Back in Peril!

Getting back to business, after tidying themselves up, the group refocused their attention on the three Evil Eyes they had slain before them.

Meng Hongchen tapped off the ground with her toes and drifted forward.

With a flick of her delicate hand, two diamond-shaped crystals floated up from the corpses and landed in her palm.

"What are these?"

Ye Luochen froze slightly at the sight.

"Could they be soul bones? But they don't really look like soul bones."

"They aren't soul bones. They are products of the Evil Eye race's soul undergoing sublimation after their cultivation reaches a certain level."

Meng Hongchen explained from the side.

"The Evil Eye race can store their soul origins within them. This way, even if their bodies are killed and soul rings have already appeared, they can still escape using the trace of soul left inside."

As she spoke, a hint of confusion entered Meng Hongchen's voice.

"But why are there only two crystals? Could one of the Evil Eyes have lacked sufficient cultivation and been unable to condense one?"

Ye Luochen did not answer Meng Hongchen's question.

Evil Eyes were soul beasts unique to the Sun Moon Empire. Even Shrek only had records of Evil Eyes at the thousand-year level at most.

As for ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes, as well as the crystals dropped after the Evil Eyes before them died—

They were entirely unfamiliar territory.

Still, after sensing the three soul rings on the ground, all of which had fully condensed, Ye Luochen slowly said,

"These three soul rings are all black, signifying the ten-thousand-year level, and from what I can sense, there isn't much difference in their energy intensity.

Logically, the situation you described shouldn't have happened."

"Indeed." Xiao Hongchen, who had remained silent at the side, nodded.

Although he was still bothered by the fact that Ye Luochen, the weakest among them, had been the first to kill his opponent—

He was certain that these Evil Eyes had not differed much in strength. There was no chance that one had been especially weak and allowed Ye Luochen to get lucky.

After another careful search yielded nothing—

The same thought arose in all their minds.

Could it be...

One crystal had already escaped without anyone noticing?

The group exchanged looks, and their expressions, which had only recently relaxed, turned serious once more.

It was said that every Evil Eye in the entire Evil Demon Forest originated from the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign.

In other words, all members of the Evil Eye race shared some degree of kinship.

Under such circumstances, if the lingering soul of one Evil Eye had truly escaped—

What it would do after being killed by them, bearing a mortal grudge against them, was obvious.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer. The Evil Demon Forest has been rather strange today.

If we draw in a stronger Evil Eye seeking revenge, we'll be in trouble."

As soon as those words fell, everyone's expressions grew even grimmer.

Without the protection of the Level Nine Soul Engineer leading them, assuming the worst in every situation was undoubtedly the safest course.

Fortunately, the Evil Eye race's bodies had no particularly valuable parts, and their attributes did not suit them either.

Faced with three black soul rings that would have sparked a mad scramble outside, none of them felt any regret.

With a movement of their feet, they swiftly fled into the distance.

Yet as time passed, Ye Luochen, who was focused on traveling, suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion.

It was a negative emotion blended from rage, resentment, and many other feelings.

Why?

Why was this clearly his Soul Hunting Operation, yet Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had insisted on coming along?

And the two of them had bickered all the way, disturbing the Level Nine Soul Engineer leading them beyond endurance.

If not for that, how could a Level Nine Soul Engineer have failed to notice the fifty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant approaching?

How could they have ended up in their current situation?

And that Xiao Hongchen—Ye Luochen had honed his combat ability through countless life-and-death crises, yet that well-connected brat actually dared to question him...

In the midst of his resentment, Ye Luochen suddenly froze.

He immediately realized something was wrong, and his brows furrowed.

Why would he have such absurd thoughts?

With his personality, such thoughts would never arise in his mind.

At that thought, Ye Luochen immediately shook his head hard, suppressing the strange feeling.

Then he warned,

"Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, be careful. I have a feeling something isn't right!"

But there was no response from around him, not even the faintest sound of wind stirring through the grass.

Sensing such a bizarre situation, Ye Luochen abruptly stopped.

Then he turned around.

The two Hongchen siblings, who had been beside him all along, had vanished without a trace.

Not only that, although the scenery around him remained the same, Ye Luochen felt as if he were in another world, as though some eerie force had stripped his entire being away from the original world.

Had he...

Entered some kind of mental illusion?

The ability to create a wide-range mental illusion meant that its user possessed exceptionally powerful spiritual strength.

And within the Evil Demon Forest, there happened to be a soul beast renowned for its powerful spiritual strength: the Evil Eye.

More coincidentally, they had killed three ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes not long ago, yet found only two soul crystals. One was suspected to have escaped.

Fearing that the escaped Evil Eye would seek out a stronger existence to avenge it, they had chosen to relocate.

Yet during that relocation—

They had unknowingly plunged straight into a mental illusion.

Then it was easy to imagine where this mental illusion had come from.

After roughly analyzing the situation, Ye Luochen's expression darkened.

"This is probably going to be a huge problem..."

Meanwhile, similar scenes were playing out around the other two.

As Xiao Hongchen sped onward, his expression gradually darkened.

Why?

Why had Ye Luochen entered Mingde Hall as soon as he enrolled, and why did Grandfather value him so highly that he had even assigned a Level Nine Soul Engineer to lead his Soul Hunting Operation?

Ye Luochen had clearly never touched a Soul Tool before, so why had he progressed so rapidly in such a short time?

And that strange strength of his—he had only just reached Level Forty, so why had he been able to finish off that ten-thousand-year Evil Eye in a single move?

And his own sister—why was she always taking his side...

But before any new negative emotion could arise, Xiao Hongchen abruptly came to a halt.

Something was wrong!

Why would he feel such emotions?

As a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Sun Moon Empire, how could he truly care about such trivial matters?

The same was happening to Meng Hongchen.

As time passed, anger and unwillingness began to rise in her chest.

Why, when they were both geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power, did everyone only notice Xiao Hongchen?

Why was Meng Hongchen only ever called "Xiao Hongchen's little sister"?

Clearly, her martial soul was even more...

Something was wrong!

Meng Hongchen's pretty face instantly turned cold. A faint icy mist emerged, and she immediately regained her clarity.

She and Xiao Hongchen had grown up together. Though they often bickered in everyday life, the bond between the siblings was incomparably deep.

How could she possibly harbor such negative emotions toward her brother?