Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 124 Serpent Beast

……

As they ventured deeper into the mixed zone towards the north, the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The trees became taller and denser, their intertwined branches blocking out most of the sunlight, making the ground appear exceptionally dark and damp. Occasionally, the roars of unknown soul beasts could be heard, sending chills down one's spine.

"It's around here." Arou stopped in her tracks.

"This is... Ghost Swamp?" The Snake Woman's expression changed.

How did you bring us here?

“This is where the thousand-year-old snakes gather, so it’s easier to find her soul ring here,” Arou said.

The snake woman was about to curse.

Did she not know that there were many snake-like spirit beasts in this Ghost Swamp?
This place is extremely dangerous!

She wasn't afraid of one or two thousand-year-old soul beasts, but what about dozens or hundreds?!

Although the Ghost Swamp is located in the outer area, even those powerful ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts dare not venture into it rashly!

As for human soul masters, they need time to absorb the soul rings they acquire. A thousand-year soul ring will take at least half an hour to absorb, during which time they cannot move.

In this Ghost Swamp, snake-like spirit beasts live in groups and are particularly sensitive to invasions; they will gather as soon as they smell the slightest hint of blood.

Who has the ability to absorb a soul ring in this snake pit?
Moreover, snake-type spirit beasts are extremely vengeful, and even if you escape for dozens of kilometers, you may not be able to shake off their pursuit!
When hunting soul beasts, you have to consider more than just the target!

"You...you're not kidding, are you?" Even Meng Yiran was a little stunned by Xuan Ming's astonishing choice.

Even if you're capable of killing souls for me here, I don't have the ability to absorb them!
“Of course you’re not mistaken, I’ll catch it for you.” Xuanming stepped forward, his body radiating a chilling aura that slowly condensed into ice on the ground.

The Snake Woman looked at the ice spreading beneath Xuan Ming's feet, a hint of surprise and apprehension flashing in her eyes.

Such control over ice elements is rare even among the many powerful Soul Masters she has ever seen.

Is this really a Soul Master?
Isn't this kid cultivating a weapon spirit?

"You're not thinking of making the snakes hibernate by lowering the temperature, are you?" the snake woman said.

"More or less," Xuanming said.

Snakes' body temperature changes with the environment. Low temperatures significantly reduce their metabolic rate, leading to decreased activity, sluggish reactions, and even a state similar to "hibernation".

The Star Dou Great Forest is a tropical rainforest, and the snakes living here are more sensitive to low temperatures. He only needs to lower the temperature to drive away the low-level snakes and at the same time lure out the snake soul beasts that are over a thousand years old to eliminate him, the intruder.

As the chill continued to spread, the serpentine spirit beasts in the Ghost Swamp began to react.

Some of the weaker snake-like spirit beasts, under the influence of the cold, gradually became stiff and slowed down. They flicked their tongues and hissed, as if warning their companions.

However, the stronger thousand-year-old snake-type soul beasts were not easily frightened by the chill. They twisted their thick bodies and slowly crawled towards the direction from which the chill came.

"Get lost!" Xuanming glanced at the thousand-year-old snake beasts that had gathered, and the black dragon behind him released a slight hostility, which scared the snakes away.

The snake matriarch would definitely not be interested in an ordinary thousand-year-old snake; she would have to find a good one.

"This..." The snake woman, who was about to help, froze.

"Yiran, he's been giving you way too much leeway."

Although their snake staff martial soul is a weapon martial soul, it is not complete; it is a mutated weapon martial soul, leaning somewhat towards a beast martial soul.

This mutation gave their bodies snake-like characteristics, but also some of the snake's weaknesses.

Snakes are a subspecies of dragons at their source. Most dragon-type soul beasts have a bloodline suppression effect on snakes. Xuanming's black dragon martial soul has extremely high bloodline quality, and those thousand-year-old snakes simply don't dare to fight him!

If Xuanming had used his dragon might to intimidate Meng Yiran during their previous encounter, this girl probably wouldn't have even had the strength to fight back!

"Grandma!" Meng Yiran's face turned red.

It's not like she can't see it!

Time passed second by second, and Xuanming and his group continued to move deeper into the Ghost Swamp.

With Xuanming freezing the ground ahead, there was no need to worry about the dangerous swamp. Bang!
Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the swamp, and with a crisp sound, the ice shattered.

Xuanming subconsciously activated his domain, conjuring a colorless wall in front of him. The black shadow crashed into it and was bounced back.

"What... what kind of soul beast is this?" Meng Yiran finally came to her senses and looked at the strange soul beast with a snake's head and a scorpion's body in front of her.

This soul beast was enormous, with its snake head raised high, flicking its scarlet tongue and hissing, sending chills down one's spine. Its scorpion body was covered with a hard exoskeleton, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dim light, and its tail was raised high, the tip of its venomous stinger flashing with a deadly cold light.

“This is a serpent beast,” Arou said.

"The snake's head is like a python's, and its breath is extremely venomous. Wherever it passes, the grass and trees wither. Ordinary soul beasts die instantly upon contact. The scorpion's shell is hard, impervious to water and fire, and difficult to be harmed by swords and knives. The poisonous stinger at the end of its tail is even more powerful, containing a terrifying toxin that can kill even ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts. Once stung, there is almost no chance of survival."

"Once this kind of soul beast appears in a group of snakes, it is like a king. The snake soul beasts in the vicinity will all bow down to it and obey its commands."

"How old is this thing?" Xuanming asked.

“It’s been over two thousand years,” Arou said.

“For every thousand years a soul beast’s cultivation level exceeds a thousand years, the energy of its soul ring becomes a completely different matter. This girl… cannot withstand it.”

Although Tang San's teacher's theory on the absorption period of spirit rings was wrong, the approximate range of spirit ring absorption periods he proposed was not far off.

If it were Tang San, he could give this serpent beast a try. After all, the strange techniques he cultivated made him one of the best in terms of physical strength and mental power among soul masters of the same level. Perhaps he could withstand the energy of this super-limited soul ring.

But this young girl probably doesn't have that ability.

Xuanming turned to Meng Yiran and asked, "Do you want some?"

“No, it’s too high,” the snake woman said.

If it were within two thousand years, around fifteen hundred years, she would encourage Meng Yiran to give it a try, since it would be a good opportunity to improve her strength.

But since this thing is over two thousand years old, that's a different matter. The risks involved are too great, and she doesn't dare let Meng Yiran take that risk.

"Grandma, I want it," Meng Yiran said.

"It's too high, you can't absorb it," the Snake Woman said sternly.

"If the absorption of a spirit ring fails, at best, one's cultivation will regress, and all previous efforts will be in vain; at worst, one's martial spirit will be damaged, rendering one a cripple, or even causing one to die on the spot, unable to even save one's life!"

"It's just a spirit ring, how can it be more important than your safety?"

“Safety isn’t a problem, the over-limit isn’t much, I have a way to handle it,” Xuanming said.

The snake woman was taken aback. "You have..."

“I want it!” Meng Yiran said decisively.

"Then let's get ready to run away." After Xuanming finished speaking, his figure flashed and he flew out, instantly rushing in front of the serpent beast. The icy aura surged out like a raging tide and pounced directly on the serpent beast.

Before the scorpion beast could react, it was enveloped by the icy aura, its breath hitting its face, and it was instantly frozen into a giant icicle.

"What are you standing there for? Let's run!" Xuanming shouldered the large popsicle, grabbed Arou, and sped off towards the edge of the swamp.

"sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss~~~"

Countless snake shadows approached from all directions, completely blocking their path, and several enormous snake shadows surged forward rapidly.

Snake Granny's expression froze, and she secretly thought something was wrong. She quickly grabbed Meng Yiran, unleashed her full soul power, and rushed towards Xuanming.

Looking at the spot where she landed, which was instantly swallowed up by the swarm of wriggling snakes, Meng Yiran's face turned pale.

She was so close to being reduced to ashes!

"You said you were going to run away, and you're still spacing out." Xuanming was speechless.

As Arou said, the scorpion beast is the king of the snake pack. If you capture their leader, won't you be retaliated against by the snake pack?
The snake woman was speechless, but she couldn't say anything.

She had no idea that they were already surrounded by snakes deep in the swamp!

Great!
(End of this chapter)