Chapter 216: The Nether Panther
After absorbing the soul ring and soul bone, the group continued their search for more soul beasts within the Star Dou Forest. Traveling with Yang Tianyue and her Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud proved immensely helpful. Each night, they could set up the Shroud and rest without fear of exhaustion, fully shielded from the dangers of the forest.
One night, however, while the six were resting, Yang Potian noticed something peculiar outside the shroud—a faint, shadowy figure moving rapidly around their camp. Although he tried multiple times to observe it more closely, he could only catch brief glimpses, as if something was blending seamlessly into the night.
Suspecting this elusive creature might be a rare soul beast, Yang Potian instructed Yang Tianyue to keep the group stationary for several days in hopes of luring it out.
After three days, a 20,000-year-old Golden-Horned Horse passed nearby, and suddenly, a shadow flashed, leaving deep gashes across the horse's body. It neighed desperately, trying to locate its attacker, but the silent night offered no clue.
In another swift movement, a shadow darted again, this time slicing a lethal wound across the horse's neck, leaving it to collapse instantly. A large, pitch-black panther emerged from the shadows to feed on the carcass.
The panther was over ten meters long, with jet-black fur that even covered its eyes, making it nearly invisible in the darkness.
"A 95,000-year-old Nether Panther," Yang Potian said coldly.
Yang Tianyue looked concerned. "Brother, this panther is incredibly fast. We'd struggle to keep up, and it's not even at 100,000 years yet."
Yang Potian thought for a moment. "The Nether Panther seems to reside nearby. If we're patient, we'll find an opening."
As he suspected, the Nether Panther had both extraordinary speed and a rare dark attribute. Yang Potian knew it would be challenging to hunt it down—Nether Panthers were among the fastest creatures in the soul beast world, especially at night. By day, they remained hidden, only emerging to hunt under the cover of darkness. Their agility and stealth made them one of the most elusive beasts for soul masters.
Observing the panther's habits over the following days, the group discovered that it preferred preying on horse-type soul beasts and avoided those with strong offensive capabilities. With this knowledge, Yang Potian crafted a plan: they captured a powerful Gale Horse and secretly laced it with a Soul Burst Pill and Blood Mary, enhancing its strength to lure the panther.
At dusk, the Gale Horse was released into the area, and just as Yang Potian had predicted, the Nether Panther approached cautiously, inspecting the prey from a distance. Only when it sensed no danger did it pounce, swiftly taking down the horse and beginning its feast.
But as the Nether Panther devoured its prey, the Soul Burst Pill took effect, sending a sudden surge of uncontrollable energy through the panther's body, forcing it to advance to a 100,000-year level. At this critical moment, Yang Tianyue activated the Vast Sea Stasis Shroud, immobilizing the panther temporarily.
Yang Potian took advantage of this opening, launching from the cover of the shroud with his spear, piercing a large wound into the Nether Panther's side. Startled, the panther merged with the shadows, disappearing into the night using its dark attribute to flee.
However, Yang Potian activated his 100,000-year soul skill, Space Displacement, instantly swapping his location with the panther's. To its horror, the panther found itself facing Yang Pingan and Yang Tianyue's weapons, which inflicted two additional deep wounds.
With another teleportation, Yang Potian used his soul bone skill, Space Shift, reappearing beside the panther and delivering a severe blow. Although injured, the panther managed to slip into the shadows again, fleeing over a hundred meters away.
Yet Yang Potian relentlessly pursued it, repeatedly using the teleportation skills of the Space Bone Dragon's soul ring and soul bone, intercepting the panther and striking with each appearance. In less than a minute, the Nether Panther lay in a pool of blood, defeated.
For the first time, Yang Potian had exhausted his soul ring and soul bone skills to such an extent, a feat only possible with the unique powers of the Space Bone Dragon.
After dealing with the Nether Panther, he began absorbing its soul ring. The absorption process was swift, taking just a single day. Upon completion, Yang Potian found a rare left-leg soul bone within the panther, a prized speed-boosting bone he had long sought.
Absorbing the soul bone took another day, but once it was integrated, Yang Potian's speed improved tremendously, rivaling even agility-type Titled Douluo—a crucial asset for survival.
The group continued their journey through the Star Dou Forest for over half a month without encountering any suitable soul beasts. Luck seemed against them, especially for Yang Lingling, who was nearly hopeless about finding a high-year plant-type soul beast. Such creatures were scarce, moving slowly and often falling prey to powerful predators.
One day, while traversing a barren, rocky mountain, Yang Potian felt uneasy. Normally, the Star Dou Forest was teeming with life, yet here lay a barren mountain, entirely devoid of plant life.
Scanning the area carefully, Yang Potian could find nothing unusual. After some thought, he picked up a hundred-year-old Soft-Bone Rabbit and tossed it into the heart of the rocky terrain.
The rabbit trembled in fear, darting back out of the rocky area immediately, as if desperate to escape from something unseen.
As soon as the Soft-Bone Rabbit scurried barely ten meters across the rocky landscape, a tendril shot out from a crevice in the stone mountain, coiling tightly around it and dragging it swiftly back into the mountain. The rabbit didn't even have time to scream before its life was extinguished, disappearing into the gap without a trace.
The group watched in stunned silence, each swallowing nervously. Yang Potian observed the mountain solemnly before finally speaking, "There must be a highly evolved Ghostvine hidden in that mountain. Even if it hasn't yet reached the hundred-thousand-year mark, it's likely very close. It seems to have mutated, able to absorb both life force and soul power from other creatures."
Yang Pingan nodded thoughtfully. "Big brother, could it be a Bloodthirsty Vine?"
Yang Potian shook his head. "No, the color and structure are different, and only a Ghostvine would hide itself within a stone mountain. Bloodthirsty Vines prefer spreading across large areas in the open."
After several attempts, they confirmed it was indeed a mutated hundred-thousand-year Ghostvine. The vine appeared to have grown deep into the mountain, with tendrils reaching an impressive range.
Yang Potian contemplated for a moment before drawing a thousand Crimson Fire Stones from his soul guide, lighting them and spreading them across the rocky landscape. Plant-based soul beasts were typically vulnerable to fire, and the Crimson Fire Stones were particularly effective against them, as demonstrated previously with the Blue Silver King.
As the stones ignited, the entire mountain seemed to be engulfed in flames, with temperatures rapidly intensifying. Countless tendrils shot out from the mountain's crevices, despite the intense heat, as the Ghostvine began flinging the fire stones away to protect itself—a clear sign of its high intelligence.
Seeing the vine's many tendrils emerge, Yang Potian raised his soul-breaking spear and activated his eighth soul skill: Golden Behemoth Slash. With a powerful swing, a blazing arc slashed across the mountain, splitting it in two.
The interior of the mountain was revealed, exposing a horrific scene. The inner chamber was hollow, filled with writhing tendrils of the Ghostvine, some of which had been severed by Yang Potian's attack.
A booming voice echoed from the vine, "Humans! You dare challenge me? Prepare to die!"
Ignoring the vine's threat, Yang Potian led the group in an all-out assault. The six unleashed their martial souls and soul rings, diving into battle against the Ghostvine.
The vine proved incredibly elusive, sending out countless tendrils coated in a bloody aura and pulsing with a devouring energy. Recognizing its danger, Niu Meng, Dugu Yan, and Yang Lingling quickly withdrew, as the vine's abilities strongly countered both beast and plant-type martial souls.
However, Yang Potian, Yang Tianyue, and Yang Pingan pressed forward, wielding their soul-breaking spears to slice through the vine's tendrils.
Yang Potian struck swiftly, his spear creating a flurry of cuts that severed numerous tendrils. Despite the vine's strength and resilience, which would have overwhelmed most Soul Sages, he relentlessly swung his weapon, his Golden Behemoth Slash tearing a massive gash through the main body of the Ghostvine.
But even split in two, the vine's life force was astonishing. It continued its assault, thrashing even more violently as its wounds seemed only to intensify its ferocity.
Yang Potian tossed another wave of Crimson Fire Stones while keeping up his attacks. Meanwhile, Yang Pingan transformed into a lightning bolt, burning the vine's tendrils with electrical surges, and Yang Tianyue swung her massive Sea God's Trident, cleaving through thick clusters of vines.
With time, the Ghostvine's tendrils dwindled, its life force waning with each passing second.
Yang Potian called out, "Lingling! Now's your chance—finish it off!"
Yang Lingling used her leg bone's speed boost to dart forward, activating her right arm bone's skill. The White-Eyed Demon Tiger's spectral form emerged, leaping onto the Ghostvine with a devastating attack that tore through the vine's remaining life force.
Finally, the Ghostvine succumbed, collapsing as a massive red soul ring appeared above it.
The group sighed in relief, marveling at the Ghostvine's sheer tenacity—it had been almost indestructible, a plant-based soul beast with an incredible will to survive.
Yang Lingling sat down to absorb the soul ring as Yang Tianyue deployed the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to guard her.
Perhaps due to the vine's resilience, the absorption took five full days, but fortune smiled upon them—a torso bone emerged from the Ghostvine, a rare and powerful gift that made even Yang Potian a bit envious.
After completing the absorption, Yang Lingling's soul power rose to level 92. Their time in the Star Dou Forest had yielded remarkable gains: Yang Potian had absorbed two hundred-thousand-year soul rings and bones, while Yang Lingling and Yang Pingan each gained one of each, achieving a goal that had seemed impossible.
Yang Pingan's martial soul had finally evolved as he had dreamed, and Yang Lingling now stood among the ranks of the few healing-type Titled Douluo in soul master history.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 15 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1