Great Star Dou Forest.
At this moment...
Bibi Dong was leading a group of Spirit Hall soul masters exploring the spirit beast forest.
Half a year had transformed Spirit Hall's internals beyond recognition.
Those following Bibi Dong were no longer Gui and Ju, but rather the Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard Douluos.
However, Yue Guan and Gui Mei were both still present—only they were no longer Spirit Hall's "henchmen duo."
This also meant that the era belonging to Gui and Ju had ended within Spirit Hall.
"Your Holiness!"
"Do spirit beasts truly exist in the Great Star Dou Forest that exceed one hundred thousand years?"
Spirit Hall had brought quite a number of people this time.
Besides Demon Bear, Ghost Leopard, and Yue Guan, three Super Douluos, there were also two Titled Douluos who had reached Level 93, as well as fifty accompanying Soul Douluos.
Such a formation would be quite explosive anywhere on the Douluo Continent.
Individual soul master teams in the spirit beast forest would tuck their tails and flee upon encountering them.
"Search!"
Bibi Dong didn't choose to answer directly.
In her understanding, the Great Star Dou Forest had always possessed fierce beasts.
This wasn't only because of the information provided by Yang Wushuang; actually, ever since she was a Holy Maiden, she had always believed the Great Star Dou Forest held secrets that soul masters had yet to explore.
Like the great sea... unfathomably deep!
"Yes!"
Although both Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard were ninety-fifth level Super Douluos, before Bibi Dong they could only obey orders.
After Bibi Dong gave her command...
The fifty Soul Douluos following behind instantly understood and ran ahead to clear the path.
The Soul Douluos Bibi Dong brought weren't randomly selected to make up numbers. Every one of them was a flying-type soul master and an expert in reconnaissance and searching.
...
A thousand meters away, Yang Fan was currently observing the movements of Bibi Dong's group.
Since confirming the authenticity of Ning Rongrong's information, he had flown directly to the Great Star Dou Forest.
Calculating carefully...
This was already his third day in the Great Star Dou Forest.
Three days was enough to easily grasp Spirit Hall's movements.
This was his specialty!
Rich forest experience gave him keen senses. He could determine the direction and number of soul masters through changes in the spirit beast forest, and could even judge the approximate strength of soul masters through the behavior of small spirit beasts.
"Impressive!"
Yang Fan watched as fifty flying-type soul masters spread out in a fan shape toward the core region.
He couldn't help but marvel at Spirit Hall's powerful foundation.
Soul Douluo-level soul masters would be treated as honored guests in any sect. The few in their family just sat in their rooms with legs crossed drinking tea all day.
Only Spirit Hall dared to treat Soul Douluo-level soul masters like cattle and horses.
Yang Fan wasn't anxious seeing Spirit Hall's grand formation.
Soul Douluo-level search teams only looked intimidating; if they truly encountered fierce beasts, they'd be devoured in one bite, crisp and crunchy.
At Spirit Hall's current advance speed, finding fierce beasts probably wouldn't happen in just a day or two.
At this moment...
Yang Fan sat cross-legged to rest and recuperate.
He took out a brown, cherry-sized pill from his storage spirit guide.
The pill was simple and unadorned, appearing completely lusterless—the most inconspicuous among all his pills.
Yet such an unremarkable-looking pill had irreplaceable effects.
Level advancement!
This was precisely the Dou Ling (Fighting Spirit) Pill that could only be taken once in a lifetime, allowing a Dou Wang to advance one level without any risk.
Yang Fan still remembered his expression when he first successfully refined it, completely unexpected that it would be such an ordinary pill.
It was like a dirt ball rubbed off from one's body.
"Master."
"Can this pill raise my strength to Dou Huang?"
His current strength was already Nine-Star Dou Wang; if he advanced one more level, wouldn't that be Dou Huang?
This logic was flawless!
"Dream on."
"If this pill could truly raise your strength to Dou Huang, then it wouldn't be called a Dou Ling Pill, and it certainly wouldn't be just a Tier 6 pill."
"However..."
"This Dou Ling Pill can still let you reach peak Nine-Star Dou Wang, and with good luck, put you just one step away from Dou Huang."
This was the value of pills!
It was precisely for this reason that the Dou Ling Pill could rank as high-grade Tier 6.
"Peak Dou Wang..."
The corners of Yang Fan's mouth were already becoming hard to suppress.
This was exactly the effect he wanted!
The Dou Ling Pill's function was to allow a Dou Wang to advance one level without risk, so when was the best time to take it?
Undoubtedly, now!
One must know that the difficulty of advancement increased with each level for cultivators.
"Master."
"I'll trouble you to guard me for about an hour."
This was the Great Star Dou Forest after all.
Crisis lurked everywhere!
No one could guarantee that a fierce beast wouldn't suddenly leap out of the Great Star Dou Forest.
But with Yao Lao present, there was no need to fear.
With Yao Lao's current strength, he was essentially the human equivalent of Di Tian; ordinary small spirit beasts absolutely wouldn't dare to provoke him casually.
Yao Lao gave Yang Fan a reassuring look, seeming to say: Master is always here!
Pills differed from immortal herbs, soul rings, and soul bones in their absorption process.
Pills were essences extracted through flame tempering; the moment they exploded in the mouth, the effects were immediate.
Even without deliberate absorption, strength would increase at a visible speed.
About an hour later...
The Dou Ling Pill's medicinal power had been completely absorbed by Yang Fan. The moment his eyes opened, they released two beams of sharp light.
"Is it peak Dou Wang?"
Yao Lao stared at Yang Fan with a smiling face, his eyes seeming to say: Master didn't lie to you, right.
"Haha—"
Yang Fan was now completely unable to control his excited emotions, nor did he want to manage his expressions anymore.
Half-step Dou Huang!
If Dou Wang was the watershed in the cultivation system, then Dou Huang already possessed the shadow of a true expert.
Dou Qi manifestation into wings!
Could mobilize large amounts of external energy of the same attribute, and without relying on any external force, could remain suspended in void space for short periods.
"Master!"
"Do you have any more pills that can let me immediately advance to Dou Huang?"
Yang Fan still remembered that Spirit Gathering Powder from back then, which had a one hundred percent chance of condensing a Dou Qi vortex.
It was precisely because of that fourth-grade pill that he formally embarked on his Dou Shi path.
"What are you thinking, brat?"
Yao Lao slapped the back of Yang Fan's head with ill humor.
Not to mention that the Douluo Continent world wasn't sufficient to refine such pills, but even if it were possible, he wouldn't let Yang Fan treat pills as meals.
"Dou Huang advancement can only rely on yourself; only then can you mobilize more external power."
Yang Fan had only been joking just now.
He had seen many soul masters in Tian Dou City who had been inflated by medicines and pills.
The most representative among them were those nobles with overwhelming power, yet these people were good-for-nothing besides their levels—completely decorative vases.
"Stop daydreaming!"
"If you immerse yourself any longer, Spirit Hall's people will be out of our monitoring range."
Yao Lao's reminder was crucial and timely!
He had come to the Great Star Dou Forest this time to personally witness the strength of the fierce beasts within.
If Spirit Hall's camp was utterly crushed, then he would just treat it as watching a spectacle.
Of course!
From his personal perspective, he still hoped both sides could fight to a standstill.
Thinking of this, Yang Fan couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Soon!
He once again locked onto the traces of Bibi Dong's group in the spirit beast forest.
He wasn't anxious.
He maintained a safe distance of about five thousand meters from Spirit Hall.
...
"Be careful!"
"We've now entered the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest; any spirit beast here could instantly take our lives."
Although Gui Mei still held the title of elder within Spirit Hall, he no longer possessed an elder's strength.
Currently, all he could do was lead the search team to clear the path ahead.
The core region was already a dangerous place for Titled Douluos, let alone for a search team completely composed of Soul Douluos.
"We haven't seen any fierce beasts either."
"Could it be that the information we received this time is wrong again?"
Ever since the two great empires cut off the soul master benefits they provided, relations between the three parties had become particularly tense.
Also because of this, Spirit Hall lost control over some cities in the Tian Dou and Star Luo Empires.
Also because of this, Spirit Hall had received multiple pieces of false information recently.
"I advise you to pray we don't encounter spirit beasts, or else we'll be the first to die."
Gui Mei laughed coldly.
Not to mention these eight-ring Soul Douluos—even what about him back then?
Once value was lost, one would eventually become nothing more than a discarded pawn.
"Everyone be careful."
The former Gui Mei had been high above, never giving these Soul Douluos before him a second glance.
Now, after losing a leg, he instead felt these soul masters around him were more genuine.
His value to Spirit Hall remained only this much; he didn't want to watch his only several dozen subordinates all perish here.
"Yes!"
Although Gui Mei's strength was now inferior to theirs, his identity as an elder still suppressed them.
Not to mention behind Gui Mei sat a completely intact Yue Guan.
Gui Mei's exploration was slow, attributable to his having entered the Great Star Dou Forest's core region more than once, deeply knowing the dangers of this spirit beast forest.
Two days... nothing gained!
If he hadn't personally witnessed the ninth soul ring on Yang Wudi's body, he would probably have begun to suspect that no fierce beasts existed in the Great Star Dou Forest.
Even so...
Many doubts had arisen in his heart.
Were they searching in the wrong place, or had the only fierce beast in the Great Star Dou Forest already been hunted by Yang Wudi?
If he were still the former Ghost Douluo, he would have long since gone to find Bibi Dong to report the current situation.
But... unfortunately!
He no longer possessed his former vigor, and was no longer that Gui Mei respected within Spirit Hall.
"Elder... look quickly!"
At this moment...
A tall, thin man in black tight-fitting clothes suddenly appeared less than a hundred meters from them.
This change instantly aroused the search team's vigilance.
This was their greatest discovery since entering the Great Star Dou Forest's core region.
"Send the signal... quickly!"
Although Gui Mei's strength had regressed to Soul Saint, his experience and knowledge remained intact.
This was also an important reason why he could serve as search team captain.
Although he wasn't certain of this black-clothed man's true identity, being able to stand so calmly before them meant he was absolutely no ordinary person.
If his guess was correct, his group probably wouldn't even count as a dish before this black-clothed man.
The black-clothed man didn't make any move, but allowed Gui Mei to send someone to report the news.
This also indirectly confirmed Gui Mei's conjecture...
If it were anyone else, they would either be running now or attacking before they could report.
This was the confidence possessed only by the strong!
Soon...
Bibi Dong, having received the news, arrived with her people. Upon seeing the black-clothed man, she couldn't conceal the gravity on her face.
Bibi Dong was surprised to find that although the distance was less than a hundred meters, she couldn't clearly see this man's face.
"Who are you?"
Spirit Hall had records of all existing powerful experts on the Douluo Continent.
Yet there was no information whatsoever about this black-clothed man.
The black-clothed man wasn't an ethereal soul that could reside in others' bodies.
Under such circumstances, it was absolutely impossible to escape Spirit Hall's eyes and cultivate into a powerful expert capable of entering the Great Star Dou Forest's core region.
Under this deduction, only one possibility could explain the current situation.
"Di Tian!"
This name might be unknown in the soul master world, but in the Great Star Dou Forest, it could make all spirit beasts pay homage.
He was the number one fierce beast!
Ruler of the Great Star Dou Forest, King of the Continent's Spirit Beasts, Patriarch of the Black Dragon Clan, one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings.
"What are you searching for?"
Di Tian had already detected the existence of Bibi Dong's group two days prior.
It could be said...
Every soul master entering the Great Star Dou Forest's core region couldn't escape his notice, but he had never paid them any attention.
But this time was different!
He could sense that these soul masters weren't targeting ordinary spirit beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest.
"You're a fierce beast?!"
Bibi Dong spoke her guess at this moment.
Currently, only this answer could reasonably explain Di Tian's existence.
"Humans!"
"Your courage is truly great."
Di Tian had originally thought having the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python guard the entrance to attract soul masters' attention would be sufficient.
He hadn't expected these human soul masters' ambitions to grow so quickly—they were now actually setting their sights on fierce beasts.
"This is a fierce beast?"
"He doesn't seem any different from us humans?"
"What do you know?"
"I saw in Spirit Hall's records that when spirit beasts reach one hundred thousand years, they undergo heavenly tribulation. Only soul masters who can survive the tribulation can continue cultivating..."
"Don't spirit beasts have to either take human form or naturally die after another thousand years once they reach one hundred thousand years?"
"..."
Opinions varied!
But one point was unanimously agreed upon by the soul masters present: Di Tian standing before them was definitely a very difficult fellow to deal with.
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