After leaving the Wind Baboon's territory, Huo Yuhao and Zero went their separate ways. Holding the token Huo Yuhao had given her, Zero headed to Star Luo City to retrieve what belonged to him, while he headed toward the part of the Star Dou Great Forest near Shrek Academy.
Electrolux was now only a faint soul remnant. Huo Yuhao needed to find him an enormous supply of life force and a vessel. After all, having him constantly attached to his Martial Soul was no solution.
Huo Yuhao had set his sights on the hundred-thousand-year Golden Hawksbill Turtle King, that absolute sucker.
With the gold of life inside him, he was Huo Yuhao's first choice for his Spirit Eyes' first Soul Ring. The gold of life in his body was something Huo Yuhao absolutely had to obtain.
The gold of life would serve as Electrolux's vessel, and the life force would restore his divine consciousness. As for the Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Huo Yuhao would take those himself.
With him, Electrolux could regain his strength ahead of time and solidify his divine soul body. Only then could Huo Yuhao obtain what he wanted most from Electrolux.
The Undead Demiplane.
Once he obtained this ultimate cheat that came with Electrolux, he would be invincible and truly gain a firm foothold on this continent.
Because of Tang Buddha, even becoming the strongest combatant on the Douluo Continent did not mean you could sleep soundly without a care.
After all, although Douluo's gods were lackluster, they had plenty of tricks. Besides, god level was still god level-their laws and domains enjoyed the world's protection. With that bastard Tang San keeping his eyes glued to the Douluo Realm, who could stand it?
It was only a matter of time before Tang San discovered him. Once the Undead Plane was in place, he would have a base of operations. The sooner he gained control of the Undead Plane, the sooner he would have another escape route.
Avoiding the Core Area, Huo Yuhao flew north through the Star Dou Great Forest along the boundary between the Mixed Area and the Outer Area.
The Golden Hawksbill Turtle King had stolen Di Tian's gold of life. Even though he had swallowed it, the timid Golden Hawksbill Turtle King would certainly never dare wander near Di Tian. He had to be living among a group of Golden Hawksbill Turtles at the very edge of the forest.
Taking the Spirit Pagoda's location in the original story into account, Huo Yuhao only needed to conduct a thorough sweep of the forest's outermost reaches near Shrek Academy. He should find something soon.
In the northern part of the Star Dou Great Forest, in the Mixed Area, stood a Soul Master camp.
Dozens of figures sat around a fire, eating roasted meat and chatting. If a spiritual-type Soul Master had released their spiritual power to probe the surroundings, they would have discovered that no Soul Beasts ventured within a radius of half a kilometer around them. That alone showed just how powerful this group was.
Their leader was a greasy old man with disheveled hair and clothes torn in several places. His appearance was truly dreadful, yet all the men and women in red treated him with great respect.
The young woman seated upright at the very front was about twenty-four years old. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and her delicate face was fair and flawless. Her eight fingers were interlaced, with her thumbs touching, and her hands rested quietly on her crossed legs. Her serene, gentle bearing was unforgettable at first sight.
Most of the figures dressed in red were in their twenties, and their auras ranged between Soul Emperor and Soul Saint. Yet the strongest aura among them undoubtedly belonged to that serene figure at the front.
"Elder Xuan, I've thought it through. With the moonlight strengthening me at night, I should be able to withstand a ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast." Zhang Lexuan parted her lips, her voice ringing like silver bells.
"Hmph! If we weren't forbidden from actively hunting hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts, I would catch you a hundred-thousand-year beast king, no matter what." Xuan Zi snorted coldly, clearly displeased with the agreement that forbade Soul Masters from entering the Star Dou Great Forest to deliberately hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
"Xuan Zi, ninety thousand years is already my limit for my Eighth Soul Ring. How could I possibly absorb a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring?" Zhang Lexuan smiled gently. She did not want her teacher worrying over such a small matter.
"Ah, Lexuan, you're far too considerate. Do you think we elders don't know how old a Soul Ring you can absorb?"
Xuan Zi took a swig of wine, exposing Zhang Lexuan's excuse outright. Then he could only sigh helplessly, his eyes half closed as though he were drunk. Before long, however, his calm voice rang out.
"Although the Soul Beasts in the Mixed Area are powerful, they're no match for you. This Soul Hunting expedition will serve as your graduation assessment. Unless your lives are in danger, I won't intervene. Your assessment has already begun. I'll observe you from the shadows and score your performance. Is that clear?" "Yes!"
Twelve clear, resounding voices rang out together.
Night fell!
Huo Yuhao had already spent dozens of days searching the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest, checking hundreds of Golden Hawksbill Turtle groups. Unfortunately, even the oldest turtles among them were only at the thousand-year level. He still had not found the Golden Hawksbill Turtle King's hiding place.
His probing revealed another group of Golden Hawksbill Turtles more than ten kilometers away. Treating it like opening a mystery box, he flew toward them at top speed, hoping to find something.
A few breaths later, he reached the Golden Hawksbill Turtles' habitat. Unfortunately, the turtles here still had very low cultivation. According to his senses, even the strongest Golden Hawksbill Turtle inside the cave had only ten thousand years of cultivation.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Huo Yuhao turned to leave. Before he did, however, he happened to notice that the Golden Hawksbill Turtles here seemed remarkably orderly.
Thousand-year Golden Hawksbill Turtles directed hundred-year turtles to bite large chunks of crystal from the bottom of a distant icy pool, then slowly carry them into the cave. Huo Yuhao hurriedly probed with his spiritual power and discovered that the deepest part of the cave was indeed much colder than outside.
Strange. If they wanted to cool down, they could just come out and soak in the icy pool. Why have their underlings carry cold crystals into the cave one mouthful at a time? Huo Yuhao could not make sense of it, no matter how he thought about it.
Since I can't figure it out, I'll stop thinking and go straight in to take a look!
Although the cave was quite deep, Huo Yuhao entered its interior in a single breath. From a distance, he saw an aged Golden Hawksbill Turtle soaking in an icy pool he had built inside the cave, his face twisted with pain. Yet when Huo Yuhao carefully examined this Soul Beast, he discovered that he truly had only ten thousand years of cultivation. His body had even begun to decay, and he was close to death.
The old turtle in the pool was badly frightened by Huo Yuhao's sudden arrival and immediately withdrew his head and all four limbs into his shell.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the ordinary ten-thousand-year turtle in the pool, who was about to die of old age, sighed regretfully, and turned to leave.
"Di Tian is here."
Seeing Huo Yuhao turn to leave, the turtle in the pool let out a long sigh of relief. But Huo Yuhao's sudden words made him shudder.
The turtle had poked his head out and confessed without being questioned.
Just before leaving, Huo Yuhao had suddenly felt the urge to test this Golden Hawksbill Turtle.
After all, a thief feared hearing the owner's name more than anything. When he sensed the turtle's reaction, he was immediately delighted. He had never expected his bluff to actually flush him out.
Fate truly made fools of everyone. Who could have imagined that the hundred-thousand-year Golden Hawksbill Turtle King would weaken until even his aura had fallen to the ten-thousand-year level? For a long-lived species, that was truly tragic.
A greedy heart was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Beasts were no different.
So many powerful Ferocious Beast kings in the Star Dou Great Forest, with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, did not dare covet Di Tian's gold of life. Yet a mere hundred-thousand-year turtle like you had tried it. Truly, the ignorant knew no fear.
Hehe, the early worm gets eaten by the bird. Dear godfathers, this little brother is on his knees begging for everything.
(End of chapter)
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