Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian

In the time that followed, the two continued wandering through the forest. During that time, Zhou Tian'er witnessed Wang Zhi's strength firsthand.

Any Hundred Year Soul Beast was killed in a single strike before Wang Zhi.

Those Soul Beasts didn't even have time to react before Shadow Ninjas appeared from who knew where and dealt with them, turning them into glowing halos of energy that helped increase her and Wang Zhi's Soul Spirit Age.

Zhou Tian'er absorbed those halos as well. She could feel her Soul Spirit growing stronger little by little.

The feeling was simply amazing!

Soon, they encountered Zhou Hanyou and Wang Dongqi in turn.

The four of them regrouped, and their team grew stronger.

With Wang Zhi's strength behind them, they could even work together to kill several Thousand Year Soul Beasts.

Those Thousand Year Soul Beasts, rarely seen in the outside world, were reduced to nourishment before Wang Zhi's Ghost Shadow Ninjas.

They ventured deeper and deeper.

Before they knew it, the mist around them had grown thicker and thicker.

White fog curled between the trees, and visibility plummeted.

At first, it was only a thin veil. Before long, they could barely see their hands in front of their faces.

"This fog isn't right."

Zhou Hanyou's cool voice rang out.

"My perception is being suppressed."

Wang Dongqi nodded too.

"I'm also having trouble getting my bearings."

Zhou Tian'er looked around, her face full of concern.

"Should we head back out?"

"Fighting in the mist would be difficult, too."

Wang Zhi nodded.

Although he had Ghost Shadow Ninjas scouting ahead, the fog was undeniably strange. It was better to play it safe.

The four of them were just about to retrace their steps.

Suddenly, Zhou Tian'er's expression changed.

"Watch out below!"

As soon as she spoke, several thick roots burst out of the ground like giant pythons and lunged at them.

Wang Zhi focused his mind.

Two shadows instantly emerged from the darkness beneath his feet. They were Ghost Shadow Ninjas.

Each grabbed two of them, then leaped lightly, carrying all four into the air and evading the roots' ambush.

Wang Zhi took the chance to survey their surroundings.

The dense fog made it impossible to see where they were.

He was puzzled.

He remembered that they hadn't gone that deep. By all rights, they should still be near the outskirts.

But the roots' attack and the strange fog suggested that they might have entered some kind of special area.

Just then, Zhou Tian'er pointed in a direction, her voice grave.

"There's a very powerful presence over there."

"Even I can't affect it."

Her Martial Soul was Wood Spirit, giving her a natural affinity for plants and the ability to control them.

If she said she couldn't affect it, that meant the Soul Beast was not only a plant type, but also of extremely high quality and age.

Wang Zhi's gaze sharpened.

He quickly made his decision and settled Zhou Hanyou, Zhou Tian'er, and Wang Dongqi in the relatively safe canopy of a tall tree.

"Wait here for me."

Without waiting for their response, he sprang into motion and raced in the direction Zhou Tian'er had pointed.

"Xiao Zhi!"

Zhou Tian'er cried out and tried to follow, but Zhou Hanyou grabbed her.

"Trust him," Zhou Hanyou said softly.

Wang Zhi raced through the forest.

The fog around him grew thicker and thicker. Countless roots surged from every direction, even from underground, trying to block his way.

But the two Ghost Shadow Ninjas guarding him were faster.

They darted around Wang Zhi like two black bolts of lightning, cutting down every root that came at them.

The sound of Shuriken slicing through the air rang out without pause as splinters of root flew everywhere.

After fighting his way through, Wang Zhi finally reached the source.

He stopped and looked up.

Before him stood a colossal Vast Sky Ancient Tree.

The tree was a hundred meters tall, with a trunk so thick that dozens of people would have been needed to encircle it.

Its canopy blotted out the sky, and countless branches hung down like tentacles.

The strangest thing was the dense white fog enveloping the entire tree. It seeped from between its leaves.

Information from the Soul Beast Illustrated Record quickly surfaced in Wang Zhi's mind.

The Mist Tree was an exceedingly rare Soul Beast with both Spiritual and Wood Attributes.

Its innate ability was to release mist that affected the senses of those who entered it.

It could not only reduce the range of Spiritual Power perception, but also prevent people from finding their way, leaving them to exhaust themselves in the fog before devouring them.

Judging by its enormous size and the pressure it gave off, the Mist Tree before him had at least three thousand years of cultivation!

Three thousand years!

In theory, a Soul Beast of this level shouldn't have appeared in the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform at all.

The Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform restricted entry to those below the fourth ring, which meant the highest cultivation level anyone here could have was three rings.

A Soul Beast with three thousand years of cultivation was far stronger than a three-ring Soul Master. Even a four-ring Soul Master might not be able to defeat it, let alone kill it.

But Wang Zhi knew of one exception.

The Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian.

Every Spirit Ascension Platform, whether beginner, intermediate, or high-level, had a Guardian.

That was because all Spirit Ascension Platforms were actually one whole, merely divided into different areas.

So, to prevent Soul Masters from entering higher-level Spirit Ascension Platforms from lower-level ones, a powerful force was needed to monitor and guard them.

Thus, the Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian came into being.

Generally speaking, a Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian was far stronger than the maximum cultivation level of Soul Masters allowed to enter that platform.

The three-thousand-year Mist Tree before him, for example, was the Guardian of the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform.

And most importantly...

A Spirit Ascension Platform Guardian had to be made with a Soul Bone.

That meant there was a Soul Bone inside this Mist Tree!

A flicker of excitement appeared in Wang Zhi's eyes.

A Soul Bone!

It was even rarer than a Soul Spirit.

Countless Soul Masters went their entire lives without obtaining a single Soul Bone, and now one was right there before him.

Wang Zhi decided to stop concealing his strength.

After more than two hours of nonstop fighting, his Spiritual Power had been replenished by his First Soul Skill, "Spirit Nourishment."

He took a deep breath and focused his mind.

The shadows beneath his feet rippled violently.

One shadow after another emerged from the darkness.

Fifteen!

Together with the fifteen he had summoned earlier, there were thirty Ghost Shadow Ninjas in all, standing densely behind Wang Zhi.

Their matching Black Ninja Suits, shadowy eyes, and bloodthirsty aura made them seem like an army of Death Gods from the depths of the shadows.

Wang Zhi raised a hand and pointed at the enormous Mist Tree.

"Kill it!"

The instant the words left his mouth, all thirty Ghost Shadow Ninjas sprang into action.

They became thirty black streaks of light, attacking the Mist Tree from every direction.

Some charged across the ground, some leaped between the branches, and others merged directly into the shadows, advancing through the roots underground.

The Mist Tree sensed the danger, too.

Countless branches thrashed wildly like thousands of giant pythons, lashing at the Ghost Shadow Ninjas.