The three of them continued riding the all-terrain exploration soul tool deeper into this branch vein.
Ju Zi sat in the front main control seat, her left hand gripping the thickest metal lever. Two yellow and three purple soul rings flashed one after another as she poured her soul power fully into them.
With soft metallic clicking sounds, the all-terrain exploration soul tool trembled and started moving.
Xu Zihuang and the others inside felt it even more clearly—the six long metal legs below exerted force simultaneously, supporting the sphere as it slowly rose.
The increased height widened their field of vision. Especially through the front blue crystal window, which had been specially treated to provide a 180-degree panoramic view ahead.
"Ke Ke, you control the soul tool protective shield." As Ju Zi spoke, she slapped a red button on her right side. A metal lever immediately rose in front of Ke Ke. Ke Ke gripped it tightly with both hands, ready to inject soul power at any moment.
"Sister Ju Zi, I'm ready."
"Then let's set off—here we go!" Ju Zi shouted excitedly, no longer hesitating. She pushed the metal lever in her left hand slightly forward. The six long legs beneath the all-terrain exploration soul tool immediately stepped forward, gradually accelerating.
Xu Zihuang didn't pay attention to the changes in the core array's soul power circulation of the all-terrain exploration soul tool. Instead, he gazed thoughtfully at Ju Zi from behind.
Ju Zi's ability to control her emotions was actually not much inferior to his own. If he hadn't saved her back then and made that black truffle stewed chicken that reminded her of her father's cooking, perhaps Ju Zi would never have shown her truest self in front of him.
Although the mountain range ahead was a branch of the Ming Dou Mountain Range, it was far less steep than the main Ming Dou Mountains. The six sharp metal legs easily pierced into the soil and rock, effortlessly climbing over two hundred meters and crossing the first small hill.
However, this all-terrain exploration soul tool consumed soul power too quickly—just this short distance had already drained nearly half of Ju Zi's soul power. And that was only after traveling for about fifteen minutes.
In other words, with Ju Zi's Soul King-level cultivation, she could only control this all-terrain exploration soul tool for roughly that same amount of time.
Due to the climate, the mountains in the south had taller trees and denser vegetation. Especially the thorny vines that wrapped around tree trunks—some were poisonous and could easily tear clothes and skin.
Of course, none of that affected Xu Zihuang and the others inside the all-terrain exploration soul tool. The biggest issue was simply the obstruction of their line of sight.
Fortunately, they hadn't yet entered the range of the Ming Dou Great Forest, so they didn't have to worry about attacks from powerful soul beasts.
The ones that occasionally roamed here were only ten-year Netherworld Wolves. Even if they stood still, those little ten-year wolves couldn't breach the defense of the all-terrain exploration soul tool.
Ju Zi controlled the all-terrain exploration soul tool very steadily, but bumps were still unavoidable. Sitting on the hard seats was far from comfortable. Soon, Ke Ke was clutching her butt, frowning delicately.
She no longer had the excited look she'd had at the beginning.
But she wasn't about to complain. After all, she was a soul master with considerable soul power cultivation; this level of jolting was still bearable.
However, when Ke Ke noticed Xu Zihuang beside her, remaining completely calm and composed, she felt unbalanced.
With every bump, Xu Zihuang's body would make just the right subtle movements to offset the impact, as if floating unsteadily on ocean waves.
These were little techniques he had comprehended through Tidal Body Tempering.
Ke Ke looked at Xu Zihuang speechlessly.
"You're such a freak. Is there anything you can't do?"
Xu Zihuang withdrew his gaze from the right-side window and smiled at Ke Ke.
"Senior Ke Ke, you mean this little trick to relieve impact? If you want to learn, I can teach you."
"Forget it, I definitely wouldn't learn it in a short time." Ke Ke shook her head frankly, very self-aware. Then she asked with great interest, "I've noticed you treat me and Sister Ju Zi completely differently from how you treat Wang Shaojie, Zimu, and the others."
At this point, as if something had occurred to her, she quickly wrapped her arms around her chest and widened her eyes.
"Be honest—are you harboring improper thoughts about me, Sister Ju Zi? Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict."
Though she said this, her beautiful eyes were filled with proud coquettishness.
Even Ju Zi in the front divided some of her attention to listen to Yu Tianhuang's answer.
"Senior Ke Ke, you're not wrong. You and Senior Ju Zi are so beautiful. Wanting to get closer to you both is perfectly normal, isn't it?" Xu Zihuang smiled gently.
"At least you have good taste." Ke Ke smiled with satisfaction, revealing two cute little tiger teeth. But in the next instant, she grew wary and looked at him suspiciously.
"Wait, why do those words sound like something a Playboy would say? Is this how you sweet-talk girls at Shrek? Let me tell you, Sister Ju Zi and I aren't falling for that."
Then her tone changed again as her pretty face flushed slightly.
"But if you cook for me and Sister Ju Zi a few more times, you might not be completely without a chance."
She wasn't just saying this casually—she had genuinely considered it. Aside from being a bit young, Yu Tianhuang was nearly perfect in every way. It did move her a little. If he were the same age as her, with her personality, she might even boldly pursue him.
Hearing this, Ju Zi, sitting in front, felt a strange emotion rise in her heart for some reason. She was certain it was possessiveness—possessiveness toward Yu Tianhuang. Even though Ke Ke was her closest friend and confidante.
But what right did she have to possess him?
Xu Zihuang replied in a half-joking tone.
"Senior Ke Ke, you guessed right. I am a playboy—I like flirting with girls, but I never take the initiative. Pretty awful personality, huh?"
"Who are you trying to fool?" Ke Ke pouted coquettishly, but her gaze unconsciously fell on Ju Zi with a meaningful look.
"Though I do believe plenty of girls would easily fall for your flirting."
There was one thing from last night that she hadn't told anyone: when Ju Zi was asleep, she had unconsciously called out a few names in her dreams—her parents'… and Yu Tianhuang's.
At that moment, Ju Zi suddenly shouted a warning.
"Watch out ahead—five Netherworld Wolves!"
There were five wolf-type soul beasts about 1.6 meters long. Their bodies were iron-gray, but their eyes glowed eerie green, looking extremely creepy. Their tails were tucked behind them as they silently approached on four limbs.
"Sister Ju Zi, let me handle them!" Ke Ke's eyes lit up as she shouted excitedly. She slapped the red button beside her, and her body was immediately ejected from the all-terrain exploration soul tool.
This all-terrain exploration soul tool was designed for transporting and protecting soul engineers. Next to every seat was such a button—pressing it would quickly open the top crystal window and launch the occupant outside.
Ke Ke somersaulted in mid-air and landed steadily on top of the all-terrain exploration soul tool. Her long, straight legs spread apart as she half-crouched, hoisting a huge metal tube onto her shoulder.
Fortunately, she wasn't wearing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's standard short-skirt uniform; otherwise, this embarrassing posture would have given Xu Zihuang and Ju Zi a full view.
Level 5 Wind-Thunder Cannon—one of Ke Ke's commonly used, powerful long-range soul tools. It combined the speed of wind and the explosiveness of thunder. Among level 5 long-range soul tools, its power was second only to the Thunder Giant Cannon and the Super Concentrated Energy Cannon.
Netherworld Wolves were naturally suspicious and usually avoided direct attacks. Yet these five were an exception—they threw their heads back and let out sharp howls, charging straight at Ke Ke.
"Awooo—"
Not only that, but Xu Zihuang also noticed that these Netherworld Wolves seemed more robust than those living in other soul beast forests. The muscle lines on their limbs were clearly more pronounced.
As the five Netherworld Wolves attacked, a faint ink-green light appeared over their bodies, making them somewhat illusory. Their speed also increased to a certain degree.
Netherworld Light—the innate soul skill of Netherworld Wolves. This skill provided acceleration and reduced physical damage taken.
It was an ultimate weakened version of intangibility. This was also why Netherworld Wolves had always remained at the bottom of the soul beast pyramid. Still, as wolf-type soul beasts, their pack coordination in battle was quite good.
But their cultivation levels were, after all, limited.
A fierce cyan-purple ball of light burst from the metal cannon barrel on Ke Ke's shoulder, distorting the surrounding space and emitting sharp whistling and crackling thunder sounds.
Although it directly hit only three of the Netherworld Wolves, the shockwave from this powerful level 5 long-range soul tool was something the other two ten-year Netherworld Wolves could not withstand either.
The three directly hit were disintegrated on the spot, vanishing within the cyan-purple light. The two caught in the shockwave had their bodies charred black, lightning flickering over them as they too perished.
Five faint white rings of light condensed and gently pulsed.
Xu Zihuang suggested to Ke Ke and Ju Zi, "Senior Ju Zi, Senior Ke Ke. Netherworld Wolves are pack soul beasts. If we want to exterminate the Netherworld Wolf pack on this branch vein, we can smear their blood on the vehicle. It should attract the rest."
"Then let's do that." As team leader, Ju Zi nodded decisively.
A moment later, the three set off again, following the branch vein toward the interior of the Ming Dou Great Forest.
This branch vein originally extended a segment into the Ming Dou Great Forest, with its farthest point quite close to the depths of the forest.
Along the way, Ju Zi's soul power was completely depleted, so she handed the main control seat to Ke Ke and moved to sit beside Xu Zihuang.
Only when they were about to enter the Ming Dou Great Forest, after crossing the final slope, did Ke Ke run out of strength and relinquish the main control position.
"Tianhuang, you try." Ju Zi didn't take over herself but signaled Xu Zihuang to do so.
Although the two had been chatting harmoniously along the way, they tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened that morning.
It was like a secret that belonged only to the two of them.
Controlling the all-terrain exploration soul tool wasn't difficult; it only required good coordination. Coupled with Xu Zihuang's powerful spiritual power, it took almost no adjustment period—he seemed to breathe life into the soul tool, shuttling swiftly through the mountainous forest as if it had a soul of its own.
This stunned both Ju Zi and Ke Ke.
As they were about to enter the Ming Dou Great Forest, Ju Zi finally asked,
"Tianhuang, how's your soul power consumption?"
"I still have more than ninety percent. Let's just enter the Ming Dou Great Forest like this." Xu Zihuang replied, controlling the all-terrain exploration soul tool as if walking on flat ground as it plunged into the dense forest.
The part of this branch vein that extended into the Ming Dou Great Forest became much gentler, with the highest elevation only around a hundred meters.
The view was relatively open.
Yet strangely, they hadn't encountered a second pack of Netherworld Wolves the entire way.
Unknowingly, they had already penetrated seven or eight kilometers into the Ming Dou Great Forest.
After entering the forest's range, Ju Zi had to constantly monitor the surroundings while maintaining the soul tool protective shield, but that didn't stop her from admiring Xu Zihuang's dazzling operation.
"Now I understand why the academy has always been searching for soul masters with spiritual attributes. Soul masters with spiritual attributes truly have an innate advantage in both creating and controlling soul tools."
"Who could disagree?" Ke Ke helplessly rolled her eyes, feeling a slight sense of defeat.
People really do drive other people to death with comparison.
Before Ke Ke could finish speaking, Xu Zihuang suddenly made the all-terrain exploration soul tool half-squat and stop.
The tall trees around them blocked the light, making the area rather dim.
Through the blue crystal windows on all sides, pairs of eerie green eyes lit up in every direction.
One Netherworld Wolf after another revealed themselves in the dense forest. At a glance, there were at least two hundred. Although the vast majority were ten-year Netherworld Wolves, there were more than ten hundred-year ones, and three that had just broken through to the thousand-year level—easily distinguishable by their size.
Especially the leader at the front: its body was so massive it nearly rivaled lion or tiger soul beasts, over three meters long. Its powerful limbs bulged with muscle. Unlike ordinary Netherworld Wolves' iron-gray fur, this one's was a deep ink-green. Most bizarre of all—it had two ferocious heads.
Its eerie green eyes flashed with human-like ferocity. Thick drool dripped from its fangs as it let out low "wooo" sounds.
As if issuing orders, the Netherworld Wolves quickly surrounded the three.
"A mutated soul beast?!" Ju Zi and Ke Ke exclaimed in unison.
"No wonder we didn't encounter other soul beasts on this branch vein—these Netherworld Wolves have claimed it."
That mutated Netherworld Wolf's cultivation was at least four thousand years old. With it and the other three thousand-year Netherworld Wolves leading, occupying a branch vein on the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest was naturally no problem.
Xu Zihuang calmly said, "If we annihilate this entire pack, the problem of them roaming out should be solved. Senior Ju Zi, Senior Ke Ke—leave it to me."
With that, he pressed the red button beside him.
Xu Zihuang's figure floated down in front of the all-terrain exploration soul tool. Light flashed on his wrist, and the simple yet ferocious long sword Shark Tooth appeared in his right hand.
The brilliant golden sword's body reflected a cold light in the dimness, causing the entire wolf pack to momentarily freeze. But with the mutated Netherworld Wolf present, they did not fall into disarray.
"Sister Ju Zi, you stay inside—I'll go help him." Ke Ke followed closely behind. As a responsible girl, she naturally couldn't let Yu Tianhuang fight alone.
Xu Zihuang lightly swept his sword horizontally. Dozens of Netherworld Wolves were instantly shredded into minced meat by the brilliant golden sword light. A strange glint flashed in Ke Ke's eyes as she simultaneously took out her Wind-Thunder Cannon and opened fire.
One close-combat, one long-range—completely suppressing the wolf pack.
Seeing this from the main control seat, Ju Zi breathed a sigh of relief.
But she did not relax; she stayed ready to support them at any moment. Most of the time, she could remain calm. It was precisely this personality that gave her the potential to become an outstanding commander.
"Senior Ke Ke, leave the Netherworld Wolves within thirty meters to me—the rest are yours." Xu Zihuang said leisurely.
Honestly, this pack of Netherworld Wolves wasn't even worth his serious attention. If he weren't testing the power of the Shark Tooth sword in real combat, just his second soul skill would have been enough to wipe them all out.
"Got it!" Ke Ke nodded vigorously, her eyes sharp. Three consecutive shots from the Wind-Thunder Cannon rang out deafeningly across the branch vein, blasting the wolf pack into disarray.
Xu Zihuang's figure flickered as he dodged a pounce from one of the thousand-year Netherworld Wolves and slashed its neck.
Even with Netherworld Light reducing physical damage, it only reduced—not negated. When physical damage reached a certain threshold, Netherworld Light became essentially useless.
Iron-gray fur scattered as the thousand-year Netherworld Wolf was decapitated with a single strike.
In just a few breaths, nearly a hundred Netherworld Wolves had fallen. And the slaughter continued.
The other two thousand-year Netherworld Wolves were soon dispatched by Xu Zihuang and Ke Ke, respectively. The pack was on the verge of total annihilation, yet the leading double-headed Netherworld Wolf still only watched. Its four eerie green eyes burned with greed and venom.
What it most wanted to devour was naturally Xu Zihuang, whose body overflowed with life force, but it could find no opening in him.
Its next choice was Ke Ke.
The instant Ke Ke's soul power faltered, it moved. The same Netherworld Light, when used by this mutated double-headed wolf, made its body almost truly translucent. Its speed exploded—this was far beyond what ordinary thousand-year Netherworld Wolves or even other wolf-type soul beasts could achieve.
As expected of a mutated soul beast.
Ke Ke, whose cultivation had been forcibly raised through medicine and special methods, often experienced delays in soul power circulation—especially when her soul power was heavily depleted, just like now.
Facing the double-headed Netherworld Wolf's sudden assault, she instinctively fired her less soul-power-intensive soul guidance rays.
Three level 5 soul guidance rays shot from the metal box on her right arm—yet they passed straight through the wolf's illusory body, dealing no damage.
"Immune to energy attacks?" The same thought arose in all three of their minds simultaneously.
Everything happened too suddenly; Ju Zi, still inside the all-terrain exploration soul tool, had no time to rescue her.
At that critical moment, a streak of brilliant golden light flashed past—Xu Zihuang had thrown his Shark Tooth sword.
The Shark Tooth sword pierced accurately through the double-headed Netherworld Wolf's body, but the result was the same as the soul guidance rays—not a single scratch.
Xu Zihuang's gaze focused. A soul skill that could simultaneously nullify both energy and physical attacks reminded him of a rare and perverse skill: Void.
More accurately, this double-headed Netherworld Wolf's innate skill should be called Light of the Void.
However, after consecutively nullifying the soul guidance rays and the Shark Tooth sword, the wolf's aura visibly weakened at a rapid pace. This time, without hesitation, it turned and melted into the distant forest.
It wanted to devour these humans to raise its cultivation, but that didn't mean it was willing to throw its life away.
Wolf-type soul beasts had always been known for cunning and ruthlessness. Moreover, this mutated double-headed Netherworld Wolf possessed intelligence no less than a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
Ju Zi was now ejected from the all-terrain exploration soul tool and anxiously grabbed Ke Ke's arm.
"Ke Ke, are you alright?"
Ke Ke had several defensive soul tools on her and showed no panic. She stared in the direction the double-headed Netherworld Wolf had fled, her eyes shining with intense curiosity.
"Sister Ju Zi, did you see that? That mutated double-headed Netherworld Wolf could actually nullify both energy and physical attacks at the same time."
Ju Zi followed Ke Ke's gaze and just in time saw the gorgeous Thunderfire Arrow Xu Zihuang had fired.
Wrapped in cyan light that concealed sound and aura, the arrow—imbued with thunder and fire—pierced through trees with muffled thuds, followed by a wretched howl that soon fell silent.
Roughly estimated, that arrow had traveled at least four thousand meters.
From the hundred-meter-high mountain, it had plunged into the relatively flat area of the Ming Dou Great Forest. It was precisely that diving momentum that allowed the double-headed Netherworld Wolf to escape so far in such a short time.
"Senior Ke Ke, Senior Ju Zi, I'll go retrieve the arrow. Wait here for me." Xu Zihuang pulled the Shark Tooth sword that had embedded deep into a thick tree trunk and spoke to the two girls.
Ke Ke excitedly came to Xu Zihuang's side with Ju Zi.
"I'll go with you. I never expected that double-headed Netherworld Wolf to have such a perverse soul skill. This Ming Dou Great Forest is way more interesting than the Jing Yang Mountain Range."
"Then let's all go together. We have to descend this branch vein anyway." Ju Zi agreed.
Since Ju Zi said so, Xu Zihuang naturally couldn't refuse.
On the way, the three no longer used the soul-power-draining all-terrain exploration soul tool.
The maximum range of the Thunderfire Arrow exceeded Xu Zihuang's expectations—this shot had definitely traveled five kilometers while retaining lethal power. Truly astonishing.
The double-headed Netherworld Wolf had fled deeper into the Ming Dou Great Forest. Earlier, the three had already traveled seven or eight kilometers into the forest, so by now they were quite deep inside.
Yet strangely, they hadn't encountered even a single soul beast along the way.
"Is this really the Ming Dou Great Forest? It's so quiet it's creepy." Ke Ke voiced the doubt in everyone's hearts. In the next moment, her gaze was drawn to a patch of peculiar vines.
"Such huge vines."
In the distance, the tip of each vine bore an enormous flower bud. The outer layer was ink-green, but the top revealed a vivid crimson, as if the flowers were about to bloom at any moment.
"Don't get close! That's a plant-type soul beast!" Xu Zihuang keenly sensed spiritual fluctuations emanating from the vines, but even with his knowledge, he couldn't identify the exact species.
As he warned them, the nearest vine smashed down like a giant hammer straight toward them.
As it fell, the huge flower bud opened, and an incredibly powerful suction force came from the blooming crimson flower.
When Ju Zi and Ke Ke saw the open flower, chills ran through their entire bodies. Inside the blooming flower grew rings of dense, fine teeth—like a meat grinder, utterly horrifying.
At the same time, a rich, sweet fragrance spread through the air. Stimulated by this scent, all the remaining vines swarmed toward them, those menacing crimson flowers filling their vision.
"Puff, puff—" Ju Zi and Ke Ke collapsed one after another, drowsiness and pleasurable hallucinations constantly assaulting them as their consciousness grew hazy.
In this life-and-death moment, Xu Zihuang wrapped his arms around their waists and rapidly retreated.
That cloying sweet fragrance was clearly poisonous.
"How is this possible?! There's actually a Nightmare Man-Eating Flower here?!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice rang out in Xu Zihuang's mental sea, filled with disbelief.
"Zihuang, what kind of luck do you guys have?"
"Nightmare Man-Eating Flower? Tianmeng, you know this plant-type soul beast?"
"The Nightmare Man-Eating Flower is one of the most terrifying plant-type soul beasts. Back when I was in the Star Dou Great Forest, those bastards in the core region had nearly wiped them all out. The scariest thing about the Nightmare Man-Eating Flower isn't its devouring power—it's the nightmare toxin. Soul beasts or humans often fall asleep in their nightmare toxin without sensing any danger. This one's cultivation is at least over ten thousand years, making the nightmare toxin even more intense." Seeing that Xu Zihuang had reached a safe area, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice turned lazy again.
"Anyway, your second martial soul has the destruction attribute—you just need to circulate your soul power for a while to clear the toxin from your body. That's why you're still conscious. But these two girls are in trouble. The nightmare toxin has super-strong penetration; it can seep in through the pores even without breathing. It will erupt in a short time and paralyze the brain. Once the toxin invades the mental sea, there's no saving them."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm chuckled lewdly, his tone turning perverted.
"So, you'd better use your destruction-attribute soul power to detoxify them right now. And you need to take off their clothes. As I said earlier, that stuff can seep through the pores."
In the eyes of this perverted fellow, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, this seemed like a huge reward for Xu Zihuang—a very big reward.
Xu Zihuang frowned slightly. He knew Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was right; even he was starting to feel a bit dizzy now.
This nightmare toxin was indeed domineering.
But in the next instant, Xu Zihuang's vision suddenly blurred without warning, as if plunging into endless darkness.
The darkness brought heart-wrenching pain that obliterated Xu Zihuang's consciousness.
At some unknown point, brilliant colors exploded within that darkness, wrapping and swallowing Xu Zihuang's sinking consciousness. The colors flickered like countless scenes, each a separate world, as if traversing millions of years.
All of his memories were stripped away, replaced by an entirely new set of memories.
This was a wide, resplendent room of gold and jade. Cold, salty sea wind carrying moisture blew in through the glazed windows on the southern side.
It stung Xu Zihuang's cheeks, yet he seemed completely unaware as he rose and looked up at the thick city walls outside the window that resembled a prison cage. A trace of confusion appeared in his blank, deep-purple eyes. He walked to the window, and through the glazed glass he could see his reflection.
Long black hair hung messily behind him. His handsome face appeared only about eighteen, but his eyes were filled with numbness, vicissitudes, and dejection. His cheeks were gaunt, his complexion pale, and even his steps were somewhat unsteady.
His clothes disheveled, he stood frozen in place. He had seen this face countless times, yet today it somehow felt unfamiliar.
"Your Highness, the Prince, you should rest."
A middle-aged man wearing deep-blue armor appeared behind Xu Zihuang. With him came ten carefully dressed noble young ladies, each beautiful and elegant in her own way.
"Sea Night Division Leader?" Xu Zihuang murmured.
Sea Night understood and withdrew from the room. The ten noble girls raised their heads to look at Xu Zihuang, complex emotions—fervor, desire, pity, and more—filling the depths of their eyes. Yet there was no admiration, no trace of genuine affection.
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