Chapter 92: Deep into Star Dou, The Missing Soul Beasts
"What incredible speed and crisis reaction capability."
Snake Lance Douluo watched with some surprise at the previous extension, probe, and retraction.
The moment that ten-year-old Black Snake Soul Beast launched its attack, Tang Shan's reaction was as smooth as flowing water, as if he had anticipated it long ago, possessing a calm and unhurried demeanor.
With a simple flick of his fingers, drops of black snake blood were flung from his hand, leaving no marks or damage on his skin.
"Have you reached the so-called Hidden Power stage?"
Seeing Tang Shan easily shake off the toxic blood sticking to his hand and recalling his previous demonstration, Snake Lance Douluo felt a stir in his heart and asked.
"I was fortunate enough to achieve a Breakthrough a few days ago," Tang Shan answered modestly.
Tang Shan answered modestly.
"Then you discovered that Black Venomous Snake in advance, right?"
Snake Lance Douluo was somewhat curious.
"Indeed, I did perceive it in advance."
Tang Shan then gave an explanation.
"Senior, the development of the body through Internal Martial Arts is not just a simple increase in power control, but also involves other subtle and profound aspects. For example, the stage of Hidden Power where 'not a feather can be added, nor a fly can land.' The prerequisite for achieving this is having an extremely strong perception of the outside world. The moment that Black Venomous Snake moved, the airflow it stirred was already sensed by me;
Even without stirring the airflow, Internal Martial Arts develops the human body's potential, and certain special sensitivities to crisis are developed accordingly."
Before his voice had even faded, his left hand reached out. With a simple flick of a finger, a small green snake happened to poke its head out from the bushes and was struck squarely by Tang Shan's finger.
Rather than saying his finger struck the other's head, it was more like the snake had actively collided with it. A surge of Hidden Power was quietly struck into the snake's head; the green snake's body stiffened for a moment, then it fell from the tree.
Seeing this scene, Snake Lance Douluo's eyes narrowed: "What sharp insight."
"This isn't insight, but an instinctive warning of crisis."
Tang Shan withdrew his hand and looked at the black snake at his feet that he had easily crushed to death, feeling some regret: "What a pity, it's covered in poison and has no value."
"Alright, let's pick up the pace and reach the range of that Diamond Mammoth herd as soon as possible to prevent them from getting away."
Snake Lance Douluo said thoughtfully, taking out a map from his robes and following the coordinates on it to travel swiftly in one direction.
The dense thickets were like a giant net covered in thorns, standing arrogantly in their path. The morning dew condensed on the leaves reflected fragmented light, and a mere touch would leave a frightening bloody scratch. Wherever Snake Lance Douluo passed, those baring-fanged thorns were actually smoothed over as if by an invisible giant hand, the branches and leaves rustling as they folded backward. After his figure swept past, they sprang back to their original positions, leaving only a fleeting path.
Facing the obstacles before him, Tang Shan's response was relatively blunt. Whenever the grass wasn't too sharp, he would bow his body and charge through. Thorny vines brushed against his clothes, making a 'chila' sound of tearing silk, shredding his garments into a ragged mess, yet they failed to scratch his skin even the slightest bit.
When encountering those exotic shrubs with thorns like steel needles, he would twist his waist, Hidden Power circulating through his body as his bones made slight popping sounds. His figure suddenly narrowed by a few inches, and he spun through the gaps between the leaves, skillfully venting the force onto the interlocking branches.
Only when meeting an airtight wall of thorns would he activate his Martial Soul. Relying on the boost to his physical attributes, his muscle lines instantly tightened, and he would forcefully crash open a path.
This was a lake as clear as glazed glass. Living water rushed from the mountain streams deep in the forest, crashing against the pebbles at the bottom of the lake, splashing fine water droplets and sending ripples across the lake surface.
By the lakeshore, the vegetation swayed, and tall ancient trees grew with lush foliage. The layered canopies blotted out the sun, casting large patches of mottled shade.
Wild fruits the size of fists hung from the branches, their skins glowing with an enticing reddish-purple. The fragrance of the fruit mixed with the moist water vapor, brewing a sweet scent in the air.
Several ashen-gray flying Soul Beasts spread their wings, circling and soaring in the sky. Their cries pierced the clouds, and they suddenly dived down like arrows, their sharp claws breaking the water surface and bringing up a string of crystalline water droplets, instantly flying up with fat fish in their beaks.
Shasha... Shasha...
Deep in the forest, the vegetation swayed as two figures stepped out from the greenery that was too thick to disperse.
Snake Lance Douluo looked at the map in his hand and then compared it with the scenery before him, somewhat puzzled: "The place seems correct?"
Tang Shan emerged from the bushes in tattered clothes. Although he was unharmed, his 'beggar outfit' was indeed somewhat unsightly.
He didn't notice Snake Lance Douluo's expression, but instead looked at the clear lake water reflecting the azure sky, unable to help but take a deep breath.
The aura originating from nature, mixed with the increasingly dense Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, flooded into his body.
"The Heaven and Earth Origin Qi here is even denser. Even a Soul Master with average talent might be able to reach the cultivation speed of a Soul Master with several ranks higher Innate Soul Power if they come here to Cultivate," Tang Shan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
After multiple comparisons, Snake Lance Douluo confirmed that he had not lost his way and the location was not marked incorrectly. He looked helplessly at Tang Shan: "It seems that herd of Diamond Mammoths must have migrated."
Only then did Tang Shan notice the other's depressed expression. Upon learning that his target had fled, he was also somewhat disappointed.
"Then what should we do, Senior?"
"Let's see if we can find any clues about where they went. A Soul Ring cannot be absorbed haphazardly."
"That's all we can do then."
Tang Shan and Snake Lance Douluo split up to search for clues, and Tang Shan soon made a discovery.
Ultimately, their physical size was right there. Even though they had migrated some time ago, the traces left behind were still quite obvious.
"There are footprints here; they should have re-entered the inner part of the forest."
Upon learning of Tang Shan's discovery, Snake Lance Douluo quickly rushed over, looking at the somewhat deep forest and then up at the gradually setting sun.
"Let's rest here for a day first. We'll chase after them tomorrow to see what the situation is. Since the traces of the initial migration are still there, the subsequent traces likely won't disappear so easily. There's no rush for this one day or half a day."
Tang Shan did not oppose Snake Lance Douluo's suggestion. Just as the other had said, it was unlikely for the traces to disappear so quickly. If some change really occurred in this one day to make the traces vanish, then perhaps it was the arrangement of fate.
The two of them each took out a tent from their storage spirit tools and quickly set them up.
Snake Lance Douluo put down the matters at hand and looked at Tang Shan, saying proactively: "Do you want to test your combat power after breaking through to Hidden Power?"
From the light in his eyes, one could see that he was also extremely curious about the so-called Hidden Power.
Tang Shan hadn't expected such a good thing. He had come directly to the Star Dou Great Forest after his Breakthrough and didn't have a clear understanding of his own combat power yet. But as long as he exchanged blows with Snake Lance Douluo, he would surely be able to make a judgment soon.
"Senior, be careful."
Before his voice had even faded, Tang Shan's figure leaped up like an arrow from a bow. The surrounding airflow was drawn, making a sharp whistling sound. With a light tap of his foot on the ground, his whole being was enveloped in a forceful wind as he lunged toward Snake Lance Douluo.
A sharp light flashed in Snake Lance Douluo's eyes. With a flick of his wrist, that pitch-black Snake Lance was held in his hand. A grim and sharp Soul Power fluctuation swirled around the lance body, with snake-scale patterns faintly lighting up, and a cold wave of Evil Qi blew toward him.
Seeing Tang Shan's figure already closing in, Snake Lance Douluo's wrist suddenly shook, like a Martial Soul snake emerging from its hole, carrying a 'weng' sound of piercing the air.
The tip of the lance flashed with a cold light, locking onto Tang Shan's glabella, throat, Dantian, and several other fatal vitals with unerring precision.
Specks of cold light burst like stars, instantly sealing off all of Tang Shan's evasion routes.
Swish!
The hair all over Tang Shan's body suddenly stood on end. A bone-chilling sense of crisis surged through his body like an electric current, as if countless ice needles were pressed against his skin. That was the instinctive warning developed by Hidden Power.
He could clearly feel that the tip of the Snake Lance was like a venomous snake's flickering tongue, carrying a heart-palpitating pressure.
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