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Just as everyone was about to leave, Dugu Yan suddenly remembered something and walked forward to carefully examine the body of the Earth Fire Snake.
"Every time you hunt a soul beast, there's a small chance of finding soul bones. Maybe I'll be lucky this time?"
She muttered to herself while using her soul power to explore the body of the Earth Flame Snake.
Suddenly, a hint of surprise flashed in Dugu Yan's eyes. She carefully took out a soul bone emitting a faint red light from the torso of the Earth Flame Snake - it was a six-thousand-year-old torso bone with a very strong soul power fluctuation.
"There really is a soul bone!" Dugu Yan held up the soul bone and smiled at everyone, "Although I can't use it, I might be able to exchange it for some useful resources in the future, or give it to someone in need."
Everyone was happy for her. They didn't expect that this time they could kill an Earth Fire Snake and unexpectedly obtain a soul bone.
Xue Tianxing smiled and said:
"It seems we're quite lucky on this soul-hunting trip.
Keep going, and try to find a soul beast suitable for Cao Qing as soon as possible."
The group composed themselves, adjusted their formation again, and headed deeper into the center of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Less than half an hour after Xue Tianxing and his group left, footsteps were heard again in the open space of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Seven figures pushed aside layers of branches and stopped beside the corpse of the Earth Fire Snake - the leader was a woman in her thirties dressed in red, with a hint of anxiety between her eyebrows. Behind her followed six companions, including middle-aged strong men and thin young men. It was obvious that they were a team that hunted souls all year round.
When she saw the stiff corpse of the Earth Fire Snake on the ground, the woman in red's face instantly darkened, her eyes filled with regret and anger.
She couldn't help but stamp her feet, her tone filled with suppressed annoyance:
"I've been in the Star Dou Great Forest for almost a month now, and finally came across a six-thousand-year-old Earth Flame Snake, perfect for my fifth spirit ring!
I was so close to trapping it just now, but it slipped away, and now it's being hunted!"
The middle-aged strong man beside her, who was also the second in command of the team, quickly stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder, his tone somewhat helpless:
"Fourth sister, don't be angry. Luck can't be forced. Since the soul beast is already dead, there's no point in being upset. We can only hurry and find the next suitable one."
Several other people also echoed and advised the woman in red to relax.
The woman in red took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and nodded:
"That's all we can do. Let's go a little further inside. Maybe we can encounter a suitable soul beast."
Just as everyone turned around to leave, the third man in the team, who had a shifty look and a small mustache, suddenly stopped.
He stared at the corpse of the Earth Flame Snake, his brows slightly furrowed, and he muttered to himself:
"That's not right... Why does this Earth Flame Serpent's torso look thinner than normal?"
As he spoke, he quickly walked over to the body of the Earth Flame Snake and squatted down to examine it carefully. Soon, he discovered the not-too-deep wound on the Earth Flame Snake's torso.
At first, he didn't care - checking for soul bones after hunting a soul beast is a routine operation of the soul hunting team.
But when he pulled out the dagger from his waist and gently opened the blade with the back of the knife, his eyes widened instantly, and an expression of incredible shock appeared on his face.
Under the knife edge, there was actually a piece of the Earth Fire Snake's torso bone missing!
The location of that gap is exactly where snake-like soul beasts can most easily condense their soul bones!
"Good boy!"
The third brother couldn't help but let out a low cry, and his eyes instantly flashed with excitement.
He turned around suddenly and shouted to his companions, who had already taken a few steps:
"Don't go! Come back and take a look! Something big has happened!"
The boss, walking in front—a stern-faced middle-aged man—turned his head and frowned at him, his tone filled with impatience:
"Third brother, what's wrong? Fourth sister is still waiting to find her spirit ring, don't delay the important matter!"
"It's not a delay in important matters! This is a great thing!"
The third brother was so anxious that he kept waving his hands and yelling at them:
"Come here quickly, and you'll know when you see it!"
Everyone saw that he looked anxious and didn't seem to be joking - you know, although the third brother is usually good at calculating, likes to take advantage of small things, and looks nonsensical, but as long as he shows this serious expression, it means that something really unusual has happened.
So, the eldest brother turned back first, and the others gathered around and looked at the blade of the Earth Flame Snake in the direction pointed by the third brother.
When they saw the missing torso bone, everyone was stunned, their eyes filled with shock.
The woman in red even covered her mouth, her voice trembling slightly:
"This... does this mean that this Earth Flame Snake... has exploded its soul bone?"
The third brother nodded heavily, his tone excited:
"That's right! Someone must have hunted the Earth Flame Snake and taken the soul bone away!"
"My spirit bone..."
The red-dressed woman's eyes instantly turned red, her tone full of grievance and unwillingness, she said:
"I finally found a soul beast suitable for a fifth soul ring, but not only did I lose the soul ring, but my soul bone was also taken away..."
The third brother suddenly laughed, his tone sinister:
"Fourth sister, don't be anxious! The spirit ring has been absorbed, so we can't get it back. But the spirit bone is different - as long as the person who took the spirit bone hasn't absorbed it yet, we can get it back! And even if it has been absorbed, we can kill them and take the bone."
As he spoke, he pointed at the footprints on the ground with his dagger and continued:
"Look, these footprints are still fresh. They must have been left by the people who hunted the Earth Flame Snake. They definitely didn't go too far. Let's follow the footprints and see how strong they are.
If the enemy is outnumbered and weak, we can just attack and seize it; if they are too strong, it won't be too late to retreat."
The third brother paused, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes, and his voice lowered a bit:
"You all know how much a six-thousand-year-old soul bone is worth—whether you use it yourself or sell it at auction, it will allow our team's strength to reach a new level!
Spend a little more time tracking it down. If you can snatch a soul bone, it will be much more cost-effective than looking for another 6,000-year-old soul beast!"
These words were like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly arousing everyone's greed.
A hint of hesitation flashed across the boss's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination—the temptation of the soul bones was too great, enough for them to take a risk.
The second, fourth, and others were even more direct. The shock on their faces had long since turned into desire, and they all nodded in agreement.
"Third brother is right! Isn't it just a chase for a while? If we can grab the soul bone, it's worth it!"
"The seven of us are quite powerful. Even if the other party has some skills, they may not be able to defeat us! The eldest brother is a level 63 Soul Emperor, and the seventh brother is also a level 48 Soul Sect Leader. What are we afraid of?"
"Fourth sister, this is a spirit bone, it's much more valuable than the fifth spirit ring!"
When the woman in red heard this, the grievance in her eyes gradually faded away, replaced by a hint of expectation.
She nodded vigorously:
"Okay! Let's chase!"