In the map of the secret realm, the southwest corner has always been a rarely visited place, simply because there is a large dense forest there, inhabited by a huge number of demonic beasts. Apart from cultivators who come specifically to hunt demonic beasts, other travelers will deliberately avoid this place.
When Shi Xuan arrived with his group, there were very few demonic beasts left in the dense forest. Even those that hadn't escaped were mostly restless and attacking each other, and the corpses of low-level demonic beasts were scattered everywhere in the forest.
This scene is clearly abnormal!
"Wait here for a moment, I'll go inside and take a look," Shi Xuan instructed.
"How can we let Senior Sister Shi Xuan go in alone?!" Lu Shan shouted, wanting to go in with Shi Xuan.
Shi Xuan glanced at him and said, "Mainly, I'm afraid you'll be too much of a hindrance if you come in with me. If I have to run away, I won't be able to take you with me."
Lu Shan was speechless, and the others thought about it and realized that they were also the ones holding everyone back, so they stopped raising objections.
"Don't worry, I have a flying sword, which makes escaping easier. It's safest for me to go in and investigate. You guys wait for me outside."
After Shi Xuan finished speaking, he stepped onto the puppet sword and sped towards the deepest part of the dense forest, skimming along the top of the forest.
She released her spiritual senses and observed the rustling of grass and the movement of the wind deep in the forest.
With most of the monsters having fled, the deeper one ventures into the forest, the quieter it becomes.
As they neared the deepest point, Shi Xuan's divine sense suddenly detected a rapid breathing sound. She moved closer, and the breathing became even more pronounced, like that of a restless, ferocious beast about to go berserk.
As Shi Xuan approached, a faint smell of blood began to waft through the air, growing stronger with each step he took deeper.
The smell of blood and the heavy breathing came from the same direction. Shi Xuan followed the sound and smell and slowly approached, reaching the end of the dense forest.
There, the forest transformed into a stone forest, with rows of enormous stone pillars arranged in an orderly fashion according to an unknown pattern.
“It’s an array,” Lu Shenzhi said.
"How could there be an array deep in such a monster-infested forest?" Shi Xuan asked. "Was this secret realm always there, or was it added later by humans?"
“It’s hard to say,” Lu Shenzhi said. “Take one step in from the third stone pillar on the left.”
Shi Xuan did as instructed and, under Lu Shenzhi's command, gradually moved inward.
It took about 15 minutes to reach the other end of the stone forest.
The view suddenly opened up, but I was also incredibly shocked.
At the edge of the stone forest, in a clearing, a series of blood-red grooves formed a massive array. In the center of the array lay a giant silver wolf. The wolf appeared to be severely injured or bound by something, unable to move freely.
When Shi Xuan entered, the silver wolf happened to be looking at her. Their eyes met, and for a moment Shi Xuan felt that there was a human sadness in its silvery eyes.
However, this feeling was fleeting. As if in an instant, its humanity vanished, and it began to become frenzied, its eyes glaring fiercely at Shi Xuan, baring its teeth in a threatening manner. At this moment, Shi Xuan had no doubt that if it could still move, it would surely rush up and fight him to the death.
"Doesn't this formation look familiar to you?" Lu Shenzhi asked.
Shi Xuan looked at the blood-filled array. The outermost shape was a six-pointed star, with intricate patterns drawn in concentric circles inside, enclosing the silver wolf in the center.
It seems... when Chen Shengjun woke up, he described such a magic array, which was similar to what he experienced before escaping?
Chen Shengjun described it as an outer six-pointed star with an inner five-ringed structure.
The outer ring is indeed a six-pointed star, but the inner ring is slightly different; it's not exactly the same, but very similar.
“Take a closer look at the wolf’s body,” Lu Shenzhi said.
Because of the silver wolf's posture, its fluffy fur was piled on the ground, and under its belly was a wooden plaque, the color of which was so familiar.
Shi Xuan looked down at his waist, where the Soul-Nourishing Wood containing his senior brother was exactly the same as the one pressed under the wolf's body.
Could it be...? A bold idea popped into Shi Xuan's mind: the Soul-Nourishing Wood was used to collect human souls, and this silver wolf, at first glance, didn't seem like a demon beast at all.
As if confirming her guess, after a period of low howling, the silver wolf's eyes became clear and compassionate again.
This time, Shi Xuan saw it clearly. The difference between that painful and helpless gaze and the complete irrationality just now was too great, so great that Shi Xuan could see the difference immediately.
As she expected, her clear-headed gaze didn't last long before it was replaced by irrational bestiality.
Shi Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "So, this is a soul-swapping formation? It implants a human's soul into a demonic beast's body?!"
“That must be it.” Lu Shenzhi thought so too. “It seems that the demon beast’s soul is strong and unwilling to leave, which is why it tore into the human soul. It was stimulated and became extremely agitated, which explains why all the demon beasts in the forest have become so violent.”
"Is it the beast king of this place?" Shi Xuan asked. "How can we break this formation?"
Lu Shenzhi examined it carefully again and said, "Actually, the formation is complete, but the beast king's soul power is too strong, making it impossible for the human soul to drive away the beast soul. It seems that the human soul is at a disadvantage."
"Then, is there any way?"
Lu Shenzhi shook his head where Shi Xuan couldn't see him. "The best way is to kill it."
Shi Xuan: "Is there any chance for this soul to return?"
“There is no chance,” Lu Shenzhi said. “His body has been destroyed, and now he has become half a beast. Living is painful, so it would be better for his soul to return to its rightful place and be reincarnated.”
Shi Xuan, carrying the Lianfeng Sword Sect, waited until the silver wolf's bestial nature subsided and its human side was revealed before asking, "Shall I kill you?"
The silver wolf's eyes suddenly brightened, and it nodded slightly, revealing a relieved expression. It seemed that its defeat was partly due to its own desire to die.
Without a word, Shi Xuan drew his sword, bypassed the now-ineffective formation, and plunged it into the silver wolf's skull. The silver wolf twitched a few times, then gradually went limp and stopped breathing.
Now, whether they are humans or wolves, they all perish together, and there's no need for any more fighting inside.
Shi Xuan unceremoniously took the silver wolf's corpse. Such a high-level demon beast should be worth a lot of spirit stones.
After killing the silver wolf, she used her divine sense to search the spot again, but found no other signs of life.
However, demonic beasts of this level usually have their own guardian spirit plants. Cultivating at the spirit plant can achieve twice the result with half the effort. But Shi Xuan searched inside and out and found no spirit plants for the silver wolf.
It seems that it was taken away by the person who set up the formation.
Elsewhere in the secret realm, disciples from other sects who were being chased by demonic beasts suddenly noticed that the beasts behind them had stopped chasing. They seemed to have calmed down all at once and were running away in a group.
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