Douluo: Starting by Forging a Gun Chapter 7

Collecting specific materials from these particular soul beasts can be used for crafting equipment or concocting certain medicinal ingredients upon returning.

At the very least, one can carve off meat rich in faint energy to take back as food, serving as a supplement during cultivation.

Creatures like the Qianjun Ant, which are small, have low cultivation years, possess very little meat, and are troublesome to deal with in groups, are definitely the quintessential example of something even a dog would turn its nose up at.

Bypassing the Qianjun Ant nest, it felt as though they had suddenly entered the true interior of the Star Dou Forest, where all sorts of soul beasts suddenly became much more numerous.

Along the way, the group led by Shen Feng bypassed several troublesome soul beast gathering grounds and also struck multiple times to hunt down a few soul beasts that didn't know their place and tried to ambush them, collecting a small amount of valuable meat and materials to store in the portable Soul Tool storage devices they carried.

Of course, during this process, Shen Feng also truly witnessed soul rings that had not yet been absorbed into a soul master's body.

Shen Feng even personally fired a gun to execute a soul beast, adapting in advance to the feeling of taking a life.

At dusk, following Shen Rui's guidance, the group walked out of the dense jungle and arrived in a valley with relatively sparse vegetation.

"Xiao Feng, look, that is the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo."

Following the direction Shen Rui pointed, the group saw an extremely steep cliff face, at the top of which grew a small patch of battered blue bamboo, appearing to be ordinary Thunder Sword Bamboo.

Not far down from the top of the cliff, about a hundred meters from the ground, there was a large rock protruding slightly from the cliff face. In the gap between that boulder and the cliff, a faint trace of purple was swaying gently with the mountain breeze.

It seemed that by growing halfway up the mountain, this Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo was able to avoid the direct bombardment of violent lightning, thereby successfully evolving into a Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo after a large number of Thunder Sword Bamboo had perished.

It was precisely because it grew in such a hidden spot that it had remained undiscovered for so many years, eventually cultivating to around eight hundred years of age, waiting for the arrival of Shen Feng, who was the most suitable for it.

When it comes down to it, this is all a mysterious arrangement of fate; it is destiny.

Flender looked up, "It's so high, Xiao Feng, do you want me to take you up?"

Shen Feng knew that Flender could fly and that taking him up would be effortless, but he still shook his head because he hadn't shown off yet.

"Many thanks, Dean Flender, but this kid has his own way."

"Dad, take out the Breaker. I want to hunt my own soul ring."

Seeing through Shen Feng's intentions, Shen Rui shook his head helplessly: "Take it easy, don't get yourself hurt."

As he spoke, Shen Rui took that big guy, over two meters long, out of the Soul Tool storage device and placed it gently on the ground.

Then he took out four massive bullets, 45 millimeters thick and 30 centimeters long, and handed them to Shen Feng.

"This, this is also a gun?" Flender was a bit dumbfounded.

He really had never imagined that the originally compact firearms could also be crafted into such an exaggerated, massive object.

Shen Feng curled his lips, forcibly suppressing the smile at the corner of his mouth: "Dean Flender, isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Since bows and crossbows have the distinction between hand crossbows and bed crossbows, it shouldn't be strange for my firearms to have a distinction in size, right?"

Flender was slightly stunned, nodding in a daze: "That's true, you're right, it's my shallow experience."

"But with such a big guy, the power must be extraordinary as well."

While lying on the ground loading the bullets, Shen Feng smiled confidently: "I definitely won't let the Dean down."

"BOOM!"

A deafening roar echoed through the quiet valley, causing birds and beasts to cry out and flee in a frenzy. Shen Feng, who was responsible for firing, was also instantly pushed back half a meter by the recoil of the firearm.

As the gunshot rang out, a corner of the boulder on the hundred-meter cliff shattered amidst the roar, and a large amount of debris splashed out, flying in all directions.

"BOOM!"

Another gunshot rang out, and half of the boulder on the cliff instantly crumbled, with a large amount of broken stone scattering and rolling down from the cliff one after another.

Shen Rui's arms bloomed with golden light, and he roared, waving his hands to shatter the debris flying toward their direction to prevent injury to those present.

"BOOM!"

Another gunshot rang out, and the remaining half of the boulder instantly split, rolling off the cliff in its entirety.

Ling Na was quick-witted; a flash of blue electric light bloomed in her pupils, and she held the Thunder Blade across her waist, accumulating power for a fierce slash.

Swish—

A brilliant blade light flashed, and dense cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the boulder, which was immediately blasted into countless fine, small stones by the violent lightning power, falling to the ground like hail from the sky without posing any threat to the group.

"A cave?"

At this moment, Flender's pupils had long since turned into hawk-like vertical slits, his sharp gaze fixed tightly on the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo on the cliff and the small crack not far beside it.

Shen Rui and Ling Na were also startled, their expressions shifting as they looked at the fissure, which was no more than half a meter in diameter.

"How could there be a cave behind the boulder? Could it be naturally formed?"

Flender shook his head slightly: "Not quite sure, it should be."

"In primitive mountains like this, it's not strange to have some naturally formed fissures."

Shen Feng walked over, shaking his numb half-body and wincing.

"Why don't we go up and see? I originally wanted to blast that Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo straight down, but now, to prevent the fissure from collapsing, I'll have to go up and take a look."

Shen Rui and Ling Na exchanged glances and nodded slightly: "Senior, you wait here for a moment, I'll go up and see what the situation is."

As he finished speaking, Shen Rui tapped his feet lightly and reached the base of the cliff in a few leaps.

As a five-ring Soul King, climbing the cliff was an effortless task. Utilizing the stone crevices and fissures on the cliff, Shen Rui ascended the hundred meters in a few bounds, stopping on one side less than ten meters away from the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo.

It was not that Shen Rui did not want to approach the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo directly, but rather that the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo was not an ordinary plant; it was a soul beast that possessed intelligence.

The three shots fired earlier by Shen Feng had long since alerted it, and had it not been a plant-type soul beast lacking legs, it might have already run away.

It was terrifyingly bamboo-shaking; the giant rock that had sheltered it for decades had shattered in an instant. Since gaining intelligence, where had the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo ever seen such a horrifying scene?

Sensing Shen Rui approaching and feeling a fatal threat, the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo suddenly erupted with a massive amount of purple electric light.

The electricity converged on the bamboo leaves at its top, and the purple leaves instantly bloomed with brilliant colors.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—

The next moment, the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo began to sway frantically, and hundreds of bamboo leaves wrapped in purple thunder, like flying arrows, transformed into countless streaks of purple light and shot toward Shen Rui.

Shen Rui let out a cold snort as the third purple thousand-year soul ring on his body bloomed with light.

"Third Soul Skill: Golden Light Body Protection."

Dazzling golden light erupted from Shen Rui's arms and quickly spread over his entire body.

He stomped his feet heavily, shattering a large chunk of the cliff face beneath him, and Shen Rui instantly transformed into a golden shadow, charging into the world of flying purple light.

"First Soul Skill: Bright Gold Face-Breaking Fist."

Amidst a series of clanging impact sounds, a continuous stream of bright golden fist shadows erupted from Shen Rui's fists, smashing frantically against the tough purple stalk of the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo.

Suddenly subjected to continuous, violent attacks, the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo was stunned, and the purple bamboo leaves it fired thinned out at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The corners of Shen Rui's mouth curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of mockery: "Second Soul Skill: Energy Gathering Punch."

A large amount of golden soul power gathered on Shen Rui's right fist. As he swung it with all his might, the golden soul power suddenly exploded, and the powerful fist wind instantly transformed into a clearly visible golden beam of light, washing over the Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo.

Crack—

The eight-hundred-year-old Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo snapped in response, no longer fearing its previous violent posture.

Shen Rui reached out to grab the tip of the falling Purple Thunder Sword Bamboo, used the momentum to flip his body, and hooked his right hand directly onto the cracked rock beside the bamboo.

Peering inside, Shen Rui's pupils suddenly contracted.

It really was a cave. With the help of the sunlight filtering through the crack, Shen Rui clearly saw the ground inside covered in skeletons.

There was even one piece glowing with an earthy yellow luster, looking exceptionally fascinating.

Seeing this scene, Shen Rui's heart pounded wildly. His second soul ring lit up again, and a single Energy Gathering Punch shattered the outer stone wall of the cave.

He squeezed inside and picked up the earthy yellow skeleton. Too busy to admire this hard-won treasure, Shen Rui hurriedly stowed it into his Soul Tool.

In order not to arouse Flender's suspicion, Shen Rui did not explore further inside. He took a few deep breaths, waited for his excited heart to calm down slightly, and then walked to the cave entrance and shouted downward.

"Senior, Nana, there's a situation here. You two come up quickly."

Hearing the call, Flender glanced at Ling Na: "I can fly, so I will bring Xiao Feng up."

Ling Na cupped her hands: "Then I will trouble you, Senior."

Flender activated his Martial Soul Avatar, a pair of massive dark gold wings unfolded behind his back, and he grabbed Shen Feng's shoulders, flapping his wings to soar into the sky.

Ling Na put the Breaker on the ground into her storage Soul Tool, then followed with a few leaps to climb up the cliff.

At the cave entrance on the cliff, Flender, who had just flown up, stared at the interior of the cave in a daze.

"This, what happened here? Why is the ground covered in skeletons?"

Shen Rui shook his head slightly: "I don't know. I was also startled by the scene before me when I came up."

Flender squatted on the ground and picked up a skeleton to study it: "The bones are slender, the hands and feet are long, and although they are ancient, they remain intact. They seem to be the skeletons of primate soul beasts."

"The surface of the bones is earthy yellow, with extremely subtle earth elements circulating within. They should be Mountain-Moving Apes."

"To still have subtle energy remaining after so many years, they should be ten-thousand-year soul beasts."

"This cave is not too big, but there are quite a few skeletons. A rough estimate suggests there are at least ten. It is most likely a Mountain-Moving Ape nest."

"But how could there be a ten-thousand-year Mountain-Moving Ape nest on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest? And since their cultivation had already reached ten thousand years, how did they all die here together?"

"Strange, truly strange."

Flender was indeed an old hand. Having spent so many years in the soul master world, his eye for detail was not for show. Just by briefly examining the skeletons on the ground, he had already analyzed so much.

At this moment, Shen Rui was also trying his best to hide the excitement in his heart. He hadn't expected that the soul bone he had picked up earlier was actually from a Mountain-Moving Ape, and a highly precious ten-thousand-year soul bone at that.

"Big Feng, Senior, look here!"

Ling Na, who had just come up, keenly discovered a special mark in the cave.

Hearing Ling Na's call, Flender and Shen Rui immediately walked over.

In a corner of the dim cave wall, a deep claw mark was carved.

Flender frowned slightly and reached out to touch the edge of the claw mark: "The claw mark is not large, and the edges are neat without burrs. It doesn't look like the work of a soul beast."

Shen Rui nodded, thoughtful: "Soul beasts live in the wild all year round and use their claws frequently, so the wear and tear must be severe."

"But this claw mark is clean and decisive, and the indentation is clearly visible. It looks more like it was made by a beast-type martial soul master after activating their Martial Soul Avatar."

"If that's the case, then a battle must have taken place here, and these Mountain-Moving Ape skeletons on the ground were likely hunted by that soul master."

Speaking of this, Shen Rui felt even more confused.

Soul Masters hunt Soul Beasts for three reasons: for their Soul Rings, for their Soul Bones, and for their flesh and blood as materials.

Regardless of which of these three acts is being performed, one must inevitably conduct a simple inspection of the hunted Soul Beast.

If it were a hundred-year or thousand-year Soul Bone, it might be different, as there are always powerful Soul Masters who would ignore such small prey.

However, the Mountain-Moving Ape outside is a genuine ten-thousand-year Soul Beast; even a Title Douluo powerhouse would not ignore such high-level prey, or at the very least, they would not skip even the most basic inspection.

"Dad, Mom, Dean Flender, over here, there's a mummified corpse here."

Just as Shen Rui was feeling puzzled, Shen Feng's sudden call immediately drew everyone's attention.

Upon approaching, everyone discovered a human mummy sitting quietly in the innermost corner of the cave.

The mummy was severely dehydrated, its flesh and blood long since dried up, leaving only a layer of skin clinging to the bones. The clothing on its body had long since weathered and rotted away. Its left arm was missing, many of its ribs were broken, and its chest was slightly sunken, suggesting it had died from severe injuries.

Flender frowned deeply: "The ten-thousand-year Mountain-Moving Apes in this cave have been reduced to mere skeletons, yet this mummy still retains its complete flesh and skin."

"I imagine this senior's level during their lifetime could not have been low; they must have reached at least the eight-ring Soul Douluo level, or perhaps they were even a nine-ring Title Douluo powerhouse."

"It is just a pity that this senior was not very lucky, stumbling into the nest of these Mountain-Moving Apes while looking for a place to heal."

Shen Feng asked with some confusion: "Dean Flender, how can you tell that this was a senior?"

"Is it possible that they were just a Soul Saint, or even just a Soul Emperor, who ended up perishing together with those Mountain-Moving Apes outside?"

Flender smiled slightly and pointed to the mummy's severed left arm: "Look there. The break is smooth and shows no signs of healing, which indicates that the deceased arrived here already suffering from severe injuries."

"Because those Mountain-Moving Apes are earth-attribute power-type Soul Beasts, they would not have the ability to inflict such a wound."

"Look at the mummy's chest as well; the ribs are broken and the chest is slightly collapsed, which is a sign of having suffered a heavy blow."