Liu Lin left.
After all, once he got Su Yun's advice, his target had become the Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect, a Spirit Beast that couldn't possibly appear in the Frozen Forest.
Fortunately, with so many people drawn over by Su Yun, Kuang Nu soon found new customers.
Seeing more and more people come to ask for advice, Su Yun quickly shook her head and refused.
Although earning Friendship Points felt great, she hadn't forgotten her main purpose in coming here. If things kept going like this, would they ever get around to hunting Spirit Beasts?
So after they finished hunting, she'd stay here for a while and do some good deeds.
Thinking this over with a pleased smile, Su Yun finally spoke.
"Everyone, we're about to set off to hunt Spirit Beasts. If you still want advice, wait until I come back out of the Soul Hunting Forest."
Hearing this, quite a few people felt reluctant, but they still expressed their understanding. After all, in their minds, Su Yun had a hidden "guardian" backing her.
Only a small number of people—especially the Soul Masters about to obtain Spirit Rings—went wild.
"Miss Su, don't go! Help me plan things out! I have money!"
"Me too! Miss Su, my Martial Soul is an Ox Horse. It'll only take a little of your time!"
"Miss Su! Don't go! If you help me plan things out, I'll cover your Soul Hunting expenses!"
Su Yun paid no attention to them. Seeing this, Kuang Nu quickly spoke up as well.
"Everyone! We've checked the supplies. Let's set off!"
With that, he shouldered the bags and bundles and ran out in front. Everyone followed. They didn't stop until they'd shaken off the crowd and neared the Frozen Forest.
Su Yun looked ahead. As far as her eyes could see, the trees were all encased in ice.
Most were subarctic conifers. To survive, they had practically maxed out their cold resistance.
"All right, everyone, get ready."
Kuang Nu set down the bags and bundles and looked at the group with a solemn expression.
"Bosses, we're about to enter the Frozen Forest. You all know it's completely different from the Spirit Beast Forests kept in captivity by the state!
"I have to emphasize this again.
"The Spirit Beasts in there are short on food and have been hungry for a long time. They're even more vicious than the Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. As soon as we enter, even the outskirts could expose us to attacks from thousand-year or even ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts!
"When that happens, none of you will make it out alive. Neither will we. So I hope you'll follow our instructions to the letter."
"No problem."
No one, including Su Yun and Tang San, argued with Kuang Nu. They all knew what was at stake.
"Good."
Kuang Nu nodded lightly.
"Once we're inside, Hua Hua will carry the supplies, and the bosses will stay by her side!
"Everyone else, same as usual!
"Xian and Snow Leopard, scout ahead!
"I'll take the lead!
"Gu Yifeng and Zhang Qingsong, protect Hua Hua and the bosses from either side.
"Qian Kaixin, bring up the rear! Try to keep no more than twenty meters between you.
"I'll say this again: no one attacks a Spirit Beast without my order!
"I'll take care of it once we find our target. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Everyone answered. After arranging their positions, Kuang Nu swept his hand forward and gave the order.
"Follow the plan we just laid out. Into the Frozen Forest!"
At Tu Yan's command, Snow Leopard darted into the Frozen Forest first, using the advantages of his agility-type Martial Soul to scout ahead. He quickly disappeared from sight.
Kuang Nu followed, leading the group into the forest.
Unlike ordinary forests, the Frozen Forest wasn't rugged, so there was no need to clear a path.
After they'd walked for a while, Snow Leopard suddenly doubled back from the front. With a few leaps, he appeared before the group.
"There are six ice snow butterflies, probably a little over a hundred years old."
Kuang Nu nodded lightly when he heard this.
"None of us need them. Let's take a detour."
The group went around them and continued on.
This time, they walked for about half an hour before spotting another Spirit Beast.
But they weren't so lucky this time. They came across an eight-hundred-year-old Snow Wolf.
Perhaps it was starving. The Snow Wolf actually attacked them first.
With no other choice, the Promise Worth a Thousand Gold Team had to fight back.
The result was inevitable: the Snow Wolf was badly wounded.
Just as Kuang Nu was about to deal with it, one of the customers hurriedly raised his hand.
"I don't want the Ice Crystal Snow Ape anymore!
"I think this Snow Wolf is pretty good. It'd be a waste to kill it—why not let me absorb it? I'm willing to pay fifty more Gold Soul Coins!"
Kuang Nu's expression didn't change at the man's words.
"An eight-hundred-year-old Spirit Beast costs eight hundred and fifty gold coins. Not a single coin less."
Clearly, the man couldn't afford that many Gold Soul Coins, but he still tried to bargain.
"Eighty! I'll pay eighty more, tops! That's all I have!"
Kuang Nu didn't hesitate. He punched the Snow Wolf dead.
"Rules are rules."
The other team members said nothing.
This sort of thing happened often among Soul Hunting Groups.
After all, attacks were common when hunting in the Frozen Forest. In other Spirit Beast Forests, a Spirit Beast would retreat when it realized it was outmatched.
But the Frozen Forest was different. Food was scarce, and when the Spirit Beasts encountered others, they had to fight for their lives. Especially after getting wounded, they couldn't survive in the Frozen Forest. So when an attack happened, both sides fought until one was dead.
This meant that some people tried to use such opportunities to snag a bargain.
A fair number of Soul Hunting teams had agreed to it in the past. But then they noticed that fewer and fewer customers were obtaining Hundred-Year Spirit Rings, and their earnings plummeted. Everyone was just trying to get a bargain.
In the end, a strict rule had been established: unless the customer paid the full price, it was better to kill the Spirit Beast than let the customer get it cheap.
This customer clearly knew that, too.
But he wanted to try his luck. If they agreed, wouldn't he make a huge profit?
So although he was disappointed when Kuang Nu turned him down, he didn't cause any more trouble.
The group continued on. They came across quite a few more Spirit Beasts along the way, but they didn't seem as famished, and with so many people around, they didn't attack first.
They walked until dusk, when Kuang Nu finally found a cave.
"Stop here. We'll spend the night in this cave."
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, dropped to the ground, and panted.
By comparison, Su Yun and Tang San looked quite relaxed. This was nothing compared to their usual training.
As soon as the group stopped, the customers took out the dry rations they'd brought.
Su Yun didn't try to stand out by preparing cooked food. She simply took some naan and dried beef out of her Soul Tool and handed them to Tang San.
As for Kuang Nu, he had already taken some feces from his pack and scattered them at the cave entrance.
They couldn't light a fire when camping overnight in a Spirit Beast Forest.
Ordinary beasts feared fire, but Spirit Beasts didn't.
Spirit Beasts were quite intelligent, especially those in the Frozen Forest. Once they saw a fire, they knew people had gathered there. Some Spirit Beasts wouldn't flee—instead, they'd attack.
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