"Then be careful, and don't push yourself too hard... If it really comes to it, we can hire a Soul Hunting team."
"It's fine! Don't worry about me. Focus on cultivating, and when I get back, I'll take you to hunt your fourth Soul Ring."
The young woman's violet eyes were filled with reluctance. Even Xia Ran hesitated when he saw her expression.
But they had no choice but to part for now. He estimated that this trip would involve more than simply obtaining his fifth Soul Ring. With his Second Martial Soul awakening and two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones, his Soul Power might even reach level 60.
Besides, Soul Rings suited to the Mysterious Cat Martial Soul weren't all that common. Bringing the women along would put them in danger, so it was better to let them relax in the city for a while.
As long as Xiao Wu and the others didn't run into those old monsters, they should be fine.
With that in mind, Xia Ran reminded her, "Xiao Wu's identity is a little unusual, so try to keep her away from anyone at Soul Douluo rank or higher. Make sure you tell Ning Rongrong, too. Don't let those old monsters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect come visit you whenever they please."
There were only a handful of known experts in Heaven Dou City: the imperial family's guest, Dugu Bo; Snake Lance and Pufferfish, who were at Xue Qinghe's side; Marshal Ge Long, who was with Xue Ye; and the three old monsters at Heaven Dou Academy.
These people rarely wandered around the city. Besides, in the original story, Dugu Bo hadn't recognized Xiao Wu when he first met her. That meant Xiao Wu must have had other ways of hiding her aura, aside from the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't understand Xia Ran's reminder, she obediently nodded.
Once everything had been settled, Xia Ran pulled Zhu Zhuqing tightly into his arms.
"Be good and wait for me here!"
His voice sounded by the young woman's ear. She hugged him a little tighter without meaning to, and only when she felt a measure of security did her tightly furrowed brows relax slightly.
"It'll only be a month or two. I'll be back before you know it."
"Cultivate well while I'm gone. All right, I really have to go now."
With that, Xia Ran kissed Zhu Zhuqing on the cheek, prompting a chorus of teasing sighs from the two watching them.
Ignoring the two unwanted chaperones, he gave the young woman an affectionate look, then turned into a streak of shadow and vanished from sight.
Zhu Zhuqing was left alone where she stood. Her reluctant expression made her look rather lonely.
But the two women behind her soon came running over like a pair of sparrows, surrounding her.
"Zhuqing! Zhuqing! Tell me, what was Xia Ran's reaction when he first saw you yesterday...?"
"You have no idea. Xiao Wu and I didn't sleep at all last night..."
The sadness of their recent parting was quickly replaced by shyness. Zhu Zhuqing's delicate face turned bright red in an instant.
Seeing her bashful expression, Ning Rongrong urged her on impatiently.
"Oh, come on! Tell us already! Please, please!"
The two women crowded around Zhu Zhuqing and pushed her back into the hotel room...
Sunset Forest wasn't far from Heaven Dou City. Xia Ran rented a carriage and reached the outskirts of the forest two days later.
As soon as he entered the forest, the damp scent of soil filled his nostrils.
Unlike the primeval forests of Sunset Forest, this place was more like a tropical rainforest.
The air was extremely humid, and most of the vegetation consisted of vines and shrubs, giving the place a sense of danger lurking everywhere.
Xia Ran recalled that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes lay in a basin, with Dugu Bo having planted Jade Phosphorus Seven Absolute Flowers all around the perimeter.
If he followed those clues, finding it should be easy.
Having made up his mind, he tried to stay on high ground as he planned his route forward.
All the while, Xia Ran kept his Black Blade in hand. To prepare for danger, he even maintained Martial Soul Possession.
That day, Xia Ran climbed onto a tall tree nearby to adjust his route once again.
Suddenly, a sharp aura came from behind him. His Spiritual Power detected nothing unusual, but he instinctively activated [Third Soul Skill: Void].
The moment the skill took effect, three feather-shaped arrows appeared before Xia Ran's eyes. Surrounded by a thick aura of darkness, they made the tree trunk sizzle as they corroded it.
"What's going on?"
Xia Ran whipped around, but saw nothing.
The three arrows seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The surroundings were silent, and even the dead leaves on the ground showed no sign of disturbance.
But danger was right in front of him. The Mysterious Cat Martial Soul had some ability to sense danger, and a bad feeling rose in Xia Ran's heart...
[Void Domain]
A circular shadow rapidly spread out from Xia Ran, enveloping the entire area.
Before he could investigate closely, a strange fluctuation of energy came from the sky, followed by several more arrows.
They were so fast that the naked eye couldn't track them. If Xia Ran hadn't wielded the Ultimate Darkness Attribute, he would surely have died on the spot.
He used [Shadow Escape] to dodge again. Xia Ran thought he might finally get a moment to catch his breath, but a tide of arrows came at him right afterward.
Streaks of black light shot across the sky, converging on the figure below.
[Soul Bone Skill: Dark Potential]
The [Void] skill was on cooldown, so Xia Ran had no choice but to keep moving at high speed to dodge the attacks.
With the Soul Bone Skill increasing his speed by 300%, Xia Ran moved through the obstacles like a blur.
The [Void Domain] had now expanded to a radius of a hundred meters. Within it, Xia Ran could clearly sense two figures constantly darting around.
"Two Soul Beasts?"
"An Invisibility skill? Interesting!"
Fortunately, the Void Domain could detect the other party's Soul Power fluctuations. Otherwise, Xia Ran wouldn't even have been able to see his enemies' shadows in this fight.
Two Soul Beasts attacking at once, both with Invisibility skills—an ordinary Soul Master would have been dead before the fight even began.
"Since you were the ones who attacked first, don't blame me for taking your Soul Rings!"
Judging from the enemies' attacks, they were definitely Soul Beasts with the Dark Attribute.
There were tens of thousands of Soul Beasts in the forest. Finding ones with the Dark Attribute would have been difficult, yet Xia Ran had run into two at once!
The black arrows kept raining down as Xia Ran dodged, thinking through his options.
At the moment, he was in the open while his enemies remained hidden. The domain could only detect their approximate positions, and they were in the air, putting him at a disadvantage.
But it was clear that as long as he kept moving at high speed, their attacks wouldn't hit him.
"Do I really have to wait until their Soul Power runs out? There are two of them. Can I really outlast them?"
As he pondered, another rain of arrows came at him. This time, they passed right through the tree trunks, their force undiminished as they shot toward Xia Ran.
[Void]
"What's going on? Why are they so powerful?"
He clearly remembered that the first arrows had only sunk into the tree trunks...
Looking up at the sky again, Xia Ran realized that not all the arrows were the same size.
A small portion of them carried a much denser aura of darkness. Those were the ones that had just pierced the tree trunks.
By contrast, the arrows in the continuing volley were smaller. They would dissipate soon after embedding themselves in a tree trunk, and their accuracy was poor as well.
"I see! Only one of these two Soul Beasts is actually dangerous!"
"You want to use me as a target for your trial?"
Years of combat training in the Soul Fighting Arena gave Xia Ran a plan almost at once.
He would take advantage of the Soul Beasts' lack of information about his abilities...
[First Soul Skill: Shadow Armor]
Black armor formed in an instant, covering Xia Ran's entire body.
Shadow Armor could not only block some attacks but also boost his strength and speed. Xia Ran's speed increased by another ten percent.
The two Soul Beasts grew anxious. Their prolonged attacks had drained a lot of their Soul Power. If they couldn't finish off their opponent soon, they would have no choice but to flee.
Just then, the figure below suddenly faltered, and several smaller arrows struck him in the back.
In an instant, the arrows turned into dark energy and invaded Xia Ran's body. He could clearly feel this power destroying the Soul Power within him.
"What a bizarre ability!"
Only after experiencing the arrows' power firsthand did Xia Ran realize how terrifying they were.
Seeing their attack hit, the Soul Beasts in the sky intensified their barrage, even ending their Invisibility.
After all, staying invisible consumed even more Soul Power than firing arrows.
Only then did Xia Ran get a clear look at the two Soul Beasts. The creatures responsible for such a terrifying barrage were just two black sparrows, each about the size of a palm.
One was a deeper shade of black, with two crest feathers on its head. The other had yet to turn black and still had an ordinary-looking head.
"Dark Magic Cloud Sparrows!"
Xia Ran had once read many books about Soul Beasts with the Dark Attribute. Among them, the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow stood at the top of the food chain.
Most Soul Beasts grew larger as they evolved, gaining strength along the way.
But the Dark Magic Cloud Sparrow was different. It remained the size of an adult's palm for its entire life. Each increase in cultivation brought not a boost in strength, but extreme speed and a purer Dark Attribute.
As far as he knew, this Soul Beast came closest to possessing the Ultimate Darkness Attribute. Its size and abilities also meant it had practically no natural enemies.
The two before him were clearly a large one and a small one. The larger one seemed to have just over twenty thousand years of cultivation, while the smaller one had only a thousand years or so.
Dark Attribute energy surged around Xia Ran as he set a Clone in the shadow. If nothing unexpected happened, the enemy would launch its final attack as soon as it saw him injured.
After all, if such a long, dense barrage couldn't end the fight, their Soul Power would run out before his did.
Sure enough, the moment he had set the Clone in place, the ten-thousand-year Magic Cloud Sparrow swooped down and unleashed its [Innate Skill: Shadow Demon Cloud Slash].
Its tiny body became a streak of black light, moving so fast it looked like a straight line.
If that strike hit, Xia Ran would be dead for sure!
"Hmph! Just what I wanted!"
Before you continue