"Star Dou Great Forest borders Shrek. To be safe, we should quickly find suitable soul beasts and leave."
As he spoke, Ye Yulin waved a hand and controlled the Sun Moon Divine Needle into the air, guarding against any enemies that might appear.
After all, 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.
The Sun Moon Empire was primarily made up of Soul Engineers, which meant it was not as strong as the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms on the path of Soul Master cultivation.
There were many reasons why Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire were generally weaker than those of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms, and the quality of soul beasts was a major one.
The Sun Moon Empire's more famous soul beast gathering grounds were none other than Evil Forest and Jingyang Mountain Range. The former was controlled by the Evil Eye Tyrant Clan, while the latter produced all kinds of metals and was populated mainly by metal-type soul beasts.
Mental-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 fierce beasts there aren't something we can handle. If they notice us, we'll be in danger."
That cluster of fierce beasts in the core region of Star Dou Great Forest was no joke. Di Tian alone was the strongest beneath the gods, not to mention the Silver Dragon King hiding there.
Following Yan Jingchuan's gaze, Ye Yulin recalled the rumors concerning the fierce beasts of 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 level thirty-six, and forging metal every day had inevitably delayed his cultivation somewhat.
Yan Jingchuan was level twenty-seven. Learning about Soul Tools had consumed quite a bit of his time, and without tenfold cultivation efficiency, he felt his progress was painfully slow.
Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan were still one or two levels away from breaking through, so they did not need Soul Rings yet.
The seven of them 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 concealing Soul Tool, Yan Jingchuan moved close to Ji Juechen and spoke.
Ji Juechen was baffled.
"What is it?"
Yan Jingchuan slipped a small object into Ji Juechen's hand. Ji Juechen discreetly examined it and found 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 Star Dou—"
Ji Juechen's slow brain finally caught up.
"Shh!! Keep it down!"
Throwing an arm around Ji Juechen's shoulders, Yan Jingchuan made a shushing gesture to cut him off.
"I have something to do, something important! I'll be back soon. There won't be any danger. Keep the positioning communication device on at all times—I'll find my own way back."
Ji Juechen shook his head furiously.
"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 instead of Xiao Hongchen to cover for him was not only because someone was rather thick-headed. It was also because Yan Jingchuan remembered that Ji Juechen owed him a favor.
Sure enough, Ji Juechen hesitated as soon as he heard that. Yan Jingchuan immediately piled on.
"Help me, and I'll bear all the risks myself. I'll compensate you afterward too. Didn't you want to spar? I agree to that as well!"
Catching the key phrase "agree to spar," Ji Juechen's intelligence dropped to zero. He patted his chest and promised.
"Deal! Leave it to me!"
Yan Jingchuan smiled faintly and nudged Ji Juechen with his elbow.
"Good brother, it's in the heart!"
After reaching an agreement, the two shut off the concealing 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 history as well. Yan Jingchuan had originally wanted to make one himself, but his skills were 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 had simply started trying to talk other ninth-level Soul Engineers into helping him, with Kong Deming as his first choice.
Yan Jingchuan explained his idea. Kong Deming said it was a good idea, but that his motives were impure. Not only did Kong Deming refuse to make it for him, Yan Jingchuan was forced to write more than a dozen Lifebound Soul Tool design proposals.
Out of options, Yan Jingchuan had no choice but to try talking Jing Hongchen into it. Jing Hongchen was no fool and initially refused as well. Only after Yan Jingchuan brought Meng Hongchen along to wear him down did he finally make a seventh-level Substitute Soul Tool according to Yan Jingchuan's design.
Yan Jingchuan had gone through so much effort to make that thing precisely so he could get away now. Life Gold was of enormous importance, and he absolutely could not let anything easily obstruct his steps.
An hour later, when the group entered a dense forest filled with 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 figure of Yan Jingchuan overlapped with his real body.
The instant the substitute fully took shape, Yan Jingchuan activated the other Soul Tools on his body and vanished completely.
The substitute connected seamlessly. Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan noticed nothing at all. The only one who seemed to sense something was Meng Hongchen, walking up front beside Xiao Hongchen.
"What's wrong, Meng?"
Meng Hongchen turned her head to glance at the four people behind them but found nothing unusual.
"Nothing..."
A kilometer away from the group, Nether Lightning Douluo and Nether Douluo followed behind the speeding Yan Jingchuan, one position behind him.
"How many more helpers can our sect summon in Star Luo and Heavenly Soul?"
Without turning his head, Yan Jingchuan questioned the two of them.
The Golden Tortoiseshell was the emperor among turtle-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 mainly inhabited areas near the core region and had fixed territories. Their habitats usually contained lakes or swamps.
To hunt a Golden Tortoiseshell, one had to venture deep into Star Dou Great Forest. Wherever such an auspicious soul beast resided, it greatly benefited the surrounding environment, even accelerating the cultivation of other soul beasts.
Therefore, powerful soul beasts were bound to protect them. It was extremely difficult for human Soul Masters to obtain a Golden Tortoiseshell Soul Ring.
If Ming Lei and Youming alone wanted to accomplish his goal, then even with Yan Jingchuan's preparations, it would certainly not be easy.
"Holy Son, the Sixth Consecrator is within the Heaven Dou 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 level ninety-six 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 already?
"It was the Supreme Consecrator..."
Nether Lightning Douluo mentioned it, then hurriedly shut his mouth.
Long Xiaoyao... Yan Jingchuan understood. Most likely, Long Xiaoyao knew or had guessed something and had sent Zhang Peng to take him to meet him.
As long as it did not harm ordinary civilians, bringing one person along did not count as breaking his agreement with Mu En.
A level ninety-six Hyper Douluo-level fighter was about to arrive. With Zhang Peng's help, his chances of success would increase greatly.
"Take these. Return them to me afterward."
Yan Jingchuan took several ninth-level Soul Tools from his storage Soul Tool and tossed them to Youming and Ming Lei.
Some of these had been given to Yan Jingchuan by Kong Deming for self-defense, while he had shamelessly begged Jing Hongchen for the rest.
For example, the purple greatsword in Ming Lei's hand—the Purple Radiant Heavenly Dragon Sword!
Nether Lightning Douluo's eyes immediately went wide. He was also a ninth-level Soul Engineer, yet this was the first time he had ever held a ninth-level Soul Tool produced by the Hall of Illustrious Virtue. He was so excited that he could not get a complete sentence out for a long while.
"Th-this, this... they're all ninth-level Soul Tools!"
Nether Douluo was stunned as well. Even though he was not a Soul Engineer, he knew how extravagant this was.
The two were still marveling when a dark, vicious aura approached them from afar.
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