A few days later.
The fully equipped trio of Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Unlike the Soul Hunting Forest, there were no heavy guards stationed here—only a few scattered outposts with occasional patrols.
The Star Dou Great Forest was simply too vast, spanning across both great empires.
Even a powerful nation like the Star Luo Empire didn't have enough manpower to fully surround the forest.
This time, although Xiao Lin had Xiao Wu leading the way—which probably meant the danger wouldn't be too high—he still chose to be cautious.
He wore bamboo armor crafted from strong bamboo—lightweight yet, when imbued with soul power, offering impressive defense.
Tang San didn't dress like Xiao Lin, but he carried meticulously prepared poisons, insect repellents, and snake repellents. He even crafted a few sleeve darts—one for each of them.
With the sleeve dart's help, Xiao Lin's attack power and speed could be greatly enhanced.
That was one of the reasons he dared venture into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Unfortunately, time had been too short for Tang San to make a Zhuge Divine Crossbow.
Among the three, only Xiao Wu looked completely relaxed.
She occasionally looked around, making Xiao Lin and Tang San believe she was carefully scouting.
Their trio, all under seven years old, was marching in a triangular formation toward the border between the outer and mixed zones of the forest.
Xiao Wu took point as the scout, while Tang San held her with Blue Silver Grass so he could pull her back instantly if needed.
Xiao Lin stayed on their flank and slightly behind, guarding against side and rear attacks.
Inside the forest, dense, towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight. Only a few lucky rays pierced the canopy, casting patches of light on the forest floor.
The deeper they went, the more they felt the forest's eerie silence and hidden danger.
Occasional predator roars echoed faintly, constantly warning them not to go any deeper.
The Star Dou Great Forest felt like a terrifying, shadowy entity, gradually trying to swallow the three of them.
It was a paradise for soul beasts and poisonous creatures—an almost primal jungle.
Tang San didn't dare relax. His face tense, he carefully sprinkled repellent powders on the ground.
Unnoticed by Tang San and Xiao Lin, Xiao Wu quietly took a pinch of powdered dung from Er Ming (the Titan Giant Ape) from her soul tool and scattered it onto the grass.
That soul tool? It came from a soul master who foolishly challenged Er Ming and died—Xiao Wu had salvaged it from Er Ming's collection.
Thanks to the scent of Er Ming's dung, Xiao Lin and Tang San barely encountered any soul beasts.
Aside from some plant-type beasts, the only animal-type soul beasts Xiao Lin saw were, frankly, stupid—like a Soft Bone Rabbit that ran headfirst into a tree.
"This is strange. Doesn't make sense. Why are there so few soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest?" Xiao Lin muttered in a voice only the three could hear.
You couldn't blame him. In both books and his memories of watching Douluo 1 and 2, the forest was supposed to be crawling with soul beasts.
It shouldn't be sparser than the Soul Hunting Forest!
Given how many soul beasts the forest had, it wasn't unusual for them to occasionally spill out into human territory.
"Maybe your powders are just too effective?" Xiao Lin asked, though his eyes were already locking suspiciously on Xiao Wu.
"I don't know, Lin-ge. I just bought some millennium soul beast dung, dried it, ground it into powder, and mixed it into the snake repellent," Tang San replied, equally puzzled.
He had bought dung from a Rampaging River Horse—a soul beast that was violent but not especially strong. Just one that pooped a lot, hence the low price.
"Maybe there's a powerful soul beast nearby, and the others ran off?" Xiao Wu suggested, putting on a thoughtful expression.
Tang San nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."
Only Xiao Lin was giving Xiao Wu a deeper, more skeptical look.
"But if that's the case, how are we supposed to find the Lightning Leopard?" he asked, clearly frustrated. Was Xiao Wu scaring the Leopard off too?
Well, it didn't really matter. The forest was huge—they still had a ways to go before even reaching the mixed zone.
Xiao Lin didn't think they'd run into something like a Lightning Leopard so close to the edge.
The next two days were filled with slow progress and short breaks.
After they passed through a final stretch of shorter trees, they arrived at the boundary of the mixed zone.
One step further, and they'd be inside.
The environment ahead was darker, more dangerous, and filled with soul beasts far stronger than they could handle.
Even without entering, the oppressive aura made their skin crawl and spines shiver.
The truth was, they were just too low level.
Behind them lay the peaceful outer forest, seemingly devoid of threats.
"Lin-ge, I feel like the area ahead is too dangerous," Tang San warned.
After his spiritual power had broken through to Four Orifices - Everlasting Heart, his awareness had increased drastically. His Purple Demon Eye had also reached the Microscopic level.
To him, even rapid movements looked like slow-motion. The tiniest changes stood out like flashing lights.
If Tang San said it was dangerous, then it was definitely dangerous.
Hearing this, Xiao Lin didn't plan to go much further.
The mixed zone contained many highly intelligent soul beasts—some smarter than humans. If they were discovered, they'd be doomed.
"We'll just go in a little, scout around the edge," Xiao Lin said. He wasn't about to take unnecessary risks. Worst-case scenario, he'd settle for a mediocre soul beast.
After all, his first soul ring came from a Vigorous Vajra Bull.
And that was when Tang Hao offered to help him get a ring! He hadn't even asked Tang Hao to catch a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear—so Xiao Lin definitely knew how to assess danger.
"Alright, we'll just go in a little," Xiao Wu replied with a relaxed smile, then stepped confidently into the mixed zone.
Tang San and Xiao Lin followed close behind.
"ROAR!"
As soon as the trio stepped inside, a deafening roar exploded ahead of them.
The sound waves blasted across the forest, toppling trees thirty meters tall like they were weeds.
"Titan Giant Ape!" Xiao Lin cried.
It was his first time seeing the legendary King of the Forest from the stories—a Titan Giant Ape.
Its massive form moved like a mountain through the grasslands. To it, the forest's towering trees were nothing but underbrush.
Its terrifying body stood over fifty meters tall at the shoulders. Its black fur gleamed with an oily sheen, and each strand was as thick as Xiao Lin's arm, like power cables.
"Hiss—!"
It was terrifying beyond belief!
As Xiao Lin sucked in a sharp breath, Tang San did the same.
They were both stunned by the sheer might of the Titan Giant Ape. The fact that they weren't paralyzed with fear was already impressive.
Tang San had strong mental resilience, and Xiao Lin had mentally prepared himself.
"Books say the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder height is just seven or eight meters... That's clearly false."
Only after the creature had left did Xiao Lin dare to speak normally again.
Then, before Tang San or Xiao Wu could respond, he turned to glare sharply at Xiao Wu.
Is this the "guest actor" you invited?
And now you want me to just "play along" with your performance?
(End of Chapter)