In the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, a group of six people were rushing deeper into the forest.
The two men and one woman walking in front looked young, their faces completely devoid of color, and their calves trembled uncontrollably with each step.
The three people walking behind were identical-looking old men. They appeared to be over seventy years old, dressed in the same attire, with lean figures and faces covered in wrinkles. Their gray-white hair gave off a sense of decaying vitality.
Each of the three men held a staff. The staffs were entirely black, about ten feet long, with a human-head-sized gray gem at their tips.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized. With a tap of their long staffs on the ground, their bodies floated forward as if weightless, covering a considerable distance in an instant.
After rounding several large trees, the old man on the right slowly raised his long staff. Gray scales covered his entire body, and the gray gem at the tip of his staff glowed with a blood-red light. A shadowy figure resembling a rat flew out.
As soon as the rat-like shadow landed on the ground, it raised its front paws, its head swaying left and right as if searching for something. Soon, it headed towards a towering ancient tree.
"You, go over there."
The old man concentrated for a moment, then abruptly looked at one of the young men and barked at him.
The man's face turned pale, his teeth chattering uncontrollably, but he dared not speak further. He trembled as he walked toward the giant tree.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you if there's danger," the old man said, looking at the man's back with a strange smile.
Upon hearing this, how could the man believe him? All along, whenever this old man released his Spirit, a strong bloody aura would emanate. He was undoubtedly an Evil Soul Master. If he were truly a good person, why would he force them to come to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest?
The three old men tapped their long staffs again, and their figures lightly followed.
Just as the man approached the giant tree, a low roar echoed, and a massive Spirit Beast appeared before them.
A powerful aura pressed down. The man was already terrified to the extreme, and now he couldn't even stand steadily. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, then forced himself up and crawled to the side.
The three old men, far from being alarmed, exchanged glances with delight. They ignored the remaining two young Spirit Masters and instead raised their long staffs, releasing three identical Spirits. Immediately, a dense, bloody aura spread out.
The Spirit Beast let out another powerful roar, followed by a huge dark golden claw. It was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Spirit Beast's ultimate skill, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw.
However, the three old men had already anticipated the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's attack. Their spirit rings flashed, and their figures transformed into wisps of smoke, drifting to the side.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's enraged strike landed on empty air, leaving a deep, several-meter-wide pit in the ground. The ground shook, the surrounding trees swayed, and leaves fell continuously.
The three old men held their long staffs high. Translucent, blood-red Spirit Beast shadows appeared one by one, attacking together, surrounding the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Even with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's strength, it was not afraid of these Spirit Beast shadows, but it couldn't eliminate them all in a short time.
The three old men stood scattered around the perimeter, watching their released Spirit Souls continuously deplete the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's strength.
The old man who had been walking in the middle just now nodded slightly. "After all, it's just a mindless Spirit Beast. Once its strength is exhausted, we will extract its Soul. It will be a great help in the future."
With that, he turned to look at the three young Spirit Masters huddled together. Just as they were about to escape, they met the old man's gaze. "Alright, I originally intended to use you to lure out this beast, but I didn't expect it to be so smooth. Your mission is complete. However… I have another mission here." The old man smiled strangely. "My beast Souls just happen to be short on some blood food…"
As he was speaking, another old man beside him suddenly changed his expression. "No, there's another Spirit Beast here."
"What?" The other two old men looked over.
"I couldn't have sensed wrong." With that, he waved his hand, and the rat-like shadow from earlier reappeared on the ground. It ran under the ancient tree, its front paws on the ground, continuously digging at the soil beneath its feet.
"It's right there. Big Brother, Second Brother, you two keep an eye on this side. I'll go take a look there."
With that, he grabbed a young Spirit Master beside him, and with a flash of his figure, he floated over, following the rat's shadow.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, currently under siege, suddenly roared, its eyes glowing red. Its body visibly expanded by a circle, and its right claw was raised high. Five light blades, several meters long, descended from the sky, shattering all the surrounding Spirit Beast shadows.
With the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's strength, how could it be held back by these Spirit Souls? These three old men thought they had trapped the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, but they didn't know that it was also stalling for time.
Its mate had not yet left the cave, and seeing that someone was already heading towards its cave, it no longer held back its strength. With just one claw, it shattered all the surrounding Spirit Souls.
"Don't hold back, release your innate beast Souls!" One of them exclaimed, his face changing.
Immediately after, the tips of their long staffs emitted a dazzling glow. A golden lion and a dark-green fierce tiger appeared out of thin air, tangling with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
These two Souls were completely different from the previous ones. The previous Spirit Beast Souls were more inclined towards mental force attacks, but the strength of these two innate beast Souls was not much different from when they were alive. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was anxious to return to its cave, and its back was even scratched by these two Souls.
On the other side, the old man who had left alone had already arrived under the ancient tree. Before him was a cave entrance, from which the aura of a Spirit Beast emanated.
The old man patted himself, and a layer of milky-white shield immediately rose into the air. Then, with a wave of his right hand, he threw the Spirit Master he was holding into the cave.
However, a golden light flashed, and the Spirit Master landed in Wang Nan's arms.
Wang Nan's mental force vibrated, and the various auras around him were immediately dispelled. The Spirit Master in his arms, who had been on edge all the way and had just experienced that ordeal, immediately felt a release in his heart upon seeing Wang Nan, and fainted.
"Who are you?"
The old man could not sense any spirit power fluctuations from Wang Nan, and his heart was instantly filled with extreme vigilance.
After two years of cultivation, Wang Nan's spirit power had reached Rank eighty. Even without his eighth spirit ring currently, his strength was not much lower than this old man's.
Furthermore, his spirit power was condensed, so unless someone's cultivation or mental force was much higher than his, they indeed could not see through his true strength.