Night Raid

Chen Xuan remained calm, waving his hand as he sent a silver kunai shooting into the forest.

He left without saying goodbye, not wanting to alarm anyone, so he chose to leave in this way.

In a flash, a golden light flickered, and Chen Xuan's figure was gone, as if he had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

By the time everyone noticed Chen Xuan's disappearance, he had already left the area, heading deep into the Star Dou Forest, a thousand meters away.

Chen Xuan didn't know that shortly after he left, something unexpected happened.

The team leader, Da Zhuang, appeared in everyone's sight, carrying a barely alive wild wolf, which he tossed in front of the bearded man like he was throwing a chicken.

Three other soul masters returned from afar, slightly behind.

"Hurry and absorb the spirit ring. Even in the outer regions, dangers lurk everywhere," urged the team leader, Da Zhuang.

He felt uneasy, a sense of dread creeping over him, worried that something might go wrong.

Earlier, during the hunt for the spirit beast, the blood wolf let out a chilling howl before it fell, unable to fight any longer.

He couldn't tell if it was the wolf's unwilling cry or if it had a deeper meaning.

The bearded man urged his child to quickly absorb the spirit ring, not wanting to stay in the spirit beast forest any longer.

The forest was quiet, with a gentle breeze rustling the trees, giving a sense of peace.

Until, three minutes later, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Team leader Da Zhuang was the first to feel it. His body tensed, and his expression turned extremely grim.

"Something's wrong, something's coming."

As soon as he spoke, the ground shook violently, and the trees swayed as if something terrifying was approaching from the depths of the earth.

"Run! If we don't, we'll all die!" Da Zhuang's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with fear.

In fact, everyone wanted to run at that moment. The terrifying wave of soul power made it clear they stood no chance.

Two hundred meters away, dust clouds billowed as a horde of spirit beasts charged toward them.

"It's a beast tide! Run!" When the group saw what it was, they lost all composure, terror gripping them as they fled in panic.

Someone caught sight of the spirit beasts and was overwhelmed with fear—they were all blood wolves, at least fifty or sixty of them.

"No, you can't leave! My child is still absorbing the spirit ring!" the bearded man shouted, grabbing Da Zhuang's arm, trying to stop him from leaving.

When disaster strikes, everyone looks out for themselves—no one would stay behind to die.

Da Zhuang kicked the bearded man away, his eyes cold and unfeeling, not even sparing him a glance as he bolted away at top speed.

The ground shook even more violently, an overwhelming pressure filling the air. In the next moment, trees toppled, and the pack of blood wolves charged through, unstoppable.

"Ah!"

A blood-curdling scream filled with pain and anger echoed through the forest, but it quickly fell silent.

Da Zhuang and the others quickened their pace, running frantically towards the exit of the Star Dou Forest.

The group was terrified, recognizing the scream behind them—it was definitely the employer and his son. They likely met their end in the jaws of the blood wolves.

When faced with life-threatening danger, money and contracts lose all meaning. No one wanted to risk their lives for a few gold soul coins; they needed to survive to spend it.

Unlike the panicked escape of the others, Chen Xuan was calmly making his way through the forest, even taking time to admire the scenery.

He never imagined that the team leader's judgment of his strength would inadvertently save his life, allowing him to leave early and avoid a deadly chase.

Several kilometers away, after using the Flying Thunder God technique more than thirty times, Chen Xuan's breathing grew heavier. He had to stop, feeling a bit exhausted.

Although the soul power required for each teleportation was minimal, it was still draining after so many uses.

He had been using the Flying Thunder God technique to travel, moving at top speed. Covering five or six kilometers in such a short time, even a Soul Emperor would struggle to keep up.

In the forest, flashes of golden light appeared as Chen Xuan teleported every two or three hundred meters.

After flying another five or six kilometers, Chen Xuan stopped, refraining from taking another step because he had found his target.

Ahead of him was a river, about seven or eight meters wide, running through half of the forest. The water was crystal clear, with small fish swimming by from time to time.

Chen Xuan's eyes opened, revealing his Sharingan with three tomoe, as he focused on the large creature ahead.

In the river was a bizarre-looking spirit beast, ugly and green all over, resembling an anglerfish, but with evolved limbs—a rare sight indeed.

Chen Xuan pulled out a thick book, flipping through it while observing the ugly fish, searching for relevant information.

"Sure enough, it's one of the targets I was looking for." He stopped flipping through the pages after a few minutes, finally finding the information he needed. The pages recorded details about the anglerfish spirit beast and how to identify its age.

"Judging by the size of that lump, it's probably over 9,000 years old." Chen Xuan frowned—this was beyond his absorption limit.

He had only been cultivating for a short time, less than half a month, and his original body had been trained as an auxiliary type, making his physical fitness quite poor.

If it weren't for consuming that plant that was likely an immortal herb and having that one night with Xiao Wu, he wouldn't even be able to handle a 6,000-year-old spirit ring.

"Forget it, I'll recover my soul power first. If needed, I'll find another target." Chen Xuan muttered to himself. His requirements for a spirit beast were very low; as long as it had water attributes, it would do.

Besides, daytime wasn't suitable for action; night was better for making a move. When your strength is insufficient, ambushes are the way of the ninja.

Afterward, he retreated several dozen meters, jumped onto a large tree, sat down cross-legged, and began to recover his soul power.

As the sun set, night quickly fell, and a round white moon appeared, its pale light gently bathing the earth.

Chen Xuan stood up, fully recovered, but he chose to wait until now to act.

Stars dotted the sky, with the white moon hanging high, reflecting a beautiful night scene on the river's surface.

But the bizarre and ugly fish had long since disappeared.

Chen Xuan wasn't discouraged; as long as his soul power was restored, he had all night to search.

He concealed his presence and moved through the forest, following the river's path.

After half an hour of searching, Chen Xuan finally found another suitable spirit beast.

He held the book, comparing the information to a giant crocodile by the riverbank.

"No doubt about it, judging by the tail length, it's just over 9,000 years old. This is the one!" Chen Xuan smiled.

It was a giant crocodile, with a sharp snout two or three meters long, filled with sharp teeth. Its massive body was green all over, and if it stood upright, it would be taller than a giraffe.

Normally, crocodile spirit beasts are excellent choices for strong attack or defense types, but this was a mutated giant crocodile with the ability to control water, making it a perfect match.

"I'll reward you with a Fire Style technique first." Chen Xuan's eyes turned blood-red, the six tomoe spinning slowly. He stood on a tree trunk, staring at the sleeping spirit beast.

He slowly formed several hand seals, channeling his chakra rapidly towards his throat.

Swish!

Chen Xuan disappeared from his original spot, pushing his speed to the limit, appearing above the mutated giant crocodile in an instant.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

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