Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

"These people seem to really have maps or something, they found the trail so quickly. These black scorch marks, there shouldn't be any mistake." A large number of figures poured into the Jingyang Mountains, which naturally alarmed many soul beasts. For a time, the scene was quite chaotic. It was in this chaos that Yan followed behind the crowd and also discovered some clues.

"Boom boom boom..." Just as Yan was about to continue following, several balls of golden-red flames suddenly erupted in front of him. Yan quickly dodged to the side, using his soul power to enhance his eyesight and observe the scene in the distance.

"As expected, they are sun worms, and in swarms at that. These people are in trouble." After improving his eyesight, Yan easily observed the scene ahead: the royal family's team was attacked by soul beasts, and they all looked extremely disheveled.

Insect-like soul beasts, their bodies wreathed in golden flames, danced in the sky. The heat of their flames was extremely high, and wherever they passed, the air above would distort into rippling waves.

"Sun Worm!" Yan had witnessed the power of this kind of soul beast before, so he naturally wouldn't mistake it. Accompanied by ripples of firelight, rounds of light, like the sun, appeared in the sky.

These sun worms probably sensed that the large number of people gathering was not to be trifled with, so they also gathered together, or perhaps they are themselves a kind of social soul beast.

A single Sun Worm is a formidable opponent. These soul beasts typically possess a thousand years of cultivation upon reaching adulthood, and their combat power, imbued with the power of the sun, rivals that of a Soul Venerable.

With so many sun bugs gathered together, including a bug king with ten thousand years of cultivation, the scene was even more terrifying.

Buzzing... One after another, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Sun Insect Kings, along with swarms of insects, hovered above the figures below. These Sun Insects were clearly unhappy about being disturbed. The Sun and Moon Royal Family below had many powerful members, but they were no match for so many Sun Insects.

"The Soul Saint has personally taken action, but a Soul Saint alone is probably not enough." Just as Yan was observing the Sun Insect swarm and trying to find their habitat, a powerful figure leaped out from the crowd below to try to stop the swarm.

This man had fair skin, a tall and imposing figure, and an extraordinary air about him. He stood out among the dark-skinned nobles of the Sun Moon Empire. At this moment, he launched a thunderous attack, instantly unleashing astonishing fluctuations of soul power.

"Ding~~~" This Soul Saint's Martial Soul was an extremely strange golden crescent blade, resembling a crescent moon. However, in the hands of this Soul Saint, it transformed into a golden light as swift as lightning, slicing through the countless insect shadows and striking a Sun Insect King with great accuracy.

Yan, observing from the shadows, nodded slightly in approval of his performance, but still disapproved of his actions.

"To catch the thief, first catch the king; that's quite bold, but there's more than one insect king. And it seems there's also an insect emperor."

"Boom!" Suddenly, clusters of extremely dazzling light burst forth from the summit of the Jingyang Mountains, instantly dispelling the surrounding clouds and mist, and scattering dazzling light in all directions.

These dazzling orbs of light, resembling the sun itself, are the powerful divine ability of the Sun Worm: Sun Gaze. This powerful soul skill can continuously draw upon the power of the sun to enhance its strength, and at its peak, it may even unleash the true power of the sun.

The actions of this Soul Saint protecting the Sun and Moon Royal Family undoubtedly enraged the Sun Insects. Previously, they had only been driving the crowd away, but now they had used Sun Gaze, clearly preparing to kill them.

Clusters of intense golden-red light rose into the sky, and massive orbs of light, carrying extreme heat, rushed toward the Soul Saint.

The Soul Saint who covered the rear of the royal family was also a powerful figure. He quickly used multiple ten-thousand-year soul skills. The golden blade in his hand suddenly disappeared, and deadly golden clouds, like a sudden rainstorm, swirled left and right, allowing him to defend and counterattack from all directions.

"This person is not weak, and judging from his appearance, his relationship with the royal family seems to be just so-so. It would be a pity if he died here." Yan, who was hiding in the shadows, watched as the Soul Saint was forced into a desperate situation, but some other thoughts came to mind.

This Soul Saint looked extremely young, appearing to be in his early thirties. While many high-level Soul Masters possessed the skill to maintain their youthful appearance, this person in front of him should not have exceeded fifty years of age and had the potential to advance further.

More importantly, he wasn't a dark-skinned nobleman of the Sun Moon Empire, which was crucial. The nobles of the Sun Moon Empire possessed an inexplicable sense of honor, something Yan had sensed many times in Mingdu; those dark-skinned nobles looked down on people of other skin colors.

Furthermore, judging from the way those nobles treated this Soul Saint, they only regarded him as cannon fodder.

Under the cover of this Soul Saint, the nobles successfully evacuated, and should have already reorganized their forces to rescue the remaining people.

But Yan glanced at the nobles and royals a little further away, each of them strictly ordering the strong in their ranks to protect their retreat and not to go to rescue those who had not yet retreated, clearly treating those who were covering the rear as cannon fodder.

Soul Saint level experts should be high-ranking figures in any continent, but in the Sun Moon Empire, skin color seems to be the standard of respect. In fact, it seems to be even more feudal than the Douluo Continent.

Of course, the Sun Moon Empire may have changed somewhat later, otherwise it would not have been able to unify the entire continent, and even defeat the two major empires of the original Douluo Continent ten thousand years later, becoming the true overlord of the entire Douluo Star.

"Boom!" At the summit of Jingyang Mountain Range, as the sun rose again and again, even the tall Golden Blade Soul Saint was starting to feel the strain.

Even though he had already unleashed his true form as a weapon spirit, there were simply too many and too powerful solar worms around him. The solar worms attacking him were mostly insect kings with ten thousand years of cultivation, and ten great suns formed a strange magic array that surrounded him.

Ten suns appeared in the sky, and countless smaller orbs of light continuously provided more energy to this strange magic array. Around the Golden Blade Soul Saint, most of the Soul Masters who were covering the rear fell down, and even he himself was severely dehydrated. Just as he was preparing to fight to the death, a wave suddenly rose in the sky.

"Whoosh!" A strange surge of soul power suddenly struck one of the points on the solar array. As the soul power surge dissipated, it released a large amount of cold air, instantly freezing many solar insects and breaking the array.

Golden Blade Soul Saint was overjoyed, knowing that a powerful figure had made a move. He looked around but couldn't find the person. He had already guessed what was going on. After clasping his fists towards the sky, he channeled his soul power into lightning and came to the group of Soul Masters who still had breaths, pulling and throwing them around.

One by one, the Soul Masters and guards who had fainted from dehydration were thrown far away by the Golden Knife Soul Saint. After saving the last person, he turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then transformed into a golden light and disappeared from the spot.

Chapter 301 Ruins Deep in Jingyang

"Everyone, retreat." Deep within the Jingyang Mountains, after the Golden Blade Soul Saint escaped, he immediately issued the retreat order. Some unwilling nobles dared not cause trouble at this time, after all, so many Sun Worms were enraged, and if things went wrong, everyone would lose their lives.

After the numerous figures retreated, the enraged sun worms still refused to let them go, chasing them relentlessly for a long time, almost chasing them out of the Jingyang Mountains.

Few of the sunbugs noticed that a figure had quietly infiltrated their lair.

"Is this the lair of the Sunbugs? The plant-type Fire Mulberry Tree and the animal-type Sunbugs, is this a symbiotic relationship?" Deep in the Jingyang Mountains, Yan followed some injured Sunbugs to a forest of fiery red leaves. This was a Fire Mulberry Forest, where the fluttering leaves resembled flames, as if a giant fire was burning the forest.

The largest tree in the very center looks like a giant tree supporting the sky. Its diameter exceeds ten meters, and its huge canopy almost covers the entire mulberry forest. Fiery red mulberry leaves flutter in the air, like endless streams of fire.

The moment Yan stepped into the Fire Mulberry Forest, he felt a strong spiritual pull. A powerful being had discovered him and invited him to be a guest.

After hesitating for a moment, Yan chose to accept the strong spiritual invitation and followed its guidance into the Fire Mulberry Forest.

As soon as he stepped into the forest, his Flame Martial Soul began to operate unconsciously, and the intense flame fluctuations seemed to resonate with the old man in the Fire Mulberry Forest.

He could sense that the threatening aura of the soul beasts emanating from within the forest had noticeably diminished. Yan continued pacing forward, quickly advancing in the direction drawn by the spiritual pull.

Wherever he went, all the mulberry trees swayed gently in rhythm, as if welcoming his arrival.

This Fire Mulberry Forest isn't very large, and the plants growing there are mostly related to the fire attribute. They're either plant-type soul beasts or some rather rare medicinal herbs; there are no ordinary plants at all.

Yan walked step by step to the center of the forest and finally saw the full view of the largest fire mulberry tree. The branches were like old vines climbing and gathering together, and in the center of the trunk of this fire mulberry tree, there was a faint outline of a human face.

"The Fire Mulberry Tree King, which is over 50,000 years old, is calling me." When Yan saw this Fire Mulberry Tree, he understood where the calling came from—it was from the Fire Mulberry Tree King in front of him.

Plant-type soul beasts are more difficult to grow than animal-type soul beasts and have fewer ways to improve their cultivation. They can only accumulate cultivation over time. Correspondingly, plant-type soul beasts will have stronger abilities than most animal-type soul beasts when they reach a higher level.

Because plant-type spirit beasts are generally unable to run away, and the older they are, the more mellow their power becomes, making them easy targets for some spirit beasts or humans. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to see a plant-type king that is over 10,000 years old, let alone one that is 50,000 or even 100,000 years old.

However, many plant-type soul beasts, after reaching a high level of cultivation, have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, and will choose to form an alliance with animal-type soul beasts to grow together. The Fire Mulberry Forest and the swarm of solar insects in front of us are clearly in such a mutually dependent relationship.

The swarm of sun worms protects the fire mulberry forest, while the fire mulberry trees provide the sun worms with food and a suitable place to reproduce; the two depend on each other for growth.

Plant-type soul beasts that are over 50,000 years old are no less intelligent than humans, and possess strong spiritual power, enabling them to communicate with intelligent beings and thus have a certain degree of self-protection ability. The Fire Mulberry Tree King in front of us is such a creature.

Its entire body is translucent crimson, and it exudes a crystal-clear luster, like the most perfect red jade. Around it, the sun insects and fire mulberry trees are growing exceptionally well.

At this moment, as Yan spoke loudly, an extremely powerful aura was released without reservation from the center of the Fire Mulberry Tree King's massive trunk, where the outline resembled a human face. Strong spiritual fluctuations burst forth from that central human face.

The King of Fire Mulberry Trees hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time, for it took a long time before it finally made a sound.

"Indeed, it is I who am looking for you, Emperor of Flames."

"You call me the Emperor of Flames, why do you say that?" A hint of doubt flashed in Yan's eyes. Although he had undergone another transformation of his martial soul after absorbing the ultimate Yin Fire, his martial soul could be said to be below the god level.

The Fire Mulberry Tree King seemed to both fear and crave the power within Yan's body; its aged voice carried a hint of respect.

“I can feel the power within you, a primordial fire that is almost comparable to the God of Fire.”

"You want me to help you transform?" After thinking for a moment, Yan guessed what the Fire Mulberry Tree King was thinking. There aren't many ways for plant-type soul beasts like this to transform quickly. One of them is to use a higher level of primordial power for baptism.

And coincidentally, Yan possesses the ultimate fire, and more than one of them. This is the power that all fire-attribute soul beasts crave most. If he were willing to use his various flames to help the Fire Mulberry Tree King undergo a baptism and transformation, the latter might have a slight chance of breaking through to the level of Fire Mulberry Tree Emperor.

Although theoretically all soul beasts have the potential to break through 100,000 years and become a soul beast emperor, the actual situation is not entirely like that.

When ordinary soul beasts become 100,000-year soul beasts, they face several problems, such as insufficient combat power and insufficient foundation. Insufficient combat power will make them like "peaches of immortality" that are both valuable and dangerous, while in the eyes of other soul beasts they are like "great medicines" rich in energy.

To take a recent example, the Dream Ice Silkworm, with nearly a million years of cultivation, was captured by a group of soul beasts over 100,000 years old in the Star Dou Great Forest because of insufficient combat power. They fought endlessly, and everyone coveted its body, wanting to devour and refine its energy.

In addition, ordinary soul beasts need to undergo multiple bloodline transformations to become 100,000-year-old soul beast emperors. It is best to transform into an emperor bloodline before becoming a 100,000-year-old soul beast, as this will make the breakthrough much easier.

Most animal-type soul beasts can accumulate energy and transform by devouring some rare medicinal herbs, but plant-type soul beasts really can't, unless they are plants that are inherently devourers, such as the ferocious demonic tree in the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Fire Mulberry Tree King is clearly not like that. Normally, all it can do is constantly transform, or use high-level energy from the outside world, such as lightning and fire, to temper and transform. However, this method is also risky. Heavenly lightning is hard to control, and if it is not handled properly, it can easily be reduced to ashes and die.

Therefore, when Yan appeared, the Fire Mulberry Tree King was extremely excited because Yan's flames were of high quality, but his cultivation level had not exceeded his capacity limit. If he were to take action, he could help the Fire Mulberry Tree King transform.

"Emperor of Fire, what do you desire? If you are human, you should need spirit rings, but I'm sorry, I cannot allow these little ones to become your spirit rings." The Fire Mulberry Tree King spoke slowly after a moment of silence, and after hesitating for a while, a strange golden skeleton appeared in front of Yan.

"Torso soul bone, this shouldn't be from these soul beasts in the Fire Mulberry Forest, right?" Yan looked at the torso bone that was nearly half intact, and his breathing became a little rapid. Torso soul bone is the most precious of the six main soul bones, and this torso bone has a cultivation of at least 30,000 years, which is no worse than the limb soul bones that are more than 50,000 years old.

The Fire Mulberry Tree King's voice rang out again.

"This soul bone comes from a Golden Tiger King that invaded the Fire Mulberry Forest. After it died, all its other parts were digested, but this one remained. I think it should be of some help to you."

"This soul bone is indeed precious, but it's not very useful to me personally. If you want my help, it's not enough." Yan shook his head after glancing at the soul bone. Seeing the Fire Mulberry Tree King hesitate, he continued, "If you're willing to agree to three more conditions, I can help you transform." As he spoke, he released his martial soul, and the crimson flame domain quickly spread throughout the Fire Mulberry Forest. The Fire Mulberry Tree King immediately felt the power of that force and instinctively longed to transform.

Ultimately, instinctive desire prevailed, and the Fire Mulberry Tree King's voice rang out once more.

"Alright, Emperor of Flames, as long as you don't harm these children, I'm willing to agree to your conditions." Yan smiled upon hearing this, nodded, and raised his palm. Countless flames instantly danced and coiled around the Fire Mulberry Tree King, who at this moment also released his body's defenses, allowing the powerful primordial fire to burn him and help him transform himself.

……

"Great Flame Emperor, what kind of help do you need?" Still in the Fire Mulberry Forest, the Fire Mulberry Tree King, now smaller and more translucent, spoke again. Its voice was light and clear; having undergone a baptism of fire, it had indeed gained immense benefits.

"I need your help to establish a base in the Jingyang Mountains. Don't worry, I will keep my men in check and prevent them from harming the soul beasts of the Fire Mulberry Forest lineage." Yan made his demands to the Fire Mulberry Tree King, and after thinking for a moment, he added, "There's one more thing. I once discovered a thousand-year-old sun worm outside the Jingyang Mountains. It seemed to have obtained some fragments of soul tools. I think there should be an ancient ruin in the vicinity of the Fire Mulberry Forest. Do you have any information about this?"

“Ancient ruins, perhaps that area. I can have the children lead you there.” After thinking for a moment, the Fire Mulberry Tree King nodded. As he spoke, the Three-Headed Ten-Thousand-Year Sun Insect King came to Yan’s side, flapping its wings and leading him away. Yan did not hesitate and followed directly. Soon they arrived at a cliff.

Chapter 302 The Dragon-Eating Beast

“This is…” Deep in the Jingyang Mountains, after leaving the Fire Mulberry Forest, Yan arrived at a cliff and witnessed a rather shocking scene.

Although there are high-purity open-pit mines in various parts of the Jingyang Mountains, they are mostly common metals such as gold, silver, copper and iron. Rare metals, on the other hand, basically need to be refined or buried deep in the mountains and need to be mined.

However, in the area in front of Yan, clusters of refined gold were intertwined and condensed together, forming long, thin spikes like swords. Under the sunlight, they reflected countless extremely sharp and dazzling golden rays.

As the mountain wind blows, the metallic tremors rise and fall, and the clanging of metal blades suddenly echoes and lingers for a long time.

"That golden tiger that charged into the Fire Mulberry Forest back then must have been after this place." Yan circled the Refined Gold Earth Spikes, observing them and exchanging some information with the Sun Insect Kings through his mental power.

This area was created due to a landslide, which attracted many metal-attribute soul beasts.

Because the Fire Mulberry Forest blocked the way in front of this area, the soul beasts within the Fire Mulberry Forest had no choice but to fight back and resist. After a great battle, even the strongest of the Sun Worm Swarm, the 50,000-year-old Sun Worm King, was killed in the battle before the soul beasts were finally driven back.

After this battle, this area became a forbidden zone, usually sealed off by the Sun Worm race. According to them, during the great battle, some Sun Worms and Soul Beasts did indeed disappear after rushing into the cave. Afterwards, out of fear of the aura inside, they never went in to search for them.

"The Sun Worm is already considered an extremely rare soul beast. Is it a top-tier soul beast race that can make even them feel fear?" After hesitating for a moment, Yan bypassed the clusters of intertwined refined gold earth spikes and arrived at the cave entrance. The cave entrance was over five meters in diameter, and the space inside appeared even larger. It was pitch black and not a single ray of light could be seen, so it was unknown how deep it was.

"This is... the Dark Gold Terrorclaw is restless. Is the entity inside related to the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?" Yan suddenly felt his right palm getting hot. The moment he raised his right hand, he unconsciously released the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right palm bone. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw, which was flashing with a cold golden light, was now constantly emitting golden light. A force was pulling Yan forward.

"This should be an underground ruin originating from the ancient Soul Guidance era, but unfortunately, many things here have been destroyed." A ball of true solar fire danced in Yan's palm. Under the light, the dark passage revealed some of its original appearance. This cave was surprisingly well-organized, and some fine patterns could be seen. It was not a natural cave.

Yan continued down the passage for over a hundred meters, until he reached the deepest part of the underground. There, he discovered a very spacious area, which appeared to be a large hall.

"Fragments of the Gate of Time and Space. Sure enough, this is where this soul tool was originally stored. It's a pity though. The ruins were destroyed, and this place has been through a great war. After so many years, most of the soul tools are no longer usable." Yan found some broken artifacts and destroyed buildings in various parts of the passage and around the main hall. Among them were some soul tools, but most of them had lost their effectiveness, and very few were intact.

Yan also discovered several fragments that glowed with blue light, which were remnants of the Time Gate.

“Although most of the facilities are destroyed, some parts seem to be intact, and the buildings are relatively well-preserved, so they can be used as a base.” Yan nodded after groping around in the dark for a while, then raised his right hand and shot out several balls of true solar fire. These balls of true solar fire landed on several pillars inside the hall, and instantly, as if triggering some device, the flames suddenly became much brighter, accompanied by a wisp of light.

Light returned to the hall, dispelling the darkness and finally revealing its true form to Yan. As the light descended, Yan's gaze immediately locked onto a corner at the back of the hall, and his right palm was burning hot.

"This is... a Behemoth." Behind the main hall, what appeared in Yan's sight was a humanoid soul beast that resembled a giant ape. Its pair of claws appeared exceptionally long and exaggerated, and the pair of upturned fangs protruding from its mouth were something that no ape-like soul beast could possess.

This enormous soul beast had a body covered in brilliant silver fur, interspersed with a few golden hairs. Its ferocious claws and fangs were also a mix of gold and silver, making it resemble an ancient golem forged from refined gold and mithril.