In a narrow valley at the very heart of Sunset Forest.
A streak of green light flashed, landing on a towering tree. The light gradually faded, revealing two figures, an old man and a young man. It was Dugu Bo and zuzong, who had come to hunt soul beasts.
"Boy, do you really think there's a soul beast you need in such a narrow valley?" Dugu Bo asked zuzong.
zuzong nodded. "I've been to Sunset Forest before and accidentally saw a soul beast resembling a dragon but without claws roaming here. We've searched the entire area, but this seemingly inconspicuous valley is the only one we haven't explored."
In reality, Zu Zong had never actually seen this soul beast. His guess stemmed from two months ago when, while searching for Yu Tianheng's fourth soul ring, he released his Blue Silver Domain and accidentally discovered a soul beast with dragon-like aura that had disappeared in this valley. Its aura was very similar to Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex. As for the guess that it had no claws, it was based on the Azure Bull Python, since there are only a few dragons left in the Douluo Continent.
Dugu Bo was stunned at first, then his pupils shrank, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face. "Are you talking about the Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon?"
"You've seen it?" A hint of surprise flashed in the clan elder's eyes.
Dugu Bo shook his head, his expression somewhat solemn. "Although I have never actually seen this soul beast, decades ago when I was still a Soul Emperor, I heard someone say that an Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon appeared in the Sunset Forest, and with less than ten thousand years of cultivation, it severely injured several Soul Saints."
"A soul beast with less than ten thousand years of cultivation, severely injured several Soul Saints?" The zuzong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Doesn't that mean this thing is comparable to the Titan Giant Ape?
Dugu Bo nodded. "But it vanished without a trace after that. I've searched for it all these years in Sunset Forest, but I couldn't find it. I never expected it to be in this narrow valley, only a few meters wide. In that case, I'll go down and take a look."
With that, Dugu Bo leaped down and entered the narrow valley.
A moment later, the valley shook violently, rocks flew up from the entrance, and a cloud of dust billowed.
Dugu Bo was the first to emerge, his face beaming with excitement.
A roar erupted. Immediately afterward, a pale blue dragon, several meters long, with blue eyes, a long hooked nose, and covered in spiky feathers, flew out of the valley.
"Haha, kid, you're lucky. It really is that blue-eyed dragon from decades ago!" Dugu Bo laughed heartily.
zuzong smiled, "Please, Senior Dugu, help me subdue it."
As he spoke, he mentally commanded, "System, read this dragon's information."
[Ding, System reading]
[Soul Beast: Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon
Cultivation: 10500 years
Characteristics: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Absorbs Soul Power, Possesses extremely strong binding and destructive power.
]
zuzong exclaimed, "Indeed, it's a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, and it seems to have great potential!"
While zuzong marveled at the Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon, Dugu Bo had already activated his Martial Soul True Body and engaged the Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon in battle. The Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon lived up to its reputation as a being capable of severely injuring several Soul Saints decades ago; now, with its cultivation having broken through to ten thousand years, it could barely withstand Dugu Bo's over thirty-meter-long Azure Scale Serpent Emperor True Body for a short time.
But resistance is just resistance. After a short while, the Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon was no match for him. It tried to burrow underground to escape, but was struck by Dugu Bo's Azure Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's innate poison, collapsing to the ground, powerless to resist.
Looking at the Azure-Eyed Flood Dragon shrouded in black energy, the zuzong frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "It seems this dragon's weakness is its fear of poison! But after I absorb it, this weakness will no longer exist."
Dugu Bo turned to look at the clan elder, "You brat, are you sure you want this beast to be your fourth soul ring? If I'm not mistaken, it has already broken through ten thousand years of cultivation."
The zuzong nodded, but did not answer directly. Raising his right hand, a faint white light appeared on his skin. Then, the Blue Silver Emperor, a deep blue-black color with strange golden patterns, emerged from his palm.
Three clear halos, yellow and purple, rose from his feet, swirling around his body.
Since becoming a Soul Master, this was the first time the zuzong had removed the disguise skill of "Blue Silver Domain," revealing the true colors of his Soul Rings.
"A second Soul Ring of a thousand years!" Dugu Bo exclaimed in surprise. What kind of monster was this? And what was with changing the colors of the Soul Rings?
The zuzong nodded. "My first Soul Ring was nearly six hundred years old, the second one thousand and one hundred, and the third nearly three thousand. Do you think I can absorb this ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beast?"
Dugu Bo said, "But I remember your previous Soul Rings were yellow-yellow-purple! Could it be...?"
The zuzong's lips curled into a slight smile. "It seems you've already guessed. That's right, it's a Domain. When I awakened my Martial Soul, I also possessed a Domain, which I named Blue Silver Domain. The first skill of this Domain is Disguise, which can arbitrarily change the color of Soul Rings or even directly hide one."
Dugu Bo gasped. Even with Dugu Bo's composure, he couldn't help but show shock.
Dugu Bo suddenly realized, saying, "No wonder your second soul skill could withstand the purple snake venom I released after activating my martial soul. In that case, you make your own decision! But I must warn you, this blue-eyed dragon is no ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beast; it's probably comparable to some twenty- or thirty-thousand-year soul beasts."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the clan patriarch to absorb the soul ring.
After the soul ring was absorbed into his body, the clan patriarch released eight spider spears from behind. For safety reasons, the clan patriarch did not approach the dragon directly, but instead took out a sword, imbued it with soul power, and pierced the dragon's eyes with unparalleled speed, reaching its brain. The dragon's body trembled, and its life force began to dissipate.
Sensing the dragon's condition, the eight spider spears on its back mercilessly pierced the blue-eyed dragon's vital points.
The blue-eyed dragon beneath him continued to tremble, and powerful energies flowed into its body through the eight spider spears. To the zuzong surprise, this violent energy, after circulating through his body once, would re-enter his Eight Spider Lances, then condense on his spine. His spine and the eight ribs to which the Eight Spider Lances were attached became incredibly hot, absorbing the energy like an abyss.
The zuzong looked astonished, thinking to himself, "What kind of dragon is this? Didn't the original story say that only by devouring the energy of the Human-Faced Demon Spider of the same origin could it be fully absorbed? How can this dragon do it too?"
This was the first time the clan leader had used the Devouring skill since acquiring the Eight Spider Lances. The target was a Blue-Eyed Dragon.
Since he couldn't figure it out, the clan leader simply stopped worrying. If it could devour, so be it; perhaps it could evolve the Eight Spider Lances.
As the zuzong continued to devour, the Blue-Eyed Dragon's life force completely dissipated.