strictlysupreme Chapter 10 Hunting the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—The Earth Rhinoceros King
Chapter 10 Hunting the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—The Earth Rhinoceros King
After agreeing on their strategy, the five of them quietly approached the dark brown land.
The closer you get, the stronger the earthy smell in the air becomes.
Cracks began to appear on the ground, varying in width, with the widest cracks large enough to fit a person inside. These were traces left by the Earth Rhinoceros King during his daily activities.
"Such a strong concentration of earth element." Tang Xiao sensed the energy fluctuations in the air. "This Earth Rhinoceros King's cultivation is probably more than 100,000 years, possibly close to 150,000 years."
Tang Wei's expression was grave: "150,000 years... Tang Hao, are you sure you can do it?"
Tang Hao nodded without hesitation, "Yes."
His gaze was as firm as iron. Since he was going to hunt down a 100,000-year-old soul beast, the older the better.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward—this is an ironclad rule in the world of Soul Masters.
Half an incense stick later, Tang Hao and his group of five had reached the edge of the territory of the Earth Rhinoceros King.
From here, you can clearly see the view in the center of the territory.
It was a circular open space about 500 meters in diameter, barren of any vegetation, with a smooth, mirror-like surface, as if it had been carefully polished.
In the center of the open space, there lies a "small mountain".
No, that wasn't a mountain, but a soul beast so enormous it was suffocating.
The Earth Rhinoceros King is over twenty meters long and ten meters tall at the shoulder. Its entire body is covered with a thick, dark brown carapace, which is covered with natural rock patterns.
Its head is enormous, with a single spiral horn on its forehead pointing straight to the sky. The base of the horn is as thick as a bucket, but the tip is as sharp as a spear.
It was resting with its eyes closed, each breath causing a slight tremor in the ground.
"Good heavens..." Tang Xiao gasped, "This size is even larger than recorded."
Looking at the nearly 150,000-year-old Earth Rhinoceros King before him, Tang Hao smiled.
A fierce fighting spirit ignited in his eyes, the excitement of seeing a worthy opponent.
"Get ready." Tang Wei transmitted his voice using his soul power, and the voice rang directly in the minds of the other four.
"Proceed according to plan. The sect leader and my lord will keep each other in check, while Tang Hao will lead the attack."
"Tang Ming, Tang Jin, the outer perimeter is your responsibility. Remember, the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest is fraught with danger, so don't let your guard down."
Tang Hao slowly took a deep breath, and his level 90 soul power began to flow through his body.
His gaze was fixed on the seam of the Earth Rhinoceros King's neck carapace, which was precisely the Earth Rhinoceros King's weakest point.
"Three, two, one."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Hao and his four companions shot out of the woods like arrows.
The moment they stepped into the open space, the Earth Rhinoceros King suddenly opened his eyes.
It was a pair of enormous, earth-yellow eyes, with no distinction between pupils and sclera. Only layers of rock-like patterns flowed within them. There was no anger, no panic, only an indifference as if looking down upon ants.
"Moo—!!!"
The first roar did not come from the throat, but from the depths of the earth.
The ground churned like waves, and all five people staggered at the same time.
Tang Wei reacted the fastest, his seventh spirit ring lighting up: "True Spirit Body!"
A gigantic phantom of the Haotian Hammer appeared, then crashed into the ground, forcefully stabilizing the ground within a ten-meter radius.
Tang Xiao made his move almost simultaneously, his seventh spirit ring lit up with "Martial Spirit True Form", and another huge phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer appeared. This time, the hammer was not smashed into the ground, but towards the Earth Rhinoceros King.
Faced with the sudden attack, a hint of mockery, almost human-like, flashed in the eyes of the Earth Rhinoceros King.
It didn't even flinch.
"clang--!"
Tang Xiao's Haotian Hammer struck the target first, producing a loud clang like metal clashing.
Sparks flew from the point where the hammer struck the skull; the seemingly fragile scalp was ten times harder than steel.
Feeling the immense recoil from the Haotian Hammer, Tang Xiao retreated accordingly.
Seeing that his attack had not caused any substantial damage to the Earth Rhinoceros King, Tang Xiao was not discouraged, after all, it was just a simple test.
As Tang Xiao retreated, Tang Wei, having stabilized the ground, once again raised the enormous Haotian Hammer and smashed it down towards the head of the Earth Rhinoceros King.
"The Nine Absolute Techniques of Haotian: The Penetrating Word Technique!"
The Earth Rhinoceros King did not dodge Tang Wei's attack either.
When the Haotian Hammer touched the head of the Earth Rhinoceros King, it did not produce a loud clang like metal clashing.
Because all the power of the Haotian Hammer was transformed into a hidden force, penetrating the Earth Rhinoceros King's outer defense and striking its core directly.
The Earth Rhinoceros King's head sank slightly from the impact.
It finally let out a real roar.
"Moo—!!!"
The Earth Rhinoceros King, who had been lying prostrate on the ground, slowly stood up.
This process lasted a full three seconds, yet it brought an oppressive feeling as if the earth were collapsing.
When its 20-meter-long body is fully upright, its head almost touches the 30-meter-high tree canopy.
The forelegs lifted slightly, and then—stepped down.
"Scatter!" Tang Wei roared.
The predicted major earthquake did not occur. Instead, the ground suddenly softened and turned into a quicksand vortex with a diameter of 100 meters.
A terrifying suction force came from below; this was the Earth Rhinoceros King's domain skill awakened after 150,000 years of cultivation—Earth Devouring Swamp!
Tang Ming and Tang Jin simultaneously unleashed their soul skills from the outside, slamming them into the ground in an attempt to disrupt the energy structure of the quicksand vortex.
But when the Haotian Hammer struck the ground, all its power was instantly swallowed up by the powerful earth element.
"The Nine Absolute Techniques of Haotian - The Zhen Character Technique!"
Tang Xiao and Tang Wei swung their Haotian Hammers almost simultaneously, smashing them towards the ground.
The two shockwaves combined and tore a channel through the quicksand.
The Earth Rhinoceros King in the center of the quicksand was thus briefly locked in a stalemate.
In that instant, Tang Hao moved.
He had been waiting.
Wait until the Earth Rhinoceros King reveals a weakness.
With one step, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and Tang Hao's figure transformed into a streak of red lightning.
He didn't use any fancy footwork, only the purest, most violent acceleration.
Soul power surged explosively through the meridians in his legs, instantly breaking the sound barrier!
The figure had already left afterimages in the air.
"A strike that reaches the heavens."
Tang Hao gripped the hammer with both hands.
The Haotian Hammer surged in price amidst the storm.
The Sky-Piercing Strike is the strongest single-target attack among the Haotian Ultimate Techniques, condensing the user's soul power, physical strength, and spiritual power into the Haotian Hammer.
However, Tang Hao's attack not only combined soul power, physical strength, and spiritual power, but also his unparalleled killing intent.
The Earth Rhinoceros King, realizing what was happening, let out a roar of shock and rage.
It sensed the approach of death from Tang Hao's hammer blow and frantically tried to turn its head to block the attack with its unicorn.
But it's too slow.
Tang Hao's hammer blow was too fast.
The giant hammer crashed down.
No sound.
Or rather, the sound was so loud that it created a brief period of vacuum silence.
The moment the hammer made contact with the shell, a visible red ripple spread out, and the space itself became slightly distorted in its path.
And then—
"Snap!!!"
That was the sound of shells cracking.
Not just one piece, but a spiderweb-like network of cracks instantly spread across half of its body, centered on the point of impact!
The massive, thirty-meter-long body of the Earth Rhinoceros King was forcefully knocked to its knees by this hammer blow!
The carapace at the knee of the forelimb was completely shattered, revealing the bright red flesh underneath.
"Moo—!!!"
This time, the roar was finally tinged with pain.
But Tang Hao's pupils suddenly contracted.
Because this blow did not hit the vital point.
At the last moment, the Earth Rhinoceros King managed to turn its neck, causing the hammer, originally aimed at the third cervical vertebra, to land on its shoulder blade instead.
"What a pity," Tang Wei sighed inwardly as he watched from afar.
Tang Hao's hammer strike was beyond imagination, but the Earth Rhinoceros King's fighting instincts were equally terrifying.