Returning to the Eye of Ice and Fire
Boom!
Following a deafening roar, countless clouds of dust and shattered earth exploded outward, instantly obscuring the vision of Shen Ce and the others.
When the dust and smoke gradually dissipated, a tall figure stood quietly before them.
It was the back of a blond youth. His figure was straight and upright, like a divine spear planted firmly in the earth. Even without seeing his face, an indescribable sense of nobility and domination radiated from his body, making one instinctively hold their breath.
As for the Cloud Demon Tiger, it had already collapsed to the ground, its massive body twitching weakly.
Its head was completely gone.
The corpse of the once-ferocious tiger lay there, headless, blood and broken bone scattered across the forest floor.
This Cloud Demon Tiger was no ordinary soul beast. Its aura clearly indicated that it had lived for more than six to seven thousand years.
And yet, it had been killed by a single punch.
It was almost impossible to imagine.
The person who appeared was none other than Yuhao, who had also entered the Sunset Forest.
The punch just now was not merely the power of Golden Dragon Lightning Strike.
At the same time, Yuhao had activated the Golden Dragon King's first qi-blood soul ring soul skill—
Golden Dragon Body.
Within a short period of time, his qi and blood surged explosively. His strength, speed, attack power, and defensive ability were all enhanced in every aspect.
On top of that, he simultaneously activated the attached soul bone Golden Dragon Wings, along with its accompanying soul skill Golden Dragon Flash.
Three extremely powerful abilities were fused together in an instant.
The terrifying explosive force created by this perfect overlap directly shattered Yun Mohu's head with one punch.
Even Yuhao himself was slightly stunned.
After all, this was the first time he had used three major soul skills at the same time.
"So that's how it feels…"
"Sure enough, having more soul skills really is beneficial."
Yuhao felt a surge of excitement deep inside.
"Senior, thank you for your help. We are from Qianling Academy. My name is Shen Ce—"
Before Shen Ce could finish his words, he suddenly saw the blond youth turn around.
The moment Yuhao faced them, Shen Ce froze.
There was still a trace of childishness on that handsome face. No matter how one looked at him, he could not be considered a senior expert.
At most, he looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old.
Yet the headless Cloud Demon Tiger corpse lying behind him was undeniably real.
Yuhao's sudden appearance here had actually been for Yun Mohu from the beginning. Saving Shen Ce and the others had merely been incidental.
Originally, Yuhao had no intention of interacting with them.
However, when he heard Shen Ce introduce himself, he paused slightly and glanced back.
"Shen Ce… from Qianling Academy."
Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If I remember correctly, he should be one of the participants in this Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition."
His gaze then swept calmly over An Lengye and Fei Yuyan beside Shen Ce.
When An Lengye and Fei Yuyan met Yuhao's golden vertical pupils—which had not yet completely faded back to normal—their hearts trembled violently.
At that moment, Yuhao gave them the feeling of facing an ancient, ferocious beast that had awakened from the primeval era.
It was a pressure that made them unable to even think of resisting.
"We'll meet again."
After saying those words, Yuhao turned around without hesitation and continued walking toward the depths of the Sunset Forest.
Only an unforgettable back view was left behind for Shen Ce and the others.
...
"Yuhao, the punch you just threw was absolutely not something a soul master without soul rings should be able to unleash."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice suddenly sounded in Yuhao's spiritual sea, filled with astonishment.
Even though Tianmeng had been residing within Yuhao's spiritual sea this entire time, he was becoming increasingly unable to accurately judge Yuhao's true strength.
"Nonsense."
The Ice Emperor snorted coldly and mocked Tianmeng.
"That Cloud Demon Tiger was over six to seven thousand years old. What kind of normal soul master could blow off its head with a single punch?"
Then the Ice Emperor continued seriously:
"Yuhao, the power of your punch just now was already close to the level of a Soul Emperor. And that's assuming you weren't going all out."
Yuhao did not hide anything from the Ice Emperor.
He nodded slightly and replied,
"Yes. If I had also released the Ice Emperor Dragon Emperor Scorpion martial soul on top of that, stacking the dual Ultimate attributes, the power could be pushed to an even higher level."
Yuhao's Golden Dragon King martial soul was an extremely special bloodline-type martial soul.
It allowed him to release and overlap multiple martial souls simultaneously.
"But the burden on my body would be too great."
"Even if I could unleash a stronger punch, my arm would probably be shattered afterward."
The possession of a martial soul itself already placed strain on a soul master's body.
The stronger the martial soul, the heavier the burden.
Not to mention Yuhao's Golden Dragon King bloodline martial soul combined with the Ice Emperor Dragon Emperor Scorpion—both of which were top-tier existences.
In that state, using multiple soul skills at once would be excessively taxing.
Even though Yuhao's physical body was already several levels stronger than soul masters of the same cultivation, it still had its limits.
In theory, Yuhao could even stack the Unity of Heaven and Man combat state on top of everything else.
However, that would mean bearing the load of two Ultimate martial souls, multiple soul skills, and the Heaven–Man Unity simultaneously.
Even for a genius like Yuhao, that was simply impossible at his current stage.
"If you obtain the third qi-blood soul ring, you should be able to do it."
Tianmeng spoke at this moment.
By unlocking the third seal, Yuhao would gain more power from the Golden Dragon King, and his physical strength would undergo another explosive leap.
"But that's not guaranteed," the Ice Emperor added calmly.
"Unless you successfully cultivate a flawless Golden Body. Only then would your body truly be able to withstand it."
While chatting with Tianmeng and the Ice Emperor, Yuhao continued moving steadily toward the valley of the Eye of Ice and Fire.
Yuhao deliberately chose this route.
He wanted to encounter a few stronger thousand-year soul beasts along the way.
Unfortunately, his luck was rather poor.
Ever since entering the Sunset Forest, aside from the Cloud Demon Tiger, he had only encountered ordinary thousand-year-level soul beasts.
Those creatures could not arouse Yuhao's interest at all.
So he merely released a faint trace of aura comparable to that of a ten-thousand-year soul beast, scaring them into fleeing.
About half a day later, Yuhao finally arrived outside the valley surrounded by the Seven Absolute Blue Scale Flowers.
Thick, terrifying poison filled the air, forming a natural barrier that drove away all soul beasts and soul masters alike.
The last time he came here, the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb had given Yuhao its treasure.
As long as it was held, all poisons could be avoided.
This time, however, Yuhao did not take it out.
He simply walked straight in.
Yuhao possessed the Ultimate Ice martial soul—the Ice Emperor Dragon Emperor Scorpion—which could naturally suppress nearly all poisons in the world.
...
Passing through layer after layer of poisonous fog, Yuhao once again beheld the dreamlike scenery of the Eye of Ice and Fire.
"You again!"
"It's that human from last time!"
...
After sensing Yuhao's aura, the Immortal Grass soul beasts stirred and began making noise.
Yuhao ignored them entirely and walked directly toward Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb.
As the recognized representative of the entire valley, and because of its previous choice, it had already gained Yuhao's approval.
Sensing Yuhao's arrival, Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb spoke proactively:
"You've come back. Have you already mastered the method of transforming a soul beast into a soul ring while maintaining self-awareness?"
Its tone was filled with both anticipation and unease.
The other Immortal Grass soul beasts also fell silent, waiting for Yuhao's response.
Yuhao did not deceive it.
He answered honestly,
"Not yet."
The moment those words fell, laughter erupted.
"I knew it! Absolutely impossible!"
Yuhao did not need to turn around to know who spoke.
It was Liehuo Xingjiao Shu.
Although her voice was sharp and arrogant as ever, it also carried a faint trace of unwillingness and disappointment.
Yuhao remained completely unaffected and said calmly:
"I came this time to collect some Immortal Grass medicinal herbs. I'll need your assistance."
As he spoke, Yuhao took out a piece of parchment.
Written on it were the medicinal ingredients required for the cultivation of the Immaculate Golden Body.