Ch. 99 - Soul Beast, Corpse Beast

The group rode on flying magical beasts towards the Soul Secret Place.

Hong Lie didn't bring many people; numbers wouldn't make a difference, only high-level combat power mattered.

Therefore, he only brought five people, including the commander of the Nanchuan Provincial Army, who was also his younger brother, Hong Tai.

Hong Lie looked at Hong Tai with great surprise.

"Ah Tai, you've actually broken through to the King Rank too! You didn't even tell me this good news!"

Hong Tai smiled. "I just broke through a few days ago, but the Beast King Cult attacked, and then your soul was injured, so I didn't have a chance to tell you. With me here this time, we'll definitely have no problem finding the Soul-Cleansing Pool!"

Hong Lie patted his shoulder heavily.

"Good lad, in a few years, you could take over my position!"

The requirement to become a provincial governor was to reach the King Rank, and once appointed by the high-ranking officials of the country, one could assume the position.

Now, Nanchuan Province had two King Rank members, significantly increasing its overall strength.

With Hong Tai taking the lead, the others only needed to focus on finding the Soul-Cleansing Pool.

After several hours, the group arrived outside the entrance to the Soul Secret Place.

High-level secret places were often dangerous. This particular place had already been explored by Hong Lie and his men, but they hadn't found any particularly valuable treasure.

All they knew was that this place had been the ruins of a tribe thousands of years ago, and most of the treasures had already been plundered.

Moreover, because the people of the Soul Tribe were born with powerful souls, their souls didn't quickly dissipate after death, but gradually evolved into a new type of magical beast.

Soul Beasts!

This was how the Soul Secret Place got its name.

The Soul Beast had no physical form; it was a mass of spiritual energy. To kill this type of beast, one had to break its soul core.

Their soul cores were also valuable items for enhancing spiritual power.

"Everyone, be careful. Don't get entangled in combat with the Soul Beasts. Focus all your efforts on killing them to avoid attracting more," Hong Tai reminded them.

The strongest Soul Beasts here were at the Ninth Rank, and even he found them somewhat troublesome to deal with.

The priority now was speed, not killing the Soul Beasts.

The ground trembled slightly, and a pale white skeleton emerged. Although its eye sockets were empty, it felt as if the skeleton was staring back at them.

Wu Liang gasped.

"Holy crap, is this a ghost in broad daylight? How can a skeleton that's been dead for years move?"

"That's an undead-type beast, a Corpse Beast. It mutates from a dead human or beast. It has no flesh, but its attack and defense are incredibly strong. This one is only at the Fourth Rank," Ling Qingxue explained.

Corpse Beasts and Soul Beasts were the two most common types of beasts found in the Soul Secret Place, and they were their biggest obstacle this time.

The next moment, Hong Tai unleashed a palm strike, shattering the Corpse Beast into pieces.

Immediately, Wu Liang flew up and swallowed the few remaining bones.

They were still warm. Maybe they could even give him evolution points.

[Ding! A portion of a Fourth Rank early-stage Corpse Beast, consumed. Estimated digestion time: 6 hours!]

These Corpse Beasts were considered magical beasts. Although they looked bizarre, they were still a form of life. As long as it was a life form, the system could extract evolution points.

Hong Tai smiled at Wu Liang.

"What a greedy little guy. I won't smash them to pieces then."

Wu Liang gave him a thumbs-up.

This trip was worthwhile. If he could devour a Ninth Rank Corpse Beast and a Ninth Rank Soul Beast, his progress would skyrocket after digestion.

The group continued onward.

Hong Lie sat on the back of the Fiery Two-Headed Lizard, eyes closed in meditation. The aura exuded by his magical beast kept most of the other beasts away.

Only some less intelligent Corpse Beasts would occasionally jump out, but they were all killed with a single palm strike by Hong Tai, ultimately becoming Wu Liang's food.

Hong Tai looked at Doctor Li. "Doctor Li, do you know the exact location of the Soul-Cleansing Pool?"

"No, ancient texts record that the Soul-Cleansing Pool is the most precious treasure of the Soul Tribe, most likely located within the tribe's ruins. However, the ruins are occupied by hordes of Soul Beasts, so we'll probably have to fight our way in."

Although Hong Tai was strong, he was likely powerless against a swarm of Soul Beasts.

"Never mind, my brother's condition is more important. I'll hold off the Soul Beasts while you enter the ruins and search for the Soul-Cleansing Pool!" Hong Tai coldly snorted.

Although Hong Lie's soul was currently injured, his magical beast was still at its peak.

The King Rank early-stage Fiery Two-Headed Lizard was more than enough to protect everyone.

Even facing a horde of Soul Beasts, Hong Tai wouldn't be seriously injured, and shaking them off would be easy for a King Rank.

In this advanced secret place, he couldn't use his full strength, but even so, these Soul Beasts were still no match for him.

Although King Rank experts could enter the secret place, they had to suppress their own level; otherwise, they risked disrupting the place's stability.

Even when suppressing their level, King Rank experts still possessed the inherent power of their rank. Having a variety of techniques at his disposal, Ninth Rank beasts were unable to withstand them.

If it weren't for the urgent need to find the Soul-Cleansing Pool, Hong Tai alone could easily take on all the magical beasts within the secret place.

As they passed through a forest, gusts of chilling wind began to blow, sending shivers down their spines.

This was why martial artists dreaded encountering undead-type beasts. They inspired fear even before the fight began.

Moreover, their attacks were unpredictable, and they were even more difficult to kill!

Whoosh!

A cold, howling wind swept past, carrying wisps of yin energy.

Hong Tai's expression turned grim. "Be careful, everyone. It's a Seventh Rank Soul Beast. Use your spiritual power to resist the yin energy. I'll handle it!"

With that, a surge of powerful vital energy coursed through his body as he sped off.

Hong Tai unleashed a burst of blood-red energy, dispersing the eerie wind before him and revealing a Soul Beast resembling a ghostly spirit.

Its appearance was quite similar to the ghost-themed cartoons Wu Liang had watched before.

Surrounded by gray mist, it had no fixed form and hovered in mid-air, its blood-red eyes staring at the group.

"Hiss!"

The Soul Beast hissed, its powerful mental pressure descending upon the group.

However, it was blocked by Hong Lie's mental barrier.

"Ah Tai, finish it off quickly!"

Hong Tai gave a small nod, a blood seal forming in his palm.

Sensing the blood seal, the Soul Beast seemed terrified and tried to flee.

This was a God-level martial skill—the Soul-Destroying Seal, best suited for attacking Soul Beasts like this, often inflicting a fatal blow.

The Soul-Destroying Seal shot out, instantly blasting the Seventh Rank Soul Beast into nothingness, leaving not a trace.

Soul Beasts had no physical form; when killed, they left no corpse.

The most regrettable situation was for Wu Liang. If he had eaten this Seventh Rank Soul Beast, his spiritual power would have increased dramatically.

"If I wanted to devour a Soul Beast, I'd probably have to swallow it whole before it died. Otherwise, I won't have a chance to eat higher-tier Soul Beasts."

Since Soul Beasts didn't have corpses, he could only ingest a tiny amount of residual energy from its death by swallowing air. This amount of energy was far too little, less than one ten-thousandth of its total value.

"The appearance of this Soul Beast means we're almost at the Soul Tribe ruins!"

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