Star Dou Great Forest

The Star Dou Great Forest lay directly south of the Heaven Dou Empire, spanning both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. Because of the sheer number of soul beasts within the forest, this was the area where the border between the two empires was least distinct.

Most of the Star Dou Great Forest's territory lay within the Star Luo Empire, though the Heaven Dou Empire had never acknowledged this.

Several days later, Bi Zihan and the others' carriage slowly came to a stop at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. As they looked at the forest before them, they could sense the fresh scent unique to vegetation, as well as the crisp air and the fragrant dampness of the soil.

"This time, the three of you will hunt the soul beast on your own. However, I'll follow you in secret, in case you encounter a soul beast or person beyond your ability to handle. But unless it becomes necessary, I will not step in to help you." Ghostly Charm's slightly hoarse voice rang out beside Bi Zihan, Hu Liena, and Ye Lingling.

"Alright, Uncle Ghost, we understand. We're only hunting a soul beast around seven hundred years old. There's no difficulty at all, and we won't need your help." Bi Zihan smiled indifferently. Although he was only a level thirty-seven Soul Elder, his soul ring configuration and physical body were unimaginably powerful. On top of that, he had two divine artifacts in hand. Soul beasts below ten thousand years posed no threat to him at all, much less when they were only hunting a soul beast around seven hundred years old on the outskirts.

"Young Master, the Star Dou Great Forest is still very dangerous. You must remain vigilant at all times while inside and not let down your guard." After reminding the three of them, Ghostly Charm vanished from where he stood.

"Alright, let's head in and find a suitable soul beast. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can return to Spirit Hall." Bi Zihan glanced at Hu Liena and Ye Lingling before walking directly into the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Yes, it's been three years. I really do miss Teacher a little. Lingling, once we get to Spirit City, I'll take you around to have some fun. Spirit City is far more fun than Heaven Dou City." A faint smile appeared on Hu Liena's face as she quickly followed Bi Zihan.

"Spirit City is a place of pilgrimage for all soul masters. I've never been there before, so I'm really curious what it looks like." Ye Lingling smiled and followed without hesitation.

The terrain within the Star Dou Great Forest was complex, with no paths to speak of. All there were were lush ancient trees that blotted out the sky and tangled vines that blocked the trio's way forward.

Bi Zihan looked at the vines ahead. Black light flickered in his hand, and a longsword appeared within it. The sword was entirely black, with two black wings at its hilt and a blood-red streak running down the center of its blade.

This longsword was the divine artifact Doomsday Judgment, and it was also the weapon he wielded most comfortably.

Bi Zihan infused his Soul Power into Doomsday Judgment and gave it a light swing. A streak of black light shot from the blade, severing all the vines ahead and allowing the three of them to enter the forest smoothly.

"Zihan, what kind of soul beast are you planning to hunt for Lingling?" Hu Liena asked as she followed behind Bi Zihan.

"A soul beast that matches one's martial soul or one's path of development is extremely beneficial to a soul master, but Ye Lingling doesn't need to go through all that trouble. No matter how many soul rings her martial soul gains, it will only ever have one soul skill. So long as the soul beast is around seven hundred years old, it can serve as her soul ring. There's no need to choose carefully." Bi Zihan's voice was casual.

Normally, a soul beast compatible with one's martial soul and development path could grant an extremely useful soul skill. But Ye Lingling's martial soul did not require such trouble. The Nine Heart Begonia possessed only a single healing soul skill; as long as the soul beast's age was suitable, that was enough. No other soul skills would appear anyway.

"If only the age matters, then there should be plenty of soul beasts around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest that meet Lingling's requirements. We won't need to choose too carefully." Hu Liena looked at Ye Lingling beside her, appearing somewhat happy.

"As long as it's around seven hundred years old, that's enough. We don't need to pick any particular soul beast. Once we hunt one, we can leave the Star Dou Great Forest." Ye Lingling nodded lightly, agreeing with Bi Zihan and Hu Liena.

The three walked along the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, searching for a soul beast around seven hundred years old. Along the way, they encountered several soul beasts over six hundred years old, but Bi Zihan felt their ages were a little too low and did not hunt them.

Then suddenly, Hu Liena's eyes lit up. Pointing ahead, she said, "Zihan, look, there's such a huge egg up ahead."

Bi Zihan looked in the direction Hu Liena was pointing. In a place resembling a nest, there was an egg roughly thirty centimeters in size. The egg was blue and decorated with patterns.

Near the nest was a swamp. The mud in the swamp constantly churned, as though some soul beast were hidden within it.

"You two stay here. I'll go take a look at that egg and the soul beast in the mud!" Bi Zihan's eyes gleamed. After instructing Hu Liena and Ye Lingling, he walked toward the swamp.

The moment he reached the edge of the swamp, the mud began to churn violently. A tremendous roar came from within it, followed by the appearance of a soul beast with a snake-like body, pale blue scales, and four eagle-like claws.

Though the soul beast was covered in mud, Bi Zihan recognized it at a glance. It was a flood dragon, roughly seven meters long and around seven hundred years old! Bi Zihan's eyes lit up instantly as his gaze fixed on the egg in the nest. Flood dragons belonged to the category of super soul beasts. Though they were not as powerful as true dragons, among super soul beasts, flood dragons stood at the very top.

And now, his sights were set on that egg. One of the skills in his left arm soul bone was Contract of Hell. Since the egg had not yet hatched, it surely would not resist forming a contract with him.

Once the contract was formed, he could feed it Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Treasures to make it grow rapidly. In the future, it could not only become a powerful assistant, but even serve as a mount. It was simply a guaranteed profit with no loss. As for the seven-meter flood dragon before him, it would be perfect as a soul ring for Ye Lingling.