Black Thorn Forest (Please Follow)

"Yah~ Yah~"

The ugly, hoarse cries of crows fell from the skies. A pitch-black forest, utterly at odds with the surrounding woods, resembled a vicious ghost baring a mouthful of horrifying fangs.

The Star Dou Great Forest was an incredibly magical place. Its vast expanse, comparable to that of the Dou Ling Empire, provided countless creatures with an exceptionally rich ecological environment.

During the year he had spent with Qiu'er, Lin En had witnessed all kinds of micro-ecosystems in the Mixed Zone. It was hard to imagine that the Star Dou Great Forest even contained a Great Snow Mountain, home to vast numbers of ice-attribute Soul Beasts.

According to Qiu'er, several ice-attribute Beast Kings lived within that snow mountain. The oldest had already reached one hundred and eighty thousand years, and it was those Beast Kings who had altered the mountain range's climate, turning it into a paradise for ice-attribute Soul Beasts.

There was even an inland sea here, or perhaps a special saltwater lake. Quite a few aquatic Soul Beasts lived in its waters, and Lin En had spotted two Golden Tortoiseshells, the legendary kings of all turtles.

Soul Beasts like these were what the Dark Nether Sect dreamed of obtaining. They were beasts blessed by fate; while they could not compare to the Imperial Auspicious Beast, they were still connected to fortune.

Once a Dark Nether Turtle obtained a Golden Tortoiseshell Soul Ring, it would truly evolve into a Black Tortoise—and a Martial Soul that could be stably inherited.

Besides the Golden Tortoiseshell, there was also the legendary phantom beast, the Mirage Dragon. An extremely rare spiritual-attribute Sub-Dragon, it had been captured by humans fewer than three times, and nearly all those records had been at sea.

It was precisely because an unknown number of Mirage Dragons lived in this special saltwater lake that humans had no records of this place. Every human who wandered in by mistake died within the thick mist.

Lin En and Qiu'er discovered many human skeletons in the fog. Some even had Soul Bones that had already lost their spiritual essence, which showed that these humans had not been weak in life.

The mist had been too thick that day, and Soul Beasts like Mirage Dragons and Golden Tortoiseshells were famously slippery.

Sensing the arrival of the Imperial Auspicious Beast, not even the slightest ripple rose on the lake. Lin En regretfully failed to see the true forms of those legendary Soul Beasts, nor did he get a bite.

And Lin En and Qiu'er's destination at this moment was the Black Thorn Forest Wan Demon King had mentioned, another special ecosystem born from the immense ecology of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Other than the Star Dou Great Forest, there was no second place like it in the outside world.

"Lin... Lin En."

"It's so creepy here."

"Could there be zombies like the ones you told me about before? Do you know Maoshan Daoist Arts? If we run into them, do zombies eat Three-Eyed Golden Lions?"

The sinister aura made Qiu'er deeply uncomfortable. She instinctively disliked this environment, and the crows' shrill cries reminded her of the horror stories Lin En had once told her.

Lin En did not actually know whether Douluo Continent had zombies. The systems here were a bit of a mess, like a fusion of East and West.

"Uh? Probably not?"

"Besides, what are you afraid of? What zombie could withstand your Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light? A Zombie King?"

Lin En silently pulled out a peachwood sword he had just carved, along with a coin sword strung together from Gold Soul Coins. Better to believe a little—there was no harm in it.

Even if there really were evil spirits here, faced with a descendant of the Fire King and the Imperial Auspicious Beast, even a legendary Undying Bone would have to cover its crotch and run home.

"Caw! Then why did you take out that coin sword?!"

"Are you trying to scare me again?!"

Qiu'er smacked Lin En's calf with her tail, displeasure in her eyes. After spending a year with him, she had figured out his personality.

When there was danger, he was dependable. He could always pull out all sorts of miraculous methods to deal with it.

When it was safe, he was the greatest danger. He always loved scaring her. Once, he had even gotten Ultimate Fire all over his face. Fortunately, the guy was immune to fire.

"Ahem, what are you talking about?"

"Tell me about the Black Thorn Forest. Aren't you the princess of the Star Dou Great Forest? You've lived here for so long, so you should know something, right?"

Lin En stiffly changed the subject and asked about the Black Thorn Forest. This forest, overflowing with sinister power, did not seem naturally formed.

"Hmph."

Qiu'er gave a soft snort, a thoughtful glint flashing through her eyes.

"I don't know that much either. In all my life, I've never actually come here, because this place makes me feel disgusted."

"Three hundred years ago, Scarlet King did mention that this used to be a Soul Beast battlefield long ago."

"It was an Dark Demon Evil God Tiger that had grown powerful, with one hundred thousand years of cultivation. Its strength was terrifying to the extreme.

"Normally, once a Beast King reached one hundred thousand years, it would choose a territory to rule. As long as the Soul Beasts within its domain submitted, there would not be much trouble."

"But the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was different. Its bloodline contained only killing and Devouring; submission did not exist for it."

"The Soul Beasts Devoured by that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger would have their souls refined into ghost slaves, and thus a great battle among Soul Beasts erupted."

"Fortunately, the Star Dou Great Forest was powerful. No Beast King was willing to live in the same forest as a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, so quite a few Beast Kings eventually joined forces to hunt it down."

"It had only one hundred thousand years of cultivation, yet it beat Scarlet King and Bear Lord so badly that they could not fight back, because it possessed a special ability called the Death Arena.

"That ability was especially shameless! It dragged both sides into a special space, where its opponent would be forcibly reverted to childhood while it remained unchanged!"

"Many Beast Kings gave their lives to find a solution: at the instant the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger activated the arena, immediately use a spiritual attack to break through its protective defenses.

"That way, it would be unable to exempt itself from the Death Arena's effects."

"In the end, everyone killed that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and established a rule: if a Soul Beast like it was ever found again, it was to be executed immediately!"

After hearing this secret, Lin En nodded. "So this is where that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was buried?"

"The ghost slaves and Soul Power left behind after that one-hundred-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger died transformed this forest into what it is now?"

Qiu'er said with certainty, "That's right."

"But it's been too long. Its bones have probably already turned to stone.

"Anyway, let's hurry to the core and find that Mutated Life Tree. Once we burn it down, we'll go home, light a fire, and eat!"

"Get on! Let's pick up the pace!"

Qiu'er gestured for Lin En to sit on her back and spread out her spiritual power. Lin En did not stand on ceremony; opportunities to ride a giant kitty were not common.

At the same time, Lin En spread out his spiritual power as well. Under the control of man and beast, the two streams of spiritual power did not clash, but instead resonated at the same frequency.

This was Psychic Synchronization, a display of absolute trust. If either side deliberately resisted, the other would suffer severe backlash.

"Word Spirit: Moment!"

Lin En softly chanted ancient Dragon Script. An invisible domain spread out, and Qiu'er felt the extreme speed of Word Spirit: Moment as well. Her face lit up with excitement as she broke into a run, instantly reaching the eighth stage of Moment.

"Woohoo! So fast!"

A streak of golden light raced through the Black Thorn Forest at an unimaginable speed, Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire trailing long tails behind it.

Word Spirit: Moment was a very special Word Spirit because it could be shared. However, the prerequisite for sharing it was that both parties within the domain had to be highly synchronized.

When the body suddenly accelerated to one hundred and twenty-eight times its normal speed, the mind's thoughts could not keep pace with the body. Qiu'er's spiritual power was strong, but she still could not adapt to the one-hundred-and-twenty-eightfold boost in speed at once.

Therefore, Lin En had to guide the direction and control.

In truth, it did not need to be too complicated. Qiu'er kept Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light active the whole time, incinerating every substance ahead into Void as they charged straight toward the core of the Black Thorn Forest.