Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

"Everyone, rest, replenish your energy, and adjust your condition. We will enter the Starry Sky in half an hour." Jin Yehuan's instructions were concise and clear.

We're almost at the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. Once we pass those danger warning signs, we'll be entering the Star Dou Great Forest itself.

Seeing the sign hanging on a tree not far away, Kong Tianxu felt a surge of familiarity. He still clearly remembered the twists and turns of his first time hunting souls here, the Xuanming Sect, the Immortal Spirit Grass, and Ma Xiaotao.

Sigh, that stupid woman. Kong Tianxu kept restraining himself from thinking about her; her choice in the final round had truly angered him.

But after sleeping for so long, she must have suffered enough. He thought to himself, "I'll take her with me when I leave."

The Shrek members worked together seamlessly, each taking on their assigned tasks to prepare food. Seeing that no one was paying attention to Kong Tianxu, Li Zhuangyun was about to stand up when he noticed that Zhang Lexuan had already walked over.

"Hey, did you bring any food? I have some sesame seed cakes from the inner courtyard canteen." She handed over a package of oiled paper, trying to make her tone sound natural.

"No need," Kong Tianxu replied quickly.

Zhang Lexuan's breath hitched. Her initiative to make amends had been so directly rejected, leaving her somewhat annoyed and casting a shadow of displeasure over her feelings towards Kong Tianxu. However, considering the team's sake, she still tried to persuade him:

"The Starry Sky Forest is dangerous inside; don't conserve your energy..."

Before she could finish speaking, a faint light flashed in Kong Tianxu's hand, and several exquisite food boxes appeared out of thin air. Even before the lids were opened, the rich aroma of food wafted out, instantly silencing Zhang Lexuan's unfinished words.

"Would you like one?" Kong Tianxu handed her a food box, his expression unchanged.

“…Oh, okay.” Zhang Lexuan was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously took it. When she opened it, she found a steaming bowl of food with a good mix of meat and vegetables, and a small bowl of clear soup in the middle.

Isn't this the food from the inner courtyard cafeteria? Zhang Lexuan recognized it at a glance. He actually brought this with him beforehand?

Not only Zhang Lexuan, but when he took these things out of his Black Domain Ring, the other inner court students stared wide-eyed. Who would want to eat dry rations when there's food to eat?

For a moment, everyone seemed eager to make a move, especially Hua Yao, who kept urging Gu Fan to say something, while Jin Yehuan's eyes shone with a strange light.

"Can your storage soul tool maintain the temperature?" Zhang Lexuan was naturally different from the two foodies and immediately noticed the unusual nature of this food.

The distance from Shrek City to the Star Dou Great Forest was quite long, and the time they spent traveling was considerable. Even with the best insulation equipment Zhang Lexuan had seen from Xuanzi, it was impossible to keep the food piping hot, freshly cooked!

"This is a secret. Eat up, I have more. If you're worried, I'll eat first." Kong Tianxu smiled, not answering Zhang Lexuan's question, but also not wanting to embarrass them, he proactively handed several boxed meals to Zhang Lexuan.

Seeing the gentle smile return to his face, Zhang Lexuan suddenly felt that the coldness she felt that morning might just be her imagination.

She gave him a deep look, then suddenly took a bite of her food, as if to prove something. She then glared at Kong Tianxu with a hint of reproach before turning to greet Hua Yao and the others.

"Come on over, don't be shy."

Clearly, she was subtly dissolving the invisible barrier between Kong Tianxu and his team in this way.

Xian Lin'er followed behind them without revealing her figure. While watching the group of students quickly become friendly, she kept her eyes fixed on the food box in Kong Tianxu's hand.

She was also an eighth-level Soul Master and a Super Douluo, so she could confirm that Kong Tianxu had simply taken the food out of his storage Soul Guidance Ring. However, she couldn't figure out how Kong Tianxu had done it. The Soul Guidance Technology of the Sun Moon Empire made her secretly shocked.

Kong Tianxu's group was mostly young people, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up. He certainly felt Xian Lin'er's gaze, but she could never learn this technique.

The Ring of the Dark Domain freezes time and space. Even Kong Deming only managed to create this top-grade soul tool by chance using a special material. Only someone as wealthy as Kong Tianxu would use it to store food. The Ring of the Dark Domain has a storage space of over a thousand cubic meters, enough for him to arbitrarily set aside a corner to store a massive amount of food.

They enjoyed the meal and their relationships improved considerably. Under Xianlin'er's protection, they meditated and recovered to their peak condition before setting off again.

Stepping into the dense vegetation of the Star Dou Great Forest, a sense of isolation from the world immediately washes over you, as if you've stepped into an independent kingdom ruled by soul beasts.

Everyone was a high-level Soul Master. After entering the outer area, they sped inward under Jin Yehuan's leadership, heading deep into the Star Dou Great Forest.

This was different from when Kong Tianxu entered the Star Dou Great Forest last time. This Soul Douluo was leading the team and didn't seem to care about exploring at all; they simply went straight ahead at full speed.

He shone with an earthy yellow light, and wherever he passed, the ground in front of him spontaneously surged to create a path. The powerful aura he released made even low-level soul beasts dare not approach him.

That's power—using power to forcefully push things forward.

However, while Jin Yehuan's reckless rampage was incredibly fast, it also seemed to have led them to a strange and unusual place.

Having ventured deep into the mixed forest area, the scene before me was strikingly different from that of a typical forest:

The trees were not dense; instead, there was a vast, muddy swamp overgrown with weeds and dotted with puddles. The water in the swamp was murky, bubbling with fine bubbles, and emitting a faint smell of humus. The silence was unsettlingly deathly.

This was the first time Kong Tianxu had ever seen such a landscape. Generally speaking, swamps are usually located in the core area and are extremely rare. They often breed quite powerful soul beasts.

"Senior Brother, what should we do? Should we try to go through? Taking a detour would be a waste of time," Gu Fan asked in a low voice.

Jin Yehuan's eyes, which had turned a ghostly green at some point, looked around for a moment, then he plunged his head directly into the pool. After a short while, he raised his head, a nictitating membrane receded, and his powerful voice rang out once more:

“It’s a huge swamp, we’ll just go through it and stay close.”

Underwater vision? Kong Tianxu pondered. He could achieve a similar effect, but it was essentially based on elements, unlike Jin Yehuan who could observe directly.

The people in the inner courtyard were clearly not cooperating for the first time. After Jin Yehuan finished speaking, he walked straight onto the water. The moment his foot landed, a pink lotus flower quietly appeared under his feet, its petals opening to support his body.

Hua Yao lightly touched the ground with her toes, and her body floated out as if it were weightless, following Jin Yehuan's footsteps onto the lotus flower.

Two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings pulsed slowly, and more lotus flowers bloomed one after another on the water's surface in front of everyone, forming a winding path of flowers.

Clearly, this is her lotus flower martial spirit.

Interesting. Kong Tianxu immediately followed suit and climbed up the ground.

"Beware!"

Zhang Lexuan subconsciously reminded him that Hua Yao's lotus flowers were not easy to stand on; they required extremely precise control of soul power. Although Kong Tianxu was strong, he might not be able to handle everything perfectly.

However, her worries were unnecessary. The moment Kong Tianxu placed his foot on the lotus's heart, the lotus only sank slightly before firmly supporting itself, without even causing a ripple in the water. He even calmly turned around and gave Zhang Lexuan a reassuring smile.

The group walked on lotus flowers, like water spirits, and in no time they had crossed nearly half of the swamp.

Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, a pair of dark, vertical pupils quietly opened beneath the water's surface. The setting sun shone obliquely, and a pale, bluish light flashed and disappeared amidst the mud.

Chapter 169 The Sword of Judgment

As they ventured deeper, the dense forest resembled the jaws of a gigantic beast, chewing up and devouring the sunlight. The once clear water seemed to have become slightly murky due to their movements, with shadowy figures looming below, as if countless eyes were watching them.

A deathly silence enveloped the swamp; even the buzzing of mosquitoes had ceased, and the quiet carried a sense of oppression.

Hua Yao lightly touched the lotus flowers with her toes, her figure drifting past like a ghost. Ahead of her, a pale white lotus flower trembled violently without any wind, its petals falling in a flurry.

Kong Tianxu suddenly stopped and looked in a certain direction beneath the water.

Almost simultaneously, countless pink petals suddenly bloomed, lifting everyone into the air. Hua Yao's warning followed immediately:

There's something big underwater.

Thanks to their elevated vantage point, they could look down from the sky, and not far from the flowers and leaves they were traveling through, a huge, dark blue figure slowly twisted and swayed beneath the water's surface.

Kong Tianxu's eyes gleamed with golden light, piercing through the murky water. In his vision, there was a soul beast resembling a giant python, its entire body covered in ghastly blue scales, as thick as a water bucket and at least ten meters long. The scales shimmered with an eerie light in the muddy water, and each twist stirred up gusts of dark currents, making it appear extremely terrifying.

Previously, most of the soul beasts they encountered kept their distance, and even those that were hostile were mostly deterred and did not approach.

The one before them was completely different. Upon spotting the group, it not only did not retreat but instead rapidly approached, its overwhelming killing intent spreading out without any attempt to conceal it.

There are usually three possibilities when encountering such a soul beast: First, it is naturally extremely aggressive and will take the initiative to attack regardless of the strength of its opponent; second, it is in a state of hunger and foraging for food and likes to prey on humans; third, it has a sense of territory - powerful soul beasts will mark their territory as their own and any intruder will be regarded as a provocation.

The current situation clearly falls into the third category. This is because they hadn't encountered any other soul beasts in the minutes leading up to this one.

"It looks like a anaconda, and its cultivation level should be over ten thousand years."

Jin Yehuan's eerie green crocodile eyes slowly returned to normal. He grew up on the edge of a swamp and was extremely familiar with aquatic spirit beasts.

The anaconda is the overlord of the primeval forest, often inhabiting deep swamps. It is incredibly powerful and can even prey on lions and tigers. Once entangled by it, it is a fatal disaster.

“It’s 30,000 years old, and it has three large occipital scales on its head,” Kong Tianxu then gave more accurate data.

Jin Yehuan looked at Kong Tianxu in surprise. The reason he was able to judge that the soul beast was a ten-thousand-year-old serpent based on such a blurry image was not only because of his rich experience, but also because his second soul skill could penetrate the natural environment to a certain extent, which enabled him to make a judgment about the soul beast in the water. However, he did not expect that Kong Tianxu could discover details that he had not been able to detect.

Little did he know that his supposedly superior investigative abilities were less than one-tenth the level of Kong Tianxu's Supreme Body Insight—a huge difference in the essence of martial souls.

"Are you sure?" Zhang Lexuan looked at Kong Tianxu and immediately received an affirmative answer.

"Okay, who needs one?" Jin Yehuan asked immediately. The anaconda was a relatively rare and powerful soul beast.

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Fan said, "Senior Brother, I'll take it."

His martial soul, the Heavenly Horned Horse, is a superior race of the precious riding soul beast, the Horned Scale Horse. Although it is classified as a defensive type, it is actually quite balanced. The compatibility between the anaconda and his martial soul is not high, but the level of this soul beast itself and its 30,000-year lifespan are enough to meet his needs.

In theory, the upper limit for a Soul Master to absorb a seventh Soul Ring is between 30,000 and 50,000 years, depending on individual attributes. However, in reality, it is still relatively difficult for an ordinary Soul Saint to absorb a 30,000-year Soul Ring.

Ten thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand, and seventy thousand are the major dividing lines for ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts. Although they are all ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, their strengths are completely different.

Even as a disciple of Shrek Academy who has long consumed rare and nutritious meals, whose physical strength far surpasses that of his peers, Lone Sail is already close to his limit after 30,000 years.

Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly and said, "You're lucky to have found a suitable target so quickly."

"It's here." Kong Tianxu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Jin Yehuan immediately said, "Gu Fan, Kong Tianxu, you two go and capture him alive. Le Xuan and I will provide backup."

Everyone was taken aback. A 30,000-year-old soul beast was nothing to Jin Yehuan, who was at the eighth ring of cultivation, especially in this terrain that was extremely suitable for him to perform. Everyone originally thought he would make a move directly.

The dark blue figure was rapidly approaching. As it drew closer, the sheer size of this 30,000-year-old serpent was awe-inspiring, reaching nearly twenty meters in length. Its eyes were dark green, gleaming with ferocity, and two eerie red lines beside its eyes continued to expand.

Kong Tianxu didn't care. He stepped out from the crowd, and a thin layer of ice instantly appeared, steadily supporting his body.

As for Lone Sail, it was even simpler. Six soul rings appeared: two yellow, two purple, and two black. A pair of dark blue wings stretched out, a spiral horn protruded from the top of his head, and his entire body was quickly covered with fine scales. In the center of his forehead, a light blue scale stood out prominently.

The water exploded with a roar, and a dark blue figure as thick as a water bucket leaped out of the water, accompanied by towering waves of mud. Its huge mouth opened wide, and sharp teeth were gleaming in the green mist and fishy wind as it slashed wildly at the crowd!

Kong Tianxu had killed countless ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, yet he remained completely unmoved. He clasped his hands together in front of him, and a dense golden light flashed, revealing a giant golden-red sword in his hands.

He slowly raised his sword, and a dense golden light burst forth from its blade. Nine core magic arrays could be faintly seen embedded from the tip to the hilt, their radiance flowing and constantly surging in the air.

Upon seeing the giant sword, Gu Fan, like the others, was clearly stunned for a moment. You see, for Soul Masters, their best weapon is their own Martial Soul. Only Soul Masters use weapons; Soul Masters rarely use them.

After all, weapons are not part of one's body like martial souls. If they cannot be fully compatible with one's martial soul, they will only have the opposite effect.

At this moment, Kong Tianxu had already raised the giant sword high above his head, and his eyes gradually turned gold.

The massive, gleaming golden sword began to change. Starting from the hilt, the golden light rapidly receded, transforming into a black and white hue. One side of the sword's spine was pure white, while the other side turned jet black, the stark contrast of colors appearing particularly eerie against the remaining golden glow.

"They are darkness, they are heretics!"

Kong Tianxu gripped his sword with both hands, pointing it at the serpent, while simultaneously aiming the black blade in its direction.

A streak of black light shot through the air and disappeared.

Suddenly, the anaconda let out a painful hiss, and its dark blue scales instantly turned black, as if stained by the deepest night. Thick plumes of green poisonous mist uncontrollably seeped out from the gaps in its scales, turning its surroundings into a death zone.

"Be careful, this anaconda seems to have mutated and is poisonous," Jin Yehuan warned.

At that moment, Kong Tianxu flipped the giant sword in his hand, and the white side burst out with a strong incandescent color. The golden sword light also shone to its extreme in an instant, and the surging light aura swept across the entire scene.

A divine light spread like a tide, melting away the pervasive poisonous fog as if it were ice and snow, emitting a hissing, burning sound. The light not only dispelled the poisonous fog but also seemed to purify the air, even briefly suppressing the stench of the swamp.

Kong Tianxu knew, of course, that it was poisonous fog, and he had already prepared for the situation. His Judgment Sword was activated at just the right moment; otherwise, the poisonous fog would not have spread far away, but would have spewed directly towards them.