Chapter 137

Hearing Gu Xuan's words, Gu Rong raised his eyebrows slightly: "Xuan'er, although this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger has sixty thousand years of cultivation, its strength might be comparable to a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast; are you sure?"

Gu Xuan nodded: "Grandfather, rest assured, no problem."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rong stopped speaking further; in a flash he arrived a hundred meters directly before the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which stared at him like a formidable enemy.

Gu Xuan's fourth soul ring lit up, opening a spatial gate that brought Du Gu Yan to a large tree deep in the dense forest to observe; Gu Xuan wasn't so foolish as to personally confront the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but he could still watch its fighting style.

Gu Rong, who had just approached the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, looked at the fierce beast before him with slight surprise, for as soon as he came within thirty meters of it, he felt the surrounding light dim.

The sky was clearly cloudless and bathed in sunlight, yet within the forest, inside a hundred-meter radius around the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, it was utterly gloomy.

"Huh?" Gu Rong blinked slightly, then, sensing the gloomy world around him, suddenly understood.

The light ahead suddenly dimmed, the surrounding air grew turbid, darkness permeated—this could only mean one thing: this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger possesses a domain!

You must know that, in the world of spirit beasts, only hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts are certain to possess a domain.

That is to say, when a spirit beast cultivates to a hundred thousand years, it will automatically evolve its own domain; in this regard, top-tier spirit beasts even have an advantage over Soul Masters with Titled Douluo-level cultivation.

And this also proves that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's talent is extraordinary, no mere boast.

Nevertheless, even so, facing the now ninety-seven-level Gu Rong, this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's chance to escape is extremely slim, let alone injuring Gu Rong.

Gu Xuan looked at this sixty-thousand-year-level Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and sighed inwardly; although this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger only has sixty thousand years, it is absolutely the same one that Tang San encountered ten years later in the original story, for the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger has a special nature: devouring all things to enhance itself.

This is also an extremely overbearing nature of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger; its growth does not come from its own cultivation, which is extremely difficult for it—only by devouring other spirit beasts or the soul power of human Soul Masters can its strength rapidly increase.

Therefore, such spirit beasts, no matter where they appear, will immediately provoke other spirit beasts to swarm and attack them; they must be completely eradicated before they grow strong.

Thus, even a thousand-year-level Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is rare, let alone this one whose cultivation reaches a full sixty thousand years.

Such top-tier spirit beasts as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger possess strength sufficient to challenge opponents above their own rank, and their talent surpasses even that of the Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape by a notch.

In other words, this sixty-thousand-year-level Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could even possibly challenge a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast.

"Roar!"

Facing Gu Rong, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's blood-red eyes suddenly blazed; it did not choose to flee, but instead slowly raised its claws, advancing step by step toward Gu Rong.

In its roar, there was actually an atmosphere of excitement.

Seeing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's reaction, Gu Rong curled the corner of his mouth with a faint smile: "Ignorant."

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is indeed powerful; after all, in the original story it managed to escape from the clutches of the Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape.

But Gu Rong now is vastly different from before; if it were the earlier ninety-five-level Gu Rong, he might not even be certain of slaying the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, after all, its escape skills are also not poor.

But Gu Rong has now reached the ninety-seventh level; his mastery of spatial power can be said to be effortless, and he still has confidence in handling this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger showed no trace of fear; the huge evil god hook behind it slowly rose, swaying gently behind it.

Each sway of that evil god hook sends a string of distorted, strange halos through the air; the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's body is black, but the energy it emits is a gray hue filled with evil aura.

With each step it takes, the surrounding plants automatically part to either side; the temperature within the Star Dou Great Forest seems to plummet suddenly, an icy coldness of extreme evil.

A hint of a teasing smile appeared on his face; Gu Rong slowly lifted his foot and stepped forward.

With each step Gu Rong took forward, another soul ring appeared on his body's surface.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—nine soul rings neatly aligned, faintly pulsing, revealing Gu Rong's strength as a Titled Douluo.

Although his body surface had nine soul rings pulsing, Gu Rong did not release any strong energy; all soul power fluctuations were completely internalized.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was not facing a human Soul Master for the first time; upon seeing the nine soul rings on Gu Rong's body, its blood-red eyes grew cautious, its steps slowed further, yet the aura emanating from it became even more overbearing.

The battle was on the verge of erupting.

Gu Rong and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stood facing each other, man and beast in mutual confrontation.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger halted its steps thirty meters from Gu Rong; it no longer roared, its icy blood-red eyes looking terrifyingly calm.

For some reason, upon seeing those eyes, Gu Rong actually felt that they bore a wise gaze.

However, that was all; the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's intelligence is indeed high, even comparable to humans, but its arrogance has already caused it to lose the best chance to escape.

Noticing the blood-red pupils of the Dark Evil God Tiger that seemed to carry wisdom, Gu Rong smiled faintly: 'Are you looking for my weakness?'

Although the Dark Evil God Tiger was only sixty thousand years old, Gu Rong did not relax his vigilance; the nine Soul Rings on his body shone brightly, and the purple Soul Ring in the fourth position suddenly lit up.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Bone Prison!"

As Gu Rong's soul skill was released, one after another ferocious and domineering spine bones, exuding ultimate dragon might, shot up from the ground; compared to Gu Xuan's Bone Dragon Purgatory, this strike of Gu Rong's was at least a hundred times stronger.

Endless bone spines enveloped the Dark Evil God Tiger; at this moment it clearly recognized the strength of this human before it, and no longer held back or concealed its abilities.

In an instant, the Dark Evil God Tiger shot up from the ground without even flapping its wings, breaking free from the encirclement of most of the bone spines.

Gu Rong was slightly startled by this scene: 'Wind?'

Soon after, the Dark Evil God Tiger rose into midair, its foul-smelling maw flung open, and it actually spewed forth an endless surge of thunderstorm!

The endless thunderstorm shattered the vast expanse of bone spines that had shot up from the ground, sparing him from being surrounded and pierced by them.

"Lightning?" Gu Rong exclaimed again, then slowly said: "It seems this beast's abilities are indeed not simple; it truly deserves to be a super species comparable to a divine martial soul."

As he spoke, Gu Rong's third soul skill on his body had already lit up.

"Third Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Intimidation!"

A domineering dragon might radiated outward from Gu Rong as its center; the Dark Evil God Tiger's airborne form suddenly stalled, and its eyes widened as it dropped straight down.

Whether it was the mental blow from a Titled Douluo-level existence, or the fact that his soul power and mental strength had reached the ninety‑seventh‑rank peak of Super Douluo, even such a powerful being as the Dark Evil God Tiger had its sea of mind struck with terrifying force.

And after Gu Rong used his third soul skill, endless spine bones again shot up from the ground, seeking to pierce the Dark Evil God Tiger through and turn it into a kebab!

However, just as the Dark Evil God Tiger was about to be pierced by the endless bone spines, it suddenly flung open its blood‑red eyes, and a gray‑black mist burst from its body, rapidly condensing into a circular shield that enveloped it.

This is an absolute defense formed from the purest evil aura, and it is the Dark Evil God Tiger's strongest defensive skill, named: Evil God Guard!

Bone spines thrust up with the force of a thousand jin slammed into the shield of condensed Evil God power on the Dark Evil God Tiger's body, and a terrifying boom echoed.

But the Dark Evil God Tiger was not injured; instead, it was blasted straight into the sky. Although it was unharmed, its Evil God shield on the surface had dimmed considerably, and it could now withstand at most two more such attacks.

But this is enough to prove the terror of the Dark Evil God Tiger; Gu Rong, a ninety‑seventh‑rank Super Douluo, struck with at least the power of a full‑force blow from a ninety‑fifth‑rank Super Douluo, and yet it failed to break the Tiger's defense, showing just how formidable this Dark Evil God Tiger is.

The Dark Evil God Tiger, having risen again, let out a ferocious tiger roar; its eyes flashed red, its back wings snapped open, and with a powerful beat, countless black lights shot out, transforming into dozens of blade‑like projectiles about a chi in size that burst forth and locked onto Gu Xuan's form.

"Instant cast!" This is only possible with absolute mastery over one's own soul power and abilities, allowing the skill to be unleashed exactly as desired.

Gu Rong raised their hand again, and endless bone spikes sprang up from the ground once more.

The endless bone spikes and the black light blade collided, producing little disturbance, yet neither broke through the other's offense; instead, they mutually canceled each other out.

Gu Rong saw this attack of the Dark Evil God Tiger, and their eyes brightened a bit more.

That black light blade, which appeared unremarkable, was actually a fusion of wind and evil attribute energies; relying on the wind attribute's powerful cutting and adding the evil attribute's potent corrosion, it managed to cancel out my fourth soul skill in one fell swoop.

From this, it can be seen that the Dark Evil God Tiger's evil attribute should be an evolution of the dark attribute, possessing the characteristics of the dark attribute yet being even stronger.

Nevertheless, Gu Rong remained relaxed in expression, murmuring softly: 'Heh, you've played enough; this Dark Evil God Tiger's abilities are not bad, yet they suit Xuan'er.'

Just as the Dark Evil God Tiger was secretly gathering strength, in the next moment it became dazed, because Gu Rong's body erupted with a soul power fluctuation even more terrifying than during their recent clash; this surge of energy instantly gave the Dark Evil God Tiger the urge to flee.

How did this human, who was just exchanging blows evenly, suddenly change their aura?

This aura is far more terrifying than when it faced the Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape before, already completely exceeding its strength range.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Dark Evil God Tiger, still gathering power, fiercely flapped its wings behind it, the wind element instantly exploding to its extreme as it fled far away.

Seeing this, Gu Rong let out a light chuckle: 'Heh, you want to leave now? Too late.'

Only seen, the dark black ten-thousand-year soul ring arranged eighth on Gu Rong's body suddenly flashed bright, and a three-meter-diameter spatial gate appeared before Gu Rong out of thin air; Gu Rong lifted their foot and walked straight in.

The Dark Evil God Tiger originally had wings on its back, truly adding wings to a tiger; its speed was already not slow, and with its mastery of the wind attribute, it had fled to a distance of ten thousand meters in just a few breaths.

However, directly ahead of the Dark Evil God Tiger's extreme-speed escape, the space there suddenly rippled like water; the Dark Evil God Tiger already commanded multiple attribute powers, spatial power being one of them, so its perception of spatial fluctuations was naturally more acute.

Having just sensed the spatial disturbance ahead, the Dark Evil God Tiger had already begun to turn its body, preparing to flee in the opposite direction.

But…… it's too late……

Only seen, before the Dark Evil God Tiger, a terrifying spatial gate fifty meters in diameter suddenly appeared; the light within the gate mixed silver-white and dark black, appearing like the myriad heavenly stars, making one feel dizzy.

In the next moment, a terrifying ferocious bone dragon over thirty meters in length flew out from it, a pair of terrifying dragon claws over ten meters in diameter directly gripping the Dark Evil God Tiger in its claws.

The Dark Evil God Tiger showed fear, the gray-black airflow on its surface running to the extreme; space, lightning, wind, evil, time, darkness — six kinds of mathematics instantly erupted to the extreme, seeking to break free.

"Trivial skill dares to brandish an axe before Lu Ban's door!" The massive, ferocious, domineering bone dragon felt the sudden extreme eruption of the Dark Evil God Tiger in its claws and let out a cold snort: 'Spatial confinement!'

The terrifying soul power fluctuation flowed, the mighty spatial power erupted, and the Dark Evil God Tiger gripped by the pair of massive dragon claws had its surface isolated by a layer of silver-white light curtain, as if everything around were cut off.

Even if the Dark Evil God Tiger erupted with the extreme power of six attributes, it could not break through this light curtain that was like a thin eggshell membrane.

This is the soul skill that Gu Rong created from their comprehension of spatial power, a spatial confinement that isolates everything.

His eighth soul skill can freely open a spatial passage between two places; this spatial confinement creates an alternative isolated space, and this space is entirely under Gu Rong's control.

Although the Dark Evil God Tiger's own spatial power operated to the extreme, its spatial power differed too greatly from Gu Rong's, making it completely unable to break Gu Rong's spatial confinement.

But it did not give up resistance; the long black evil god hook at the tip of its tiger tail swayed, and the tip of the evil god hook burst forth with a gray-black halo of aura; this is his life-preserving divine technique, named — Life and Death Arena.

Life and Death Arena, this is a special skill born from the Dark Evil God Tiger's extreme comprehension of time, space, and evil god power.

If struck by this skill, both the Dark Evil God Tiger and the person hit by this soul technique will enter a special evil god space, namely the Life and Death Arena.

There, only when one side dies can this life-and-death battle end and one escape this space.

However, within that space, anyone struck by the evil god light on the Dark Evil God Tiger's evil god hook will show signs of regressing to youth; not only does their age grow younger, but their strength also weakens as their age changes.

Yet the Dark Evil God Tiger's true self will not be affected in the slightest; this is the terror of this skill, for although only one side's death allows leaving this space, the side that dies is basically impossible to be the Dark Evil God Tiger.

Imagine, when you revert to being six years old, just having awakened your martial soul; even if you become a bit stronger, you would only degenerate to the level of Soul Ancestor or Soul King, whereas the Dark Evil God Tiger's strength would not change at all.

Thus, the final outcome was already decided long ago.

And in the original story, Tang San was able to kill the Dark Evil God Tiger because, when the Dark Evil God Tiger used this technique, he employed the Purple Extreme Divine Light to shatter the Dark Evil God Tiger's evil god protection, thereby causing the evil god light of the evil god hook to affect himself, which in turn made the Dark Evil God Tiger revert to youth as well.

Finally, using so-called hidden weapons, he killed it.

But…… the Dark Evil God Tiger now, after using this technique, was stunned, because its evil god light actually still could not penetrate Gu Rong's spatial confinement, merely causing a faint ripple in Gu Rong's spatial confinement.

"Oh?" Seeing this, Gu Rong expressed some surprise: 'Heh, spatial power, I didn't expect you, this beast, to also master spatial power, and to such proficiency and strength; if I had only just broken through to Titled Douluo, perhaps you could still break my spatial confinement.'

"Now then…… even if a ninety-eighth level Super Douluo fell into my spatial confinement, it would still need some time to break through, let alone you, this beast with less than a hundred thousand years of cultivation."

The spatial confinement isolates everything, including Gu Rong's voice, so the Dark Evil God Tiger simply cannot hear Gu Rong's words; otherwise, it would give up resistance and play dead to wait for an opportunity.

ps: Correct typos first, then revise.

(End of chapter)