"Thunder Substitute!"
Instinctively, Li Yu activated the skill.
In an instant, Thunder Spirit replaced him!
And he found himself in the realm of the Elemental Spirits, near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that were absorbing him.
The moment he entered the domain, although his sight was unaltered, Li Yu heart clenched in terror as he saw—
Thunder Spirit, having just completed the substitution with him, suddenly felt a ripple in the surrounding space. It expanded outward like a wave.
Visible to the naked eye!
Then, in the blink of an eye, the space began to fold, and countless invisible yet extraordinarily distinct thorn-like spikes emerged. These were spatial thorns, piercing through the air.
Before Thunder Spirit could even react, its body was pierced by these spatial thorns, becoming riddled with holes.
"Ugh!"
The connection between Thunder Spirit and Li Yu was severed at that moment!
After reaching a hundred thousand years in its fifth soul ring, Thunder Spirit had become capable of existing independently. As an elemental entity, it was not subject to death in the usual sense—only needing time to recover.
However, even in its "death," Li Yu still felt the consequences.
What shook Li Yu more, though, was that despite Thunder Spirit's inability to fully match the hundred thousand-year strength due to his soul power limitations, it was still stronger than most Soul Sages. Yet, it had been so easily killed!
But Li Yu did not cower or flee. Instead, his eyes gleamed with excitement.
In the Spirit Sight realm, he had clearly seen the appearance of the assailant and had already deduced its power!
It was a soul beast with a body entirely silver-gray, a dragon's head with a serpent's body, its scales covering its entire form. Strangely, thorns grew from these scales, emitting a sharp, gleaming light.
This creature's appearance was truly unique.
From the aura it exuded, it seemed to be a soul beast of only about twenty to thirty thousand years, but its explosive power was no less than that of a soul beast with sixty or seventy thousand years of cultivation!
Through its displayed abilities, Li Yu had already guessed its identity.
Space, thorns...
These features were so strikingly similar to the Thorn Dragon!
Although the name Thorn Dragon was only coined in later timelines, and no descriptions of its appearance existed, these characteristics were unmistakable.
Combined with its terrifying combat strength, Li Yu was nearly certain this was the Thorn Dragon.
And that was the reason for the excitement in his eyes.
Although the Thorn Dragon displayed immense strength, it still only had twenty to thirty thousand years of cultivation. More importantly, it has elemental powers!Thus, Li Yu saw no reason to fear.
In the instant this thought crossed his mind, just as Thunder Spirit was torn to shreds, Li Yu sprang into action.
He stepped out from the "anchor point" left behind when he entered the Elemental Spirit realm. At the same time, he activated the Spirit Wings skill—Elemental Storm!
A colorful vortex instantly condensed, and the Elemental Chaos effect immediately enveloped the area.
The Thorn Dragon revealed its form.
Its silver-gray vertical pupils filled with confusion: Wasn't this human already pierced through, torn to pieces? How could he suddenly appear there? And how did she reveal my form?
The Thorn Dragon was perplexed but sensed danger.
It instinctively began drawing on the spatial elements within its body. However, a silver flash flickered across its form, and the gathered spatial elements instantly dissipated!
What was even more bizarre was that the dissipated spatial elements didn't return to the dragon's body. Instead, they were absorbed by the peculiar breeze that surrounded it!
The Thorn Dragon's previously confused expression turned to one of panic.
It twisted its body, attempting to escape, but found the space strangely sluggish.
Was it really going to die here, unable even to release a little wind?
In its eyes, there was a deep sense of unwillingness. If only it had another chance, it would never have considered simply pricking this human in front of it...
"It's useless!"
Li Yu's voice was calm. At the moment the Elemental Chaos effect enveloped the space, the outcome had already been sealed.
Unless the Thorn Dragon possessed stronger spiritual power than him, it stood no chance of breaking free from the Elemental Storm!
As his voice echoed, the Thorn Dragon's vertical pupils met his gaze.
From them, Li Yu saw the words: Spare me!
But he ignored it, silently tossing a few Water Fire Flowers into the swirling vortex behind him.
If he hadn't reacted so swiftly, he would already have been turned into a sieve!
Now, to show mercy would be like telling the Thorn Dragon: Don't move, let me kill you... just for a moment.
Wasn't that pure stupidity?
Pfft!
Under the strengthening Elemental Storm, the Thorn Dragon, with only twenty to thirty thousand years of cultivation, had no power to resist.
It lasted only a few minutes before its body slowly began to collapse.
A black soul ring slowly rose, but curiously, there were silver patterns adorning it.
Additionally, a silver light appeared within the dissolving body of the Thorn Dragon.
Li Yu's eyes flashed with a strange light. He reached out, and a silver-gray soul bone appeared in his hand.
"This shape... the left leg bone?"
Though the Thorn Dragon only had a few thousand years of cultivation, the soul ring and soul bone it produced were undoubtedly top-tier!
Despite its diluted bloodline, it still belonged to the dragon species!
Putting all of that aside, its spatial attributes were extremely rare and valuable.
"First, absorb the soul ring..."
Li Yu placed the Thorn Dragon's soul bone into his spatial realm and sat down cross-legged. His spiritual power touched the strange silver-patterned black soul ring created by the Thorn Dragon.
Of course, before doing so, he had released the Hook Snake, Bi Fang, and Tree of Life for caution.
These single-element "beasts" were easy for him to control without effort.
Their strength was sufficient to protect him.
As for Phoenix, its presence was too ostentatious, so Li Yu didn't release it.
...
...
As the Thorn Dragon was killed...
In the heart of the Star Dou Forest, the Lake of Life.
The lake trembled suddenly, ripples spreading out, and soon those ripples turned into terrifying waves!
A horrifying aura surged into the sky.
Nearby, the Sky Azure Bull Python, the Titan Giant Ape, and Tang San and Tang Hao, who were desperately searching for Xiao Wu, were all alarmed.
"What is going on?"
The Titan Giant Ape, though large, wasn't very bright.
"Why have those beings suddenly grown enraged?"
The Sky Azure Bull Python was equally confused, but its massive pupils suddenly flickered with fear.
It exclaimed, The fortune of the Star Dou Forest... why has it suddenly decrease by a little?
"How is this possible?"
Xiao Wu face changed slightly. "Could it be that a great being has perished... but no, if that were the case, the disturbance would be more than this, and it wouldn't just be a little..."
"I don't know..."
The Sky Azure Bull Python shook its head. "I'll go investigate. Xiao Wu, take Ah Tai and follow the directions to check the situation!"
"Okay!"