Second Soul Ring (3)

Three people and one beast made their way through the silent forest, their shoes crunching over dead branches and fallen leaves.

For some reason, Li Qing constantly felt that a pair of eyes had been watching them ever since they had taken their first step into this forest.

But after releasing his Mental Power and thoroughly searching every inch within a three-hundred-meter radius centered on himself, Li Qing found nothing unusual.

They had walked for several hours, and it was now evening. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was pitifully scarce. Before long, night would fall. If anything happened, it would likely be then.

Li Qing stopped and turned to Ling Ren and Tang San.

"Ling Ren, call Little White back first. It's getting dark. Let's rest here for the night."

"Brother Qing, nighttime won't affect Little White's scouting ability. On the contrary, Little White is even stronger at night. Why don't we take this opportunity to go a little farther?" Ling Ren suggested.

Li Qing waved a hand. "No need. Things like spirit rings also depend on fate. When the time comes, it will naturally appear."

"All right."

With that, Ling Ren summoned Little White back.

However, when Little White returned to their side, it seemed to have noticed something. It stared in one direction for a long while before circling Ling Ren repeatedly.

Ling Ren and Little White were connected in heart and mind, so he immediately understood what Little White meant. His brows furrowed. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Li Qing stopped him with a look.

Once they sat down, Li Qing immediately formed a layer of "Soundproof Spirit Shield Skin" around the three of them.

"Ling Ren, just now?"

Ling Ren still did not understand what Li Qing had done and looked somewhat blank.

"Don't worry. This is a Soul Power technique I developed myself. It can block the transmission of sound. So speak freely."

"Mm."

Ling Ren nodded and lowered his voice.

"Little White sensed a trace of resentment two hundred meters behind us just now. I'm afraid...

We're being followed!"

"How many of them are there?"

"Only one!"

Li Qing frowned. Someone who could evade his Mental Power detection and had the nerve to follow them alone could not be weak, but they could not be too strong either.

"We still don't know how strong they are. Don't act rashly."

"Mm!"

"Mm!"

Li Qing removed the Soul Power barrier and acted as if nothing had happened, chatting casually with Tang San and Ling Ren. Tang San and Ling Ren cooperated perfectly, and the three of them looked as though they had noticed nothing.

Afterward, Li Qing and Tang San pretended to meditate while Ling Ren kept watch, waiting for the person behind them to arrive.

It was not until deep into the night that the figure hidden in the shadows slowly emerged and bared its fangs at Li Qing's group.

Zheng Shuo was exceptionally excited. After lying in wait for several hours, he had finally found his chance to strike. He bared his teeth in a vicious smile, then concealed himself in the shadows once more and slowly crept toward Li Qing and the others.

Within the forest, a snake-like shadow twisted and coiled forward. Yet it had no idea it had already been discovered.

Li Qing's Mental Power had been probing the area all along. Although he had narrowed its detection radius, the Mental Power within each unit of area had become more concentrated. When Zheng Shuo emerged from the shadows, he was less than a hundred meters away, so Li Qing immediately noticed him and watched every movement he made.

Zheng Shuo gradually drew closer, stopping behind a tree just five meters away from Li Qing and the others.

In an instant, Li Qing and Tang San opened their eyes together.

Tang San immediately unleashed his First Spirit Skill, Entwine. Several Blue Silver Grass vines suddenly shot up beneath Zheng Shuo's feet, winding around his legs one after another.

Li Qing locked onto Zheng Shuo's position, then charged forward in a single stride with a devastating punch.

Caught off guard by their sudden attack, Zheng Shuo was thrown into momentary panic. But having been a mercenary for so many years, he reacted at once and unleashed his First Spirit Skill. His entire body turned into a shadow and slipped away from behind the tree. The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his legs remained where it was, each blade stretching outward in every direction as if searching for its lost prey.

With a bang, Li Qing's attack missed Zheng Shuo and struck the tree head-on instead. His Soul Power-wreathed fist punched straight through it.

Li Qing was startled. He had not expected Zheng Shuo to be so fast. Less than a second had passed from the moment Zheng Shuo rose to the moment Li Qing's fist struck the tree.

The shadow Zheng Shuo had become was racing into the distance at tremendous speed. The direction he was heading led deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest.

Li Qing pulled his fist from the hole in the tree and shouted in a low voice.

"Chase!"

When Zheng Shuo had escaped Tang San's Blue Silver Grass just now, his spirit rings had naturally been revealed. One white and two yellow—he was a Soul Elder.

With their combined strength, they could handle him easily.

Zheng Shuo fled without stopping. He had never expected Li Qing's group to be so formidable; their coordinated strike just now had made that clear.

After Li Qing's group chased him for some time, his Mental Power suddenly could no longer detect Zheng Shuo's presence. Even Tang San's Purple Demon Eye found nothing.

Ling Ren immediately summoned Little White, which swiftly found the correct direction.

Thus, Li Qing's group followed behind Little White, tracking Zheng Shuo deeper and deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest, closing the distance as they went.

It had to be said that Zheng Shuo's ability to hide was truly remarkable. Neither Li Qing's Mental Power detection nor Tang San's Purple Demon Eye had found any trace of him. If Little White had not been able to sense the resentment on him, it would have been difficult to say whether Li Qing's group could have tracked him at all.

After tracking him for a while, a fierce wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted ahead.

Ling Ren said, "There seems to be a Spirit Beast ahead. It's fighting him!"

"Slow down first. Let's see what happened."

Li Qing's group slowed their steps and gradually approached the place of battle.

At once, a smile appeared on Tang San's face...