Xie Xie cautiously shifted his position among the trees.
He moved almost flush against the shadows of the trees, placing each step to avoid dry branches and fallen leaves. Light spilled through gaps in the canopy overhead, cutting patches of light and shade across the ground. He slipped between them, using trunks, bushes, and vines to conceal himself.
Compared to Zhang Yangzi, Xie Xie was clearly much more cautious.
He had heard plenty of stories about the Spirit Ascension Platform since childhood.
Here, soul beasts were not wooden posts for people to practice on.
They hid.
They hunted in packs.
They lay in ambush.
They were also drawn by the scent of blood and fluctuations in soul power.
One careless mistake, and the entire forest might swallow him whole.
Of course, danger also meant opportunity.
If a soul master successfully killed a soul beast, he might receive a certain energy feedback that benefited his soul spirit.
That was also why Xie Xie was especially eager to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform.
His soul spirit was very unusual.
It was a Metal Soul Spirit manufactured by the Spirit Pagoda, highly compatible with both his Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger.
What outsiders did not know was that this soul spirit had undergone a beneficial mutation.
It consumed only a single share of spiritual power, yet could attach to both the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger at once, giving the two martial souls of the same origin matching soul skills.
Back then, the Xie Family had paid no less for this hundred-year soul spirit than they would have for a thousand-year soul spirit.
That was precisely why his first two soul skills could apply to both the Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger simultaneously.
But Xie Xie himself