Breaking Away from the Team, the Arrival of Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng

"The Star Dou Great Forest borders Shrek. To be safe, we should quickly find suitable soul beasts and leave."

As Ye Yulin spoke, he waved his hand and controlled the Sun Moon Divine Needle to rise into the air, guarding against enemies that might appear.

After all, the Star Dou Great Forest lay deep within the encirclement of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms and Shrek. Unless absolutely necessary, people from the Sun Moon Empire truly did not want to risk coming here to hunt soul beasts.

After all, the Sun Moon Empire primarily focused on soul engineers, which left them less formidable than the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms on the path of Soul Master cultivation.

There were many reasons why Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire were generally weaker than those in the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms, and the quality of soul beasts was a major factor.

The Sun Moon Empire's more famous soul beast gathering grounds were none other than the Evil Forest and the Jingyang Mountain Range. The former was controlled by the Evil Eye Tyrant Clan, while the latter produced all kinds of metals and was home mostly to metal-type soul beasts.

Psychic-type soul beasts and abundant metal deposits had greatly encouraged the birth and development of soul engineers.

Looking toward the core region, Yan Jingchuan gave Ye Yulin an additional reminder.

"Elder Ye, be careful not to approach the core region. The savage beasts there aren't something we can handle. It'll be dangerous if they notice us."

The cluster of savage beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest's core region was no joke. Di Tian alone was the strongest beneath the gods, not to mention the Silver Dragon King hidden there.

Following Yan Jingchuan's gaze, Ye Yulin recalled the rumors concerning the savage beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest and gave a slight nod.

"I understand."

The group did not split up. Zheng Zhan led the way while Ye Yulin brought up the rear, protecting Yan Jingchuan and the other four in the middle.

Among them, only Meng Hongchen needed a thousand-year soul ring. Xiao Hongchen was at Rank 36, and forging metal every day had inevitably caused his cultivation to lag behind somewhat.

Yan Jingchuan was at Rank 27. Learning soul tools had consumed much of his time, and without tenfold cultivation efficiency, he felt that his improvement was exceedingly slow.

Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were still one or two ranks short of breaking through, so they did not need soul rings yet.

The seven advanced slowly. To save time and improve efficiency, Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan were both using their spiritual power to search.

"Ji Juechen, do me a favor."

Quietly activating a concealment soul tool, Yan Jingchuan moved close to Ji Juechen and spoke.

Ji Juechen looked confused.

"What is it?"

Yan Jingchuan slipped a tiny object into Ji Juechen's hand. Ji Juechen covertly examined it and discovered that it was a kind of soul tool he had never seen before.

"What is this?"

"A Substitute Soul Tool. Activate it later, and I'll disappear immediately. Help cover for me."

"Oh... huh!? Where are you going? This is the Star Dou—"

Ji Juechen, whose reactions were rather slow, suddenly caught on.

"Shh!! Keep your voice down!"

Putting an arm around Ji Juechen's shoulder, Yan Jingchuan made a shushing gesture and cut him off.

"I have something to do, something important! I'll be back soon. There won't be any danger. Keep the positioning communicator on at all times, and I'll find my own way back."

Ji Juechen shook his head frantically.

"No, it's too dangerous! If Elder Ye and Elder Zheng find out, I won't be able to explain myself, and I can't bear that responsibility!"

"Elder Ye knows. He'll help cover for me."

"Then why didn't you just tell Elder Ye directly?"

"..."

Suppressing the urge to hit him, Yan Jingchuan decided to use his trump card.

"You have to help me. Don't forget that you still owe me a favor!"

The reason Yan Jingchuan had chosen Ji Juechen rather than Xiao Hongchen to cover for him, aside from someone being rather scatterbrained, was that he still remembered Ji Juechen owing him a favor.

Sure enough, Ji Juechen hesitated as soon as he heard that. Yan Jingchuan decisively raised the stakes.

"Help me, and I'll bear all the risks myself. I'll compensate you afterward too. Didn't you want to spar? I'll agree to that as well!"

The moment he caught the keyword, agreeing to spar, Ji Juechen's intelligence dropped to zero. He patted his chest and guaranteed it.

"Deal! Leave it to me!"

Yan Jingchuan smiled slightly and elbowed Ji Juechen.

"Good brother. I'll remember this!"

Having reached an agreement, the two turned off the concealment soul tool. Ji Juechen waited for Yan Jingchuan's signal, ready at any moment to activate the substitute and cover for him.

That Substitute Soul Tool had quite the background. Yan Jingchuan had originally wanted to make one himself, but his skill level was simply too limited. He could not make it at all.

After some thought, Yan Jingchuan felt that even if he did manage to make one, there was a high chance it would not fool a Titled Douluo.

So, he began sweet-talking other Level 9 soul engineers into helping him, with Kong Deming as his first target.

Yan Jingchuan explained his concept, and Kong Deming said that it was a good idea, but his motives were impure. Not only did he refuse to make it, Yan Jingchuan was also forced to write more than a dozen design plans for his natal soul tools.

Out of options, Yan Jingchuan could only go sweet-talk Jing Hongchen. Jing Hongchen was no fool either, and he initially refused as well. Only after Yan Jingchuan brought Meng Hongchen along to pester him relentlessly did he finally make a Level 7 Substitute Soul Tool according to Yan Jingchuan's design.

Yan Jingchuan had gone to such lengths to make that thing precisely so he could get away now. Life Gold was of immense importance, and he absolutely could not allow anything to hinder his steps so easily.

An hour later, when the team entered a dense forest shrouded in miasma, Yan Jingchuan realized the time was right and gave Ji Juechen a look.

Ji Juechen did not let him down. The Substitute Soul Tool activated, and a simulated image of Yan Jingchuan overlapped with his real body.

The instant the substitute fully formed, Yan Jingchuan activated the other soul tools on his body and vanished completely.

The substitute connected seamlessly. Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan did not notice anything at all. The only one who seemed to sense something was Meng Hongchen, walking ahead beside Xiao Hongchen.

"What is it, Meng?"

Meng Hongchen turned her head and glanced at the four people behind them but found nothing unusual.

"Nothing..."

A kilometer away from the team, Yan Jingchuan sped onward, with Nether Lightning Douluo and Nether Douluo following one position behind him.

"How many helpers can our sect still summon in Xingluo and Heavenly Soul?"

Without turning his head, Yan Jingchuan questioned the two.

The Golden Tortoiseshell was the emperor among tortoise-type soul beasts, an auspicious soul beast second only to the Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

They existed in groups, though their numbers were scarce. They primarily inhabited areas near the core region and possessed fixed territories. Their habitats usually contained lakes or swamps.

To hunt a Golden Tortoiseshell, one had to venture deep into the Star Dou Great Forest. Wherever such an auspicious soul beast lived, the surrounding environment benefited greatly, and even nearby soul beasts cultivated faster.

Therefore, powerful soul beasts were bound to guard them. It was extremely difficult for human Soul Masters to obtain a Golden Tortoiseshell soul ring.

If only Nether Lightning and Youming were relied upon to accomplish his goal, the difficulty would absolutely not be low, even though Yan Jingchuan had prepared in advance.

"Holy Son, the Sixth Consecrator is within the Heavenly Soul Empire. He knows you have arrived and is heading this way."

Nether Douluo answered in a low voice.

The Holy Spirit Cult's Sixth Consecrator, Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, was a Rank 96 Hyper Douluo.

"Why would he come?"

Yan Jingchuan was somewhat surprised. Shouldn't Zhang Peng have emerged only after Mu En's death? Why had he joined the Holy Spirit Cult now?

"It was the Supreme Consecrator..."

Nether Lightning Douluo mentioned it, then hurriedly shut his mouth.

Long Xiaoyao... Yan Jingchuan understood. It was highly likely that Long Xiaoyao knew or had guessed something and had sent Zhang Peng to take him to meet him.

As long as he did not harm ordinary civilians, merely bringing one person along did not count as breaking his agreement with Mu En.

It just so happened that a Rank 96 Hyper Douluo-level fighter would soon arrive. With Zhang Peng's help, his chances of succeeding would increase greatly.

"Take these. Return them to me afterward."

Yan Jingchuan took several Level 9 soul tools from his storage soul tool and tossed them to Youming and Nether Lightning.

Some of these had been given to Yan Jingchuan by Kong Deming for self-defense, while the others had been shamelessly demanded from Jing Hongchen.

For example, the purple greatsword in Nether Lightning's hand—the Purple Radiant Heavenly Dragon Sword!

Nether Lightning Douluo's eyes instantly went wide. He was also a Level 9 soul engineer, yet this was his first time touching a Level 9 soul tool produced by the Hall of Virtue. He was so excited that he could not get a word out for a long while.

"Th-this, this... they're all Level 9 soul tools!"

Nether Douluo was equally shocked. Even though he was not a soul engineer, he knew exactly how extravagant this was.

The two were still marveling when a dark and vicious aura approached them from afar.