Infiltrating the Soul Hunting Forest

When the morning light had just spread across the wheat fields of Xi Nan Village, Jiang Zhen was already standing at the village entrance with a simple pack on his back.

The coarse-cloth pack contained the wheat cakes Village Chief Liu had baked through the night, a small bag of clean water, and the Martial Soul Proof Su Yuntao had left behind.

"Not waiting three months? If you go to Nuoding Academy with that kid Iron Egg, you'll at least have some company on the road."

Village Chief Liu leaned on his cane, his eyes filled with worry.

When Jiang Zhen had said yesterday that he wanted to leave early for the Soul Hunting Forest, Village Chief Liu had nearly thought the child had been blinded by his Innate Full Soul Power. A six-year-old venturing alone into a Spirit Beast Forest was practically handing his life to the blade's edge.

Jiang Zhen smiled and tightened the pack on his back. "Grandpa Liu, I know what I'm doing."

Seeing Jiang Zhen's firm attitude, Village Chief Liu knew he could not dissuade him. He could only pull a long blade, polished until it gleamed, from inside his robe and stuff it into Jiang Zhen's hands. "Blacksmith Li made this. Use it to protect yourself. Remember, if you can't beat them, run. Don't force yourself!"

"Mm!" Jiang Zhen accepted the long blade. A layer of cloth was still wrapped around its hilt, and it made his palm feel faintly warm.

He bowed deeply to Village Chief Liu, then turned and headed in the direction of Nuoding City—the Soul Hunting Forest lay thirty li southeast of Nuoding City.

Jiang Zhen did not idle along the way. When he passed a stream, he deliberately stopped and circulated the "Profound Water Clear Mind Art," trying to use "Virtual Flow."

According to the art's records, this skill required drawing the Water Attribute Energy inside the body into resonance with the water flowing outside, using Soul Power as a guide to conceal the body within the water.

He crouched beside the stream and injected Soul Power from his fingertips into the water, silently reciting, "Virtual Flow!"

The next second, pale-blue waterlight wrapped around his body, and he actually "melted" into the stream.

There was no feeling of suffocation, only the coolness of the water sliding over his skin. He could clearly see the pebbles on the streambed and could even move rapidly with the current, at a speed three-tenths faster than running on land.

"The consumption is lower than I expected. With my current Soul Power, I should be able to sustain it for three hours." Jiang Zhen tried turning and stopping abruptly several times in the water. When he finally emerged on the bank, a ring of ripples spread around his body, wetting all the nearby grass.

With this skill, infiltrating the Soul Hunting Forest should be no problem. After all, he did not have an entry token.

Just after noon, Jiang Zhen finally saw the outline of the Soul Hunting Forest. Just as it had been described in the original story, a circle of ten-meter-high iron fences surrounded the forest's outskirts, their spikes pointing skyward and gleaming coldly beneath the sun. Outside the fences, a team of soldiers in refined iron armor patrolled back and forth. Cold light flashed from the tips of their spears—they were the outer guards of Spirit Hall.

He hid in the distant bushes and observed carefully. There was a low-lying area at the southeastern corner of the fence. A small ditch carved out by rainwater flowed alongside the fence, and the fence's base there was mottled with rust, seemingly leaving a gap. This was the place.

Once the patrolling soldiers had gone far enough, Jiang Zhen hunched over and dashed across, crouching beside the ditch. He circulated "Virtual Flow" again and merged his body into the water flowing through the ditch, slowly moving toward the base of the fence with the current. As the water carried him through the gap beneath the fence, he could even feel the coldness of the iron. Fortunately, the skill was extremely well concealed, and it caused no disturbance.

The instant he passed through the fence and stepped into the Soul Hunting Forest, the clamor vanished.

Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering mottled spots of light across the ground.

The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of grass and trees, along with a faint aura of Soul Power. The occasional beast roar from the distance made his heart tighten.

Jiang Zhen immediately put away his relaxed Xin Tai and fastened the short blade at his waist. A Small Water Orb condensed in his palm. After being tempered by the "Profound Water Clear Mind Art," the orb was now more solid than it had been during his awakening, and the water patterns on its surface were even finer.

He remembered that the original story had said that the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest mostly held Ten-Year Spirit Beasts and Hundred-Year Spirit Beasts. Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts were rarely seen, but he still could not let his guard down. In particular, he was looking for a Water Attribute Spirit Beast of around 1,500 years, so he had to travel deeper into the forest.

An ordinary Spirit Master who had never tempered his body could bear a first Spirit Ring of at most four or five hundred years. But Jiang Zhen had relied on the system's "Body Tempering Spirit Liquid" to temper his body since he was three. His physique now far surpassed that of an ordinary Soul Elder, and he could absorb anything under 1,800 years!

Jiang Zhen proceeded inward along a path cut through the forest, especially vigilant.

He saw a palm-sized "Swift Wind Rabbit" (Ten-Year Spirit Beast), and he also saw a "Nether Cat" (Hundred-Year Spirit Beast) dragging a long tail, but neither was what he was looking for.

Only when he reached a small stream did he stop. From the grass upstream came a faint rustling sound.

He quietly circled around to the side of the grass and parted the blades. His eyes immediately lit up.

Coiled within the grass was a snake as thick as a bucket. Its entire body was emerald green, and its scales shone with a moist luster beneath the sunlight. There was a faint golden marking atop its head. It was the Water Attribute Spirit Beast, the "Azure Water Spirit Snake."

Based on the Spirit Beast knowledge provided by the system, Jiang Zhen judged that the snake's scales were dark in color and its markings clear. Its age should be around 1,500 years—right within the range he could withstand. Moreover, the Azure Water Spirit Snake's Spirit Ring was compatible with a Water Attribute Martial Soul.

Apparently sensing the gaze upon it, the Azure Water Spirit Snake suddenly raised its head. A pair of blue vertical pupils locked onto Jiang Zhen, its tongue flicking rapidly as it issued a threatening hiss.

Jiang Zhen did not dare to be careless. He immediately retreated two steps and circulated the "Profound Water Clear Mind Art." A layer of transparent "Water Condensation Shield" appeared across his body.

The next second, the Azure Water Spirit Snake shot forward. It was as fast as a green bolt of lightning. Its jaws opened wide, revealing two venom-coated fangs as it lunged straight for Jiang Zhen's throat!

"So fast!" Jiang Zhen's pupils contracted. As he twisted aside to dodge, three Water Arrows condensed in his left hand. This was a basic attack he had simulated with Soul Power. Though it was not an official Spirit Skill, it made up for that with flexibility.

The Water Arrows shot toward the Azure Water Spirit Snake's seven-inch point, but its scales easily deflected them, leaving behind only several shallow water marks.

"The scales are hard enough. I'll have to use finesse." A thought flashed through Jiang Zhen's mind. He pushed off with his feet and ran toward the stream.

The Azure Water Spirit Snake pursued relentlessly, whipping its tail toward Jiang Zhen's back.

Jiang Zhen had been prepared. He abruptly turned around and concentrated the Soul Power of the "Water Condensation Shield" on his back.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, he was sent flying into a tree. The shield dimmed considerably, but at least he had not suffered serious injury.

Taking advantage of the opening after the Azure Water Spirit Snake's attack, Jiang Zhen leaped into a pool beside the stream and shouted, "Virtual Flow!"

Waterlight rose again. His body merged into the pool and rapidly moved through the water, carrying him behind the Azure Water Spirit Snake.

The Azure Water Spirit Snake lost sight of its target. Its golden vertical pupils swept around in all directions, and it appeared somewhat agitated.

Just then, Jiang Zhen emerged from the pool. Ripples spread around his body, enveloping the Azure Water Spirit Snake.

"Now!" A sharp glint flashed through Jiang Zhen's eyes as the Soul Power within his body surged madly into the Small Water Orb in his palm.

This time, the water orb did not grow larger. Instead, it continuously compressed until it became a water bullet only the size of a fingernail, yet glowing with a deep-blue light.

He aimed at the golden marking atop the Azure Water Spirit Snake's head—the location of its weakness—and hurled the water bullet!

Pffft!

The deep-blue water bullet struck the marking with pinpoint accuracy and exploded instantly. Powerful Water Attribute Energy surged into the spirit snake's body through the marking.

The Azure Water Spirit Snake let out a shrill hiss, its body twisting violently as emerald-green blood seeped from beneath its scales.

It struggled to counterattack, only to discover that the Soul Power within its body had been disrupted by the Water Attribute Energy, leaving it completely unable to gather strength.

With no other choice, it continued fighting with the brute force of its body.