"No, I need to leave the group quickly and find a way to hide the Soul Beast aura on me."
Just then, Zhao Wuji said coldly, "Don't get distracted. Search the outer area for a suitable Soul Beast for Xiao Ao. And remember, I don't want to catch anyone pulling tricks behind my back!"
Although Tang San felt that Zhao Wuji was targeting him, he said nothing.
The Star Dou Great Forest was full of danger, and Zhao Wuji was the only person he could rely on.
"Hiss!!!"
After they had continued deeper into the forest for a while, the ground began to shake again.
In the next instant, a mountain-sized shadow shoved aside the towering trees and looked down at Zhao Wuji and the others.
Zhao Wuji's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape? What's it doing on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?!"
"Don't look back—run!!!"
Though Zhao Wuji was afraid, he was their teacher, so he chose to have the students run first.
At his words, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun fled toward the distance without hesitation or looking back.
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, then Zhao Wuji roared again.
"Run! Don't worry about me!"
Only then did Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing hurry away.
The moment Tang San spotted the Titan Giant Ape, he was the first to rush off with Xiao Wu.
Ning Rongrong, however, was a Support Soul Master, and the slowest among them.
Faced with the Titan Giant Ape, she was so terrified that she couldn't speak and fell right to the ground.
The others had no time to help her. They each fled for their lives.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuji could only smile wryly. "Sigh, Flender, you've really gotten me into a mess!"
If he had only brought Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing to hunt Soul Beasts, there probably wouldn't have been a situation like this with Ning Rongrong.
But as their teacher, he wouldn't abandon her.
"Damn it, Martial Soul Avatar!"
In an instant, a Great Strength Vajra Bear appeared before the Titan Giant Ape, its enormous body blocking the giant ape's path.
Ning Rongrong had always been pampered, and she kept freezing up at critical moments. Even now, she hadn't gotten back to her feet.
However, the Titan Giant Ape had no interest in wasting time with Zhao Wuji.
With a single punch, it sent Zhao Wuji's Martial Soul Avatar flying more than a hundred meters.
Ignoring Ning Rongrong beneath its feet, it charged toward Xiao Wu.
As Tang San fled with Xiao Wu, his pupils shook in shock. "Why? Why is the Titan Giant Ape chasing me instead of Oscar and the others?!"
Xiao Wu had no idea what Tang San was thinking. Instead, she kept signaling to the Titan Giant Ape, urging it to hurry up and take her away.
"Roar!!!"
The Titan Giant Ape leaped into the air. Despite its mountain-sized body, it was astonishingly agile.
Even with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track pushed to its limit, Tang San couldn't put any distance between them.
Xiao Wu gave it a look. "Second Brother, don't hurt Xiao San. Just take me away. Don't stop here."
The Titan Giant Ape nodded almost imperceptibly, then slammed down with tremendous force, shattering the ground.
Tang San and Xiao Wu had no way to resist and were both flung into the air.
With its goal clear, the Titan Giant Ape grabbed Xiao Wu and charged into the depths of the forest without looking back.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought it had come to steal someone's wife.
"Xiao Wu!!!"
Tang San's eyes reddened with fury. He tried to save Xiao Wu, but the gale kicked up by the Titan Giant Ape's charge swept him off his feet.
Seeing this, the Titan Giant Ape actually showed a trace of humanlike disdain.
"How could a weakling like him protect Sister Xiao Wu?!"
The Titan Giant Ape was incredibly fast. In just a few moments, it had vanished from sight.
Just then, Zhao Wuji appeared with Ning Rongrong in his arms. Seeing the chaos around them, he asked, "What happened? Is anyone hurt?!"
Oscar and the others saw that the commotion had died down and returned to Zhao Wuji's side.
In the Star Dou Great Forest, they were safest by Zhao Wuji's side.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, my Xiao Wu!"
Seeing Tang San like this, the others knew that Xiao Wu had probably fallen victim to the Titan Giant Ape.
"No, I have to save Xiao Wu!" Tang San said, then headed toward the direction the Titan Giant Ape had gone.
But how could a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster possibly stand a chance against a Titan Giant Ape?
Even if he found it, wouldn't he just be throwing himself into its jaws?
Zhao Wuji was already annoyed, and now Tang San was making things worse. He struck him with a palm and knocked him unconscious.
"Rest here!"
Xiao Wu's fate was unknown, but they were too weak to do anything, no matter how much they wanted to help.
Everyone looked grim. Even if they weren't close to Xiao Wu, she was still a Shrek student.
Zhao Wuji was pacing like an ant on a hot griddle. "Why hasn't Huazi shown up yet? Doesn't he know the Titan Giant Ape is on the outskirts?"
Lan Minghua did know, and he had found out even before they did.
But this was their family business, and he didn't want to get involved.
The Titan Giant Ape and Xiao Wu weren't stupid. They wouldn't dare harm anyone from Shrek.
They both knew Lan Minghua was in the Star Dou Great Forest. Hurting anyone would only bring trouble down on them.
After a while, Zhao Wuji sensed something approaching them at high speed.
"Something else is coming. If it looks dangerous, run immediately!"
The Shrek group were now like birds startled by the bowstring.
After all, the creature they had just encountered was the King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape. Anyone would have been terrified.
This time, however, it wasn't a powerful Soul Beast, but a snake-like one with a bright red crest on its head.
"That's a Crested Phoenix Tail Snake!"
They'd searched high and low for one, and now it had practically come right to them.
Zhao Wuji had been wondering whether to take Oscar somewhere else to find a Third Soul Ring. Now the Crested Phoenix Tail Snake had come to them on its own.
And from its size, it was over a thousand years old—just right for a Third Soul Ring.
"It's a Crested Phoenix Tail Snake, Xiao Ao. You're in luck."
Zhao Wuji didn't bother having Oscar and the others help, since that would only waste time.
He slapped the charging snake across the head, nearly beating it to death.
"Xiao Ao, finish it off and absorb its Soul Ring as your Third Soul Ring."
After what had happened, Zhao Wuji had forgotten Lan Minghua's instructions.
Oscar, however, didn't know that Lan Minghua had seen them the day before, so he still considered the Crested Phoenix Tail Snake his first choice.
Just as Oscar was about to kill the snake, three figures suddenly caught up with them.
"Young friend, wait!"
An elderly voice shouted sharply. Oscar froze and was forced to stop.
"Who are you?" Zhao Wuji stepped in front of Oscar and fixed his gaze on the three figures.
Three people appeared: an old man, a woman, and a girl in her teens.
When Zhao Wuji saw the old man's dragon-headed staff and the woman's Snake Head Crutch, he recognized them at once.
"The Peerless Dragon Snake?!"
The old man was Meng Shu, known as Dragon Duke.
The woman was Chao Tianxiang, known as the Snake Matriarch.
As for the girl, she was the granddaughter of the Peerless Dragon Snake, Meng Yiran.
"Well, I didn't expect a Soul Saint like you to recognize an old man like me."
Dragon Duke spoke calmly. He wasn't surprised that someone recognized him.
After all, he and his wife had already made a name for themselves in the Soul Master World.
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