Sunset Forest, Land of Poisonous Miasma

After leaving the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

"Han Yu, why did that Crown Prince keep staring at you? It's so strange."

Ning Rongrong tilted her head, her index finger tapping against her lips as she stared at Han Yu beside her with a face full of curiosity.

The corner of Han Yu's mouth curled up. "Can't help it, I have an outstanding aura."

"You're so narcissistic." Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me that Crown Prince is coveting your beauty..."

As she said this, her voice faltered. Thinking of the stories about royal family members in novels, a hint of worry crept into her heart.

Han Yu raised his hand and flicked her forehead.

"Stop reading those inappropriate things."

Ning Rongrong clutched her head in pain, her eyes welling up with tears.

Just then, Ning Fengzhi's voice came from outside the carriage.

"Han Yu, we've finished our discussion. Do you need to rest, or shall we head straight to the Sunset Forest to hunt for your soul ring?"

"Sect Master, let's go directly," Han Yu replied.

Ning Fengzhi seemed even more anxious than Han Yu, as if he were the one about to obtain a soul ring.

But that worked out perfectly; Han Yu was planning to use this opportunity to see the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Inside the carriage, Han Yu listened to Gu Rong analyze several suitable soul beasts, calculating in his heart.

He didn't know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

He could only use the poisonous miasma set up by Dugu Bo as a clue and see if he could find it by luck.

If that failed, he would just stay a few more days and focus on Dugu Bo's granddaughter; there would surely be information about her in Heaven Dou City.

Half an hour later.

At the gathering point outside the Sunset Forest.

Ning Rongrong followed Han Yu out of the carriage.

"Han Yu, this is your first time hunting alone, so you must be careful. Old Bone will be protecting you closely, and Fengzhi and I will follow you as well," Chen Xin said with a serious expression.

"Rongrong, don't leave Han Yu's side for even a step. Stay safe." Ning Fengzhi pursed his lips, his eyes filled with concern.

Han Yu nodded and replied, "Sect Master, Teacher, I will protect Rongrong well."

Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's gaze flickered. She bit her lower lip gently and moved a few steps closer to Han Yu.

Soon, the two walked side by side into the soul master gathering area.

Gu Rong's figure quietly vanished, turning into a streak of black light that followed behind them, while Chen Xin took Ning Fengzhi and disappeared from the spot.

"Han Yu, aren't we going straight into the Sunset Forest?" Ning Rongrong followed closely behind Han Yu, her tone light.

"Of course not. We need to join a hunting squad first to gather some information." Han Yu shook his head.

Ning Rongrong nodded as if she understood. In her impression, Han Yu was indeed someone who liked to be fully prepared, so she assumed this was the same.

But this time, Han Yu hadn't actually thought that far ahead; he really just wanted to see if there was any intelligence regarding poisonous miasma or toxic gas so he could lead the others there.

The two headed toward the recruitment area.

As he walked, Han Yu carefully observed the surrounding soul masters.

He noticed that one of the team members in a certain squad had a purple complexion, clearly suffering from poisoning, and was holding a recruitment sign in front of him.

"Hello, are you still looking for people? We are both auxiliary-type Great Soul Masters, and I need to obtain my third soul ring." Han Yu pulled out a heavy bag of gold soul coins and asked with a flattering smile.

"You? A third soul ring?" The squad leader frowned and sized up the two of them. They looked quite young, but he couldn't tell their exact age, and a bit of doubt rose in his heart. "Of course we're accepting. You need to tell us your general abilities."

"I can provide shields and slowing effects, and she can amplify strength and speed," Han Yu nodded and explained with a smile.

The squad leader's eyes lit up. The combination of these two soul skills was quite strong and could greatly increase the team's combat power, making their trip to the area they discovered last time much safer.

"Welcome aboard."

Han Yu and Ning Rongrong joined the squad. The team consisted of five people; besides the leader, who was a level 35 Soul Grandmaster, the other two were both level 30 Great Soul Masters who were also there to obtain soul rings.

As soon as the squad entered the Sunset Forest, they began to double back and circle around the forest repeatedly.

The leader explained with a chuckle that he knew of an area with many low-level thousand-year soul beasts. He didn't say much else, just persistently urged the four of them to head there together.

To this, the other two did not refuse.

Ning Rongrong moved closer to Han Yu without a sound; she felt that the atmosphere in this team was somewhat off.

Half an hour later.

The five of them stopped in front of a patch of green miasma.

Lying on the clearing was the carcass of a soul beast, just over a thousand years old, its entire body purple.

"Haha, our luck is truly good. Xiao Wu, this soul beast is perfect for you." The leader said with a joyful tone, waving at the person behind him, then explained to Han Yu and the other girl, "There is a patch of poisonous miasma here. Soul beasts often wander in, get poisoned, and pass out, so we can just wait here for them."

The corpse of a thousand-year soul beast was a lucrative fortune for them. To keep this secret, they had no choice but to lead Han Yu and the other girl in circles for a long time first.

Han Yu was just about to ask a question when his gaze suddenly sharpened, his eyes glowing with golden light as he looked to the side.

A peculiar fluctuation of soul power emanated from the spirit beast's corpse.

"A spirit bone! Hahaha, it's a spirit bone!"

The Great Spirit Master named Xiao Wu knelt on the ground in excitement, clutching the right leg bone tightly to his chest, completely ignoring the spirit ring that had appeared before him.

Seeing this, the squad leader's face revealed a look of shock; his eyes narrowed slightly as he took light steps toward Han Yu and his companion.

"Uh, brother, why?"

The other Great Spirit Master kicked the corpse at his feet away like trash, his face full of disdain. His eyes were fixed intently on the spirit bone, and his breathing grew rapid.

These two were actually brothers who had slept on the same bed since childhood and survived countless life-and-death battles together, yet now, for the sake of a mere thousand-year spirit bone, they had turned so ruthless.

Ning Rongrong let out a cry of alarm and hid behind Han Yu, not daring to look at the tragic state of the man.

Han Yu turned around and gently patted her head. Without looking back, he said in a cold voice, "Take one more step and you die."

The squad leader not far away was startled into stopping in his tracks by this voice. After regaining his composure, his face flushed red with anger; he had actually been intimidated by a mere youngster.

Even if he had doubts about Han Yu's support-type martial soul, even if it were fake, at most the boy was just a two-ring Spirit Master.

"Kill that man with me, and I'll let you two go. How about that?" the squad leader said in a low voice.

"Not interested. I'll say it again: take one more step and you die." Han Yu's tone was filled with confidence as his gaze swept across the poisonous miasma.

"Brother, he's a Spirit Venerable. Why don't we join forces, and after we get out, we can sell the spirit bone and split the profit?"

"Hmph, I'll kill you first!" The squad leader watched Han Yu and the girl with an unpredictable expression, hesitating in his heart, but upon hearing the other man's words, his fury instantly ignited.

Han Yu shook his head and led Ning Rongrong to the side.

He had absolutely no interest in this spirit bone. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was right before his eyes, and those legendary immortal herbs were within reach; his heart was filled with anticipation.