After wrapping up matters with the Tang Sect, Tang San decided not to linger further and set off for the Sea God Island to begin his sixth trial.
This time, he chose to go alone without bringing anyone else along.
As a believer of the Sea God, upon reaching the coastal city, he would be met by the Great White Shark of the Sea God Island, so there was no need to charter a boat to cross the sea.
However, not long after setting out, he felt a force from the direction of the Great Star Dou Forest seemingly calling to him.
Thinking of how Xiao Wu's resurrection seemed endlessly distant, he decided to investigate.
After all, he had promised his two "brothers-in-law" that he would ensure Xiao Wu's revival in the future.
Now, it felt as though something in the Great Star Dou Forest was summoning him, and he had no choice but to delay his journey to the Sea God Island.
No matter what, even if there was only a sliver of hope, he had to investigate!
After breaking through to Soul Douluo, his traveling speed had greatly increased, and he arrived at the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest without wasting much time.
The Tang Sect's intelligence capabilities were rather mediocre, and they wouldn't waste precious manpower stationed at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest. Thus, he was unaware that both the Spirit Hall and Ning Tianchen had already entered it.
The Great Star Dou Forest was vast, and Ning Tianchen and Bibi Dong's battle hadn't been detected by Tang San.
…
The Titan Giant Ape emerged from the water, its fist—large as a mountain—crashing toward Ning Tianchen.
"Dragon Sword Protection." The Seven Kill Sword formed a barrier before him.
The Titan Giant Ape's fist struck the barrier but failed to shatter the sword qi shield.
Ju and Gui Douluo were slightly surprised. This pure strength-type soul beast's punch carried tremendous power. If it were them, they'd likely need to combine their efforts to withstand it.
Yet Ning Tianchen handled it with ease.
"Humans, repay my sister Xiao Wu's life!" The Titan Giant Ape roared furiously.
He had already sensed the commotion from Ning Tianchen and Bibi Dong's earlier battle.
To them, they didn't care about the outcome of that fight.
Either way, the victor would gain the right to kill them—they were enemies regardless.
The Titan Giant Ape landed on the shore, smashing his right fist into the ground. A swamp of gravity instantly spread out.
Those caught within it felt as though thousands of pounds weighed down on them, making it impossible to move.
"Killing God Domain."
Against two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, there was no need to waste divine power using a god-level domain.
The moment the Killing God Domain activated, it suppressed the effects of the gravity swamp.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Hundred Ghosts Night Parade."
"Sixth Soul Skill, Golden Stamen Flowing Clouds!"
Ju and Gui Douluo simultaneously launched their attacks.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was equivalent to a Level 95-96 Title Douluo. With Ju and Gui Douluo teaming up to encircle the Titan Giant Ape, it fell into a bitter struggle.
Ning Tianchen turned his gaze toward the lake, speaking faintly, "Will you come out willingly, or do I have to force you out?"
The lake rippled again, and the massive form of the Sky Azure Bull Python Python surfaced.
Its lantern-sized eyes glared fiercely at Ning Tianchen. "Human, don't overstep your bounds!"
"You're here—that saves me time. Elder Ju, Elder Gui, proceed as planned."
After giving this reminder, Ning Tianchen signaled Ju and Gui Douluo to stop engaging the Titan Giant Ape and quickly retreat from the battlefield.
"Roar!"
The Titan Giant Ape let out a long roar, charging toward Ning Tianchen.
The Coiling Dragon Seven Kill Sword twirled in his hand, forming a flower-like motion. He then lightly traced something in front of him.
Nine consecutive "kill" characters formed, exuding a world-shattering pressure that immediately bore down on the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
The Titan Giant Ape didn't retreat; flames of rage burned in its eyes.
"For Sister Xiao Wu's revenge!"
With a loud shout, it charged head-on into the "kill" sword technique.
The Sky Azure Bull Python Python had a clear understanding of the battlefield situation. His expression changed drastically. "No! Second Brother, retreat quickly!"
These nine "kill" characters were enough to obliterate them instantly. The Titan Giant Ape's reckless charge was nothing short of suicide.
"No chance left." Ning Tianchen wasn't about to let it escape.
The nine "kill" characters crashed onto the Titan Giant Ape. The first "kill" severely wounded it.
The second "kill" severed one of its arms.
By the time the ninth "kill" landed, the Titan Giant Ape's body was torn apart, and a crimson hundred-thousand-year soul ring floated above the Lake of Life.
"Second Brother!" The Sky Azure Bull Python Python let out a mournful cry.
His lantern-sized eyes turned blood-red as he bellowed, "Even in death, I won't let you take my soul ring or soul bones!"
With that, his body rapidly swelled, his soul power surged wildly, and the sky darkened ominously.
"Don't forget about us! Spirit Fusion Technique, Two-Pole Stasis Domain!"
Ju and Gui Douluo had been waiting at a distance precisely to prevent the two soul beasts from self-destructing.
Now that the timing was right, they swiftly acted.
Everything within the Lake of Life was immobilized, except for Ning Tianchen, who could still move.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Shadow Shattering Sword Song."
His figure split into ten, and ten sword shadows struck the Sky Azure Bull Python Python, slicing its body into pieces!
The battle ended, and two hundred-thousand-year soul rings hung high above the Lake of Life.
Ning Tianchen knew that beneath the Lake of Life lay the lairs of ferocious beasts like Di Tian.
However, the battle had been extremely brief and hadn't unleashed any intense bursts of soul power, so it was unlikely to draw their attention.
Ju and Gui Douluo retracted their Spirit Fusion Technique and exchanged a glance.
They had spent so long in the Spirit Hall, yet this was the first time they had fought such an effortless battle.
They had witnessed the fate of the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. It seemed that Ning Tianchen dealt with them just as easily.
"Elder Ju, Elder Gui, thank you," Ning Tianchen bowed to them.
The two didn't dare take credit, quickly replying, "We merely assisted from the sidelines; we didn't expend much soul power."
"Since the battle is over, you should quickly claim your spoils."
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring wouldn't dissipate within an hour, so Ning Tianchen wasn't in a rush to absorb it.
"Both of you, take your people and leave. There's no need to concern yourselves with the process of claiming the spoils."
After obtaining the soul ring of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, he no longer needed conventional methods to absorb soul rings.
However, this was his secret and couldn't be revealed to outsiders.
Ju and Gui Douluo had no intention of staying longer and immediately led the Spirit Hall team toward the forest's outer edge.
Before leaving, Yue Guan reminded him, "This forest holds more powerful soul beasts than just the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python Python. There's also the Dark Demon God Tiger."
"With your strength, you should be able to defeat it easily, but still, be cautious."
"Thank you for the warning," Ning Tianchen responded with a smile.
After seeing the Spirit Hall team depart and disappear from sight, Ning Tianchen turned around, his gaze sharpening.
Before absorbing the soul rings, he used the Seven Kill Sword to extract the hundred-thousand-year soul bones from the corpses of the two soul beasts.
Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts always produced soul bones from parts of their bodies without existing soul bones. He still lacked the head and left leg soul bones.
Unfortunately, neither of the two beasts dropped these specific soul bones. Instead, they yielded external soul bones—specifically, the right palm bone of the Sky Azure Bull Python Python and the left palm bone of the Titan Giant Ape.
Ning Tianchen wasn't surprised. Soul bones inherited the innate abilities of the soul beasts, and since these two beasts' abilities were channeled through their arms, it made sense that their soul bones wouldn't appear elsewhere.
External soul bones didn't occupy the slots for body soul bones, so Ning Tianchen could absorb them himself.
"Ninth Soul Skill, Boundless Ocean."
The ninth soul ring beneath his feet lit up, and the figure of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King appeared out of thin air, devouring the corpses of the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts—including their soul rings—entirely.
Using this devouring power, he could quickly absorb the two hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
About three minutes later, when he took out his Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, three soul rings shimmered beneath his feet.
His soul power level also broke through three levels, reaching Level 98.
The corpses of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts contained boundless power, and with the addition of the two soul rings, he hadn't expected his soul power to increase by only three levels.
"The Deep Sea Demon Whale King really helped a lot, but this conversion efficiency is too low?"
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had held back, storing most of the absorbed soul power within the soul rings.
In the future, the power of the ninth soul skill would increase significantly.
Once he extracted the soul rings and revived the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, this power would become his.
Ning Tianchen harbored no dissatisfaction. After all, they had no prior relationship. The Deep Sea Demon Whale King had offered its soul ring, so letting him partake in some benefits was reasonable.
Absorbing two hundred-thousand-year soul rings would undoubtedly take a considerable amount of time.
This was deep within the forest, where dangers lurked constantly. If he were to ask Ju and Gui Douluo or the Spirit Hall team to stay and guard him, he would undoubtedly owe them a favor.
Favors weren't easy to repay, and Ning Tianchen naturally wouldn't incur such debts lightly.
Next, he left the forest's core area, found a safe spot in the outskirts, and began absorbing the two external soul bones.
…
The Spirit Hall team departed toward the outer edges of the forest.
On the way, Yan couldn't help but ask, "He already has a full set of soul rings—why would he hunt two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts?"
"Maybe he wanted their soul bones?" Ju Hua hesitated.
Previously, out of fear of Ning Tianchen's strength, they hadn't thought deeply about the reasons.
"The Pope wants the soul rings, and he wants the soul bones. Why couldn't we cooperate with him?" Xie Yue asked in confusion.
Now that they thought about it, they truly didn't understand why Ning Tianchen had hunted the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
To kill them just for their soul bones while wasting two hundred-thousand-year soul rings seemed far too extravagant.
Thanks to the secrecy maintained by the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and Ning Tianchen's rare use of his second martial soul, no one suspected that he possessed twin martial souls.
Gui Douluo said solemnly, "Enough of this useless talk. How he deals with the soul rings and soul bones is his business. The Pope's decision to abandon these two soul beasts must have been part of her plan."
Hearing this, Xie Yue and the others stopped pondering further.
Ning Tianchen had defeated Bibi Dong, so it was reasonable to assume they shared similar inheritances.
There were things they didn't understand, but they dared not ask too many questions.
In a short time, two major battles had occurred deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, causing nearby soul beasts to flee.
The Spirit Hall team encountered little danger as they left the forest.
A few days later, a Spirit Hall expert scouting ahead suddenly warned, "Ambush!"
…
After entering the Great Star Dou Forest, Tang San had been searching deep within for something.
When Ning Tianchen killed the two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, the strange pull in his heart disappeared.
Unwilling to give up, Tang San searched throughout the forest, believing he might have missed the location, and coincidentally ran into the Spirit Hall experts.
The Spirit Hall bore the grudge of killing his mother and taking his wife. Seeing isolated Spirit Hall members, he had no reason to let them go.
However, for this soul-hunting mission, the Spirit Hall had sent only elites, and the scouting duties were assigned to Soul Douluo-level experts.
Tang San hadn't yet obtained the Sea God's Trident. His sudden attack caught Spirit Hall's Soul Douluo off guard. By the time the latter reacted, both sides were locked in a stalemate, and Tang San couldn't subdue him in the short term.
Feeling the commotion of the battle, Ju and Gui Douluo quickly came to support.
Tang San was gradually surrounded.
"Tang San!" Gui Douluo's expression turned grim.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Gathering of Cold Petals." Without uttering a word, Ju Douluo launched an all-out attack.
"How could this be!" Tang San was shocked.
He had thought he'd caught an isolated Spirit Hall member, only to realize a large group was following behind.
Facing the encirclement of numerous Spirit Hall experts, Tang San had nowhere to escape.
Though he possessed two hundred-thousand-year soul rings, the absolute disparity in soul power levels and numbers couldn't be bridged by soul rings alone.
Fortunately, this was the Great Star Dou Forest, where Blue Silver Grass grew everywhere.
Activating his Martial Soul True Body and Blue Silver Domain, his soul power was continuously replenished, allowing him to barely hold on.
Ju and Gui Douluo soon noticed the anomaly and decided not to give Tang San the chance to prolong the fight.
"Old Ghost, let's fuse."
Ju Douluo shouted and quickly retreated to the rear.
Tang San tried to intervene but was surrounded by three Soul Douluos.
The Blue Silver Grass martial soul's attacks were weak and couldn't break through the combined efforts of the three Soul Douluos.
As Ju and Gui Douluo's Spirit Fusion Technique neared completion, flashes of Tang San's life experiences raced through his mind like a lantern reel.
"Is this really the end for me?"
Just as Tang San prepared to surrender, the trial mark on his forehead emitted waves of golden light.
"Not good!" Gui Douluo was startled.
With his special Ghost martial soul, ordinary means were hard-pressed to harm him.
But if faced with pure light attribute energy, the damage inflicted upon him would multiply.
Without time to think, Chrysanthemum swiftly stepped in front of him.
The Sea God's Light lasted only a few seconds before vanishing completely.
By the time the Spirit Hall members regained their senses, Tang San had already disappeared.
…
Taking advantage of the brief appearance of the Sea God's Light, Tang San fled far away in one breath.
Seeing that he had shaken off Ju and Gui Douluo, he couldn't help but sigh in relief and sincerely said, "Thank you, Sea God, for your assistance."
Not long after, a divine trial prompt echoed in his mind.
Tang San had completed multiple trials, and his performance during these trials earned the Sea God's approval. His trial officially upgraded to the Sea God's Nine Trials.
Simultaneously, he was rewarded with 50% Sea God affinity.
With this divine affinity, Tang San could now unleash the Sea God's Light.
The Sea God's Light could not only attack enemies but also heal wounds.
Tang San was confident that with the Sea God's Light and the skills of his Blue Silver Grass soul bones, he could fully restore Tang Hao's lost limbs.
Climbing to a higher vantage point and checking his location, a smile spread across his face. "This place isn't far from where Father went into seclusion—it's truly heaven-sent."
As for why the Sea God saved Tang San and even upgraded his trial?
The reason was simple: the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor had been "disabled" by the Asura God. However, the Rakshasa Goddess's consciousness still lingered on the Douluo Continent. If she found Tang San, the Sea God would lose his inheritor.
Thus, he directly bestowed upon Tang San the Sea God's Nine Trials, making him his official inheritor under divine law, leaving the Rakshasa Goddess unable to interfere.
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