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Seeing that everyone agreed, the eldest brother no longer hesitated and said to the third brother:
"Third brother, you're good at tracking, so lead the way! Everyone, be alert and stay hidden. Don't let the other side discover you!"
"Don't worry, boss!"
The third brother responded immediately, bent down to carefully identify the direction of the footprints, and then took the lead to chase in the direction where Xue Tianxing and his group had left.
The other six followed closely behind, their steps brisk but with a hint of caution, greed flashing in their eyes. Like hungry wolves eyeing their prey, they disappeared silently into the depths of the dense forest.
At this time, Xue Tianxing and his group were still concentrating on finding a soul beast suitable for Cao Qing.
Cao Qing's Black Tortoise Shield spirit required a defense or control spirit ring. They were moving slowly along the stream in the middle circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, stopping from time to time to observe the traces of the surrounding spirit beasts. They had no idea that a crisis caused by spirit bones was quietly approaching.
Xue Tianxing and his group were walking towards a lake in the Xingdou Great Forest. Cao Qing used the basalt shield to push away the bushes in front of them from time to time, while Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan vigilantly scanned the woods on both sides. The whole team moved in an orderly manner.
What Xue Tianxing and his companions didn't notice was that in the dense forest a hundred meters behind them, the seven people who were tracking them were hiding behind tree trunks, staring at the figure in front of them.
The boss narrowed his eyes, quietly releasing his soul power, carefully probing the strength of Xue Tianxing and the others. After a moment, he retracted his soul power and whispered to his companions:
"I just checked. Among these seven children, the one with the highest soul power is the boy walking at the end, who is only about level 55. The two with the lowest soul power are only level 36.
The one in the front holding the shield must have just broken through to the Soul Sect stage. Judging from their route, they're most likely here to hunt for the child's fourth soul ring. The others' soul power fluctuations are very stable, and it doesn't look like they've just absorbed a soul ring."
The third brother immediately stepped forward, his eyes flashing with greed, and then he said:
"So, the soul bone must not have been absorbed yet! Maybe it's in someone's storage soul guide! This is a six-thousand-year-old torso soul bone. If we can get it, we won't have to worry about our lives anymore!"
"Boss, let's do it!"
The third brother turned to look at the eldest brother and continued to speak to him anxiously:
"The strongest among them is only level 55. We have you, the Soul Emperor, three Soul Kings, and three high-level Soul Masters. We can crush them like ants!"
The boss frowned, his eyes showing some hesitation as he said to them:
"I always feel something's wrong. Look at their clothes; they're all made of fine silk, and their accessories are exquisite. They don't look like the average soul-hunting crew.
Moreover, they are so young, yet so powerful. They might be the offspring of some powerful faction. If we steal their spirit bones, and their family's Titled Douluo come looking for us, none of us will survive!"
The boss's words instantly calmed down the restless members of the team, and the greed in their eyes faded a little.
They are all soul masters who have worked their way up from the bottom, and they know too well the terror of powerful forces. If they really provoke someone, they shouldn't; not only will they lose their soul bones, but they will even lose their lives.
"Boss, you're just overthinking it!"
The third brother refused to give up. He lowered his voice even more, but with a hint of cruelty, and then said viciously:
"Are you afraid they'll go back and complain? Then we won't give them a chance to leave the Star Dou Great Forest!
Look at what they are wearing, they must have storage soul guides, which contain not only soul bones, but also a lot of gold soul coins and rare medicinal materials!
We just killed them all, destroyed the bodies, and looted everything. Who would know it was us?"
These words were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly igniting the greed in everyone's hearts.
The strong man in the team couldn't help but say:
"Old Three is right! We've been poor for so long, and we finally got such a great opportunity. We can't just give up like that!"
Seeing this, the third brother continued to add fuel to the fire:
"And judging from the direction they were heading, they should be coming from the Barak Kingdom, which falls within the Tiandou Empire's sphere of influence.
Even if someone tracks us down later, we can just cross the Xingdou Great Forest and live in the Xingluo Empire, far away from the Tiandou territory. Who will be able to find us?"
The third brother said, looking at the eldest brother again, his tone solemn:
"Boss, this kind of opportunity is hard to come by! If you miss it this time, I don't know when you'll have to wait to encounter a spirit bone again.
We brothers followed you, didn't we, to live a good life? Now the opportunity is right in front of us. What do you say, should we do it or not?"
The boss's eyes swept over his companions - the red-clothed woman's eyes were full of desire for soul bones, the burly man clenched his fists, and the others also looked at him with anticipation.
He took a deep breath, and the hesitation in his heart was gradually replaced by greed and a sense of responsibility to his brothers.
"Okay! Let's do it!"
The boss gritted his teeth and said, his tone full of determination:
"Be quick and swift when you do it, don't leave any traces!
After the killing, we immediately took our things and left the Star Dou Great Forest to hide in the Star Luo Empire.
Fourth sister, your fifth spirit ring can only be found after we arrive in Xingluo."
The woman in red nodded without hesitation, her eyes gleaming with excitement:
"As long as I can get the spirit bone, it would be worth waiting for a year, not to mention half a year! By then, my strength will definitely increase significantly, and finding spirit rings will be easier!"
The boss said no more, made a gesture to silence everyone, and then pointed to a dense bush in front of them - it was right on the road that Xue Tianxing and his companions had to take to get to the lake, and it was an ideal ambush location.
The seven people dispersed tacitly and quietly went around the bushes. Each of them hid their bodies, and their martial spirits quietly possessed them. The soul power was concentrated on the martial spirits in their hands, waiting for Xue Tianxing and his group to enter the ambush circle.
As Xue Tianxing walked, he vigilantly observed the surrounding environment - the grass around the lake should have been full of the sounds of insects and soul beasts, but at this moment, it was unusually quiet, even the sound of wind blowing through the leaves seemed particularly clear.
This kind of dead silence was exactly the same as the scenes he had encountered in the past when he was ambushed by soul beasts. An uneasy premonition instantly surged in his heart.
"Something's wrong."
Xue Tianxing stopped and scanned the surrounding grass and tree trunks with sharp eyes. At the same time, he quietly made a "warning" gesture to the six people behind him - his right fist was clenched and his arm was crossed in front of his chest. This was the emergency signal agreed upon by their team in advance.
Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan, and Cao Qing were the first to react. The three of them mobilized their soul power almost at the same time:
An icy chill emanated from Shui Bing'er's body, and the shadow of the Ice Phoenix Martial Spirit loomed behind her.
Dugu Yan's Green Phosphorus Snake King aura quietly spread, and purple poisonous mist condensed at her fingertips; Cao Qing held the Black Tortoise Shield in front of him, the heavy shield blocked his view in front, ready to resist the attack at any time.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar were not panicked at all. Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Tower instantly appeared, and the triple auxiliary buffs of "strength", "speed", and "defense" could be released at any time.
Oscar quickly used a soul skill, and two recovery sausages appeared in his hands. He handed one to Shuiyueer and kept one for himself to ensure the team's endurance.