Sunset Forest!

Li Jingzhe dusted off his robe, feeling the immense inner strength surging through his body... His face suddenly changed!

"Oh no..."

He'd been in such a hurry to finish off his opponent that he hadn't paid much attention. He'd only felt terrifyingly strong. Now that the dust had settled, he finally realized something was wrong!

His skin was as red as a boiled shrimp, and his belly felt like a fire was burning inside it. White smoke streamed from his pores, his heart pounded like a drum, and the meridians throughout his body were painfully swollen, aching faintly!

Only then did he suddenly remember the rules of this world. Cultivators had to obtain a Soul Ring to advance. Even if they could continue cultivating normally before obtaining one, there was still a limit.

He hadn't obtained a Soul Ring, yet his power had suddenly increased by sixty years' worth, and his Soul Power had shot straight to level eighty. If the Muscle and Tendon Classic and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique hadn't been holding him together, he would have exploded long ago!

Cold sweat poured down Li Jingzhe's forehead.

"Right now, I either have to release all this medicinal energy in one go, or... forcefully refine and condense it!"

Release it?

Absolutely not!

Once something was in his mouth, why spit it back out?

Refine it?

With the Muscle and Tendon Classic and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, he might suffer a bit, but it shouldn't be a problem!

In the blink of an eye, Li Jingzhe made his decision. He sat cross-legged at once, unleashing the Muscle and Tendon Classic to its fullest and running the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique at overdrive!

One complete cycle...

Three complete cycles...

Ten complete cycles...

The sun set and the moon rose. Day and night turned over. Who knew how much time had passed!

Huff—

Li Jingzhe exhaled a stream of hot breath, warping the air in front of him. The burning red flush covering his body receded like a tide.

"Fifty-nine and a half..."

Li Jingzhe murmured, his eyes full of lingering fear.

This was the limit of what the first level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, at its peak, combined with the Muscle and Tendon Classic could condense and compress. The swollen ache in his meridians had faded, replaced by an unusually clogged feeling. His Soul Power was still liquid, but dense, packed solid with countless tiny particles;

He tried several times to condense it into Soul Power crystals, but... it was impossible. Each time, he fell short at the most crucial step. He figured this was probably related to the rule that cultivators in this world had to obtain a Soul Ring before advancing.

Of course, refining the medicinal energy hadn't been without its benefits.

If his meridians had once been as thin as the walls of a delicate wineglass, now they were iron walls cast in bronze. Only meridians this resilient could firmly contain Soul Power on the verge of crystallization, keeping it from dispersing or running wild!

He clenched his fist. Bang! The sonic boom of his fingers compressing the air in his palm was louder than a firecracker. His bones were sturdy, his muscles tough—his strength was now at least ten times what it had been!

Li Jingzhe tried to stand, but to his surprise, a creak rang out. His bones and muscles made a faint, teeth-grating sound, like rusted parts grinding together.

Every movement carried the heavy force of a mountain, yet his Soul Power was hard to circulate, as though shackles bound his entire body.

"I have to get a Soul Ring right away. If my power gets returned to me again or something... I'll definitely explode!"

As Li Jingzhe thought this, he suddenly... retched!

A foul stench invaded his nostrils!

Li Jingzhe nearly threw up. He instinctively lowered his head... only to find that he was perfectly clean, without a trace of filth on him.

It wasn't some marrow-cleansing process. The Soul Emperor's corpse beside him had started to stink.

"Ugh... blech..."

He hurriedly circulated his Soul Power to seal off his sense of smell, then picked up a branch and poked around the corpse. He remembered that the man had a Storage Soul Tool on him.

Sure enough, he soon found a ring on the man's finger. He drew it over with his Soul Power, scoured away its imprint, and swept his consciousness through it... Not bad!

Li Jingzhe raised an eyebrow. The Storage Soul Tool had an internal space of about twenty cubic meters... rations, water—wait, there was water?

He quickly channeled his Soul Power to take out a waterskin, tossed the ring inside, and used Soul Power to simulate high-frequency vibrations and clean it thoroughly. Only then did he retrieve the ring, wrapped in Soul Power, put it on his middle finger, and scan it again with his consciousness.

There were six Gold Cards, two Black Cards, and a scattering of Gold Soul Coins... Each Gold Card held one million Gold Soul Coins, while each Black Card held one hundred thousand. That made six million two hundred thousand and a few hundred Gold Soul Coins.

"Heh... That old bastard must've figured that dealing with a Soul Master below level fifteen would be a piece of cake, so he brought all his valuables with him."

With this windfall, not counting the balance in the System Mall, he now had over forty-one million Gold Soul Coins in hand.

Li Jingzhe continued scanning the contents with his consciousness.

Powder to repel snakes, insects, rats, and ants... droppings from high-level Soul Beasts... rope... animal traps... a finely crafted dagger... powerful anesthetic... a complete, pitch-black beast bone over a meter long... five scrolls... Damn, what the hell was a Heaven on Earth Platinum VIP Card?

Li Jingzhe was speechless. Then he took out the scrolls and unrolled them. His eyes lit up at once.

One was a Soul Beast compendium, and the other four were maps: the Star Dou Great Forest... the Icebound Forest... the Far North... the Sunset Forest... Each map marked information about Soul Beasts and their locations.

He skimmed through them: a three-thousand-year-old Diamond Tiger... a five-thousand-year-old Ghost Leopard... a nine-thousand-year-old Golden Feather Eagle... a fifty-thousand-year-old Mirror Shadow Beast?

They were all rare Soul Beasts?

"Holy crap..."

Li Jingzhe's spirits lifted. He'd struck gold!

For a Soul Master to obtain a suitable Soul Ring, the first thing they needed to do was gather information about the corresponding Soul Beast—not charge headlong into a Soul Beast forest like the people from Shrek and leave the rest to luck!

The maps alone were worth as much as the Gold Soul Coins, if not more.

But...

The map of the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't complete. It seemed to cover only one section. Also, one of the markings on the Sunset Forest map was a little strange. Judging by its shape, he felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.

Li Jingzhe furrowed his brow... Where had he seen it?

Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, he whipped around and looked at the building he'd punched through... Damn it, no wonder that marking looked so familiar. It was almost exactly the same shape as the building!

"So... I'm actually in the Sunset Forest right now?"

Li Jingzhe finally understood, and broke into a cold sweat.

Judging by the state of the corpse, he'd been cultivating here for several days;

And according to the map, this spot was right on the border between the territory of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and that of thousand-year Soul Beasts!

Hiss...

Li Jingzhe sucked in a breath and backed away several steps. He punched, and the shockwave tore the stinking corpse on the ground to pieces!

"You son of a bitch, you really deserved to die!"

But then Li Jingzhe realized why things had been so peaceful over the last few days... Anyone who dared build a place to stay in a Soul Beast forest must have taken precautions against Soul Beast attacks, such as scattering the droppings of high-level Soul Beasts around the area.

Huff—

Li Jingzhe let out the breath he'd been holding and flipped through the Soul Beast compendium... Hm?

His eyes immediately blazed. Just the fact that it mentioned secrets ordinary Soul Masters couldn't learn about—the Titan Giant Ape, the Sky Azure Bull Python, and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—made it clear that this was a genuine, top-tier compendium;

It even described each Soul Beast's traits and habits. Some entries listed their weaknesses and how to hunt or capture them!

"With maps and a compendium like these, this guy's side gig must've been leading some Soul Hunting group... The Prince's Mansion really does have all kinds of talented people..."

Li Jingzhe sighed, quickly put away the scrolls, and kept only the Sunset Forest map.

Since he was already in the Sunset Forest, and had a map and compendium in hand, he might as well settle the Soul Ring problem too!