On the griffin, Zhang Peng slowly withdrew the soul power from his right hand and casually placed it behind his back.
Since earlier, he had been carefully observing the two people ahead. When he heard the Masked Douluo mention the location of the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters, Zhang Peng had already begun gathering soul power in his right hand.
If anything had gone wrong, he would not have hesitated to strike with a single palm.
With his strength as a Super Douluo, one slap was likely enough to wake the Masked Douluo—or perhaps even put him into a sleep as deep as that of a newborn baby.
Three days later, outside the Demonic Forest.
Jiang Jue gazed at the vast expanse of forest. From the sky, it was easy to see that many of the coniferous trees were covered in black and gray branches and leaves.
They intertwined densely, forming dark, oppressive patches that looked as though they had been dyed with ink—deep and weighty.
"We've arrived. From here on, we'll proceed on foot," Zhang Peng announced as he maneuvered the griffin to land on the ground. Jiang Jue and the other two leaped off its back.
Since it was still early morning, a thin layer of mist drifted through the forest, adding an air of mystery.
"You're as cautious as ever, Enforcer Zhang. With our strength, we could have just flown straight through," the Masked Douluo remarked lazily, patting the dust off his clothes.
"It's better to be careful. After all, the one deep inside hasn't completed their 800,000-year heavenly tribulation yet," Zhang Peng said calmly, though the solemnity in his eyes was evident to Jiang Jue.
The one he mentioned must be the Tyrant Sovereign of the Evil Eye—ranked second among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
The Tyrant Sovereign of the Evil Eye was arguably the most adept at spiritual power on the entire Douluo Continent. With its nearly 800,000-year cultivation, it had made the Evil Eye tribe the dominant force within the Demonic Forest.
"Fine, whatever you say. We're close to the headquarters anyway," the Masked Douluo replied nonchalantly.
To him, that being was currently in seclusion preparing for its eighth heavenly tribulation and wouldn't have the time to meddle in worldly affairs.
The Masked Douluo led the way, with Zhang Peng bringing up the rear while Jiang Jue was protected in the middle.
The Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters wasn't located deep within the Demonic Forest but rather on its outskirts.
The forest could be roughly divided into three zones. The first was the outer zone, covering about half of the entire forest, home to ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts.
Deeper in lay the mixed zone, where thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts resided.
The innermost core zone was firmly dominated by the Evil Eye tribe.
After walking for over ten minutes, the Masked Douluo suddenly stopped, a playful smile appearing on his lips as if he had discovered something amusing.
Zhang Peng remained silent, his gaze calm as he looked ahead.
Following his gaze, Jiang Jue saw a disturbance in the forest up ahead. Something was moving rapidly through the woods.
"Gaah!"
A shrill cry pierced the air as a pitch-black crow darted out of the forest, flying straight toward the trio.
Its blood-red eyes glanced back occasionally as if fleeing from something.
"A Demonic Soul Crow, a thousand-year soul beast," the Masked Douluo identified the creature and its cultivation level before casually waving his hand. A faint wall of light materialized in front of the crow.
"Gaah!"
The Demonic Soul Crow had no time to dodge and crashed headlong into the wall, fainting on the spot.
The Masked Douluo used his soul power to lift the unconscious bird and examined it. Its body was covered in numerous pitted wounds, resembling the marks left by the suction cups of an octopus tentacle.
"The Demonic Soul Crow, a soul beast with both dark and spiritual attributes, ranks among the upper-middle tier of soul beasts," Zhang Peng explained upon noticing Jiang Jue's curiosity.
"Still, for a thousand-year soul beast to be hunted down in the outer zone... that's unusual."
As if sensing something, Zhang Peng's expression changed subtly.
"So, it's one of those soul beasts."
"Rustle, rustle..."
Before long, the black leaves rustled again, and a bizarre soul beast appeared before Jiang Jue.
It hovered in the air, lacking any limbs. There was only a single silver-white eye over 30 centimeters in diameter, with two ethereal tentacles trailing limply on the ground. Its body emitted a bright glow.
Although Jiang Jue had never seen one before, he instantly recognized it—it was an Evil Eye, the ruler species of the Demonic Forest.
Judging by its unblemished silver-white eye, this was a pure-blooded member of the tribe, possessing solely spiritual attributes.
The Evil Eye tribe was peculiar not just because of their appearance but also due to their unique trait: the fewer attributes they possessed, the stronger they were. In other words, the fewer innate soul skills they had, the more powerful they became.
This particular Evil Eye had only two ethereal tentacles, and its aura suggested that it had cultivated for just over 800 years.
Upon spotting its prey in the Masked Douluo's grasp, the Evil Eye's enormous pupil swept over the trio.
Since Zhang Peng and the Masked Douluo were concealing their auras without releasing any pressure, the creature couldn't sense their strength. Jiang Jue, with only tenth-rank soul power, appeared weak and harmless by comparison.
"Buzz!"
A faint glow radiated from the Evil Eye and spread toward the trio.
"Hmph, daring to use spiritual power in my presence?" the Masked Douluo scoffed.
As a half-spiritual soul master himself, he found the creature's attempt laughable.
In an instant, an overwhelming wave of spiritual power erupted from the Masked Douluo, surging toward the Evil Eye.
The powerful force locked the Evil Eye in midair, its massive pupil reflecting a distinctly human-like expression of terror.
It's over! I kicked a steel plate!
The Masked Douluo turned to Jiang Jue and pointed at the Evil Eye.
"Kid, what does that look like to you?"
"Look like?" Jiang Jue was puzzled.
"Doesn't it look like your first spirit ring for the Soul Refinement Banner?"
"..."
"It doesn't just look like it. This is my first spirit ring!" Jiang Jue nodded firmly.
"Young Jiang, don't be reckless. This Evil Eye has cultivated for 800 years—you might not be able to withstand it," Zhang Peng cautioned.
"Zhang Elder, I want to try!" Jiang Jue declared resolutely.
A pure spiritual-attribute Evil Eye was a rare find, even in the mixed zone. Typically, such creatures were protected by powerful guardians.
Despite its modest age, its bloodline was pure. As one of the most formidable spiritual soul beasts, it was a rare treasure.
Moreover, Jiang Jue had already made up his mind during the journey—he would first focus on cultivating the Soul Refinement Banner as his primary martial spirit.
Since he was about to join the Holy Spirit Cult, its greatest strength was undoubtedly its vast knowledge of evil soul masters.
No one knew dark martial spirits better than the Holy Spirit Cult.
If he started with his innate martial spirit and something went wrong, he wouldn't even have anywhere to "cry pearls."
"I'll stand by your side. If anything goes wrong, I'll stop it immediately," Zhang Peng relented, pulling a finely crafted dagger from his soul tool and handing it to Jiang Jue.
"Thank you, Elder Zhang."
After thanking him, Jiang Jue accepted the dagger, which shimmered with a ghostly light, and approached the immobilized Evil Eye step by step.
Upon seeing him approach, the Evil Eye's enormous pupil constricted repeatedly, radiating intense resistance.
Don't come any closer, human!
"Shhkk!"
The dagger plunged into the Evil Eye's grotesque pupil, causing silver blood to spurt out.
Within five seconds, the Evil Eye was completely dead. A deep yellow spirit ring with eight purple patterns rose from its body.
Only ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes produced diamond-shaped crystals to hide their souls; this one clearly had none.
Jiang Jue sat cross-legged on the ground and extended his left hand. The purple-black Soul Refinement Banner materialized, drawing the hundred-year Evil Eye's spirit ring toward it.
"Come on, this marks my first real step into the world of soul masters!"
(Chapter End)