As dawn broke, the group quickly washed up, ate some of the dry rations they had brought with them, packed up their tents, and continued their search for the soul beast.
The Golden Scepter is a top-tier weapon spirit for those focused on speed, and its spirit ring configuration is best suited to speed-type spirit beasts.
If the vines weren't unable to distinguish the cultivation level of soul beasts and only knew the concepts of strong or weak, Qian Yuelong would have really wanted to use the same trick again and have the vines help her find soul beasts.
Unfortunately, these are not native vines, so they cannot distinguish the cultivation level of the soul beast. If Xu Yu had found a soul beast that was over five thousand years old, he would have been devastated.
The forest is lush and dense, with ancient trees reaching for the sky.
The group's pace slowed down, and the loose formation returned to its original shape.
The birdsong abruptly stopped, and the branches and leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
Qian Yuelong's nose twitched. In addition to the fragrance of pine resin, there was also a faint, long-lost smell of blood in the air, mixed with a faint sweetness. The combination of these scents made for a rather strange aroma.
"Stop! Zhang Ping, go and get a high vantage point to keep watch on the surroundings."
Zhang Ping nodded, and the Golden Swallow Martial Soul appeared on her body. Two golden circles appeared on her arms, like the tip of a swift's tail touching the water's surface. She leaped lightly, and with a few pushes, landed on a tree branch with a wide view, taking control of the high ground.
"The air is poisonous. Be careful not to breathe too frequently. We don't have any healing soul masters!"
Qu Yuanyi also smelled the sweet, fishy odor in the air.
He immediately realized that there might be poisonous spirit beasts passing by them, or that they had already arrived and were lurking in the shadows.
"Xu Yu, don't leave my side later!"
"Okay, Teacher Qu!"
Xu Yu gripped the golden scepter nervously, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, wary of any soul beasts that might attack them at any moment.
"Everyone, slowly close the formation, don't spread out!" Wei Ming gave the order.
The three of them formed a triangle, protecting the six-person team in the middle, adopting a defensive or offensive stance while remaining vigilant about their surroundings.
"Rustle and rustle"
A faint light flickered among the bushes, like two clusters of phosphorescent flames floating in the night.
A ghostly green light flashed by, and Yan's pupils constricted sharply as he shouted, "Five o'clock, watch out!"
Along with Yan's reminder, a green shadow rushed out with lightning speed.
Its entire body was covered in translucent emerald-green scales, about thirteen meters long and as thick as a bowl. Its tail was a gradient of deep purple and had two sharp points. Sharp scales grew on its head, and there were two sharp horns on its forehead, making it look like a mutated dragon. Its golden vertical pupils locked onto Hu Liena, and its mouth was wide open to more than 150 degrees, revealing rows of sharp fangs that gleamed coldly. Thick green venom sprayed from its throat.
Hu Liena dodged, and the ground was immediately corroded by the snake venom, leaving greenish-brown pits.
Thick bubbles gurgled from the pit, and the bursting green bubbles released a dense green mist, making the sweet, fishy smell in the air even stronger.
Wei Ming and the others covered their mouths and noses to reduce the amount of snake venom they inhaled.
The well-informed Hao Xuan watched as the green shadow darted back into the surrounding bushes after the failed attack, and then saw the two forked snake tails trailing on the ground in a fleeting moment. His expression immediately changed: "It's an ouroboros!"
The characteristic feature of the ouroboros is that it has two forked tails.
It is known for its speed and venom, and possesses some dragon bloodline, making it a famous soul beast race among snake-type soul beasts.
But when it comes to venom, speed, and bloodline, the top-tier snake-type spirit beast race is none other than the Azure Serpent.
In the Douluo Continent today, there is a titled Douluo named Dugu Bo who possesses the king of the Azure Serpents—the Azure Serpent Emperor Martial Soul. His title is also "Poison," which means that the Azure Serpent Poison is famous throughout the continent.
Unfortunately, the Azure Serpent's venom is extremely potent, even poisoning the absorber. Therefore, Soul Masters who do not possess the Azure Serpent Martial Soul dare not attempt it, causing many Soul Masters to hesitate.
"With a length of over twelve meters, this titled serpent's cultivation level is around two thousand years." Qian Yuelong recalled the fleeting appearance of the Azure Scale Serpent earlier and slightly turned her head to look at Xu Yu.
Xu Yu, who instantly understood the significance of Qian Yuelong's glance, nervously swallowed: "It's about three hundred years beyond the original limit, so let's go with it."
"Spread out! Block the ouroboros' escape route!"
With the target identified, Qian Yuelong gave the order.
Sun Chuantao hesitated for a moment, then rushed toward a certain direction.
Generally speaking, it is difficult for a Great Soul Master to deal with a thousand-year-old Soul Beast. If they are not careful, they will be killed by the Soul Beast. Among Soul Beasts, those with a cultivation of more than one thousand years and less than five thousand years are equivalent to the Soul Venerable to Soul Sect level of human Soul Masters.
Even when hunting for spirit rings, very few spirit masters with the cultivation of a great spirit master would choose to confront a thousand-year-old spirit beast head-on.
only
Sun Chuantao, who had just arrived at his position, looked in surprise at Zhang Ping and the others, who were also Great Soul Masters but showed no fear of the thousand-year-old soul beast and had arrived at their positions earlier than him, assuming an attack stance.
Looking at Yan, who seemed to be used to fighting soul beasts and was even handling the attacking ouroboros with ease, he realized the difference in mentality between himself and them.
"Chuantao, he's gone to your side!" Yan shouted.
"First Soul Skill: Illumination!"
The first support soul skill to enhance defense was given to Sun Chuantao.
Sun Chuantao snapped back to his senses and looked at the ouroboros coming towards him. He gripped the hilt of the giant circular blade tightly, and his previous tension and fear receded like a tide.
"Second Soul Skill, Heaven and Earth Control!"
The second yellow spirit ring shone brightly as Sun Chuantao hurled the giant circular blade in his hand.
"Ding ding ding—!"
The massive, circular blade, spinning rapidly in the air, scraped across the eerie green snake scales, leaving small cracks, but failing to penetrate the scales' defenses.
"Second Soul Skill, Fox Charm."
A purple light covered Hu Liena's eyes.
The ouroboros froze for a second as its eyes met those of Hu Liena, who was catching up, before Qian Yuelong's soul skill followed in quick succession:
"First Soul Skill, Azure Flame."
The flowing, shapeless blue flames condensed into a spherical flame barrier centered on the ouroboros.
A delicate, miniature, cyan-gold lotus flower materialized beneath the relatively vulnerable belly of the ouroboros, and then exploded with a deafening roar.
The eerie green scales turned charred black, and black snake blood seeped from its mangled belly, nearly blowing it in two—this was only because Qian Yuelong had controlled the power.
The ouroboros let out a sharp, long hiss, abandoned the hunt, and fled for its life.
"Sizzle—!"
The snake venom once again spewed from its mouth, pouring onto the blazing blue flame barrier. The liquid venom, upon contact with the flowing flames, instantly corroded a large hole in the solid barrier. The ouroboros hissed and broke free from the flame barrier, thwarting Qian Yuelong's plan to turn protection into confinement.
"Chase!"
At Wei Ming's command, he was the first to charge out.
Qian Yuelong and the others followed closely behind, chasing after the wounded ouroboros.
In the Sunset Forest, another battle royale unfolds.
But this time, the human soul masters are no longer fleeing prey, but ferocious predators.
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