Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 106 Fourth Soul Skill: Dark Night Sky
The group took turns meditating and cultivating, not hoping to achieve a breakthrough in their soul power in such a short time, but more to relieve mental fatigue.

After all, even an eight-ring Soul Douluo-level powerhouse like Zhang Lexuan needs to be constantly on edge in the perilous Star Dou Great Forest.

The Star Dou Great Forest mixed zone is only relatively less dangerous than the core zone, but no one can guarantee that they won't encounter particularly powerful soul beasts and thus fall into danger.

Because of her own painful experience back then, Zhang Lexuan, who had the highest cultivation level, was more vigilant than anyone else.

After her conversation with Vina, Ma Xiaotao fell into complete silence, slowly processing the shock and impact of Vina's blunt words.

It can only be said that Ma Xiaotao was protected too well by Shrek Academy. She had exceptional talent in cultivation since childhood and was taken in as a personal disciple by Yan Shaozhe. Apart from the constant trouble caused by the evil fire, she had almost no other worries.

Although she has a fiery temper, the teachers in the inner academy and the elders of the Sea God Pavilion usually indulge her and regard her and Zhang Lexuan as the future of the academy.

The only thing Ma Xiaotao needs to consider is to improve her strength as soon as possible and become a pillar protecting Shrek Academy.

In her mind, she could not imagine what kind of heavy responsibility Vina, as the princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the only daughter of the current Heavenly Soul Empire Emperor, bore.

While Ma Xiaotao was still throwing tantrums in the inner courtyard, nine-year-old Vina left the capital alone for the Body Sect in the far north, serving as a link between the two sides, and cultivated alone in the Body Sect for five years.

Royal princesses cannot be treated like ordinary people; their upbringing and way of thinking are completely different from other girls.

So, after Vina learned that she would be forever bound to Ye Xixuan, and after completely accepting this outcome in her heart, she took the initiative more than anyone else. Absolute rationality even overshadowed her own gentle nature and inner shyness, and she confessed to Ma Xiaotao without any concealment.

Vina's calmness and composure threw Ma Xiaotao off balance, making it even harder for her to look Ye Xixuan in the eye.

The innocent little guy she once knew is long gone, and she has to take some time to adjust, or rather, force herself to accept this fact.

"Men are all the same, as expected." Ma Xiaotao leaned against a thick tree trunk with her arms crossed, her cheeks slightly flushed, and spat out a remark. However, in her opinion, Ye Xixuan was probably more tempted by Princess Vina.

A naive young man encounters a princess of such noble birth and understanding on his first meeting; anyone would probably fall for her instantly.

Ma Xiaotao thought about it again and realized that things had turned out this way, and she couldn't entirely blame Ye Xixuan. After all, her wonderful grandmaster had insisted on betrothing Ye Xixuan to Princess Vina so early on. Did they think the other female students in their inner courtyard were any less capable than Vina?

Ma Xiaotao wasn't the only one with mixed thoughts; Vina, on the other side, lowered her eyes, her beautiful face flushed with shyness.

Unbeknownst to Ma Xiaotao, she had just done the most outrageous thing she had done in the past fifteen years. It wasn't just because of the entanglement of their interests; everything Ye Xixuan displayed perfectly matched her childhood ideal of a partner, and her initiative stemmed from her own heart.

She was willing to do this for Ye Xixuan.

Each lost in their own thoughts, an hour passed quietly.

Zhang Lexuan finished her meditation on time and prepared to hand over the duties to Ma Xiaotao and Vina.

As she got up, she noticed something unusual between the two of them, which deepened her doubts, but she managed to remain calm.

"Xiao Tao, Vina, you two go and cultivate. Now it's my turn."

Ma Xiaotao and Vina nodded and silently sat down not far from where Ye Xixuan absorbed the soul ring, and entered a meditative state one after another.

In the end, only Zhang Lexuan remained, keeping watch over her surroundings, her eyes gleaming with an unusual light in the darkness.

Winter nights are exceptionally long, and there are still at least three hours until dawn, meaning that everyone will have to take turns on duty three times.

As the long night deepened, the stench of blood from the three-headed wolf-apex carcass permeated the forest. Drawn by this scent, they inevitably encountered an attack from several more spirit beasts.

Although there were many beings among them with cultivation levels of over ten thousand years, the soul beasts were successfully repelled under the strong suppression of Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao.

Once a soul beast's cultivation reaches ten thousand years or more, it already possesses a certain level of intelligence. When encountering a powerful human soul master, it rarely chooses to fight to the death. This is unless it's a three-in-one martial soul fusion skill like the three-headed wolf ape from before, possessing considerable confidence in its own strength. Otherwise, it's either a soul beast with low intelligence or one that only knows how to kill.

At dawn, a light mist rose in the forest, and glistening dewdrops clung to the flowers, grasses, and shrubs on the ground. The moist, fresh air was filled with the breath of life.

Because of the dense canopy of trees overhead, the light in the forest was still dim, but Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, and Vina all ended their meditation and quietly stayed by Ye Xixuan's side.

The surrounding area was filled with traces of Zhang Lexuan and her companions' battle with the soul beasts the previous night, but the most tragic sight was undoubtedly the corpse of the three-headed wolf ape. Its heart in its left chest had been shattered by Ye Xixuan's hard and sharp shadow spikes, and blood had flowed all over the ground. After a night, some of the bloodstains had even begun to congeal.

The soul beasts that launched the attack last night were mainly after the corpse of the three-headed wolf ape. Even though it was just the corpse of a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, consuming it would have an excellent effect on nourishing the cultivation of most soul beasts.

Just then, the black soul power emanating from Ye Xixuan's body gradually subsided, and the eerie demonic markings on his skin also faded away. One soul ring after another rose from his body.

Purple! Purple! Black! Black!
This was a spirit ring configuration that completely defied conventional understanding. Two purple and two black spirit rings—the moment these four spirit rings finally settled around his body, all the spirit power radiating from his body merged into his being.

Ye Xixuan suddenly opened his eyes, and a faint blackish-purple light flashed in his dark and deep pupils.

finished!
After three full hours, Ye Xixuan finally succeeded in fusing the three-in-one soul ring of the three-headed wolf ape. As he stood up, the four soul rings around him simultaneously dissipated.

After briefly assessing his own condition, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

Not counting the powerful soul skill granted to him by his fourth soul ring, his soul power cultivation had already reached level 43, and he wasn't far from level 44.

This is what Elder Mu once said: Ye Xixuan's greatest advantage compared to other Soul Masters of the same level.

Each time he absorbs a spirit ring of a higher level, his spirit power cultivation will be further enhanced. What's more, this time he also absorbed a 50,000-year-old left leg spirit bone.

The amplification effect is best when a spirit ring and spirit bone from the same spirit beast are absorbed by the same spirit master. It's not just a simple superposition, but rather a synergy, akin to a fundamental sublimation.

As a spirit-attribute soul master, Vina's senses are always very sensitive. She immediately noticed Ye Xixuan's state and asked in a gentle tone.

"Xi Xuan, your absorption of the soul ring this time must be more than just breaking through the level 40 bottleneck. I feel that your soul power level is more than level 41."

“Your feeling is right, I’m already level 43.” Ye Xixuan smiled sincerely and gently, then turned to look at Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao.

“Not bad.” Zhang Lexuan simply gave a gentle and calm smile and nodded.

Ma Xiaotao, however, seemed to react suddenly, her expression unnatural as she avoided Ye Xixuan's gaze, her eyes showing a hint of disdain, but mostly a shy and bashful look.

Where was her former wild and fierce demeanor?

Ye Xixuan was taken aback at first, then seemed to realize something immediately, and met Vina's eyes with her.

He vaguely guessed that Vina might have said something to Ma Xiaotao, but he could never have imagined that the content would be so explosive.

Vina and Ye Xixuan looked at each other and smiled gently as always.

Zhang Lexuan then slightly suppressed her smile and addressed the group in a deep voice, "Everyone, take a short rest now, and then continue searching for suitable targets. Today, we'll search deeper into the mixed zone. If things don't go smoothly, we'll proceed directly to the core zone." "Yes!" everyone responded.

Lighting a fire deep in the Starry Sky Forest was too conspicuous, so everyone simply ate some dry rations and pastries with water before preparing to continue their journey.

After breakfast, Ma Xiaotao seemed to have adjusted a little more psychologically, and she stood at the front of the group in the same formation as before.

In terms of martial spirit and abilities alone, although Ma Xiaotao is a power-attack type battle spirit master, she is not the type who is particularly good at close combat. The most typical power-attack type battle spirit master is like Dai Yueheng, whose attached spirit skills are basically inclined to maximize close-range melee combat ability.

However, considering the phoenix flames attached to her Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, it's by no means a disadvantage for her in close combat.

Zhang Lexuan, a powerful offensive Soul Master, is the type that focuses purely on mid-to-long-range attacks.

In comparison, if we disregard the difference in cultivation level, Ma Xiaotao is indeed more suitable to stand in the front.

However, the group had not gone far when Zhang Lexuan waved for them to stop.

"and many more."

"What's wrong, Senior Sister?" Ma Xiaotao, who was walking in front, turned her head with a slightly puzzled look.

"Weren't we planning to head towards the core area?"

"Vina, use your mental detection soul skill in the direction we left," Zhang Lexuan said to Vina instead of answering Ma Xiaotao's question right away.

Vina nodded, knowing that Zhang Lexuan wouldn't speak without reason. Her eyes instantly turned a strange bright silver, and her mental detection extended in a straight line behind her.

With Vina's current cultivation level and mental strength, her mental detection soul skill, if used in only one direction, could reach a maximum range of at least 500 meters. Soon, the range of her mental detection covered their previous campsite.

The corpse of the three-headed wolf ape was clearly presented in everyone's minds through Vina's spirit-sharing soul skill.

Not only that, but also several silver-gray figures were approaching from not far away. To be more precise, their target was the corpse of the three wolf-apes.

Those were giant wolves. Although they were not as large as the three mutated wolf-axes, they were still quite robust compared to other wolf-type soul beasts.

Their legs are exceptionally thick, their fangs and claws are exposed, and their bright eyes are a dark, luminous purple, as if a dense flame is overflowing from their eye sockets.

Ye Xixuan recognized the origins of these soul beasts at a glance.

"Soul Wolf?"

The Soul Wolf itself is not a particularly powerful Soul Beast, but it excels in its balanced abilities. Unlike other wolf-type Soul Beasts, which are mostly skilled in speed, its strength and defense are its weaknesses.

Furthermore, Soul Wolves possess certain spiritual attributes, and the bright purple flames in their eye sockets are their typical characteristic.

Zhang Lexuan was clearly not after these soul wolves whose cultivation level was only a thousand years, since their attributes and age did not quite meet the needs of Ma Xiaotao and Vina.

As the Soul Wolf pack approached, another exceptionally robust, silver-gray giant wolf appeared within Vina's mental detection range. This was at least a Soul Wolf King with over ten thousand years of cultivation.

An even stranger scene unfolded: on the back of this ten-thousand-year-old soul wolf, there was another dark purple soul beast.

It was even smaller than a typical soul wolf, its entire body covered in glossy dark purple fur. Its nose was sunken, and its narrow eyes looked rather lewd. Especially its short forelimbs, which offered almost no support for its body.

Vina's heart stirred slightly, and she opened her red lips in surprise.

"A ten-thousand-year-old purple spirit wolf?!"

Although the Purple Spirit Wolf isn't considered a top-tier spirit-attribute soul beast, it's still quite advanced among them. They are physically limited, but possess incredibly powerful spirit-attribute abilities, often relying on wolf packs for symbiotic relationships.

The so-called collusion between wolves and wolves is also derived from this.

Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, "My senses were right. This Soul Wolf pack is indeed led by this Purple Spirit Wolf. I vaguely sensed its presence last night, but it was cunning and didn't dare to command the pack to get too close. This Purple Spirit Wolf's cultivation is about 15,000 years, which is just right. What do you think, Vina?"

"Sister Lexuan, let's choose this as my fourth spirit ring." Vina nodded slightly without much hesitation.

Spirit-attribute soul beasts are still extremely rare, and finding one with the right age is even more difficult. While the Purple Spirit Wolf's quality is indeed somewhat inferior to top-tier spirit-attribute soul beasts like the Evil Eye Tyrant, it's impossible for every soul ring she has to be at the Evil Eye Tyrant's level.

Back then, the Body Sect had expended a great deal of effort just to find her a pure spiritual attribute evil eye with over five thousand years of cultivation as her third soul ring.

This ten-thousand-year-old purple spirit wolf seemed to have extremely keen senses. Sensing something, it raised its head, its small eyes looking directly in the direction where Ye Xixuan and the others were. And in the next instant, it let out a hoarse, urgent roar.

"Roar--"

"Awooo—" All the Soul Wolves raised their heads, the bright purple light in their eye sockets seemed to grow even brighter, as they looked around warily.

Ma Xiaotao stepped over the crowd, eagerly rubbing her hands together and saying, "Senior Sister, leave it to me."

Before Zhang Lexuan could respond, Ye Xixuan had already stepped in to shield Ma Xiaotao behind him.

"Sister Xiaotao, let me do it."

"You brat, you really want to show off in front of your fiancée, don't you?" Ma Xiaotao pouted in annoyance, but she suppressed her restless heart.

Under Ma Xiaotao's watchful gaze, Ye Xixuan calmly stepped forward, her domineering and indifferent demeanor reappearing on her.

Purple! Purple! Black! Black!
As the four spirit rings rose, they shone brightly one after another.

The Wings of Fallen Souls and the Dark Demon Sword appeared simultaneously behind Ye Xixuan and in his right hand, and a dark and chilling shadow domain instantly spread and writhed from the ground. Immediately afterward, the sky also darkened in an instant, as if a long night was about to begin, and the space with a diameter of nearly a thousand meters was shrouded in boundless darkness.

If viewed from the sky, one would see a deep black sphere that has appeared out of nowhere within the Starry Sky Forest, like a black star fallen to earth.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Dark Night Sky." Ye Xixuan uttered a soft chant, and the dim sky and the shadow domain on the ground completely merged together. The black and purple lightning flashing on the dark demon sword in his hand seemed to materialize.

The Fallen Wings continuously draws pure, dark elemental energy from this realm and then feeds it back to Ye Xixuan himself.

In the next instant, his figure merged into the darkness, traversing a distance of over five hundred meters to arrive before the Purple Spirit Wolf and the ten-thousand-year-old Soul Wolf. He raised the Dark Demon Sword high above his head and slashed downwards, unleashing a massive black-purple sword beam that pierced the heavens.

The terrifying, earth-shattering sword light engulfed the entire pack of soul wolves, and a violent energy fluctuation, accompanied by a deafening roar, erupted at that moment.

(End of this chapter)