Soul Master Team, Icebound Forest (Good Luck on the College Entrance Exams)

Northern Territory, Skywater City.

The biting cold winds in this region never ceased.

Lin Mo began making his plans.

During this time, while gathering information, he also kept an eye on those Soul Master adventure teams that went out hunting or gathering.

Their nature was similar to mercenaries.

Some teams were reliable and experienced.

Others would cheat their employers.

When Lin Mo had hunted the Golden Thunder Bamboo for his first Soul Ring, he had encountered hunting Soul Master teams.

However, those people's vile conduct had left a deep impression on him.

Therefore, Lin Mo was extremely cautious when choosing a Soul Master team.

During this period, he continued investigating the "strange incidents" occurring in the surrounding towns.

Besides that, he maintained his habit of diligent cultivation.

At first, the people living near Skywater City found it rather strange.

Late at night, freezing rain would fall every few days, always accompanied by flashes of lightning and rolling thunder, while storms swept in with rain and snow.

They all suspected that some great calamity might be approaching and behaved very cautiously.

Fortunately, such extreme weather soon disappeared again.

At last, they put aside their concerns.

Lin Mo worried that such abnormalities could easily expose his identity. After all, these phenomena had often appeared when he was at Plant Academy.

He feared that if someone pieced the information together, they would easily suspect him.

To avoid the risk, Lin Mo bought a courtyard residence in the outskirts beyond Skywater City.

After all, money was no object.

This way, he could continue gathering information in Skywater City during the day.

Once his Weather Skill reset, he would head to the suburban residence and activate it late at night to speed up his cultivation.

Over this period, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.

His cultivation had improved, and his Soul Power had stabilized at level twenty-four, with faint signs of another breakthrough.

Furthermore, he used his spare time during this period to study his External Soul Bone.

After spending these days on it, he had basically figured out the traits of the Soul Bone.

The Wind-Thunder Wings Soul Bone itself came with the ability to fly. At Lin Mo's current cultivation, he could remain airborne for over ten minutes at most.

Though he could not use it for travel, it was already incredibly useful for escaping or crossing difficult terrain.

Beyond that, the Soul Bone also contained an exclusive soul skill—Wind-Thunder Slash!

By mobilizing the Soul Power within his body and condensing it upon his wings, he could form blades of wind and lightning.

He could swing his Golden Thunder Wings to unleash wind-thunder blades against his enemies. The skill was quite powerful, and thanks to it being an External Soul Bone skill, it possessed enormous growth potential.

All in all, it was an extremely practical offensive soul skill that made up for Lin Mo's lack of attack methods.

After more than a month of comparison and selection, Lin Mo finally chose an old-established adventure team with the most reliable reputation and the greatest experience from among dozens of Northern Territory Soul Master exploration teams.

This team traveled through the Icebound Forest year-round, specializing in gathering rare cold-element spiritual materials from the Northern Territory.

There were only five members, but all of them were Three-Ring Soul Elders. Their captain was a power-attack Battle Soul Ancestor who had spent decades in the Northern Territory and had never suffered a major disaster that wiped out the entire team.

Their team was not the strongest, but it was the most stable and the best at staying alive.

The overall cultivation of the members was not high. This was also the result of Lin Mo's deliberate selection.

Three-Ring Soul Elders, Four-Ring Soul Ancestors.

If they truly wanted to murder their employer for his money, Lin Mo had ways to counter them.

But if he hired a Six-Ring Soul Emperor to lead the team, then it would be hard to say who would end up getting killed.

After making his choice, Lin Mo personally met with the captain and discussed everything clearly.

That Four-Ring Soul Ancestor was a middle-aged man named Gu Dalong.

"Going out on an exploration mission is fine, but the Snow Lingzhi and Snow Ginseng you want won't be easy to find. It may take quite a while, and the price will be relatively high."

"If we encounter extreme weather or powerful soul beasts, we'll choose to avoid them. Ensuring safety comes first," Gu Dalong said.

He looked at his four teammates.

The team members were no longer young. They were all in their thirties, with families of their own.

Three-Ring Soul Ancestors.

This was basically the upper limit an ordinary Soul Master could reach.

With Innate Soul Power that was too low, becoming a Soul Master at all was already far from easy.

After interacting with them, Lin Mo felt they were quite dependable.

"Money isn't an issue. As agreed, once we sign the contract, I'll pay a fifty percent deposit immediately."

"After the job is done, I'll pay the remaining balance according to the agreed commission," Lin Mo said.

What he lacked least right now was time.

He was not afraid of trouble. He only feared not being able to stay long enough.

"What standard should we use for purchasing supplies? Are they collective supplies, or..." Gu Dalong asked.

"Go with the highest standard," Lin Mo said.

"If the operation lasts more than twenty days, the amount of supplies needed will be considerable. We'll also need to rent a storage Soul Tool, but the cost of that..." Gu Dalong hesitated.

In the Icebound Forest, the most important thing for gathering spiritual herbs over an extended period was survival supplies.

But if everyone carried large packs, whether they could endure twenty days was hard to say, and their movement would be greatly inconvenienced.

"I'll reimburse those expenses," Lin Mo said, displaying his wealth without restraint.

Smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

Without having to carry survival supplies on their backs into the Icebound Forest, they would have a much easier time as well.

"Then let's sign the contract," Gu Dalong said.

Lin Mo nodded and pressed his fingerprint onto the contract. Each side kept a copy.

They agreed on a date.

Three days later, they would meet outside Skywater City.

For this operation, Lin Mo made every possible preparation.

The System Storage Space had long been piled full of supplies.

Staying for a month?

He had stocked up according to a six-month standard. The system space was big enough anyway.

Cold-resistant brocade robes, high-calorie dried rations, healing pills, antidotes, and self-defense tools were all prepared.

He had even specifically prepared several tents capable of withstanding blizzards.

These things were enough for him to survive a minor apocalypse.

The requirement of this mission was to search for Snow Lingzhi and Snow Ginseng.

Both items possessed properties that nourished Soul Power. They commanded high prices outside and were extremely scarce.

Both grew in the Icebound Forest and were exceptionally well concealed. It took seasoned hands familiar with the terrain days of searching before they might encounter them by chance.

This also perfectly explained why he had hired a team at great expense and intended to remain in the forest for a long time.

Neither his actions nor his motives would arouse anyone's suspicions.

With everything ready, Lin Mo stopped delaying.

As agreed, Lin Mo headed outside Skywater City's gates to wait.

Outside Skywater City.

Lin Mo met up with the Soul Master team.

Gu Dalong and the others traveled light and had not brought much luggage.

The rented storage Soul Tool had been hidden away, nowhere in sight.

Beside them were several wolfhound sleds.

Seeing Lin Mo's curious gaze, Gu Dalong explained.

"These fellows are the true regulars of the snowfields. If we want to enter the forest, renting wolfhound sleds will save us a lot of trouble."

Lin Mo nodded and climbed aboard with them.

The Soul Master expedition team officially set out toward the vast, boundless Icebound Forest.

After several days of arduous travel, they finally reached their destination.

Heavy snow obscured their vision. Looking into the distance, the bone-piercing cold penetrated layer upon layer of clothing and seeped straight into their bones.

Goose-feather snowflakes drifted down in endless flurries, blanketing the entire forest sea until heaven and earth were reduced to a vast expanse of white.

Thick icicles clung to the tree branches. The cold wind passed through the boughs, producing mournful howls like the shrieks of ghosts.

Compared to the calm of Skywater City, the environment here was many times harsher.

[Ding! Detected that the host has entered the extreme cold environment of the Icebound Forest. The survival mission timer has officially begun]

[Remaining survival time: 30 days]