The constant rustling sound in his ears didn't resemble the swaying of leaves but rather sounded like something whispering softly.
Just as Lin Xiao was about to step closer to investigate, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled violently. The earth cracked, and dark red roots shot up from the ground like spears, thrusting toward the group.
Most plants rely on sunlight and rain for sustenance, but when a plant gains soul power and becomes a soul beast, sunlight alone is no longer enough. Like other animals, it begins to hunt for prey.
Earlier, it must have sensed Nightmare Douluo's cultivation and suppressed its own soul power fluctuations to appear like an ordinary plant.
Now that its identity had been exposed, it no longer concealed itself and launched an attack.
The roots surging from the ground were dangerously close, their dark red soil-stained tips a testament to the number of soul beasts that had fallen to its attacks.
With a light tap of his foot, Lin Xiao's figure drifted backward.
Seeing its strike miss, the root shifted from thrusting to whipping, lashing downward like a whip.
The glow of a soul thruster lit up behind Lin Xiao, and his figure slid several meters through the air, dodging the attack once more.
His consecutive evasions seemed effortless, but the soul beast hunters weren't faring as well.
With a single strike from the plant soul beast, half the grass on the ground vanished, and dark brown soil splattered everywhere, hitting the hunters and eliciting cries of pain.
Lin Xiao, however, had little time to pay attention to their frantic escape.
Amid the flurry of roots, he sensed a familiar fluctuation—a series of barely perceptible auras converging toward their location.
Even though everyone present was a soul master, they felt a chill down their spines—not from a change in temperature, but from the sudden sensation of countless gazes locking onto them from the shadows.
"Senior, save us!" The hunters, no longer caring whether Nightmare Douluo was an evil soul master, desperately ran toward him.
Nightmare Douluo, who hadn't paid the soul beast any mind from the start, now looked at Lin Xiao with interest upon noticing the surrounding changes.
"Well, can you tell what kind of soul beast this is?" he asked.
As Nightmare Douluo's voice rang out again, Lin Xiao's gaze fell elsewhere, where a strange figure slowly emerged.
It resembled a giant deer, but its body was unnaturally disproportionate. Its facial features were a chaotic mess, and it had a pair of wings on its back, as if parts of different soul beasts had been haphazardly stitched together.
Others might not have recognized the origin of this "soul beast," but Lin Xiao knew it was merely a soul.
The only difference was that, unlike the fragmented souls he usually encountered, this one felt remarkably complete, though it didn't seem like a real, living soul beast.
He suddenly realized and turned back to the plant soul beast. "Teacher, is this a Soul-Calling Tree?"
"Correct," Nightmare Douluo nodded. "According to our Holy Spirit Cult's records, this tree is a rare treasure. Not only can it summon residual souls for our use, but its materials can also be crafted into vessels for containing souls."
"Similar to your martial soul, while it has strong vitality, it is also deeply tied to death. If it becomes your soul ring, it should greatly benefit you."
Nightmare Douluo and Lin Xiao's conversation wasn't hidden from the soul beast hunters, and their faces grew increasingly grim.
Talk of "Holy Spirit Cult," "residual souls," and "tied to death"—what kind of person would call such a tree a treasure? Earlier, they had only suspected Nightmare Douluo's methods, but now they were certain: these two were undoubtedly evil soul masters.
While the group was lost in their thoughts, the Soul-Calling Tree wasn't idle. The makeshift soul beast it had conjured let out a low growl and lunged at them.
Nightmare Douluo glanced up slightly, waving his hand. A shadow darted out, solidifying in an instant and colliding with the soul beast.
The next moment, the soul beast's soul exploded, countless residual souls scattering in all directions before being drawn back to nestle within the tree's trunk as it swayed slightly.
Seeing its attack effortlessly neutralized, the flurry of branches and roots slowed slightly.
The rustling sound ceased, replaced by sharp wails. Strange auras rose from the ground as countless residual souls of the dead, awakened by the Soul-Calling Tree's power, converged toward them.
In the blink of an eye, another soul beast appeared. Compared to the previous one, this one was even larger, with a canine-like body sprouting three heads, each with its mouth gaping, saliva dripping onto the ground, carrying a stench that seemed almost palpable.
This appearance…
Lin Xiao pondered, while Nightmare Douluo raised an eyebrow slightly. "I've heard there's a ferocious beast in the Star Dou Great Forest with this exact appearance. It seems it knows it's no match and is trying to scare us off with this form."
As Nightmare Douluo said, the figure didn't immediately attack but stood at a distance, staring at them.
"These soul beasts are quite interesting. They always have tricks to survive, and now they're even resorting to such deceptive tactics," Nightmare Douluo chuckled. "Fine, let's leave it be for now. We'll come back when your cultivation reaches a bottleneck."
With that, Nightmare Douluo refrained from acting further, leading the group deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Lin Xiao took a few steps, and just before his figure vanished into the forest, he glanced back at the figure conjured by the Soul-Calling Tree. These survival tactics were indeed intriguing.
He didn't know what criteria Nightmare Douluo used to select soul beasts, but despite the abundance of soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, they hadn't captured many that day. As the sky darkened, they returned to the vicinity of the Outer Area.
The soul beast hunters captured by Nightmare Douluo huddled together, seemingly relying on each other's body heat for warmth.
With Nightmare Douluo present, Lin Xiao didn't pay much attention to what they were doing. Given Nightmare Douluo's temperament, any slight misstep on their part would likely cost them their lives.
But Lin Xiao wasn't idle either. He immersed himself fully in meditation, his consciousness sinking into his spiritual sea.
Since breaking Nightmare Douluo's restriction, his control over his spiritual power had grown increasingly refined, and he had become accustomed to projecting his consciousness into his spiritual sea.
With a shift of his mind, his soul power trembled, and a strangely familiar sensation washed over him. The chaotic voices of residual souls echoed in his ears once more.