Ma Hongjun's target this time was a soul beast with a skill that granted him invincibility, primarily hoping to obtain a soul skill that could remove control effects.
Entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Devil and Ma Hongjun moved quickly. They were already familiar with the environment of the first three mountains and knew there were no suitable soul beasts there.
Now they headed directly to the fourth mountain.
The bamboo forest remained the same, but this time Ma Hongjun and his companion didn't go through it, instead detouring in another direction. After all, the bamboo forest was too large; there was no need to go in and cause trouble, and there were no soul beasts they needed inside.
The difference between a thousand-year-old soul beast and a hundred-year-old soul beast was significant. Even between nine hundred and one thousand years, although the difference in years wasn't large, there was a qualitative difference, like the difference between a human Great Soul Master and a Soul Venerable.
Devil set a target age of 1500 years for Ma Hongjun.
But Ma Hongjun wasn't worried about the age limit, because even if he couldn't withstand or absorb it, the dragon soul within the Dragon Soul Spear would help him absorb it.
Therefore, Ma Hongjun was more concerned about the spirit beast itself, whether it could provide him with the spirit skill he wanted.
Entering the area of the fifth mountain, the spirit beasts here were mostly over five hundred years old, with quite a few being thousand-year-old.
After wandering around for a short while without encountering a suitable spirit beast, it was already evening, time to choose a campsite.
It seemed today was going to be unlucky.
Just then, a giant tree ahead was knocked down. A huge black shadow darted out from behind the tree.
"Explosive Bear! It's Explosive Bear!"
Ma Hongjun exclaimed excitedly, as if he had found a great treasure.
"Teacher Chu, this is it! For the past three years, I've researched and studied many spirit beast materials, trying to obtain a spirit skill that could remove control. Explosive Bear was my top choice."
Ma Hongjun was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to encounter Explosive Bear in the Soul Hunting Forest. Explosive Bears were generally found in very large primeval forests. According to the books, they could only be found in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"It seems like fate!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes shone as he looked at the Explosive Bear before him.
"Kid, don't get excited. Take a good look at this Explosive Bear. I don't think you can get its spirit ring yet, but we might be in trouble right now,"
the devil said gravely.
Ma Hongjun was taken aback by his serious words and carefully examined the Explosive Bear in the distance.
From its purple pupils, it was clear that this was a thousand-year-old spirit beast.
And looking at its mountain-like body, its weight...
"Hiss!"
"Over two thousand years old..."
Ma Hongjun completely calmed down. An Explosive Bear, a thousand-year-old Explosive Bear, and a two-thousand-year-old one at that.
"This is tricky!"
"Troublesome, brat? You think it's just that simple?
Have you even bothered to look at the Explosive Bear's data? Aside from its speed, its defense, strength, and the penetrating power of its claws are all top-tier among offensive soul beasts.
Add to that its 'explosive' characteristic—it's impossible to control. Once it goes berserk, its attack power and defense multiply, and even its speed increases dramatically.
If it were a thousand-year-old, I could barely handle it, but this two-thousand-year-old one is uncontrollable. In a head-on fight, I'm definitely no match for it, and my wolf claws might not even be able to break through its defenses."
The devil finished its rational analysis and looked at Ma Hongjun with regret.
"Let's retreat, kid, before we anger it."
The Explosive Bear quickly noticed the two of them, looking at the two humans with somewhat bewildered eyes.
Ma Hongjun's eyes met its two large bear eyes, his drooling expression undisguised. This was the soul beast he had always dreamed of.
Reason ultimately triumphed over desire, and Ma Hongjun slowly retreated with the devil.
The two retreated, trying to create some distance between themselves and the giant bear.
But…
"Roar~ Awooo…"
A deep roar echoed behind them, and the giant bear in front suddenly sprang into action.
The two quickly turned around and saw another giant bear behind them.
"Damn it!"
"We're doomed!"
The giant bear behind them had yellow eyes and was slightly smaller. It was unclear whether it was the cub of the first bear or its little lover; in any case, the two were definitely together. The smaller
one was clearly more temperamental. It was closer to Ma Hongjun and his companion, and the two had been more focused on the giant bear in front, so they hadn't noticed the smaller giant bear behind them.
At this moment, the little giant bear had already hopped over, looking somewhat cute, but its outstretched claws immediately refreshed your visual experience.
"Run!"
The Demon had already possessed his martial soul, and four soul rings—yellow and purple—appeared.
His wolf claws blocked the bear's claws, and his wolf head slammed into the little giant bear's chest. The little giant bear was clearly no match for the Blood Wolf's strength and was knocked to the ground.
Ma Hongjun's Dragon Soul Spear instantly appeared in his hand. With a leap, the Dragon Soul Spear slashed down from the air, its tip like a large sword, carrying a powerful aura.
The spear tip struck the bear's head directly, but the little bear was emitting a burst of yellow light, preventing the Dragon Soul Spear from cleaving its skull.
However, it did cause a large bump to instantly rise on its head, and its eyes began to dart around, seeing stars.
"It's kind of cute again!"
Ma Hongjun couldn't help but remark. The clumsy bear, despite its immense strength, couldn't escape its憨厚 (honest and simple) appearance due to its bulky size.
"Don't stand there, run!"
The demon grabbed Ma Hongjun's hand and ran. The large bear behind, seeing the little bear attacked, had clearly gone berserk, its body radiating purple light, its speed increasing rapidly, and it let out a deafening roar.
It rushed over, first stroking the bump on the little bear's head, then shoving it to its feet.
Then, its eyes glared angrily at Ma Hongjun and the other bear running ahead, roaring again.
It slapped the little bear and chased after them.
The little bear hesitated for a second, then quickly followed.
The Explosive Bear was incredibly fast; after all, it was a two-thousand-year-old soul beast. Even if it was at a disadvantage in speed, it was still relative to other soul beasts of the same level.
The demon possessed by the Blood Wolf was also very fast, and Ma Hongjun couldn't keep up at all. So the demon pulled Ma Hongjun along, and the two maintained the same speed .
This resulted in neither being able to shake off the Explosive Bear nor being able for the bear to catch up.
The Explosive Bear was clearly enraged and relentlessly pursued them. Night had fallen, and the two were lost in the forest.
Running around aimlessly without knowing their direction was extremely dangerous. With a beast chasing them, if they accidentally stumbled into the lair of a powerful soul beast, they would be in deep trouble, and the possibility of that seemed extremely high at the moment.
They couldn't shake off the Explosive Bear, and the long night was unbearable!
Tonight was dangerous!
"Let me go, go, demon!"
This was the first time Ma Hongjun had called him "demon" in front of Chu Tianye.
The situation was clear: if they abandoned Ma Hongjun, the demon's speed alone would be enough to shake off the Explosive Bear, and he could definitely escape. But if they took Ma Hongjun with them, they would never be able to get rid of the Explosive Bear.
In this long, dark night, danger lurked everywhere. If they encountered other thousand-year-old soul beasts, there would be no chance of survival. While they still had a chance to choose, it wasn't too late to let go.
"You brat, what are you thinking? You want me to abandon you? No way!"
The devil's voice was still domineering and unquestionable, yet it warmed Ma Hongjun's heart.
"If this continues, we'll both die. Devil, let go!"
"Impossible, brat, if anyone's going to die, it'll be me first."
"Think of Teacher Qianling, Devil. There are people waiting for you to take care of them."
Ma Hongjun finished speaking and forcefully shook off the devil's hand. He couldn't be so selfish, dragging others down with him when he was doomed to die.
"Thank you. I'm honored to have you as my teacher."
"If possible, please take care of my parents for me. Tell them I'll repay their kindness in my next life."
Ma Hongjun finished quickly and ran in another direction.
The devil, Chu Tianye, stood frozen in place. When Ma Hongjun shook off his hand, he mentioned Qianling, which completely softened his heart.
Before setting off today, Qianling told him she was pregnant.
Two lines of tears streamed down his face. Countless impulses urged him to catch up with Ma Hongjun and protect his proudest student; but his legs felt heavy, unable to move, as if two mountains were pressing down on his shoulders, preventing him from running.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as Ma Hongjun ran away.
The Great Explosive Bear, ignoring the stopped Blood Wolf Demon, chased after Ma Hongjun.
It knew this Blood Wolf was difficult to deal with and catch, and it clearly saw the large bump on the little explosive bear's head—it was Ma Hongjun who had given it to him.
Ma Hongjun recalled the famous saying from the academy:
"More people die at the hands of soul beasts than soul beasts die at the hands of soul masters."
Perhaps it was because he was about to die at the hands of a soul beast that this statement seemed so true.
Wasn't it agreed that he would meet Flander in three years?
I'm about to die.
"Flander, you old geezer, where are you? Come save me!"
Ma Hongjun cursed inwardly, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. So he roared out loud, trying to vent his last bit of resentment.
"Flander, come save me!"
"Flander, where the hell are you? Come save me!"
"I'm about to die!"
...
Suddenly, the evil fire within Ma Hongjun erupted, engulfing him in crimson flames, instantly making him the center of attention in the dark forest.
Like a lighthouse at night, Ma Hongjun became the lighthouse of the forest.
"When it rains, it pours."
However, what Ma Hongjun didn't know was that while the light of the evil fire brought him more danger, it also brought him hope for survival.
A sharp eagle's cry pierced the air, remarkably clear in the silent night.