Twisted Mist was the signature ability of the Mist Thorn.
It was not a toxic fog, but rather a pure spiritual mist. While the water vapor appeared as a vast expanse of white, the spiritual mist intermingled within it could invisibly distort sight, carrying a bizarre effect that shielded one's field of vision. Most living beings, if they lingered within it even for a short while, would lose their sense of direction if they were not careful.
As time passed, spiritual resistance would gradually be weakened to its lowest point, eventually leading the victim into a state of trance and mental absence. In this defenseless state, they could only become nutrients for the Mist Thorn—a plant-type soul beast as dangerous and terrifying as the Ghost Vine.
Beyond ten thousand years, a soul would manifest. Even as a plant-type soul beast, it could possess formidable spiritual soul skills. Aside from lacking self-buffing abilities, its repertoire included shielding vision, distorting the five senses, weakening spiritual perception, and lowering spiritual resistance. Any of these four, if taken out individually, were essentially equivalent to a Domain; together, they could be called a Domain-like soul skill.
When combined with True Illusion, it pushed the boundaries of the treacherous and unpredictable to the extreme. It was praised by Shi Nian as one of the soul skills most suitable for a spiritual-type soul master. In the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, an opponent could be defeated without ever even seeing the user's face.
Furthermore, spiritual-type soul masters were already rare, and their soul skills were often impossible for ordinary people to guard against; one could only endure them head-on. Yet, enduring them would lead to one's spiritual resistance being eroded by the Twisted Mist. Even a Soul Emperor, if they stayed inside long enough, would inevitably fall!
"Disciple, wait a moment. Let your master find its main trunk."
Mist Thorns usually hid underground, only emerging to the surface when it was time to hunt. Dealing with a mere ten-thousand-year soul beast, Dugu Bo, as a Title Douluo, acted with unrestrained arrogance.
Faint green light erupted from his body as the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor martial soul possessed him. He grabbed a vine and strode quickly into the depths of the fog. No matter how the spiritual mist tried to block his vision or affect his senses, it ultimately could not shake a Title Douluo.
Boom!
"Up you go!"
A sky-shaking roar echoed through the clouds. Amidst the dense water vapor, the spiritual mist visibly and rapidly contracted. Dugu Bo used his profound soul power to disperse the mist and hoisted a brown thorn trunk half a meter in diameter from deep underground.
All the thorn's branches had been snapped, scattered around the area, leaving only the main trunk trembling incessantly in Dugu Bo's hand. Crimson sap dripped from the breaks like actual blood. The Mist Thorn seemed to be shuddering, twisting actively like a spirit snake in an attempt to flee, but it was pinned completely motionless by the soul power pressure of the Title Douluo.
"Master's divine might is truly boundless." Zhao Liuyun approached, his eyes unable to hide his wonder.
Dugu Bo only smiled indifferently. "I severed a total of eleven major side branches. It's around eleven thousand years old. You may absorb it."
Zhao Liuyun nodded in acknowledgement. With a flicker of dim light, he summoned the Moon Gloom Begonia. As the third soul ring flashed slightly, he first applied "Dread Dream Flashback," inducing a dream of terror.
There was no need to test it on humans; no soul master was ignorant enough to dare offend him. Zhao Liuyun also had no immediate need for combat. A skill judged by his master to be capable of rivaling a Soul Emperor was not something an ordinary soul master could block.
However, soul beasts were different; he could attempt more profound applications.
[Hypnosis]—Explode the terror!
The Mist Thorn had only manifested a soul after reaching ten thousand years of cultivation, so it did not have much accumulated memory. The only bone-deep fear it possessed was the overwhelming pressure from just a moment ago when Dugu Bo severed its branches. In a single instant, it had been beaten to the brink of death.
And now, that fear exploded violently.
"Screech—!"
It was not a physical sound, but a shriek born of intense spiritual vibration. Even under the shroud of a Title Douluo's soul power pressure, the Mist Thorn continued to tremble maniacally, its vines twitching as if in convulsions.
Dugu Bo saw that his disciple was testing his soul skills, but he did not stop him. He was pleased to see that Zhao Liuyun was not one of those fools who failed to study their soul skills deeply and could only release skills based on their soul rings.
The fear was ignited, and the brief dream was about to end. Immediately following was the next move.
[Dream Entry]—Dream Interference!
Using the yet-to-subside terror as an anchor, the dream that was about to shatter was forcibly extended.
[Hypnosis]!
The terror erupted a second time. The Mist Thorn's aura weakened significantly, but it was not yet dead.
Zhao Liuyun frowned slightly. "A soul beast's will is this resilient? Was I being too idealistic?"
He suddenly remembered that this was, after all, a spiritual-type soul beast. He had reached a general conclusion in his mind. In a flash of thought, the Demonic Dragon Silver Pupil opened at the center of Zhao Liuyun's brow, staring fixedly at a single point.
An imperceptible void point appeared at the focus of his gaze. Invisible spiritual power converged with extreme speed. The energy output of the thousand-year soul bone was far superior to the past, and it was currently gathering a vast amount of spiritual power. To ensure a lethal strike, Zhao Liuyun deliberately extended the charging time.
This kid, isn't he afraid of jolting his master...
A Title Douluo's spirit was tough, but there was no need to take a hit for nothing. Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow with a light laugh and casually tossed the incessantly struggling thorn onto the ground. However, his soul power remained like an invisible mountain, pinning it down firmly.
"Myriad Phenomena Return to Void!"
An invisible bolt of lightning seemed to flash through the void. A burst of spiritual explosion, imperceptible to the naked eye, instantly shattered the Mist Thorn's soul.
The soul beast, which had been restless and moving, finally ceased all motion. Countless tiny black lights seeped continuously from its body, and even the severed branches were not spared. Specks of black light fell like ink into water, slowly diffusing.
The condensation of a soul ring signified the absolute demise of the soul beast.
Zhao Liuyun adjusted his state. As a black halo emerged, he gave a slight thought, and energy came surging forth. Theoretically speaking, hunting soul beasts would grant experience for the [Hunter] profession. However, for both hunts, his master had handled everything. Aside from the final blow, he had played no role at all. The experience gained as a hunter was basically negligible.
"I'll just add points directly once I have more experience later."
"Entry requires personal practice, but as long as the profession is changed, general experience can be put to use."
Dispersing the stray thoughts in his mind, Zhao Liuyun composed himself and closed his eyes in concentration. Absorbing a Mist Thorn of only eleven thousand years was quite easy. His body could withstand it, and he still had plenty of strength left to guide the soul ring's energy to attempt to strike the third of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
As for the spiritual portion, he did not encounter any overly intense soul shocks. The final "Myriad Phenomena Return to Void" had already shattered the beast's spirit. The few soul fragments left were intimidated by the dragon's might and were crushed into powder without any resistance.
In just six hours, the soul ring absorption was complete. The new meridian did not break through, but Zhao Liuyun vaguely felt that the resistance to striking the meridians seemed much smaller, no longer as difficult as before.
Was it due to the qualitative change in soul power? Absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring ahead of time could prompt the soul power to transform prematurely. What flowed through Zhao Liuyun's meridians was already a misty soul power—a state of qi gathering and condensing into liquid. Even without reaching Level 70, with the boost from the fifth and sixth soul rings, his soul power could be qualitatively changed into liquid soul power in advance.
As for the soul skill, there wasn't much to say; it was a version of Twisted Mist imbued with the Dream attribute. Shielding vision, distorting the five senses, weakening spiritual perception, and lowering spiritual resistance—not a single one was missing. Zhao Liuyun was too lazy to come up with a name, so he simply called it "Nightmare Sky Mist."
From this point on, Zhao Liuyun had broken through to become a Soul Ancestor, possessing four soul rings and four soul skills. However, they were all environmental or control-based. Were it not for the external soul bone, the Demonic Dragon Silver Pupil, he would not have a single spiritual offensive soul skill.
Looking at the third soul skill, "Dread Dream Flashback," the soul skill itself—setting aside the various profession skills—had rather limited control effects.
However...
According to Shi Nian, the sixth soul ring chosen for Zhao Liuyun was an extremely rare and precious soul beast that could reverse the disadvantage spiritual-type soul masters faced in direct combat. Thinking about it now, perhaps the fifth soul ring would fulfill that wish.
A flash of heat flickered in Zhao Liuyun's eyes as his heart filled with increasing anticipation.
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