Justice: Five Against One? No! It's Four Against One!

Lin Ze'an nodded obediently. "I understand, Master."

Just then, Yue Guan's gaze suddenly locked onto Little Sprout, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes.

He carefully sensed the soul power fluctuations radiating from Little Sprout, his expression gradually turning peculiar.

A thousand-year soul beast?

He turned his head to look at Lin Ze'an, then back at Little Sprout, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

This soul beast's soul power seemed to be even higher than his own disciple's...

After bidding a temporary farewell to Dugu Bo, the group set off to continue their training.

After all, Hu Liena had yet to obtain her fourth soul ring, and Yue Guan and Gui Mei had quietly returned to the shadows to continue their covert protection.

Walking through the Sunset Forest, Hu Liena turned to Lin Ze'an and said, "Little Junior Brother, after much thought, I still feel we should obtain my fourth soul ring before consuming the immortal herb."

"If I take it now, I'll be stuck at a soul power bottleneck and unable to break through, which would ultimately waste much of the medicinal efficacy."

Lin Ze'an nodded upon hearing this. "That is true. The energy contained within an immortal herb is potent and can even alter one's potential; it is best not to waste it."

Yan scratched his head from the side, saying awkwardly, "Little Junior Brother, Nana, you two should look ahead."

"What?" Hearing Yan's exclamation, the two turned simultaneously and were both stunned.

Before them stood a soul beast with its back turned to them. Sensing the soul power fluctuations it emitted, there was no doubt: this was a thousand-year-level soul beast.

The beast was snow-white all over with smooth fur, and most importantly, three fluffy tails swayed gently behind it.

"A Three-Tailed Spirit Fox!" A hint of pleasant surprise flashed in Hu Liena's eyes. "And it has thousand-year cultivation!"

But soon, her expression turned solemn. "This spirit fox has at least six thousand years of cultivation. Be careful."

Lin Ze'an said with a bitter face, "Should I call this good luck or bad luck?"

If it were good luck, they wouldn't keep running into such bizarre situations.

If it were bad luck, everything they encountered seemed to be a stroke of fortune.

Just then, the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox turned around gracefully.

A hint of malice flashed in its fox eyes. It flicked its three fluffy tails, and a powerful aura of charm instantly spread outward.

"Watch out!" Hu Liena shouted. "Its charm ability is very strong!"

Seeing this, Lin Ze'an hurriedly circulated his soul power, and a verdant green light enveloped the four of them.

The soft green light dissipated part of the charm, but the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox's ability was simply too potent.

Except for Lin Ze'an, who remained unaffected, the other three, including Hu Liena, felt a wave of dizziness.

Xie Yue shook his head violently and said to the group, "Yan, you pin it down from the front. Lin Ze'an, keep providing support. Nana, look for an opening..."

Yan let out a loud shout, his fists igniting with scorching flames. "Second Soul Skill—Granite Rock!"

His second soul ring lit up as he lunged toward the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox, attempting to draw its attention.

But the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox leaped nimbly, easily dodging Yan's attack.

At the same time, it flicked its three tails, and three streaks of pink light shot toward the group.

Lin Ze'an hurriedly raised his hands, and thick vines erupted from the ground, blocking the path in front of them.

"Boom—!"

The Three-Tailed Spirit Fox's attack slammed into the vine barrier, producing a deafening roar.

The four of them and the fox fell into a stalemate.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan took turns attacking, yet they could never land a fatal blow on the agile Three-Tailed Spirit Fox.

Meanwhile, although the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox was powerful, it could not escape under the coordinated efforts of the four and was forced to keep circling.

"This can't go on," Yan said, panting heavily. "Our soul power consumption is too high!"

The Little Junior Brother could absorb energy while fighting, but he couldn't restore their soul power.

Hu Liena's face also bore signs of exhaustion. "Its speed is too fast... it's hard for my control skills to land perfectly."

"It must be stalling for time, waiting for our soul power to run out."

Just then, the cornered Three-Tailed Spirit Fox let out a sudden hiss.

Its figure flashed, turning into a streak of white light, and it instantly circled behind Lin Ze'an!

"Oh no!" Hu Liena exclaimed. "Its target is the Little Junior Brother!"

The Three-Tailed Spirit Fox raised its three tails high, and it looked as though it was about to lash out fiercely at Lin Ze'an's back.

Sensing the danger behind him, Lin Ze'an hurriedly tried to turn and defend.

At this critical, split-second moment—

"Hum—!"

The necklace around Lin Ze's neck suddenly erupted with a dazzling light, and a tiny figure flew out from within.

"Sprout!" Little Sprout blocked the path behind Lin Ze'an, its eyes flashing with an angry light.

The next second, countless emerald-green leaves erupted violently from Little Sprout's body.

With a piercing whistle, they surged toward the ambushing Three-Tailed Spirit Fox, blanketing the sky.

"Awoo!" The Three-Tailed Spirit Fox clearly hadn't expected this sudden attack; in its haste, it was forced to abandon its ambush on Lin Ze'an and retreat in a flurry of panic.

The leaves struck like a torrential downpour where the beast had been standing just a moment before, leaving behind a dense web of marks on the ground.

Seeing this, the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox stared at Little Sprout in disbelief.

What the hell is that? That thing is a spirit beast, right? Why is it helping a human?

On the other side, however, the eyes of Hu Liena and her two companions lit up, for they could sense that Little Sprout's aura had already surpassed level thirty.

In that case, the gap in combat strength between the two sides had narrowed significantly.

Finally, after another hour had passed, the group managed to slay the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox, though they were all completely exhausted.

Lin Ze'an was so tired that he collapsed directly onto the ground.

He glanced at Hu Liena, who was currently absorbing the spirit ring, and sighed to Xie Yue beside him, "This thing was much harder to deal with than the last Spirit Ancestor."

"It was actually able to use mental suppression to constantly interrupt your Demon Charm, and even Senior Sister's control was ineffective against it."

If you counted Little Sprout, it was supposedly a fair five-on-one, but in reality, it was more like four-on-one.

With her control rendered useless, Hu Liena's attack power was even lower than his own—since he lacked offensive spirit skills—making her essentially a decoration.

Conversely, that spirit beast on the other side had it all: mental attacks, physical attacks, and magical attacks.

Hearing Lin Ze'an's words, Xie Yue nodded. "Indeed. The Three-Tailed Spirit Fox has high mental resistance, and its speed is too fast; it's incredibly troublesome."

As he finished speaking, he looked at Hu Liena, who was absorbing the spirit ring, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. "I hope Nana can absorb this spirit ring successfully."

It wasn't until the very end that they discovered this spirit beast wasn't six thousand years old, but seven thousand.

He felt that Nana must have felt pressured after seeing Lin Ze'an's two thousand-year spirit rings, which was why she insisted on absorbing this one despite the danger.

Lin Ze'an said thoughtfully, "Senior Sister's martial soul is also of the fox variety. Although the species is different, their attributes should be compatible."

He reached out his hand, and a soft green light enveloped Hu Liena, helping her stabilize the violent spirit ring energy within her body.