Crimson Flame Douluo met Dugu Bo's gaze and nodded slightly:
"Poison Douluo, you're too polite. I've long heard of your reputation."
The two exchanged pleasantries back and forth, the polite chatter making Su Yu raise his eyebrows.
He simply stepped forward and raised his hand to interrupt: "Alright, enough. Let's get down to business."
Crimson Flame immediately dropped the pleasantries and turned to Su Yu with a respectful expression:
"Your orders, Holy Son?"
Su Yu looked at her and got straight to the point: "I just broke through to level fifty and need to go to Star Dou Great Forest to obtain my Fifth Soul Ring."
Crimson Flame was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then quickly waved her hands with some urgency in her tone:
"Your Highness, my duty is to protect you closely. How could I let you venture into danger alone?"
"The depths of Star Dou Great Forest are full of dangers. I must stay by your side without leaving even a step..."
"Who said anything about you leaving me?"
Su Yu chuckled lightly and pointed to Dugu Bo beside him.
"I want both of you to accompany me."
"My Fifth Soul Ring needs to be fifty thousand years. I plan to have Old Poison and you accompany me to Star Dou Great Forest."
Crimson Flame looked at Su Yu's determined eyes, then glanced at Dugu Bo's confident appearance. After hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded and agreed:
"As long as the Holy Son doesn't make me return alone like last time, I'll follow all Your Highness's arrangements."
"That's more like it."
Su Yu nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand.
"Let's go. To Star Dou Great Forest, we depart now."
As his words fell, the three of them wasted no more time and sped off towards the direction of Star Dou Great Forest.
Crimson Flame's lightning-fast figure and Dugu Bo's blue-robed form flanked Su Yu on either side.
Three figures raced across the wilderness, kicking up a cloud of dust as they headed into the distance.
In less than a day, the outline of Star Dou Great Forest appeared ahead.
Dense greenery stretched as far as the eye could see, even the air carrying the moist scent of grass and trees.
For the three of them with two Titled Douluo accompanying them, finding a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast wasn't particularly difficult.
They stepped into the forest leisurely, their pace as relaxed as if strolling through their own backyard.
Sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, casting dappled spots of light. Dugu Bo, with his hands behind his back, kicked aside a loose stone and asked Su Yu:
"Little monster, have you decided? What type of Soul Beast are you looking for?"
Su Yu's gaze swept over the surrounding ancient, twisted trees and the low-level Soul Beasts moving among them as he casually replied:
"Any tiger type will do. Attributes don't matter much, as long as the age is suitable."
"A tiger, huh?"
Dugu Bo stroked his beard and nodded.
"We'll need to go to the inner circle."
"The outer areas only have creatures up to twenty or thirty thousand years at most. Fifty-thousand-year Soul Beasts all stay in deeper areas."
Crimson Flame followed beside the two, her eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings as she firmly guarded Su Yu's side.
As the three delved deeper into the inner circle of Star Dou Great Forest, Su Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as he quietly spread his Kagura Mind's Eye. The auras of Soul Beasts within dozens of miles around them clearly emerged.
When they passed through an ancient forest that blocked out the sky and stepped into an even darker heartland, his footsteps suddenly paused, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He had discovered an unexpected Soul Beast!
"Old Poison! Crimson Flame! I've found a Soul Beast suitable for my Fifth Soul Ring!"
Before the words faded, Su Yu had already strode toward a mist-shrouded dense forest on the left.
Dugu Bo and Crimson Flame exchanged a glance, both inwardly stirred. For Su Yu to act so urgently, it must be an extraordinary Soul Beast. They promptly quickened their pace to follow.
About five minutes into the depths of the forest, a bone-chilling, sinister aura abruptly pressed down, as if the very air had frozen solid.
On a clearing ahead, a massive beast gradually revealed its form.
It was a ferocious tiger, pitch-black from head to toe, standing three to four meters tall with a body nearly seven to eight meters long—a moving black hillock.
Its body was covered in jet-black scales, deep enough to seemingly devour light, yet their edges shimmered with an eerie cold glow.
Each scale was irregularly shaped, sharp as a blade's edge, as if capable of tearing through steel with ease.
A pair of blood-red vertical pupils stood out starkly in the dim woods, their slits contracted into thin lines.
Within them burned what seemed like hellfire, roiling with undisguised brutality and bloodlust. A single glance from it sent chills down one's spine.
On its broad forehead, a rhombus-shaped black crystal protruded slightly, with dark red light swirling inside like flowing blood, exuding a heart-palpitating evil aura.
Two thick, curved fangs extended from the corners of its mouth, resembling crossed giant daggers gleaming coldly.
A pair of enormous black wings were folded against its back, their membranes adorned with bizarre black patterns.
Faint, vein-like networks were visible; once unfurled, these wings could likely blot out half the sky.
The Black Tiger's limbs were thick as pillars, planting firmly on the ground with each step, its dark claws sinking deep into the soil like hooks.
With minimal effort, they crushed the underlying rocks, kicking up clouds of dust.
Most terrifying was its tail—composed of countless segments of black bone.
At the tip of the segments hung a scorpion-like barb, shimmering with a faint blue glow.
With the slightest movement, faint black mist coiled around its body.
Within the mist, dark red lightning crackled intermittently—a sign of its evil power leaking out.
Wherever it passed, the weeds on the ground withered and blackened at a visible rate.
"My word..."
Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes, his fingers pausing as they stroked his beard.
"Is this... a variant of the Netherworld Demonic Tiger? Judging by its aura, it must be over fifty thousand years old."
"No! Old Poison, this isn't a variant of the Netherworld Demonic Tiger!"
Su Yu's eyes gleamed as he stared intently at the massive black tiger, his tone tinged with excitement.
"I've seen records in ancient texts—this is the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger!"
"Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger?"
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow, clearly hearing the name for the first time. He stopped stroking his beard, curiosity filling his eyes.
"Exactly!" Su Yu nodded, a thread of exhilaration in his voice.
"Legend says that in ancient times, when the Evil God descended, it infused its power into a white tiger."
"Corrupted by the Evil God's energy, that white tiger mutated completely, giving birth to this Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger!"
He paused, sweeping his gaze over the tiger's sinister features, then continued:
"This Soul Beast is an anomaly, mastering six attributes simultaneously—evil, time, space, lightning, wind, and brute strength."
"In terms of innate talent alone, it likely surpasses even many hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts."
Beside them, Crimson Flame felt a jolt in her heart, instinctively clenching her fists.
"Six attributes? Such a Soul Beast is truly a heaven-defying existence."
"Your Highness, its power likely far surpasses ordinary fifty-thousand-year Soul Beasts. The risks during absorption are extremely high!"
Dugu Bo also darkened his expression, examining the red-glowing crystal on the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's forehead:
"Evil God's power... No wonder its aura is so sinister."
"Little monster, are you certain you want to choose it? The Soul Ring of this creature won't be easy to absorb!"