The carriage sped onward, and after more than half a day, a boundless sea of lush forest finally stretched across the horizon before them.
Ancient trees towered into the sky, blotting out the sun. The air was filled with an intensely rich breath of life. This was the Star Dou Great Forest, one of the three great Soul Beast forests.
Standing at the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest, Lu Yu looked into its depths, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"First, let's find a Soul Hunting team."
Lin Tian nodded and followed behind Lu Yu.
At the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest, Soul Hunting teams could be seen waiting in groups everywhere. Lu Yu swept his gaze over them and soon settled on one team.
The team had six members in total: three Soul Elders, two Soul Grandmasters, and a level-forty Soul Ancestor as captain. The team's composition was written on a wooden board for all to see at a glance.
Lu Yu stepped forward to negotiate and tossed down a generous deposit of one thousand Gold Soul Coins.
"Help us hunt a Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly around two thousand years old. After it's done, we'll pay you double. How about it?"
Seeing how generous the payment was and that the target was only a two-thousand-year Soul Beast of low difficulty, Captain Luo readily agreed on the spot.
In Captain Luo's eyes, the six of them could wipe out a two-thousand-year Soul Beast with a casual wave of their hands. There was no risk at all.
No one knew that although Lu Yu had said "two thousand years," what he actually had in mind was a Soul Beast between three and four thousand years old.
He hadn't told Lin Tian this beforehand either. Saying it now would only add to his worries. If he waited until just before Lin Tian absorbed the Soul Ring, there would be no time left to hesitate. A person's state of mind was also very important.
Everyone made their preparations and set out, with the Soul Hunting team leading the way deep into the thunder region in the outer reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterflies dislike damp, shady forests. They only live in natural thunder regions within the forest, where lightning strikes rumble year-round. They use the lightning of heaven and earth to nourish their pupae, and only emerge from their cocoons as butterflies in a thunderstorm."
Following behind the Soul Hunting team, Lu Yu described the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly's habitat to Lin Tian.
Lin Tian nodded at his words, his expression growing more solemn.
Just hearing that the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly could live in such a harsh environment made it easy to imagine how strong it was. This Soul Hunt was bound to be fraught with danger.
The farther they went, the drier and heavier the air became. Fleeting blue sparks of lightning occasionally crackled in midair, while the rocks underfoot were covered in cracks from lightning strikes. The entire area was filled with violent lightning elements.
"This is the place. Spread out and look around. Send a signal as soon as you find the target," Captain Luo instructed his five teammates.
The Thunder Qi here was rich, making it well suited for Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterflies to emerge from their cocoons. If they searched nearby, they might find one. Otherwise, they would have to go deeper into the forest.
The five team members nodded and spread out with solemn expressions. The three Soul Elders each explored a different direction, while the two Soul Grandmasters explored one together.
Before long, Lu Yu heard a strange sound and warily looked around. When his gaze passed over Captain Luo, he saw delight appear on the captain's face, followed by him cocking his ear to listen.
"Follow me!" After confirming the direction the sound had come from, Captain Luo turned and motioned for Lu Yu and Lin Tian to follow.
It was probably a special way for this Soul Hunting team to signal one another. Lu Yu didn't hesitate long. He nodded to Lin Tian and followed close behind Captain Luo.
Before long, Captain Luo brought Lu Yu and Lin Tian to a rock face, where the five team members were already waiting.
The team member who had sent the signal raised a hand and pointed. "Captain, right over there!"
In a crack in the rock face to their front right, a giant butterfly with purple-gold patterns covering its body and a wingspan of nearly three meters lay in the crevice, its abdomen gently pulsing.
Seeing the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly's current state, Lu Yu's eyes lit up. It was laying eggs, and once it finished, it would have exhausted its strength. That would be the best time to strike.
"Take a look. Is that Soul Beast the one you want?" Captain Luo turned and asked Lu Yu in a low voice.
"Captain Luo, there's no rush. It's laying eggs right now. Let's wait until it's finished and weakened before we make a move." Lu Yu nodded, but didn't rush to attack.
Captain Luo nodded, agreeing with Lu Yu's suggestion. No one wanted to throw their life away for nothing. If they could hunt the Soul Beast more safely, Captain Luo was willing to wait a little longer.
But looking at the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly's size, Captain Luo frowned and turned to Lu Yu. "Judging by its size, it should be more than two thousand years old, shouldn't it? Are you sure you want this one?"
The information on the Soul Beasts a Soul Hunting team was hired to hunt was always supplied by the employer. They didn't spend their idle days studying Soul Beasts either, but based on years of Soul Hunting experience, they judged that the Soul Beast before them was more than two thousand years old.
Lu Yu was silent for a moment before nodding. "It is indeed more than two thousand years old." He turned to glance at Lin Tian and continued, "It's over two thousand five hundred years old."
Hearing that it was over two thousand five hundred years old, Captain Luo sucked in a breath of cold air. His face instantly darkened, and he lowered his voice to a near whisper.
"Are you crazy? Two thousand years is already far beyond the limit for a third Soul Ring. This one is two thousand five hundred years old. You're courting death!"
Lu Yu didn't argue further. He simply took the remaining payment from his Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Captain Luo.
"Captain Luo, we've chosen this one. Whether we succeed or not is our business!"
Captain Luo had originally intended to dissuade Lu Yu and Lin Tian from doing something foolish. Who would have thought Lu Yu would take that attitude? Anger flared in Captain Luo at once. He gave a cold snort, took the Gold Soul Coins, and turned his head away, refusing to spare either of them another glance.
He was being paid to do a job, after all. He had only spoken up because he saw how young they were and thought they didn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth.
Since they wanted to court death, Captain Luo couldn't be bothered with them anymore.
The Soul Hunting team members who had watched it all exchanged looks, gazing at Lu Yu and Lin Tian with eyes full of mocking amusement at the way they were seeking their own deaths.
Lu Yu turned to Lin Tian and gave him a reassuring look.
Lin Tian was not as calm as Lu Yu. His heart was pounding wildly as he stared fixedly at the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly in the crack in the rock face.
"Can I really absorb one that's two thousand five hundred years old?" Lin Tian clenched his fists tightly, his palms slick with sweat.
After about half an hour, the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly's swollen abdomen gradually flattened, and an oval white egg marked with purple patterns appeared in the crack in the rock face.
After laying the egg, the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly crawled wearily out of the crack. It didn't even have the strength to flap its wings, so it crawled up the rock face to a ledge above to rest.
"Get ready to attack!" Captain Luo glanced at Lu Yu and gave the order to his team members behind him.
Receiving the order, the team members followed Captain Luo, quietly edging toward the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly. Gradually, the six formed a circle around it.
At that moment, the exhausted Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly had no idea that its death was at hand.
Captain Luo raised his hand and gave the signal to move. The five nodded, took out thick face cloths, wet them with water, and covered their noses and mouths.
After taking these precautions, all six, including Captain Luo, took out small balls the size of apples and threw them toward the ground around the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly.
The balls burst the instant they hit the ground, and whitish-gray powder instantly enveloped the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly. Gasping for breath, it immediately inhaled a large amount of the unknown powder.
Sensing that something was wrong, the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly let out a shriek and rose, flapping its wings to blow away the whitish-gray powder around it.
Before it had even flapped its wings twice, its legs were trembling too badly to support it, and its whole body began to sway from side to side.