The method to kill the Dream Demon was actually very simple.
Zhao Liuyun stared at the Dream Demon, which was still casting its Dream Initiation Soul Skill, letting the drowsiness wash over him like a tide.
The moment his consciousness blurred, he reactivated the contingency plan he had prepared long ago—
[Hypnosis], Detonate!
An energy body lacks a physical attachment; to maintain its form, its energy must exist above a minimum critical point.
Once this boundary is broken, the consequences are self-evident.
Sure enough, just as expected, the faint purple phantom's energy was overly depleted and could no longer maintain its form.
The Dream Demon's body gradually blurred, eventually fading away.
A faint light of soul power condensed from the place where it vanished. The yellow light was clear, the yellow light was bright—a hundred-year soul ring!
The obvious fluctuation of soul power instantly woke up the burly man with the heavy beard and the rest of the group.
Seeing the yellow light ring that had appeared in front of Zhao Liuyun, as well as the faint purple, white-striped human-faced scorpion lying on the ground, they were startled to realize—
A soul beast had silently sneaked up on them!
"Nephew, this... what is this?" Tian Wenlong's face was ashen, his gaze like a knife, shooting toward the person who was supposed to be on night watch. The fierce glint in his eyes almost spilled out.
Everyone had fallen asleep. If a slightly threatening soul beast had appeared at that moment, the entire team might have been wiped out!
This was a major dereliction of duty.
Upon returning, severe punishment was inevitable.
Zhao Liuyun's eyes flickered slightly; he could generally guess a little about the scorpion's origin.
The Dream Demon itself had no direct attack capability. Since its soul skill for drawing people into dreams had failed, it should have fled immediately according to common sense.
But why did it linger?
This was likely related to its essence.
The Snow Empress was a materialized Ice Elemental Spirit with a physical body and could go anywhere in the far north.
The Dream Demon, however, was born from a dying person's illusionary dream, essentially a mass of spiritual energy.
Judging from the scorpion, which had died on the ground sometime earlier, it probably couldn't exist independently of spiritual power for too long before it became sufficiently powerful.
It might have been moving between different spirit-type soul beasts, instinctively entering dreams to gain spiritual power for growth.
If his guess was correct, the Scarlet Mirage Wolf was its penultimate host, and this Human-Faced Scorpion was the Dream Demon's last host.
It feeds on spiritual power, and it had been drawn by Zhao Liuyun's concentrated and pure spiritual power!
Have I been chosen as the next host?
Surprised, Zhao Liuyun observed carefully. He recognized half of the soul beasts on the ground:
"The White-Striped Purple Scorpion, an extremely rare nocturnal soul beast, possesses potent venom. A single drop of its poison is enough to kill at least ten people."
Hearing this, everyone was even more frightened.
They had practically walked along the edge of death.
Tian Wenlong fiercely smacked the night watchman's head, scolding loudly, "You lazy, sleeping wretch!"
"Do you know..."
"Uncle Tian, you don't have to be so quick to blame him," Zhao Liuyun raised a hand to stop him.
The fact that everyone fell asleep simultaneously must have been the Dream Demon's doing.
A pure spirit-type soul beast specializing in spiritual attacks is not easily detectable by ordinary people.
But this type of energy body soul beast is too rare, and it leaves no corpse.
To avoid trouble, he decided to attribute the soul ring to this scorpion.
Under the confused gaze of the mercenaries, Zhao Liuyun lowered his head.
He hadn't smelled the specific stench of a poison-attribute soul beast. Based on the fact that the Dream Demon parasitizes spirit-type soul beasts, he deduced:
"This should be a mutated 'Human-Faced White-Striped Purple Scorpion.' The withered tail indicates the venom has degenerated, while the swollen forebody means its spiritual power has increased."
"As for its death, it was probably trying to use its soul skill on multiple people at once, suffered a backlash, and was shocked to death."
The reality was that it was likely drained of spiritual power by the Dream Demon and died.
As for why it didn't generate a soul ring?
Spiritual power is one of the foundations for soul ring formation. Since it was completely devoured, how could a soul ring possibly form?
The mercenaries were familiar with many soul beasts through practical experience, but their theoretical knowledge was limited.
Now that Zhao Liuyun spoke with conviction and provided a plausible explanation, they naturally believed him wholeheartedly.
"So that's how it is?" Tian Wenlong was suddenly enlightened. "In all my years of soul hunting, this is the first time I've seen something like this."
Thinking of the scorpion's powerful spiritual attributes, his eyes lit up with joy.
"Then wouldn't that mean—"
Zhao Liuyun spoke seriously, "That's right, Uncle Tian. Please protect me; I intend to absorb this soul ring."
Although the exact age was unclear, the Dream Demon was a pure spiritual energy soul beast, and its soul power only constituted a very small part of it.
Judging by the spiritual power comparison, he estimated that he should be able to withstand the power within it.
"Good, good. You absorb it, go ahead and absorb it." The burly man with the heavy beard spoke with less confidence than when they first arrived.
He was even secretly planning to refund a portion of the payment.
They had barely done anything on this soul-hunting trip.
The soul beast died mysteriously; taking the money felt genuinely undeserved.
Zhao Liuyun sat down cross-legged and summoned Moonlit Lotus.
He had read many biographies and specifically sought advice from his teacher; he fully understood the key points of absorbing a soul ring.
However...
Before absorbing the soul ring, Zhao Liuyun paused and looked at Tian Wenlong again, saying slowly:
"It's understandable to fail to guard against a rare soul beast. But Uncle Tian, don't let any more problems happen this time."
A trace of embarrassment flashed across the burly man's face. He let out a low growl, and his Martial Soul, the Long-Tusk Elephant, was attached.
Amidst the rhythm of his three soul rings—White, Yellow, Yellow—he forcefully patted his chest.
"Don't worry! I will protect you with my life this time."
"Me too!"
"Us too!"
The other four mercenaries also attached their Martial Souls, especially the one who received a reduced punishment thanks to Zhao Liuyun's words, who was particularly earnest.
Zhao Liuyun's slight provocation of the burly man resulted in a response that put his mind at ease.
His gaze returned to the slightly illusory hundred-year soul ring before him.
Dream Demon's soul ring...
Come!
Soul power converged on the Martial Soul. The pure white petals emitted a soft, warm glow. Guided by the light, the yellow soul ring floated toward Moonlit Lotus.
Zhao Liuyun felt an unprecedentedly strong pressure. His entire skeleton seemed to creak under the strain.
But this was just an illusion.
The pressure from the Dream Demon's spiritual soul ring bypassed the physical body and acted directly upon the spiritual domain.
"A bit heavy..." Zhao Liuyun muttered silently.
However, it was still within his tolerance range.
Based on the biographies he had read and the growth experiences of people like Tang San and Huo Yuhao, a challenging absorption process usually signified a high-quality soul ring.
The yellow light quickly enveloped Moonlit Lotus, shrinking into a solid golden bracelet.
In that instant, a surging torrent of power rushed along his meridians like a flood, then charged straight into his mind!
His body felt slightly warm. Zhao Liuyun couldn't tell if the soul ring had allocated a small amount of power to strengthen his body or if his body temperature had naturally risen due to slight nervousness.
But the latter was more likely.
A pure spiritual energy body, where would it get physical energy from?
However, if his first soul ring didn't strengthen his body, absorbing the second one would be a bit troublesome.
Others in this situation might only be able to train fiercely to strengthen their physique.
Zhao Liuyun would do the same, but he also had the Class Panel.
"After leaving Nuoding Academy, I'll find a body-related profession," was his last thought.
The surging power of the soul ring instantly filled his not-so-large spiritual sea.
There was no time for further contemplation; his entire being seemed to sink into a boundless deep sea.
He was surrounded by layers of purple waves, with no light from the sky, and no end in sight.
In the profound depths of this sea, Zhao Liuyun vaguely saw a magnificent, large flower with petals as white as snow and a stamen as bright as gilded gold.
It was Moonlit Lotus!
His Martial Soul erupted with immense power, fiercely clashing with the continuously incoming purple seawater.
The Dream Demon was unique, born from a human's dying dream.
Although burdened by the dream and lacking sufficient wisdom, its spirituality far surpassed that of an ordinary hundred-year soul beast.
The faint purple soul ring power inherited the dying human's obsession and instinct for revenge, constantly evolving layers of killing intent by tracing the flashes of swords and shadows of blades from the dream.
The most dangerous spiritual contest had arrived.
Although it was merely unowned spiritual power, lacking cohesion, both its quality and quantity were far from the soul shock of a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Yet, for an ordinary Soul Master, it was still extremely perilous; a slight mistake could shatter their consciousness, turning them into an idiot.
Zhao Liuyun's naturally powerful soul played a crucial role.
The more the seawater pressed, the brighter the Martial Soul became; the more the seawater ground, the tougher his spirit became...
Spiritual power rapidly grew and condensed during the confrontation. His originally small spiritual sea also began to expand outward continuously.
This was a grueling ordeal, but also a rare opportunity.
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