Bibi Dong = Groudon [Revised]

After learning the direction, the seven of them wasted no time.

They covered several hundred kilometers in less than half a day.

Withered Wood Town was even more dilapidated than the intelligence reports had described.

The writing on the crooked wooden sign at the town entrance had nearly been worn away.

The few pedestrians on the streets hurried along. When they saw seven neatly dressed children enter, they unconsciously slowed down and studied them with wary eyes.

Those looks seemed to be judging

just whose children this well-dressed, very young group might be, and whether they were people no one could afford to offend.

Luo Jiuyou walked at the front, his red eyes sweeping across the surroundings. "Something is off about this town."

Qian Renxue raised her little head and looked around. "More than half the houses on both sides of the street are empty. The town's population is much smaller than what we saw."

Bibi Dong frowned. "Where did everyone go?"

She had come from a small village.

That village had been attacked by Fallen Soul Masters. It was Qian Xunji, who had happened to pass by, who cleared the scene and brought her and several orphans back to Spirit City.

Later, after awakening her martial soul and displaying outstanding talent, she had been accepted as Qian Xunji's disciple.

So she understood better than anyone what it meant when a place suddenly lost more than half its population.

Ye Guyi pondered for a moment. "The intelligence says that some people were abducted. The missing-person cases may be more serious than we imagined."

In the world of Soul Masters, strength reigned supreme.

Most Soul Masters were hardly kindhearted people, and life-and-death battles were commonplace.

But the scope of Fallen Soul Masters was broader than merely "cultivating through evil methods."

Besides those who Devoured flesh, blood, and souls to increase their strength,

there were also those who simply took pleasure in killing,

as well as those who raped, pillaged, abducted people, and trafficked them like bandits.

All of them could be considered Fallen Soul Masters.

Besides crusading against those who cultivated through evil methods, the Angel Legion often eliminated murderers and human traffickers who had willingly fallen into depravity.

Spirit Hall wanted the civilian population to flourish even more than the empire did.

After all, Spirit Hall's awakening system was based on casting a wide net for talent. The greater the population base, the higher the chance of finding promising seedlings.

If villages and towns were slaughtered empty or stripped bare by Fallen Soul Masters, it would be intolerable to Spirit Hall.

This was also one of the core reasons why the Angel Legion had crusaded against Fallen Soul Masters year-round.

After gathering clues in town, the group did not linger. Following the direction indicated by the intelligence, they circled around to the edge of a dense forest on a mountain behind the town to the northwest.

Ye Guyi took out the mission handbook and a map from her storage Soul Tool and spread them on the ground.

"They should be around here." Ye Guyi compared the map with the terrain.

"Where, where?" Na'er leaned over curiously, her red eyes sparkling.

She did not truly care about the mission. She simply felt that being with these senior brothers and sisters was far more interesting than staying in Star Dou Forest: there was delicious food, fun things to do, and they could even come out on missions.

Ye Guyi stretched out a little finger and tapped the map. "According to the intelligence, that group should have a stronghold deep in these woods."

"Then let's go take a look."

Luo Jiuyou took the lead into the forest.

Sure enough, there was a narrow path deep within the woods that had been trampled out by people. The dirt was fresh, and the footprints were disorderly. People clearly came and went here often.

After following the path for about fifteen minutes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A clearing appeared in the middle of the forest. Seven or eight crude wooden cabins stood there, surrounded by a simple wall of sharpened stakes. Several oil lamps hung from the wall.

People were patrolling outside the cabins.

Three Soul Elders in dark, fitted outfits carried weapons as they paced back and forth around the wall. Their steps were unhurried, and they clearly had great confidence in this place's security.

The seven little ones hid in the shadows of the trees at the edge of the forest, lowering their bodies as they observed the scene ahead.

Luo Jiuyou's gaze swept over the three patrolmen.

"There are three Soul Elders guarding the entrance. Further inside, there are four more. One of them seems to be some kind of squad leader, and his strength has reached the Soul Ancestor level."

Bibi Dong poked her head out and watched for a while. "Is that Soul Ancestor the one we're looking for?"

Qian Renxue shook her head.

"These people are probably just lookouts. There must be stronger ones inside."

Bibi Dong lowered her voice, her eyes gleaming.

"Then why not just charge in? With Junior Brother here, none of them are a match for us. Junior Brother could instantly defeat Tang Xiao of the Upper Three Sects with one move. He's no ordinary Soul Emperor."

Na'er nodded seriously beside her. "Senior Brother is very strong. Beating them would be easy."

Qian Renxue nodded in agreement. "With Junior Brother here, these people are just helpless nobodies."

The three "generals" immediately called for a frontal assault.

Luo Jiuyou did not join the discussion.

These fodder truly were not worth his blade, but when his gaze swept over the depths of the cabins, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

There was a big fellow inside whose vitality was far stronger than the others'.

He could use him to loosen up a little.

But he did not say it aloud.

If he did, these little girls would start getting nervous.

Ye Guyi looked at the three little ones and sighed. "Two Senior Sisters, and Junior Sister, we're here to carry out a mission, not to fight."

Bibi Dong froze for a moment. "What do you mean? Aren't we supposed to charge in and rescue them?"

Ye Guyi pointed toward the cabins.

"I've sensed them. The Soul Power fluctuations here are quite normal. There's none of that evil, bloody aura unique to Fallen Soul Masters."

Bibi Dong blinked. "So?"

Ye Guyi looked at her and inexplicably felt a little tired.

"So we have to figure out the situation first. There are many types of Fallen Soul Masters we are meant to crusade against.

Some kill people and absorb blood and Soul Power to increase their strength.

Some have simply fallen into depravity and take pleasure in killing.

Others rape, pillage, and commit every imaginable evil like bandits.

The intelligence shows that the group we're facing is an abduction-and-trafficking gang, but it is still unclear whether they possess other evil methods.

So we must first find out where they are keeping the people they abducted before we act.

What if we rashly rush in and, with nowhere left to turn, they kill the hostages?"

Those words made Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Na'er exchange glances at the same time. None of them insisted further.

Bibi Dong looked at Ye Guyi with some surprise. "Third Junior Sister, why are you so calm today?"

Ye Guyi remained expressionless. "Because you two kept me up last night. I don't have the energy to be impulsive now."

Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue both choked up. Then they touched the still-reddened marks on their foreheads, and neither said another word.

Na'er giggled beside them, finding her two Senior Sisters very amusing.

Luo Jiuyou smiled and spoke at the right moment.

"Then we'll do as Third Senior Sister says. We'll first figure out the situation and confirm the target before making a move.

We'll circle around from the side and infiltrate from the rear. I've sensed it already. The strongest one inside is a Soul King, and there are also two Soul Ancestors.

That will put some pressure on you, but it won't be fatal."

As for the big fellow inside, the Soul King, Luo Jiuyou did not mention him. If he did, they would get nervous.

Bibi Dong immediately became eager again. "Then how do we get in?"

Luo Jiuyou pointed at the sheer cliff not far ahead.

"There's a mountainside over there. We can launch a surprise attack from above."

The little ones' eyes immediately lit up.

Qian Renxue giggled.

"That's right. Every one of us can fly, so slipping in from above would be the most convenient."

After saying that, she slowly shifted her gaze toward Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong: "???"