Chapter 81: Hunting Soul Forest

After obtaining the Soul Hunting Permit, another day passed, and the group of three finally arrived at the entrance of the Hunting Soul Forest.

After handing the Soul Hunting Permit to the captain of the guards responsible for checking it, the three of them entered the Hunting Soul Forest with ease.

Passing through the iron fence and entering the forest, everything around them became quiet; despite the feeling that should have been refreshing to the mind, it made Shi Jian and Li Meili feel a wave of tension.

"Xiao Quan, is this the Hunting Soul Forest?" Li Meili looked around nervously.

"Dad, Mom, you don't need to be nervous. With me here, there won't be any danger." Shi Quan reassured the two; aside from what Shi Quan had explained to them on the road, they had almost no knowledge regarding Spirit Theory, and facing the usually fierce Spirit Beasts, it was inevitable that they would have thoughts of fear.

"With my current strength, I can easily handle even thousand-year Spirit Beasts. The Spirit Beasts in this Primary Soul Hunting Forest are mostly at the ten-year or hundred-year level, and the thousand-year Spirit Beasts are all in the inner parts of the forest. You can rest assured. Let's go; while we walk, I will take the opportunity to explain some basic knowledge about Spirit Beasts to you."

Shi Quan walked in front, leading the two toward the depths of the forest.

Along the way, whenever they encountered a Spirit Beast, Shi Quan would stop to give them a simple explanation.

Only then did Shi Jian and Li Meili have a relatively simple concept and understanding of Spirit Beasts.

Whether it was the Eight Meridians Through or the effects of the Yi Jing Xi Sui Pill, both had significantly improved the two's physical fitness. With Shi Jian and Li Meili's current physical condition, both could absorb a Soul Ring of around six hundred years, so Shi Quan naturally had to choose the Soul Ring closest to their limit for them.

Soon, a day passed.

Along the way, they had encountered a few Spirit Beasts suitable for the two's martial souls, but the age was lacking by quite a bit.

Of course, it was not as if no blind Spirit Beasts attacked them along the way. Shi Quan also revealed his strength to his parents; hundred-year level Spirit Beasts, in the hands of Shi Quan's Blue Silver King, had no chance to resist at all and were directly bound into a ball by him.

In any case, Shi Quan was not in a hurry; while cramming Spirit Master knowledge for his parents, he was also teaching them Martial Arts suitable for them.

They ventured deeper.

Two more days passed before Shi Quan finally found a Spirit Beast suitable for Li Meili's Blue Silver Grass.

It was a six-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Vine. This Soul-Devouring Vine would scatter its seeds onto the enemy, Devour the enemy's soul power to grow, and then trap the enemy to death.

Shi Quan had once thought about hunting a Soul-Devouring Vine for his Third Soul Ring, but he hadn't encountered one. He hadn't expected his mother to encounter one now, and the age was also suitable.

He decisively took it into his possession.

With Shi Quan's help, Li Meili quickly stabbed her sword into the root of the Soul-Devouring Vine, and a yellow Soul Ring rose up.

Li Meili quickly began to absorb her first Soul Ring.

Shi Jian watched with a pained heart as Li Meili's body convulsed continuously due to the energy impact.

"Dad, this is something a Spirit Master must endure and experience." Shi Quan raised his hand and gently patted Shi Jian's shoulder.

"I understand." Shi Jian nodded earnestly.

A night passed.

Li Meili finally succeeded in absorbing her first Soul Ring, and her soul power even surged directly to level sixteen.

"Congratulations, Mom, on officially becoming a one-ring Spirit Master." Shi Quan smiled and congratulated her.

"Isn't this all because of our Xiao Quan?" Li Meili smiled and summoned her Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

The crystal-clear Blue Silver Grass had a faint touch of red; this was because of the Soul-Devouring Vine.

After consuming the Yi Jing Xi Sui Pill, Li Meili's Blue Silver Grass also had a certain degree of evolution; although it did not evolve directly to the level of a Blue Silver King, it was not something ordinary Blue Silver Grass could compare to.

Shi Jian's martial soul was in the same situation.

With Li Meili's successful absorption, half of the purpose of this trip was completed. Next was to help Shi Jian find a suitable earth-attribute Spirit Beast.

The three of them set off on their journey again, and just like that, another day passed.

"Earth-attribute Spirit Beasts are mostly land-based Spirit Beasts. It's not that there are no earth-attribute Spirit Beasts among flying or plant-type Spirit Beasts, but they are very rare. They generally don't appear in this kind of Primary Soul Hunting Forest. Earth-attribute Spirit Beasts' defense is mostly stronger than Spirit Beasts of the same level..."

Shi Quan continued to explain knowledge about Spirit Beasts to the two, when suddenly his voice paused, and he turned to look to their front left.

"Dad, Mom, come behind me."

Shi Jian and Li Meili did not hesitate at all and immediately came behind Shi Quan. It wasn't as if they hadn't encountered Spirit Beast attacks these past few days; generally, this situation meant a Spirit Beast was coming toward them.

Thump, thump, thump. The dull footsteps were heavy enough that even Shi Jian and Li Meili could clearly feel the weight of this unknown Spirit Beast.

With his Spirit Sense spread out, Shi Quan's eyes lit up. It was an earth-yellow alligator turtle over a meter and a half long; it was a Profound Earth Alligator Turtle. Not only was its strength powerful and its defense astonishing, but it was also an earth-attribute Spirit Beast. Moreover, judging from the age, this alligator turtle's age was just approaching six hundred years, which was just right for Shi Jian.

"Dad, your Spirit Beast has delivered itself to your door." Shi Quan said with a smile, but just as he was about to step forward, his brows furrowed.

Because from his Spirit Sense detection, there were five people following behind the Profound Earth Alligator Turtle.

This Profound Earth Alligator Turtle should have been chased here by this group of people.

Seeing Shi Quan's movement pause, Shi Jian couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong, Xiao Quan?"

Shi Quan explained: "There are other people following behind this Spirit Beast. It looks like this Spirit Beast was chased here by this group."

Shi Jian said: "Since this Spirit Beast was discovered by others first, then let's forget it. Let's continue looking."

"What a pity." Shi Quan shook his head. It wasn't easy to encounter a suitable Spirit Beast; if they missed this one, they might have to spend several more days of effort.

"Then let's go around it." Shi Quan also didn't want to easily expose his Blue Silver King Soul Ring to outsiders; if someone saw it, it would be easy for them to suspect their identities.

The three of them immediately walked in their original direction, but Shi Quan's Spirit Sense kept observing the situation of that Profound Earth Alligator Turtle. What puzzled Shi Quan was that those five people didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill the Profound Earth Alligator Turtle.

Shi Quan didn't think too much about it and led his parents to continue searching for other suitable earth-attribute Spirit Beasts.

Sure enough, ever since they missed that Profound Earth Alligator Turtle, the three of them did not encounter any earth-attribute Spirit Beasts of a suitable age in the following two days.

Shi Quan prepared to take his parents to look for three more days; if they really couldn't find one, he would have to take them to other Hunting Soul Forests or the Star Dou Great Forest to search.

Fortunately, Shi Jian's mindset was still very good, and he was not in a hurry.

Another day passed. Just when he thought it would be another day of coming up empty-handed, night fell. Just as they were preparing to find a place to rest, Shi Quan unexpectedly discovered that Profound Earth Alligator Turtle again. Both its appearance and aura were exactly the same as the one they had encountered three days ago, only it had some non-serious injuries on its body.

"Did that group fail to hunt it? Or is there some other reason?"

Shi Quan raised an eyebrow. He spread his Spirit Sense around, and after not finding anyone in the vicinity, to avoid further trouble, Shi Quan led his parents and quickly finished off the Profound Earth Alligator Turtle.

Shi Jian immediately began to absorb the Soul Ring.

The night passed without incident.

Shi Quan's Spirit Sense would scan the surroundings every so often; he always felt that things didn't seem that simple.

Sure enough, the next day dawned.

A rustling sound came from afar. Shi Quan's Spirit Sense immediately locked onto it; he had actually discovered the figures of those five people again—no, it should be seven people, as there were two hiding in the dark that he had almost failed to notice.

Shi Quan's gaze narrowed as he guessed something.

"Mom, keep an eye on Dad; someone is coming, I'll go handle it."

On the other side.

"This Profound Earth Alligator Turtle is a bit strange; it hasn't moved once since last night," one of the seven said.

"Why not just go over and take a look? If someone has already hunted it, then that's perfect!" The speaker's mouth curled into a ferocious grin.

"Perfect for what?"

All seven were startled by the sudden voice, their figures freezing in place as their gazes focused and landed on the figure wearing a silver mask beside the large tree.

"I wonder who this young friend is?" the leader of the seven asked, stepping forward with a kindly smile.

"Leave. Otherwise..." From beneath the silver mask, Shi Quan's icy gaze swept over the seven, and he coldly spat out one word: "Die!"

"Boss, it looks like that Profound Earth Alligator Turtle must have been hunted by them; the life force of the Profound Earth Alligator Turtle has already dissipated."

The leader of the seven looked at Shi Quan with a smile and said, "Kid, you're alone, but we are seven people?"

"Do you want to try?"

The coldness in the corners of Shi Quan's eyes intensified.

In the Hunting Soul Forest, the most dangerous things are not Spirit Beasts, but humans.

Judging from the seven's conversation just now, they likely possessed some special means to drive and track Spirit Beasts, forcing them to exhaust the soul power of other teams, only to ambush them and hunt those Spirit Masters for profit once their soul power was depleted.

This type of team is the most detestable among all Spirit Master teams; these people exist specifically to hunt other Spirit Master teams for money and treasures.

Shi Quan had not expected to encounter one.

"Kill!"

The leader still wore that kindly expression, but the words he spat out were exceptionally cold.

The seven were exceptionally coordinated, releasing their respective martial souls almost simultaneously as a series of Soul Rings appeared; the weakest among the seven was a two-ring, and the strongest was a three-ring.

The strongest was the leader, with one white, one yellow, and one pale purple, three Soul Rings. The others had one white and one yellow, or one white and two yellow.

In this Primary Soul Hunting Forest, combined with their methods of driving Spirit Beasts, an ordinary team would be completely wiped out if they encountered them.

Even in a direct confrontation, this seven-man team would not fear a team of the same level in the slightest.

It was just a pity that they had encountered Shi Quan.

Just as the seven released their martial souls, Shi Quan's Soul Rings also emerged, the dazzling light of one yellow and two purple instantly blooming.

"Two... two Millennium Soul Rings!"