Chapter 348: Hundred Ghosts Pursuit
"Here we are."
About ten minutes after galloping at full speed, Qi Han lightly patted Zhui Yun's back, signaling it to stop.
Looking around at the trees—noticeably thicker and sturdier than those in earlier areas—he nodded with satisfaction.
In the Star Dou Forest, one of the main ways to determine how deep you've gone is by observing the thickness of the tree trunks.
The closer to the forest's core, the older and thicker the trees become.
Checking the map, Qi Han confirmed he had arrived at the territory of the Armored Wild Dragons.
He dismounted and gave Zhui Yun a pat.
"Good work. You can rest in the small world for a few days now."
For the next several days, Qi Han planned to stay in this area.
With the dangers ahead, it was far safer for Zhui Yun to stay in the system space, where he'd be protected.
Zhui Yun seemed to understand.
The unicorn gently bumped its horn against Qi Han's forehead in farewell before vanishing into the small world, led by Ru Yi's guiding force.
"Alright, it's just us now."
With Zhui Yun gone, Qi Han patted Gulu, then cautiously headed into the heart of the Armored Wild Dragons' habitat.
These dragons were ground-based spirit beasts that lived in groups.
Although, according to Ru Yi's markings, this area only housed hundred-year and thousand-year level Wild Dragons, Qi Han knew that if he were discovered and they all attacked at once, he'd still be in real trouble.
The Armored Wild Dragon had a low, squat build and thick, short legs. Its head was covered with a dense layer of tough armor, and its entire back was protected by a spiked, hard shell.
At the end of its thick tail was a spiked hammer-like club.
Thanks to its high defense and low stance, most spirit beasts couldn't reach its vulnerable underbelly, making it almost invincible in many fights.
With a brain full of reckless aggression, it would charge straight at its opponent, smashing them with its iron-hard head and tail.
Hence its name—"reckless" was in its bones.
At the hundred-year level, its armor appeared dark cyan, but once it reached the thousand-year threshold, that hue would evolve into a deep black, making them easy to distinguish.
Qi Han's luck wasn't bad.
After quietly sneaking deeper into the area, he soon spotted two Armored Wild Dragons walking together.
They were alone, with no others nearby.
Judging from their dark cyan armor, both were indeed hundred-year-level spirit beasts.
Holding his breath, Qi Han hid behind a large tree, eyes locked on the two dragons, thinking about how to kill them without alerting the rest of the group.
But then…
His expression turned strange.
Among the two dragons, the more muscular one suddenly climbed onto the other's back and began rocking back and forth.
Wait… was this a male and a female?
Qi Han's face twisted in discomfort.
No wonder the two snuck off without the others.
This was a private moment.
"Nope, not watching this. Too cursed."
He stepped out from his hiding place without hesitation.
Activating all four spirit skills at once, he slashed at the upper dragon from a sharp, precise angle, cutting into its exposed underbelly.
The dragon shrieked once and fell silent.
The one beneath it sensed danger and instinctively curled up to protect its vulnerable underside.
But before it could finish the motion, Qi Han's next strike landed—ending its life instantly.
With his current strength, killing two hundred-year spirit beasts was a walk in the park.
He soon had one dragon tail in each hand, and with a flash, he disappeared into his training space.
…
"The hoofprints are gone?"
A few minutes later, a shadowy figure arrived where Qi Han had dismissed Zhui Yun into the small world.
Seeing that the hoofprints had completely vanished, You Li reappeared, his face darkening.
"Cautious little bastard… Did he realize the tracks could give away his location, so he stopped riding?"
He had completely forgotten that Qi Han had no idea he was being followed, and had no reason to be fleeing.
"Strange… then where did his Blood Red Unicorn go?"
Frowning, You Li lightly stomped the ground.
Dozens of faint, red-hued ghosts floated up around him, spreading out in all directions.
Their color grew paler and paler, until they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Let's see if you can escape my Hundred Ghosts' Pursuit!"
You Li let out a cold snort and sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting for the vengeful souls to return.
Soon, countless ghostly figures returned to his side.
A faint smile crept onto You Li's face.
"Found you."
With that, he shot off in a blur, racing in the direction Qi Han had previously passed through.
A few minutes later, he came to a stop.
Gazing at the two flickering hundred-year spirit rings and the pool of blood on the ground, his face lit up with satisfaction.
A thin layer of black mist enveloped the area, and soon, the twisted souls of two Armored Wild Dragons emerged from the mist.
You Li eagerly extended his hand into one of the dragon souls, searching for the information he wanted.
But after a moment, he scoffed and shattered both souls in disdain.
"Trash."
Remnant souls could only preserve fragments of their memories from life, and the clarity of those memories depended heavily on the creature's intelligence.
Unfortunately, with brains filled with nothing but armor, Armored Wild Dragons had almost no useful memories.
From the few scattered images he could glean, they had indeed been killed by Qi Han, but as for where Qi Han had gone afterward, they knew nothing.
Another dead end.
"Damn it!"
You Li clutched his head in agony, his thoughts spiraling.
He was already extremely irritable, absorbing too many spirits had left him mentally unstable, prone to mood swings and even signs of split personality.
This repeated failure was eroding what little patience he had left.
Suddenly—
"ROAR!!"
A thunderous bellow echoed nearby.
A massive Armored Wild Dragon, its shell completely transformed into a deep black hue, strode out from the forest.
Sensing the presence of two extinguished spirit rings and the lingering aura of its kin, its eyes turned blood-red with fury.
With a howl, it charged straight at You Li in rage.
"Get lost, you dumb beast."
You Li snarled, raising a foot and kicking the charging dragon away.
Despite its massive five-to-six-meter frame, the thousand-year dragon was sent flying ten meters through the air, crashing heavily into the ground.
It rolled a few times before staggering to its feet, shook its head, and once again lowered its horns to charge, undeterred.
"I said get lost! Are you deaf, you stupid beast!"
You Li's face twisted into a snarl of hatred.
A cloud of dark mist surged forward, enveloping half the dragon's body.
In seconds, the affected half melted into a pool of oozing pus, leaving only bits of its hardened shell intact—now meaningless without the flesh to protect.
"It's your fault—your kind is too stupid! Your souls remember nothing! How am I supposed to find that damn brat like this?! You all deserve to die!"
Driven mad by frustration, You Li irrationally placed all the blame on the Armored Wild Dragons.
His eyes burned with madness and cruelty.
Without a hint of mercy, he conjured more black mist that dissolved what remained of the dragon's body into putrid sludge.
Then he ripped out its souls, torturing it briefly before devouring it.
The commotion drew the attention of the nearby Armored Wild Dragon pack.
Just as You Li finished consuming the spirit, dozens of furious roars rang out.
One by one, more dragons charged at him in a stampede of rage.
"DIE, ALL OF YOU!"
You Li bellowed, his grin feral.
He charged toward them instead of fleeing, venting all his pent-up fury on the herd.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"…Senior Sister, what's wrong?"
Elsewhere in the Star Dou Forest, a group of over a dozen people trekked cautiously through the woods.
At the front, a silver-haired girl suddenly paused, frowning slightly.
A girl behind her couldn't help but ask,
"We're still quite far from the ten-thousand-year spirit beast zone."
"I sensed an evil presence just now," the silver-haired girl said with a slight frown.
"It might be a sign of activity from an evil spirit master."
"An evil spirit master?"
A wave of murmurs rippled through the group.
"Senior Sister, let's go check it out!"
A male student spoke up excitedly.
"We won't have to detour much—and dealing with such scum is part of our job as an Inspection Corps anyway!"
"Yeah! He's right!"
Several others chimed in in agreement.
Seeing this, the silver-haired girl gave a nod.
"Then let's investigate."
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