The silent night was no longer silent.
In the forest, the Titan Giant Ape raced onward with Xiao Wu resting in its palm. Tang San chased after them, but the Flying Mushroom Sausage had already worn off. He could only weave and leap from tree trunk to tree trunk with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track...
"Er Ming, don't go any farther in. Let's stop here."
Xiao Wu noticed that Tang San had vanished from sight behind them. Looking worried, she spoke to Er Ming.
Er Ming stopped. Only then did it realize that, with its speed as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, it would reach the Lake of Life if it ran much farther...
It carefully set Xiao Wu down, then spoke gently.
"Sister Xiao Wu, have you been doing well in the human world?"
"My big brother and I miss you so much at the Lake of Life."
Xiao Wu smiled.
"I've been doing well. I miss you both, too."
"But there are a lot of human Soul Masters with me this time, so I can't leave them for too long just yet."
At that, Er Ming's voice rose, and a hint of resistance crept into its tone.
"Do you mean that human who was following us? Should I take care of him?"
"Then I could spend more time with you, Sister Xiao Wu."
"Uh... there's no need for that..." Xiao Wu looked a little awkward, then explained, "Don't go attacking everyone you see. Those human Soul Masters are some of the few friends I have in the human world."
"Since I chose to take human form, I was bound to interact with humans. Don't be so hostile toward them."
After hearing Xiao Wu out, Er Ming scratched its head, looking as if it understood, but not quite.
Xiao Wu knew that Er Ming, who had lived by the Lake of Life all these years, probably didn't understand the relationship between her and Tang San. But it didn't matter. They wouldn't be coming to Star Dou Forest very often anyway.
Xiao Wu changed the subject. "Since you're already here, help keep watch for me. I'll use this time apart to condense my third Soul Ring."
Er Ming understood that much and immediately agreed. "All right!"
Xiao Wu sat cross-legged on the ground and prepared to gather the energy within her body to condense a Soul Ring on her own. But just as she was about to settle into the process, she seemed to remember something...
"Oh, right!"
"Ask your subordinates if any of them would be willing to sacrifice themselves... Uh, I guess it wouldn't count as a sacrifice. Just ask if there are any Fire-attribute Soul Beasts that don't want to live anymore, with around a thousand years of cultivation. A friend of mine needs a Soul Ring like that."
The moment she said this, silence fell over the clearing.
Xiao Wu realized that her request didn't sound quite right, while Er Ming's mind came to a screeching halt.
A Fire-attribute Soul Beast that didn't want to live? Become a friend's Soul Ring? Was that something a Soul Beast should say?
Soul Masters and Soul Beasts had been mortal enemies since ancient times. And now Sister Xiao Wu wanted it to help a human obtain a Soul Ring. Was this part of living in the human world, too?
Seeing Er Ming's confused, slightly indignant expression, Xiao Wu was about to explain, but Er Ming spoke first.
"I'll ask around."
What choice did it have? That was its Sister Xiao Wu. A few thousand-year Soul Beasts were nothing. It had probably trampled countless ones to death while carrying Xiao Wu here.
Er Ming reassured itself. When it looked at Xiao Wu's pretty face again, all its negative feelings had vanished...
Xiao Wu let out a small sigh of relief, then began to focus on condensing her Soul Ring.
In the clearing, Er Ming gazed at Xiao Wu in her human form, its eyes growing ever gentler.
Its feelings for Xiao Wu went beyond simple gratitude for saving its life. It regarded her as its goddess, someone too sacred to be profaned.
Da Ming was probably the same. Otherwise, how could the three of them have formed such a close bond in this cruel forest where the strong preyed on the weak?
"Sister Xiao Wu is so beautiful," Er Ming murmured to itself, recalling the days the three of them had spent together at the Lake of Life.
But soon it remembered the problem at hand.
"No. Sister Xiao Wu absolutely can't be tricked away by those human Soul Masters. She's already having thousand-year Soul Beasts volunteer to sacrifice themselves. If she spends a few more years with that man, then Big Brother and I..."
Realizing this, Er Ming shuddered at the thought. But soon, a steely resolve flashed across its face.
"How dare a mere human try to lead Sister Xiao Wu astray!"
It unleashed the aura of a forest overlord to summon every nearby Soul Beast.
Before long, dozens of powerful auras gathered around them. After looking around, it summoned a Hellfire Hyena.
"You still want a Fire-attribute Soul Ring? Fine, I'll give you one..."
Meanwhile.
"Damn it, why is this beast so hard to deal with!"
"Get out of my way! I have to save Xiao Wu!"
Lin Yan crouched on a tree branch, watching Tang San, who had been locked in combat below for quite some time, go on another tear and prepare to deliver a fatal blow to the Man Faced Demon Spider with his Clear Sky Hammer. Suddenly, Lin Yan dropped from the sky.
[First Soul Skill: Fire Fist!]
His fist, wreathed in purple flames, slammed into the Man Faced Demon Spider's back. The tremendous force pinned all eight of its legs to the ground, robbing it of the ability to move for a moment.
"Lin Yan?"
Tang San looked up in astonishment and hurriedly, without drawing attention to himself, withdrew the Clear Sky Hammer into his body.
Lin Yan didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he put on an anxious expression and called out to Tang San.
"There's no time to explain. Go after Xiao Wu!"
"I'll handle this!"
At the mention of Xiao Wu, Tang San tensed. He no longer had any interest in figuring out how Lin Yan had gotten here or how he was able to fight.
He opened his mouth.
"Lin Yan! I'm sorry... Thank you!"
After uttering those few words, Tang San didn't hesitate for another second. He turned and ran into the forest.
"Tang San! Make sure you bring Xiao Wu back!"
Lin Yan shouted after him as he disappeared. He didn't know if Tang San could hear him, but there was a good chance he could.
After about ten seconds, Lin Yan let out a small breath.
"Phew..."
"He's finally gone!"
Thinking back to Tang San's "I'm sorry" and "Thank you" just now...
Lin Yan couldn't help finding it amusing. Things were looking up for him—he'd actually gotten Buddha Tang into his debt.
But "repay a spring's kindness with a gushing spring" wasn't just an empty saying. He wondered how Tang San would treat him when they returned to the academy this time.
With a grin, Lin Yan turned to look at the barely breathing Man Faced Demon Spider beneath him.
[Second Soul Skill: Blazing Flame Shot!]
[Third Soul Skill: Flame Ring Blast!]
The two Soul Skills struck one after the other, killing the helpless Man Faced Demon Spider outright.
A purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly appeared. Lin Yan began searching its corpse, and before long, his hands, wrapped in flames, suddenly felt something unusual.
He yanked it free. A spider-leg Soul Bone, curled into the shape of a shield, came into view.
"External Soul Bone. Got it!"
"Tang San, Tang San... Without the Eight Spider Lances and the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, I wonder how far you'll get in the future..."
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