Xiao Chenyu took the parchment and eagerly began to read it:
"The ethereal bird, 500 years."
"Human-faced Demon Spider, 100 years."
"Azure Scale Serpent, 700 years."
"Demon Vine, 580 years ago."
"Moon Shadow Tiger, 500 years."
"Mandala snake, 400 years."
"......"
The parchment was covered with information about hundreds of soul beasts.
The content is very simple, consisting only of a name and the year.
If Xiao Chenyu hadn't recently looked at several of the City Lord's Mansion's treasured collections of soul beast illustrations, he really wouldn't know what he needed.
After looking around, Xiao Chenyu pointed to a name on the list and asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Uncle, can you handle this guy?"
"There are no thousand-year-old soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest, and since they are all domesticated, they are not really rare."
Dean Xiao glanced at the name "Moon Shadow Tiger" in the column and indicated that there were no problems.
However, when he saw the words "500 years" written at the end, he frowned slightly.
“Xiaoyu, a level 10 Soul Master can absorb a Soul Ring of about 400 years at most. Yours is a bit over the limit. And this is just a preliminary assessment. It could be even higher than 500 years.”
"Uncle, have you forgotten my dad?"
Faced with Xiao Chenyu's question, Dean Xiao remained silent.
The reason why Lord Xiao was able to cultivate to level 45 Soul Master before the age of 40, with his Martial Soul Wolf and level 5 innate soul power, is largely due to his first soul ring.
"Your dad got lucky. A 450-year-old wolf, which is a perfect match for his martial soul. I've only ever seen an ordinary wolf spirit beast of that age once," Dean Xiao said.
"In the end, he succeeded. So I think I can too. After all, my martial spirit is better than his, and my physical attributes are stronger than his," Xiao Chenyu said.
He has recently read a lot of information about the absorption period of spirit rings, and he doesn't blindly think that he can withstand it.
According to information provided by the City Lord's Mansion, there are quite a few examples of people absorbing soul rings beyond their level.
However, these people only absorbed low-quality soul beasts, and their strength was not as good as the soul rings of better soul beasts that had just reached a hundred years old.
The differences between different types of soul beasts are far greater than the differences in their age.
For example, a thousand-year-old Titan ape is much stronger than a ten-thousand-year-old soft-boned rabbit.
"Moon Shadow Tiger...it's not entirely out of the question."
Dean Xiao pondered for a moment before speaking:
"This is a rare tiger-type spirit beast. Its fur is jet black during the day and turns silver-white at night. It is extremely good at hiding and is also very fast. When bathed in moonlight, it can use Moon Shadow Transformation, which can greatly increase its strength and speed."
"I chose this skill because of its stealth and speed enhancements, which greatly boost my martial soul," Xiao Chenyu nodded.
In the end, Dean Xiao was persuaded by Xiao Chenyu.
The two wasted no time and took the warrants that very day, riding in the city lord's carriage toward the Soul Hunter Forest.
Four hundred miles is not a long distance, and it wasn't until noon on the second day that Xiao Chenyu and his companion arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Remember, once we enter the forest, stay right next to me."
After passing through the noisy temporary camp, Dean Xiao handed the warrant to the guard of the Soul Hunting Forest and led the curious Xiao Chenyu into the Soul Hunting Forest.
Seeing that Xiao Chenyu was not running around recklessly or becoming arrogant, Dean Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd been to the Soul Hunter Forest quite a few times, and he was most afraid of those hotheads who, as soon as they entered, would shout that they wanted to kill soul beasts.
Seeing that Xiao Chenyu was only curious about the surroundings, he wasn't in a hurry and simply led Xiao Chenyu slowly deeper into the area.
Xiao Chenyu looked around at his surroundings, occasionally revealing a look of surprise.
He hadn't noticed much difference between the city and the fantastical ancient world he had imagined.
However, in the Soul Hunter Forest, he was met with a visual shock.
Despite the fact that the Soul Hunter Forest is a captive forest, according to his observation, it is at least tens of thousands of square kilometers in size.
The forest contained a variety of landforms, and they were very different from what he had seen before.
In the Soul Hunter Forest, there are trees nearly a hundred meters tall everywhere, and all kinds of plant-type soul beasts are wrapped around them.
In any case, Xiao Chenyu felt that the claim that soul beasts would be wiped out by humans was completely unreasonable.
The meadow he and Dean Xiao had just walked across had almost no ordinary flowers or grass; it was full of plant-type soul beasts that were less than a hundred years old.
Among them, the most common type is the blue silver grass, which is about ten years old, followed by the most common flowering plants such as floating orchids.
"Most plant-type soul beasts are not aggressive and have a gentle nature, making them the first choice for most plant-type soul masters who lack potential," Dean Xiao said.
That's true.
Xiao Chenyu nodded. He had just accidentally stepped on an eight-year-old bamboo knot grass. This kind of grass produces knots more than once a year, making it easy to identify its age.
As for how he knew he had stepped on someone...
Anyone would be startled to see a white spirit ring fly up from the ground while walking.
The "year of a soul beast" does not refer to the soul beast's age, but rather to its cultivation level.
Just like humans, the strength of a soul beast's talent will lead to different speeds of cultivation improvement.
Soul beasts with strong talents, such as the Titan Giant Ape, can grow from a hundred years to a thousand years and then to ten thousand years in just a few years, with an extremely fast growth rate.
Soul beasts like the Soft Bone Rabbit and Blue Silver Grass truly live for ten thousand years.
"The Soul Hunting Forest is alright, but if you plan to hunt soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest in the future, you'll either need to hire a Soul Saint or higher expert, or bring a small team that frequently roams the forest," Dean Xiao explained from the front.
"Is there some explanation?" Xiao Chenyu asked humbly.
No one can say for sure whether he will hunt for spirit rings on his own in the future; he doesn't want to die before he even gets started.
Dean Xiao casually flicked a pebble, smashing the head of a green snake on a large tree ten meters away, before slowly saying:
"Most of the soul beasts raised in the Soul Hunting Forest have a short lifespan, and we also feed them regularly, so they are easy to deal with and their hiding methods are not very sophisticated."
"But the Star Dou Great Forest is different. The spirit beasts there are all seasoned veterans, and every one of them that survives has its own special skills. Whether it's ambushing, poisoning, or setting traps..."
"To remain safe and sound, you either need to rely on the unimpeded perception of a Soul Saint, or have a professional team to help you solve your problems. This is the safest approach."
"Understood!"
Xiao Chenyu nodded in realization. In short, without the protection of a Soul Douluo, don't go to the Star Dou Great Forest.
As for the Soul Saint being enough, what a joke! You only have one life. If you encounter a Titan Giant Ape, you won't even be able to escape.
In any case, judging from the original content, if Erming hadn't been without murderous intent, Zhao Wuji, a Soul Saint at level 70-something, wouldn't have been able to withstand a single slap from the Titan Giant Ape.
Coupled with the dangers mentioned by Dean Xiao, Xiao Chenyu became even more wary of visiting the Star Dou Great Forest, a popular tourist destination.
As a member of the Gou Dao Liu, Xiao Chenyu didn't want to lose his life by accident.
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