The moon was bright, and the stars were few.
In the Soul Hunting Forest, the sounds of insects and the roars of soul beasts echoed, which made Tang San feel uneasy.
Sometimes, even the most inconspicuous insects could take a person's life.
A professional soul-hunting team would never continue their journey at a time like this.
Soon, Xiao Lin and the others arrived at a relatively open area, planning to stay the night here.
Under the moonlight, this open space allowed them to see each other clearly and gave them a sense of safety.
At this moment, Tang San had already gone to spread some specially-made insect repellent powder, while the Soul Hunting team's Shi Dan had taken out some dung from powerful soul beasts to prevent other soul beasts from getting close with its strong smell.
Xiao Lin and Xiao Wu, however, were carefree, leaning against a large tree, with Xiao Gui Jie accompanying them.
For Xiao Lin, who only had knowledge of outdoor survival but no practical experience, he felt extremely proud of his own intelligence, thinking that he was lucky to have Tang San with him.
With Tang San around, he didn't need to worry about poisonous insects and the like.
Xiao Lin then looked at Xiao Gui Jie, who was leaning against the tree beside him, and remembered Su Yuntao's words.
Su Yuntao had once mentioned that he had seen a suitable environment for the Moonlight Giant Sprout to thrive and that they would reach it by noon the next day.
But now, Xiao Lin realized he hadn't thought things through properly.
The Moonlight Giant Sprout was an aquatic plant. If it were at the bottom of a lake, how could Xiao Gui Jie kill the Moonlight Giant Sprout? How would her martial soul absorb the soul ring?
It wouldn't work to let the Moonlight Giant Sprout just release all its moonlight essence and exhaust itself, right?
If the Moonlight Giant Sprout's cultivation weakened, then Xiao Gui Jie would lose out.
This was Xiao Lin's first experiment on transforming into a food system soul master, and he definitely didn't want to give up.
It seemed that when the time came, he would have to reveal some of his power.
He just didn't know if Xiao Gui Jie used his Qiulong Staff to kill the Moonlight Giant Sprout, would it still count as Xiao Gui Jie killing it.
He needed to think of other solutions.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Soul Hunting Forest.
Wang Fugui and his group were heading deeper into the forest, searching for the 700-year-old Bullet Bee.
At this dark, almost pitch-black night, the fact that Wang Fugui and his group were still daring to search in the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest could only be described as having a death wish.
Under the cover of tall trees, Wang Fugui and his group could hardly see their surroundings.
"Young Master Wang, we need to rest now. The Bullet Bee is not so easy to find," said Ah Wei, the leader of the Soul Hunting team, softly.
"Alright, but let's find a safer place. I don't feel comfortable here," Wang Fugui replied.
Wang Fugui wasn't particularly foolish. As a wealthy man, he valued his life.
Since entering the Soul Hunting Forest, he had felt a strange sense of unease.
Was it eerie? Terrifying?
It was an indescribable feeling that made Wang Fugui very uneasy.
But considering his soul-hunting team, Wang Fugui finally relaxed a bit.
Although Su Yuntao had warned him that the Bullet Bee was very dangerous and had advised him not to search for it, he had kicked Su Yuntao out of the team. Instead, he added another four-person team.
Now, with two soul-hunting teams around him, he felt confident that even two Bullet Bees wouldn't be able to take them down.
Thinking this, Wang Fugui, under the protection of his soul-hunting team, arrived at the base of a tall brown tree.
"Young Master Wang, trees like this are usually where bird-type soul beasts reside. It's easier to observe the situation below," Ah Wei said.
"Wait, I'll have Chuan Kang go up and keep watch. You'll be safe for the night."
Upon hearing Ah Wei's words, Wang Fugui nodded in satisfaction. Leaning against the brown tree, he closed his heavy eyelids.
Two soul-hunting teams were certainly good, and thankfully, he hadn't listened to that Su Yuntao.
Following three little brats was pure suicide, wasn't it?
They even said the little brats were stronger than him. Ha!
Not long after, as Wang Fugui quietly relished in his self-satisfaction, he finally fell into a deep sleep.
"What do you think now, Captain Ah Wei?"
At this moment, seeing Wang Fugui asleep, one of the members of the soul-hunting team asked Ah Wei, frowning.
Since entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Wang Fugui had been feeling strange. Of course, those with stronger abilities, like them, also felt something off.
Especially Ah Wei, whose abilities were the highest. As a beast-type soul master, his senses were the most sensitive.
In the days spent surviving in the Soul Hunting Forest, he had developed an almost sixth sense.
Sometimes, it was this feeling that had allowed him to grow from a weak Honey Badger martial soul into a 33rd-level Soul Master.
"Ten minutes of feeling off for twelve minutes—something's very wrong," Ah Wei murmured, his eyes twitching. Even in the most dangerous situations, he had never felt this wrong before.
"Captain, it's not just a little off, it's a lot off," one of the soul-hunting team members muttered under his breath. Although the captain was uneducated, they still acknowledged his strength.
After the martial soul possessed him, he was fearless, and this gave their team greater courage and a better fighting environment.
Ah Wei didn't have the energy to argue or explain his instincts as truth. He simply glanced up at Chuan Kang, who had his martial soul activated and was keeping watch from above. That calmed him slightly.
With Chuan Kang's abilities, he could see clearly even in the dark, and there wouldn't be any issues.
Ah Wei chuckled lightly, shaking his head, and decided to let half of his team continue standing guard while he took a break and kept watch for the second half of the night.
Suddenly...
A drop of cool water landed on Ah Wei's body. He froze. Was it raining?
When he reached up to touch the water on his face, his internal alarm bells went off.
"Bad, something's wrong!"
"Honey Badger, attack!"
In an instant, Ah Wei activated his martial soul. His loud voice startled Wang Fugui, who had been sound asleep.
It was then that Ah Wei realized the water on his face was sticky, even with a slight iron-like taste.
Quickly, both soul-hunting teams gathered together, standing back to back in a defensive formation, watching their surroundings carefully.
"What's going on, Captain Ah Wei?"
Just as Wang Fugui was about to get up, something heavy fell from above.
Thud!
Everyone turned to see that the heavy object was none other than Chuan Kang, who had his martial soul activated.
"Chuan Kang!"
The team members of Ah Wei shouted in alarm, their faces filled with unease.
Chuan Kang had a Cat-Hawk martial soul, and he had no reaction at all before dying?
It had to be a super powerful soul beast, one that specialized in assassination.
Ah Wei's mind raced as he began to suspect what had happened. But now was not the time to investigate the cause of Chuan Kang's death—he feared that his actions would lead to the annihilation of the entire team.
He was a 33rd-level Soul Master, and the morale of the team was entirely reliant on him.
"Not good, Captain Ah Wei, it looks like Chuan Kang died from suffocation."
With Chuan Kang's death, his martial soul activation faded, and Wang Fugui, who had nothing else to do, was tasked with checking the cause of death.
This discovery sent chills down everyone's spine.
Death by suffocation, a single strike, and no sign of an enemy.
When they saw the large needle hole on the back of Chuan Kang's neck...
Wang Fugui's eyes widened in terror as he realized the enemy was the Bullet Bee. He trembled as he screamed out.
"Everyone be careful, it's the Bullet Bee, watch out for its poison!"
The next second, before Wang Fugui could process what was happening, a greenish-black, elongated giant bee, about half the size of a person, silently appeared in front of him.
With its grotesque insect mandibles, massive blood-red compound eyes, six thick, gun-like legs, and its pitch-black, enormous stinger, the Bullet Bee was a nightmare.
In Wang Fugui's eyes, memories of Su Yuntao's warnings flashed. The next moment, a sharp pain pierced his chest, and he felt nothing after that.
(End of Chapter)