The Soul Hunting Squad had dwindled until only Hua Yao and Zhang Lexuan still needed Soul Rings.
Perhaps because they would be leaving the Star Dou Great Forest soon, everyone was in high spirits. Only Mu Guiyun wore a deep frown.
His gaze turned toward the pitch-dark depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, a hint of curiosity flickering in his eyes.
About half a month ago, Mu Guiyun had vaguely sensed that an elusive gaze was watching him from the shadows.
As a Mental Attribute Soul Master, Mu Guiyun had absolute faith in his instincts. What puzzled him was that the gaze held not the slightest malice, as if it were quietly waiting for something.
"Forget it. Worst comes to worst, I'll just call for help. When you're out in the world, who says you have to rely on yourself?"
Unable to figure it out, Mu Guiyun simply stopped thinking about it. He slowly reached into his robes, then pulled out a gleaming golden Dragon Scale.
Meanwhile, the others, led by Han Ruoruo, had formed a little circle of their own. Even their conversation was growing more and more daring. "Xiaotao, is Gui Yun really your younger brother? Are you sure he's not your little lover?"
"Wu Ming, what nonsense are you spouting now? I watched him grow up. He's just my younger brother, that's all!"
"Really? Then I'm going to make a move. I love cute little boys like him~"
"Get lost!"
Mu Guiyun: ...
As the saying went, you never knew just how explosive the topics girls discussed in private could get.
Mu Guiyun had seen it for himself now. If anyone wrote this down, they'd probably get locked away in a little dungeon.
Just as everyone was chatting away, a distant wolf howl suddenly reached their ears.
Zhang Lexuan, the backbone of the squad, was the first to react. She immediately cried out, "Everyone, stay alert!"
Though the others had been laughing and joking, they had never let their guard down. At her command, they instantly formed a defensive formation, surrounding Mu Guiyun and Hua Yao in the middle.
With Mu Guiyun's Beast Taming Technique at their disposal, the Soul Hunting Squad no longer needed scouts on the perimeter. They were getting closer and closer to the core region, after all, and spreading out too far could lead to unnecessary trouble.
Strangely, though, the insects Mu Guiyun controlled had sent no warning. That meant the howl was either a false alarm—or the thing approaching was overwhelmingly powerful.
Time ticked by, and a heavy atmosphere filled the air, pressing down on everyone until they could hardly breathe.
Could it really have been a false alarm?
Mu Guiyun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward Zhang Lexuan, who stood at the perimeter. Her expression was taut as she vigilantly watched their surroundings.
Wait!
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong!
Mu Guiyun's eyes sharpened as he noticed a detail everyone else had overlooked.
Why was it so quiet around them? The silence was almost eerie.
They were in the Star Dou Great Forest, where night was the active time for many Soul Beasts.
Yet now the area was frighteningly still. There were no roars from Soul Beasts, not even the chirping of insects. All that remained was the group's hurried breathing. Even their heartbeats were clearly audible.
Just then, a slightly flippant voice suddenly boomed in Mu Guiyun's mind: "It's coming from the southeast! It's charging this way!"
Before the voice had even finished, a terrifying sense of danger surged through Mu Guiyun.
With no time to think, he hurriedly activated every Storage Soul Tool he wore. Countless rare metals shot out of them.
"Southeast! Everyone, look out!"
At his warning, everyone instinctively turned toward the southeast. A dark shadow was speeding toward the squad so fast that they were caught off guard.
"Everyone, scatter!"
Zhang Lexuan was the first to react. She grabbed Mu Guiyun and Hua Yao by their collars and darted backward.
Southern Cross Shield!
At the same time, a gigantic silver-white metal shield appeared out of thin air directly in front of the shadow. It shattered in less than a second, but still bought the others precious time.
"That was close! What a sneaky bastard, attacking us by surprise!"
Hua Yao patted her ample chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Lexuan, standing nearby, looked grave. To evade her senses, that Soul Beast's cultivation had to be...
"Awooo~"
Its sneak attack foiled, the shadow let out a howl toward the sky.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the beast, the group finally used the moonlight to examine the treacherous Soul Beast.
It was about five meters long, with dark red eyes that radiated a terrifying ferocity in the night. Its body was covered in inky-black fur, and the thick fur around its neck flared out in layers, like a scarf.
Its strong, sturdy limbs brimmed with explosive power. The crescent mark on its forehead shone in the moonlight, while the patch of white fur on its chest stood out especially brightly.
A Moon-Eroding Wolf!
"Normally, Moon-Eroding Wolves have snow-white fur. Only when they break through to a hundred thousand years of cultivation does their fur turn inky black..."
Zhang Lexuan's words reached everyone, making their spirits leap.
In other words, this wasn't an ordinary Moon-Eroding Wolf. It was a Moon-Eroding Wolf Emperor!
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
At that realization, everyone sent Mu Guiyun a grateful look. If he hadn't warned them and the Moon-Eroding Wolf Emperor's ambush had succeeded, the Soul Hunting Squad would have suffered devastating losses in an instant.
Once their gratitude had passed, an unprecedented excitement rose in everyone's hearts.
The Moon-Eroding Wolf might have an ordinary bloodline, no stronger than the Soft Bone Rabbits found all over the Star Dou Great Forest, but it was still a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
Which meant a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone!
The treasures every Soul Master dreamed of were right before them, and the group's eyes gradually burned with greed.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was a cut above an ordinary Titled Douluo.
But who were they? They were the elite of Shrek Inner Court, with a senior accompanying them!
With Xuan Zi's formidable cultivation at level 98, suppressing this Moon-Eroding Wolf Emperor would be child's play.
Wu Ming wasted no time. She pulled a signal device from her robes and crushed it with a slight flex of her fingers.
You're the one!
Come on out, Pika-Xuan!
Time passed slowly. One second, two seconds...
Yet even after half a minute, Xuan Zi still hadn't appeared.
"Where's Xuan Zi? Why hasn't he come out yet? Does he expect us to take down this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast ourselves?"
Everyone's faces darkened. If Xuan Zi weren't a senior, plenty of them would probably have started cursing him out by now.
"Maybe... Xuan Zi is watching us from the shadows?"
Han Ruoruo's expression was just as peculiar, but given Xuan Zi's standing, she said nothing more.
"Forget all that for now. It's charging!"
Shen Yao's eye twitched as he watched the Moon-Eroding Wolf Emperor rush straight at him. He hurriedly pulled out his Soul Tool.
The others couldn't worry about anything else either. They could only activate their Martial Souls.
"Moon Avatar!"
A layer of pale purple armor covered Zhang Lexuan's entire body, adding a few strokes of heroic spirit to her already cool, aloof bearing.