Star Forest

The Yinglong martial soul also granted Mu Qian impressive mental power, allowing him to sense that the number of people outside the gate had dwindled significantly.

Perhaps they had left on their own, seeking a chance at survival elsewhere.

Or perhaps, they had resorted to unspeakable methods to scrape together the fee for entering the city.

Who knew? Mu Qian did not care about such things.

With a harsh, grating creak, the city gates were slowly closed by the guards.

At the same time, the last glimmer of light on the horizon vanished completely, leaving the area outside the city walls shrouded in absolute silence and darkness.

Mu Qian's gaze sharpened as he witnessed an indescribably horrific scene.

The moment darkness fell, a terrifying energy instantly surged into the crowded masses.

That energy appeared without any warning, silent and soundless, yet Mu Qian, relying on the origin power of his Yinglong martial soul, sensed intense greed and malice.

It felt like a collective manifestation of endless, evil auras.

At this moment, Mu Qian finally understood why he had never encountered any danger; the Yinglong power within him rippled slightly, completely neutralizing the influence of that evil energy upon him.

There was no evil in the world that could breach the blockade of the Yinglong martial soul's holy origin power to affect him.

Yet, for some reason, the energy halted its momentum the instant it touched the city walls, lingered for a moment, and then receded like an ebbing tide.

Just as it had arrived, it vanished without a sound.

"This... is..."

Mu Qian hurriedly looked down at the crowd below, his pupils contracting violently.

Of the hundreds of people, more than half had completely ceased to breathe.

Their life force seemed to have been entirely stripped away by that evil energy.

And it wasn't just that.

On the Douluo Continent, even after a person died, a sliver of their remnant soul would usually remain, emitting a faint trace of mental energy.

But those who had died...

Mu Qian could not detect a single shred of mental fluctuation; it was as if even their souls had been plundered.

Some of the lucky survivors seemed to realize they had narrowly escaped death, breaking into cheers of relief.

More and more survivors began to celebrate, and as they accidentally brushed against the fallen, the bodies of the dead, just as the middle-aged man had described, began to gradually dissipate.

"This method... why does it look so much like... an Evil Soul Master..."

Mu Qian muttered to himself, still reeling from what he had just witnessed.

In the current continent, Evil Soul Masters did indeed exist.

It was not that having an evil martial soul made one an Evil Soul Master; rather, it was those with specific types of martial souls who cultivated by hunting humans and absorbing their emotions and souls who were classified as such.

"But, if it really is an Evil Soul Master... it has been so long, why hasn't the Star Luo Empire sent anyone to deal with it?"

He did not believe the Star Luo Empire's royal family had received no word; in a situation like this, the Sophie Kingdom would certainly have reported it.

He believed even less that the authorities would disregard this place, leaving it to fend for itself.

Or perhaps, the news had never made it out of Guja City at all...

Mu Qian thought back to the scene he had just witnessed, where that evil energy had halted its advance the moment it touched the city wall.

And the city wall before him...

It was built of ordinary marble, possessing no defensive capabilities whatsoever.

Connecting this to the exorbitant five Gold Soul Coin fee required to enter the city, he seemed to have found his answer.

Mu Qian stood atop the city wall, gazing toward the grand, imposing architecture in the center of the city.

That, he surmised, must be the location of the City Lord's Mansion.

"This matter seems to run quite deep. Setting aside the City Lord's strength, as the master of a city, it cannot possibly be low."

"The range covered by that evil energy is so vast that even if it isn't a domain-type soul skill only accessible to a Titled Douluo, the strength of that Evil Soul Master is not something I can contend with right now."

"Besides, it is uncertain whether there is someone even higher than the City Lord..."

Mu Qian shook his head, his hands clenched tight. In the end, he gave up, choosing not to intervene.

It was not that Mu Qian was cold-blooded, but this matter was too deeply entangled and already beyond his control.

If it were within his power, he would not mind ridding the world of such evil.

But by comparison, his own life was more important.

Thinking of this, Mu Qian sighed helplessly and leaped down from the city wall.

The fog shrouding Guja City was too thick; he planned to buy some food and supplies and leave first thing tomorrow morning.

Mu Qian looked toward the north: "The Snow Maiden said she had other things to do; I wonder how she is faring now."

Two months later.

Star Luo Empire, Star Forest.

Night fell, and the stars across the sky shone in mutual brilliance, weaving a fairytale-like vista alongside the dreamlike fluorescent plants in the forest.

Mu Qian led Little Flower as they darted rapidly through the woods, the roars and low growls of soul beasts echoing from the distance from time to time.

Star Forest, named for its stars, is not only known for its magnificent starry night scenery but is also the largest habitat for soul beasts within the Star Luo Empire, second only to the Star Luo Royal Forest.

Unlike the Soul Hunting Forests kept by the royal family and Martial Soul Hall, this is a natural habitat for soul beasts and one of the most brutal Asura fields.

If one were to lower their guard because of the beautiful scenery here, a moment of carelessness could cost them their life.

Mu Qian dared not be careless either; this soul beast habitat was different from the Far North Ice Plains. With no one here to back him up, he naturally dared not act recklessly.

Over the past two months, he had traveled through all the major Soul Hunting Forests and primitive habitats, yet he had still not found a soul beast suitable for himself.

Without a soul ring, the soul power gained from cultivation could only continue to accumulate. If he could not find a suitable one here, he would have to choose to enter the Star Dou Forest.

As for the Star Luo Empire Royal Forest, that had already been designated as a royal-exclusive soul hunting zone; it was not a place one could enter just by paying money.

Mu Qian cautiously groped his way forward, striving to identify the soul beasts in his surroundings.

He had almost penetrated to the outer edge of the Star Forest's core circle; if he couldn't find one here, he would have to leave.

He had a clear understanding of his own strength and would not be arrogant enough to rashly enter the core circle.

No one knew what kind of dangers lay within; even without a fierce beast, any soul beast over twenty thousand years old was not something he could handle at his current level.

When it came down to it, he had too few soul skills.

He could still attempt a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and that was only because he possessed a first soul skill that could be called heaven-defying.

Mu Qian found a relatively safe spot and took a few pieces of cold roasted meat out of his spatial ring.

In a soul beast habitat, and at night, if he were to light a campfire...

Mu Qian still wanted to live a few more years; there were still many, many girls in this world waiting for him to conquer... oh no, to save.

After a simple bite to eat, he continued his search.

An hour passed quickly, the night was more than half over, and Mu Qian sighed softly, preparing to head back.

It wasn't that he hadn't encountered soul beasts along the way; he had dealt with the weak ones in passing and avoided the stronger ones whenever possible, not wanting to attract other soul beasts by making too much noise.