'er instantly released her Ice Phoenix martial soul.
Very soon, under the radiance of icy blue flames, the two of them, clad in Spirit Gold Battle Armor, transformed into a single icy blue figure.
In the dead of night, encountering eight Title Douluo in the Star Dou Great Forest—especially when one of them emitted an aura far beyond an ordinary Title Douluo—was clearly not a good sign. Preparing for battle was definitely the right move.
Of course, Mu Yang didn't believe that those eight people could pose any real threat to them.
Judging from their auras, aside from the leading Title Douluo, the rest didn't seem to have soul power levels above 95. In fact, two of them had rather weak auras—barely stronger than an average level 89 Soul Douluo.
In contrast, even the weakest among them, Feng Zhen, possessed the strength of a level 95 Title Douluo. Factoring in the boosts from various soul power foods, his strength was definitely not inferior to level 96 Title Douluo of Spirit Hall such as Fifteen Ton or Falling Devil Douluo.
Moreover, after this soul hunt, Mu Yang's strength had skyrocketed. Even if Shui Bing'er's strength hadn't increased, the power of their Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Ice Phoenix Flame Shadow had still significantly improved. While they might not yet be able to match a level 99 Peerless Douluo, they could definitely contend with a level 98 Title Douluo who didn't possess any hundred-thousand-year soul rings or soul bones.
Meanwhile, as Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er activated their Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Huo Lie and the other three slightly disguised themselves, using their own soul power to condense masks covering their faces.
The reason for disguising themselves was mainly to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After all, across the continent's Soul Master world, the only force capable of fielding eight Title Douluo was Spirit Hall.
With its grand ambitions, it was clear to anyone with a strategic mind that Spirit Hall aimed to unify the continent. The Elemental Saint Academy didn't want to be the first to stand in the spotlight.
Of course, hiding their identities depended on whether the other party acted first.
If the opponents made the first move, they definitely wouldn't just stand there and take hits. But once they used their martial souls, their identities would certainly be exposed.
Not long after, Mu Yang saw eight figures flying through the northwestern night sky.
'Bibi Dong?!'
Seeing the leader of the group, Mu Yang couldn't help but freeze for a moment, then a feeling of relief rose in his heart.
Judging from this setup, Bibi Dong had likely also come to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for souls—after all, she brought seven Title Douluo with her.
Completely ruthless—she had come soul hunting long before the original timeline!
Thankfully, he had acted first and claimed Xiao Wu, the Titan Giant Ape, and the Sky Azure Bull Python ahead of time. If he had been a few days late, these three hundred-thousand-year soul rings and soul bones might have ended up in Bibi Dong's hands.
"Who are you?"
Bibi Dong furrowed her brows, her expression grave as she stared at Mu Yang and the others.
Earlier, the distance had been great, and due to Mu Yang and the others cultivating self-created secret techniques or condensing soul cores, their control over their soul power was excellent, allowing them to conceal their auras well. As such, she hadn't been able to clearly perceive the strength of Mu Yang and his companions.
But now that they were closer, Bibi Dong could roughly sense the formidable power of the five figures before her.
Judging solely from their soul power aura, not a single one of them was below level 95 Title Douluo. In fact, the strongest of them—this icy blue figure—gave her a faint sense of mortal danger.
Of course, Bibi Dong could also tell that this icy blue figure wasn't an individual powerful Title Douluo, but rather a Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
The soul masters performing this fusion technique definitely weren't individually that strong—their soul power levels most likely didn't exceed 95.
"You're the ones who are the uninvited guests, aren't you? That's a question we should be asking. May I ask why the Pope of Spirit Hall has brought seven elders to this place?"
A cold voice came from Ice Phoenix Flame Shadow.
'Your Holiness, this person—I and Cixue have seen him before. During the incident at the Heaven Dou Palace, he was the one who saved the young mistress.'
At that moment, She Long sent a voice transmission to Bibi Dong.
Although back during the Heaven Dou Palace upheaval, Ice Phoenix Flame Shadow had come and gone swiftly, and the two sides hadn't had further interaction afterward, She Long still recognized that this icy blue figure was the very same unknown powerhouse who had saved Qian Renxue.
Glancing at She Long, Bibi Dong turned her gaze back toward Mu Yang and the others, and said, "It was this Pope who acted presumptuously. Congratulations to all of you on a fruitful harvest tonight. May I ask your esteemed names?"
Having her hundred-thousand-year soul beasts stolen—at least two of them, and unsure whether the last one was still around—Bibi Dong naturally bore resentment toward Mu Yang and his group. She intended to remember their names and settle accounts with them another day.
As for now?
Although her soul power had long since reached the level 99 Peerless Douluo realm, due to the constraints of the Rakshasa God Trials, her strength was heavily restricted. If a fight truly broke out, while her life wouldn't necessarily be in danger, the chances of winning weren't high for her side.
Right now, she needed her forces intact. She had no intention of losing troops and disrupting her future plans.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123