After leaving the Titan Giant Ape's threat range, the group paused to rest in a relatively safe clearing in the forest. The guards seized the time to recover their Soul Power, lingering fear still evident on their faces. Facing the oppressive presence of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was unlike any battle they had experienced before.
Xiao Wu sat beneath a tree with her knees drawn to her chest, her face buried in the crook of her arms, her shoulders trembling slightly. Er Ming's roar, filled with fury and confusion, still echoed in her ears. She did not know whether bringing these people into the forest had been the right thing to do.
Zhu Zhuqing walked over to Yang Yu and said softly, "Your Highness, just now..."
"It's nothing." Yang Yu interrupted her. "A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast may be powerful, but it isn't impossible to deal with. Your soul ring is more important."
His gaze swept over the somewhat dispirited group. His voice was calm, yet it carried a reassuring strength. "Rest for two hours, then continue."
Two hours later, the group set out again. This time, Xiao Wu led them far more cautiously, practically skirting the edges of those powerful auras. Perhaps the Titan Giant Ape's roar had intimidated the surrounding area, because for the next half day, they did not encounter a single powerful ten-thousand-year soul beast.
It was not until evening, when the fading rays of the setting sun struggled through the dense canopy and cast mottled patches of light through the forest, that Xiao Wu at the front and Zhu Zhuqing, who was guarding the flank, stopped at the same time.
"There's something... a very powerful dark aura." Zhu Zhuqing's sharp gaze turned toward a patch of forest ahead to the left, completely shrouded in shadow. The