Unlike the Star Dou Great Forest, although the Far North was also a gathering place for spirit beasts, the environment here was harsh and extremely unfriendly to soul masters.
Moreover, the spirit beasts living here were relatively uniform, mostly ice-attribute spirit beasts. Therefore, the soul masters who came here to obtain spirit rings were mostly ice-attribute soul masters as well.
Lin Xiao didn't know if today was an auspicious day or if there was some other reason, but in such a short time, he had already encountered two groups of people coming here.
Although they were too far away to determine their specific cultivation levels, just by the number of people, it was clear that neither team was large.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiao did not deliberately avoid them; he only quietly prepared his soul guide devices.
Soon, the group closer to him caught up.
Leading them was an old man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties. From the aura he occasionally revealed, his cultivation was roughly the same as Lin Xiao's.
Far behind, several middle-aged men surrounded a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl in the center. It was obvious that she was the protagonist of this spirit ring hunt.
The old man had naturally noticed Lin Xiao as well. He followed diagonally behind at a distance, occasionally glancing at him.
After a moment, he suddenly quickened his pace. Once closer, he cupped his fists toward Lin Xiao. "Young brother, are you also here to hunt a spirit ring?"
"Mhm." Lin Xiao glanced back and nodded lightly.
Seeing Lin Xiao's mild attitude, the old man relaxed slightly. Although Lin Xiao appeared young, in this dangerous Far North where few people ventured, anyone daring to come alone could not be simple.
In such rarely visited spirit beast gathering places, the greatest fear was "accidents"; after all, if something happened, there was nowhere to seek justice.
Glancing at the somewhat strangely shaped lantern in Lin Xiao's hand, the old man quickly averted his gaze.
Ever since soul guides appeared, strangely shaped soul guide devices had become more common. Although the old man himself did not think highly of this external power, he would not debate it with someone upon first meeting. Still, he inevitably looked down on it a little in his heart.
Lin Xiao did not know what the old man was thinking. Even if he did, he probably would not have much of a reaction.
In the Heavenly Soul Empire, looking down on soul engineers was perfectly normal, especially among soul masters with higher cultivation.
This situation would probably only improve after the Sun Moon Empire used soul guides to breach the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Lin Xiao glanced back again at the other group far behind, then turned his head. "Old sir, are the people behind you traveling with your group?"
The old man also turned to look and shook his head. "No, they should be other people coming to hunt spirit rings."
"I see." Lin Xiao nodded. "This is my first time coming to the Far North. I had heard that this place was rarely visited by humans, yet I didn't expect to encounter so many people hunting spirit rings."
"In the past, it truly was rarely visited," the old man replied, suddenly interested. He took the initiative to explain to Lin Xiao.
"Young brother, do you know of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts?"
"Of course." Lin Xiao nodded. "I've heard that among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, three live in this Far North and are known as the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North."
"Yes, precisely because of those three heavenly kings, ordinary people would not enter the Far North." The old man glanced left and right, unsure whom he was guarding against, and lowered his voice slightly. "But now it's different."
"Starting a few years ago, people coming to the Far North have never again seen traces of two of those ferocious beasts. Although the last remaining Far North Heavenly King still appears, it is the weakest of the three."
Lin Xiao lowered his head slightly to glance at the Soul Ensnaring Lantern in his hand, but did not interrupt the old man and listened as he continued.
"Some people even boldly entered the core area of the Far North, yet they did not suffer attacks from the other two heavenly kings. So many people are guessing that the remaining two ferocious beasts may have perished under heavenly tribulation."
Lin Xiao paused for a moment but did not speak. In his heart, he let out a light sigh.
There were not that many fools in this world, especially those who could step onto the path of cultivation and reach a certain realm. Not only were they not foolish, but they were extremely perceptive. In just a few years, they had noticed the changes in the Far North.
Although they did not know the truth, the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, the Snow Empress, and the Ice Empress had indeed left the Far North due to heavenly tribulation.
Lin Xiao glanced back once more at the two spirit ring hunting teams. "Old sir, can this news be confirmed?"
"Sigh, how could such news be confirmed? But as more and more people return safely from the Far North, naturally, more and more people believe it."
"For us soul masters hunting spirit rings, there is never absolute safety. I'm just bringing people from my sect to give it a try."
Sect…
Lin Xiao looked at the old man again. On the current Douluo Continent, although the three great empires' control over soul masters had grown stronger and academies were gradually replacing sects, there were still countless large and small sects.
Lin Xiao could not identify which sect these people belonged to, but having a Spirit Douluo as protector on the journey meant it was no small sect.
"I see. Thank you for the explanation, old sir."
The old man waved his hand. "You're lucky to have come at this time. If it had been a few years earlier, you might truly have encountered danger."
After a few exchanges, the old man had gradually lowered his guard.
Lin Xiao's speech was quite mild, and the cloak he wore appeared finely made. He was probably someone of status and did not seem like a bad person.
"However, young brother, your cultivation does not seem to have reached a bottleneck. Are you here to find a spirit ring for someone else?"
Lin Xiao merely smiled at this and did not respond.
The old man also realized his question touched on Lin Xiao's privacy and did not pursue it further.
"Master."
Someone suddenly called from the group diagonally behind. The old man received the message, cupped his fists once more, and retreated.
Lin Xiao nodded to him, withdrew his gaze, and once again extended his spiritual force to the Soul Ensnaring Lantern.
Inside, although the Snow Empress did not speak, Lin Xiao could feel her emotions fluctuating constantly.
She had also heard the old man's words. With the Snow Empress and Ice Empress no longer presiding over the Far North, the number of soul masters coming here had increased dramatically. Even without seeing it with her own eyes, she knew how many spirit beasts of the Far North had died at human hands.
Moreover, for the Snow Empress, this was the first time she learned that the Ice Empress had also met with misfortune.
"Anyway, I'm heading to the core region. Do you want to visit your territory?"
Lin Xiao slightly raised the Soul Ensnaring Lantern in his hand and asked softly.
"Good." After a moment of silence, the Snow Empress's response finally came from within.
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