20demayo Chapter 79: The Lion Pride
Chapter 79: The Lion Pride
Yu Chen and his group of six carefully navigated the gaps in the poisonous web, as if traversing a minefield, cautiously avoiding the highly venomous spider silk that emitted a dim, yellowish-green glow.
Finally, they escaped from the "safe zone" heavily wrapped in death threads and returned to the perilous primeval forest environment.
As soon as I left the relatively quiet area isolated by the poison net, a cacophony of dangerous sounds immediately filled my ears—
The sounds of trees colliding and breaking in the distance, the warning or violent roars of different soul beasts, and even the occasional brief and mournful screams of human soul masters could be heard before abruptly ceasing, clearly indicating that they had been quickly "eliminated" in the fierce encounter.
Before leaving, the group reached a consensus: to avoid conflicts with other Soul Master teams as much as possible before fully absorbing the surge of spiritual power within their bodies.
Right now, the most important thing for them is to seize the time and convert as much of the enormous spiritual power they gained from the "poison net trap"—far exceeding their usual training power—into an increase in the age of their own soul rings.
While practical experience is valuable, Wu Changkong has his own ways to help them hone it, and such a massive opportunity for spiritual energy is rare and hard to come by.
"roar--!"
A furious roar suddenly erupted from the dense forest ahead, interrupting everyone's thoughts.
Immediately afterwards, a strangely shaped python-like spirit beast suddenly darted out and blocked their only path.
The python was covered in fiery red scales and exuded a scorching aura. Most peculiarly, it had six short, thick arms around its neck, covered in fine scales and with sharp, spear-like ends, which were now flailing wildly.
"It's a six-armed fire serpent, with a hundred years of cultivation. Everyone, please note that its six arms have a wide attack range and are infused with fire poison."
Yu Chen quickly identified the type of soul beast, whispered a reminder to his teammates, and signaled the team to stop and observe the situation.
However, before the members of Class Zero could react, a sudden change occurred!
"Buzz—!"
A dense, sharply edged, rapidly spinning icy blue halo suddenly shot out from the shadows of the trees to the side!
These ice wheels followed a tricky trajectory, instantly enveloping the six-armed fire serpent.
"Puff puff puff puff...!"
A series of teeth-grinding cutting sounds rang out. Although the six-armed fire serpent was ferocious, defense was not its strong suit.
In this sudden icy storm, its fiery red scales were easily sliced open as if made of paper. Its six arms and body were instantly riddled with holes. Before it could even let out a proper scream, it collapsed to the ground and turned into specks of spiritual energy.
This scene sent a chill down the spines of everyone in Class Zero. The Ice Wheel's destructive power and precision were astonishing.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows, with three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—circling beneath his feet, indicating his Soul Venerable level cultivation.
This was a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a cold face and arrogant eyes. In his hand, he held a long-handled ice staff that was pure white and inlaid with a large blue crystal at the top.
He was also surrounded by a dense yellow aura of spiritual energy, the density of which was in no way inferior to that of Tang Wulin and the others.
"Such a powerful aura..."
Xie Xie couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
The mere presence of the opponent's naturally emanating soul power fluctuations and their ability to instantly kill a hundred-year-old soul beast was enough to put them under considerable pressure.
Wait, it's not just one person.
Behind the young man with the ice staff, another small head peeked out.
It was a little girl who looked about the same age as Tang Wulin and the others. She had two cute light blue braids, and her face was delicate and beautiful.
She also held a miniature ice staff in her hand, and a yellow spirit ring was flashing at her feet. However, her small face showed obvious tension and some discomfort, as if she was afraid of the bloody hunting scene just now.
The young man with the ice staff had a gaze as cold as a searchlight, which immediately locked onto Yu Chen and his group of six.
When he saw the spiritual aura emanating from them that was no less powerful than his own, and even more "substantial," a hint of surprise and caution flashed in his eyes.
Finally, his gaze fell on Yu Chen, and his pupils contracted slightly.
Only now, as he got closer, did he realize more clearly that the total amount of spiritual energy gathered on Yu Chen's body actually slightly exceeded that of himself!
That's an amount that no ordinary Great Soul Master could withstand or absorb.
"This leader... is no ordinary person. His spiritual energy is so abundant... his strength might be no less than mine, perhaps even at the third ring?"
The young man with the ice staff quickly made a judgment in his mind, and the slight sense of superiority that had arisen from his side's superior strength quickly subsided.
He glanced at his innocent and naive sister beside him and quickly made a decision—in this turbulent period fraught with danger, it was better to avoid trouble, especially since the other party did not seem to be weak.
Yu Chen was also sizing up the other party, and quietly put his left hand behind his back, making a gesture to Tang Wulin and the others that said "stay vigilant and avoid conflict for now".
He could also sense the other person's considerable aura and their equally cautious nature, as they didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"friend,"
The young man with the ice staff spoke first, his voice carrying a hint of coldness, just like his personality, but his tone was still relatively calm.
"My brother and I are merely passing through while hunting; we have no intention of being your enemies. Let's keep to ourselves, shall we?"
Yu Chen nodded slightly, his voice steady: "That suits me perfectly. This place is dangerous, so please take care of yourselves. Please make yourselves at home."
Both sides saw a tacit understanding in each other's eyes. Without any unnecessary words, the young man with the ice staff protected his sister, turned in another direction first, and quickly disappeared into the woods.
The members of Class Zero breathed a sigh of relief, maintained their formation, and chose a path completely different from their opponents to move forward.
After walking a distance, Yu Chen gently rubbed his temples, a hint of fatigue showing on his face.
Although his mental strength far surpassed that of his peers, maintaining a highly focused state for an extended period in this perilous and turbulent forest, while also being distracted by command and vigilance of his surroundings, was quite mentally taxing.
"Chen, you take a rest. Leave the rest of the investigation to me."
Gu Yue keenly sensed his fatigue and said softly.
Her elemental control abilities give her a unique advantage in sensing environmental energy flows and anomalies.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Yu Chen didn't try to be brave and nodded. He trusted Gu Yue's abilities.
Gu Yue nodded slightly, and a faint blue glow emanated from her body.
She subtly stirred up the wind element in the surrounding environment.
An extremely gentle, almost imperceptible breeze emanated from Gu Yue, spreading silently outwards like her invisible tendrils.
They brushed past the grass, skimmed over the leaves, and passed through the gaps between the trees, constantly feeding back the subtle information they touched to Gu Yue's perception.
This is an extremely subtle application of the wind element, requiring an extraordinary affinity and control over the element to achieve.
After a moment, Gu Yue frowned slightly, quickly turned to Yu Chen, and whispered:
"Chen, something's wrong. To the left ahead, the flow of wind elements has become unusually chaotic and violent, and it's rapidly moving this way!"
Judging from the weight and scale indicated by the wind's feedback, it's a sizable group of soul beasts, numerous in number, with a very strong energy response, at least a hundred years old—likely a large predatory group!
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a clear tremor began to emanate from the ground beneath everyone's feet, spreading from afar and getting closer!
"Boom... Boom..."
The dull sound, like the beating of war drums, was interspersed with deep, wild, and intimidating roars that pierced through the trees.
Without any special investigation, everyone's expression changed, realizing that danger was approaching.
"Right side, full speed ahead!" Yu Chen made a decisive decision and gave the order without hesitation.
It would be unwise to confront a large group of soul beasts head-on at this moment.
The six members of Class Zero reacted quickly, immediately turning around and speeding to the right of the direction from which the vibration came.
Zhang Yangzi, who was in charge of aerial vision, also acted immediately, directing the little black eagle to risk climbing higher and looking back through the gaps in the tree canopy.
Just seconds later, his panicked voice rang out in the ranks:
"It's a pride of lions! A huge group! Twenty or thirty of them! The leading male lion is as big as a small mountain, probably a thousand-year-old soul beast, its aura is terrifying! It's a pride of Flame Demon Lions!"
"A pack of Flame Lions?!" Everyone's hearts sank.
Once lion-type spirit beasts form a clan, their threat level will increase exponentially.
They possess a strict hierarchy and a cooperative hunting instinct, led by the strongest male lions, with lionesses working seamlessly together, making them fearsome overlords of the forest and grassland regions.
Even a stronger individual soul beast would usually choose to retreat.
"They're rushing towards us! They're moving so fast! The distance is getting shorter!"
Zhang Yangzi's voice trembled slightly due to nervousness.
Clearly, the intense spiritual energy emanating from the Class Zero members, as conspicuous as a campfire in the night, held an irresistible attraction for the soul beasts who also yearned for energy advancement.
The Flame Lion Pack are top predators with keen senses and extremely aggressive behavior.
"Speed up! Leave them behind!"
Yu Chen's eyes narrowed, and he shouted decisively.
The domain of the Word of Power: Time Zero instantly unfolded, precisely enveloping Tang Wulin, who needed to accelerate his companions, and Gu Yue, who was responsible for providing group acceleration support.
In the realm where the flow of time was altered, Yu Chen and Tang Wulin moved with the speed of phantoms, each reaching out to grab Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi.
Gu Yue simultaneously activated her wind element control, and the gentle blue airflow, like a delicate ribbon, wrapped around everyone's body, greatly reducing their weight and air resistance.
"Walk!"
With a low shout, the figures of the six members of Class Zero suddenly became blurry from a normal time perspective.
As if transformed into six cyan arrows skimming the ground, they shot towards the depths of the dense forest to the side at an astonishing speed, instantly creating a significant distance between themselves and the lion pride that was hot on their heels.
However, the tangible yellow aura of spiritual energy emanating from them still shone like the most conspicuous lighthouse in this dark forest.