Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, in a valley hidden by mountains, the temporary camp of the Borisin had been in existence for more than ten days.
In the center of the camp stood several simple huts made of metal and animal hides. Large quantities of bones, scales, and flesh taken from the Soul Beast were placed in different containers. Near the mountain wall, a Black-Armored Rhinoceros over five meters long was firmly fixed to a metal frame, its limbs locked with thick locks, and its abdomen completely cut open.
It did not die.
Several slender metal needles pierced the spine and chest of the Black-Armored Rhinoceros, and a pale green liquid was continuously injected into its body, forcibly sustaining its life. Every time the sharp blade cut through the flesh, this Soul Beast with thousands of years of cultivation would struggle violently, the heavy metal frame would shake constantly, and its painful roars would almost echo throughout the entire camp.
The few Borisin around the metal frame did not react at all.
One of them wore goggles made of animal bones and held a slender knife in his hand. He cut a piece of tissue from the chest cavity of the Black-Armored Rhinoceros and placed it in a transparent container next to him. He then looked down at the bone plate containing a large amount of information, his interest growing stronger.
"The life on this planet is truly strange. They've clearly never even seen a real sea of stars, yet they're able to live for such a long time by relying on a special kind of energy. This creature is actually over three thousand years old, but its body is still in its prime. According to the life laws we originally understood, this shouldn't happen at all."
Another member of the Borisin was examining the residual Soul Power fluctuations in the Black-Armored Rhinoceros's head, looked up after hearing this and said, "It's not just about lifespan. The animals here seem to accumulate power with age, and the older they get, the more concentrated that special energy becomes. The hundred-year-old individuals we captured before were already noticeably different from the thousand-year-old ones. If this growth has no clear upper limit, then the physical structure of so-called ten-thousand-year-old or even hundred-thousand-year-old creatures will probably undergo even greater changes."
The lead researcher removed his blood-stained gloves, his gaze sweeping over the still-growing Black-Armored Rhinoceros on the shelf. His tone was filled with undisguised anticipation. "This is the most worthy of study. A lifespan of a few thousand years is nothing in the vastness of space, but these creatures haven't received any blessings from the Yaoshi, nor have they undergone any life modification. They've managed to live to this extent solely on their own. If we could capture a true Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, perhaps we could find the most crucial secret of this world's life system within it."
Borisin nodded and put the last record into the bone box. "There's enough data here. Send it to Captain Wuge'er first. High-level Soul Beast in the vicinity have been becoming more and more active lately. Continuing to capture samples here may attract the attention of those powerful individuals."
Just as the group was about to leave, a Borisin standing guard at the edge of the camp suddenly looked up. He had only noticed an unusual light in the sky, but upon closer inspection, the crimson light was neither like an ordinary bird nor any of the Soul Beast they had ever seen.
"Wait a minute, look up there."
Several people around them looked up at the same time.
The sky above the canyon was mostly obscured by towering ancient trees, leaving only a narrow gap in the center. In that gap, a red dot the size of a pinhead was rapidly approaching. At first, its movement was almost imperceptible, but after just a few breaths, the red light had grown to the size of a fist.
Someone frowned. "What is that?"
No one answered.
Because that thing is expanding at an extremely terrifying rate.
The previously inconspicuous red dot quickly transformed into a burning fireball. The outer flames were stretched into long trails by the airflow generated by the high-speed descent. Before the intense heat even truly entered the canyon, the temperature in the camp had already risen noticeably. Several animal-hide huts shook violently in the gale, and the Borisin on guard duty finally realized that the thing's target was their location.
"Enemy attack! Defend!"
The roar instantly echoed throughout the camp.
More than twenty Borisin acted simultaneously, and those who were resting grabbed their weapons. Several people raised heavy shields to block the front of the experimental area, while Borisin quickly scattered to the sides of the canyon to avoid being covered by the attack falling from the sky.
The fireball has already broken through the tree canopy.
Only at this moment did everyone truly see its scale.
That was no ordinary flame, but a ball of crimson energy nearly ten meters in diameter, compressed together by terrifying heat. The air along its path twisted and turned, and several huge tree branches that were grazed by it quickly charred and broke apart in the intense heat without even actually burning.
The area above the camp was instantly illuminated by crimson flames.
Just as the flames were about to crash into the center of the camp, a strong figure suddenly rushed out from a stone house at the foot of the mountain.
Wuge'er did not roar.
He slammed his feet into the ground, the hard rock beneath his feet shattering instantly, and used the recoil to propel himself dozens of meters into the air. Two broad, thick battle swords appeared in his hands at the same time, dark green patterns quickly appearing on their surfaces, and the powerful energy of the Abundant Longevity Species poured wildly into them along his arms.
Wuge'er did not retreat in the face of the massive fireball hurtling towards him.
Two swords crossed.
The next instant, two enormous dark green blades of light slashed out simultaneously.
boom!
Flames suddenly exploded in the sky above the canyon.
Two beams of light tore the falling flames apart from the center, splitting the massive energy into dozens of fireballs of varying sizes that scattered in all directions around the canyon. Large swathes of trees were struck by the flames, their burning branches and leaves falling continuously, and several huts on the outskirts of the camp were also overturned by the aftershocks.
Wuge'er fell from mid-air, his feet landing heavily in the center of the camp.
His body was noticeably taller and larger than the previous captain of the Borisin. His exposed arms were covered with crisscrossing scars, and his two battle swords were wider and thicker than an average person's body. The fact that he had just shattered the fireball head-on had not caused him any obvious injuries; only his hands gripping the swords tightened slightly.
The Borisin around him quickly moved closer to him.
"Captain, no Soul Beast have been spotted approaching the canyon. That thing came from high above."
"There's no movement from the west either; those responsible for perimeter security haven't sent any signals."
Wuge'er did not answer.
He simply raised his head and looked in the direction where the flames had fallen.
The shattered fireballs were burning in the forest, and besides the smell of burnt wood, the air was filled with an extremely strong aura of Soul Beast. The Soul Beast capable of unleashing such an attack was certainly not weak, but since it possessed such power, it was impossible for it to have approached the canyon unnoticed.
Unless the real attacker never intended to hide in the first place.
Wuge'er slowly turned his gaze.
The canyon sides remained quiet.
It was unusually quiet.
They had been here for more than ten days, and every day they could hear the cries of numerous Soul Beast nearby, and the treetops were never short of birds and insects chirping. But starting just now, the entire area around the canyon had become completely silent, devoid of any sounds of Soul Beast activity.
It's not that there aren't any Soul Beast.
Instead, they all left.
Wuge'er's expression gradually darkened. He didn't order his men to rush out and inspect the area, but instead slung his right-hand sword over his shoulder and scanned the dense canopy of trees on both sides of the canyon.
"Stop hiding."
The Borisin in the camp gripped their weapons tightly.
Wuge'er took two steps forward, the blade slowly pointing towards the canyon entrance. The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached every corner around him.
"Now that we've found this place and even brought such a generous gift, there's no need to keep hiding."
After a brief silence, a deep roar came from above the canyon.
Large swaths of leaves were blown aside by the heatwave, and the massive three-headed figure of the Scarlet King slowly appeared at the edge of the cliff. Three pairs of crimson-gold eyes simultaneously looked down at the camp below, and flames still flickered at the corners of his mouth.
Beside the Scarlet King, Lin Yuan had already raised the Imperial Bow.
Qian Renxue stood on the other side, her six pure white wings slowly unfolding behind her. Yue Guan and Gui Mei appeared on the two cliffs respectively, while the four Soul Saint had already dispersed, completely sealing off the few exits of the canyon.
Lin Yuan glanced at the Black-Armored Rhinoceros still fixed to the metal frame in the center of the camp, and then swept his gaze over the large number of Soul Beast corpses piled up around him. His previously calm gaze turned completely cold.
Wuge'er saw him too.
His expression changed noticeably for the first time when he saw the blue-green longbow.
Lin Yuan didn't give him time to observe further. He slowly drew back the bowstring, and the azure starlight converged along the Imperial Bow towards the arrowhead.
Looks like we came to the right place.