However, she was currently following a life-force path, mainly relying on incredible growth and regeneration to control and defeat opponents, with poison being merely incidental.
While the seven absolutes of jade scale flower was strong, it seemed to specialize only in poison, which didn't quite fit her current path. In the past, she would have been ecstatic. But now... she would have to see.
"Alright, thank you for the reminder." Tang Ya bowed slightly. "I owe you quite a few favors again."
Furina waved her hand dismissively: "It's fine, we're on the same side. I'm looking forward to you Cultivating into a god in the future."
Tang Ya chuckled: "Becoming a god? You think too highly of me. Bei Bei becoming a god is much more plausible—but I won't give up on myself either. I'll work hard to prove the path I've chosen to that ancestor!"
"Mhm, keep it up!"
...
On the other side.
Huo Yuhao's group had already reached the central region of the Mingdou Mountain Range. The Outer Court teacher, Wang Yan, had discovered something.
"Everyone, come over for a moment." Wang Yan beckoned, signaling for everyone to gather.
Huo Yuhao and the other Outer Court students immediately moved. However, Ma Xiaotao and the other six from the Inner Court seemed somewhat impatient.
In terms of cultivation, Wang Yan was only a Spirit King, similar to them, and he was an Outer Court teacher. Furthermore, he was in the lowest tier of cultivation in the Outer Court, not specializing in combat but purely in academic research.
Inner Court students had always only recognized strength; they didn't have much respect for teachers whose cultivation wasn't higher than theirs. Nevertheless, a teacher was still a teacher, and they had to give him some Face.
Wang Yan noticed this but didn't mind. As a teacher, he had to be responsible for these students.
"I've just scouted the surroundings, and combined with my observations along the way, I've made several findings."
"warms have appeared nearby. The warm is a rare species; its core can be used in medicine, and its trunk is as hard as iron, making it most suitable for furniture. It has very high requirements for its growth environment and can only survive in areas with extremely rich vegetation. I read in an ancient text that warms only appear at least fifty miles deep into a dense forest. Additionally, it prefers shade and cold; its core provides excellent assistance for Spirit Masters Cultivating yin-cold type Martial Souls."
Ma Xiaotao frowned: "Teacher Wang, what do you mean by telling us this?"
Wang Yan said, "My point is that the appearance of warms indicates we have entered the core zone of the Mingdou Mountain Range, or at least its edge. According to intelligence, the leader of the 'Hand of the Death God' bandit group might be an Evil Soul Master. Just now, I found this."
He took a section of a tree trunk from his storage spirit tool. The trunk had been clawed apart by something, leaving a cylindrical hollow inside.
"This is a warm. The tree core is deep blue, but it's gone now, dug out by someone. Combining this with our target, we can boldly assume this was done by the bandit leader or his subordinates to provide for the leader's consumption. If this is true, there is a high probability that the enemy we Face is an Evil Soul Master. At the same time, it means we shouldn't be far from the enemy."
Ma Xiaotao said, "I agree with the first point, but on what basis do you say we're not far from the enemy? Don't warms grow elsewhere?"
Wang Yan's analysis was perfectly logical, and Ma Xiaotao unconsciously began using the honorifics due to a teacher.
Wang Yan smiled confidently: "I said earlier that the warm is a rare species. Being rare, it's naturally seldom seen. I was speaking about its growth environment, but the places where warms actually grow are very few. The number of warms in this area is quite considerable; it's the largest Mist-Haze forest I've ever seen."
"For a Spirit Master Cultivating a yin-cold Martial Soul, its core not only has auxiliary effects but also enhances the internal organs' tolerance to yin-cold Soul Power. It is an indispensable good thing, a true Heaven And Earth Treasure. If it were you, would you abandon such a good thing? Therefore, I can almost certainly conclude that since the bandits discovered and harvested Mist-Haze cores here, their lair must not be far away."
"We're in luck; we found our target without taking any detours. Otherwise, with the mountain range being so large, if we didn't find anything by tomorrow, we would have had to resort to aerial reconnaissance to lure the snake out of its hole."
These words made everyone look at him in a new light. Out of all fourteen students, he only taught Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. They only knew that Wang Yan had deep attainments and vast knowledge in Martial Soul research; they hadn't expected his field experience to be so rich as well.
Ma Xiaotao instinctively asked, "Teacher Wang, so what do we do now? Wait for them to come to us?"
Wang Yan shook his head: "No, we take the initiative. People walking in a forest will always leave traces. Although it's dark, I can't find these traces with my own strength, but with Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, it won't be hard to find them. Yuhao, follow me and conduct the search according to my orders."
"Okay."
...
Soon, the group locked onto the general location of the target and began to change their gear.
Huo Yuhao took out all the Nut Cakes Furina had left behind. Although they had been kept for a while and the effects might be slightly diminished, they wouldn't be too far off, and the intended protective effect would still be there.
Currently, the only teacher accompanying the team was Wang Yan, who was at the Spirit King level. Although Elder Xuan was following in secret, Huo Yuhao sensed that Elder Xuan was quite far away; if an accident truly occurred, it would be difficult for him to provide timely rescue. And the enemy they were to Face might be an Evil Soul Master at the Spirit King level.
Although their side had the overall advantage in strength, if there truly were the kind of corpse or Soul manipulation abilities Furina mentioned, and if he didn't use the Necromancy taught by Elder Yi, combined with a lack of immediate reaction, things could indeed go wrong.
Huo Yuhao distributed the cakes to everyone, including Dai Yueheng and Wang Yan.
As for Dai Yueheng...
Regardless of what he had said, his initial attitude, or his identity, Huo Yuhao didn't particularly like him, but since they were companions now, he wouldn't dwell on those things.
Although Teacher Wang Yan was not a combatant, he was still a teacher after all, and they couldn't let anything happen to him.
Ma Xiaotao looked at the cake in her hand, somewhat confused: "This is a cake?"
"Yes, Sister Furina's Fifth Soul Skill—Nut Cake. Eating it increases DEF and provides a barrier for about three minutes that can withstand many attacks," Huo Yuhao explained. "We're about to deal with an Evil Soul Master, so it's safer to be better prepared."
Ma Xiaotao was somewhat dismissive: "It's fine, the opponent is just a single Spirit King. We have two Spirit Emperors on our side, plus the inner armor provided by the Inspection Team—the sets you're wearing now—which have decent DEF. It's not a big deal."
Dai Yueheng also nodded: "Don't worry, with us here, there won't be any problems."
Huo Yuhao could only say, "I'm just being cautious. I've given them to you; eat them if you want, or just hold onto them. They might come in handy."
Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, and the other three had witnessed the power of Furina's Fifth Soul Skill, so they ate them as soon as Huo Yuhao handed them out. Wang Yan had always been curious about how strong this Spirit Ability actually was, so he also decisively ate it.
The Inner Court seniors were still hesitating, but Ma Xiaotao unexpectedly was the first to eat it. Seeing this, the others followed suit. Only after eating did they realize that the effect of this Spirit Ability was indeed quite good.
Ma Xiaotao felt the changes within her body and raised an eyebrow: "The effect is good, though the barrier only seems to last for two minutes."
She flexed her wrists. "Then let's make it quick and wipe those guys out in one fell swoop."
Everyone nodded.
Wang Yan added, "Let's still carefully sneak over first, find the right position, and catch them by surprise."
"Right!"
As the night deepened, fifteen figures moved silently forward through the dense forest of the Mingdou Mountain Range.
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