Tang Wulin shook the blood off his hands and looked toward the others. "How was the harvest?"
Xu Lizhi raised his hand excitedly. "I met the target! My soul spirit's age has already broken through five thousand years!"
Ye Xinglan also nodded. "I met the target too."
Although Yuanen Yehui did not speak, the slight nod of her head explained everything.
Tang Wulin nodded with satisfaction. "Good, then next it is Gu Yue's, Na'er's, and my turn. Our target is a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, and we need to go deeper into the forest to increase our efficiency."
He glanced at the sky and frowned. "There's not much time left, we have to speed up."
The group exchanged glances, seeing determination in each other's eyes. They followed Tang Wulin and walked deeper into the forest.
The further in they went, the higher the grade of the soul beasts. Thousand-Year Soul Beasts had already become scarce, replaced by various Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. The auras of these soul beasts were far more terrifying, and their builds were much more massive, each one radiating a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.
Yet the six members of Tang Wulin's group did not flinch. They still maintained their high-efficiency hunting rhythm, rolling right through under Tang Wulin's leadership.
The deeper they walked, the denser the soul beasts' auras became. A faint bloody scent lingered in the air, mixed with the musky odor unique to soul beasts. The six members of Tang Wulin's group lightened their steps, observing their surroundings with vigilance.
Suddenly, the bushes ahead shook violently, and a giant beast covered entirely in iron-gray scales abruptly lunged out.
That giant beast stood over three meters tall and resembled a rhinoceros, but its build was even more massive, and a single horn gleaming with a cold light grew atop its head, emitting the oppression unique to a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
"A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!" Ye Xinglan let out a low cry.
Tang Wulin's gaze sharpened. An ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was equivalent to a powerhouse at the human Soul King level, which truly posed no small threat to their team of generally Soul Elders. However, they were no ordinary people.
"Gu Yue, control!" Tang Wulin shouted in a low voice.
Gu Yue formed hand seals, and a silver light shot from her hands, precisely hitting that giant beast.
The giant beast's movements halted abruptly, as if sinking into a quagmire, and its speed slowed by nearly half.
"Na'er!" Tang Wulin called out.
Na'er responded as she moved, her figure flashing as the Silver Dragon Spear pierced toward the giant beast's right front leg like a silver venomous snake. The spearhead entered the flesh, and the giant beast let out a painful roar as its right front leg was pierced, making its movements even more sluggish.
"Nicely done!" A brilliant light flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes, and his figure burst forward. A layer of golden light bloomed on his right hand, his five fingers forming a claw-Golden Dragon Claw!
With a single claw strike, he directly shattered the giant beast's skull. The giant beast's massive body collapsed with a bang, twitching a few times before losing its breath entirely.
wisps of light drifted from the giant beast's corpse, pouring into Tang Wulin's body. He felt the age of his soul spirit increasing; although it was only a few hundred years, accumulation added up, and the efficiency was still fairly good.
"Ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are not our match." Tang Wulin withdrew his hand and looked toward the others. "As long as we don't provoke too many at once, there's no problem."
The group nodded and continued forward. However, they had not gone far when a violent commotion suddenly came from ahead. The sound of collapsing trees, the roars of soul beasts, and the startled cries of humans were mixed together, shattering the silence of the forest.
Tang Wulin's expression changed. "Someone is being hunted?"
He led the group forward at a brisk pace, parting the bushes to witness a dumbfounding sight.
The group led by Qiangu Zhangting was running toward their side in a disheveled state.
They all bore injuries on their bodies, their clothes were torn, and panic filled their faces. Right behind them, two massive soul beasts were frantically chasing them.
One soul beast was covered entirely in dark golden fur, its build as massive as a small mountain, and its claws resembled sabers, each swipe capable of easily tearing apart a thick, sturdy tree.
A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear! A terrifying soul beast from legends possessing the Dark Gold Dreadclaw, even among Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, it was a top-tier existence.
The other soul beast was an ink-black Tyrant Dragon, its build even more massive than the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's, every step it took causing the ground to tremble.
Hot breath puffed from its mouth, and a pair of scarlet eyes were filled with unbridled violence.
Both soul beasts bore injuries, evidently having been wounded by Qiangu Zhangting and his group. Yet the injuries did not make them retreat; instead, it stirred up their ferocity, making the chase even more frantic.
"Damn it!" Qiangu Zhangting cursed as he ran. "We shouldn't have provoked these two guardians at once knowing what we know; with two top-tier Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts joining forces, we are no match."
A young man beside him wore a crying face. "Captain, what do we do? If this goes on, we'll be killed!"
"Stop talking nonsense and run!" Qiangu Zhangting roared.
He suddenly caught sight of Tang Wulin and the others ahead, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. These little brutes could actually push so deep in?
Immediately, a thought flashed through his mind. He gritted his teeth, abruptly accelerated, and charged in the direction of Tang Wulin's group.
Sorry, little brutes. You won't actually die here anyway, so you might as well buy us some time!
Qiangu Zhangting muttered inwardly, flashing past Tang Wulin and the others with his people. They ran extremely fast, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.
As for those two soul beasts, attracted by the auras of Tang Wulin's group, they truly halted their pursuit and instead cast their gazes upon them.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear let out a low roar, its sharp claws carving several deep gullies into the ground. The Tyrant Dragon also slowly lowered its head, its scarlet eyes staring fixedly at Tang Wulin and the others.
Tang Wulin's expression turned unsightly.
"They did it on purpose!" Yuanen Yehui gnashed her teeth. "They deliberately lured the soul beasts over to make us scapegoats!"
Na'er also gripped the Silver Dragon Spear tightly, a trace of anger flashing in her eyes. "So shameless!"
Gu Yue said nothing, but her gaze had already locked onto those two soul beasts, her expression solemn.
Tang Wulin took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart. Now was not the time to quibble; although those two soul beasts were injured, they still radiated a terrifying sense of oppression.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Tyrant Dragon were both top-tier existences among Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Even injured, they were not opponents they could easily handle.
"Spread out!" Tang Wulin shouted in a low voice. "Xu Lizhi, fall back to the rear! Ye Xinglan, protect him! Gu Yue, try to control that Tyrant Dragon! Na'er, Yuanen Yehui, hold down the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with me!"
The group sprang into action immediately. Gu Yue formed hand seals, silver light shooting toward the Tyrant Dragon, but the Tyrant Dragon's build was far too massive, and the control effect was greatly diminished. It merely paused slightly before continuing to charge at them.
"I'll hold it off!" A trace of resolute determination flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes. "You guys focus your firepower on the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear first!"
His figure flashed, Teleportation activating as he appeared directly before the Tyrant Dragon.
The Tyrant Dragon roared angrily, opening its bloody maw to bite down at Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin sidestepped to evade it, slamming a fist into the Tyrant Dragon's neck.
Yet the Tyrant Dragon's defense was astonishingly formidable. Although this punch caused its movements to pause slightly, it inflicted no substantive damage.
"Such thick hide." Tang Wulin frowned, yet he did not panic.
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