Liang Yao approached Tang San and said in a low voice, "Third Young Master, the only Spirit Beast Territory nearby is the Five Wood Basin." Originally, it was just a low-level territory without any 10,000-year Spirit Beasts. But now, with Spirit Beasts invading villages, I suspect something unusual must have happened in the Five Wood Basin."
Hearing this, Tang San frowned slightly. "If what Liang Yao says is true, then the Five Wood Basin might have upgraded to an intermediate-level Spirit Beast region. There's likely already a Spirit Beast Tribe established there."
The Star Dou Great Forest and Sunset Forest were merely the two most famous Spirit Beast forests in the Heaven Dou Empire, known for their abundant Spirit Beast species and formidable power. However, these weren't the only Spirit Beast Territories within the empire—just that other regions were relatively barren and thus less renowned. Still, many solo Soul Masters favored these places for opportunistic gains.
Low-level Spirit Beast regions like the Five Wood Basin only had Spirit Beast Nests controlled by thousand-year Spirit Beasts. At that level, Spirit Beasts already possessed considerable intelligence and would establish their own nest territories.
Hadn't Tang San's Second Soul Ring come from the Mountain Moving Goblin, which had just reached the thousand-year level and was building its own nest territory before he wiped it out completely?
According to the Spirit Hall's classification, a gathering of fifty or more Spirit Beasts led by at least one thousand-year Spirit Beast could be called a Spirit Beast Nest. If a territory contained ten such nests and was led by at least one 10,000-year Spirit Beast, it would be classified as a Spirit Beast Tribe.
As for places like the Star Dou Great Forest, where 100,000-Year Spirit Beasts existed, they were powerful enough to be called Spirit Beast Empires. After all, the title "Emperor" in Blue Silver Emperor literally meant the ruler of the Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San wasn't being overly modest here. Even fighting against a newly advanced 10,000-year Spirit Beast would be extremely perilous for him. Despite having successfully hunted a five-thousand-year Spirit Beast alone and being a level-37 Soul Elder, a 10,000-year Spirit Beast was on an entirely different level.
If he encountered an entire Spirit Beast Tribe on their home turf, his only option would be to flee—there'd be no chance of winning.
After some thought, Tang San said, "Let's first check the situation at the kingdom's border checkpoint near the Five Wood Basin. Something about this feels off to me."
They had already come this far. If they didn't even dare to investigate out of fear of Spirit Beasts, it would be utterly shameful for the young master of the Clear Sky Sect.
The others nodded in agreement. If the Five Wood Basin had indeed undergone some abnormal changes, then the Clear Sky Sect's herb garden there might be in danger. They'd need to report the situation accordingly.
The group of six proceeded toward the kingdom's border without further encounters with Spirit Beasts. Since the others weren't new to the Five Wood Basin either, they made swift progress.
After traveling for half a day, the remote kingdom border finally came into view.
"Third Young Master, the border checkpoint is just ahead."
It was a mountain ridge. Climbing to its peak, they immediately saw a vast plain basin stretching endlessly westward—the Five Wood Basin. The checkpoint was strategically positioned at this height to provide a commanding view of the entire basin.
"How did it end up like this? It was completely normal when I came here half a year ago." Liang Yao led Tang San to an outpost, shocked by its devastated state as he spoke.
Tang San surveyed the surroundings and said, "If Spirit Beasts have invaded the villages, this outpost must have been breached long ago. The houses and roads are completely destroyed. Without people living here, plants would grow extremely fast—vines, moss, and grass would cover everything. Judging by the damage, it must have been abandoned for at least a month or two."
Everyone present had already guessed that the kingdom's outpost had been destroyed by Spirit Beasts and was mentally prepared.
Tang San bent down, picked up a broken spear from the ground, and examined the fractured end. "What puzzles me is that despite the outpost being destroyed for so long, the kingdom hasn't released any news about it. Forget about clearing out the Spirit Beasts—they haven't even sent Soul Masters or soldiers to evacuate the villagers. That doesn't make sense."
"Even if a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast and a Spirit Beast Tribe have emerged in the Five Wood Basin, they would at most be newly formed. That ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast would barely have ten thousand years of cultivation. Even if it organized a Spirit Beast Tribe, it shouldn't be too strong. A Soul King with a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring leading a hundred Soul Masters and tens of thousands of soldiers should be more than enough. Surely the kingdom has at least one Soul King, right?"
Generally, the strength of an ordinary Soul Master compared to a Spirit Beast could be judged by their Soul Rings. For example, a Soul Elder at the thirtieth rank could absorb a Soul Ring just over a thousand years old. A Soul Elder with a thousand-year Soul Ring could defeat a thousand-year Spirit Beast in a one-on-one fight.
This was also why the theory of Soul Ring absorption limits existed—because a Soul Master's strength corresponded to that limit. Aside from freaks like Tang San, ordinary people couldn't even reach the general limit, let alone surpass it.
Defeating a thousand-year Spirit Beast without absorbing a third Soul Ring? That was practically monstrous. A Soul Master absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring before defeating a thousand-year Spirit Beast was the norm.
Thus, a Soul King who had absorbed a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring was already strong enough to defeat a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast.
Liang Yao seemed to have discovered something and hurried over. "Third Young Master, over here—I found some strange footprints."
"Let's take a look."
Liang Yao pushed aside the withered branches, revealing footprints on the ground. These footprints somewhat resembled human ones—bipedal—but differed in that the claw marks were sharp, and humans wore shoes.
"What kind of Spirit Beast leaves footprints like this? Doesn't seem like an insectoid. A bipedal beast?" Tang San genuinely couldn't identify the creature.
Liang Yao picked up a tuft of fur from the ground. "Third Young Master, I'm certain—these are Wolf Raider footprints."
"Wolf Raiders?" Tang San looked puzzled. He couldn't possibly know everything.
Liang Yao explained, "Wolf Raiders can be considered human, but also not. They are hybrids between humans and a type of Spirit Beast called Gale Demon Wolves. Gale Demon Wolves are notoriously lustful and can mate with almost any creature of similar size. They particularly enjoy violating human women. When they mate with human females, they produce Wolf Raiders—a special species that's half-wolf, half-human Spirit Beasts."
"Wolf Raiders are naturally endowed with the physique, speed, and some innate abilities of Gale Demon Wolves, while also possessing a certain level of human intelligence. They are extremely bloodthirsty and lustful."
"And Wolf Raiders always move in packs."
Upon hearing Liang Yao's words, Tang San asked, "Are you suggesting that a powerful group of Wolf Raiders has occupied the Five Wood Basin, established a Wolf Raider tribe to rule the area, and attacked the kingdom's outpost to seize women, committing numerous atrocities?"
Liang Yao wore an approving smile and chuckled, "Young Master Tang, as expected of the son of the Clear Sky Douluo. Your wisdom is truly admirable, and this humble one is in awe."
Tang San had grown accustomed to such flattery and usually brushed it off, but this time he found himself unconvinced.
If it really were the work of Wolf Raiders, the village should have been raided by a pack of them, not by a thousand-year Three-Eyed Magic Earthworm leading its entire nest.
"Something just doesn't add up..."