Xu Zhengyang prepared to leave the Ice Sea and set off directly east.
This time, Xu Zhengyang had no intention of returning home or asking his father for help. Instead, he planned to hunt Soul Beasts himself.
With his current physical constitution, he could more or less withstand a thousand-year Soul Ring, and anything under a thousand years would naturally pose no problem. Thus, he wanted to find an absolutely formidable Soul Beast.
The route Xu Zhengyang planned this time did not pass through the Jingyang Mountain Range. Instead, he would head directly south from the Ice Sea, crossing the Frozen Forest to reach the Heaven Soul Empire.
Back then, the Douluo Continent had originally had two great empires, the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire. However, the Heaven Dou Empire had already split into the Heaven Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire. The original Heaven Dou City lay within the Heaven Soul Empire, as did Sunset Forest.
Sunset Forest was a renowned Soul Beast forest on the Douluo Continent, home to an enormous variety of Soul Beasts, especially tiger-type Soul Beasts. Xu Zhengyang also wanted to try his luck in Sunset Forest, for the greatest treasure trove on the Douluo Continent lay there.
Xu Zhengyang continued east. Only after a full ten days did the Ice Sea gradually disappear, replaced by an unbroken expanse of land.
The ground across this entire stretch of land was frozen. Its temperature was even lower than that of the Ice Sea, reaching minus thirty degrees, and the wind and snow cut to the bone.
Judging by the distance, Xu Zhengyang had traveled a full three thousand kilometers through the ice and snow. He should now have been in the Extreme North of the Douluo Continent.
Xu Zhengyang traveled this way partly to cross directly over the border between the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent, and partly to temper himself in the three empires, including the Star Luo Empire.
Although the Sun Moon Continent had advanced Soul Tools, the Douluo Continent truly excelled in Soul Master cultivation. In particular, Shrek Academy, the continent's strongest Soul Master academy, stood at the very center of the three great empires. It was also the holy land of Soul Masters at this stage.
There was another reason: despite having lived in the Sun Moon Empire for so long, he still did not know exactly what era he was living in. Only by going to the Douluo Continent would he have a chance to find out.
He headed south into the Frozen Forest. After another full seven days of travel, he finally emerged from its bounds.
Having lived continuously in lands of extreme cold for over a year, he had had no time at all to groom himself. Xu Zhengyang now looked rather like a wild man. In particular, his long hair resembled steel needles, making him look exceptionally unkempt.
Only after truly stepping into the Heaven Soul Empire did Xu Zhengyang feel the gap between the two nations.
In the Sun Moon Empire, Soul Tools could be seen everywhere. Even low-ranking Soul Masters carried several Soul Tools, with storage Soul Tools by no means uncommon among them.
Yet after he entered the Heaven Soul Empire, the Soul Masters here appeared to have very imposing presences, but there was not a trace of a Soul Tool on them. Only a tiny minority had storage Soul Tools.
Xu Zhengyang found an inn on the outskirts of the Colorful Forest, changed his clothes, and put away everything on him that bore the markings of the Sun Moon Empire. He took a bath and groomed himself all over, cutting off his long hair as well.
Perhaps because he had spent too long amid freezing ice and snow, Xu Zhengyang found the food here exceptionally delicious. Even taking a hot bath felt wonderfully comfortable.
He had even spent so long in the wilderness that his speech had become a little halting.
After entering the Heaven Soul Empire, Xu Zhengyang put away the multiple Soul Tools he had originally worn, replacing them with a small bundle containing clothes and a few gold soul coins. Once he had finished changing his appearance, he headed straight for Sunset Forest.
Sunset Forest was not far from the Extreme North, less than two thousand kilometers away. At Xu Zhengyang's speed, even carrying a hundred-kilogram load, it was only a seven-day journey.
Only after actually entering Sunset Forest did Xu Zhengyang begin to understand the gap between the Sun Moon Empire and the Douluo Continent. In terms of Soul Beast resources and variety, even Sunset Forest was richer than the Jingyang Mountain Range.
Sunset Forest consisted primarily of coniferous forests suited to moderate and low temperatures, interspersed with some subtropical plants. Its species were even more varied than those of the Jingyang Mountain Range, and its vegetation grew extremely densely.
As soon as he entered Sunset Forest, Xu Zhengyang sensed the presence of all kinds of Soul Beasts and all kinds of danger. This was a combat awareness he had gradually developed through prolonged battles of wits and courage with Soul Beasts along the coast.
Within half a day of travel through Sunset Forest, Xu Zhengyang encountered several thousand-year Soul Beasts, while hundred-year Soul Beasts were too numerous to count. The density of these Soul Beast resources was enough to leave one speechless.
However, relying on his keen combat instincts, Xu Zhengyang avoided these thousand-year Soul Beasts and began searching the outskirts of Sunset Forest for the tiger-type Soul Beast he wanted.
After roaming the outskirts of Sunset Forest for more than ten days in a row, Xu Zhengyang discovered that there were indeed quite a few tiger-type Soul Beasts here, and even quite a few subdragon-type Soul Beasts. The variety and number of Soul Beasts were exceptionally rich. There were even some rare venomous insects and ants, as well as some very fine spirit herbs.
Xu Zhengyang had been a genius in traditional Chinese medicine in his previous life. After coming to the Douluo Continent, he had also devoted considerable effort to studying all kinds of exotic flowers and unusual plants, spending even more time on them than on Soul Tools.
And this sort of Soul Beast forest, rarely visited by humans, was precisely suited to the growth of all kinds of spirit herbs.
Xu Zhengyang also knew very well that only in Sunset Forest could he truly resolve his lack of talent and reach the level of a genius. He might still be very weak now, but identifying his target first was undoubtedly the safest approach. If he truly found no opportunities, he could offer substantial rewards in the future to gather a large force to come here.
One evening, Xu Zhengyang faintly heard a tiger's roar. The sound seemed to come from a fierce tiger, and even the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear faintly resonated with it.
Nothing like this had ever happened before. By the looks of it, this was undoubtedly an exceptionally formidable tiger, and one whose Soul Ring was extremely suitable for the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear to absorb.
After so long spent researching it, Xu Zhengyang had already confirmed that his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear was somewhat similar to the Coiling Dragon Staff in the original story. The Coiling Dragon Staff contained a dragon soul, while the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear contained the soul of a fierce tiger. Unfortunately, the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear had not fully awakened yet, and he still could not use it fully.
According to Xu Zhengyang's deductions, he would have to reach at least the Soul Sage realm and possess a Martial Soul True Body before he could release this fierce tiger's soul and unleash the true power of the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear.
Holding the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, Xu Zhengyang followed the tiger's roar, gradually drawing closer. When he finally saw it, even he could not help being startled.
Before him stood an enormous tiger, its entire body covered in silvery-white fur with black stripes. It was about six meters long and over a meter tall at the shoulder, with muscles as hard as granite.
What distinguished this tiger from ordinary tigers was the vertical white eye on its forehead, where the king-shaped marking should have been. It looked extremely intimidating.
"It's actually a White-Eyed Devil Tiger. No wonder it's so formidable. Unfortunately, this White-Eyed Devil Tiger is over a thousand years old."