Even though Huo Yuhao didn"t say anything to Zhang Lexuan, he was sharing his Spiritual Detection with her, and though the others didn"t really understand what Huo Yuhao did, Zhang Lexuan could feel it.
There were more than a hundred b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons, each of which was about fifty meters apart. Together, they formed a circle about five hundred meters in diameter. The distance wasn"t that balanced or perfectly even, but it was good enough. These baboons were now frozen corpses, and the smell of fresh blood was a lot weaker than before. Furthermore, they served another purposes.
Huo Yuhao told Zhang Lexuan before he sat down to cultivate that they could rest here peacefully tonight.
“Roar!” A deafening and furious roar could be heard in the distance. It sounded like rumbling thunder as it echoed out vigorously.
Everyone was circling w.a.n.g Qiu"er and resting at this moment, and they were all in a half-meditative state, which they could get out of at any time. Besides Huo Yuhao, who had yet to recover all his soul power, everyone else had replenished most of their soul power from the battle with the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons.
Zhang Lexuan sprang to her feet and gazed in the direction of that ear-splitting roar. She could tell from how the sound changed that this soul beast was probably charging right towards them. This night was turning out to be really hectic!
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. He didn"t get to his feet, his eyes turning a bright golden color. He activated Spiritual Detection once more, but he only shared it with Zhang Lexuan in order to save soul power before he focused in a certain direction.
A purple shadow quickly appeared within Huo Yuhao"s Spiritual Detection.
It was a lion that had purple fur all over its body. It was a little pet.i.te compared to typical lion-type soul beasts, and it was only about one and a half meters long, while its shoulders were only about sixty to seventy centimeters above the ground. However, its purple mane was gorgeous, and its fur was a shiny purple color as well. Its entire body shone with faint purple light, and its huge tail swung left and right behind it as its nose quivered subtly, clearly trying to distinguish the scents about.
This purple lion paused momentarily to a.s.sess things, than started to move once more. It moved with incredible speed, and left a series of afterimages behind as it darted forward in a flash. It covered two kilometers in the time needed for one or two breaths, and it was coming exceedingly close to the baboon corpses that Huo Yuhao had laid out around them.
This purple lion was apparently attracted by the smell of blood coming from the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons.
Zhang Lexuan"s expression changed slightly. “That"s a Purpleshadow Lion. Watch out, everyone, it"s just too quick. We might have to rely on you now, Ruoruo. Get ready for battle, Yuhao, you"ll have to use your spiritual-type soul skills to impede its speed. This Purpleshadow Lion has at least ten thousand years of cultivation.”
They had just slain a bunch of ten-thousand year b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons, but Zhang Lexuan hadn"t been as nervous facing the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons as she was now against the Purpleshadow Lion.
Cultivation played an important part in distinguishing a soul beast"s strength, and therefore there was a separation between ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, and one hundred thousand years. However, a mere difference in cultivation didn"t represent absolute superiority and strength.
Why were the Ten Great Savage Beasts so formidable? It wasn"t only because their cultivation levels were exceptionally high, but it was also because they belonged to extremely powerful species. It was also because they contained so much strength in their bloodline that they could live for such a long time.
The pack of b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons wasn"t weak, but even the Baboon King wasn"t as terrifying as this Purpleshadow Lion.
The Purpleshadow Lion was one of the most frightening species amongst speed-type soul beasts. They were unbelievably quick, and they had a strong preference for eating the hearts of fresh corpses. The lion itself wielded potent venom, and possessed several innate skills.
If a ten-thousand year Purpleshadow Lion faced off against the pack of b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons, it would perhaps be defeated in the end, but it would definitely be able to escape with its life. It would also take the lives of at least a third of the pack. If it was belligerent or determined enough to fight to the end, the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon pack would be completely vanquished.
Li Yongyue"s eyes sparkled when he heard Zhang Lexuan mention the Purpleshadow Lion. A ten-thousand year Purpleshadow Lion could be considered a top-quality gain for him if he could absorb it. He knew the fifty-thousand year b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon King was too strong, and he didn"t have the ability to absorb it, but he was confident in absorbing this Purpleshadow Lion. It was lower in cultivation compared to the Baboon King, but the speed and offense amplifications were something he needed.
The only problem was that the Purpleshadow Lion would definitely tear him to pieces if he were to fight it one-on-one.
The lion halted at around five hundred meters away from the group. There was a ten-thousand year b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon"s corpse laid out right in front of it.
The lion raised its front paw and immediately hacked at the baboon"s chest. Its sense of smell was very sensitive, and it was could obviously tell that this b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon had just died not too long ago, and its heart was still fresh.
However, right at this moment, a terrifying aura exploded from the baboon"s corpse.
Boom, boom, boom…!
A frightening explosion detonated, and the vigorous booming sounds travelled at least ten kilometers away. A deep crater that was five meters deep and more than thirty meters in diameter appeared in the middle of the series of explosions where the Purpleshadow Lion and the baboon"s corpse had been located.
The lion was indeed quick, and had turned to run when it realized something was amiss. However, no matter how fast it was, it couldn"t be faster than the instantaneous explosion. Its frame had just darted out when it was swept away by the terrifying blast, and it hurtled through the air as it flattened countless trees and plants before it finally landed on the ground with a crash.
The Purpleshadow Lion was a speed-type soul beast, so its defensive capabilities weren"t that great, definitely far inferior to the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon. This explosion had seared and torn through its flesh to the point where its entire body was badly mangled and mutilated. Everyone came forward to check it out, but this fearsome ten thousand year Purpleshadow Lion was already dead. This meant it was killed by that b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon, and n.o.body could absorb the soul ring that it produced.
Li Yongyue"s face was full of regret and a little sad, and everyone"s eyes turned toward Huo Yuhao, who still hadn"t moved from his original position.
They stared at the enormous crater on the ground, and then at the Purpleshadow Lion"s outcome. Everyone drew a cold breath at the same time. What kind of soul skill is this? How can it be so powerful?
Everyone"s eyes were different when they came back beside him. Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan"s eyes even carried a tinge of admiration and reverence. Li Yongyue had missed the chance to absorb a soul beast suitable for him, but he didn"t display a single hint of displeasure.
Han Ruoruo was relatively more familiar with Huo Yuhao because of his relationship with w.a.n.g Yan, and she immediately asked, “What method did you use, Yuhao? How did you trigger such a violent explosion from a few hundred meters away? It was a soul tool, wasn"t it?”
Certain powerful soul bombs could achieve that. Han Ruoruo had also heard from w.a.n.g Yan that Huo Yuhao wasn"t just a soul master, he was also a soul engineer!
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, “That wasn"t a soul tool. It was my soul skill, called Ice Explosion. This soul skill is quite unique, and can only be used when I come into contact with the target. I can fuse my soul power with the ice after I freeze the target. Normally, it"s quite difficult to freeze my opponent over, as that requires a long process, unless my opponent is lower in cultivation than I am. However, it"s different for corpses. The b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon"s soul power hadn"t dissipated yet after it had just died, so I took this chance to use Ice Explosion to seal their soul power inside, equivalent to me creating a bomb. I used almost all my soul power just now to turn all these corpses into similar bombs.”
Zhang Lexuan had a look of revelation as she said, “No wonder you told me that we can rest here in peace tonight. The force of your Ice Explosion must be related to the frozen body"s strength, yes?”
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “That Purpleshadow Lion was unlucky because it came up to a ten-thousand year b.l.o.o.d.y Baboon. I reckon that a thousand-year baboon"s corpse wouldn"t be able to kill it. But it"s a pity, because that Purpleshadow Lion was quite suitable for senior Li.”
Li Yongyue hurriedly said, “It"s alright! The Great Star Dou Forest only has soul beasts inside and nothing else, and we can slowly look for more.”
After a day"s worth of interaction, Huo Yuhao, w.a.n.g Dong"er, and w.a.n.g Qiu"er had given both him and Mo Xuan a strong and lasting impression. It was needless to discuss w.a.n.g Qiu"er, her violent and brutal fighting style petrified the both of them. The girl was pretty, but they would only want to look at her in admiration from a distance. She was just too powerful!
Huo Yuhao"s display of his all-around abilities awed them both. He had formidable fighting strength, and his ability to control his Spiritual Detection truly broadened their horizons. He had even taken over Han Ruoruo"s position as main control, so it was needless to say how advantageous and superior his martial soul was.
Li Yongyue naturally wanted to have a good relationship with a junior like Huo Yuhao. There was no doubt that Huo Yuhao was one of the core students of the inner courtyard"s next generation. And he had two martial souls, as well!
Han Ruoruo blurted out, “Your Ice Explosion is exceptionally ferocious! I"m never coming close to you if we ever have another practice combat. I imagine it"s not difficult for you to freeze someone over with the power of your Ultimate Ice!”
Huo Yuhao smiled and didn"t explain any further. Ice Explosion wasn"t that powerful if it was triggered without anything else. It was most powerful when he touched his opponent with his left hand, which contained the skill, and when he infused Ice Explosion into his opponent"s body the moment he or she was frozen.
Doing so was actually relatively difficult. However, ever since Huo Yuhao had inherited the Ice Empress" three ultimate skills, pairing up the Snowless Glacier and Ice Explosion had risen to a drastically different level, but he couldn"t use this combination easily.
Zhang Lexuan clapped and said, “Alright, since we have Huo Yuhao"s Ice Explosion to protect us, we should all take this chance to rest. w.a.n.g Qiu"er will probably need until daybreak to absorb her soul ring, and we will continue on our journey after she"s done. We are quite fortunate, as we have already found two soul rings for absorption within such a short period of time. I hope we will have similar good fortune in the days to come.”
The night indeed pa.s.sed peacefully with Ice Explosion to protect everyone. Some soul beasts did attempt to come near from time to time, but they didn"t even have to trigger the Ice Explosion, as the beasts scampered away after seeing the b.l.o.o.d.y Baboons" corpses. Not every soul beast was as powerful as the Purpleshadow Lion after all. This was the Hybrid Region"s central area, and there were ten-thousand year soul beasts around, but they were ultimately not the main body. Most of the soul beasts around were only thousand year soul beasts.
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Daybreak...
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, and he immediately felt some dampness on his body. It was the forest"s morning dew, and the damp and refreshing air was filled with nutrition and life energy.
w.a.n.g Dong"er opposite him naturally opened her eyes at the same time, and they exchanged a smile. Their cultivation before this had yielded impressive results, and Huo Yuhao had almost completely restored his soul power.
w.a.n.g Dong"er surveyed her surroundings. w.a.n.g Qiu"er was still absorbing her soul ring, while the others were still cultivating, and n.o.body else had woken yet.
She stood up quietly and sat down beside Huo Yuhao. She used her mouth to gesture at w.a.n.g Qiu"er and whispered, “Do you really believe that she can find a more suitable soul ring for you?”
Huo Yuhao nodded lightly and said, “w.a.n.g Qiu"er is a little arrogant and aloof, but do you think she looks like the kind to tell lies? Her arrogance means she can"t even be bothered with telling lies.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er grunted and said, “You seem to have a high opinion of her.”
Huo Yuhao smiled as he clasped her tender little hands and brought them before him as he caressed them gently. His hands were warm, and w.a.n.g Dong"er felt incredibly comfortable as he rubbed her hands, and she subconsciously leaned her head on his shoulder.
w.a.n.g Dong"er whispered, “You"re not allowed to get too close to her.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “Why not? You"re not confident of yourself anymore?”
w.a.n.g Dong"er snapped, “It"s not about confidence – you"re so ugly, it"s already your good fortune that I"m willing to keep you! w.a.n.g Qiu"er is so arrogant, so how can she be interested in you? I"m just afraid that you"ll waste your time and snub yourself out.”
Huo Yuhao laughed softly and said, “It doesn"t matter whether she"s interested in me, it"s alright as long as you are.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er snapped her head around and stared into his eyes as she asked, “Then tell me, is she prettier, or am I prettier?”
Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation. “You"re the prettier one, of course. All the women in the world are separated into two categories in my eyes: one of them is you, and the other category is where the other women belong. Only you are pretty in my eyes, and no matter how the other girls look like, they will all look the same to me.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er laughed. Her huge and pretty eyes were droopy as she grinned, and she wrapped herself around Huo Yuhao"s arm. She didn"t bother to hide how she liked all this sweet talk.
“You have to mean what you say.”
“Yes.”
Huo Yuhao could feel the warmth and tenderness beside him, and his heart was unnaturally quiet and peaceful. Soul masters treated the Great Star Dou Forest as a place of many dangers, but this place had a taste of paradise to him.
A light fog permeated the forest. The air was humid, but that also made that life energy even denser. He had the girl he loved by his side, and his heart was just so warm… It was difficult to describe this contentment that he felt, and he just wanted to sit here like this for a few days without having to move an inch.