Chapter 250: Blue-footed Booby
Since Yao Yao wasn't around, the group had to set up camp and pitch tents with supplies from their soul tools, planning to make do for the night.
Ning Bei was thinking about the strategy for dealing with the Blue Sea Black Dragon the next day. It was best to follow the same method as today—let Da Ming take him down to the seabed and freeze the dragon into an ice block to bring it back up.
However, the Blue Sea Black Dragon wasn't as clumsy as a plant-type soul beast and had the home advantage in the ocean. Fighting underwater required more caution to avoid any unforeseen problems.
The next day, as the sun rose, the group finished their cultivation session. Watching the sunrise by the sea was far more spectacular than in the inland. The light orange and red hues in the sky tinged the clouds with gold, as if they were covered with a thin veil.
Gao Wei, who had just ascended to Title Douluo, walked out of the tent, her face marked by two large dark circles. Clearly, she had been too excited the night before to sleep, and Ning Bei guessed she had probably spent the whole night staring at her 100,000-year soul ring.
"Let's go. We'll take care of Elder Ou's soul ring first. We'll probably have to make a trip to the Star Dou Forest. I doubt we'll find a suitable soul beast for Elder Shi by the sea."
Seeing that everyone was ready, Ning Fengzhi called out and the group set off. Gu Rong took the lead with Ou Xuan, while Ning Bei, along with the others, flew westward.
During their journey, Da Ming, who was leading the way, suddenly turned around to look at Ning Bei.
"The Blue Sea Black Dragon has a very strong control over water, and unlike plant-type soul beasts, it isn't so rigid. Brother Ning Bei, be extra careful."
"Don't worry, Da Ming. If anything happens, I'll freeze the entire sea."
Da Ming nodded, not wanting to say more. The group flew for another several minutes. When they were still 300 kilometers from the sea where the Blue Sea Black Dragon was located, Ning Bei suddenly raised his hand to stop the group.
"What's going on, Bei'er?"
Gu Rong, puzzled, turned to Ning Bei, unsure of why he was halting them.
When everyone's attention turned to him, Ning Bei didn't explain but pointed to the sky in the east.
Everyone quickly followed his gesture and saw a sea bird with light blue feet, a sharp beak, and eyes like an eagle, circling in the sky as it seemed to be searching for something in the ocean.
Moments later, the sea bird stopped and began diving headfirst toward the sea.
The speed was so fast that even Shi Ming, a Title Douluo specializing in speed, broke into a cold sweat. The sea bird reached the surface in less than a second, sending up a massive splash. When the bird reappeared, it had a large sea fish clutched in its sharp beak.
Ning Fengzhi's pupils contracted.
"That's a 10,000-year Dragon-Patterned Mackerel."
"What?"
Gu Rong didn't know about the battle prowess of the Dragon-Patterned Mackerel soul beast, but any soul beast that could consume such a creature wouldn't be simple. Sure enough, after observing the sea bird again, Ning Fengzhi spoke:
"That's a Blue-footed Booby, a bird-type soul beast that feeds on fish. It's the king of the speed domain. Its wingspan increases by one meter every 10,000 years. Looking at this bird's size and wingspan..."
Gu Rong stared at the Blue-footed Booby, his face growing more surprised.
"Is it... 100,000 years?"
"Yes. Elder Shi's soul ring has a source now."
Ning Bei secretly thought it was fortunate—he hadn't expected to come across a 100,000-year flying soul beast on the way to find the Blue Sea Black Dragon. It was truly a case of finding a blessing in an unexpected place.
"Let's go. We'll follow it."
"Alright."
The group followed the Blue-footed Booby in the direction it flew. Along the way, they couldn't help but click their tongues in awe. As expected of a soul beast famous for its speed, even the lowest-ranking member of the group, a Title Douluo, found it slightly difficult to keep up, though the Blue-footed Booby hadn't even been using its full speed.
After about half an hour of following the bird, a small, uninhabited island appeared in the distance. It wasn't very large—roughly ten thousand square meters—probably the bird's nest.
As expected, in the center of the island, there was a huge nest. The Blue-footed Booby dropped the struggling 10,000-year Dragon-Patterned Mackerel onto the ground, and with a few powerful wingbeats, it sliced the fish's head open. The Dragon-Patterned Mackerel gradually stopped struggling, and a black soul ring slowly rose from its body.
The Blue-footed Booby ignored the soul ring and began feasting on its catch.
"Get ready to act, Elder Gao Wei. Want to try out your newly acquired soul skill?"
Gao Wei hesitated for a moment, then her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Alright, please help me cover. I'm worried I might mess it up and let it escape."
"Ha ha, don't worry, Elder Gao. Just focus on using your skills."
With a hearty laugh, Ning Bei activated the Eternal Freeze domain and pressed both hands to the ground.
"Extreme Cold · Mirror Ice Crystal!"
A massive amount of cold ice erupted from the ground, instantly transforming the entire island into a huge ice crystal cage. Everyone, including the Blue-footed Booby, was trapped inside.
The sky suddenly darkened. The Blue-footed Booby shuddered, snapping out of its feeding trance, and began scanning the area.
"Da Ming, go to the south. Father and the two elders take the west. Grandpa Gu will cover the east. I'll handle the north."
"The rest, leave to Elder Gao."
The group nodded in agreement with Ning Bei's plan and spread out in a four-point formation to surround the Blue-footed Booby, while Gao Wei walked to the bird's front.
The Blue-footed Booby glared at the woman in front of it, its eyes full of murderous intent as it tried to rip her apart.
"Caw!"
With a fierce screech, the Blue-footed Booby charged directly at Gao Wei. Its speed was so fast that she almost didn't react in time. She quickly crouched and rolled to dodge the attack.
"Bang!"
Its sharp wings sliced through the surrounding vegetation, and after circling in the air, the Blue-footed Booby turned its head back towards Gao Wei.
"Nine Treasure Famous · Work Non-stop."
Six brilliant lights entered Gao Wei's body, and her aura instantly surged.
"Seventh Soul Skill · Magic Vine True Body, Second Soul Skill · Rapid Growth, Sixth Soul Skill · Lethal Bloom."
Faced with the 100,000-year soul beast, Gao Wei didn't dare to be careless. She immediately activated her martial soul's true form and unleashed the combination of her second and sixth soul rings. Seeds burst from the ground, forming countless sharp thorns that rushed toward the Blue-footed Booby in the air.
The Blue-footed Booby reacted swiftly, veering upward into the higher sky. However, trapped in the Mirror Ice Crystal, it didn't take long before the giant bird crashed into the top of the cage. The hard ice stunned the Blue-footed Booby. The expected breakthrough from the cage didn't happen.
The Blue-footed Booby's eyes displayed a human-like confusion, as if questioning why the ice was so solid.
Seeing the opportunity, Gao Wei controlled the thorned vines to extend into the air, wrapping around the Blue-footed Booby. Meanwhile, her ninth red soul ring shone brightly.
"Ninth Soul Skill · Blood Devour."
The shrill cry from the bird echoed as it felt its blood being drained, struggling in agony.
After activating Blood Devour, the strength and toughness of the magic vines were exponentially enhanced, causing the bird to feel as if the more it struggled, the tighter the vines became.
"Ninth Soul Skill · Winter Thorn Strike!"
(END CHAPTER)
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