Before the massive palm even struck, the pressure beneath it whipped Lin Xiao's cloak into a frenzy. At such close range, he could see every metallic hair gleaming above him, could almost feel the pain about to tear through his skull.
Then, in that final instant, a golden barrier erupted around him. The Gold-Devouring Beast's furious strike slammed down—but the thin, shimmering shield held firm.
Even so, the tremendous impact blasted Lin Xiao backward. He crashed hard into the cavern wall, sliding down with a ragged cough as blood filled his mouth. Pain surged through his body, but he ignored it, forcing his gaze forward.
The beast wasn't attacking. It was thrashing wildly, striking its own head in agony.
The soul seeds he had planted earlier were finally taking effect. Had they fought head-on, Lin Xiao would never have managed to implant them into such a creature—but sown while it slept, the seeds were inevitable death. Without spiritual defenses, the beast had no resistance at all.
Straightening slowly, Lin Xiao raised his right hand. The crimson blossom of the Other Shore spun gracefully around him as his pitch-black fifth spirit ring flared to life.
Fifth Spirit Skill: River of Forgetfulness.
It was his only ten-thousand-year ability—not a destructive attack, but an amplifier.
Drawing upon the waters of the underworld to nourish the Other Shore, the blossoms around him deepened in hue, their scarlet glow filling the entire cave with an eerie brilliance.
His second ring ignited once more. With each pained roar from the beast, Lin Xiao's wounds knit shut, the pain ebbing rapidly away.
The second skill, Germination, normally caused the seeds to grow by draining an enemy's strength. But with River of Forgetfulness amplifying it, that same power now flowed into Lin Xiao himself. The immense vitality of the Gold-Devouring Beast streamed through his veins, strengthening him with every breath.
A wave of almost intoxicating energy surged through him. For a moment, it was bliss—then he snapped free of it, refocusing.
He kicked the merchant's corpse forward. It slid to the beast's feet. Lin Xiao's expression hardened as his third ring lit up in violet light.
Third Spirit Skill: Bloom.
Instantly, the blood that had spattered throughout the cavern shimmered. From every droplet sprouted a crimson flower, opening in eerie silence.
The beast froze mid-motion. From between its teeth, the vines that had burrowed into its throat split apart into countless petals.
The corpse beneath its feet, the soul seeds buried deep within its mind—all ignited together, blossoming in unison beneath the purple ring's glow.
BOOM—!
The explosion that followed shattered the world.
The mountain, long since hollowed by the beast's endless feeding, could no longer bear the force. It collapsed in on itself with a deafening roar, transforming into a wasteland of rubble within moments.
Then silence. Only the soft sigh of wind stirred through the ruins.
After what felt like an eternity, a single hand burst from the debris.
Lin Xiao clawed his way free, coughing up dust and blood, his body smeared with dirt. He looked around—nothing moved but the settling stones.
With a weary exhale, he swept his gaze across the field and fixed it on a particular mound of rubble ahead.
Retracting his soul-tool barrier, he pressed his palm forward. Soul power surged. The stones exploded outward, tumbling aside. When he saw what lay beneath, a rare smile touched his lips.
Half-buried in the debris, the Gold-Devouring Beast's colossal body lay still.
Its once-impenetrable defense had preserved a faint breath of life—but its neck, already torn by his earlier blast, had finally snapped. Only a few strands of flesh connected its head to its torso.
Blood gushed from its nose and mouth. It breathed shallowly, chest rising and falling, every gasp whistling through the broken gap in its throat. Lin Xiao stepped forward and ended its suffering with a quiet, efficient motion.
A dark, inky-black spirit ring rose slowly from the corpse.
He barely glanced at it. Though an eighty-thousand-year ring would tempt even a Titled Douluo, he was still far from that level—and his body couldn't endure such power yet. More importantly, the beast's remains held treasures beyond any spirit ring.
Its metallic fur, born of devouring ores for millennia, was ideal for crafting armor-type soul tools. Its flesh, saturated with mineral essence, could fortify a spirit master's physique.
And the metals it had failed to digest—compressed and refined within its body over tens of thousands of years—would be rarer than the rarest refined alloys.
He hadn't planned for any of this. He had followed Shrek Academy's team only to track Xu He's trail, yet fate had brought him face to face with this creature.
Originally, he'd hoped merely to scavenge something after Shrek and the beast weakened each other. But instead, the battle had become his alone.
He had lost his Invincible Barrier, but what he'd gained in exchange was worth far more.
Drawing a soul-tool dagger, Lin Xiao began his work. Even dead, the beast's hide was stubborn, forcing him to carve carefully through layers of metallic hide.
Piece by piece, he stored his harvest away. But then his blade struck something solid.
Frowning, he cut deeper along the left arm—and froze.
Embedded within was a silver-gray bone gleaming with metallic luster.
A spirit bone?
In a heartbeat, Lin Xiao had pocketed it. His eyes flicked left and right, ensuring no one else was near. Compared to this, everything else was trivial.
The Nightmare Douluo had provided him with many cultivation resources, but never a spirit bone. Even that man himself hadn't yet gathered six. Such items were priceless beyond measure.
Finishing his collection with practiced precision, Lin Xiao burned the remaining corpse to ash, then turned toward the horizon.
He needed to find somewhere secluded—fast.
Though hundred-thousand-year beasts were guaranteed to yield spirit bones, an eighty-thousand-year one was exceedingly rare. And this one came from a beast whose power rivaled a Spirit Douluo's.
If he returned to Radiant City with it, and the Nightmare Douluo learned of it, there was no telling who the bone would ultimately belong to.
He tightened his grip on his cloak and vanished into the distance.
He would claim this spirit bone for himself.
(End of Chapter)