Chapter 24: Counter-kill!

With six soul beasts ranging from two to three thousand years by his side, Cheng Xiao felt quite confident. He had no fear of someone entering the Star Dou Great Forest alone.

Although the strength of these six soul beasts was somewhat reduced after turning into shadows, they all still belonged to the two-thousand-year range.

Under Cheng Xiao's command, the six soul beasts' shadows cooperated with each other and, being essentially indestructible, could be easily worn down by Cheng Xiao's limited soul power. Killing a nearly three-thousand-year soul beast was a straightforward task.

Therefore, within just one day, Cheng Xiao's shadow legion had managed to kill three three-thousand-year soul beasts.

With nine shadow soul beasts now, Cheng Xiao's confidence swelled once again. At this rate, it wouldn't take long before he could gather fifteen soul beast shadows, forming a shadow soul beast legion.

The more soul beasts he killed, the larger and more powerful Cheng Xiao's shadow legion became, making it faster and easier to besiege and kill other soul beasts. The snowball effect was truly terrifying!

Due to the unexpectedly rapid progress, Cheng Xiao, unwilling to stop, hunted down a few more soul beasts with a thousand-year age or more. However, without exception, he couldn't summon their shadows.

After several attempts, Cheng Xiao concluded that there was a limit to summoning shadows!

He couldn't use the full power of the shadow. This meant that his "monarch" authority was insufficient, and in a situation of inadequate strength, the undead existence of soul beasts might resist his commands. Shadow of powerful beings would not submit to a weaker individual.

The limit of shadow summoning was likely related to his soul ring's absorbed years!

He calculated carefully. Before the liberation of his martial soul, he absorbed about a thousand years. With three complete pieces of thousand-year whale gum, it increased to around twenty-five hundred years.

The upper limit of soul ring absorption was determined by the quality of the martial soul, physique, and spiritual strength. After the liberation of his martial soul, he finally became a true twin martial soul, to some extent, a form of martial soul evolution. This was bound to increase the upper limit of his soul ring absorption to a certain extent.

As for how much it increased, it was hard to say without trying. Without further experimentation, Cheng Xiao dared not rashly raise it.

But now, discovering that there was also a limit to shadow summoning, Cheng Xiao intuitively believed it was not advisable to exceed the limit of shadow summoning.

"Heh, this is simple. From now on, before absorbing the soul ring, I'll summon the shadow first. If it can't be summoned, then I won't absorb it."

Cheng Xiao suddenly realized that he didn't have to put so much effort into calculating the upper limit of his soul ring absorption. To know if it worked or not, he just needed to try it out.

"Is this considered exploiting a bug?" In the red glow of the campfire, Cheng Xiao's expression looked a bit strange.

Shaking his head to dispel distracting thoughts, Cheng Xiao expanded the shadow domain and released thirteen soul beast shadows.

Thirteen soul beasts of various sizes surrounded Cheng Xiao, lowering their bodies to show respect.

"Guard me!" Cheng Xiao ordered.

The thirteen soul beasts looked at each other and engaged in a series of low muttering sounds.

Since Cheng Xiao couldn't understand what they were saying, it seemed that soul beasts had their own language...

After a brief "dispute," eight soul beasts were squeezed out and sneaked into the shadows in eight different directions, while the remaining five surrounded the tent, taking a rest. Cheng Xiao couldn't help twitching his mouth at this operation.

Cheng Xiao went into the makeshift tent, prepared to get some sleep. Tomorrow, after hunting the remaining two soul beasts, he would return to Noding City.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Cheng Xiao raised his eyebrows, sensing a slight disturbance.

In his perception, a shadow quietly entered his domain. It roamed on the edge of the domain.

And that shadow was not an unfamiliar soul beast; it was one of the seven people who helped him hunt the soul beasts before!

"Interesting, tomorrow I'll give you a big gift!" Cheng Xiao grinned, revealing a playful smile.

The next day, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Dai Chong and the other six, following the markings left by Lao San, finally caught up.

"Old Three, how is it?" Dai Chong asked.

"Following him, didn't lose him. That kid is indeed peculiar!" Old Three looked somewhat excited. "I followed him all the way. That kid can handle three-thousand-year soul beasts on his own and has killed quite a few! With this ability, why does he need to hire us?"

"I knew it! That kid must have some secret technique!" Old Six was overjoyed.

"But, with his strength, can we take him down?" Someone expressed concern.

"He has been hunting three-thousand-year soul beasts all along. It seems he can only hunt three-thousand-year ones, indicating that his strength is not as strong as we imagined!" Old Six explained. "Moreover, all seven of us are Soul Ancestors, while he's just one person and a kid at that! As long as we set up traps, he definitely won't be our match!"

Having the upper hand in calculations, it shouldn't go wrong. Unless that kid is a Soul Emperor! But thinking about it again, a Soul Emperor is powerful enough to contend with ten-thousand-year soul beasts. An eleven-year-old Soul Emperor? He couldn't have cultivated so quickly since birth.

Dai Chong pondered for a while, nodded, and said, "In that case, let's discuss how to set up the traps..."

"Hey! Everyone, chatting without me?" Suddenly, a childish voice sounded abruptly, like a cool breeze infiltrating the entire group. The seven of them felt a chilling sensation, and turning around, they saw a young boy standing on a giant tree, looking at them with a teasing expression.

A sudden encounter with the person they were plotting against made Old Six break into a cold sweat. The others were the same. In a situation where they were guilty, suddenly being seen by the person involved nearly scared them to death.

Only Dai Chong appeared somewhat composed, revealing a slightly awkward smile. "Haha, so it's little brother! What a coincidence. Why did you come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone? It's quite dangerous."

"Yeah, it's quite dangerous. You can easily be ambushed if you're not careful," Cheng Xiao said faintly. "By the way, the traps you just mentioned, tell me about them."

"What... What traps? Little brother, did you mishear?" Dai Chong's voice trembled a bit.

But after a second thought, something's not right. The other side is just a kid, and on their side, there are seven Soul Ancestors. Even if they don't set any traps and endure the cost of injuries, shouldn't they be able to take him down? What are they afraid of?

With this realization, Dai Chong calmed down again, and his expression gradually turned from awkwardness to a hint of fierceness. He hid his hands behind him, giving signals to the other six. Understanding his signals, the six of them began to move without any expression, intending to form a surrounding posture and directly capture Cheng Xiao.

"Oh, maybe!" Cheng Xiao seemed not to notice their actions, smiling and saying, "I haven't thanked you guys yet. This meeting is just right. I've prepared a big gift for you."

"A gift?" Dai Chong's face froze, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes!" Cheng Xiao grinned, showing sharp white teeth. "A life-and-death gift set! Life or death, it all depends on fate!"

"Roar!"

Suddenly, three terrifying soul beast roars soared into the sky. The ground shook as three colossal creatures knocked down trees. Provoked by a few shadow soul beasts, they angrily rushed towards the position of the seven people! The faces of the seven changed drastically; it turned out to be five -thousand-year soul beasts!

"Enjoy it, everyone! No need to thank me!"