Leaving the Lake of Life

"Fifth Soul Skill, Taiyin Extreme Cold Divine Light."

With a swish, Xiao Wu unleashed her Taiyin Cold Domain. All six Lin Haos were then swept by the Taiyin Extreme Cold Divine Light and frozen into ice sculptures.

The next moment, Xiao Wu extended her right hand and clenched it sharply.

"Soul Bone Skill, Iceburst Technique! Explode!"

Xiao Wu knew that Lin Hao could freely switch between his clones and his real body, so she aimed this Iceburst Technique at only five of the Lin Haos.

Five explosions rang out, and five Lin Haos were instantly blasted into powdered ice.

The one Lin Hao she had not targeted with the fivefold Iceburst Technique was still frozen and unable to move, and the blasts sent him flying backward as well.

Of course, that was because Lin Hao had not resisted. If he had, he could have used his third soul skill, Teleportation, the instant he was blasted away and escaped.

Lin Hao hit the ground with a thud. The next moment, Xiao Wu teleported over and sat right on top of him.

Sitting on Lin Hao, Xiao Wu looked down at him with a beaming smile.

"Lin Hao, you lost. Call me Sister Xiao Wu."

Just look at her-she was not even calling him brother anymore. How cocky.

Lin Hao, however, accepted his loss and honored the bet.

"Sister Xiao Wu!"

Hearing him call her Sister Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu immediately lit up with delight. Then she flexed her waist and wiggled her bottom, rocking Lin Hao beneath her.

Seeing this, Lin Hao called out again.

"Sister Xiao Wu!"

"That's more like it!"

Xiao Wu was just about to stand up.

Lin Hao braced both hands and pushed hard, flipping Xiao Wu over and pinning her to the ground instead. The two then began horsing around.

After they had played around for a while, Lin Hao took out the hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor right leg bone that Da Ming had provided and gave it to Xiao Wu to absorb.

He also explained the two soul bone skills granted by this hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor right leg bone: Undying Body and Death Demon Scythe.

Time passed like a white steed flashing past a crack in the wall. In the blink of an eye, Lin Hao and Xiao Wu had already spent two months at the Lake of Life.

For those two months, Lin Hao had accompanied Xiao Wu as she romped to her heart's content around the Lake of Life.

Still, thanks to the abundant heaven and earth origin power at the Lake of Life, Lin Hao's soul power level had risen by two levels to forty-seven, even though he had not cultivated seriously.

As for Xiao Wu, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself.

"Xiao Wu! It's been a month. We should head back."

On the shore of the Lake of Life, Xiao Wu's happy smile immediately faded into a calm expression when she heard that they were leaving.

Xiao Wu took a deep breath and looked at Da Ming and Er Ming.

"Yes, it's already been a month. We should head back."

"Da Ming, Er Ming, Lin Hao and I are leaving."

Er Ming spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

"Sister Xiao Wu! Are you leaving already?"

Da Ming said, "Yes, Sister Xiao Wu! You've only been here for two months. Can't you stay a little longer?"

Xiao Wu slowly shook her head.

"No, Da Ming, Er Ming. In just over a year, Lin Hao and I will be competing in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. We need to go back and prepare."

Er Ming said, "All right! When will you come back next?"

At that question, Lin Hao called out.

"Da Ming, Er Ming, once we finish competing in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, which will be just over a year from now, I'll bring Xiao Wu back to see you again!"

"Then, Da Ming, Er Ming, we'll see you in just over a year."

After Lin Hao and Xiao Wu said their farewells to Da Ming and Er Ming, they stood on Er Ming's shoulders.

Er Ming carried them out of the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest and set them down in the central portion of the mixed region.

Once they reached the central portion of the mixed region, Lin Hao and Xiao Wu jumped down from Er Ming's shoulders. If Da Ming went any farther, the chances of encountering soul masters would increase!

Stopping in the center of the mixed region was therefore the best choice.

As Xiao Wu jumped down, she turned and waved goodbye to Er Ming.

"Er Ming! Go on back."

"We'll see you in a year."

Er Ming gave a low roar, then thumped his chest twice with his fists.

"All right! Take care, Sister Xiao Wu!"

With that, Er Ming headed toward the Lake of Life, looking back three times with every step.

Xiao Wu kept walking and waving, only stopping once Er Ming's figure was completely out of sight.

After lowering her hand, Xiao Wu sighed. Then she walked toward Lin Hao and gave him a broad smile.

"Brother! Let's go back!"

Looking at Xiao Wu's smiling face, Lin Hao smiled too.

"All right!"

The mixed region of the Star Dou Great Forest was quite vast, and ten-thousand-year soul beasts were plentiful.

On their way out, Lin Hao and Xiao Wu even encountered a soul beast over fifty thousand years old.

Fortunately, both of them had a Teleportation soul skill, and they escaped by teleporting dozens of times in succession.

Whenever they encountered a soul beast over twenty thousand years old, they blinked away to make a quick escape. As for those under twenty thousand years old, most were unwilling to approach after sensing Lin Hao and Xiao Wu's auras.

When Lin Hao and Xiao Wu were almost out of the mixed region, with another fifty li to go before reaching the outer region, they encountered an injured tiger-type soul beast.

This tiger-type soul beast seemed to be fleeing pursuit by other soul masters and was already panicking enough to lose its way.

It probably barely sensed their auras before charging straight toward Lin Hao and Xiao Wu.

When the tiger-type soul beast was a little over two hundred meters away from them, Lin Hao got a clear look at its appearance.

He identified its name and cultivation age.

This soul beast was called a Wind Tiger. Judging by its dark blue-green stripes, it was roughly sixteen thousand years old.

At that moment, the Wind Tiger was blind in one eye and covered in wounds, from which bright red blood dripped onto the ground from time to time.

Seeing that the Wind Tiger was about to reach them, the two prepared themselves.

Lin Hao and Xiao Wu summoned their martial souls to fight back.

"Xiao Wu! Don't attack. From the state this soul beast is in, it's clearly being pursued by other soul masters.

I'll hold it off myself for a moment. The soul masters chasing it should catch up soon, and then we can leave."

"All right!"

The next moment, Lin Hao held the Heavenly Blade, and the first and third soul rings beneath his feet lit up.

"Third Soul Skill, Teleportation."

"First Soul Skill, Vajra Slash."

Holding the Heavenly Blade, Lin Hao teleported in front of the badly wounded Wind Tiger and slashed straight at its forehead.

Startled by Lin Hao's sudden attack right in its face, the ten-thousand-year Wind Tiger hastily stopped when it sensed the attack from his Heavenly Blade martial soul. It raised a paw and wielded its wind attribute to block.

Although Lin Hao's first soul skill had an armor-piercing effect, his soul power was clearly insufficient to cleave through the Wind Tiger's paw. He only cut a wound into it.

Though this strike had inflicted only a small wound on the Wind Tiger, Lin Hao had achieved his goal of forcing it to stop.

So, the next moment, Lin Hao teleported straight back to Xiao Wu's side and faced off against the Wind Tiger.

However, the ten-thousand-year Wind Tiger clearly had no intention of staying there. After all, soul masters were still pursuing it.

After another glance at Lin Hao and Xiao Wu, the ten-thousand-year Wind Tiger decisively changed direction and continued fleeing for its life!

Naturally, Lin Hao was not about to let it escape so easily. He once again began using Teleportation to harass it with the Heavenly Blade in hand.