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As the morning light just began to spill over the wheat fields of Xinan Village, Jiang Zhen was already standing at the village entrance with a simple bag on his back.
The coarse cloth bag contained wheat pancakes that Village Chief Liu had baked overnight, a small bag of water, and the martial spirit certificate left behind by Su Yuntao.
"Really not going to wait three months? Go to Nuoding Academy with that kid Zhao Hu , at least you'll have company on the way."
Village Chief Liu leaned on his cane, his eyes filled with worry.
When Jiang Zhen said he was going to the Soul Hunting Forest ahead of schedule yesterday, he almost thought the child had been blinded by his innate full soul power—a six-year-old child venturing into the Soul Beast Forest alone was practically putting his life on the line.
Jiang Zhen smiled and tightened his backpack on his shoulder: "Uncle Liu, I know what I'm doing."
Seeing Jiang Zhen's resolute attitude, Village Chief Liu knew he couldn't persuade him, so he could only pull out a gleaming long knife from his pocket and hand it to him: "This was forged by Blacksmith Li, for your self-defense. Remember, if you can't win, run away, don't try to fight back!"
"Hmm!" Jiang Zhen took the long sword. The hilt was still wrapped with a layer of cloth, and his palm was slightly warm.
He bowed deeply to Village Chief Liu, then turned and walked towards Nuoding City—the Soul Hunter Forest was only thirty miles southeast of Nuoding City.
Jiang Zhen didn't rest along the way. When he passed by the stream, he deliberately stopped and practiced the "Mysterious Water Enlightenment Technique" to try the "flow of emptiness and fullness".
According to the cultivation manual, this skill requires the body to resonate with the water-attribute energy within, using soul power as a guide to submerge the body in the water.
He squatted by the stream, channeling his soul power into the water through his fingertips, silently chanting, "The interplay of reality and illusion!"
The next second, pale blue water enveloped his body, and he actually "melted" into the stream.
There was no feeling of suffocation, only the coolness of the water flowing over his skin. He could clearly see the pebbles at the bottom of the stream and even move quickly with the current, faster than he could run on land.
"The consumption is less than expected. With my current soul power, it should last for three hours." Jiang Zhen tried turning and stopping a few times in the water. When he finally appeared on the shore, a circle of water rippled around him, wetting the nearby grass.
With this skill, infiltrating the Soul Hunter Forest shouldn't be a problem. After all, he doesn't have a warrant.
Just past noon, Jiang Zhen finally saw the outline of the Soul Hunter Forest. Just as described in the original novel, the forest was surrounded by a ten-meter-high steel fence, its spikes pointing upwards and gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Outside the fence, a squad of soldiers clad in fine iron armor patrolled back and forth, the tips of their spears flashing with a cold light—they were the outer guards of the Spirit Hall.
He hid in the bushes some distance away, observing carefully. There was a low-lying area at the southeast corner of the fence, with a small ditch carved out by rainwater flowing along the fence. The bottom of the fence there was rusty and seemed to have gaps—this was it.
Once the patrolling soldiers were out of sight, Jiang Zhen crouched low and rushed over, crouching beside the ditch. He activated "Illusory Flow" again, his body merging into the water, slowly moving with the current towards the bottom of the fence. As the water carried him through the gaps at the bottom of the fence, he could even feel the coldness of the steel, but fortunately, the skill was extremely stealthy and didn't cause any disturbance.
The moment you pass through the fence and step into the Soul Hunter Forest, the noise disappears.
The tall trees blocked out the sun, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled patterns on the ground.
The air was filled with the fragrance of grass and trees and a faint aura of soul power. Occasionally, the roars of beasts could be heard from afar, making one's heart tighten.
Jiang Zhen immediately put away his relaxed state of mind, tucked the short knife into his waistband, and condensed a small water ball in his palm. After being tempered by the "Mysterious Water Enlightenment Technique", the water ball was now more solid than when he was awakened, and the water patterns on its surface were also more delicate.
He remembered that the original novel said that the outer area of the Soul Hunting Forest was mostly inhabited by ten-year or hundred-year-old soul beasts, and thousand-year-old soul beasts were rare, but he could not let his guard down, especially since he was looking for a water-attribute soul beast that was about 1,500 years old, so he had to go deeper into the forest.
An ordinary Soul Master who has never tempered his body can only withstand his first Soul Ring for about four or five hundred years. But he has been tempering his body with the "Body Tempering Liquid" rewarded by the system since he was three years old. Now his physique is far superior to that of an ordinary Soul Master. He can absorb Soul Rings under 1800 years old!
As Jiang Zhen walked along the path carved into the forest, he became extremely cautious.
He saw a palm-sized "Swift Rabbit" (a ten-year soul beast) and a "Nether Cat" with a long tail (a hundred-year soul beast), but neither was what he was looking for.
He stopped when he reached a stream—a soft rustling sound came from the grass upstream.
He quietly circled around to the side of the bushes, parted the grass leaves, and his eyes lit up immediately.
A snake as thick as a water bucket was coiled in the grass. Its body was emerald green, and its scales shimmered with a watery luster in the sunlight. There was a light golden spot on its head. It was the water-attribute soul beast "Azure Water Spirit Snake".
Based on the knowledge about soul beasts provided by the system, Jiang Zhen judged that the spirit snake's scales were dark in color and its patterns were clear, indicating that it was about 1500 years old—just within his tolerance range. Moreover, the Azure Water Spirit Snake's soul ring was compatible with water-attribute martial souls.
Seemingly sensing being watched, the Azure Serpent suddenly raised its head, its pair of blue vertical pupils locking onto Jiang Zhen, its tongue flicking in and out rapidly, emitting a threatening hiss.
Jiang Zhen dared not be careless and immediately took two steps back, circulating the "Mysterious Water Enlightenment Technique," causing a transparent "water-condensing protective membrane" to appear on his body.
The next second, the Azure Serpent suddenly darted over, as fast as a green lightning bolt. Its mouth was wide open, revealing two sharp fangs dripping with venom, and it lunged straight at Jiang Zhen's throat!
"So fast!" Jiang Zhen's pupils shrank, and as he dodged to the side, he condensed three water arrows in his left hand—this was a basic attack he simulated with his soul power. Although it was not a formal soul skill, it was agile.
The water arrow was aimed at the Azure Serpent's vital spot, but it was easily deflected by the serpent's scales, leaving only a few shallow water marks.
"The scales are hard enough; I'll have to use a clever technique." A thought flashed through Jiang Zhen's mind, and he pushed off with his feet, running towards the stream.
The Azure Serpent pursued relentlessly, flicking its tail to strike Jiang Zhen's back.
Jiang Zhen was prepared. He turned around abruptly and concentrated the soul power of the "Water Condensation Protective Membrane" on his back.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, he was sent flying and crashed into a tree. His protective membrane dimmed a bit, but thankfully he wasn't seriously injured.
Taking advantage of the lull after the Azure Serpent's attack, Jiang Zhen leaped into a puddle by the stream and whispered, "Fluidity and Reality Flow!"
The water shimmered again, and his body merged into the puddle, quickly moving behind the Azure Water Serpent with the current.
Having lost its target, the Azure Serpent scanned its surroundings with its golden vertical pupils, appearing somewhat agitated.
Just then, Jiang Zhen emerged from the puddle, water ripples spreading around him, enveloping the body of the Azure Water Serpent.
"Now!" Jiang Zhen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his soul power surged wildly into the small water ball in his palm.
This time, the water sphere didn't grow bigger; instead, it kept compressing until it became a water bullet the size of a fingernail, shimmering with a deep blue light.
He aimed at the golden markings on the Azure Serpent's head—its weak point—and hurled the water bullet!
"Pfft!"
The deep blue water bullet accurately hit the pattern and exploded instantly, with powerful water-attribute energy flowing into the snake's body along the pattern.
The Azure Serpent let out a shrill hiss, its body twisting violently, and emerald green blood seeped from beneath its scales.
It struggled to fight back, but found that its soul power was disturbed by water-attribute energy, making it impossible to gather strength.
With no other option, it had to continue fighting using brute force.
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