After purchasing the insect-repellent herbs and some other supplies, the group wasted no time. Carrying the Blood-Vein Python's location information and their supplies, they quickly returned to Shrek Academy.
Back at the academy, Xiao Qing handed the letter containing the Blood-Vein Python information directly to Flender and Zhao Wuji.
Flender took the note, pushed up his glasses, and read it carefully.
When he saw the words "Blood-Vein Python" and "1,300 to 1,500 years," his eyes visibly brightened behind his lenses. Zhao Wuji leaned in to take a look as well.
"A Blood-Vein Python? I haven't heard of one of those in years." Zhao Wuji rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Is the information reliable? Fifty Gold Soul Coins seems like a fair price."
Flender handed the note to Zhao Wuji and looked at Xiao Qing and the others. "Did you buy it at the Soul Master market? Who was selling the information?"
"An old man in a gray robe. He had a stall in a corner and only sold information," Dai Mubai replied. "From the look of him, he seemed like an experienced hand who did this for a living. He didn't seem like he was making things up."
Flender nodded. These underground information brokers might not be respectable, but they often had their own ways of surviving, and the information they provided was usually based on something.
Zhao Wuji slapped the note onto the table, his voice booming. "Who gives a damn whether it's reliable? We'll find out when we get there! I know the southwestern outskirts of the Star Dou Forest like the back of my hand!"
"We leave first thing tomorrow morning and follow this lead. If we find the Blood-Vein Python, all the better. If not, we'll go back to the original plan and look for another suitable Soul Beast. This Soul Hunting trip is also a practical exercise for you all, so nobody better let the team down!"
At dawn the next morning, before the sun had fully risen, eight students were already lined up outside Shrek Academy.
Flender gave them a few brief instructions, then handed full responsibility for leading the group to Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji didn't waste time. He swept his gaze over everyone and waved his hand. "Move out."
The group left the academy and hurried toward the Star Dou Forest.
They were all Soul Masters and covered ground quickly. After a brief stop to rest and eat along the way, they reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest in the afternoon.
Zhao Wuji took the yellowed note from his pocket and checked the general area it described once more.
The southwestern outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, near a tributary called Greywater Creek.
After confirming their direction, he said quietly, "Follow me. Stay alert, keep formation, and don't fall behind."
Led by Zhao Wuji, the group followed the forest's edge and headed southwest.
Along the way, they came across several low-level, ten- and hundred-year Soul Beasts. Sensing the Soul Saint aura Zhao Wuji deliberately let off, they all kept their distance.
About an hour later, they found the Greywater Creek described on the note. It was a small stream, less than three meters wide, with sluggish, murky water. Soft mud and thick shrubs lined both banks.
"According to the information seller, the Grey Rat team found signs of a fight and a lingering scent about two hundred paces from the stream's eastern bank."
Zhao Wuji scanned the woods on the eastern bank with a sharp gaze. "Spread out and search carefully. Watch the ground and the tree trunks. Look for signs of a struggle, bloodstains, scales, or marks where a large snake might have crawled."
Following his instructions, the group spread out in a fan shape from Zhao Wuji and searched the woods on the eastern bank.
Xiao Qing released Thunder Feather and had it survey the area from above alongside Xiao Feng, keeping watch.
They searched for about half an hour but found nothing.
In a forest, traces from several days ago could easily be covered by fallen leaves, washed away by rain, or ruined by the activity of small animals.
"Teacher Zhao, I found something!"
Tang San's voice came from behind a patch of ferns.
As the others gathered around, Tang San quickly stopped using the Purple Demon Eye. The purple light in his eyes vanished in an instant.
The area in front of them was noticeably more disturbed than its surroundings, with several crushed ferns. Zhao Wuji crouched down, felt the marks with his hand, then leaned closer to sniff them. His brow furrowed slightly.
"The traces are too faint, and they've been disturbed. The timing fits, but this alone isn't enough to confirm it was a Blood-Vein Python. It could've been another large snake Soul Beast, or something else entirely."
They widened their search for a while but found only a few indistinct bloodstains.
It seemed the trail ended there.
"Damn it, it's been too long. The traces have almost disappeared."
Zhao Wuji straightened up and brushed the dirt from his hands, his expression darkening.
If all they found after spending fifty Gold Soul Coins on the information was a few ambiguous traces, then the whole trip had been for nothing.
In the vast Star Dou Forest, searching for one particular thousand-year Soul Beast based on such a vague lead was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Just then, sharp-eyed Ma Hongjun pried a small object out of a crack in a rock near the stream.
"Teacher Zhao, look at this!"
Zhao Wuji took the scale, about the size of his palm and dark red in color, and his eyes flashed.
"It's definitely a snake scale. This color, this texture... and this pattern..."
"What's its age?" Oscar was most concerned about that.
Zhao Wuji weighed the scale in his hand. "Judging by its size and the traces of Soul Power left on it, it's around 1,500 years old. The estimate shouldn't be far off. But the question is, which way did it go?"
The trail had practically disappeared here. The forest was so vast that the Blood-Vein Python could have gone anywhere—to a cave, a marsh, or deep into the woods.
Just as Zhao Wuji was at a loss and the others were stumped as well, Xiao Qing stepped forward. "Teacher Zhao, give me the scale."
Zhao Wuji looked at him, then handed it over.
Xiao Qing took the scale but didn't examine it himself. Instead, he held it in front of Xiao Feng's nose.
"Xiao Feng, remember this scent. See if there's any more of it around here, and which way it went."
Xiao Feng lowered his head, its nose twitching gently as it carefully sniffed the scent on the scale.
A moment later, Xiao Feng raised its head and gave a low whine, letting him know it had memorized the scent.
Then it began searching for the Blood-Vein Python's lingering scent, nose down, starting from where they had found the scale.
Time passed, second by second.
Just as everyone was beginning to lose hope, Xiao Feng stopped in front of a patch of soil near a cluster of strongly scented night-fragrant shrubs.
It checked the area repeatedly with its nose, then looked up at Xiao Qing and gave a low whine.
"Did it find something?" Zhao Wuji's spirits lifted.
Through their mental link, Xiao Qing sensed the information Xiao Feng was sending him.
"There's a very faint lingering scent pointing that way. It's scattered and comes and goes. We'll need Xiao Feng to lead us, so we might not move very fast."
"Slow is fine, as long as we've got a direction!" Zhao Wuji slapped his thigh. "Have it lead us, and we'll follow. Everyone, keep quiet and stay hidden. Be ready to fight at any moment."
At his command, Xiao Feng began following the faint trail of scent it had picked up, heading southeast through the forest.
It moved slowly, often stopping to confirm the direction again or detouring around areas where the scent had vanished.
The group followed behind Xiao Feng, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible and avoiding unnecessary noise or leaks of Soul Power.
They walked for most of the day, and the sun had already begun to dip toward the west.
Everyone was growing tired, but they remained tense and alert.
After crossing a dry riverbed and entering a shaded mountain hollow, Xiao Feng, who had been sniffing the ground, suddenly stopped.
Its muscles tensed. It stared fixedly into the depths of the hollow, a low growl rumbling in its throat.
At the same time, Thunder Feather above Xiao Qing's head gave a slight flutter of its wings and locked onto a cave entrance on the right side of the hollow, half-hidden behind dense vines and jumbled rocks.
Xiao Qing immediately raised a hand, signaling the others behind him to stop.
Zhao Wuji gestured, and everyone instantly went on guard, each finding cover as their eyes turned toward the cave.
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