The giant palm hadn't yet descended, but the airflow beneath it already whipped Lin Xiao's clothes into a frenzy. At such close range, every hair was clearly visible.
In that split second, Lin Xiao felt a stinging pain assault his scalp. The next instant, a golden shield suddenly expanded, blocking the Gold-Devouring Beast's fury-filled strike with what seemed like a fragile layer of light.
Though the Invincible Shield absorbed most of the attack, the impact still sent Lin Xiao flying, slamming him into the cave wall.
"Cough… cough…" A bloody taste spread in Lin Xiao's mouth as he slid down the wall, pain surging through his body. But he ignored it, keeping his eyes fixed on the Gold-Devouring Beast ahead.
The Soul Seeds he had planted earlier finally took effect. The beast didn't pursue but instead thrashed its head in agony.
In a direct confrontation, planting Higanbana Seeds into an eighty-thousand-year soul beast would have been nearly impossible for Lin Xiao. But scattering them while it slumbered sealed the fate for the Gold-Devouring Beast, which lacked mental defenses.
Slowly standing upright, Lin Xiao raised his right hand. The Higanbana spun around him, his black fifth soul ring growing even deeper before glowing.
Fifth Soul Skill: Yellow Spring Guide.
Lin Xiao's sole ten-thousand-year soul skill wasn't a powerful attack but an auxiliary skill that amplified his other abilities.
Drawing the waters of the Yellow Spring to nourish the Higanbana, the flowers around Lin Xiao grew more vibrant, their bewitching red illuminating the entire cave.
His second soul ring lit up again. As the Gold-Devouring Beast roared in pain, Lin Xiao's injuries rapidly healed.
His second soul skill originally used Higanbana Seeds to absorb an opponent's power for growth. Under the fifth soul skill's enhancement, that power now flowed back to Lin Xiao, the beast's formidable physical strength surging into him continuously.
A wave of exhilaration spread through Lin Xiao, but he quickly shook it off.
Kicking forward, the man's corpse slid toward the beast's feet. Lin Xiao's expression turned cold as his third soul ring shone.
Third Soul Skill: Bloom.
In an instant, Higanbana flowers blossomed from the bloodstains scattered throughout the cave. The Gold-Devouring Beast froze, and the branches protruding from its teeth transformed into red petals.
The corpse at its feet, along with the Soul Seed planted in its mind, "bloomed" under the purple glow of Lin Xiao's third soul ring.
"Boom—"
A deafening explosion echoed. The already hollowed mountain couldn't withstand the massive impact and collapsed. In mere moments, it flattened into rubble, scattered stones littering the wilderness.
The surroundings fell silent, broken only by occasional breezes rustling distant leaves. Suddenly, a hand emerged from the ruins. Amid flying dust, Lin Xiao's figure climbed out, his clothes tattered but his face showing a hint of a smile.
Most of the Gold-Devouring Beast's body was buried under earth and stone, with only its head and upper torso exposed.
Its formidable defenses left it with a sliver of life, but its vulnerable neck, already wounded by the soul cannon, had snapped in the attack. Only fragile flesh tenuously connected its head to its body.
Blood poured from its mouth and nose; it had lost consciousness. Its body instinctively heaved, but this only produced a whistling sound from the severed neck. Lin Xiao stepped forward, not letting it suffer long. Soon, a pitch-black soul ring slowly rose.
Lin Xiao paid little attention to the soul ring. He was far from his bottleneck, and his body couldn't handle an eighty-thousand-year soul ring meant for Soul Douluo. Besides the ring, the Gold-Devouring Beast offered plenty of other treasures.
Its fur, hardened from feeding on metal ores, was prime material for armor-type soul tools. Its flesh and blood were tonics that could greatly enhance a soul master's physical strength.
The metals it swallowed weren't all digested; the indigestible remnants, accumulated over tens of thousands of years, had become materials more precious than rare metals.
Lin Xiao had originally planned to shadow the Shrek group in hopes of finding Xu He's trail, but he hadn't expected to encounter this Gold-Devouring Beast.
Time had been short, with no opportunity for detailed preparations. He had only hoped to act during a mutual exhaustion between the Shrek group and the beast. Yet, through a twist of fate, it had led to this outcome.
Though he lost the Invincible Shield from Lin Jiayi, his gains far exceeded its value.
Pondering this, a flash appeared in Lin Xiao's hand—a soul tool dagger. Even long after death, it took considerable effort to cut through the beast's fur.
As Lin Xiao organized his haul, storing items in his storage soul tool, his dagger struck something hard.
With quick strokes, he sliced open the beast's left arm. Lin Xiao's gaze sharpened. A silver-gray arm bone gleamed with a metallic sheen.
A soul bone?
In an instant, he stored it away, swiftly scanning the surroundings. Compared to this soul bone, his other gains seemed insignificant.
Though Nightmare Douluo had provided some cultivation resources, soul bones were never among them. After all, even Nightmare Douluo hadn't collected a full set of six; such items wouldn't end up in Lin Xiao's hands.
After a moment's thought, Lin Xiao calmly processed the rest of the corpse, then glanced at the direction and swiftly departed. He needed to find a place to absorb this soul bone quickly.
While ten-thousand-year soul beasts guaranteed soul bones, few could slay them. An eighty-thousand-year soul bone was exceedingly rare, especially from a powerful Gold-Devouring Beast.
If he didn't absorb it now and returned to Mingdu, where Nightmare Douluo might discover it, the bone's ownership would be uncertain.