"Boom!" A deafening roar instantly erupted. The Mountain-Moving Ape, with its immense strength, forcibly tore up an entire, massive chunk of earth and hurled it at the oncoming sword qi, attempting to block that fatal strike.
A shimmering ice-blue sword light, like a bolt of lightning, streaked across the void, appearing as a dazzling and resolute line where sea met sky.
The sword light was too fast, almost too quick for one to react, leaving behind only a fleeting afterimage.
At this moment, Lu Jingming was controlling his flying soul tool, suspended high in the sky.
He stared blankly, overseeing the breathtaking scene unfolding below, his face filled with shock.
From Lu Jingming's high vantage point, where the Mountain-Moving Ape once stood, now remained only a crystalline ice sculpture, glinting with a cold light under the sunlight.
And behind the ice sculpture, a terrifying sword scar, thousands of meters long, stretched across the land like a gruesome wound.
This sword qi had left an indelible mark on the earth.
In the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, it had forcibly carved out a bottomless canyon rift.
The canyon walls on either side were smooth as mirrors, emitting a bone-chilling cold.
Not only that, but terrifying sword intent and cold energy still lingered within the canyon rift; even a 10,000-year soul beast that approached rashly would be instantly annihilated.
This world-shattering sword strike, which altered the terrain, completely revealed Jingliu's terrifying strength to Lu Jingming, filling his heart with shock.
Honestly, even Lu Jingming found it difficult to estimate just how powerful Jingliu truly was now.
According to the rules of this Douluo Continent, to become a god, one must pass through the near-fatal Heavenly Tribulation of Godhood and successfully condense their own Divine Seat.
Yet, Jingliu, without experiencing any of this, already possessed such world-destroying power. How could one not be amazed?
Moreover, when Jingliu first arrived in this world, due to Lu Jingming's insufficient Truth Power, she wasn't even a Titled Douluo, let alone possessing her original power to cut down stars.
But in just thirteen years, Jingliu had already reached the pinnacle of this world, and this was under the limitations of the Douluo Continent's environment.
Lu Jingming couldn't help but sigh. Even in a different world, even with drastic changes in cultivation systems and environments, Jingliu remained that peerless flying light who yearned to cut down the stars in the sky—her brilliance sharp, unstoppable by anyone.
Thinking of this, Lu Jingming directed his gaze towards the now ice-sealed Mountain-Moving Ape, a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
With Jingliu's strength, to defeat the Mountain-Moving Ape, she didn't need to unleash such a world-shaking sword strike.
But clearly, Jingliu might have been bored for too long, or perhaps she wanted to demonstrate this sword strike to Lu Jingming, which led her to get serious with this mere 100,000-year soul beast.
However, even so, Jingliu had still held back. Otherwise, the Mountain-Moving Ape would not be frozen at this moment but would have been chopped into countless pieces by this fierce sword.
After all, Lu Jingming still needed to absorb the Mountain-Moving Ape's soul ring, and he had to be the one to personally kill the Mountain-Moving Ape for that.
Encountering two 100,000-year soul beasts directly on one trip to the Star Dou Great Forest's core area made Lu Jingming wonder if he was also favored by the plane's will.
After all, his actions, to some extent, were helping this Douluo Star become stronger. The more advanced the civilization and the more powerful individuals there were, the stronger the Douluo Plane would become, and its upper limit would also increase.
And Jingliu and the others, summoned by Lu Jingming, were essentially adding to the Douluo Star's foundation.
However, even if he was favored by the plane's will, Lu Jingming didn't pay too much attention. After all, the favored child of destiny, designated by the plane's will, was tamed like a dog by others.
And the plane's will itself would eventually be replaced by a certain God King's father—it was simply too unreliable.
Instead of relying on the plane's will, he'd rather rely on himself.
Lu Jingming secretly shook his head, casting aside these distracting thoughts, and flew towards the ice-sealed Mountain-Moving Ape.
In an instant, two purple and two black soul rings rose from his body, encircling him, and his first soul ring immediately shone with a dazzling purple light.
"First Soul Skill, Withering Spiral!"
Dark purple energy instantly condensed, forming a sharp spiral that violently spewed forth from the pitch-black spear tip. Its speed was like lightning, instantly piercing through the Mountain-Moving Ape's soul beast core.
Witnessing this scene, Jingliu couldn't help but raise her slender eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
The ice power she wielded was Ultimate Ice, indestructible, its hardness countless times greater than steel.
This 100,000-year cultivation Mountain-Moving Ape, even under her ice restraint, struggled to break free even a fraction, yet Lu Jingming's first soul skill had so easily pierced through this indestructible ice!
Is this the authority of "Withering"?
That power to decompose all things! Jingliu could clearly perceive that under the erosion of the dark purple energy, her soul power remaining within the ice, as well as the Ultimate Ice itself, was being ruthlessly disintegrated by an utterly domineering force, little by little dissipating into the world.
Undoubtedly, Lu Jingming's first soul skill was the absolute bane of defensive Spirit Masters, because in the face of this decomposition force, any defense was like paper, unable to withstand a single blow.
Of course, decomposition was not instantaneous; it also required time.
The stronger the defense, the longer the decomposition time required. Therefore, while Lu Jingming's first soul skill was a nightmare for defensive Spirit Masters, it was not flawless or invincible in the world.
"Xiao Ming, this...?"
Just then, Zhang Lexuan successfully absorbed the Silver Moon Flood Dragon King's soul ring and slowly opened her eyes.
What greeted her eyes was a scene as if the world had turned upside down: a gigantic ice sculpture emanating a chilling aura, and a terrifying sword-qi canyon thousands of meters long that was shocking to behold. All of this momentarily bewildered her, and she instinctively spoke to ask.
"Sister Lexuan, you succeeded."
Lu Jingming heard the voice, turned to look at Zhang Lexuan, a joyful smile on his face, and temporarily paused his plan to absorb the Mountain-Moving Ape's soul ring.
"Mm, this soul ring is extremely compatible with me. Besides the Silver Moon Flood Dragon King's remnant soul being a bit troublesome, the entire absorption process was very smooth," Zhang Lexuan said with a gentle smile, her eight soul rings shining brightly, among which the eighth blood-red soul ring was particularly eye-catching, like a burning flame.
"And this, Xiao Ming, for you!"
Suddenly, Zhang Lexuan seemed to remember something. With a flip of her right hand, a crystalline soul bone radiating silver moonlight appeared in her palm. She handed it to Lu Jingming without hesitation.
"Why give it to me? This is the Silver Moon Flood Dragon King's soul bone; it's more suitable for you to absorb. Looking at its shape, it should be a torso bone, Sister Lexuan, you're really lucky," Lu Jingming raised his eyebrows slightly, then said with a smile.
One must know that torso bones were the most precious among the six types of soul bones, excluding external soul bones, of course.