One spirit ring after another emerged, and soon, nine spirit rings pulsed around Di Tian's waist, radiating immense pressure.
Six red, three orange—his last three spirit rings all exceeded 200,000 years in age.
"Di Tian, control your energy fluctuations," Gu Yuena sternly warned.
Hearing this, Di Tian quickly retracted his soul power. Though his martial soul and spirit rings remained visible, his body no longer emitted any energy fluctuations.
The darkness dissipated, and the sky returned to its usual brightness. Di Tian looked at the nine red spirit rings around his body, momentarily stunned.
In the past, he had been able to take human form, but he lacked a martial soul, let alone spirit rings. Now, however…
"This pill is simply too miraculous," Gu Yuena couldn't help but exclaim, looking at Yun Ze with admiration in her eyes.
Di Tian, Bi Ji, and Xiong Jun also turned their eyes toward Yun Ze, their expressions filled with shock and respect.
"This Transformation Pill was formulated based on the world's laws and the actual conditions of your soul beast bodies," Yun Ze explained.
"After consuming it, your true form becomes your martial soul, and your soul power is determined by the strength of your original body.
"For instance, Di Tian, whose strength is equivalent to that of a quasi-god among soul masters, now possesses a soul power level of 99—just at the quasi-god level.
"Bi Ji and Xiong Jun should also be at Rank 99 after taking it, though slightly weaker than Di Tian.
"As for the appearance of your spirit rings, it is linked to the strength of your vitality. The stronger your lifeblood, the higher the age of the spirit rings you manifest."
"Then… am I still considered a soul beast?" Di Tian asked the most crucial question.
"Of course. The only difference is that when you transform into a human, you now have a martial soul and spirit rings, and your soul beast aura is completely concealed.
"But your species remains unchanged—you are still a soul beast," Yun Ze affirmed.
Hearing this, not only Di Tian but also Gu Yuena and the others sighed in relief. As long as their species remained unchanged, that was all that mattered.
"Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, you should take the pill as well," Gu Yuena instructed.
"Yes," they responded.
After consuming the pill, they underwent transformations similar to Di Tian, eventually manifesting martial souls and spirit rings.
With nearly 500,000 years of cultivation, Xiong Jun and Bi Ji both became Rank 99 Limit Douluos.
However, they were at the intermediate stage of Limit Douluo, just short of the quasi-god level.
Xiong Jun's nine spirit rings were also all red, with his ninth ring reaching 200,000 years.
Bi Ji, being a healing-type soul beast, had a weaker lifeblood than Di Tian and Xiong Jun. As a result, she manifested two black spirit rings and seven red ones.
Di Tian then tore open a spatial rift, and the group returned to their residence in Star Moon City.
Back in his room, Yun Ze handed one of the jade bottles to Di Tian, instructing him to distribute the pills to the necessary soul beasts.
The other bottle was of no use to him personally, so he handed it to Gu Yuena for her to use as she saw fit.
Outside Star Moon City, the Wan Yao King, Yao Ling, Zi Ji, and another powerful soul beast were brought over to consume the pills.
Afterward, Di Tian used his mastery of space laws to transport Xiong Jun, Wan Yao King, and Yao Ling back to the Great Star Dou Forest.
The Spirit Pagoda had built metallic fortifications and an energy barrier around the outskirts of the forest. While these could deter ordinary soul beasts, they were no match for Di Tian.
Even 10,000 years ago, he had been regarded as the strongest being on the continent. Though he had not advanced much due to the world's restrictions, he had not stagnated either.
Now, even though Limit Douluo could augment themselves with four-word battle armor, they still couldn't claim victory against him.
For someone like Di Tian, a mere energy barrier was far from sufficient to stop him.
Upon returning to the Great Star Dou Forest, Xiong Jun began gathering the remaining seven members of his race to give them the Transformation Pills.
Notably, after transforming into human form, all seven Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears reached the Title Douluo level.
A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear with just 10,000 years of cultivation could already rival a Title Douluo. Those with over 60,000 years of cultivation naturally surpassed many ordinary Title Douluo.
Since transformation strength was determined by the original body's power, these bears naturally retained their Title Douluo-level strength after humanization.
Wan Yao King and Yao Ling also gathered their respective kin. Sadly, their two species were nearly extinct, with only eleven members left combined.
The Wan Yao King had eight Demonic Eyed Demon Trees, the youngest over 50,000 years old. Yao Ling's race, the Phantom Demons, numbered just three, with the weakest one over 40,000 years old.
Both races were on the verge of extinction, and their numbers could barely even be counted in double digits.
In the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest, only soul beasts that had survived were those with cultivation above 10,000 years.
After some discussion, Wan Yao King and Yao Ling selected an additional nine soul beasts, bringing the total to twenty, per Yun Ze's requirements.
All chosen soul beasts had keen senses for spiritual materials, making them valuable for future searching tasks.
Among them was even a 20,000-year-old Treasure Hunting Mouse—the only one of its kind left in the entire Great Star Dou Forest.
Di Tian also gathered the strongest soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest, selecting twenty of them to take the Transformation Pills.
Among them were ten Emerald Swans, the youngest at 30,000 years and the oldest at 100,000 years. These were personally chosen by Bi Ji, intending to train them in alchemy.
Emerald Swans, being a healing-type soul beast, were well-protected. Their total population still exceeded thirty, and the ten selected were the most powerful among them.
The remaining ten were powerful soul beasts of various species, all over 50,000 years old, with the weakest comparable to a human Soul Douluo.
By taking these soul beasts away, Di Tian and the others essentially stripped the Great Star Dou Forest of its high-end combat power.
Only a handful of powerful soul beasts remained, with just two surpassing 50,000 years.
If the Spirit Pagoda ever decided to exterminate the remaining soul beasts, they wouldn't need much effort—it would be an easy slaughter.
Knowing this, Di Tian left a contingency plan behind. He entrusted his reverse scale to a soul beast over 50,000 years old, allowing them to summon him in times of crisis.
He had no intention of abandoning the thousands of weaker soul beasts left in the forest.
The soul beast race had already dwindled to such an extent—if they abandoned the remaining ones, their entire species would truly be doomed.
Once the selected soul beasts completed their transformations, Di Tian opened a spatial passage and led them out of the forest.
The group's industries in Star Moon City were all sold off. Due to the urgency, the selling prices were lower than usual.
After taking care of these matters, Yun Ze and the others set off for Mingdu.
At the Spirit Pagoda's central hall in Mingdu, the hall master Meng Yun sat with a dark expression, glaring at the people before him.
"Have you still not found any traces of Yun Ze?" Meng Yun's voice carried suppressed fury, on the verge of exploding.
The people standing before him all hung their heads low, their bodies trembling in fear, not daring to meet his gaze.
"N-no, we haven't…" one of them stammered, voice shaking.
"Useless! It's been days, and you still haven't found anything! What's the point of keeping you around?!" Meng Yun roared.
(End of Chapter)