Chapter 76: The Wretched Earth King, The Pink Empress's Fury (4K)
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// geriatrictranslations.com/
Special Permission was given to upload the novel on WebNovel.
Geriatric Translations can be supported on patreon (https://www. patreon.com/geriatricvibes) where additional chapters can be enjoyed.
You can also join the Geriatric Translations Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------
"Soul Bone!"
Chu Qingtian, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted the Soul Bone in Ling Bai's hand and joked, "Bro Ling, let's split it!"
"Don't worry, you won't be left out!"
Ling Bai replied with a smile. Before setting out, the four of them had agreed to avoid disputes: whoever dealt the final blow to the soul beast would get the Soul Bone, and the owner of the Soul Bone would pay the other three 50% of the market price as a reward for their efforts.
Although Ling Bai wouldn't absorb this 70,000-year-old trunk Soul Bone, he had several close friends with fire attributes, and he could find a suitable time to give it to them in the future.
Putting away the Burning Sun Fire Dragon Soul Bone, Ling Bai took out the Holy Angel Sword and called Chu Qingtian to share the spoils.
There's a saying on the Tang Sect Continent: the meat of dragons in the sky...
...and the meat of dragons on the ground!
This Burning Sun Fire Dragon, with its 70,000-year-old cultivation, was a rare delicacy, and its dragon teeth, scales, horns, and blood were priceless.
The two of them happily dissected the soul beast, and in no time, it was divided into four parts, one for each of them.
"You two are pretty efficient."
Han Ruoru had woken up at some point, her beautiful eyes, black as starlight, curved with a hint of amusement.
"Sis, did you clear the fire from your body? Should I help you clear it again with my holy attribute?" Ling Bai asked with concern.
"No need." Han Ruoru shook her head gently. "I've already neutralized the fire from the Burning Sun Fire Dragon. I just need to rest and recover from my internal injuries. It's best not to fight for a while."
"I'm sorry, Sis..."
Han Ruoru had been injured while trying to control the Burning Sun Fire Dragon, and Ling Bai felt a bit guilty. More importantly, Wu Ming had been seriously injured by a sneak attack, and Han Ruoru, their strongest fighter, was also wounded. They might have to end their hunting trip early.
"Soul Masters, injuries are a common occurrence."
Han Ruoru waved her hand, appearing nonchalant. She then decided, "We'll leave the Star Dou Great Forest once Ming'er returns."
Her thoughts aligned with Ling Bai's. Given their current situation, staying in the Star Dou Great Forest was too dangerous.
After a while, Wu Ming returned from the forest. She had treated her wounds and changed into a red outfit, looking both graceful and agile, which caught Chu Qingtian's attention.
Wu Ming agreed wholeheartedly with Han Ruoru's suggestion. It was smart to leave before the volcano of the Inner Court erupted.
The four of them set off immediately, with Ling Bai and Chu Qingtian taking on their roles as men: the former leading the way and the latter covering the rear, ensuring the two women were protected in the center. Han Ruoru and Wu Ming exchanged glances, their eyes twinkling with amusement.
They traveled through the starlit night until dawn, stopping at a clear lake at the boundary between the core and mixed zones of the Star Dou Great Forest. A misty layer of fog floated on the lake, and the air was fresh and invigorating.
"Let's rest for a bit. We need to recover our soul power and replenish our energy."
Han Ruoru reminded everyone. In the Star Dou Great Forest, they needed to maintain at least 80% of their soul power at all times to avoid sudden attacks by soul beasts. Once they left the core zone, the soul beasts in the mixed zone would pose little threat to their combined strength.
Ling Bai took out a black steamed bun from his Storage Soul Conductor. It was a specially prepared food by the Shrek Academy, containing various ingredients to promote fullness and soul power recovery. Shrek students usually carried it as their main food when traveling.
As they were eating, a rustling sound came from the forest, accompanied by faint, indistinct whispers. They immediately became alert, exchanging glances before slowly approaching the source of the sound.
Not far from the lake, a large area of trees lay scattered on the ground, and the underbrush seemed to have been cleared by some creature.
Through the gaps in the trees, they saw two soul beasts entangled together, one on top of the other. The one on top was a large, pale blue scorpion with a body that exuded a fiery aura, its five-segmented tail raised high.
"50,000-Year Earth King!"
Wu Ming's eyes lit up. The Earth King was a powerful fire attribute soul beast, and its age was perfect for her needs.
Seeing the soul beast beneath the Earth King, Chu Qingtian's expression turned incredibly excited. It was a much smaller scorpion, about half the size of the Earth King, but its body was more beautiful, resembling a blue-purple gemstone, with a long purple tail entwined affectionately with the Earth King's.
10,000-Year Purple Lightning Scorpion, with lightning attributes and exceptional speed.
They had been planning to leave the Star Dou Great Forest, but now, the Earth King and the Purple Lightning Scorpion had come to them!
Wu Ming's beautiful eyes fixed on the two soul beasts in their peculiar position, and she asked, puzzled, "What are they doing?"
Han Ruoru cleared her throat and looked up at the sky, pretending not to hear. Ling Bai stared at the ground, as if there was something interesting there. Chu Qingtian, realizing too late, found Wu Ming's fist, the size of a sandbag, in front of his face.
"The two soul beasts are..." Chu Qingtian was drenched in sweat, his brain frantically searching for words to describe the act that would pass the censors.
"Creating baby scorpions, striving for new life!"
Chu Qingtian felt like a genius, but Wu Ming's fair face turned visibly red after a moment of shock.
Ling Bai and Han Ruoru couldn't help but chuckle. "Sis, two scorpions doing what they like, why are you blushing?"
Wu Ming buried her red face in her arms and said sullenly, "In broad daylight, such shameless behavior. They should be properly educated!"
"They haven't noticed us. We can't miss this perfect opportunity."
Han Ruoru made a quick decision. Despite her and Wu Ming's injuries, the two scorpions' soul power wasn't particularly high, and with the advantage of surprise, they had a good chance to obtain soul rings for Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian.
The morning temperature in the Star Dou Great Forest was low, and the air by the lake was humid. The mist was cold and damp, and they cautiously approached the two soul beasts, stopping when they were less than 500 meters away. Ling Bai whispered, "A group of soul beasts is approaching, numbering in the thousands, and they seem to be targeting those two."
After the battle with the Clear Sky Magic Leopard and the Thousand-Armed Ant King, the group had absolute trust in Ling Bai. Han Ruoru thought for a moment and decided, "We'll stay hidden and watch the situation."
As she spoke, a strange wind blew from the side, turning the fresh white morning mist pink. The eerie pink mist carried a faint, sweet scent that was oddly captivating.
"It's poisonous."
Ling Bai activated his Angelic Domain. "Stay within the domain."
The others could see a golden shield surrounding them, preventing the pink mist from penetrating their ten-meter radius, no matter how thick it became or how the forest wind blew.
Ling Bai recognized the source of the poison. "The Pink Lady's excitement poison. While it's not lethal when released individually, the Pink Ladies are a social species, and when hundreds or thousands of them release it together, it can excite a Soul Emperor to death."
"And more," Han Ruoru added. "The Pink Lady is a weak, common soul beast, but when it reaches 1,000 years of cultivation, it evolves into a Thousand-Year Pink Lady. When it reaches 10,000 years, it becomes the Pink Empress, the queen of the Pink Lady species. Judging by the concentration of this poison, there must be a 10,000-year-old Pink Empress leading this group!"
The Pink Lady clan quickly arrived, consisting of translucent pink scorpions about two feet long, moving on the ground and emitting a faint pink gas. A sharp cry came from the depths of the poison mist, and a large pink figure darted out, revealing a huge Pink Lady, almost as large as the 50,000-Year Earth King, with a deep pink body covered in fine, diamond-shaped scales and six dark red eyes gleaming with a cold light.
Pink Empress, with 30,000 years of cultivation!
Seeing the Earth King and the Purple Lightning Scorpion in a叠罗汉式 (stacked) position, the Pink Empress opened its mouth and spewed a thick mist of poison at the Purple Lightning Scorpion.
However, something that made the Pink Empress's eyes widen in shock happened. The Earth King immediately flipped over and shot a stream of flames from its tail, burning the poison mist to nothing.
"Squeak!"
The Pink Empress's six eyes showed a human-like expression of disbelief, with tears welling up, like a wife who had just caught her husband cheating.
"Squeak!"
The Earth King avoided looking at the Pink Empress, while the Purple Lightning Scorpion wrapped its tail around the Earth King's, clearly telling the Pink Empress, "Yes, we did everything. What can you do about it!"
"Wow, so the Purple Lightning Scorpion is the third party, caught in the act by the original mate, the Pink Empress!" Ling Bai commented.
Chu Qingtian's mouth dropped open. "Ah, even the soul beast world can be this dramatic!"
Han Ruoru shook her head helplessly. "The world is degenerating, even the beasts are losing their morals!"
Wu Ming's reaction was particularly strong. She growled, "Wretched Earth King, may you die a terrible death!"
The Pink Empress, having grown to 30,000 years of cultivation and leading a clan, was not one to endure humiliation. She immediately ordered over a thousand Pink Ladies to attack the two, determined to wash away her shame with blood!
The Purple Lightning Scorpion, enveloped in lightning, transformed into a blur, leading a wave of dazzling electric light into the Pink Lady clan, massacring them indiscriminately. The Pink Empress, ignoring everything, focused on the figure that had been by her side for 10,000 years, filled with overwhelming hatred born from endless love, and rammed into the Earth King with all her might.
But even the Pink Empress, no matter how strong, was no match for the top-tier fire attribute soul beast, the Earth King. A burst of intense flames erupted, distorting the air in a radius of several dozen square meters around her. Her two front claws slammed into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that forced the Pink Empress to the ground, followed by a massive column of lava that erupted and engulfed her body.
The Earth King's innate soul skill, Lava Ground Splitting Strike!
Ling Bai had seen this soul skill before. Ma Xiaotao's fourth soul skill, Phoenix Scream, was derived from the Earth King's innate skill, a powerful explosive skill.
"Bang—"
The Pink Empress crashed to the ground, her once-translucent body now a terrifying dark red, emitting a foul, burnt smell, and occasionally twitching. A deep 10,000-year-old soul ring floated up.
On the other side, the Purple Lightning Scorpion had also defeated the Pink Lady clan. Most of the Pink Ladies were dead, with only a few lucky ones managing to escape. The forest was littered with corpses, the air thick with blood, and soul rings of various colors were scattered everywhere, like a scene from a hell on earth.
Seeing this violent and bloody scene, the Earth King's inner desires resurfaced, and he pulled the Purple Lightning Scorpion close, whispering in her ear.
Earth King: Darling, let's do it again!
Purple Lightning Scorpion: You naughty thing!
The two soul beasts drew closer, eventually coupling in the blood of the Pink Ladies, oblivious to the world around them.
"Ten Thousand Blades Radiance!"
"Control Ring!"
"Golden Crow True Fire!"
"Thunderstorm!"
The two soul beasts were shocked by the sudden attack. The Control Ring restrained them first, followed by the Ten Thousand Blades Radiance from the Six-Winged Angel, which dealt heavy damage. The Golden Crow and the Thunderstorm Panther finished off the weakened targets. The combo was executed smoothly, and the two 10,000-year-old soul beasts had no chance to resist. The Earth King didn't even have time to pull away!
Two 10,000-year-old soul rings floated up, emitting deep black light.
The Earth King and the Purple Lightning Scorpion were finished!
These two 10,000-year-old soul beasts had proven one thing: whether human or soul beast, they were very vulnerable when driven by desire!
"Do you know what the Earth King's death teaches us?" Wu Ming asked the two boys gently.
Ling Bai clasped his hands to his heart, looking compassionate. "Being a wretched man has no good end."
"Agreed," Chu Qingtian nodded vigorously.
"Wrong, being a wretched man means dying without a trace!"
With that, Wu Ming burned the Earth King with Golden Crow True Fire, sat down to absorb the soul ring, leaving Ling Bai and Chu Qingtian to exchange glances.
It seemed like a warning to the two of them.
Not sure, let's see!
Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian absorbed their soul rings, while Ling Bai and Han Ruoru guarded them.
"Sis, we're just short of your soul ring," Ling Bai said regretfully. "The chances of encountering an 80,000-year-old soul beast outside the core zone are almost zero."
"Haha, I'd rather not this time."
Han Ruoru looked calm. If they encountered a powerful 80,000-year-old soul beast, they would be at risk of being wiped out.
"...Sis, what if things don't go as planned?" Ling Bai's face suddenly twisted.
"You mean... we can't be that unlucky, right!"
Han Ruoru's lips parted, glancing at Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian, who still needed at least an hour to absorb their soul rings. The worst-case scenario had happened.
"The incoming soul beast is even stronger than the Burning Sun Fire Dragon!"
The two of them stood in front of Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian. A few seconds later, a blue figure appeared.
A majestic male lion, standing over five meters tall, its paws seemingly unaffected by gravity, with a pale blue mane as clear as lake water, shimmering in the sunlight, and two blue tentacles growing from each shoulder, waving in the wind.
Han Ruoru gritted her teeth. "Naturally water-controlled, Blue Lion Azure Sky Beast. This means the lake is its territory, and now the owner is back..."
Ling Bai clenched his teeth. "Those two dead scorpions, actually mating on someone else's territory!"
(End of Chapter)