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"That's it!"
Cao Qing said excitedly, his voice trembling, and then continued:
"This five thousand year old black-armored turtle is perfect for my fourth spirit ring!"
Xue Tianxing observed carefully for a moment and nodded:
"It's indeed very suitable. Five thousand years, a defensive spirit skill, should be able to enhance your basalt shield's defense significantly, and may even have the added benefit of defending against counterattacks or reducing damage."
Shui Bing'er also agreed and said:
"The Black-armored Turtles are relatively docile. As long as we don't just hunt this one and don't provoke the others, the others won't come to help."
Dugu Yan, Ning Rongrong and Shui Yue'er also nodded, indicating that there was no problem.
Just as Xue Tianxing and others determined their target and were preparing to make a detailed plan, several black-shelled turtles on the beach seemed to notice something unusual.
They stopped nibbling on the water plants, slowly raised their heads, and their small green bean-like eyes all looked at Xue Tianxing and his group, with some obvious "complaint" in their eyes - as if saying "What's wrong with you guys? Can't you see we are basking in the sun? You are really wasting time."
Although they complained, the black-armored turtles were also aware that these human soul masters before them had ill intentions.
Without any hesitation, several black-shelled turtles immediately changed direction and slowly crawled towards the lake.
Although they usually move slowly, once they sense danger, their desire to survive instantly becomes maximum, and the speed at which their limbs alternate becomes significantly faster.
"Oh no! It's trying to escape into the water!"
When Cao Qing saw that the five thousand year old black-shelled turtle he had chosen was also crawling into the water, he immediately became anxious.
He knew very well that the speed and defense of the black-armored turtle would be greatly improved in the water. Once it escaped into the lake, it would be difficult to find it again. It might take a long time before he could encounter such a suitable soul beast again.
In a hurry, Cao Qing did not bother to wait for Xue Tianxing's instructions. He directly activated his soul power and rushed towards the five thousand year old black-armored turtle, shouting:
"Don't run!"
The black-shelled turtle heard the shouting behind it and crawled faster.
Although turtle-type soul beasts are not as fast as other soul beasts, this black-armored turtle is five thousand years old and has long been able to use soul power to assist in movement. A faint ochre soul power is attached to its limbs, leaving shallow traces on the beach. Its speed is much faster than Cao Qing expected.
At this rate, it will definitely dive into the water before Cao Qing catches up.
Cao Qing became more and more anxious and quickened his pace, but he was still some distance away from the black-armored turtle.
In contrast, Xue Tianxing appeared to be extremely calm in the face of this sudden change.
He was not at all flustered and quickly completed the possession of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul. The ice-blue soul power instantly enveloped his entire body, and the first soul ring - the yellow hundred-year soul ring suddenly lit up.
"First Soul Skill, Extreme Cold Ray!"
Xue Tianxing let out a low shout and pointed his right index finger at the water surface right in front of the black-armored turtle.
A dazzling ice-blue ray shot out instantly, cutting through the air like a meteor and landing precisely in the water in front of the black-armored turtle.
"Crack--" A sharp sound of freezing was heard, and with the point where the rays landed as the center, the icy cold air quickly spread. In just a few seconds, the water surface within a radius of 100 meters was completely frozen, forming a thick layer of ice, crystal clear and as smooth as a mirror.
At this time, the five thousand year old black-shelled turtle had already crawled to the edge of the ice.
It glanced back at Cao Qing who was chasing it, and there seemed to be a hint of "mockery" in its little eyes - as if showing off "You can't catch up with me, I'm going into the water."
But when its front paws stepped on the ice and it was about to slide into the lake, it found that the water surface under its feet was hard and not soft at all.
The black-armored turtle was stunned, and several other black-armored turtles also stopped and looked at the ice in front of them in confusion.
After they realized what was happening, they immediately started digging at the ice with their claws. Their soul power attached to their claws made a "ding-dong" sound, and they tried to dig away the ice and escape into the water.
But Xue Tianxing's ultimate ice martial soul is so powerful, and the frozen surface is so hard, how can they easily dig it open?
No matter how hard the black-shelled turtles tried, only a few shallow scratches were left on the ice, without even a crack.
Just as the black-shelled turtles were struggling in vain around the ice, Cao Qing finally caught up with the five thousand year old black-shelled turtle.
He took a deep breath, channeled his soul power into the Black Tortoise Shield, held it in front of him, and thrust it hard against the side of the Black Tortoise.
"Come back here!"
With a "bang", the black-shelled turtle was pushed and staggered, losing its balance and falling onto the beach.
Before it could turn over, Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan and others quickly surrounded it, surrounding the black-armored turtle and forming a tight encirclement.
The black-armored turtle looked at the human soul masters surrounding it, its eyes full of panic.
Knowing it couldn't escape, it simply retracted its limbs, head, and tail into its thick shell, leaving only the hard shell facing everyone, as if praying, "As long as I retract fast enough, you won't be able to break my defense."
The black-shelled turtle retracts into its shell, and the parts of its limbs and head that are retracted are also covered with the shell.
Xue Tian walked to the turtle shell and kicked it lightly with his toes, but the shell did not move at all, not even a trace of vibration.
He couldn't help but smile:
"This black-armored turtle is quite clever, knowing how to retract its shell for defense. However, no matter how strong its defenses are, it can't escape today."
Cao Qing stood aside, looking at the surrounded black-armored turtle, his eyes full of anticipation.
He knew that he would soon obtain his fourth spirit ring.
Looking at the black-shelled turtle curled up in its shell and motionless, Xue Tianxing smiled knowingly.
He had long expected that this soul beast would use the trick of "shrinking its shell". After all, the black-armored turtle was most proud of its hard shell.
But in Xue Tianxing's opinion, no matter how strong the physical defense is, it cannot withstand targeted "magic damage".
"This black-armored turtle's shell is indeed hard, but it can't stay inside forever."
Xue Tianxing said to everyone:
"I'll try freezing it with Ultimate Ice first, forcing it to poke its head out. If that doesn't work, Dugu Yan, you can use poison mist to seep through the cracks in its shell. I don't believe it can withstand the combined effects of ice and fire."
Everyone nodded, thinking that this method was feasible.
Cao Qing tightened his grip on the dagger, his eyes fixed on the black-armored turtle's shell, fearing he would miss the perfect opportunity. Xue Tianxing no longer hesitated, mobilizing his ultimate icy soul power, aiming his hands at the black-armored turtle's shell.
Unlike the large-scale frozen water surface before, this time he controlled his soul power extremely precisely - only fine ice lines were seen wrapped around the shell of the black-armored turtle like silk, first completely freezing the gaps on the edge of the shell where the limbs extended, leaving only the largest opening for the head to extend and retract, preventing the black-armored turtle from escaping from other places.
Immediately afterwards, Xue Tianxing concentrated his soul power on the tail shell of the black-armored turtle, and a trace of cold air seeped into the interior along the lines of the shell.