Star Dou Great Forest Soul Hunt! Reality is Too Bold, Needs Discipline!

The following few days.

Sun Moon Lin Qing and Er Ni were not idle.

Sun Moon Lin Qing personally stepped forward to give detailed instructions and arrangements regarding the future affairs of Qinglin Restaurant to several reliable old managers.

The restaurant's operations had long been on the right track.

With a mature system and reliable staff, a short-term absence would not be a problem.

At the same time, he used some secret channels to purchase a significant amount of supplies needed for wilderness survival and combat.

Antidotes, insect repellent powder, dry rations, fresh water, maps, tents... and some small Soul Tool gadgets he had crafted himself.

Er Ni, meanwhile, spent her time consolidating her recently surged soul power and mastering the new abilities gained from her martial soul, all while learning basic soul master combat knowledge and wilderness survival skills under Sun Moon Lin Qing's guidance.

Even though she was of the support system.

Sun Moon Lin Qing hoped she would at least possess basic self-preservation awareness and capabilities.

Once everything was ready.

On a morning when the sky was just beginning to brighten, Sun Moon Lin Qing took Er Ni and left Suotuo City silently, setting foot on the road toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

This soul hunting trip was not only to obtain the first soul ring for Er Ni but also to acquire his own third soul ring.

He chose not to hire a soul hunting group.

Firstly, he did not want to expose the secret of absorbing soul rings beyond his limits.

Secondly, he had a fair amount of confidence in his own strength.

After two years of accumulation and the comprehensive strengthening from the immortal herb relics.

His actual combat power could no longer be measured by an ordinary level 30 Soul Elder.

A vast sea of spirit, a Heavenly Eye Martial Soul that had transformed into Innate Full Soul Power, spiritual power capable of materialization, and the External Soul Bone, Truth-Seeing Profound Pupil.

More importantly, he had not spent all his time over the past two years solely on soul power cultivation.

The precious Soul Tool Knowledge left behind by Sun Moon Lin Qing was like a treasure vault opened wide to him.

Combining it with his various abilities, his progress in the field of Soul Tools was so fast that even he himself was astonished.

In just over two years, he had firmly stood at the peak of a level 3 Soul Master, only a thin veil away from breaking through to level 4.

What did this mean?

It meant that besides his abilities as a soul master, he also possessed the identity of a "mobile artillery platform"!

That level 7 Milk Bottle could provide him with massive soul power support.

Coupled with his current vast spiritual power, it was enough to sustain him in long-duration, high-frequency combat using Soul Tools!

With my current strength, plus Er Ni's terrifying amplification and support, as long as we don't venture deep into the Star Dou Great Forest mixed zone, and don't encounter soul beasts over ten thousand years old or groups of powerful thousand-year soul beasts, safety shouldn't be an issue.

Sun Moon Lin Qing calculated in his heart.

What's more, Er Ni's soul skills were not affected by the type of soul ring, only by the age.

This gave him a great deal of room for choice.

He could completely avoid those top-tier soul beasts with powerful bloodlines, terrifying combat strength, and extremely high hunting risks.

He could specifically look for those ordinary soul beasts with average bloodlines but sufficient age.

Such soul beasts usually did not have strong combat power, making them much easier to hunt.

Thinking of this, Sun Moon Lin Qing felt full of confidence and anticipation for the upcoming soul hunting journey.

Several days later.

The outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Deep within the dense forest where human footprints were rare, the scenery was vastly different from the edge.

The trees here seemed to be straining to see who could grow the tallest, each one shooting up high.

The canopies were packed tightly together, blocking the sky above completely.

Only a few stubborn rays of sunlight could squeeze through the gaps in the leaves.

The smell in the air was also heavy.

The scent of damp soil, rotting leaves, and various indescribable fishy odors of vegetation mixed together, drilling straight into the nose.

From time to time, one could hear the roars of soul beasts coming from some unknown corner.

The primitive wildness and danger were clearly evident.

Er Ni followed closely behind Sun Moon Lin Qing, one hand unconsciously clutching the corner of his clothes.

Her beautiful eyes were wide open, looking around vigilantly, her breathing much lighter than usual.

This was her first time in a truly primitive forest of this nature.

Previously, the most she had done was wander around the small woods on the outskirts of Suotuo City.

Everything around them felt so foreign, so oppressive.

"Take this."

Lin Qing, walking in front, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He fished something out of his storage Soul Tool, turned around, and handed it over.

It was a silver-white metal bracelet.

The design was simple.

Fine soul-guiding patterns engraved on the surface emitted a faint, dim glow in the murky woods.

"This is a Level 3 defensive Soul Tool I made myself. It's nothing high-end, but it's enough for emergencies."

Lin Qing explained casually while shoving the bracelet into Er Ni's hand.

"Inject a bit of soul power into it to activate it. It can block a full-force attack from a Soul Elder about three times."

"Remember, it's 'blocking,' not 'immunity.' You still need to dodge; don't just stand there like a fool trying to tank it."

"Thank you, A-Qing."

Er Ni hurriedly took it.

The cold touch of the metal helped her clear her head a little.

She clumsily slipped the bracelet onto her slender wrist; it was a perfect fit.

As her fingers gently brushed over those complex patterns, the unease in her heart caused by the unfamiliar environment miraculously faded quite a bit.

In its place was a warm, grounded sense of security.

A-Qing was always like this, silently considering everything for her.

The two continued to tread carefully through the dense forest.

Lin Qing walked in front to clear the path.

A silver light flickered faintly between his brows.

His Heavenly Eye Martial Soul had already been quietly activated.

At the same time.

Sluggish Gaze, a talent soul skill he had mastered, began to operate silently.

In an instant.

The "flow" of the world around him seemed to slow down in his eyes.

On a branch ahead.

The trajectory of a withered leaf spiraling downward was so clear he could count how many times it flipped.

In the bushes to his right.

The subtle movement of a hard-shelled beetle crawling slowly across a leaf.

He could even see the grains of dirt stuck to its legs with perfect clarity.

Even the extremely faint flows and disturbances of soul power in the air, which were imperceptible to ordinary people, transformed into pale golden threads, flickering in and out of his vision.

Under this "slow-motion" insight, no potential threat or movement could remain hidden.

"Our goal this time is to find a soul beast between one thousand and fifteen hundred years old."

Lin Qing lowered his voice, speaking to Er Ni behind him without turning his head.

His feet nimbly bypassed a thick, protruding vine.

"We can set aside the strength of its bloodline for now; it's not a requirement, but the age must be within this range, preferably closer to fifteen hundred years."

"Only then can the base effect of your first soul ring be maximized, and the starting point for the amplification of Lovesick Heartbreak can be higher."

If Er Ni had only consumed Whale Rubber, he certainly wouldn't have let her absorb a thousand-year soul ring.

But Er Ni had not only consumed Whale Rubber but also possessed a hundred-thousand-year torso bone; the improvement to her physical constitution was extraordinary.

He was certain that Er Ni's current physical fitness was comparable to a Soul Elder, so absorbing a thousand-year soul ring would be no problem at all.

"Mm! I'll listen to whatever you say, A-Qing."

Er Ni nodded vigorously behind him, her voice still a bit nervous but very firm.

She didn't understand the complexities of soul beast ages or the pros and cons of bloodlines.

But she trusted Lin Qing's judgment and arrangements one hundred percent.

If A-Qing said it was good, then it must be the best choice.

However—

The ideal was plump, but reality was skeletal.

No matter how well-planned things were, they couldn't account for the fact that luck just didn't want to cooperate.

Five days in a row.

Lin Qing led Er Ni through the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, combing through the area with meticulous care.

The results, however, were utterly exasperating.

While they encountered no shortage of spirit beasts, none of them were quite right.

They were either little ones with only a few hundred years of cultivation—their age nowhere near enough to be worth considering.

Absorbing them would be a complete waste of the potential inherent in Er Ni's immortal-grade martial soul.

Or, the moment one appeared, its aura suggested it was at least two thousand years old.

He did not fear a two-thousand-year spirit beast.

The problem was that the age exceeded the limit by too much.

After all, this was Er Ni's first time absorbing a spirit ring, and both her body and mind required a process of adaptation.

Around fifteen hundred years was a relatively safe limit.

Any higher, and the risks would increase exponentially.

Chasing the absolute limit at the cost of such danger was simply not worth it.