Interference Grenade

"Those good things in your Storage Soul Tool!"

Old Man Gu looked as though he hated to see iron fail to become steel. "Interference Grenades!"

"Among the Soul Tools your father left you, isn't there anything that can interfere with Spirit Detection?"

"You're sitting on a mountain of treasure without recognizing it. Sigh..." Old Man Gu let out a long sigh and shook his head.

Only then did Long Zhanye suddenly understand! Right! Inside the Storage Soul Tool his father had left behind.

Aside from those two precious Class 6 offensive and defensive Soul Tools.

There were also all sorts of Soul Tools obtained from the Bright Jade Sect, a dazzling variety of them!

Previously, after his Martial Soul had been crippled, he had fallen into despair. Later, he had focused entirely on treatment, nearly forgetting all these "external things"!

Long Zhanye quickly focused his mind into the Storage Soul Tool and began searching.

There were countless items inside.

Though most were Class 4 and Class 5 Soul Tools, there was a complete range of types, with perhaps dozens of them in total.

He fumbled through them for quite a while before finally finding, in a corner.

Several egg-sized, silver-gray spherical Soul Tools engraved with complex runes.

"Found them! Is this it?" Long Zhanye took them out.

Old Man Gu snatched one up and examined it closely before his eyes.

He nodded. "Mm, a Class 5 Soul Tool—the Mental Interference Bomb."

"After detonation, it can form a Mental Interference Field within a radius of ten li for a period of time, blocking most Spirit Detection."

"The grade isn't especially high, but it should be enough to deal with a Cyclops' ordinary detection."

He returned the Interference Grenades to Long Zhanye and instructed, "From now on, detonate one Interference Grenade every ten li or so."

"As we travel, it'll form a corridor of mental 'blind spots' all the way until we reach the outskirts of the Cyclops territory, or encounter their tribe."

"Do you understand?"

"I understand, Elder Gu!" Long Zhanye nodded and carefully put away the Interference Grenades.

Seeing Long Zhanye's expression as though he had only just remembered, Old Man Gu revealed a helpless yet faintly indulgent smile.

He lightly tapped Long Zhanye's calf with his cane. "Silly child."

"You possess treasures without even knowing it. If this old man hadn't reminded you, were you planning to go talk things over with those big fellows barehanded?"

Long Zhanye scratched his head awkwardly, but inwardly wondered when Old Man Gu had learned so much about his background.

And so, Long Zhanye detonated a Mental Interference Bomb every ten li or so.

The silver-gray Interference Grenades silently sank into the ground or tree trunks.

They then emitted special fluctuations invisible to the naked eye, yet effective at blocking Spirit Detection, forming an intermittent "safe passage" behind them.

No one knew how long they had walked, from the first glimmer of dawn until the sun hung high overhead.

The dense forest gradually became more open, and the terrain began to change as well.

Old Man Gu suddenly stopped and signaled for the other two to remain silent.

Leaning on his cane, he carefully pushed aside a massive fern ahead of them and peered forward with sharp eyes.

"Alright, stop here. Hide yourselves and wait." Old Man Gu lowered his voice and pointed ahead.

"See that sunken area? Up ahead is a huge natural basin. And inside that basin..."

"Live the tens of thousands of Cyclopes we're looking for."

The three quickly hid behind several jagged boulders and dense thickets.

Old Man Gu explained, "We're now on the outer edge of their territory."

"We only need to wait patiently here and observe the Cyclopes that come out. Once we spot one of suitable age, we strike and kill it."

"Remember, under no circumstances can we venture deep into the basin during the day. If we alert the entire tribe, the consequences will be unthinkable."

"Waiting for a hare by the stump? How long will we have to wait before finding a suitable one?" Long Zhanye could not help muttering softly.

"Ow!" Before he had even finished speaking, Old Man Gu flicked the back of his head with a finger, neither too hard nor too lightly.

"You foolish brat, what do you know?" Old Man Gu said under his breath irritably. "Do you think it's an amusement park in there?"

"There are tens of thousands of Cyclopes, each at least a thousand years old, with no shortage possessing ten-thousand-year cultivation!"

"Their mental powers are linked. Once an unfamiliar presence is detected entering their territory, it will immediately trigger the entire tribe's frenzied counterattack!"

"Even a Titled Douluo would face near-certain death if he rashly charged in and became surrounded. Once in, there'd be no coming back!"

"If you want to obtain a Soul Ring alive, you need patience!"

"Got it, got it..." Long Zhanye rubbed his head and did not dare complain again.

With no other choice, the three could only lie in wait and silently wait.

Using the cover around him, Long Zhanye carefully observed the basin in the distance.

The basin covered an enormous area. At a glance, its edge was nearly impossible to see.

What surprised him even more was the sight within the basin—the Cyclopes seemed to have evolved a considerable degree of intelligence!

They did not live in caves like mere beasts. Instead, using thick trees and vines.

They had built crude yet distinctly structured shelters that resembled enormous huts.

Around the shelters, they had even erected simple defensive works resembling the fences of human villages, made from sharpened wooden stakes and piled stones!

Some smaller Cyclopes played and tussled within the "fences."

Some of the adults, meanwhile, seemed to be carrying out simple "labor," such as moving stones and tidying the huts...

"They... live almost like humans..." Long Zhanye was secretly astonished. The social nature of these Soul Beasts far exceeded his imagination.

Time passed amid the tedious waiting.

From noon, when the blazing sun hung overhead, until evening, when the sun's shadow slanted westward.

The Cyclops tribe in the basin continued its orderly activities, with no sign of any large groups heading out.

Just as Long Zhanye was beginning to think they would gain nothing today, the change finally came.

As the sun set behind West Mountain, darkness descended, and the Star Dou Great Forest was shrouded in the Night Veil, dull, dense sounds came from deep within the basin.

"Thud... thud... thud..."

It was as if countless heavy drumsticks were pounding against the earth!

At first there were only scattered beats, but they quickly joined into one, making even the ground tremble faintly!

Immediately afterward, the "fences" at the basin's edge were pushed open, and enormous figures began pouring out of the basin!

Cyclopes! Were they heading out to forage?!

For a moment, the outskirts of the basin seemed to shake with the force of an earthquake!

Countless heavy footsteps merged into a deafening roar.

The towering figures were like moving hills in the dusk, densely packed as they spread toward the depths of the forest.

The sight was magnificent, yet filled with an oppressive sense of pressure!

"Shouldn't Cyclopes be active during the day? Why are they coming out at night instead?" Long Zhanye was filled with confusion.

"For survival." Old Man Gu seemed to see through his thoughts and explained in an extremely low voice beside his ear.

"Their main natural enemies, aside from those Fierce Beasts perched high above them, are other powerful predators in the forest."

"They make too large a target during the day and are more easily spotted by predators. To avoid them, this tribe has gradually changed its habits over a long period of time."

"They have even evolved in the direction of nocturnal beasts. Look at those huge single eyes of theirs—they can see clearly even in the darkness."