Chapter 427: Ba An
Long Yuxue stared wide-eyed at the sight of Xu Yuan smashing the large bat-like creature with a single punch, feeling as though her worldview had been shaken.
Was this still a human?
And what was that crimson flame-like power?
How could he even use it in this place?
At this moment, Long Yuxue found Xu Yuan incredibly mysterious.
Not only could he freely utilize spiritual power within the Abyss passage, but he could also harness the energy here through intent and the grand momentum of heaven and earth. He even seemed to possess some extraordinary power.
Long Yuxue couldn't help but mentally complain: How did such a brute get recommended as a researcher?
"Officer, which way should we go next?" Xu Yuan turned to ask Long Yuxue.
Long Yuxue took a deep breath and led Xu Yuan into the largest opening.
Since you're so strong, I'll have to increase the difficulty for you.
The opening she chose was fifty meters high.
It practically occupied an entire section of the cavern wall.
Upon entering the opening, Xu Yuan's heart jolted.
He had already sensed the presence of a powerful lifeform ahead.
As they ventured deeper into the opening, the Abyss creature came into view.
Even though the opening was fifty meters high, it now appeared cramped because this Abyss creature was over forty meters tall.
This was a massive monster with a dragon-like head and a body as large as a small mountain. Its entire body was covered in dark green scales, supported by three legs. Its upper body was extremely robust, its arms unusually long, and each of its two claws had a diameter of over five meters. A huge tail dragged behind its body.
The monster had four eyes, all glowing with a blood-red light, and its aura was overwhelmingly menacing.
"This is Ba An. Be careful," Long Yuxue whispered a warning.
Ba An?
Xu Yuan looked at Ba An's form and couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
To be honest, a forty-meter-tall monster would put immense pressure on any ordinary soul master.
Even if they could use soul power, there was no guarantee they could withstand an attack from such a creature—let alone in a situation where soul power couldn't be used.
Xu Yuan grew serious.
This Ba An exuded a formidable aura. Based on Xu Yuan's perception, it was at least at the level of a Soul Douluo—and not just any Soul Douluo, but one who unleashed their full combat potential in their True Body.
Taking a deep breath, the blood essence surrounding Xu Yuan condensed into flames, swirling and spreading along his right arm before finally forming into a spear.
With the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear in hand, Xu Yuan's entire demeanor changed.
Watching from behind, Long Yuxue's eyes widened once again.
Is this a martial soul?
No, how can you even use your martial soul here?
At this moment, Long Yuxue was no longer concerned about the evaluation. She was now intensely curious about how Xu Yuan was achieving all of this.
Beneath Xu Yuan's feet, five soul rings emerged in succession.
They were five pitch-black soul rings.
If one observed closely, faint patterns could be seen within the ink-black soul rings.
The first soul ring had interwoven patterns of five colors.
The second soul ring had fiery red patterns.
The third soul ring had dark golden patterns.
The fourth soul ring had emerald green patterns.
The fifth soul ring also had fiery red patterns.
The soul rings themselves were pure black, but upon closer inspection, these faint patterns could be discerned—a unique trait of ten-thousand-year soul rings.
To be precise, perhaps thousand-year or hundred-year soul rings could also exhibit such mystical qualities, but the willpower contained within them was far too weak to manifest like this.
The first four soul rings simultaneously began to glow.
The profound blackness seemed to devour the surrounding light.
A touch of emerald green rapidly infused itself into the blood essence flames, as if fresh fuel had been added to a raging fire, making the flames burn even more fiercely.
The combined flames of blood essence and life force merged into the spear in Xu Yuan's hand. Various colors intertwined, birthing a world-shaking spear aura at the spear tip.
Sensing the threat, Ba An let out a roar. Its four eyes glowed like fireballs, and it spat out a jet of dark purple flames toward Xu Yuan.
Long Yuxue's eyes widened as she watched the Abyss inferno surge toward Xu Yuan, her heart trembling.
Without any equipment, could he possibly withstand Ba An?
The destructive power of the Abyss inferno was astonishing. Even Long Yuxue, a five-ring Soul King, felt suffocated just from being near it.
Xu Yuan thrust his spear forward.
The spear aura pierced through space.
Within the Abyss inferno, a gap was torn open by the spear aura.
Wherever the spear aura passed, the inferno was extinguished.
Ba An swung its massive dragon claw, striking in front of its body to collide with the spear aura.
Boom!
Xu Yuan quickly retreated. The Abyss inferno had melted a massive crater into the ground.
The blood essence surrounding his body grew even denser, and the fifth soul ring began to glow.
Ba An's earlier reaction hadn't been particularly swift, making it suitable for battle using the Dharma Image technique.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Manifestation of Blood Essence—Dharma Heaven Image!"
The blood essence surrounding Xu Yuan solidified, swiftly transforming him into a forty-meter-tall giant.
The blood essence Dharma image took a step forward, causing the entire cave to tremble.
Boom!
A punch was thrown, its spear-like intent sharp and piercing.
The spear techniques were seamlessly integrated into his fists and feet.
Each punch was the result of unleashing multiple soul skills of the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Xu Yuan charged forward, engaging Ba An in close combat.
The two exchanged blows, back and forth.
Ba An truly lived up to its reputation as a race born from the tenth layer of the Abyss—the emperor of its domain. It possessed tenacious vitality and exceptional endurance, among other impressive attributes. Although it was at a disadvantage against Xu Yuan, sustaining heavy injuries from punches imbued with piercing spear intent, it still managed to unleash astonishing power.
As its injuries worsened, Ba An let out a roar and entered a berserk state.
Its entire body of dark green scales radiated with an intense glow. The whole of Ba An went wild, its aura causing the very air to tremble.
Xu Yuan snorted coldly, his blood essence erupting as he delivered a crushing punch.
Ba An swung its two dragon claws in quick succession. Its right claw collided with Xu Yuan's fist, sending ripples of crimson blood essence and dark green energy surging outward.
A cracking sound emanated from Ba An's right claw, yet it still managed to block Xu Yuan's punch. Meanwhile, its left claw shot out, slamming heavily into the chest of Xu Yuan's blood essence Dharma image.
Both combatants were sent stumbling backward more than ten steps, only stopping when they crashed into the walls behind them.
Ba An roared furiously, its right claw twisted and deformed but forcibly corrected. Dark green energy infused into its right claw, restoring its strength.
On Xu Yuan's side, the chest of his blood essence Dharma image had a massive dent. Dark green energy clung to the solidified surface of the blood essence, continuously corroding the Dharma image's body.
Without the amplification of battle armor or a mech suit, Xu Yuan was indeed beginning to feel the strain.
"Never expected that, without relying on battle armor or a mech suit, I'd find it so difficult to deal with a Ba An at the Soul Douluo level."
In reality, it wasn't just the battle armor and mech suit that couldn't be used properly—he also found it inconvenient to deploy the Seven Forbidden Techniques.
Xu Yuan gained a new understanding of his own strength.
For the foreseeable future, while dealing with Abyss creatures, this would likely be the upper limit of his capabilities.
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