Chapter 21: Slaying the Golden Spirit Cypress

Inside the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi saw Lin Gong's report and was equally bewildered.

"Gu Shu, didn't this Yang Xiong's First Soul Ring absorb the Soul Ring of the Xuanming Turtle? He wanted to follow the Defense Path, so why is he now trying to absorb the Soul Ring of the Golden Spirit Cypress?"

Gu Douluo's face darkened a bit: "I originally thought Yang Xiong was a clever person; not only was his First Soul Ring opportunity quite good, but his usual home training methods are also decent. I even thought he would pursue the Defense Path, so why did he suddenly choose this Golden Spirit Cypress? You should know this Golden Spirit Cypress has reached an age of nine hundred and eighty years; otherwise how could this kid obtain it?"

"I had thought his earnest Body Tempering showed great potential, but I didn't expect him to be such a clueless person."

Ning Fengzhi thought for a moment before speaking: "That's also not right. We High-level Soul Masters all know that absorbing a Soul Ring isn't judged solely by age; the strength of the Soul Beast itself matters even more. Take this Golden Spirit Cypress: although its age is under a thousand years, the difficulty of absorption definitely exceeds that of an ordinary thousand‑year Soul Beast."

"Yang Xiong has read so many books; could he really not understand this principle? Could Whale Glue's enhancement of the body have reached such a level?"

Yang Xiong is one of the few people under close observation, especially since he was the one who first uncovered the secret of Whale Glue and reported it to the sect, which allowed him to freely choose such a premium Soul Beast.

Gu Douluo snorted: "That kid is so cunning; since entering the Library Tower he not only studied my 'Defense Path' but also practiced Divided Mind Control. I can't fathom his intentions at all. I originally saw his Body Tempering as a good seed for the Defense Path, yet now he chooses a plant Soul Ring—I'm extremely disappointed."

Ning Fengzhi, hearing this, was also speechless; Gu Douluo's words clearly carried resentment. After all, finding a good seed who specializes in the Defense Path is rather rare, especially since walking the Defense Path is particularly arduous.

"Gu Shu, would you like to take a look? Perhaps at a crucial moment you could save his life. I actually quite like this Yang Xiong."

……

When everyone truly entered the Soul Beast Forest, Yang Xiong felt the surrounding environment change dramatically; the entire forest was lush, and apart from a narrow path, it was basically covered with Blue Silver Grass or other weeds.

Each tree rose dozens of meters, and many of the trees were Soul Beasts; the whole Soul Beast Forest was filled with Life Force.

After entering the Soul Beast Forest, Yang Xiong felt as if he had stepped into a utopia; this Life Force made him extremely delighted.

Especially as small Soul Beasts would occasionally pop out; although their ages were low, this still showed how numerous the Soul Beasts were in the forest.

One should know this is only the Soul Beast Forest cultivated by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect; its area is probably less than a tenth of the Sunset Forest, let alone the terrifying Star Dou Great Forest.

Because there were teachers and tokens, the group walked through the Soul Beast Forest under the guidance of the dedicated Soul Beast Forest management personnel and Soul Hunting Squad members.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect manages this Soul Beast Forest rather strictly; it contains not only various Soul Beasts captured from outside, but also some cultivated Soul Beasts, and even conducts Soul Beast trading.

The managers know the types, numbers, and distribution of Soul Beasts in the entire Soul Beast Forest like the back of their hand, allowing them to locate the desired Soul Beast instantly.

After walking for more than half an hour, the group finally arrived at the Core Zone of the Soul Beast Forest.

Before them stood a massive cypress, its height nearly fifty meters, its trunk a full three meters, the entire tree gleaming gold, even the leaves gold, and within a hundred‑meter radius around it there were no other plants; this was the Golden Spirit Cypress.

Lin Gong looked at the Golden Spirit Cypress and exclaimed: "The Golden Spirit Cypress is reputed to be the top‑tier plant‑type Soul Beast in the Soul Beast realm, its Life Force extremely tenacious, the whole trunk as hard as refined iron, even the leaves are extremely hard. It has absorbed all the nutrients from the soil within nearly a hundred meters, leaving no grass to grow. Moreover, when it is attacked, its branches and leaves shoot out like sharp swords, and some can entangle the enemy; its power is extremely formidable, even a thousand‑year Soul Beast would find it hard to resist."

"Especially its terrifying survivability; even if you cut it in half at the waist, it can quickly regrow. Its roots extend dozens of meters underground, making it normally very hard to kill."

Yang Xiong stared at the Golden Spirit Cypress before him, feeling unusually fervent; this was a rare Power Type plant‑type Soul Beast he had only found after searching through many books.

Plant‑type Soul Beasts are comparatively much harder to kill than animal‑type Soul Beasts, especially since the final blow must be delivered personally by Yang Xiong, making the difficulty even greater.

Whether it was the Soul Hunting Squad, his father Yang Lin, or even Lin Gong joining in, they all launched attacks on the Golden Spirit Cypress; the group's strength was formidable and they struck from many different angles.

Among them, Yang Lin brandished an iron sword, six Soul Rings appearing on his body; after taking Whale Glue and years of arduous training, Yang Lin had broken through to the Soul Emperor Realm, and his soul power was now at level sixty‑two.

Lin Gong, meanwhile, summoned countless purple Bamboo Spirits, swiftly enveloping the Golden Spirit Cypress; all its branches and trunks became immobilized.

In just a few minutes, all the branches and trunks of the Golden Spirit Cypress were cut off, and even a large section of the trunk was severed by Yang Lin, yet the Cypress's Life Force did not diminish much; the entire trunk emitted a tremendous power, the ground began to dry slightly, evidently trying to quickly absorb the energy to restore its body.

Yang Xiong could no longer manage all this, so he grabbed an iron sword and slashed with all his might, but the iron sword striking the trunk produced a metallic clang of gold and iron, and even when it pierced the trunk only a few drops of golden liquid seeped out.

Yang Xiong gritted his teeth, activated his martial soul and a yellow Soul Ring appeared, pushing his personal power to the limit.

Sure enough, under that single slash, the trunk of the Golden Spirit Cypress snapped off a large segment, yet it showed no sign of dying.

From beside him, Lin Gong shouted: "We can't kill this Golden Spirit Cypress this way; we must drive it into a desperate corner first."

Lin Gong's Soul Ring flashed, and the ground instantly sprouted countless purple Bamboo Spirits; the earth cracked open, and the massive Golden Spirit Cypress was lifted straight out of the soil by the purple Bamboo.

The Golden Spirit Cypress's golden roots, extending over ten meters, looked terrifyingly like massive tentacles, even swaying in the air.

Yang Xiong then withdrew his long sword, which turned into an enormous axe in his hand, and without hesitation he swung at those roots.

After countless successive chops, essentially all the roots were severed, even the trunk was split open, and golden liquid flooded the entire ground.

Only then did a yellow Soul Ring appear; this Soul Ring looked slightly deeper than an ordinary Hundred-year Soul Ring. Yang Xiong finally exhaled a sigh of relief, at least his Second Soul Ring wouldn't slip away.

(End of Chapter)