Encountering a Spirit Hall Search Party
The next morning, the teachers and students of Huo Lei Blazing Fire Academy gathered in the cafeteria. The Huo family of four, Jin Shan, An Jun, Lin Yin, and Yunxiang, the eight of them, sat together at one table and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast.
After breakfast, Huo Feng, Huo Lei, Jin Shan, An Jun, and Lin Yin bid farewell to the teachers and students of the academy. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the five rode their fast horses southward.
In their final moments, Yunxiang gave each of the five members of Huo Lei a pink Strawberry.
The pink Strawberry was made from Yunxiang's fifth Soul Power. Its effect is to restore a certain amount of Soul Power Soul Power, the amount of which varies from person to person. The lower the Soul Master's level, the more Soul Power is restored; the higher the Soul Master's level, the less Soul Power is restored. It can be stored for seven days.
The five men urged their horses onward, not daring to slacken, and sped off southward.
Three days later, Huo Lei and his group arrived at the town closest to the Star Dou Great Forest. The five of them found an inn to stay overnight and left their horses there.
The next morning, after having breakfast at the inn, the five of them headed towards the Star Dou Great Forest.
After entering the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Lei and his group of five began to venture deeper into the forest.
Huo Lei and his group acted without restraint. Among the five, Lin Yin was the lowest level, but even so, he had already reached level seventy-eight. After absorbing the External Soul Bone Eight Spider Lances, his Soul Power increased by one level, from the original level seventy-seven to level seventy-eight.
Soul Sage of level 70+ can move freely in the outermost part of the Star Dou Great Forest, and even if they enter the mixed zone, they will not be in much danger.
Since they didn't need to search and simply proceeded straight inwards, Huo Lei and his group didn't waste any time. They also didn't have to worry about getting lost here.
And so, Huo Lei and his group of five traveled through the Star Dou Great Forest at an extremely fast pace for a whole day.
As night fell, Huo Lei and his group of five found a relatively high spot to stop. After a day of travel, everyone was somewhat tired.
The reason Huo Lei and his group stopped here to rest was because they had reached the transition point between Thousand-Year Soul Beast and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. If they went any further, they would encounter ten-thousand -Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Although they were not afraid of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, it was already dark, and they had traveled for a whole day, so there was no need to go any further.
Along the way, Huo Lei didn't spot anyone from the Spirit Hall, which made him worried. He feared he might miss the best opportunity. If he got ahead of the Spirit Hall's search team, that would be fine, but if he got behind them, it would be terrible.
According to the original novel, if Tang San didn't appear, the only one in danger would be Xiao Wu. The search team led by Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo wouldn't be strong enough to kill the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python. But it was precisely because of this that Huo Lei was even more worried. He wanted to hunt Xiao Wu down as his Eighth Soul Ring for his Flame Martial Soul. The Titan Giant Ape, on the other hand, was to be given to his father, Huo Feng, as his Ninth Soul Ring. As for the Sky Azure Bull Python, with its dual lightning and water attributes, it was naturally more suitable as Huo Lei's Third Soul Ring.
If it weren't for the time constraint, Huo Lei would have preferred to have the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as his Third Soul Ring Lightning Martial Soul ring and the Sky Azure Bull Python as his Fourth Soul Ring. However, due to time constraints, he had to put the Sky Azure Bull Python first.
When Huo Lei returned to the academy from Holy Soul Village, he actually had time to hunt down the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but considering that a fierce battle might attract the attention of the Spirit Hall's search for Xiao Wu's team, he did not make a move.
While Huo Lei gazed at the starry sky, pondering questions, Huo Feng had already lit a campfire and started roasting food. The Star Dou Great Forest was not short of firewood. Even if there was no dry firewood, Huo Lei and Huo Feng had their own. Because of the academy's relocation, Huo Feng and Huo Lei had each taken some dry firewood from the academy's canteen for use in the wild.
After everyone finished eating, they set up their tents to rest. Huo Lei wanted to release the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, but Jin Shan stopped him. He meant that since everyone was a strong person, using the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud in the Star Dou Great Forest mixed zone would be a waste of mental energy. He suggested that two people take turns keeping watch at night.
No one objected to Jin Shan's suggestion. He proposed taking the night watch, so he set an example by becoming the first person to keep watch. Although the other four had competed for the position, Jin Shan rejected them. So, they finally agreed that Jin Shan would keep watch for the first half of the night, Lin Yin for the second half, and the rest would take turns keeping watch in order.
The four members of Huo Lei's group had barely settled into their tent to rest when Jin Shan's voice rang out. "Everyone, get up quickly, something's up."
When everyone emerged from the tent, the campfire, which had been burning almost out, had already been extinguished by Jin Shan.
"A group of people is coming from the south, about 600 meters away from here, and they're approaching us. There are quite a few of them, including some experts. Everyone, pack up your tents!" Jin Shan told everyone the information he had gathered and covered the ashes on the ground with soil.
Huo Lei packed up his tent and simultaneously channeled a wisp of his Soul Power into it, activating his Fiery Golden Eyes to look in the direction Jin Shan was pointing.
Once Huo Lei's Fiery Golden Eyes are activated, he can see clearly even in the darkest night.
With the aid of his Fiery Golden Eyes, Huo Lei could clearly see more than twenty people silently advancing through the woods, gradually approaching his location.
When Huo Lei saw the faces of these people clearly, he was not surprised but delighted, and the corners of his mouth even turned up slightly, revealing a smile.
He counted carefully; there were twenty-five people in total. Leading the way was a middle-aged man in white, but Huo Lei knew very well that this man was no ordinary middle-aged man, for he was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan of the Spirit Hall.
Behind Yue Guan, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan followed closely. Behind them were twenty members of the Spirit Hall, all with composed demeanor, aged between forty and sixty, and dressed in black, close-fitting outfits. Huo Lei could clearly sense from the aura emanating from them that these people were even stronger than the three members of the Golden Generation.
As the final element, a ghostly figure appeared. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo I always acted together, and although Huo Lei couldn't see the figure's face clearly, he could guess its identity.
"Great! It's wonderful to meet them here. As long as we follow them, we're sure to find Xiao Wu. And finding Xiao Wu is equivalent to finding the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python. If we can make good use of them, dealing with the two great Soul Beast and capturing Xiao Wu will be much easier." Huo Lei was overjoyed when he detected that the other party was indeed the Spirit Hall's search team.
As soon as Huo Lei put away his Fiery Golden Eyes, he immediately released the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, enveloping himself and the other four people.
Huo Lei addressed the four people inside the Vast Ocean Universe Cover, saying, "I have activated the Vast Ocean Universe Cover's invisibility function, so you don't need to worry about being discovered by the enemy."
"I've already investigated; they're from the Spirit Hall. This team is led by Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo from the Spirit Hall, and includes three members of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, along with twenty black-clad experts. The Spirit Hall mobilizing so many powerful individuals at once shouldn't be a simple matter of hunting Soul Ring for just one person; they must be undertaking something significant."