Chapter 292: Chapter 292: King of Profound Beasts

This Soul Thought was far stronger than that of the Tier Five Profound Beast, Red Flame. If Red Flame’s Soul Thought was a river, then this one was a great river.

’Could it be the Soul Thought of a Tier Six Profound Beast?’

The thought that a Tier Six Profound Beast might exist in the Floating Light Secret Realm sent a chill through Ye Xuan’s heart. But right now, he had no time to dwell on it. His priority was figuring out how to eliminate the other party’s Soul Thought and implant his own Martial Spirit’s power.

Ye Xuan fell into thought.

Back then, Ye Xuan had been able to crush Red Flame’s Soul Thought because his Soul Power was at Mid-Fourth Grade. With the boost from his Formless Soul Skill, attacking a mere sliver of a Tier Five Profound Beast’s Soul Thought had been difficult, but not impossible.

But this time was different.

Although his Soul Power had now reached the Peak of Fourth Grade, he was facing a Profound Beast that was at least Tier Six. Even with the aid of the Formless Soul Skill, Ye Xuan didn’t believe he could simply blast its Soul Thought away.

’How can I destroy that sliver of Soul Thought?’

After thinking for a long time, Ye Xuan couldn’t come up with a particularly good solution and was lost in deep contemplation.

The truth was, his understanding of controlling Demon Beasts came solely from the Beast Taming Skill the Little Purple Mink had given him. His knowledge was far too limited. He had to figure out many of its applications on his own. Moreover, a Profound Beast using a Soul Thought to control a Demon Beast was a completely different method than him using his Martial Spirit.

’If only the Little Purple Mink were here, I could ask it if there were other methods.’ But with the mink in a deep slumber, Ye Xuan could only rely on his own knowledge of Soul Refining to come up with a plan.

After thinking for a long while, Ye Xuan had a realization. He wouldn’t get anywhere just by thinking. He knew of no fewer than a hundred methods for Soul Power attacks. He refused to believe that if he tried every single one, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of a single sliver of Soul Thought.

Of course, it was also highly likely that his own Soul Power assault could destroy the Armored Dragon’s mind, killing it instantly.

’But there’s no other choice!’

Wait. A sudden flash of inspiration struck Ye Xuan, and he slapped his forehead.

’How could I be so stupid? Why do I have to destroy the Soul Thought? Can’t I just try to devour it bit by bit? Isn’t that what the Devouring Martial Spirit is for?’

At this thought, Ye Xuan laughed, speechless at his own foolishness. He focused his Devouring Martial Spirit entirely on the sliver of Soul Thought in the Armored Dragon’s mind, unleashing its devouring power to the fullest.

The powerful Soul Thought seemed to sense the danger and tried to struggle. But being just a sliver, it was locked onto by Ye Xuan’s Devouring Martial Spirit and was completely unable to resist. Gradually, the Devouring Martial Spirit began to consume the power within that Soul Thought.

’It’s working.’

Ye Xuan was overjoyed and immediately increased the intensity of the devouring.

Within a dozen breaths, the powerful sliver of Soul Thought finally vanished completely, becoming a bit of nourishment for Ye Xuan’s Devouring Martial Spirit.

Afterward, Ye Xuan affixed his own Devouring Martial Spirit’s power into the Armored Dragon’s mind.

Success!

The moment he succeeded, Ye Xuan smiled faintly and withdrew his Devouring Martial Spirit.

The Armored Dragon trembled as it stood steadily. It understood that it had a new master, and a trace of reliance on Ye Xuan appeared in its eyes.

The instant Ye Xuan took control of the Armored Dragon...

Thousands of miles away, inside a pitch-black cave, a pair of golden eyes suddenly snapped open, glinting with rage.

ROAR!

A silent roar spread out.

As the roar spread, Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts surged in from all directions. These beasts were all Tier Five, numbering over a hundred, and they gathered outside the cave.

"King, what are your orders for summoning us?"

The Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts spoke, trembling in fear.

"Tell me, what has happened in this region? Why do I find that the Armored Dragon I controlled has been taken over by another Profound Beast?"

The golden-eyed Profound Beast let out a furious roar.

Had the Armored Dragon under its control simply perished outside, it wouldn’t have been so moved. After all, it had plenty of Tier Five Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts under its command; the death of one was nothing to be surprised about.

But now, the connection between it and the Armored Dragon had been severed. The sliver of Soul Thought left inside the Armored Dragon’s body had been devoured by some unknown expert, which instantly enraged it.

As the king of the forests for thousands of miles around, it felt its authority had been profaned.

One of the Profound Beasts stammered fearfully, "Reporting to my King, the area the Armored Dragon was responsible for patrolling should be around Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain. During the days of your slumber, a powerful fluctuation of flame did indeed come from the direction of Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain half a month ago. Perhaps some anomaly occurred, causing you to lose contact with the Armored Dragon."

"Also, based on the timing, this is likely when the human Martial Artists enter the Floating Light’s territory."

"Investigate! Find them for me! Whether it’s a Profound Beast or a human, anyone who dares to profane my, Jin Lin’s, majesty must pay the price of death."

RUMBLE!

With that single command, the hundred-plus Tier Five Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts swept down from the mountain, rushing madly toward the areas where human Martial Artists were active.

The Armored Dragon sat coiled obediently nearby. Without Ye Xuan’s command, it didn’t dare make a move.

’This is the sixth Demon Beast I’ve tamed.’ Ye Xuan had thought he’d reached his limit, but according to the feedback from his Devouring Martial Spirit, it seemed he could still tame two more.

Ye Xuan secretly pondered the origin of his Devouring Martial Spirit. Not only could it devour the Soul Thoughts and Divine Souls of Profound Beasts, but it could also control Demon Beasts. For a mere Three-Stars Devouring Martial Spirit to be able to control a Tier Five Demon Beast was, to Ye Xuan, quite incredible.

’According to my senses, my current Devouring Martial Spirit should be able to subdue about five Tier Five Demon Beasts. Because I previously subdued four Tier Four Demon Beasts, I can now only subdue two more.’

A Tier Five Demon Beast was equivalent to a Tier Five expert. A Tier Five Demon Beast from the Floating Light Secret Realm, in particular, could probably hold its own against the Liuyun Kingdom’s top expert, Chu Yunfei.

’Looks like I’ll have to find a way to subdue two more Tier Five Demon Beasts.’ If the conditions were right, Ye Xuan planned to replace his previous four Tier Four Demon Beasts with Tier Five ones. With five Tier Five Demon Beasts, he could probably run rampant throughout the Thirteen Nations Alliance, with the exception of Qi Xian from the Celestial Gold Kingdom.

A faint smile touched Ye Xuan’s lips at the thought. If he could leave these Demon Beasts with his family, he would be able to leave the Thirteen Nations Alliance with peace of mind.

Just as he had done with the Earth-Drilling Armored Beasts, Ye Xuan had the Armored Dragon search for Spirit Medicine nearby on its own, then he darted toward Xia Qixi’s location.

Xia Qixi was still severely injured. Leaving her there alone made Ye Xuan uneasy.

When Ye Xuan arrived at the previous spot, he was stunned. Xia Qixi was gone, and only a few bloodstains remained on the ground.

Ye Xuan grew puzzled. He hadn’t been gone for long, and from his observation, Xia Qixi didn’t seem to have the strength to leave on her own.

’Could someone have come and rescued her?’

As he thought this, Ye Xuan immediately spread his Soul Sense in all directions. Suddenly, his expression became one of extreme fury, and he shot off in an instant.

「A clearing several miles away.」

Xia Qixi lay there with her clothes half-undone, her expression furious.

After Ye Xuan had led the Armored Dragon away, she had been filled with grief and despair and had hurriedly tried to heal her wounds. But before she could recover much, several Martial Artists had suddenly appeared. Their leader was none other than Li He, the Vice President of the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower.

Xia Qixi had been overjoyed at first, urging Vice President Li He to go save Ye Xuan. To her shock, not only did Li He and his men refuse, but they also stared at her exposed skin with a strange look, full of lust.

Xia Qixi immediately knew something was wrong. Forgetting about her injuries, she forced herself to her feet and fled in a sorry state. Li He and his men followed leisurely behind her, like cats toying with a mouse, lecherous smiles on their faces.

Although Xia Qixi had recovered a little bit of strength, her injuries were simply too severe. She only managed to stumble a few miles before collapsing powerlessly to the ground again, watching with wide eyes as Li He and his men approached with lewd expressions.

Seeing that Xia Qixi could no longer run, the smile on Li He’s lips widened. He said lustfully, "Xia Qixi, why aren’t you running now? I just love watching that fetching figure of yours when you run. Tsk tsk, such a slender little waist. Youth is a wonderful thing, so fresh and tender."

"Hehe, Vice President Li He, I hear this little chick is the number one beauty of the Celestial Gold Kingdom, an ice beauty. After you’ve had a taste, can you let your disciples have a taste too?"

The two disciples from the Dongsheng Kingdom following Li He also laughed lewdly, their leering eyes roaming ceaselessly over Xia Qixi’s body.

"You despicable villains! If you dare touch me, Master Zhu Tianlan from my Celestial Gold Kingdom will never let you go! Ptui!"

Xia Qixi was filled with shame and fury. If she had known this would happen, she would rather have died at the hands of the Armored Dragon than be touched by Li He and his men’s filthy hands.

"Haha, Zhu Tianlan? How could he possibly know what we’re about to do? Just submit to us. Don’t worry, Vice President Li He is very experienced. He guarantees he’ll make you scream with pleasure and experience a joy you’ve never known on this earth, hehehe."

One of the disciples cackled lewdly.

A woman like Xia Qixi... in the past, he wouldn’t even have been qualified to speak to her, let alone get intimate. Imagining that he would soon be able to sate his beastly lust upon her body, the disciple’s lower body couldn’t help but stir, pitching a tent in his robes.

"Bastards."

Xia Qixi wished she could just die on the spot, but her body was so weak she couldn’t even muster a shred of strength.

"Alright, enough nonsense. You two, stand guard nearby. Hehe, after this president has had his fun, I’ll reward you with her later," Li He said, walking forward with a lewd grin.

"Yes!"

The two disciples retreated, ecstatic.

Tears streamed from Xia Qixi’s eyes. She wanted to kill herself, but she didn’t even have the strength to move.

"Hehe." Li He chuckled lewdly and pounced on her like a madman.