Chapter 107: First Entry into the Great Star Dou Forest.
The next morning, the seven of them set out to enter the Great Star Dou Forest.
Xiao Fei had a plan for the trip. Once inside, Xiao Fei and Feng Xiaotian led the way, walking at the front. Both of them could fly and were very fast. Huo Wushuang and Niu Meng walked at the back, primarily to prevent stalking or ambush by spirit beasts. Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Yang Pojun walked in the middle.
Each of the spirit masters possessed a head spirit bone, allowing them to detect danger. They were also Soul Douluo-level experts. If they encountered spirit masters in the Great Star Dou Forest, Feng Xiaotian would handle the communication. After all, Feng Xiaotian was older and had long served as the captain of the Kamikaze Squad. He had good communication skills and wouldn't be bullied for being too young.
On the way into the Great Star Dou Forest, various spirit masters approached them, asking if they needed help hunting spirit beasts. Xiao Fei and the other seven ignored them and headed straight into the forest.
As Xiao Fei and the other seven walked toward the Great Star Dou Forest, some spirit masters seemed lost in thought, conversing among themselves. Others exclaimed bluntly, "What kind of rookies are these? How dare a few youngsters enter the Great Star Dou Forest without their parents?" Some even moved, as if plotting something.
After entering the Great Star Dou Forest, Xiao Fei took out the rough map Dean Huo Tianchen had given him. The map roughly divided the area into several zones: a 200-kilometer outer zone, a 1,000-kilometer mixed zone, and a 400-kilometer core zone. The central 100-kilometer zone was designated the "Life Forbidden Zone."
The outer zone generally housed spirit beasts younger than 10,000 years old. The mixed zone contained spirit beasts ranging from 100-, 1,000-, and 10,000-year-old, though few were particularly old. The core zone was primarily populated by spirit beasts older than 30,000 years.
The Life Forbidden Zone was unexplored, and Xiao Fei suspected it might be the Lake of Life. (The original novel doesn't specify the exact size of the Star Dou Great Forest, only the size of the Barak Kingdom. This being a fantasy world, a kingdom is roughly 2,000 kilometers long and wide.)
Xiao Fei and his seven companions' goal this time was to reach the core area, requiring them to travel at least 1,400 kilometers.
Upon entering the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Fei's spiritual power was nearly fully activated, sensing the surrounding soul power activity to prevent attacks from soul beasts. This allowed him to avoid younger soul beasts, minimizing unnecessary battles and soul power loss.
Since Xiao Fei's head soul bone had evolved to 100,000 years, he could sense the intensity and fluctuations of soul power from several kilometers away. The Star Dou Great Forest offered relative safety.
Suddenly, Xiao Fei and his companions seemed to sense someone walking behind them, following a similar route.
Soon, eight individuals approached them. Xiao Fei estimated that the leader was likely two Soul Sages, while the others were six Soul Emperors. It seemed they were targeting Xiao Fei and his companions. Could it be that they had been targeting Xiao Fei and his companions since the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?
The eight people were six men and two women, both of whom were Soul Sages. Their attire was similar, clearly a team.
The leader, approximately 50 years old and a Level 75 Soul Sage, was also a Level 71 Soul Sage. The leader stepped forward and said, "Hello, young men. We are the Black Tiger Mercenaries. Would you like to hire someone to hunt soul beasts? Don't worry, we offer reasonable prices and can absolutely guarantee a satisfactory soul beast hunt for you."
Xiao Fei and Feng Xiaotian exchanged glances and nodded.
Feng Xiaotian stepped forward and said, "I'm really sorry to bother you. We are just hunting some low-end soul beasts and don't need to hire for the time being."
"We know what kind of soul beasts you guys want to hunt. We are quite familiar with the surrounding area and can provide you with guidance."
"We are just looking around on the periphery. We won't bother you anymore."
The leader seemed unwilling to give up: "May I ask which family you are from?"
Feng Xiaotian said proudly: "We are from the Element Academy."
A middle-aged Soul Emperor among the eight people said directly: "Who cares about the Element Academy? Boy, just take out the things on your body."
"Aren't you hiring to hunt soul beasts? How did it turn into robbery? We are not afraid of you at the Element Academy."
The middle-aged Soul Emperor said directly: "Huh, who cares about your Element Academy? This is the Star Dou Great Forest. It is normal for some people to die. Besides, these two girls are pretty good-looking. Why don't you accompany your brother and have fun."
Feng Xiaotian's face was already very grim: "I advise you to leave immediately, otherwise you will bear the consequences."
But the eight mercenaries seemed to have Xiao Fei and his seven companions in their sights, and seemed ready to attack at any time.
"Quick battle, quick decision, leave no one alive!" Xiao Fei uttered these eight words, seemingly without any emotional fluctuations.
Obviously, Xiao Fei did not intend to take action. He wanted to test the six people's actual combat and killing abilities, as well as their coordination.
The six people were instantly possessed by their martial spirits, and all their spirit rings were revealed. The strength of the four Soul Douluos and two Soul Saints was instantly revealed, especially the red spirit rings of Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, which stunned everyone.
Then he directly activated the fourth spirit skill: Absolute Ice Prison, instantly freezing the eight people. The remaining five people activated their spirit skills and quickly attacked the eight people on the opposite side. In just one round, seven of them were killed instantly, and their leader was also seriously injured.
Xiao Fei approached, "Who are you? Why are you targeting us?"
The middle-aged man in the lead trembled. "My name is Liu Shi, from the Black Tiger Sect. We're conducting reconnaissance on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest under the orders of the Sect Master. We're also interested in making a quick buck because we see you're young."
Xiao Fei nodded, and a ball of fire shot out from his fingertips, instantly incinerating Liu Shi to ash.
Niu Meng and Yang Pojun quickly collected the bodies and took their spirit guides.
Xiao Fei nodded, "Let's continue." Several more balls of fire shot out from Xiao Fei's fingertips, reducing everyone to ash.
The seven of them continued on their way. The Star Dou Great Forest was filled with murderous intent and tolerated no mercy.
They set up camp for the night, with several people taking turns keeping watch. Xiao Fei finally relaxed a bit and began to recover his mental strength.
The Star Dou Great Forest was indeed the largest primeval forest on the Douluo Continent, home to a vast variety of spirit beasts. In a single day, one could encounter a variety of different spirit beasts. Some spirit beasts, extremely rare outside, were common here, though their age was too low.
It took Xiao Fei and his seven companions eight days of walking to reach the core area, covering 1,400 kilometers.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of spirit beasts, many of which possessed unusual and dangerous abilities.
For example, many spider-like poisonous spirit beasts possessed highly venomous properties. Others, like leopard-like spirit beasts, moved at breakneck speeds, some even capable of teleportation. Even simple plant-based spirit beasts could attack without warning. Smaller spirit beasts swarmed in vast numbers, overwhelming the area. A small snake suddenly emerged from the ground, potentially a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast.
Furthermore, the Xingdou Great Forest was a primeval forest, with trees reaching hundreds of meters in height and dense undergrowth. The ground was covered with a variety of plants, making it particularly easy for small spirits to hide. There was no telling whether a nearby plant was actually a high-level spirit beast, and many plant-based spirit beasts were adept at hiding, often undetectable.
Once inside the core area, the seven became even more cautious. The spirit beasts in the core area were generally over thirty thousand years old, making them far more dangerous and unpredictable than those in the outer regions.
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