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One day after obtaining the permit, the group of three finally arrived at the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest.
After presenting the permit to the soldier captain responsible for checking them, the three easily entered the Soul Hunting Forest.
Passing through the steel fence and entering the forest, everything around them became quiet. Although it was a refreshing feeling, it made Shi Jian and Li Meili feel a surge of tension.
"Shi Quan, is this the Soul Hunting Forest?" Li Meili nervously looked around.
"Dad, Mom, you don't need to be nervous. With me here, there won't be any danger." Shi Quan reassured the two. Aside from what he had explained on the way, they had almost no knowledge of Martial Spirit theory, so it was inevitable they would feel fear when facing fierce Spirit Beasts.
"With my current strength, I can easily handle even a Millennium Spirit Beast. Most of the Spirit Beasts in this Elementary Soul Hunting Forest are Ten-Year or Hundred-Year Rank, and Millennium Spirit Beasts are usually deeper in the forest. You can rest assured. Let's go, and I'll explain some basic Spirit Beast knowledge as we walk."
Shi Quan walked ahead, leading the two deeper into the forest.
Along the way, whenever they encountered a Spirit Beast, Shi Quan would stop and give them a simple explanation.
Only then did Shi Jian and Li Meili gain a simple concept and understanding of Spirit Beasts.
Both the Eight Meridians Unblocked and the effects of the Marrow Cleansing Pill significantly improved their physical constitution. With Shi Jian and Li Meili's current physical constitution, both could absorb a spirit ring of around six hundred years. Shi Quan naturally wanted to choose a spirit ring for them that was closest to their limit.
Soon, a day passed.
Along the way, they encountered a few Spirit Beasts suitable for their Martial Spirits, but their age was far from ideal.
Of course, there were also some Spirit Beasts that didn't know their place and attacked them. Shi Quan also showed his parents his strength. Hundred-Year Rank Spirit Beasts had no chance to resist against Shi Quan's Blue Silver King and were directly entangled into a ball by him.
Shi Quan was not in a hurry. While educating his parents about Spirit Master knowledge, he was also teaching them martial arts suitable for them.
They continued to go deeper.
After two more days, Shi Quan finally found a suitable Spirit Beast for Li Meili's Blue Silver Grass.
It was a six-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Vine. This Soul-Devouring Vine would scatter its seeds on enemies, grow by devouring their spirit power, and then trap them to death.
Shi Quan had considered hunting a Soul-Devouring Vine for his third spirit ring, but he hadn't encountered one. He didn't expect his mother to encounter one now, and its age was also suitable.
He decisively took it.
With Shi Quan's help, Li Meili quickly stabbed her sword into the Soul-Devouring Vine's root, and a yellow spirit ring rose.
Li Meili quickly began absorbing her first spirit ring.
Shi Jian watched with heartache as Li Meili's body convulsed due to the energy impact.
"Dad, this is something Spirit Masters must endure and experience." Shi Quan gently patted Shi Jian's shoulder.
"I understand." Shi Jian nodded seriously.
A night passed.
Li Meili's first spirit ring was finally successfully absorbed, and her spirit power directly surged to Rank sixteen.
"Congratulations, Mom, on officially becoming a One-Ring Spirit Master." Shi Quan said with a smile.
"Isn't this all thanks to our Shi Quan?" Li Meili smiled and summoned her Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit.
The crystal-clear Blue Silver Grass now had a faint hint of red, which was due to the Soul-Devouring Vine.
After consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, Li Meili's Blue Silver Grass also evolved to a certain extent. Although it didn't directly evolve to the level of a Blue Silver King, it was no longer comparable to ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
Shi Jian's Martial Spirit was in the same situation.
With Li Meili's successful absorption, half of their objective for this trip was accomplished. Next was to help Shi Jian find a suitable earth-attribute Spirit Beast.
The three set off again, and another day passed like this.
"Earth-attribute Spirit Beasts are mostly land Spirit Beasts. While flying and plant-type Spirit Beasts with earth attributes do exist, they are very rare and generally don't appear in Elementary Soul Hunting Forests like this. Earth-attribute Spirit Beasts generally have stronger defenses than Spirit Beasts of the same Rank…"
Shi Quan continued to explain Spirit Beast knowledge to the two. Suddenly, his voice paused, and he turned to look at their front left.
"Dad, Mom, get behind me."
Shi Jian and Li Meili didn't hesitate and immediately moved behind Shi Quan. They had encountered Spirit Beast attacks these past few days, and typically, this situation meant a Spirit Beast was approaching them.
Thump, thump, thump. The dull footsteps, even Shi Jian and Li Meili could clearly feel the weight of this unknown Spirit Beast.
His Spirit Sense spread out, and Shi Quan's eyes lit up. It was an earth-yellow crocodile turtle over one and a half meters tall, a Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle. Not only was its strength powerful and its defense astonishing, but it was also an earth-attribute Spirit Beast. And from its age, this crocodile turtle was exactly close to six hundred years, perfectly suitable for Shi Jian.
"Dad, your Spirit Beast has delivered itself to your doorstep." Shi Quan said with a smile, but as he was about to step forward, his brows furrowed.
Because from his Spirit Sense detection, there were five people following behind the Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle.
This Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle must have been chased here by that group of people.
Seeing Shi Quan pause, Shi Jian couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Shi Quan?"
Shi Quan explained, "There are other people following this Spirit Beast. It looks like this Spirit Beast was chased here by that group."
Shi Jian said, "Since this Spirit Beast was discovered by others first, then let's forget about it. We'll keep looking."
"What a pity." Shi Quan shook his head. It wasn't easy to find a suitable Spirit Beast. If they missed this one, they might have to spend several more days.
"Then let's go around." Shi Quan also didn't want to easily expose his Blue Silver King spirit ring to outsiders. If someone saw it, it would be easy for them to suspect their identities.
The three then walked back in their original direction, but Shi Quan's Spirit Sense kept observing the Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle. What puzzled Shi Quan was that the five people didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill the Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle.
Shi Quan didn't think much of it and continued to search for other suitable earth-attribute Spirit Beasts with his parents.
Indeed, ever since they missed that Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle, the three had not encountered any earth-attribute Spirit Beasts of suitable age in the next two days.
Shi Quan planned to search with his parents for three more days. If they still couldn't find one, he would have to take them to other Soul Hunting Forests or the Star Dou Great Forest to search.
Fortunately, Shi Jian's mindset was still very good; he was not in a hurry.
Another day passed. Just when they thought it would be another fruitless day, night fell. As they were about to find a place to rest, Shi Quan unexpectedly discovered the Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle again. Both its appearance and aura were exactly the same as the one they encountered three days ago, but it had some minor injuries on its body.
"Did that group fail their hunt? Or is there another reason?"
Shi Quan raised an eyebrow, and his Spirit Sense spread out. After not finding anyone around, to avoid further trouble, Shi Quan quickly dealt with the Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle with his parents.
Shi Jian then began to absorb the spirit ring.
The night passed without a word.
Shi Quan's Spirit Sense would scan the surroundings every so often. He always felt that things were not that simple.
Indeed, it became clear the next day.
A rustling sound came from a distance. Shi Quan's Spirit Sense immediately locked on. He actually found the five people again. No, it should be seven people. Two were hidden in the dark, and he almost didn't notice them.
Shi Quan's eyes narrowed, and he guessed something.
"Mom, watch Dad. Someone's coming. I'll go handle it."
On the other side.
"This Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle is a bit strange. It hasn't moved since last night." One of the seven people said.
"Why don't we go and see? If someone hunted it, then perfect!" The speaker revealed a sinister smile.
"Perfect for what?"
All seven were startled by the sudden voice and stopped in their tracks, their gazes focused entirely on the figure wearing a silver mask by the big tree.
"May I ask who this young friend is?" The leader of the seven approached with a benevolent smile and asked.
"Leave. Otherwise…" From beneath the silver mask, Shi Quan's cold gaze swept over the seven, and he coldly uttered one word. "Die!"
"Boss, it seems that Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle must have been hunted by them. The Xuan Earth Crocodile Turtle's Life has already dissipated."
The leader of the seven looked at Shi Quan with a smiling face and said, "Kid, you're alone, but there are seven of us?"
"Do you want to try?"
The coldness in Shi Quan's eyes intensified.
In the Soul Hunting Forest, the most dangerous thing is not Spirit Beasts, but humans.
From the conversation of the seven just now, it seemed that this group had some special means to drive and locate Spirit Beasts, making the Spirit Beasts consume the spirit power of other teams. Then, after the other teams' spirit power was depleted, they would ambush and kill other Spirit Masters to gain benefits.
Such teams were the most detestable among all Spirit Master teams. These people specialized in hunting other Spirit Master teams for money and treasures.
Shi Quan had not expected that he would encounter them.
"Kill!"
The leader still maintained his benevolent appearance, but the word he uttered was exceptionally cold.
The seven were exceptionally coordinated, almost simultaneously releasing their respective Martial Spirits. A series of spirit rings appeared. The weakest among the seven was a Two-Ring, and the strongest was a Three-Ring.
The strongest was the leader, with one white, one yellow, and one light purple spirit ring. The others had one white and one yellow, or one white and two yellow.
In this Elementary Soul Hunting Forest, coupled with their method of driving Spirit Beasts, if ordinary teams encountered them, they would definitely be annihilated.
Even in a direct confrontation, this team of seven was not afraid of teams of the same Rank.
It was just a pity that they encountered Shi Quan.
As the seven released their Martial Spirits, Shi Quan's spirit rings also emerged, and a dazzling light of one yellow and two purple instantly bloomed.
"Two… two Millennium spirit rings!"