After eating breakfast at the hotel where he was staying, Wang Xian hurriedly left and continued toward Star Dou Forest.
After walking for about two hours, a forest appeared before him.
"Finally here." Wang Xian could not help but smile.
After more than ten days of arduous travel, he had finally arrived at Star Dou Forest from Notting Academy.
"I hope this soul hunt goes smoothly."
Wang Xian took a deep breath, then stepped directly into this perilous forest.
There were far too many soul beasts in this forest, so he had to remain cautious.
The trees in the outer region of Star Dou Forest were relatively sparse, but the deeper one went, the denser they became.
As soon as he entered the forest, the air felt much fresher, and Heaven and Earth Vitality became exceptionally active.
The trees within were tall and dense. Layer upon layer of canopies blocked out the sunlight, leaving only scattered patches of light on the ground.
It looked peaceful and tranquil, but every soul beast lurking within was deadly enough to take a life.
An hour later, he entered the middle of the outer region.
The soul beasts in this area were generally around a hundred years old. As long as he did not venture too deep, he would not encounter thousand-year soul beasts.
As Wang Xian walked, he kept an eye on the movements around him. After walking for roughly another hour, he stopped and began searching sideways.
His Blue Silver Grass followed the path of life, so the Soul Ring he intended to find this time needed to be plant-type and possess powerful vitality.
There were quite a few soul beasts in this direction, but in a Star Dou Forest this vast, finding one would still take time.
Wang Xian cautiously explored the forest, placing every step lightly and avoiding unnecessary conflicts with other soul beasts as much as possible.
Tree roots tangled across the ground, and thick moss grew in some places, making them slippery underfoot.
He went around a patch of low shrubs and had just found a relatively safe spot to catch his breath when the branch overhead suddenly shook violently.
A yellow shadow pounced down from the canopy.
The leopard was nearly two meters long. Its yellow fur was covered in black circular markings, its limbs were sturdy, and its claws were as sharp as hooks.
It opened its mouth, exposing two rows of sharp teeth. Its eyes were fixed firmly on Wang Xian, and it was astonishingly fast, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.
"A Variegated Leopard. Judging by its body length, it should be around three hundred years old." Wang Xian's gaze sharpened, but he did not panic.
However, Variegated Leopards were Agility Attack System soul beasts. If one got too close, it would be easy to suffer a setback.
So he immediately stepped half a pace back and spread open his right hand. Dark teal light surged from his palm.
With a thought from Wang Xian, Blue Silver Grass burst wildly from his palm. Vines the color of deep green rushed toward the Variegated Leopard like a tide.
The Variegated Leopard flashed aside, trying to evade with its speed.
But after Life Blue Silver Grass evolved to D-rank, the sheer amount it could grow at once was simply enormous.
Vines surged in from every direction, before, behind, left, and right. There was nowhere to dodge.
Several vines wrapped around its hind legs. The Variegated Leopard lurched and stumbled forward.
More vines immediately surged over, wrapping around its legs and continuously spreading upward.
"Roar!" The Variegated Leopard let out a pained roar, because the sharp Life Blue Silver Grass had already cut open its legs and many other parts of its body.
In the blink of an eye, the vines wrapped the entire leopard tightly.
The Variegated Leopard struggled desperately, kicking wildly with all four limbs. Its sharp claws left white marks across the vines, but it could not tear them apart at all.
It released another agonized roar, its voice echoing through the forest.
Wang Xian immediately controlled the Blue Silver Grass to block its mouth, lest its miserable cries attract other soul beasts.
The vines continued tightening, squeezing harder and harder until its bones creaked.
The Variegated Leopard's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and its roars became low whimpers. Finally, its limbs went limp, and it collapsed on the ground without moving.
Wang Xian stood where he was and waited for a while. Only after confirming that the Variegated Leopard had completely stopped moving did he let out a breath and retract the Blue Silver Grass.
He looked at the dead Variegated Leopard on the ground and frowned.
Its age was reasonably suitable, but its attributes were completely unsuitable.
"I still have to keep looking." Wang Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead, rested for a while, and resumed searching for a suitable soul beast.
Over the next couple of hours, he encountered several more soul beasts.
There was an Iron-Back Wolf over three hundred years old, a two-hundred-year-old Wind-Wing Butterfly, and a Giant Centipede of unknown age.
To avoid unexpected trouble from battle, he chose to go around them.
During that time, he also discovered several plant-type soul beasts. One Azure Vine was fairly suitable.
But its age was far too low. Judging by its thickness, it was only around a hundred years old, and fusing with it would not be of much use.
Wang Xian shook his head and continued onward.
After another half hour or so, he was passing through a patch of low brush when he suddenly caught a strange medicinal fragrance.
The scent was faint, almost imperceptible, mixed into the forest's damp air. If the wind had not been blowing his way, he would never have detected it.
Wang Xian stopped. His nose twitched as he confirmed it was not his imagination, then he slowly made his way in the direction of the scent.
"This scent is unusual." Wang Xian's eyes lit up.
Many plant soul beasts gave off distinctive scents, and this fragrance was very likely the same.
Pushing aside several large leaves, he found a relatively open clearing in the forest ahead.
At the center of the clearing, a dark crimson vine plant lay quietly coiled.
It was a blood-red vine, as thick as a baby's arm, dark crimson all over and covered with fine, blood-vein-like patterns.
Dozens of vines were tightly entwined, twisted into a thick main vine like a dark crimson giant python coiled upon the ground.
At the end of the main vine grew a deep-red flower bud the size of a fist, giving off a faint bloody smell alongside that strange medicinal fragrance.
Wang Xian's eyes gleamed. "Force-Gathering Blood Vine."
He had seen an illustration of this plant in a textbook at Notting Academy.
Force-Gathering Blood Vines were exceedingly rare and grew extremely slowly. Throughout their lives, they did only one thing: concentrate all their power into a single point.
Their roots desperately absorbed nutrients from the earth, but instead of using them to spread outward, they sent all of them into the main vine.
The vines never branched apart, because branching meant dispersing their power.
Over hundreds of years, they compressed, condensed, and purified all their vitality for the sole purpose of forcing that flower bud to bloom one day.
Judging by the thickness of the main vine and the size of the flower bud, it was at least around three hundred and ninety years old.
Wang Xian's heartbeat quickened. The Force-Gathering Blood Vine possessed pure vitality, making it a perfect match for his Blue Silver Grass.
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