It's a long way from Shrek City to Heaven Dou City.
Lin Ciyan and Zhang Lexuan did not choose to ride Soul Guidance Train or rent a carriage, but traveled in Soul Master mode, supplemented by moderate Soul Power running.
This is natural and easy for Zhang Lexuan who is at the peak of Soul Emperor.
It is not a burden to Lin Ciyan who is Soul Power and whose physique has been tempered by Dragon Valley.
Lin Ciyan had his own considerations when choosing this path.
The first is to cover up others' eyes and ears and avoid attracting too much attention.
Secondly, you can also take the opportunity to observe the situation along the way and verify some of the information in your memory.
In the first few days, the two of them walked along the general direction, and the weather was calm.
During the day, I would occasionally go for a picnic at Lin Ciyan's suggestion that he "needs a rest after walking". The ingredients were naturally prepared by Lin Ciyan using systematic condiments. The taste always made Zhang Lexuan's eyes light up, and his evaluation of his "joy of life" became a little higher.
At night, we will stay in small towns along the way and have a rest.
Zhang Lexuan discovered that although Junior Brother Lin always had a lazy smile.
She is extremely methodical in everything she does, and has an unusual understanding of routes, supplies, and even the distribution of spirit beasts along the way. She, a senior sister from the inner courtyard who often leads teams on missions, can't fault her.
Moreover, walking with him always gave me an inexplicable sense of security, as if no matter how big the storm was, it could be easily resolved under his nonchalant appearance.
It's just... his profile looks really prettier in the morning light or sunset.
Especially when he is thinking attentively or explaining the characteristics of certain plants or the habits of soul beasts...
The look of concentration and intelligence matched with the increasingly rich, refreshing and fresh breath on his body.
Zhang Lexuan's eyes are always attracted involuntarily, and then he hurriedly moves away before he notices it. His heart is pounding, and he secretly scolds himself for being more and more outrageous.
On this day, in order to shorten their trip, the two of them followed Lin Ciyan's suggestion and left the wide official road and cut into the edge of a vast Soul Beast settlement called "Sunset Forest".
Although this place is not as dangerous as the core area of Star Dou Great Forest, it is also home to many thousand-year or even ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beast, and ordinary Soul Master teams would not dare to go deep into it easily.
"Crossing the edge of this forest can save at least three days of travel." Lin Ciyan explained, pointing to the lush forest ahead and filled with light mist.
"Soul Beast in this area should have a maximum cultivation level of no more than 30,000 years, and there are few difficult species that live in groups. Senior sister's strength is enough to deal with it."
Zhang Lexuan felt the energy fluctuations coming from the forest, nodded, and expressed trust in Lin Ciyan's judgment.
She herself also sensed that although there were some strong auras deep in the forest, they were all vague and scattered and did not pose much of a threat.
The two made a slight adjustment and stepped into the forest.
The light in the forest suddenly dimmed, and the air was filled with the unique smell of soil, rotten leaves and plants, occasionally mixed with a few distant roars of beasts and birdsong.
The two of them remained vigilant, one behind the other, Zhang Lexuan leading the way, and Lin Ciyan trailing half a body, but their mental power had quietly spread, and with the help of the system's auxiliary scanning, they could collect all the energy reactions within a radius of several hundred meters.
For the first two hours, everything went smoothly.
I only encountered a few hundred-year-old and thousand-year-old Soul Beasts without long eyes, and were frightened away by the Soul Emperor aura that Zhang Lexuan casually exuded.
However, just when they were about to cross a relatively open forest glade and prepare to take a short rest, a sudden change occurred!
"Be careful!"
Almost at the same time, Lin Ciyan's low beep and Zhang Lexuan's warning sound sounded.
I saw more than ten black shadows as fast as lightning emerging from the shadows around the clearing without any warning!
They are similar in size to wolves, but are slimmer and more muscular. Their entire body is covered with dark purple fur, almost blending into the shadows under the dappled light.
The weirdest thing is their eyes, which are shining with green phosphorescence, full of cunning and ferocity.
"Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf! At least they are all over 15,000 years old, and the leading one... is over 70,000 years old!" Zhang Lexuan instantly recognized the type of Soul Beast, and his heart sank.
Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf is a rare group of Soul Beast with shadow attributes. They are good at hiding, raiding and cooperating, and are extremely difficult to deal with.
It is extremely unusual for so many senior individuals to appear at one time!
"Roar!"
The leading one, Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf King, which was extremely large and had a tuft of silver hair on its forehead, let out a short roar.
More than a dozen demon wolves dispersed instantly, forming an encirclement. Their green eyes were locked on the two of them, and they let out low and threatening whimpers from their mouths, and a fishy smell filled the air.
"Were they attracted by something, or... were they driven away artificially?" Zhang Lexuan's mind was spinning, and with a flash of light in her hand, her Martial Soul was released.
A bright phantom of the moon rose behind her, and the cold radiance fell. Soul Ring, the six optimal proportions of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, and black, slowly rotated, and the powerful Soul Emperor pressure spread, trying to scare the wolves.
However, the Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf group was only in commotion for a moment. Under the fierce howling of the wolf king, they actually withstood the pressure of Soul Emperor and began to slowly tighten the encirclement. Their fangs were exposed, and the energy of the shadow attribute surged on their bodies.
"Something's wrong." Lin Ciyan's eyes narrowed slightly. Feedback from the system scan showed that the energy in these demon wolves was extremely active, even with a hint of violence, as if they had been stimulated or manipulated by something.
"Senior sister, there is something wrong with their condition. I'm afraid they cannot be easily scared away." He whispered, and four Soul Rings, one yellow, one purple, and two black, were already rising under his feet.
The shadow of Holy Radiance Qilin loomed behind him, and the mysterious aura of Five Elements Rotation spread quietly.
Zhang Lexuan also noticed the abnormality, and his pretty face was slightly cold. "Then let's fight quickly!"
"Ci Yan, you protect your flanks, and I will deal with the Wolf King and the main combat force!" Before she finished speaking, she had already taken action!
"Fifth Soul Skill, Moon Splendor Sky Blade!"
The third and fifth Soul Ring behind Zhang Lexuan shine at the same time.
The moonlight condensed into countless sharp blades of light, slashing at the Wolf King and the strongest demonic wolves around him like a gust of wind.
Wherever the light blade passed, the air screamed, and the shadow energy was restrained by the moonlight, making a "chichi" melting sound.
However, that Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf King turned out to be extremely cunning. In a flash, it turned into several shadow clones that were hard to distinguish between real and fake. It narrowly avoided most of the light blades and was only slightly scratched.
It roared angrily, opened its mouth and spat out a stream of rich shadow breath, directly attacking Zhang Lexuan.
At the same time, other surrounding demon wolves also launched attacks brazenly, biting from various tricky angles, using shadow claw strikes, energy bites, and tacit cooperation to instantly involve Zhang Lexuan in a storm-like offensive.
Zhang Lexuan is calm in the face of danger, and his movements are as graceful as a thunderous giant, and he shuttles among the wolves.
She continued to use the moonlight to protect her body, and her light blades were crisscrossed. Every time she struck, she was precise and cruel, and in an instant she severely damaged a demon wolf that was about ten thousand years old.
But there were too many wolves, and their attacks were fierce and fearless. She was entangled for a while and was unable to escape quickly to kill the wolf king.
But at this moment, Ghost Shadow Demon Wolf, who had been deliberately wandering in the periphery and whose aura was about 20,000 years ago, gave up the siege on Zhang Lexuan with a flash of light in his eyes. Like two real ghosts, they quietly escaped from the shadows and attacked Lin Ciyan, who seemed to have "weak cultivation"!
Their timing was extremely accurate, and it was exactly the moment Zhang Lexuan was temporarily restrained by the Wolf King and the main force!
"Ci Yan!" Zhang Lexuan caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye. He was anxious and wanted to come back for help, but was temporarily entangled by the shadow chain spat out by the Wolf King as he was injured.