Only Lin Xiao knew exactly what had just happened.
When the soul seeds invaded the badger beast's sea of consciousness and began to take root and sprout within its mind, flashes of memories surfaced before both of them.
As Lin Xiao had anticipated, aside from soul beasts with mental attributes, other soul beasts were far inferior to humans in terms of mental strength—especially since Lin Xiao's mental power surpassed that of ordinary people. Thus, even against a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, once his soul seeds successfully infiltrated the badger beast's sea of consciousness, he had already gained the upper hand.
However, for a soul beast, while its mental strength might not match Lin Xiao's, the tempering of time served as its greatest defense. A hundred thousand years of memories, even if most of them consisted of meaningless eating and sleeping, formed an immense reservoir. Breaking its mental defenses was not something that could be done in a short amount of time.
That is, until the arrival of a third person.
Though Zhang Lexuan didn't know the specifics, she instantly deduced that the badger beast was likely under Lin Xiao's control. Controlling a hundred-thousand-year soul beast with the strength of a seventy-level soul master—Zhang Lexuan didn't know how Lin Xiao managed it, but the process was undoubtedly far from easy. Without hesitation, her fifth, sixth, and seventh soul rings lit up almost simultaneously.
A silver moonlight shimmered around her, and Zhang Lexuan seemed to meld entirely with the silver moon. The crescent moon in the sky began to transform slowly, shifting from a new moon to a full moon.
"Moonfall!"
With a soft cry, the silver moon in the sky turned golden, and a crescent blade descended like a scythe, slashing toward the badger beast's neck.
Before the first strike could land, another ring of light descended from the sky, enveloping the badger beast. In the next moment, a brilliant silver glow filled the entire beam.
Zhang Lexuan's fifth and sixth soul skills were both ten-thousand-year skills, unleashed in her martial soul true body state. As they struck the motionless badger beast, it finally let out a piercing scream of agony.
Lin Xiao took half a step back, then looked up toward the beam of light that had yet to fully dissipate.
"Roar—" Yet what met his gaze was another hoarse roar.
The badger beast's cry was now utterly raspy. As the silver light faded, its fur was scorched black, and a massive wound on its neck gushed blood, each drop staining the surrounding soil red.
"Huff—Huff—"
Heavy breathing came from its mouth and nose, or perhaps from the wound on its neck. Yet it still hadn't fallen. The blood-red markings on its back had spread across its entire body, completely obscuring its original appearance.
What kind of ability was this? Even with such severe injuries, it still had strength to spare, and the aura it faintly emitted was even more terrifying than before.
"Careful!" Lin Xiao kept his eyes on the badger beast, noticing the subtle twitching of its muscles beneath its skin. Before it could act, he shouted a warning to Zhang Lexuan, then activated his soul tool thruster to dodge to the side.
The moment he moved, the badger beast's attack landed where he had stood, tearing off a large piece of his fluttering clothing.
Instinctively, Lin Xiao raised his hand, and specks of silver-white light glowed on his left arm. The metal absorbed by his left arm bone instantly formed a shield in front of him.
Yet, in the next moment, the badger beast adjusted its attack direction almost instantaneously. Its sharp claws struck, shattering the shield and sending Lin Xiao's body flying backward, crashing heavily into a tree trunk.
"Cough—"
Lin Xiao let out a soft cough, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, dripping down and blending into the blood-soaked ground stained by the badger beast.
A sharp pain surged through his internal organs, as if they had all shifted from their original positions.
With no time to catch his breath, Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and pushed off the tree trunk, lunging forward. The next instant, the giant tree behind him, along with a large swath of trees behind it, vanished in a blood-red glow.
Even the air above Lin Xiao seemed to disappear under this attack, as surrounding air rushed in to fill the void, stirring a gentle breeze.
This was the might of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Even gravely wounded, it gave Lin Xiao no moment to breathe.
The light of his soul tool thruster flared, propelling his body forward a great distance, heedless of the scratches and marks left on him. Only after gaining some distance did he stand again.
Lin Xiao constantly scanned his surroundings, his first soul ring flickering as soul seeds reformed at his fingertips. Yet the badger beast's speed was now far greater than before, making it impossible to even aim properly.
Zhang Lexuan wasn't idle either. Seeing that she couldn't track the badger beast's movements for the moment, her soul rings lit up again. Beams of light shot down from the bright moon in the sky, covering the entire ground like soul tool rays.
When unable to track an opponent's movements, such a wide-ranging attack was the best approach.
"Cough—"
Lin Xiao coughed again, the churning blood and energy within him calming slightly. Feeling the remaining soul power in his body, he glanced up at Zhang Lexuan, who seemed to blend with the bright moon.
After a moment of silence, he took a step forward, and his fourth soul ring suddenly blazed.
Fourth soul skill, Rebirth.
Higanbana flowers bloomed one by one from the blood-soaked ground. Within moments, the area had transformed into a sea of flowers. The Manjusaka greedily absorbed the blood on the ground, their colors growing ever more vivid.
Lin Xiao didn't look at Zhang Lexuan's expression. His third and fifth soul rings lit up simultaneously.
Bloom.
Zhang Lexuan seemed to sense Lin Xiao's gaze and looked toward him. But before she could fully discern the changes before her, her entire vision was engulfed in blood-red.
"Boom—"
A deafening explosion rang in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. Narrow petals fell around her, and these blood-red flowers were not unfamiliar to her.
"Shen Hao!"
Zhang Lexuan shouted, no longer hesitating. Her figure flashed, rushing into the blood-red light.
The badger beast's form slowly emerged. The explosions had torn open its wounds, blood spraying outward, each drop transforming into more Manjusaka flowers as it hit the air.
Then, another bloom followed.
Under the amplification of the fifth soul skill, everything around became Lin Xiao's strength.
The blood-red light in the badger beast's eyes was almost tangible, its body seeming to grow larger still, the veins beneath its fur clearly visible. Its speed and strength continued to rise.
Yet, as an explosion erupted near its neck, its already injured spine could no longer hold. Its massive head tilted to one side, and its body collapsed with a thunderous crash.
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