Chapter 96: Reunion with the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear

Only by defeating the powerful soul beasts guarding each barrier can one advance to higher levels of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

There were still many gains along the way. Gu You encountered a thousand-year Earth Dragon, which he fiercely absorbed into his spiritual world. It was an inferior dragon species, extremely rare.

The staff outside were astonished by Gu You's actions, absorbing energy into his mind—top-level comprehension, and most importantly, there were no issues. It was incredible.

The frequency of soul beast appearances began to decrease. The dark forest was tranquil and peaceful.

The plants here contained a dense life force, which would normally attract many soul beasts. However, the lack of any beastly movement here seemed unusual.

This situation was easy to explain. Gu You had entered the territory of a very powerful soul beast, and this was the calm before the storm.

Gu You's arm began to be covered in dragon scales, and his soul rings immediately lit up. This time, he did not hide his soul rings; the pressure of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast spread outward.

Even though the staff had seen Gu You's red soul ring before, seeing it again still made many of them gasp in surprise.

Purple Emperor Destruction Claw!

The shadow of a dragon swallowed the grass in front of him, continuing to move forward. Just as he was about to advance further, suddenly— a shadow flashed by, and the dragon shadow was instantly torn apart.

A massive figure stepped out from the darkness. It was over ten meters tall, with eyes devoid of emotion—cold and cruel, blood red shining in them. Its arms were huge, thick, and its front claws were dark golden blades, over two meters long! Its rough hands opened, and the claws barely moved through the air, yet each movement left behind a faint hissing sound.

Gu You was stunned. "Is this the one Tang Wulin encountered? But it's three times bigger! At least five thousand years of cultivation! Damn! Is there an inside story here? I come and the soul beast level is adjusted higher? This is equivalent to a fifty-thousand-year soul beast!"

The one he had defeated at the age of six was only comparable to this beast after twenty similar ones.

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear was a top-tier soul beast, always among the best, both in ancient times and now. Legend has it that in ancient times, a Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear killed a giant dragon!

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear coldly stared at Gu You, taking steps toward him. Its dark golden fur shimmered with light.

The trees around it collapsed as it passed, even massive ancient trees fell, despite being over a hundred meters tall.

Roar!

A mighty dragon roar rang out as Gu You began to merge with his martial soul. He fearlessly charged at the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, wanting to compete with it in terms of strength and physical power.

The staff outside were dumbfounded. It was the first time they had seen a human try to compete physically with a soul beast.

Upon hearing the first dragon roar, the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear paused for a moment, seemingly a little fearful.

But upon seeing Gu You's small form, it roared in anger and swung one claw at him.

Purple Emperor Terror Claw!

Five beams of light shot toward the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, striking it and making a sound like two stones colliding. The damage was minimal.

However, this blow made the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear retreat one or two steps, and the force from the dragon claws clashing with the bear's claws caused the ground to tremble.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding rang out. Gu You sidestepped with his left hand, stabilizing himself.

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear was badly shaken, the collision caused the surrounding earth to crack and break apart. It retreated six meters and looked down to find that the point where the claws had collided had left a white mark, creating a small crack.

Roar! Roar!

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear roared in anger. Its beloved claws, which it carefully honed every day, had been damaged by this human boy!

For the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, its claws were everything. With its claws injured, it was completely enraged, and the dark golden light on its body intensified.

It charged toward Gu You. The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear was known for its extreme aggression.

Gu You jumped into the air, gathering energy in his dragon claws, adding the Destruction attribute. With the atmospheric pressure, and doubling his soul power, his strength increased dramatically.

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear swung its claws, trying to grab Gu You.

But it seemed to have eaten too much lately, and each of its claw swings appeared sluggish and difficult.

At this moment, Gu You had already descended rapidly.

Boom!

The sound of metal forging echoed as Gu You struck the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's neck. It felt like hitting steel—its neck twisted awkwardly. Fortunately, Gu You's body strength was sufficient. If it had been an ordinary person, that blow would have shattered bones or even crippled them.

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear tried to twist its neck back, but Gu You didn't give it a chance. A series of rapid punches rendered the bear unconscious.

Gu You stood on the massive creature's body, cracking his fingers, and connected to its mind. This was a thousand-year Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, a soul beast of incredible power, and he had to preserve it. He took out a spirit bottle and began to condense the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear into his spiritual world.

The soul power consumption of the spirit bottle was rapid. In no time, it consumed an amount equivalent to a Soul Douluo-level storage of soul power. But the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear did indeed materialize within his mind. Gu You sighed in relief.

The staff outside the Spirit Ascension Platform could only remain silent. It was too powerful; it didn't even seem human.

Now it was time for the spoils!

Gu You surveyed the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's fallen soul bone. It was also dark golden with cloud patterns, seeming to be forged from an alloy, yet without the metallic feel, possessing a stronger texture, almost like a living organism.

Gu You bent down and picked it up, surprised to discover it was the left paw bone. Oh my! He was going to have dual-arm claws!

He had originally planned to get a left paw bone like in the original story, but it seemed the heavens were helping him.

The soul power began to connect, and the soul bone gradually emitted a pitch-black light. This was a transformation, almost approaching a ten-thousand-year soul bone, perhaps even already reaching that level. It was not hard to imagine that a soul bone capable of supporting the energy of a five-thousand-year Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear would be of similar cultivation level.

Purple light began to appear, merging with the black.

The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's soul bone began to levitate, dragging golden light lines behind it, becoming transparent, resembling golden amber.

Gone was the pain from the first absorption. It was actually very comfortable. With a whoosh, the soul bone transformed into dark light, as if it were flooding into the ocean, and was quickly pulled into Gu You's left arm.

It was fully absorbed...

(End of Chapter)