The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Such a spiritual attribute talent soul skill, combined with powerful melee combat ability, makes it a very troublesome opponent for many soul masters.

There were more than twenty Iron-Armed Apes in front of them, but only the leader, who was 1.8 meters tall, had a cultivation level of more than a hundred years.

The lead ape, a hundred-year-old iron-armed ape, bared its teeth at Xu Zihuang and He Caitou, revealing two ferocious fangs. It pounded its powerful chest with its fists, and a circle of pale white light began to spread out from its body.

It was the Iron-Armed Ape's innate soul skill: Intimidation. Only an Iron-Armed Ape with over a hundred years of cultivation could spread this intimidation aura to a range of nearly twenty meters.

At the same time, the lead ape, a century old, let out a sharp roar.

The other twenty-odd ten-year-old iron-armed apes seemed to have been provoked by something and pounced on the two of them wildly.

But just as the pale white halo was about to envelop him and He Caitou, Xu Zihuang's gaze suddenly sharpened. An invisible mental wave swept in like a storm, instantly crushing the pale white halo.

Before the century-old iron-armed ape could react, its massive head exploded, staining the surrounding trees and leaves with scarlet blood and white brain matter.

Without Xu Zihuang needing to remind him, He Caitou instinctively stretched out his muscular arms, a thick cigar still burning in his mouth.

The dark metal boxes instantly enveloped his forearms, with six slender cannon barrels extending from each box.

A surge of white light erupted, and countless white orbs burst forth almost instantly. Each orb was the size of an egg, covering the space where the twenty-odd ten-year-old Iron-Armed Apes were located like a storm.

He Caitou used a six-barreled small soul-guided cannon. Known for its ability to cover firepower, a single ball of light wasn't particularly powerful, but when combined, its destructive force was considerable. If ten Soul Masters were equipped with these level-four six-barreled small soul-guided cannons, they could easily suppress an army of several thousand.

Some of the twenty-odd ten-year-old iron-armed apes were pouncing towards the two of them in the air, while others were running on the ground.

But just as the dense white orbs of light descended, the movements of the twenty-odd Iron-Armed Apes abruptly ceased. In an instant, they were blasted into dust, as if they had vaporized into thin air, leaving no trace of their remains. Only illusory white spirit rings floated in mid-air.

The surrounding flowers, plants, and trees were also melted under the firepower of the six-barreled soul-guided cannon, and even some head-sized craters were blasted into the ground.

He Caitou chuckled as he put away the slightly warm six-barreled miniature soul-guided cannon, but his honest face now had a terrifying quality about it.

Chapter 221 The One-Horned Rhinoceros

Although these ten-year-old Iron-Armed Apes had only average defensive capabilities, the six-barreled small soul-guided cannon used by He Caitou wasn't a particularly powerful soul-guided device either, ranking only in the lower-middle range among level four ranged attack soul-guided devices. Moreover, the burst of power just now had consumed very little of his soul power.

This once again proves how important the Soul Tool, as a product of the evolution of the times, plays in this era.

Soul tools can allow support-type soul masters who previously had no offensive capabilities to easily possess combat power comparable to or even far superior to that of battle soul masters of the same level.

Xu Zihuang indifferently stepped over the headless corpse of the hundred-year-old Iron-Armed Ape, with He Caitou following closely behind. A hundred-year-old ape and over twenty ten-year-old soul beasts naturally couldn't stop them.

When they reached a point about ten kilometers from the outer edge of the Starry Sky Forest, it was completely dark. The surrounding area was filled with thick, tall trees, their branches and leaves lush and dense. Only through the gaps in the foliage could one see a sliver of starlight.

The interior of the Star Dou Great Forest was shrouded in darkness, filled with the roars of beasts, and occasionally a few eerie lights could be glimpsed. These were the eyes of soul beasts, emitting a ghostly glow, as they moved about at night.

Xu Zihuang and He Caitou sat down on a high ground, keeping watch on their surroundings.

Xu Zihuang did not use his Golden Eye Martial Soul again, because his golden eyes were too conspicuous in the night. Moreover, given his ability to project his mental energy, using it to perceive the outside world was clearly a better option.

The spirit beasts living in the northwest of the Star Dou Great Forest are indeed much stronger and of higher quality than those in other places. The two encountered spirit beasts more than ten times along their journey. Fortunately, they weren't very aggressive; only five spirit beasts actively attacked them.

These five soul beasts all had cultivation levels exceeding five hundred years, including two thousand-year-old soul beasts.

The result, of course, was that they easily resolved the situation. The two of them basically did not expend any soul power; however, the prolonged high concentration of mental energy inevitably led to feelings of fatigue.

Xu Zihuang, being a spirit-attribute soul master, was fine, but He Caitou's eyes revealed a hint of weariness that was hard to conceal.

Noticing this, Xu Zihuang stood up and said to He Caitou, "Senior Brother He, you meditate first. I'll take over the vigil for the first half of the night. We'll switch roles for the second half."

"Okay." He Caitou didn't say much and decisively entered a state of cultivation.

Soul Masters can replace rest with cultivation and meditation.

He practiced meditation not to recover his soul power, but to maintain his condition. In the Star Dou Great Forest, even a moment of distraction could be fatal.

While using his mental energy to monitor his surroundings, Xu Zihuang was also able to calm down and think about his future plans.

He is now receiving full attention at Shrek Academy. With his talent, coupled with the personal guidance of Elder Mu, a powerhouse at the Limit Douluo level, he will enter a period of rapid growth in the next five to ten years.

But this is far from enough; at least when the Sun Moon Empire launches a war in the future, he will not have the power to change the situation.

What should he do after the war begins?

There are two main directions. One is to let Shrek Academy and the high-end combat forces originally belonging to the three Douluo Empires wear down the Sun Moon Empire, ideally maintaining a balance, and letting the strength of both sides be eroded as much as possible in the war. This is in his best interest. He cannot allow Xu Tianran to unify the continent so smoothly.

If necessary, he would not hesitate to help the three original empires of Douluo Continent resist the invasion of the Sun Moon Empire. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

Another issue is how to quickly improve one's strength and develop one's own power during this period.

Although he had a clear direction in mind, putting it into practice was not so easy.

The Star Dou Great Forest at night was filled with even more unknowns, but compared to the daytime, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou were fortunate enough not to be attacked by spirit beasts again. There were only two instances where spirit beasts approached, but they were both relatively weak ones, and they fled in panic after sensing the aura on the two of them.

After a night's rest, the two were back to their best condition.

Xu Zihuang and He Caitou exchanged a glance and tacitly continued to venture deeper into the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The soul beasts living in the mixed zone are mainly thousand-year-old soul beasts. Moreover, the vast majority live in groups. In other words, these soul beasts have a strong sense of territory.

Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had to slow their pace, because once they entered the mixed zone, they were very likely to step into the territory of a certain soul beast clan. If they encountered a clan of soul beasts with bad tempers, a fierce battle would be inevitable.

This is why Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo decided to let the two of them survive in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest for half a month. After all, in the outer area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest, it is possible to avoid conflicts with soul beasts as much as possible, but in this mixed zone, there are many situations that cannot be avoided even if you want to.

For example, right now.

“Junior Brother Yu, it’s a one-horned demon rhinoceros,” He Caitou reminded him solemnly.

Not long after entering the mixed zone, they unfortunately stumbled into the territory of a soul beast clan.

Xu Zihuang calmly surveyed the five enormous soul beasts that appeared a hundred meters in front of them.

The One-Horned Demon Rhinoceros is a powerful soul beast with thick plate armor covering its entire body. In open areas, its impact force is undoubtedly among the strongest of soul beasts of the same cultivation level. That thick and sturdy plate armor also gives it formidable defensive capabilities.

The five one-horned demonic rhinoceroses before them were over four meters long and weighed at least three thousand jin. Their single horns shimmered with a faint blue light, indicating they possessed at least three thousand years of cultivation. The leader was particularly enormous, its cultivation definitely exceeding five thousand years.

By now, their eyes had turned blood red, and pale blue halos emanated from their horns, falling upon Xu Zihuang and He Caitou. Their speed also increased dramatically, instantly reaching a terrifying level. Many thick tree trunks snapped in half under their impact.

"The Locking Light of the Unicorn Rhinoceros locks onto its target and charges relentlessly until it is dead." Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened as he recognized the soul skill used by the five Unicorn Rhinoceroses.

Unless it's a top-tier soul beast with exceptionally noble bloodline, it will inevitably have some shortcomings. This one-horned demon rhinoceros's strengths lie in its outstanding defense and attack power, while its weakness is the lack of ranged attack soul skills.

But with this locked light, their advantages can be brought into full play.

The five one-horned demonic rhinoceroses approached the two at an astonishing speed; the hundred-meter distance was covered in the blink of an eye.

"Leave it to me, Senior Brother."

The powerful defense of the One-Horned Demon Rhinoceros is very effective against Soul Masters. He Caitou might be able to inflict serious damage on it, but the consumption of his own Soul Power would certainly be significant.

During this period, Xu Zihuang also took countermeasures.

Three purple and one black spirit rings emerged from beneath his feet, the second purple spirit ring shining brightly. Beneath strange dark red ripples, incredibly solid crystal spears condensed in the space in front of him.

In the next instant, five crystal spears, each nearly two meters long, swept past with a terrifying whooshing sound, piercing deep into the eyes of the five one-horned demon rhinoceroses with pinpoint accuracy.

The five massive, one-horned rhinoceros bodies crashed to the ground with mournful cries, raising clouds of dust.

Chapter 222 Crimson Thorns, Giant-Palm Black Tiger, and the End of the Extreme Test

The one-horned rhinoceros's defenses are indeed formidable, but it's not without weaknesses. Its eyes are its most vulnerable point.

While Soul Masters' ranged Soul Skills and some of the ranged Soul Tools used by Soul Guides can lock onto targets, they can only lock onto the whole target, not a small area.

Moreover, soul beasts have extremely keen senses; once they discover that they are being locked onto by a soul skill or soul tool, they will immediately dodge.

Only by using the dynamic vision of the Golden Eye Martial Soul, like Xu Zihuang, to capture the movement trajectory of the five unicorn demon rhinoceroses, and then using one's purest physical strength to throw the crystal spear, can one avoid any leakage of energy.

The five one-horned rhinoceroses never imagined that they would be accurately pierced in the eyes by this seemingly inconspicuous crystal spear, and even less that it would penetrate directly through their brains, causing their deaths.

Qian Duoduo, who was hiding behind Xu Zihuang and He Caitou, couldn't help but widen her eyes when she saw this scene.

He knew Yu Tianhuang was very strong, but the last time he had seen Yu Tianhuang fight was more than a year ago during the freshman assessment. Now, Yu Tianhuang's performance was many times stronger than it had been a year ago.

Those were five one-horned demonic rhinoceroses with cultivation levels exceeding three thousand years, and the leader's cultivation level even exceeded five thousand years.

The inner disciples of Shrek Academy with the cultivation of Soul King might be able to suppress these five one-horned demon rhinoceroses head-on, but they could never kill them with a single blow as easily as Yu Tianhuang.

"Lin'er, I'm thinking, is it too easy for them to just survive in this mixed zone for half a month? I don't think we can really push them to their limits here."

"Follow them first." Xian Lin'er seemed much calmer, but there was a strange look in her eyes as she looked at Xu Zihuang.

Yu Tianhuang's Golden Eye Martial Soul ability was practically made for installing soul tools. At this moment, she was absolutely certain that Yu Tianhuang was the most suitable candidate for the Extreme Individual Soldier Project.

On the other side, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou, who had just killed five unicorn rhinoceroses, did not linger there, but instead wandered horizontally within this mixed zone. This area was mostly the territory of the five unicorn rhinoceroses, and under normal circumstances, few other soul beasts would dare to venture into it.

However, any soul beast that dares to enter this place, sensing the scent of blood and unafraid of the aura emanating from the One-Horned Demon Rhinoceros, must be even more powerful than the One-Horned Demon Rhinoceros.

The soul beasts living in the mixed zone are mostly those with less than five thousand years of cultivation, and their average level is not even as good as those five one-horned demon rhinoceroses.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou easily decided to leave first.

Before leaving, Xu Zihuang deliberately used his spiritual power to examine the corpses of the five one-horned demonic rhinoceroses. The more powerful the soul beast, the more likely it is to drop a soul bone after being killed. However, only killing a 100,000-year-old soul beast guarantees a soul bone drop, while killing a 10,000-year-old soul beast has approximately a one-in-ten chance of dropping a soul bone.

Of course, this is just a rough probability. It doesn't mean that killing ten ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts will guarantee a soul bone drop. More often than not, it depends on luck.

As for thousand-year-old soul beasts, the chance of them dropping soul bones is even lower. However, it's not entirely impossible for them to drop soul bones.

Although Xu Zihuang looked down on thousand-year-old soul bones, if a soul bone really did drop from these five one-horned demon rhinoceroses, he wouldn't mind taking it.

It should be said that the vast majority of Soul Masters do this after killing a Soul Beast. It's just that they don't have Xu Zihuang's perspective and find it difficult to maintain a calm mindset. There are quite a few teams that specialize in entering Soul Beast Forests to hunt Soul Beasts, hoping to obtain Soul Bones and make a fortune.

Upon entering the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had to slow their pace. Many of the spirit beasts they encountered here were extremely aggressive, and battles became frequent.

Fortunately, they were operating on the edge of this mixed zone, and the battles only occurred with the thousand-year-old soul beasts. Their initial assessment was correct; none of the soul beasts they encountered and fought later were as powerful as the initial five one-horned demon rhinoceroses.

Even so, maintaining full vigilance while navigating the mixed zone is far from easy. Mental fatigue is often more grueling than physical fatigue.

As time passed, it was getting closer to noon. Xu Zihuang and He Caitou stepped into an area on the edge of the mixed zone and stopped. The trees in this area seemed exceptionally lush and large compared to the other areas they had passed through before. Although they were only at the border between the mixed zone and the outer zone, the environment here was somewhat similar to the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest that Xu Zihuang had visited before.

Xu Zihuang took out a leather bag filled with spring water from his soul tool and was about to hand it to He Caitou when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a crimson light out of the corner of his eye.

He suddenly stopped and instantly spread his spiritual power in all directions.

Releasing one's mental energy outwards is too taxing on a Soul Master's mind, so during the day he usually uses the powerful vision granted by his Golden Eye Martial Soul to observe his surroundings. Upon releasing his mental energy, he immediately sensed something amiss.

Xu Zihuang's pause made He Caitou nervous. However, he did not immediately release the various powerful but cumbersome soul tools. Instead, the six-tube small soul cannons he had used yesterday reappeared on his arms.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, where attacks from all sorts of soul beasts are a constant threat, the limitations of soul masters become apparent. While He Caitou's soul tools are indeed powerful, once activated, he becomes incredibly cumbersome. If he encounters a soul beast renowned for its speed and destructive power, the complex terrain of the Star Dou Great Forest makes it difficult for him to react in time once it gets close.

Therefore, he prepared to adapt to the situation and decide which type of soul tool to use based on the different types of soul beasts he encountered.

With Xu Zihuang, a Soul Master with the Golden Eyes, a spirit-attribute martial soul, present, they could easily detect the situation in advance, giving him ample time to react. Their abilities complement each other in many ways, which is one of the reasons the Soul Guidance Department decided to pair them up.

The next moment, a scorching heat accompanied by a rapid hissing sound rang out, and large swathes of red thorns, each up to two meters tall, suddenly sprang up from the ground, sweeping in from all directions and blocking the two people's view.