Chapter 187: Ice and Fire Soul Hunt
Above a valley on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Space rippled slightly as the Azure Lotus Sword Qi dispersed.
Li Bai landed in a relatively flat forest clearing with Ning Rongrong and the other four.
"Alright, this will be the place."
Li Bai stretched, lazily leaned against a large rock, and took down his wine gourd.
"From now on, you will act on your own."
"Decide for yourselves which Soul Rings you need to obtain, what plans to formulate, and what battles to face."
"Remember, unless you are on the verge of death, don't count on me."
Ning Rongrong and the other four looked at each other!
They all saw determination and a hint of nervousness in each other's eyes.
Truly leaving the academy's protection and stepping into the danger-filled Star Dou Great Forest felt completely different.
"Let's first determine the Soul Rings we each need and the potential target Soul Beast areas."
Dugu Yan, being slightly older and having a relatively steady personality, was the first to speak.
Through their studies at the academy and the tacit understanding built from fighting side-by-side, she had subtly become the temporary commander of this small team.
"..."
The five quickly exchanged ideas and, based on the Soul Beast knowledge they learned at the academy, initially identified several potential areas of Soul Beast activity.
They coordinated perfectly, with Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling providing support from the center, and Zhu Zhuqing acting as the scouting vanguard!
Dugu Yan handled crowd control and poison attacks, while Ao Yin led the frontal assault!
The prototype of a complete small Soul Master battle team was already in place.
"Move out!"
Dugu Yan gave a low shout, and the five quickly followed their established formation, cautiously heading deeper into the forest.
Their figures soon vanished into the dense jungle.
Li Bai leaned against the rock, seemingly drinking wine nonchalantly.
But deep within those seemingly drunken, hazy eyes, every movement of Ning Rongrong's group dozens of miles away, along with the various hidden auras around them, was clearly reflected.
His Spiritual Power was like an invisible spider web, quietly blanketing the area.
"Little ones, don't let me get too bored."
He chuckled softly and tilted his head back to take another swig of strong wine.
Just as Ning Rongrong and the others began their training journey in the Star Dou Forest.
In the Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest, by the shore of the Lake of Life.
Di Tian's golden Dragon eyes slowly opened, looking toward a certain direction on the outskirts of the forest.
As one of the actual rulers of the Star Dou Great Forest, he was extremely sensitive to the flow of auras within the forest.
"People from Big Dipper Academy... a few little ones have come, along with that unfathomable Li Bai."
Di Tian's deep voice rang out, "Is it to hunt for Soul Rings?"
A flash of light and shadow appeared by the lakeshore as Gu Yuena's figure emerged. She slightly raised her purple eyes, as if also piercing through layers of space!
She saw the team advancing cautiously, as well as the elegant figure drinking wine further away.
"It's that swordsman named Li Bai, and those human children with decent talent."
Gu Yuena's voice was calm.
"It should be an ordinary soul-hunting exercise. With Li Bai there, we don't need to bother. Send out the order for the ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts on the outskirts to avoid the Core Areas where they are active."
"But if any are reckless enough to run into them... their life or death is in the hands of fate. As long as they don't touch our clan's core interests or high-level Soul Beasts, let them be."
She paused and added, "However, keep an eye on their movements in secret, especially that Li Bai; do not provoke him."
"Yes, Sovereign."
Di Tian took the order, and an invisible ripple of Spiritual Power quickly spread to all parts of the forest.
Although there were undercurrents within the Soul Beast Clan due to the Bloodline Ranking, they still maintained sufficient vigilance and temporary avoidance toward Big Dipper Academy, especially the mysterious Dean Lu and the experts under him. Time flowed by, and half an hour passed!
Time passed slowly, and half an hour had gone by!
Dugu Yan and the others had already been deep in the forest for several hours, avoiding several groups of powerful Soul Beasts along the way and dealing with a few blind thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Ao Yin's Dragon Might had a certain deterrent effect on low-to-mid-tier Soul Beasts!
Coupled with their deliberate concealment of their auras and choosing relatively safe paths, they proceeded without any major incidents.
"Sister Yan, the target range for your sixth Soul Ring is quite clear. We should prioritize finding suitable poison-attribute or special ice-fire attribute Soul Beasts."
Ning Rongrong whispered while observing her surroundings.
As the support, she was always attentive to the team's needs.
Dugu Yan nodded, her emerald snake pupils sharply scanning the surrounding environment. "Yes, my Martial Soul has evolved to possess the power of ice and fire. If we can find a Soul Beast that has both poison and ice-fire attributes, the Soul Ring's effect would be optimal."
"However, such mutated Soul Beasts are rare and hard to come by."
Ye Lingling said softly, "There are many Soul Beasts in the inner regions of the Star Dou Great Forest; perhaps there are areas we haven't discovered yet."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, her figure merely flickering through the forest like a ghost!
Relying on her extraordinary perception and speed, she constantly relayed the situation ahead and on the flanks to her teammates.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's figure stopped by an ancient tree and signaled with her hand.
Everyone immediately stopped and hid themselves.
"There are abnormal Soul Power residues ahead."
Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice came through.
"It's very mixed; on one side is a piercing icy cold, on the other is a restless burning heat, and... a faint fishy smell."
Ice and fire?
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up, and she exchanged a look with Ning Rongrong; both saw the anticipation in each other's eyes.
"Let's go take a look. Be careful."
Dugu Yan whispered.
The five of them crept forward quietly.
Passing through a dense thicket of shrubs, they saw a small area of broken trees and ground mixed with charred earth and ice crystals!
Obvious fluctuations of ice and fire elements remained in the air, along with the violent aura of a powerful Soul Beast.
"It seems a battle took place here not long ago, and at least one Soul Beast skilled in the power of ice and fire was involved."
Ning Rongrong analyzed. As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she had a broad knowledge of Soul Beasts.
"This residual aura... interwoven with ice and fire, violent and hard to tame, is very characteristic of some kind of mutated lizard-type Soul Beast!"
"Mutated lizard? Ice and fire attributes?"
Dugu Yan's heart skipped a beat!
A strong premonition welled up in her heart, as if a voice were telling her that what she needed was just ahead.
"Follow the tracks and let's see!"
She made a prompt decision.
The group continued tracking along the energy fluctuations left on the ground and the occasionally visible giant claw prints and drag marks.
About fifteen minutes later!
From ahead came a tooth-gritting "crunch, crunch" sound of chewing, along with a thick smell of blood.
They lowered their bodies and pushed aside the last wide leaf blocking their view, and the scene before them came into sight!
In a relatively open forest clearing.
A massive lizard, a full seven or eight meters long, was tearing into and devouring the corpse of a dead Soul Beast that looked like a giant ape.
The lizard was covered in interlocking red and blue scales; the left side of its body was icy blue, emitting wisps of cold air, while the right side was fiery red, with faint heat waves rising.
Its head was hideous, with fangs exposed!
Its breath carried ice crystals and sparks, and its tail was thick and powerful, the tip shimmering with ghostly blue and crimson light.
"Ice-Fire Lizard! It really is!"
Ning Rongrong whispered, filled with surprise.
"Looking at its size and energy fluctuations, it's at least thirty thousand years old!"
"Sister Yan, it's practically tailor-made for your sixth Soul Ring!"
Dugu Yan stared intently at the Ice-Fire Lizard as it feasted, her Martial Soul restless within her, conveying a strong sense of desire and resonance.
This is the one!
"A thirty-thousand-year Ice-Fire Lizard has formidable strength, especially in dual-attribute ice and fire attacks, and its defense isn't weak either."
Dugu Yan quickly calmed down and analyzed.
"We must launch a surprise attack while its alertness is relatively low during feeding, and strive for a quick resolution."
"Rongrong, full support! Lingling, watch everyone's injuries!"
"Zhuqing, harass and pin it down, look for weaknesses!"
"Ao Yin, lead the frontal assault and draw most of its fire! I'll be responsible for crowd control and the killing blow!"
"Understood!"
The four of them responded in unison.
With the plan set, they no longer hesitated.
A flash of light appeared in Ning Rongrong's palm, and the small, exquisite, and radiant Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda emerged.
The Soul Rings around her lit up one by one!
"Nine Treasures Turn, Producing Glazed Tile!"
"First: Strength! Second: Speed! Third: Martial Soul! Fourth: Defense!"
Four brilliant rays of colored light instantly shot out, landing on Ao Yin, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling respectively.
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