Chapter 144: Death Tyrannosaurus vs. Nether Spirit Horse — Which to Choose?

"Roar!"

Along with a dragon's roar, the first to appear was a Death Tyrannosaurus.

"It's this guy again. Gu Ran, you are fated to meet it! But as expected of the Sunset Forest, this Death Tyrannosaurus is much stronger than the one we met last time—its age is probably around ten thousand years," Tian Lin said with a fearless smile.

The appearance of this Death Tyrannosaurus was a good thing; it was also a very suitable soul beast for Gu Ran. If he could absorb it, not only would he likely gain a powerful attack soul ring, but his third soul ring and torso bone would also be strengthened by absorbing a soul beast of the same kind.

"Boss, the other one is coming too." Gu Ran looked in another direction, where a pitch-black horse was galloping toward them.

It was the Nether Spirit Horse they had originally been searching for.

"What do we do, Gu Ran? The Nether Spirit Horse could give you a strange attack soul skill, but this Death Tyrannosaurus would also greatly boost your strength. Which one will you choose? Decide quickly!" Tian Lin shouted.

"I—" Gu Ran's indecisiveness kicked in. Both were excellent options, making it hard for him to choose.

But the two soul beasts weren't going to wait for him to decide, especially the Death Tyrannosaurus. It had already opened its bloody mouth and lunged at Gu Ran.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Domain of Bones!"

Gu Ran could be indecisive about many things, but never in battle. In an instant, he launched a counterattack, trapping the Death Tyrannosaurus in a giant forest of bones.

But a ten-thousand-year-old Death Tyrannosaurus was as powerful as a typical twenty-thousand-year-old sub-dragon soul beast. With its formidable physical might, it swung its claws and swept its tail, breaking through the bone forest's restraints.

On the other side, the Nether Spirit Horse was preparing to escape. First, the alluring soul aura from earlier was gone, and second, it was no match for the Death Tyrannosaurus.

"Trying to run? First Soul Skill: Freezing Snow!"

With a sweep of his magic sword, Tian Lin sent a wave of intense cold toward the Nether Spirit Horse. Its limbs were instantly frozen. The horse's physical strength was not high, and it couldn't break free from Tian Lin's ultimate ice.

At that moment, the Death Tyrannosaurus finally broke through the bone forest and released a wave of deathly energy at Gu Ran. Gu Ran responded by releasing his death aura, and the two streams of dark energy clashed mid-air, locked in a stalemate.

But Gu Ran was clearly at a disadvantage. The ten-thousand-year Death Tyrannosaurus's power was close to that of a high-level human Soul King—much stronger than Gu Ran.

Seeing this, Tian Lin's eyes lit up. He had an idea that could benefit both sides.

"Second Soul Skill: Ice-Fire God Seal! Fifth Soul Skill: Illusory Water Thunderstorm!"

Tian Lin unleashed his second and fifth skills. The Ice-Fire God Seal seriously injured the Death Tyrannosaurus and sealed some of its power, weakening it to about a thousand years' strength.

Meanwhile, the Illusory Water Thunderstorm rapidly boosted Gu Ran's cultivation, raising his soul power to nearly level 53.

With the weakening of one and the strengthening of the other, the situation instantly reversed.

"Quick, Gu Ran! Go all out and force the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul out!" Tian Lin called.

Without hesitation, Gu Ran had his Skeleton Warhorse unleash a full-force attack, channeling all his soul power into one strike.

The explosive attack pushed back the Death Tyrannosaurus's aura, and at the same time, Gu Ran's energy swept over it, pulling out its soul.

"Now! Soul Bone Skill: Soul Capture!"

At this moment, Tian Lin used his million-year skull soul skill to invade the Nether Spirit Horse's consciousness, then ordered the horse to use its ultimate move, Soul Devour, directly absorbing the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul.

Tian Lin also took the opportunity to examine the Nether Spirit Horse's soul storage space. It wasn't small, but still short of the ten-thousand-year mark—about 7,500 years. "That's enough, Gu Ran. Kill it. I'll use Illusory Water Thunderstorm to add 4,500 years to its cultivation, making its age 12,000 to 12,500 years—slightly over the limit for a fifth soul ring. Your physique should handle it. Plus, since it just devoured the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul, that soul power hasn't been digested yet and will also be absorbed by you. It'll be extremely beneficial."

"Okay, Boss! Soul Bone Skill: Furious Heaven-Crushing Fist!" Gu Ran raised his left arm, gathering a massive amount of soul power.

Back when Dugu Bo obtained two soul bones from the Spirit Hall, one was a poison-type skull, which was kept in reserve for lack of a suitable user. The other, a power-type left arm bone, was given to Gu Ran.

This soul bone's attached skill was a powerful punch that could instantly multiply Gu Ran's strength—a pretty good soul bone ability.

Gu Ran asked Tian Lin to name this punch, and Tian Lin chose "Furious Heaven-Crushing Fist," after a legendary move by the demon lord Jiang Shili from the "Legend of Sword and Fairy" universe. Though Gu Ran clearly couldn't compare to Jiang Shili, he still aspired to become a powerful figure himself.

Gu Ran's punch blasted the Nether Spirit Horse's head and with the boost from Illusory Water Thunderstorm, a black soul ring appeared and was drawn to him.

This soul ring was somewhat different from the one Rongrong absorbed before, as it contained a soul-shaking force—not from the Nether Spirit Horse, but from the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul.

Soul Devour and Soul Release were the Nether Spirit Horse's two ultimate moves—one to devour souls, the other to release all the evil spirits within itself, attacking enemies like a hundred ghosts in a night parade. Thus, this soul ring contained an intense soul power.

Because Gu Ran had previously consumed Iron-Armored Peony, Tian Lin wasn't worried about his physical endurance; as long as Gu Ran's spirit could endure, there'd be no problem.

Tian Lin was confident for two reasons: first, he was right there and could help with his Holy Spirit Domain if necessary; second, Gu Ran had the Death Tyrannosaurus torso bone, giving him powerful soul defense.

Not long after absorbing the soul ring, Gu Ran's face twisted in pain. The torso bone flickered on his body, helping him resist the soul shock. Seeing this, Tian Lin knew there was no problem.

After all, this soul ring was only a few hundred years over the limit. If Gu Ran couldn't even handle that, he'd embarrass himself.

Time passed bit by bit. As the sun began to rise, Gu Ran stood up and shouted excitedly, "Boss, I did it! And I'm over level 54 now!"

Two yellow, two purple and one black soul rings circled around Gu Ran, pulsing with energy.

Seeing this, Tian Lin first withdrew the boost from Illusory Water Thunderstorm. Maintaining such a boost for so long had drained him; Gu Ran's absorption had nearly exhausted him.

Once the boost was removed, Gu Ran's level began dropping rapidly—54, 53, 50!

It finally stopped at level 50. It seemed that thanks to the Death Tyrannosaurus's soul, the soul ring provided enough power to stabilize him at level 50.

Though it was a bit of a shortcut, Gu Ran could now be considered a true Soul King.