Ran Out of Money?

The vast Star Dou Great Forest was a boundless sea of surging timber.

Qin Chuan and Scarlet King traversed the expanse with ease, as if walking through an empty land, scouring the entire Star Dou Great Forest in just a few short days.

During these days, Qin Chuan had made some gains.

He had tracked down a Tempered Vermilion Fire Snake with four thousand years of cultivation, a rare creature living in a Poison Gas Swamp, coexisting with several other soul beasts.

Upon sensing Qin Chuan's aura, it had suppressed its natural instincts and did not emerge to hunt immediately.

Instead, it hid within the toxic fumes to spy, driving other soul beasts to attack first to distract him.

Only when Qin Chuan was locked in battle with those beasts did it lunge out at him, displaying remarkable cunning.

Yet, despite its craftiness, it had underestimated Qin Chuan.

His Body Casting Realm seventh-stage physique was like copper skin and iron bones, impervious to blades and spears; how could a mere snake hope to pierce it?

Furthermore, Qin Chuan had been waiting for this exact opportunity, intentionally revealing a flaw to lure the snake out of the Poison Gas Swamp so he could suppress and kill it.

"Four of the five poisons are gathered, but there is still no trace of the centipede; I haven't been able to find it at all." Qin Chuan felt somewhat troubled as he stored the Tempered Vermilion Fire Snake's corpse into his system backpack, preparing to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.

He had searched the entire Star Dou Great Forest and still come up empty-handed.

He would have to try his luck elsewhere on the continent.

"Why are you collecting these soul beasts? They are all highly toxic creatures; even their corpses are riddled with poison and unfit for consumption." Scarlet King frowned as he asked, clearly dissatisfied and viewing Qin Chuan's actions as wanton slaughter.

"Senior, don't worry about it; I naturally have great use for these soul beasts." Qin Chuan smiled without offering further explanation.

He looked toward the distant lake and said, "Let's go, to Heaven Dou City!"

Over the past few days, he and Scarlet King had practically turned the entire Star Dou upside down, encountering several human soul masters along the way and gathering much key information.

Near Heaven Dou City, there was another large soul beast habitat known as the Sunset Forest.

Although it could not compare to Star Dou, it was equally rich in species, and more importantly, it was teeming with poisonous creatures, making the chances of finding the remaining poisons there very high.

Scarlet King nodded faintly and asked no more.

His role was merely that of a guardian; beyond that, he would observe Qin Chuan, but he had little interest in anything else.

In his long years of existence, if he had concerned himself with everything or possessed too much curiosity, he would never have survived until now.

After resting for about an hour and a half, the two began their journey toward the edge of the forest, preparing to depart from Star Dou.

Star Dou was immense, the largest and most vast soul beast forest on the Douluo Continent, stretching as far as the eye could see.

However, with Scarlet King's formidable cultivation of nearly three hundred thousand years, it took them only three or four hours to travel from the core circle to the outer perimeter.

Before leaving, Qin Chuan turned back to offer a special reminder.

"Senior, the human world is different from the realm of soul beasts; there are many things to be mindful of!"

"You must remember not to expose your identity casually, do not act directly, and it is best not to be too conspicuous."

As a beast king, Scarlet King held no affection for humans, and Qin Chuan hoped he would keep a low profile while in the human world.

"Hmm." Scarlet King responded indifferently.

He then walked away directly.

His crimson hair fell to his shoulders, making him appear like a god of fire, his low presence carrying the power to incinerate everything.

Seeing this, Qin Chuan smiled slightly and said no more.

He followed closely behind.

There were two great empires standing on the Douluo Continent, dominating the four seas, while the remaining kingdoms and duchies were all vassal states to these two, possessing vast territories.

Qin Chuan and Scarlet King headed straight south; after exiting Star Dou, the region they entered was the territory of the Balaque Kingdom.

They passed through several towns along the way, but to their surprise, the houses in these settlements had suffered varying degrees of destruction.

Everywhere they looked, there were scenes of broken homes and scattered families, a truly miserable sight.

"There is a thick scent of blood everywhere here; there must have been a large-scale beast tide that attacked these human towns not long ago."

Scarlet King spoke in a flat, indifferent tone, unaffected by the carnage; such misery was not enough to stir his emotions.

"A beast tide?" Qin Chuan's expression shifted, his breath hitching as an ominous premonition stirred in his heart.

Sure enough, after asking around, he learned it had happened two days ago, precisely when those three Title Douluo-level powerhouses were locked in battle within the core region.

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities—in the end, it is the common people who suffer." Qin Chuan fell silent.

The events had little to do with him, and he lacked the power to turn the tides or prevent such things.

Yet, seeing the plight of the commoners while the nobility and upper classes did nothing, he still felt a ripple of emotion and could not bear to simply walk away.

"Although I am no saint, I cannot abandon the red flag of my homeland; nine years of compulsory education still counts for something."

After some trouble, Qin Chuan exchanged all the Gold Soul Coins he had obtained from the three soul saints into Silver Soul Coins.

The process was somewhat difficult, as he was targeted by a few nobles.

To Qin Chuan, the savings of those three soul saints were quite meager, but to ordinary people—and even to some nobles—it was a staggering amount of wealth.

In the towns where the situation was most dire, Qin Chuan lingered for a few days, distributing his entire fortune to the common people.

During this time, Scarlet King felt it was entirely unnecessary, as there were too many refugees—countless, in fact—and it was impossible to provide relief to them all.

Qin Chuan listened and nodded, but his hands moved without the slightest hesitation; soon, all the Silver Soul Coins had been distributed.

"This won't work. There are too many refugees, and the money on those three Spirit Saints simply isn't enough!"

Qin Chuan furrowed his brows, his face filled with distress, his expression appearing quite helpless.

He did still have an entire world, the Green Green Grassland.

But the key was that his Dao Seed had not yet refined that world, and in that world, the currency among animals was also gold or items of equivalent value. Having watched so many seasons, he had never seen a single animal holding gold.

Officer Bao of the grassland?

He thought about it and shook his head immediately.

That guy threw every criminal he caught into the Sky Prison; his pockets were likely empty.

"Humanity is severely divided, filled with exploitation and oppression. People here are barely surviving, yet those so-called nobles continue to live in luxury, singing and dancing, no different from us spirit beasts."

Scarlet King watched the crowd not far away, arms crossed, speaking with mockery; he had no fondness for humans.

However, his words reminded Qin Chuan, whose eyes lit up as an idea suddenly struck him.

Moreover, having traveled through so many towns, he noticed that aside from a very small number of nobles providing relief to refugees, most were actually just standing by and watching.

It was the Spirit Hall Branch that seemed to have received orders, acting in unison, dispatching spirit masters from within the branches to provide relief and help everywhere.

After some investigation, Qin Chuan quickly locked onto a target: a noble with powerful influence.

His reputation was abysmal; he frequently bullied the common people and committed all sorts of evil deeds, and he also had connections to the City Lord Mansion.

Thus, with officials shielding one another, he was like a local emperor.

"You've done so many evil deeds in your time; consider this a way to accumulate merit and repent for your past actions."

Soon, Qin Chuan took action. Operating in the dead of night, he infiltrated the noble's estate. After intimidating a few servants and stewards, he actually found a massive pile of Gold Soul Coins.

The matter went surprisingly smoothly. Qin Chuan acted alone, yet he encountered almost no obstacles; from start to finish, it took no more than ten minutes.

However, this was also related to Qin Chuan's own cultivation. At the seventh transformation of the Body Casting Realm, he was confident that even if he encountered that Spirit Saint from Shrek, he would not be afraid in the slightest, capable of fighting him fiercely and perhaps even defeating him.