Chapter 10: Entering the Great Star Dou Forest.
Looking around, towering trees gradually multiplied.
A faint scent, unique to the forest, washed over him, its delicate fragrance, refreshing and invigorating.
Xuan Mo and Flanders were already standing before the Great Star Dou Forest.
Looking at the forest's perimeter, the towering trees were at least twenty meters tall. The dense forest offered no path, and the thick shadows obscured the true nature of the scene.
Xuan Mo took a deep breath, his blood boiling slightly.
"So this is the Great Star Dou Forest!"
Xuan Mo muttered, "A hundred-year-old soul beast, my first soul ring, here I come!"
Then, Xuan Mo followed closely behind Flanders, about to embark on the path into the Great Star Dou Forest.
Flanders' expression was now extremely cautious. He glanced around, then turned and warned Xuan Mo in a grave tone.
"Young Mo, remember, the Star Dou Great Forest is not the Soul Hunting Forest people talk about. In this Star Dou Great Forest, under no circumstances should the distance between you and me exceed ten meters. If we exceed that, even I won't be able to save you if a special speed-type or stealthy soul beast attacks you. Got it?"
Xuan Mo nodded gravely upon hearing this. He understood the importance of this matter. Now was no time for jokes, as a single mistake could cost one's life.
The terrain within the Star Dou Great Forest was extremely complex, completely unlike the Soul Hunting Forest. Not only were there no paths, but the ground was also covered in dense thorns.
Since Xuan Mo didn't have many offensive options at the moment, the task of clearing the way naturally fell to Flender.
As the two of them continued to advance, the variety and number of soul beasts around them increased dramatically.
They stopped and started along the way. If they encountered ordinary soul beasts, Flender would either detour or drive them away.
However, encountering soul beasts like the Nether Wolf Pack or the Wind Baboon, Flender would easily dispatch them.
This made Xuan Mo's itch to engage the spirit beasts several times, but his composure suppressed it.
Three days passed unnoticed, and in those three days, he encountered no suitable spirit beast. However, Xuan Mo understood that this couldn't be rushed, especially since his requirements were extremely demanding.
At dusk on the fourth day, Flanders once again gazed at the sky, which was about to darken.
"Looks like another fruitless day. Mo, find a place to camp and we'll continue tomorrow."
Soon, the sky gradually darkened, but the forest was far from peaceful. The chirping of insects, birds, and even the roars of wild beasts echoed one after another.
Flanders looked at Xuan Mo, who was now eating a chicken leg in one hand and a pancake in the other.
"Mo boy, I envy you so much for being able to cultivate through food. By the way, have you been anxious these past few days?"
Xuan Mo swallowed the chicken in his mouth. "Not really. But uncle, could you find an opportunity for me to fight a soul beast?"
"Haha! Don't worry about that,"
Flanders said with a smile. "I've always wanted you to fight a real soul beast before you meet one that suits you. But the soul beasts we've met along the way are either fast or live in groups, making them unsuitable for training."
However, just as Flanders finished speaking, a roar echoed from near them.
The next moment, the bushes across from them shook, and a pair of golden eyes slowly emerged from the darkness.
A moment later, a massive black tiger, completely black with golden pupils, appeared before Xuan Mo and Flanders.
"Mo, this is a ten-year-old soul beast. You can use it as your sparring partner, your first opponent. It'll give you a good taste of what a true soul beast truly is."
"No problem! I didn't expect you'd do it so quickly."
Xuan Mo's face lit up with excitement, stuffing the chicken leg and pancake into his mouth in one gulp.
"Come on!"
As Xuan Mo continued to approach, Black Tiger's anger intensified. Seeing the tiny creature, only 1.4 meters tall, Black Tiger let out an angry roar.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Black Tiger didn't hesitate. Seeing Xuan Mo's direction, he lunged directly in that direction.
Seeing this, Xuan Mo didn't dodge. Instead, he lowered his center of gravity slightly and struck out with both fists.
However, facing a ten-year-old soul beast, Xuan Mo, without his martial spirit possessed, naturally suffered a minor setback. His aggressiveness forced him to retreat several steps.
"Good fellow, let me show you what I can do!"
"Taotie Divine Bull, possess!"
After the possession, Xuan Mo's stature suddenly grew by one-third, and his upper body clothing shredded.
A fierce aura swept over him, and the power of the True Dragon's bloodline suppressed the Black Tiger soul beast, causing it to momentarily lose consciousness.
As the saying goes, "Strike while you're weak." Seeing the Black Tiger suppressed, Xuan Mo raised his fist and charged at its head.
A long moment later a loud thud echoed as the beast landed on the ground.
By then, the Black Tiger soul beast had collapsed to the ground, its massive frame covered in fist marks and bloodstains of all sizes. Its limbs had been completely broken, and its entire body collapsed to the ground, its breath weak, its output greater than its intake. It was clearly dying.
As for Xuan Mo, aside from a scratch on his chest, he had no major injuries or damage. However, his face was covered in beads of sweat, and he was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from both his spiritual power and physical strength.
"Not bad, not bad."
Flanders, standing nearby, walked over to Xuan Mo, looked at the soul beast lying on the ground, and nodded in satisfaction.
You know, he'd been terrified the first time he faced a soul beast, but Xuan Mo was acting like nothing had happened.
As Flanders spoke, he transferred his own spiritual power into Xuan Mo's body.
When Xuan Mo's spiritual power had recovered somewhat, he immediately took food from his soul guide and devoured it, replenishing his remaining physical and spiritual strength.
After a while, the black tiger soul beast slowly calmed down, and then a white soul ring rose and appeared on the soul beast's corpse.
But Flanders and Xuan Mo didn't even look at it. After their physical strength and soul power were restored, Flanders took Xuan Mo away and continued to walk towards another part of the Star Dou Great Forest!
After all, the sound of fighting and the smell of blood here can easily attract other soul beasts.
But what they don't know is that this area of the Star Dou Great Forest is no longer within the scope of the Tiandou Empire, but in the territory of the Xingluo Empire.
(Everyone, are you willing to see me change Dai Mubai or Ma Hongjun?)
(End of this chapter)