Crack—
Chen Junting's shoe sole crushed a dead branch and a dead leaf. The faint sound of breaking was exceptionally clear in the silent forest. He stopped in his tracks, his fingertips brushing over the break of an ancient tree—
It looked like an attack about three fingers wide had struck diagonally down from the middle of the trunk. The broken area pulsed with a bizarre dark-red color.
"Everything around has been corroded." A blue light flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes. His invisible spiritual detection rippled outward like water waves, taking everything into his view. His pupils abruptly shrank. In his spiritual field of vision, the fine gravel on the ground turned into thousands of blood-colored particles that were slowly eroding the soil.
At this moment, a Gate of the Void opened beside him, and Gu Tianchen, currently in his Martial Soul Possession state, walked out.
"Counting this place, there are a total of thirty-seven traces of battle. The most recent is no more than three days old. However..." He looked up at the sky, which seemed shrouded in a haze. "These places are as quiet as a graveyard. At the very least, I didn't see any signs of life in those thirty-seven locations, not even a single Thousand-Jin Ant."
As the cradle of life for land soul beasts, the Great Star Dou Forest should have been brimming with vitality. Even in the outer perimeter, which had the most human traces, soul beasts like the ten-year Wind Baboons should still appear.
But what was the reality? Along the way, while it wasn't exactly littered with corpses, there wasn't the slightest sign of life either. There was only one possibility: all the soul beasts within a thousand miles of their path had fled. They had escaped to more inaccessible regions.
As for them all being killed to the last... that was impossible. No matter how brave "Ye Xishui" was, she wouldn't dare, nor could she, do such a thing.
But right now, what Chen Junting was worried about was another matter. His white robes fluttered without any wind, and the Seven Kill Sword in his hand let out a clear, resonant ring, as if calling out to something.
The core circle of the Great Star Dou Forest was supposed to be a forbidden zone interwoven with the coercion of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. The pride of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts made the territories they claimed not only vast but extremely strictly guarded! As long as an intruder was discovered, they would absolutely come out to fight. Chen Junting's sword cry just now was practically a provocation. To a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, a provocateur was even more detestable than an intruder!
Yet, despite this, there wasn't the slightest trace of them.
"How bizarre." When the sword's ringing stopped, Gu Tianchen repeatedly exclaimed in surprise. However, the expression on his face at this moment was exceptionally serious.
Seeing this, however, Chen Junting shook his head. "The situation isn't as bad as you imagine."
What Gu Tianchen was worried about was nothing more than the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest having been slaughtered by "Ye Xishui" to eight or nine out of ten. After all, an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast was like a child standing before an adult in the face of a Limit Douluo. If that were really the case, the number of hundred-thousand-year soul bones "Ye Xishui" would obtain was imaginable!
This would be extremely disadvantageous for them!
But clearly, Chen Junting refuted this conjecture. The few Ferocious Beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest were no pushovers. Although they hadn't reached the Limit Douluo tier, the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear's attack and the Emerald Swan's healing were incredibly troublesome. Cooperating with one another, holding out until Di Tian returned would be more than enough.
However, right at this moment, "Mm?" Gu Tianchen, who was the most sensitive to space, was the first to look in a certain direction, followed by Chen Junting, and finally Huo Yuhao.
Buzz—
Suddenly, a ripple appeared in a nearby space. Silver radiance flickered like starlight as a spatial fissure was sliced open. A heroic, blonde woman walked out of the spatial door.
The newcomer was none other than Di Yao.
However, Di Yao was clad in armor. Mottled bloodstains stained the hem of her skirt, and the bandages wrapped around her left arm were seeping with a golden-red liquid—blood.
"Sister Di Yao?"
"The Imperial Radiant Beast?"
Seeing Di Yao, Huo Yuhao and Gu Tianchen were first startled. They weren't surprised by why Di Yao was here. Rather, they were surprised by how a dignified Radiant Beast could be injured. And moreover, injured inside the Great Star Dou Forest.
Chen Junting, on the other hand, remained silent. He first glanced at Di Yao's wound, and then made eye contact with her. But the moment their eyes met, Di Yao subconsciously blocked the wound. Perhaps realizing afterward that hiding it was meaningless, she generously revealed it again.
"You're here." She spoke with a calm expression. "As you can see, I'm injured."
"Aren't you staying at Shrek Academy?"
Di Yao shook her head slightly. "As the Radiant Beast of the Great Star Dou Forest, a few days ago, my Luck Force and Eye of Destiny warned me. Realizing something was wrong, I hurried back."
Just as she finished speaking, seemingly realizing what Chen Junting and the others would ask next, Di Yao continued, "Many of the Sea God Pavilion's Elders have rushed to the battlefield in the Tian Hun Empire. Those who remain are either to guard the Academy or to protect Elder Xuan, who is in closed-door cultivation. There is no available combat power to send as reinforcements, so I didn't ask."
However, there were some things Di Yao didn't say out loud. Namely, to avoid asking, only to be rejected by Shrek Academy. That would leave a knot in both their hearts. It wouldn't be worth it at all!
After these pleasantries, Di Yao said to Chen Junting, "Di Tian is waiting for you. Follow me." Saying this, she reached out and tapped the spatial fissure that hadn't fully closed yet. The space, which was about to heal, was torn open once more, and the spatial door opened again.
Following Di Yao, Chen Junting and the other two stepped inside one after another.
However, the instant they crossed the spatial door, an aura of life surged out like a tide, mixed with a heavy stench of blood.
After completely stepping out of the spatial door, the scene before them left Chen Junting and the others dumbfounded. The Lake of Life, its waters usually dotted with starlight and as green as jade, now had a large area churning with a murky, dark-red hue. Several soul beast corpses lay haphazardly on the shore. Without exception, they were all at the hundred-thousand-year level.
And the remaining soul beasts were also heavily injured.
Among them, the one with the most horrifying injuries was the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear—Xiong Jun. A scar on his chest was writhing like a living creature, and dark-red blood threads faintly flickered beneath his dark-golden fur.
Hiss—
What a heavy injury!
Huo Yuhao gasped inwardly. Chen Junting and Gu Tianchen's faces were also far from relaxed.
You have to know that this Ferocious Beast was an existence who dared to provoke Di Tian relying on his own ultimate techniques. Based on the attacking power of his Dark Gold Terror Claw alone, he had already reached the Limit Douluo tier, sufficient to tear an ordinary Titled Douluo apart barehanded. Even his slightly inferior defensive power was on par with the Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi.
Yet at this moment, that wound piercing through his chest and abdomen made it seem somewhat difficult for this dignified King of Bears to even stand.
Surveying the area, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji's wings looked slightly damaged. She was the one in the best condition among all the Ferocious Beasts. At this moment, she was using her Healing Light to envelop a six-winged Dark Gold Tiger that was on its last breath.
This hundred-thousand-year giant tiger, which guarded her, had an extremely severe wound on its back. Five dark-red claw marks had pierced through its left wing. Through the continuously shedding flesh and blood at the edges, its heart could be faintly seen in its left chest cavity.
The conditions of the other four great Ferocious Beasts were also not good. Although they looked like they had been healed by Bi Ji, the third head of the Scarlet King had a massive scar on its neck; the Myriad Demon King's branches looked somewhat wilted, and its leaves had turned dull as if they were about to wither; Zi Ji had lost quite a few dragon scales; and as for the last one...
A somewhat sinister-looking man. His right sleeve was empty, his left eye was covered by a blood-stained bandage, and his aura was completely listless. Obviously, this was the last of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—Yao Ling.
Hmph—
Seeing Chen Junting and the other two, the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts and Ferocious Beasts that were familiar with them nodded slightly in greeting. Even Xiong Jun, who was in a bad mood and had the worst attitude toward humans, snorted through his nose, perhaps as a sign of welcome.
At this moment, a pitch-black, ink-like vortex rose from the center of the Lake of Life, pushing away the dark-red blood on the surface.
With a splash, a massive dragon head emerged from the center of the lake.
Amidst a fluctuation of soul power, the giant dragon transformed into a human form.
The black-robed man that was Di Tian walked over, treading on the waves.
"You're here." Di Tian arrived at the shore, looking at Chen Junting and the other two.
And at this moment, Chen Junting asked about what had happened in the Great Star Dou Forest a few days prior.
"What exactly did she do?"
There was no need to hide this matter. Thus, Di Tian informed them of the situation in full.
"A few days ago, when I had left and was still on the battlefield at the Mingdou Mountain Range, 'Ye Xishui' seized this opportunity and attacked the Great Star Dou Forest. Relying solely on the coercion of a Limit Douluo, she caused the deaths of numerous ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, and even thousand-year soul beasts. And after they died, I don't know what method she used, but she completely absorbed the corpses and soul rings of the dead soul beasts into a small pagoda extremely similar to the Death God Soul Tool."
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Chen Junting once more. He now increasingly felt that the soul tools invented by humans were a bane to them soul beasts—a massive bane! If it weren't for the appearance of artificial soul rings and artificial soul bones, he would almost think that soul tools could lead their soul beast race to extinction.
However, Chen Junting paid no mind to Di Tian's gaze.
What he was thinking about right now were the corpses and soul rings of the soul beasts. This would undoubtedly strengthen the Holy Spirit Cult once again. But for the Great Star Dou Forest, it was a nearly devastating blow, especially the deaths of many thousand-year soul beasts.
Chen Junting's thoughts did not interrupt Di Tian's narration.
"'Ye Xishui' was wreaking havoc at will here. As the guardians of the Great Star Dou Forest, the great Ferocious Beasts naturally couldn't just watch her run amok. In my absence, Bi Ji led the Ferocious Beasts and the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in a counterattack against 'Ye Xishui'."
As for the result of the counterattack, Di Tian didn't say. The scene on the shores of the Lake of Life right now explained everything.
"By the time I rushed back, quite a few hundred-thousand-year soul beasts had already fallen, and Xiong Jun and the others were heavily injured. When 'Ye Xishui' saw me return, her first reaction was to flee, but I locked down the space. Originally, this seat wanted to use the Dragon God Claw to kill her completely. Who would have thought that the Death God Pagoda in her hand had truly formidable power, reaching the level of the Evil Emperor's Spatial-Temporal Light."
Naturally, the power of the Evil Emperor's Spatial-Temporal Light went without saying. Back then, even Di Tian had suffered a loss under this single strike, having to rest and recover for a full thousand years, which showed just how powerful this move was. This also demonstrated the sheer terror of "Ye Xishui"'s strike.
Having said this, Di Tian held out his right hand. On his palm, there was a hideous scar. Obviously, this was the injury inflicted by "Ye Xishui".
"In the end, she still escaped."
At this moment, Di Tian's tone was cold enough to pierce the bone. This Beast God was enraged to the absolute limit!
His current thought was not only that "Ye Xishui" deserved to die, but that anyone or any beast involved in interests with her deserved to die as well!
"This seat will utterly annihilate them!"
"Crush their bones and scatter their ashes! Destroy their souls! I want to see if they still have the means to resurrect themselves like last time!"
Chen Junting naturally had no objections to this.
"Give me a little time. Once I break through to level ninety, I will head to the Evil Demon Forest. Not only will I kill the Evil Emperor to use as my ninth soul ring, but I can also go to the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters to make them pay back some interest."
"Acceptable." Di Tian glanced at Chen Junting, suppressing the anger in his heart, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Stay here with this seat for this period of time. Let me personally instruct you on how to condense your second soul core, using the Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Core method."
...
Crash—
On the turbulent sea, the waves churned like raging beasts, surging endlessly.
The Sea God Douluo, Chen Juntao, wearing a deep blue robe, tread upon the wave crests, appearing as sacred as a deity.
The sea wind howled, blowing his robes to flutter fiercely. No matter how the waves rolled, it couldn't affect his steady posture in the slightest.
At this moment, Chen Juntao's face was as heavy as lead. He had just received grim news; two more Titled Douluo experts from the family had fallen. Up to now, a total of four Titled Douluos had perished.
In this vast, boundless ocean, although it had always been the domain of soul beasts, for a long time, no soul beast had dared to openly provoke their Sea God's Family. This was the authority derived from the Sea God.
Chen Juntao muttered in his heart, a thoughtful light shining in his deep eyes. He knew very well the deterrent power of his family's prestige in these waters. Even Ferocious Beast-level sea soul beasts absolutely wouldn't dare to easily provoke the Titled Douluos of their Sea God's Family.
As for whether it was a human soul master who made the move... Chen Juntao quickly rejected this guess.
Given the human nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, they wouldn't provoke others without reason. As a fellow human, Chen Juntao prided himself on understanding human soul masters all too well. Without sufficient driving interest, they wouldn't easily make an enemy of a Titled Douluo, let alone two Titled Douluos with similar fighting styles. Who knew if they had a powerful faction backing them? Furthermore, these two juniors of his family had always kept a low profile; they were not the type to cause trouble.
After thinking it over, Chen Juntao directed his suspicions toward the remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King—that bastard who had already grown into a threat.
"As long as I go to the location where Hai Xiang and Hai Shi died, I can use the power of the Sea God Helmet to find the trace of that remnant."
Chen Juntao made up his mind. Soul power surged beneath his feet, and the speed of his wave-treading abruptly increased. Like a bolt of blue lightning, he cleaved through the layers of waves and sped toward his destination.
"Remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King, I will make you pay in blood!"
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