Into the Sunset Forest

Half a month later, deep within the outskirts of Sunset Forest—

Wang Chuan and Zhao Wuji pushed off the ground and raced through the dense forest. They seemed to be traveling like headless flies, yet they always maintained just the right distance between them, clearly having developed a certain degree of tacit understanding.

Suddenly, Wang Chuan's gaze sharpened, and he shouted.

"Watch out."

Zhao Wuji immediately stopped. Two yellow Spirit Rings appeared around him as he entered a state of alert, his wary eyes sweeping the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Wang Chuan vanished from before him in an instant, clearly using Shave to move at extreme speed.

By the time Zhao Wuji reacted, a dull crash of hard objects colliding came from not far away.

Zhao Wuji focused his eyes and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

A Shadow Leopard at least three meters long, around four thousand years old, had already been punched flat onto the ground by Wang Chuan.

"You're amazing, Captain. I never thought you'd spot a Shadow Leopard that's so good at hide-and-seek the moment it appeared," Zhao Wuji praised.

Then Zhao Wuji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear.

It couldn't be helped. They were already close to the Mixed Zone. This was absolutely not a place where a small fry like him, a quasi-Soul Elder, could wander around. He was downright terrified.

But there was no helping it. They had searched the outskirts for nearly half a month without finding the Spirit Beast best suited to him, so Wang Chuan had suggested going deeper. That was how they had ended up here.

Zhao Wuji cautiously approached Wang Chuan and asked.

"Captain, are we selling this Shadow Leopard or eating it?"

The question was familiar and efficient. Clearly, after half a month together, Zhao Wuji had thoroughly adapted to Wang Chuan's way of doing things.

Zhao Wuji stared greedily at the Spirit Beast. He had never eaten one of this age before.

The reason Zhao Wuji was so eager, of course, was that ever since he started following Wang Chuan, his strength had truly increased by far more than a few percent.

Because of that, Zhao Wuji had become increasingly convinced by Wang Chuan.

After all, who wouldn't like a boss who gave real, tangible benefits?

Even if Wang Chuan gave him a task that he knew would lead to certain death, Zhao Wuji felt that he would still grit his teeth and take it on.

After eating so much Spirit Beast meat, he could never repay what he owed Wang Chuan!

In response to Zhao Wuji's question, Wang Chuan rolled his eyes and casually snapped the Shadow Leopard's neck, ending its life completely.

A purple Spirit Ring condensed above it as Wang Chuan said somewhat viciously.

"Of course we're eating it. Have you forgotten the main purpose of this trip?

I don't want to waste time running back and forth for such a little bit of money. If we don't find a Spirit Beast suitable for you this time, then we'll eat and sleep here."

At those words, Zhao Wuji's eyes immediately filled with emotion.

Over the past half month, Wang Chuan had barely found several Spirit Beasts compatible with him, but Wang Chuan had rejected them all on the grounds that their potential was too low. He had even brought Zhao Wuji into such a dangerous place for his sake.

Zhao Wuji stepped forward, skillfully pulled a knife from his waist, and began bleeding and skinning the Shadow Leopard.

His expression was as resolute as if he were joining a party, completely refusing to let Wang Chuan do such dirty work.

Wang Chuan nodded in satisfaction. Wasn't the purpose of having a lackey to do the work he disliked?

Still, Wang Chuan did not remain idle. He skillfully took a wok, an enormous stew pot large enough to hold the entire Shadow Leopard, and a huge pile of seasonings from his storage Soul Tool, then began building a fire on the spot.

As for setting a forest fire and spending the rest of his life in prison?

Wang Chuan's answer was that this was another world. Who cared about that? Besides, with so many fire-element Spirit Masters around, they couldn't possibly be forbidden from using flames in battle.

And compared to the issue of fire, the greatest danger of Wang Chuan cooking in a Spirit Beast forest was actually the tempting aroma, which might draw even more Spirit Beasts over.

But Wang Chuan did not care.

As long as their luck was not catastrophically bad, the strongest creatures in this area would only be ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts. That would merely add to his food reserves.

As for anything he could not defeat, Wang Chuan was fully confident he could escape.

Blanching to remove the gamey smell, stir-frying to bring out the fragrance.

After a smooth series of practiced motions, Wang Chuan cooked up a huge pot of stewed meat.

The two feasted heartily. Several thousand-year Spirit Beasts were drawn over by the scent, but unfortunately none were suitable for Zhao Wuji. Wang Chuan killed them all on the spot, while Zhao Wuji skillfully stripped off the useful materials and placed them into Wang Chuan's storage Soul Tool as food reserves.

After roughly confirming that there were no Spirit Beasts suitable for Zhao Wuji in this area, the two changed locations.

Two more days passed before Wang Chuan and Zhao Wuji stopped in front of a massive tree.

A deep claw mark ran across the trunk, with extensive abrasion marks surrounding it.

Zhao Wuji scratched his head and asked.

"Captain, what's so interesting about this tree?"

Over the past two days, Wang Chuan had also realized that his eagerness for quick success had affected his mindset. After sorting himself out, he did not become impatient because of Zhao Wuji's ignorant question.

Or rather, in this world where Spirit Masters stood above all else, what Wang Chuan considered common knowledge in his previous life was practically the gateway to a new world for these natives.

That much could be seen from Tang San using realgar wine to counter snake venom, and Wang Lie not knowing why animals licked rocks.

Wang Chuan gently stroked the marks on the tree and explained.

"Leaving marks on trees is a habit only powerful beasts possess.

However, tiger-type Spirit Beasts usually leave only claw marks. Marks like these, with extensive rubbing traces on top of them, are more often made by pig-type or bear-type Spirit Beasts. Combined with these claw marks, the owner of these traces is most likely a bear-type Spirit Beast."

Zhao Wuji struck his right fist into his palm and gave an enlightened "Oh!" His eyes immediately lit up.

"So that means there's a Spirit Beast suitable for me nearby!"

Wang Chuan nodded in approval, then summoned Golden Scale.

"I'll have to trouble you, Golden Scale. Help me track down the owner of this scent."

Golden Scale gave two soft squeaks and moved toward the massive tree. It wriggled its nose near the roots with an experienced look, clearly not doing this for the first time.

As for why the claw marks were high on the tree while Golden Scale was sniffing around its roots.

Naturally, it was because animals marked their territory not only with visible traces like these, but also with urine markings that carried a much stronger scent. The information within those scents was clearest, making them the easiest to track.

Zhao Wuji was no longer surprised by this.

After all, they had been a team for half a month. Even if he did not know Wang Chuan's Spirit Ring configuration, he at least knew his Martial Spirit.

Very soon, Golden Scale turned around and began sniffing in every direction.

After confirming the direction, Golden Scale suddenly shrank and coiled around Wang Chuan's arm. It waved its tiny claws and began directing them.

Connected to Golden Scale in mind and spirit, Wang Chuan immediately understood what it meant.

After telling Zhao Wuji, "Follow me," the two sped off in one direction.