pertwk Chapter 92 The Old General, Like a Performer on a Stage
Chapter 92 The Old General, Like a Performer on a Stage
Chapter 92 The Old General, Like a Performer on a Stage
And in a secluded clearing not too far from this camp.
Still wearing his signature gray-brown stained clothes, holding a large purplish-red gourd in his hand, and taking sips of wine, Elder Xuan followed the special mark left by Yan Shaozhe beforehand and came over.
Yan Shaozhe smelled the strong smell of alcohol and the faint aroma of roasted meat emanating from Elder Xuan, but his face showed no impatience. He still respectfully gave Elder Xuan a brief and concise account of what had happened that day, especially the effects of Huo Yuhao's third soul skill, which was so powerful it was almost heaven-defying.
Upon hearing this, a glint of light appeared in Elder Xuan's slightly narrowed, cloudy eyes. He took another big gulp of wine and spoke indistinctly.
"Has Huo Yuhao decided what kind of third spirit ring to attach to his Spirit Eye? High-age spirit beasts with spiritual attributes are hard to find in this Star Dou Great Forest."
Yan Shaozhe hesitated slightly, but still answered truthfully:
"Before setting off, Huo Yuhao mentioned to me that he needed to find a Silver Elite Beast that was about 20,000 years old in the core area. He also marked several places for me, places where, according to his judgment, there might be traces of Silver Elite Beasts."
Elder Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, which had been half-closed, and his crimson pupils revealed a hint of shock.
"Good lad, a mere level 30 Soul Master dares to covet a 20,000-year Soul Ring? And a Silver Elf Beast at that, one that's almost extinct?"
The old man marveled.
If Mu En hadn't already told them not to delve into Huo Yuhao's secrets...
Given Elder Xuan's personality, he probably couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and would have already grabbed Huo Yuhao to ask him everything.
Elder Xuan took another big gulp of wine and wiped his mouth with the back of his oily hand.
"Shao Zhe, tell me those specific locations. I'll personally go and capture the Silver Beasts for that kid. You stay here and keep an eye on these little guys. Make sure they don't cause any trouble."
Yan Shaozhe thought about it for a moment and felt that there was nothing wrong with this arrangement.
With Xuan Lao's strength as a level 98 Super Douluo, capturing a 20,000-year-old Silver Elite Beast in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest should not result in any unexpected situations.
As a level 95 Super Douluo, what kind of accident could possibly happen while he's here watching over the students?
Yan Shaozhe then told Elder Xuan in detail the location information that Huo Yuhao had marked.
Having obtained the exact location, Elder Xuan hastily wiped the oil stains off his hands and body, and with a flicker, disappeared back into the open space.
Meanwhile, on a high slope only a few dozen miles away from Huo Yuhao's camp.
While Huo Yuhao and his group dared not light a fire, a bonfire was currently burning brightly here.
Four figures, exuding a dense, chilling aura, sat around a campfire. The flames sizzled over a giant bear paw, the essence of a rock bear nearly 50,000 years old.
Three of them were dressed in worn-out gray robes and appeared to be at least seventy years old.
They were all very thin, with many wrinkles on their faces, gray hair casually draped behind their heads, and a lingering sense of weariness in their dim yellow eyes.
At this moment, the three old men all showed extraordinary respect to the person in the main seat who was wearing a black robe.
The man in the black robe sitting in the main seat lifted his wide cloak, revealing a face that was quite unexpected.
It was a rather handsome, even youthful face, with a neat head of short silver hair. Most striking were his deep purple eyes, which subtly revealed a profound and unsettling aura.
Zhongli Wu's gaze swept over the three Zhongli brothers, who were turning over the bear's paw, and he spoke calmly.
"You three brothers sent me a secret message, claiming that you had discovered traces of the Imperial Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest. That's why I traveled all the way from the Sun Moon Empire. It's been almost a week now."
As he continued speaking, Zhongli Wu's voice remained calm, but it became unusually chilling.
If the three Zhongli brothers weren't his trusted subordinates whom he had personally promoted and who had remained loyal to him for many years, Zhongli Wu would have begun to suspect that they were deliberately making fun of him.
After all, the news of the Emperor Beast was too shocking. If the three Zhongli brothers hadn't spent years mingling in the Star Dou Great Forest, Zhongli Wu would never have believed that they could find traces of the beast.
Just thinking that if his natal beast, the Spirit Bone Dragon King, could successfully devour the legendary Emperor Beast, then with the help of that immense fortune, he might become a Limit Douluo in just a few years.
Thinking about it this way, even with Zhongli Wu's temperament, his heart couldn't help but feel a little passionate.
Among the three Zhongli brothers, the elder sitting in the center explained in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Master, please calm down. We three brothers only caught a glimpse of it from afar. At that time, the auspicious beast was always accompanied by three Crimson Demon Hounds. Even we dared not approach rashly to take a closer look."
The Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff ranks eighth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, possessing 300,000 cultivation points, making its strength equivalent to a level 97 Super Douluo in human form.
The three Zhongli brothers were only at the Soul Douluo level. Although each of them, as evil soul masters, could rival an ordinary titled Douluo, they were truly no match for the Crimson King.
But it was precisely because they observed that even ferocious beasts like the Crimson King showed extraordinary respect to that golden soul beast that they boldly speculated that the soul beast was very likely the legendary Emperor Beast.
Zhongli Wu let out a cold snort, a hint of blood-red light flashing in his deep purple eyes.
"Fine, we'll officially enter the core area tomorrow. Since we can't find it at this border, let's search deeper in. I refuse to believe it can hide forever."
As for why they have been wandering and searching in the area where the core area and the mixed area meet for the past few days, it is because the three Zhongli brothers reported that they had seen the soul beast that resembled the auspicious beast leave the core area and come to this area to forage for food.
Compared to the border areas, hunting auspicious beasts deep within the core area is undoubtedly exponentially more difficult.
Zhongli Wuke had not forgotten the existence of the true ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Beast God Di Tian.
If he were to face Di Tian alone, he would probably only be able to flee in a sorry state.
But for the possibility of becoming a Limit Douluo, this risk is worth taking.
The three Zhongli brothers exchanged glances, then bowed their heads in unison and replied, "Yes, Master."
……
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight appeared, pale golden light began to penetrate the dense canopy of trees, casting dappled shadows through the forest.
Zhang Lexuan looked at Huo Yuhao, who had already emerged from his meditative state, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Junior Brother, you're awake? I wonder what specific requirements you have for your third spirit ring, and what kind of spirit beast you need to find?"
Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. However, before I set off, Dean Yan told me not to worry about it, and that he would personally find it for me."
He couldn't quite explain why he had participated in this Soul Hunting Operation.
Guidance from fate? Or perhaps some other reason?
Given his current importance to Shrek Academy, he could easily avoid risking his life to come here personally.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously touched his brow.
Should I drag Qiu'er into this again in this lifetime?
What's wrong with letting her live a carefree and peaceful life in the Star Dou Great Forest?
Zhang Lexuan keenly noticed the fleeting look of desolation and struggle on Huo Yuhao's face. A complex emotion flashed in her clear, beautiful eyes, and her heart trembled inexplicably.
Junior brother, have you ever experienced any unspeakable pain and despair?
In a daze, some long-forgotten, yet still painful, images involuntarily surfaced in Zhang Lexuan's mind.
Her mother collapsed beside the cold bed, using her last strength to shield the bed with her body and cover her mouth with her hand to prevent her from making a sound...
That's how she was spared and survived the massacre of her entire family.
Before Zhang Lexuan could recover from her memories, a feeling of extreme danger suddenly overwhelmed her.
Huo Yuhao stood up abruptly at almost the same time.
He immediately alerted all his companions who were in a meditative state through mental detection.
The others were also awakened one after another. Without Huo Yuhao even needing to explain, they had already seen the soul beasts that were quietly approaching through the shared mental detection.
About 800 meters from their temporary camp, a huge soul beast was slowly pacing.
It is over four meters long, with the robust body of a lion, but with a sharp eagle's head.
Its entire body was not covered with feathers, but with bright golden flames that seemed to dance and burn like real things. Even the mane on its neck was like raging flames, radiating astonishing heat.
Its enormous wings flapped slightly, yet they stirred up scorching heat waves, distorting even the surrounding air.
Beside this mighty fire griffin were dozens of smaller fire demon lions.
They followed closely behind the lead griffin, slowly making their way towards the camp.
The flames rising from the body of a thousand-year-old Flame Lion are orange-yellow, while the flames rising from the body of a ten-thousand-year-old Flame Lion will transform into a brilliant gold.
Although soul beasts with cultivation levels ranging from 10,000 to 90,000 years are collectively referred to as 10,000-year soul beasts, in reality, the difference in cultivation level between them is quite significant.
Ten thousand years, thirty thousand years, fifty thousand years, and seventy thousand years are all important thresholds.
With each threshold crossed, the strength of the soul beast undergoes a dramatic transformation.
Among the pack of demonic lions surrounding the flaming griffin, at least two had flames that shone with a dazzling golden hue.
The leading fire griffin gave Zhang Lexuan a sense of danger; its actual cultivation was probably at least 50,000 years, and its strength was no less than that of an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
Moreover, lions are among the most powerful of the social spirit beasts on land, and are undoubtedly the overlords of terrains such as forests and grasslands.
The group of fire lions led by the 50,000-year-old fire griffins was already a great threat to their Soul Hunting Team.
At night, the strength of fire-attribute soul beasts is weakened to some extent because the fire element in the world is relatively calm when there is no sunlight.
The reason this group of fire lions chose to be active at this time is clearly because it's almost dawn and their hunting time has arrived.
Unfortunately, the campsite that Huo Yuhao and his group chose was located right within their hunting grounds.
Zhang Lexuan frowned slightly, her gaze involuntarily glancing at Wu Ming beside her.
The leading fire griffon, in terms of both attributes and cultivation, was perfectly suited to be Wu Ming's seventh soul ring.
But subconsciously, Zhang Lexuan did not immediately look at Wu Ming for his opinion. Instead, she turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao, as if waiting for his judgment.
It was at this moment that the signal to "prepare for battle" resounded in everyone's mind.
At the very moment Huo Yuhao sent the signal, the Flame Lion pack, which had been moving slowly forward, suddenly accelerated and split into two groups, like two surging torrents of fire, flanking the camp from the left and right.
They were so fast that the complex bushes and trees in the forest posed no obstacle to them at all.
At this moment, every approaching Flame Lion was engulfed in dazzling flames, like clusters of red light rushing wildly through the forest.
The most powerful fire griffin spread its enormous wings and with a sudden flap, its massive body shot into the sky with a blast of heat, circling in mid-air and looking down at the crowd below.
Zhang Lexuan shouted in a deep voice, "Everyone, prepare for battle! Maintain your original formation. These soul beasts are not easy to deal with, so don't hold back and go all out!"
Her gaze swept over the approaching pack of Flame Lions, which had already surrounded them from both sides, and she said thoughtfully, "The Flame Lions are very skilled in both melee and ranged attacks, and they also possess the innate skill Flame Clone Strike."
They can conjure a fiery illusion with some of their own attack power to confuse their opponents. Remember, their weak point is their waist and abdomen; focus your attacks on this weak area.
Faced with the siege of a large group of high-level soul beasts, Zhang Lexuan demonstrated the calmness and decisiveness expected of a team leader, and quickly gave the appropriate instructions.
Two yellow, two purple, three black, and one red spirit rings quickly rose from beneath Zhang Lexuan's feet.
Suddenly, a bright crescent moon appeared in the void behind her. The crescent moon hung high, as if it were hanging on the treetops in the distance. Its cool light instantly shone down, illuminating everything around it.
Zhang Lexuan's skin appeared even more radiant and fair under the moonlight.
She pointed forward with her right hand, and a beam of moonlight shot out from the crescent moon, shooting straight at the fiery griffin that was looking down at them with a mocking gaze.
With a slight flap of its massive wings, the Flame Griffin deftly ascended several meters, easily dodging the sharp moonlight.
The contempt in its crimson beastly eyes deepened.
At the same time, Zhang Lexuan also floated in mid-air, facing off against the fiery griffin.
Her eyes gleamed with silver light, and her first, second, and third spirit rings lit up simultaneously.
First, a soft moonlight fell upon her, enveloping her in a hazy, silvery-white halo.
The crescent moon above her head shone brighter and gradually transformed into a full moon.
One after another, even more condensed beams of moonlight shot out from it, piercing the sky and making a soft whooshing sound.
Without exception, all the moonlight locked onto the fire griffin, which was also suspended in mid-air.
Zhang Lexuan knew very well that she absolutely could not allow the strongest fire griffin to free up its hands and interfere with or attack its companions below.
Now that she was closer, she was even more certain that this Flame Griffin was likely a soul beast born from some kind of benign mutation of the Flame Demon Lion. It had already reached the first level in the soul beast hierarchy.
Faced with the dense onslaught of silver moonlight, the Flame Griffin sensed a threat and was no longer as playful as before.
It let out a cry that resounded through the sky, like the cry of an eagle or the roar of a lion.
Suddenly opening its sharp beak, a beam of brilliant golden flame, as thick as a bucket, shot out, carrying a scorching heat, to meet the oncoming torrent of moonlight.
Boom—
The silvery moonlight and the golden flames collided violently in mid-air, instantly unleashing a deafening roar.
A violent energy shockwave swept outwards, creating rolling heat waves and throwing the airspace into chaos.
(End of this chapter)