Chapter 24: The Golden Honey Bear-Baiting Plan
Whoosh!
Flames, like a long rainbow, vanished in an instant above the Star Dou Forest.
Controlling the Golden Flame Eagle Martial Soul, Su Ye flew towards the northwest of the forest.
Feeling the burning sensation from his Martial Soul, Su Ye furrowed his brow, and his murderous intent toward the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear grew stronger.
The first soul ring was entirely fire attribute, and naturally, the Martial Soul carried fire attribute energy.
If only a single soul ring was added, with the Martial Soul fused with a large amount of solid metal, it could completely resist the power of fire.
But as the number of soul rings increased, the fire attribute energy they fused with became more and more violent and pure.
Fire restrains metal.
No matter how stable the metal is forged, once the fire reaches its critical point, the metal will still melt.
At this moment, the Golden Flame Eagle Martial Soul was at such an awkward point.
"If I fuse another ten-thousand-year fire attribute soul ring, there are only two possible outcomes..."
"Either the Martial Soul will be consumed by the fire, or both it and I will be roasted into charcoal..."
Su Ye clenched his fists, feeling a slight sense of dread. He knew this was no exaggeration.
The energy from the soul rings directly affects the Martial Soul, and then flows into the body to forge it.
If the Martial Soul were completely broken through, and a thousand-year soul ring's energy flooded into the body...
With the physical body resisting a thousand-year soul skill??
And it's targeting the most vulnerable meridians!
The result was, of course, self-evident.
Following the memory from last time, Su Ye flew west-northwest.
An hour later, he landed on a towering ancient tree.
Around him was an open, barren land, devoid of any grass, with a large water pit.
The ancient tree was also quite unique, with a trunk diameter of about ten meters. The middle part had been struck by lightning, leaving only about ten meters, but a new section had grown at the top.
From a distance, it vaguely resembled a person with hair.
Standing at the top of the tree, looking around, Su Ye didn't spot the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear.
After flying around the area, there was still no sign of it.
"Strange, I met the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear here last time."
"Could it be that its territory isn't nearby, and it just frequently comes here to drink water?"
Su Ye felt a bit uneasy.
The Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear was extremely rare. It was a stroke of huge luck to find one in the Star Dou Forest.
Last time, he had been chasing a two-thousand-year Fire Phoenix when he accidentally arrived here.
The moment he landed, a three-meter tall iron-tower-like beast was gnawing on honey...
That moment, the air had seemed frozen.
Hmm?
Suddenly, a sound from afar caught Su Ye's attention, causing him to raise his brow.
Could it be...??
Whoosh! Su Ye immediately summoned his Martial Soul and flew toward the direction of the rumbling sound.
Before he got close, the dark golden figure appeared like a first love, deeply etched in Su Ye's eyes, never to be forgotten.
The dark golden fur covered its entire body like the strongest armor, and its massive arms were exaggeratedly muscular, bulging like huge mountains.
Strength, dominance, and power.
This giant creature before him showcased the ultimate expression of the power a wild beast could possess.
What caught more attention was the dark golden giant claws on its hands.
The claws, over a meter long, were like a guillotine—unimaginably sharp and terrifying. With a slight wave, it seemed as if the very air was being cut apart, producing a hissing sound.
"It's simply... a big treasure!"
Hearing the heavy breathing of the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear, Su Ye's eyes were full of fire. He could already imagine the surging power in his veins.
The Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear, an existence capable of contending with dragons, carried the bloodline of the Bimon.
A century-old Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear could make even a ten-thousand-year soul beast avoid it.
It was also the closest to the ultimate gold.
"If I could fuse even a drop of Bimon's bloodline..."
Of course, Su Ye was only thinking about it.
Fusing Bimon's bloodline into his Martial Soul would be tantamount to suicide.
Energy is different from metal—it would definitely be passed on to him. Although his body was strong, it wasn't at that exaggerated level yet.
Sensing the human scent, the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear suddenly turned its head, and its fierce eyes flashed with an intense crimson.
It stopped shaking the ancient tree and faced Su Ye directly. Its gaze was cold and bloodthirsty, devoid of any emotion. Angry at being disturbed while searching for food, it opened its massive mouth to roar at the sky.
Roar—
The Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear's roar was filled with an unimaginable power.
Su Ye felt an invisible barrier strike him, his bones creaking in response, not feeling too good.
"Good, good, good!"
The more it was like this, the more excited Su Ye became. The more he felt the need to hunt it.
Though he had absorbed many souls, the difference in the age of the soul rings wasn't large. The energy didn't form a huge disparity, and the strengthening effect on his body wasn't 1+1=2, but rather about 1.2.
After acquiring nine soul rings from the 1,000-2,000 year range, when they fused into a ten-thousand-year soul ring, Su Ye's physical power barely reached the level of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
Weak!
Still too weak!
Only with such top-tier bloodlines could he make a qualitative change.
Whoosh!
Unable to catch Su Ye in mid-air, the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear raised its palms and hurled a huge rock towards him in fury.
"...So greedy?"
Su Ye skillfully dodged and noticed the honey on top of the ancient tree. An idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
Right!
Why have I always been thinking of solving this with brute force!
A smile bloomed on his lips as he quietly put away his bow and arrow. Perhaps this would save him some effort.
Every drop of blood from the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear was like a piece of his heart...
With that thought, Su Ye turned and flew away.
?????
The Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear's eyes were filled with confusion. Seeing Su Ye flee, it sneered with its jagged teeth, as if it had seen this sort of thing before. It then continued shaking the ancient tree in front of it.
Above, the massive honeycomb was on the verge of falling.
Meanwhile, Su Ye was searching for honey in the woods, and, of course, some additional ingredients.
"With the physique of the Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear, ordinary herbs are basically useless."
"A Seven-Rank Dreamweed should be able to do the trick, but it will likely smell the scent."
"Mm, add some scent enhancers to mask it, so it will be irresistible once it eats it."
Carrying a basket on his back, Su Ye slowly searched the forest, occasionally reaching out to pick some herbs and place them into the basket.
Before long, nightfall descended.
Su Ye lit a bonfire in a cave.
The firelight illuminated the area in front of him...
Eight honeycombs, about the same height as him.
More than 1,300 Dreamweed plants.
Over 300 Sweet Grass flowers.
...
After a while, only one golden, glowing, and soul-stirringly fragrant golden honeycomb remained.
Meanwhile, beside it, Su Ye had a wooden stopper stuck in his nostrils, and he was quickly pounding herbs in his hands with a "thud thud" sound.
Finally, after being heated by the flames, the herbs in the iron bucket were completely concentrated into an essence.
Thinking about how, as a martial artist, he was resorting to such despicable tricks, Su Ye felt an overwhelming sense of shame and frustration.
"Martial virtue is gone, and the human heart is no longer what it once was."
"It's time to apply some strong medicine to cure it!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The fragrant essence of the aphrodisiac was scraped clean by Su Ye and completely smeared on the golden honeycomb.
Dark Gold Fearclaw Bear: ???
Is this what you call the human heart not being what it once was?
Is this your way of admitting you were wrong?
In the firelight, the young man walked out of the cave holding the honeycomb, and the echo of nightmares resonated in his shadow.
"It's time for the medicine..."
(End of Chapter)