Sunset Forest

Sunset Forest.

It was located north of the Heaven Dou Empire, near the imperial capital, Heaven Dou City.

Though it was not as famous as the Star Dou Great Forest, it still ranked among the notable Soul Beast Forests within the Heaven Dou Empire.

Deep within Sunset Forest lay an unparalleled treasure land known as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

Yet not a single person in this world knew of such a peerless location, nor was there any record of it in ancient texts.

On the contrary, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record of the Tang Sect from another world contained detailed records stating that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye was one of the world's Three Treasure Basins.

No wonder a single Mysterious Heaven Skill from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record could put it forty thousand years ahead of the Douluo world. It was a dimensionality-reduction strike.

On the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

An old and a young figure walked through the woods. They were Lin Rong and the Old Butler, Yu Yuan.

After Lin Rong awakened his martial soul, the Old Butler finished handling the many affairs of Duke Mansion before bringing the young master to Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain a Soul Ring.

Lin Rong already had a clear target for this hunt: the Thousand Leaf Banyan.

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon was a fused mutation of the Dragon Soul Vine and Thousand Leaf Banyan martial souls, so the Soul Beasts corresponding to those two martial souls were both highly suitable for the Nine Bend Vine Dragon.

However, the Dragon Soul Vine was itself a mutation of the Azure Vine martial soul and a dragon-type martial soul. As such, it was basically impossible for a Dragon Soul Vine Soul Beast to exist in a Soul Beast Forest.

Therefore, the Thousand Leaf Banyan was the only best choice remaining.

"A Thousand Leaf Banyan, three hundred and seventy-two years old... Still too low."

Lin Rong stood before a Thousand Leaf Banyan and shook his head after sensing its exact age.

After awakening the Nine Bend Vine Dragon, Lin Rong's martial soul had granted him an ability: Life Sense. It allowed him to sense the amount of life force possessed by targets within his surroundings and, through that, determine their exact cultivation.

"Grandpa Yu, let's go."

The Old Butler led Lin Rong away to search for the next target.

As a plant Soul Beast, although the Thousand Leaf Banyan's intelligence was not as high as that of animal Soul Beasts, its perception far surpassed theirs. It had noticed long ago that the old man beside Lin Rong was not someone to provoke.

Thus, when Lin Rong approached it, the Thousand Leaf Banyan did not dare make the slightest movement. Only after the two had gone far away did it dare rustle its leaves, rejoicing at having survived the ordeal.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

Over those two days, they found a total of seven hundred-year Thousand Leaf Banyans. The youngest was two hundred and seventy-seven years old, while the oldest was four hundred and seven years old.

Four hundred and seven years was already sufficiently high for a First Soul Ring. After all, the so-called limit for a First Soul Ring was only four hundred and twenty-three years.

But Lin Rong was still unsatisfied. He had begun cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture while still in his mother's womb, and with an endless supply of precious Medicinal Baths, the maximum Soul Ring age his body could withstand was far beyond four hundred and twenty-three years.

Moreover, with Life Sense, he could clearly perceive the power within a Soul Ring and compare it with his own condition to determine whether he could absorb it.

Therefore, dying from his body exploding after absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the limit would never happen to Lin Rong.

The First Soul Ring was of paramount importance. Naturally, Lin Rong had to strive for excellence and perfection. At the very least, the Soul Ring's age had to approach his own limit.

Night fell, and stars filled the skies above Sunset Forest.

Beside the campfire, within the tent.

Lin Rong sat cross-legged in meditation, cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, while the Old Butler sat by the campfire, keeping watch.

Normally, lighting a fire at night in a Soul Beast Forest was forbidden, as the firelight could attract nocturnal Soul Beasts seeking prey.

But since that was only normally the case, there were naturally exceptions.

The Old Butler, Yu Yuan, was a Soul Douluo. This was also the outskirts of Sunset Forest. Though they were close to its depths, they were still within the outer region.

Even at night, the Soul Beasts appearing on the outskirts of Sunset Forest would not exceed five thousand years of cultivation. To the Old Butler, they posed no threat.

A li away from the camp.

"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, wait for me!"

"Feng Xiaotian, can you stop following me around all day? You're driving me crazy!"

In the darkness, a young man and woman seemed to be arguing beneath a tree.

The girl's voice was clear and crisp, distinctly audible amid the dark night.

"This trip to Sunset Forest is for a senior from Blazing Fire Academy who broke through level thirty and came to obtain a Soul Ring. I only came along as a member of the academy to gain experience. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Godwind Academy, so why did you follow me here?"

"Well, um..."

For a moment, Feng Xiaotian did not know how to answer. He could only stand there in a daze, his face flushing bright red. After a long while, he finally stammered out, "I-I was just worried about you, wasn't I?"

After saying that, Feng Xiaotian hurriedly added, "Xiao Wu, this is a Soul Beast Forest. It's far too dangerous for you to run out alone at night. We should hurry back!"

"You think I wanted to come out?" Huo Wu planted her hands on her hips and retorted angrily. "Isn't it because you've been sticking to me all day like some stubborn plaster? I snuck out just to get some peace and quiet."

"And I'm not stupid. I'm just taking a walk around the camp. There won't be any danger."

"But..." Feng Xiaotian wanted to say that, because he had been chasing after Huo Wu, they were already far from the camp.

"But? But what?" Huo Wu impatiently interrupted Feng Xiaotian and asked in return, "Didn't you say you came to protect me? What am I afraid of, then? Or are you scared?"

"H-How could that be?!" Feng Xiaotian immediately grew fired up, tossing all the concerns in his heart to the wind.

"Xiao Wu, don't worry. I'll definitely protect you and get us safely back to—"

"Watch out!"

As he spoke, Feng Xiaotian suddenly sensed a change in the wind. Instinctively, he activated Martial Soul Possession with the Gale Twin Wolf.

Third Soul Skill: Gale Wings!

Before Huo Wu could even cry out, Feng Xiaotian swept her up by the waist and shot into the air.

The ground where they had been standing had already collapsed, and countless black spikes erupted from beneath the earth, forming a cage.

"This is... Spider Web Cage! A Cave Demon Spider!"

Feng Xiaotian looked down at the ground, his heart still pounding with fear.

If not for his innate sensitivity to wind, his speed, and his timely reaction, he and Huo Wu would have already been pierced through by those black spikes and killed on the spot.

Underground, the Cave Demon Spider burrowed out from its subterranean den. Its four pairs of eyes rolled about, faint confusion visible within them.

Spider Web Cage gave no warning and produced no energy fluctuations when activated. Yet these two prey had sensed it and successfully evaded it.

During the day, it had encountered two prey. One of them, an old man, had felt exceedingly dangerous to its senses, so it had let them go. But it absolutely could not let these two prey escape.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Cave Demon Spider spat out webs that shot toward the two prey in midair.

The entire exchange lasted less than half a breath.

Yet Feng Xiaotian's vigilance had reached its peak. The potential within his body erupted continuously as he narrowly dodged while holding Huo Wu.

During the evasion, Feng Xiaotian caught sight of a faint firelight roughly a mile away. Without a second thought, he flew toward it.

The Cave Demon Spider followed close behind, relentlessly pursuing the two of them.

A mile away, within the camp.

Lin Rong was cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture.

Suddenly, within the range of his Life Sense, three life auras fluctuated with unusual intensity, and all three were rapidly approaching the camp.

One of those three life auras was very familiar to Lin Rong.

"It's that Cave Demon Spider from daytime—three thousand two hundred and twenty-one years of cultivation."

"The other two life auras belong to humans, and they're very young."

"Their life attributes are wind and fire respectively. Their cultivation isn't high—one is in their thirties, the other in their twenties. I'll need them to get closer before I can determine their exact levels."

"I didn't expect people to be so bold these days. This is the Soul Beast Forest. Even if it's only the outer region, it's not somewhere just anyone can wander around freely."

"Fine. Since we are all human, This Duke shall consider it a good deed for the day."

Thus, Lin Rong stopped cultivating, turned to the Old Butler, and instructed him, "Grandpa Yu, around four hundred meters southeast of the camp, two young Spirit Masters are being pursued by that Cave Demon Spider from earlier today. Please go and save them."

In the original work, Tang San was fourteen and a half years old when he participated in the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament.

Feng Xiaotian was twenty-four, ten years older than Tang San, with Soul Power at level forty-four.

Huo Wu was under twenty, so she was nineteen, five years older than Tang San, with Soul Power at level forty-four.

Tang San was currently six and a half years old, so Feng Xiaotian was sixteen, while Huo Wu was eleven years old.