Hunting Soul Beasts

Xiao Wu leaned in very close as she spoke.

Even her breath brushed against him.

Mu Yuan looked at Xiao Wu before him.

Was she... flirting with me?

Just then, Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly came from upstairs.

"Xiao Wu, what are you doing? Why haven't you come up yet?"

Xiao Wu immediately felt as though she had been caught. She hurriedly ran upstairs in a fluster.

Mu Yuan remained where he was for a moment, then shook his head.

"This little rabbit..."

The next day, everyone left the hotel and continued toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

Before long, Mu Yuan and the others reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Because this place was close to the forest and Soul Beasts often appeared here, no ordinary people lived here anymore. Those active in the area were mostly mercenaries and merchants.

Mu Yuan and the others paused here briefly to replenish their dry rations and water before preparing to officially enter the Star Dou Great Forest.

During their stay, Mu Yuan saw many people locked in cages—men, women, and half-grown children alike—with chains around their necks.

Mu Yuan had previously come to the Star Dou Great Forest with people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to hunt Soul Beasts, but he had never stopped here before. This was therefore his first time seeing such a scene.

Dai Mubai and the others, however, had long since grown accustomed to it.

The two great empires did not prohibit the sale of slaves. These people were slaves who could legally be bought and sold.

Hunting Soul Beasts was an extremely dangerous job. There were very few high-level Soul Masters; most Soul Masters were only between Level 10 and Level 20. They could not hunt Soul Beasts alone and could only form mercenary groups, using traps and similar methods to kill Soul Beasts.

Thus, many mercenary groups lacking in strength would buy slaves and use them as bait for hunting Soul Beasts or as expendable scouts, thereby reducing the risks faced by the mercenary group.

Looking at these people, Mu Yuan gained a little more understanding of this world.

He did not try to change anything.

Because such matters were determined by the era itself.

Unless he could change the entire era by himself, saving these slaves would serve no purpose.

Tang San cared even less about these people.

Tang San was an assassin who had transmigrated from an ancient world. In the world Tang San had once lived in, incidents such as selling oneself into slavery were nothing unusual, so Tang San naturally felt nothing about it.

If he had not been worried that ignoring Ma Hongjun's matter would affect Xiao Wu, Tang San would never have intervened at all.

After replenishing their supplies, everyone quickly left the area and officially entered the forest.

The forest, which blotted out the sky and sun, spoke of its ancient age.

Xiao Wu took a breath of fresh air. Waves of fragrant plant scents washed over her, making her whole body feel comfortable.

Yet none of it compared to the Soul Power on Mu Yuan's body.

Xiao Wu looked at Mu Yuan, and a strange image inexplicably surfaced in her mind.

She hugged Mu Yuan and did whatever she pleased...

A crimson flush quickly spread across Xiao Wu's cheeks. She hastily dispelled the image in her mind to avoid letting everyone notice anything unusual.

At that moment, in the distant core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Titan Giant Ape revealed a delighted expression.

"Big Sister Xiao Wu is back!"

Meanwhile, everyone moved through the forest.

Although the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest were relatively less dangerous, everyone remained extremely cautious as they traveled.

Suddenly, Zhao Wuji's expression changed.

"Someone's coming!"

Everyone immediately stopped, their expressions turning tense.

Encountering other people in the Star Dou Great Forest was no good thing. Sometimes, it was even more dangerous than encountering Soul Beasts.

Mu Yuan, however, was not nervous.

Because he had long sensed the identities of these people. They were Soul Masters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect whom he had sent out earlier.

Several figures in white descended before them and bowed to Mu Yuan. "Your Highness!" Then they looked at Ning Rongrong. "Young Sect Master!"

Ning Rongrong frowned slightly and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"This..." The people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect looked at Mu Yuan with some difficulty.

Mu Yuan asked, "Have you found the Soul Beast?"

One of them hurriedly replied, "We found it. Elder Huo has taken people to guard the area where the Soul Beast is located and sent us to notify Your Highness."

Mu Yuan nodded and said to everyone:

"I'll be leaving first to obtain my fifth Soul Ring."

The people from Shrek Academy widened their eyes at that.

"Wait, your fifth Soul Ring? Mu Yuan, you've broken through to Soul King!"

Mu Yuan nodded without offering much explanation, then directly left with the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The Soul Beast he was hunting this time was over fifty thousand years old. Other than Zhao Wuji, the people from Shrek Academy could not help at all, and Zhao Wuji still needed to ensure everyone else's safety. That was why Mu Yuan had not told the others in advance.

Mu Yuan followed the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect deeper into the forest and soon arrived at their destination.

Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old already possessed intelligence and a clear sense of territory, so under normal circumstances, they would not move around casually.

Plant-type Soul Beasts were even more so. Most plant-type Soul Beasts could not move even if they wanted to.

Once they arrived, Elder Huo came forward with his people to greet them.

Elder Huo's name was Huo Zhong. He was an eighty-eighth-level assault-type Spirit Douluo. Though advanced in years, he still wore armor made for battle, and his style was exceptionally rugged.

Ning Fengzhi had specially sent him to help Mu Yuan obtain his Soul Ring after learning the news.

Elder Huo brought Mu Yuan to an observation point. Following Elder Huo's line of sight, Mu Yuan saw the Soul Beast they were hunting this time.

It was a massive ancient tree that towered into the clouds, two or three times larger than the other trees around it. However, what they truly intended to hunt was not the tree itself, but the enormous vine wrapped around it.

The Sacred Wood King Vine, a Soul Beast that lived symbiotically with trees. The Sacred Wood King Vine hid itself in trees, killed passing Soul Beasts, then drained their blood. The corpses would become nutrients, nourishing the trees with which it shared a symbiotic relationship.

That was also why this tree had grown so enormous.

Elder Huo led several Soul Sages in surrounding the great tree from afar, preparing to make their move.

A piece of wood flew out from Mu Yuan's body and transformed into a Wood Clone, which walked toward the tree.

At first, everything was very calm.

But the instant the Wood Clone approached the tree, a green vine lashed out like lightning, swiftly wrapping around the clone before directly dragging it into the towering canopy.

The vine was covered in thorns, which easily pierced the Wood Clone's outer layer as it prepared to draw the blood inside.

However, the Wood Clone's body contained only wood, not blood.

Only then did the Sacred Wood King Vine realize it had been tricked.

But it was already too late.

It had originally hidden its main body within the canopy, but its previous attack had exposed its true body.

Elder Huo instantly summoned his martial soul. A massive bow appeared in his hand as eight Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—emerged.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Arrow Piercing the Clouds!"

Elder Huo's thick arm pulled back sharply, and an arrow burning with flames shot toward the Sacred Wood King Vine's exposed position.

Elder Huo's Soul Skill did not actually possess a fire attribute effect, but its immense power and speed ignited the air through friction, making the arrow appear as if it carried flames.

With a boom, the canopy was blasted apart by the arrow. A massive vine over thirty meters long fell alongside it.

This Sacred Wood King Vine had an extremely high cultivation. Though it was a plant, it was almost no different from an animal.

Its thick, elongated body resembled a giant serpent, covered all over in barbs. Its roots were directly exposed to the air, thrashing wildly without losing any vitality.

Mu Yuan calmly watched the scene and directly gave the order:

"Move!"

The Soul Masters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect each unleashed their Soul Skills.

Mu Yuan had no intention of acting personally.

If he had to take action himself even to kill a Soul Beast, then wouldn't becoming Ning Fengzhi's disciple have been for nothing?