The person who stumbled out of the forest, seeing people ahead, was like grabbing a life-saving straw, shouting towards Ming Tian and the others.
"Help me! Please, save me!"
The person frantically ran to Ming Tian and the others. The dark swarm of bats behind them seemed to be targeting him, flying towards him.
He Chen, seeing this, secretly cursed his bad luck and activated his Martial Soul, using his Heavenly Blaze Halberd.
The Heavenly Blaze Halberd was a weapon Martial Soul, a single-edged halberd, over two meters long. Initially, it was just an ordinary great halberd. After He Chen obtained his seventh Soul Ring by hunting a Soul Beast called the Heavenly Blaze Winged Tiger, the Heavenly Blaze Halberd changed. Thus, He Chen named his Martial Soul after the Heavenly Blaze Winged Tiger.
Seven Soul Rings – yellow, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black – circled He Chen. Although it wasn't the best Soul Ring combination, it still demonstrated his powerful strength as a Soul Saint.
He Chen released his fourth Thousand-Year Soul Ring skill. He pointed the halberd tip down, dragging it across the ground, and then swung it upwards, creating a five-meter-long golden blade attack that slashed towards the Blood Bats in the air.
Most of these Blood Bats were around a decade old, with some being a century old, but not many were a thousand years old. With this strike, some bats that couldn't dodge were instantly killed and fell, some even cut in half.
The bats in front of him fell one after another, mostly revealing white and yellow Soul Rings. He Chen stood proudly in front of the bat swarm. The Blood Bat swarm, knowing that the enemy in front of them was too difficult to deal with, emitted a piercing sound wave and retreated.
"Wow, Uncle He Chen is amazing!"
Yan Qingwan, seeing this, clapped her hands and cheered.
"Heh, Miss is too kind. He is not that talented, and I can't make any further progress. You will be even more powerful than me in the future."
He Chen said with a smile, then came to the person hiding behind them. Seeing that the bat swarm had left, the person breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the ground.
"Thank you, thank you..."
"Alright, what exactly happened? Why were you being chased by the Blood Bat swarm? Blood Bats are generally social animals, living in damp and dark caves. They are nocturnal and rarely attack humans, mostly feeding on animals and insects. What did you do to attract such a large swarm of Blood Bats?"
"Ah? This..."
The person, hearing He Chen's question, seemed reluctant to answer.
"What? Did you do something bad?"
"No, no, I am just a merchant from Tianling City. It's just that, recently, some friends told me that eating Blood Bats would increase physical strength and aid in cultivation. I believed them and came with them to hunt bats around a decade old. At first, nothing unusual happened. Who knew that today, they wanted to go to the cave where the Blood Bats lived to hunt century-old ones. I couldn't refuse, so I went along. Who knew, who knew that there was an existence with a cultivation level exceeding a century and becoming a thousand-year-old one? We angered them and attracted their pursuit. My companions have all died, and only I was lucky enough to escape."
After hearing this, He Chen and Ming Tian all sucked in a breath of cold air. He Chen, hearing this, was even more furious:
"Absurd! There's no logic in using eating bats to increase cultivation. Even Evil Soul Masters haven't been heard of doing this! You disregarded the laws of nature and disturbed the ecological group of nature, and you will be punished!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I know I was wrong..."
The person said in a panic, suddenly his face became distorted, and he grabbed his body with his hands, shouting:
"It's so itchy! It's so itchy! What's going on?! I'm dying of itchiness!"
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Seeing this situation, the four people didn't dare to go forward. They saw the person scratching his body, drawing blood, and still scratching non-stop.
"Hmph, seeking your own destruction. It should be poisoned. This should be the venom of the Poison Bat. Although Blood Bats are social animals, they don't reject their own kind. Poison Bats and Big-Mouth Bats also live mixed with them. He's been poisoned by the Poison Bat's venom, and he won't live long."
"It's a pity, is there no way to save him?"
Yan Qingwan said with some sympathy.
"This kind of person, is not worth saving. Bat venom is generally considered relatively difficult to cure, on par with snake venom and scorpion venom. Once poisoned, death is instantaneous, and it's known as a mobile poison repository."
"Over the years, it's people like these who have wantonly killed Soul Beasts, in pursuit of things from Soul Beasts that benefit human Soul Masters, causing some Soul Beasts to become endangered or even extinct."
"It's still balanced now, but with the expansion of the population on the continent and the increase in Soul Masters, and the constant increase in demand, Soul Beasts may face an even more severe situation in the future."
"I really don't know if it will become difficult to obtain Soul Rings in the future, and how will human Soul Masters and nature coexist?"
He Chen said with a somewhat sad expression, and Ming Tian and the others were also thoughtful.
"Soul Beasts and humans..."
Ming Tian looked at the person who was close to death in front of him, and remembered what his mother had told him before. He was a child born of a Soul Beast and a human, and half of his blood also flowed with the blood of a Soul Beast, and now probably more. In other words, in some ways, he had something in common with Soul Beasts. So, if one day he faced such a situation, should he do something for the Soul Beasts? And how would others view him, this half-human, half-Soul Beast guy?
"Alright, let's go."
With a somewhat heavy and compassionate heart, everyone ended this episode and continued to search for a suitable Soul Beast for Yan Qingwan.
"We will try our best to find fire-type Soul Beasts. It's probably not many near the outer edges, it seems we have to go deeper into the forest."
He Chen said after walking for a while.
"Continue to go deeper into the forest? Then we will reach the border with Star Luo, and we will encounter ten-thousand-year-level ones."
Yan said cautiously, with her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"What's wrong? Are you scared, brother?"
Yan Qingwan said with a smile, looking at Yan.
"How could I be scared? I'm thinking about your safety, you idiot!"
"Young Master's worries are not without reason, but Young Master, don't underestimate me, as long as it's not a Soul Beast with a cultivation level above fifty thousand years, I can handle it."
"Lingdou Forest is not like Star Dou or Pang Long. There aren't many Soul Beasts with a cultivation level of ten thousand years, and it's even less likely there are hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts, so we don't need to worry."
He Chen said, and the confidence he showed made everyone feel at ease, and they continued to walk deeper.
They entered Lingdou Forest in the afternoon. After this journey, it was almost evening. Stars began to sparsely hang in the night sky, the cool wind blew, and the Soul Beasts kept calling out, making people feel a little creepy.
"Whew, it's cold."
Yan Qingwan said, clasping her hands together, blowing hot air onto her hands.
"This place is already relatively dangerous. Let's stay together, and don't get separated."
"It's not suitable to actively search for Soul Beasts next, it's better to let the Soul Beasts take the initiative to find us. I think the Soul Beasts here will be more interested when they see human Soul Masters delivering themselves to them."
He Chen smiled and led Ming Tian and the other three to a grassy area, leaning against a huge rock and sitting down. He found some dry branches and straw and put them together, lighting them.
Soon, a bonfire was formed, and the flames illuminated the surroundings, and several people sat around it.
"Uncle He, is it okay for us to light a bonfire like this? If Soul Beasts see the bonfire, and if too many Soul Beasts are attracted, we won't be able to handle it."
Ming Tian asked. In a forest where Soul Beasts live in groups, lighting a bonfire is a taboo. Some powerful Soul Beasts might come over and treat them as delicious food.
"Hmm, Ming Tian, you're right, but you can rest assured. I have already released the aura of a Soul Saint, and some Soul Beasts with low strength will not approach. If a powerful Soul Beast comes over, you can hide behind me, and I also have a defensive Soul Skill to protect you."
"In addition, I also have an idea, fire-type Soul Beasts are not easy to find during the day. At night, fire-type Soul Beasts will release their flames to illuminate and explore the way. If you find a light there, it must be a fire-type Soul Beast."
"I see."
Ming Tian said with some understanding, but why didn't it feel reassuring?
"Eh? There's a light there! It's a fire-type Soul Beast, right."
Yan suddenly noticed, that not far from them, a flame flashed and disappeared.
"Hmm? Let's go and take a look."
He Chen said, leading the three, protecting them, and coming to the place where the fire-type Soul Beast had appeared.
He Chen released his Martial Soul, and his keen perception quickly captured the thing that had just flashed by. The Heavenly Blaze Halberd was thrown out, and he didn't know what it hit.
The few people hurried to check.
"Yo yo!!"
Arriving at the place where the Soul Beast was hit, the few people found it was a Flame Fang Beast.
The Flame Fang Beast is named for its two protruding fangs. Its tail burns with flames, its ears are black, and its fur is light yellow, its appearance is somewhat similar to a fox.
"Yo yo yo!!"
The Flame Fang Beast's tail was pinned by the Heavenly Blaze Halberd, and it cried out in pain. Seeing the people coming, it opened its mouth and roared at them, and the sharp, protruding teeth were noticeable.
"A Thousand-Year Flame Fang Beast, it's a top-grade, but the age is high."
"Oh my god, it's so pitiful, its claws are still holding food, it should have just caught the food and was about to eat, let's let it go."
Yan Qingwan said, looking at the Flame Fang Beast pinned to the ground. The Flame Fang Beast's tail had already bled.
"Alright, since Miss said so, I will do as you say."
He Chen put away the Heavenly Blaze Halberd, and the intense pain for an instant made the Flame Fang Beast roar.
"Don't be afraid, I'm sorry, I have a Soul Beast healing ointment here, you can't move now, I'll apply it for you."
Yan Qingwan walked forward, and the Flame Fang Beast roared at Yan Qingwan with vigilance. He Chen released the aura of a Soul Saint to make it quiet, and Yan Qingwan released her own Martial Soul, Flame Lotus Maiden. Seeing Flame Lotus Maiden, the Flame Fang Beast seemed to sense something, and a pair of black eyes showed a look of respect, allowing Yan Qingwan to embrace its fluffy tail and apply the ointment.