Sunset Forest.
Compared to the Great Star Dou Forest along the frontier mountains, the vegetation here was far denser and more luxuriant.
But no matter how lush the forest was, it still followed the same unchanging rule—
The weak were prey to the strong.
Rustle—!
The bushes suddenly shook violently as a Rock Horn Sheep burst out, fleeing for its life as though something terrifying was chasing it.
And it was right.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Claw!"
A masked figure pursued it at high speed. No spirit rings appeared around his body, yet lightning shaped like claws formed around his hands, resembling a Spirit Ability.
Electric currents crackled beneath his feet as he closed the distance in an instant.
The lightning claw fell.
One strike—instant kill.
As the Rock Horn Sheep collapsed, a white spirit ring slowly condensed above its corpse.
"Today's meal is settled."
Clearly, the man hadn't acted for the spirit ring. This Spirit Beast wasn't worth absorbing—he'd only killed it to eat.
Taichu removed his mask, stored it inside his ring-shaped spirit tool, pulled out a knife, and efficiently butchered the Rock Horn Sheep on the spot, placing the meat piece by piece into his spirit tool. Once finished, he took out the mask again, put it back on, and swiftly left the area.
The heavy scent of blood made this place far too dangerous.
Reaching a nearby stream, he briefly washed the blood from his body.
A month and a half.
He had entered Sunset Forest in search of a Spirit Beast suitable for his second spirit ring—and had already been here for a full month and a half.
He had originally brought enough dry rations to last one month. Those had been gone for half a month now.
He had considered leaving the forest to restock, but feared missing the Spirit Beast he was searching for. In the end, he simply hunted and foraged within Sunset Forest to survive.
Even so…
He still hadn't found it.
The Black Flame Demon Bird.
An extremely rare Spirit Beast recorded in the Spirit Beast compendium Yu Xiaogang had copied from Spirit Hall.
To be honest, Spirit Hall's records far surpassed those kept in the branch halls. Branch halls only documented basic attributes and gave vague descriptions, while Spirit Hall's archives detailed appearance, attributes, abilities, habitats, and more.
Many rare Spirit Beasts absent from branch hall records were clearly documented in this book.
If Taichu had obtained this information before absorbing his first spirit ring, he definitely wouldn't have chosen something as ordinary as the Phantom Spirit Fox.
The Black Flame Demon Bird was a dual-attribute Spirit Beast of fire and spiritual power, said to carry a trace of Phoenix bloodline. Its appearance resembled a crow, its body covered in pitch-black feathers. It could manipulate a unique black flame through spiritual power—using spiritual energy itself as fuel.
Once the black flame touched something, it was almost impossible to extinguish. Only by completely severing the contaminated part could the flames be stopped. Otherwise, it would burn until nothing but ashes remained.
According to the records, it appeared in places such as Sunset Forest, the Great Star Dou Forest, the Ten Thousand Bones Forest, and similar regions.
The reason Taichu chose Sunset Forest was simple.
It was the closest.
The other locations were either near the Arctic regions or deep within the Star Luo Empire.
By comparison, Sunset Forest was far more convenient.
Before entering, he had even asked Master Ma for help and confirmed through a Spirit Hall sub-branch near Sunset Forest that a Spirit Master had indeed discovered traces of a Black Flame Demon Bird here about a year ago.
Though the Spirit Beast's exact age couldn't be determined, based on the description, it was estimated to be around three thousand years old.
After learning this, Taichu came without hesitation.
A three-thousand-year Black Flame Demon Bird was practically perfect as his second spirit ring.
Unfortunately…
After searching for a month and a half, he still hadn't found a single trace of it.
As night fell, Taichu lit a fire.
He roasted the hunted meat, sprinkled on the last of his remaining seasonings, then grabbed a roasted lamb leg and gnawed on it without any regard for manners.
He didn't care.
A month and a half of living in the forest had practically turned him into a savage. Appearance meant nothing now.
What he cared about was when he would finally find that damned Black Flame Demon Bird.
Suddenly—
Rustle!
A noise sounded nearby.
"It ran over there!"
"Hurry, hurry! Don't let it escape!"
"Relax, with me here, it won't get away!"
"…!"
Voices echoed from the forest, making Taichu frown. Before he could think further, the sound of leaves grew louder—
And a black shadow burst out of the bushes at extreme speed, opening its blood-filled mouth straight toward him.
Taichu's Mangekyō Sharingan bloomed within his pupils.
Lightning surged beneath his feet.
Without hesitation, he hurled the lamb leg in his hand straight at the attacker.
It didn't deal any real damage—but it jammed straight into the snake's open mouth.
For a moment, even the snake seemed stunned.
Perhaps it had something to say.
Snake: "Brother, isn't this a bit too aggressive?!"
But Taichu had already identified it.
Blood Shadow Red Snake.
A snake-type Spirit Beast known for its terrifying speed and highly potent venom.
He had already retreated, quickly pulling the spiral-patterned mask from his spirit tool and putting it on.
Judging from the sounds around him, this Blood Shadow Red Snake had clearly been driven here by someone else.
Sure enough—
The next moment, several figures rushed over.
But when they saw the Blood Shadow Red Snake with a lamb leg stuffed in its mouth, all of them froze.
…Huh?
Brother, what's going on here?
We were chasing you—why are you suddenly eating?!
The group, who had been shouting moments ago, fell completely silent, staring at the scene in front of them in utter confusion.
For a brief moment, the forest was eerily quiet.
"Did you drive this Spirit Beast over here?"
Taichu broke the silence.
Hearing that, Dugu Yan and the others felt extremely awkward. Even the slowest among them understood what had happened.
A person.
A campfire.
A lamb leg.
They had clearly chased a Spirit Beast straight into someone else's campsite.
The group exchanged looks, unsure what to say.
"Friend, we didn't realize anyone was camping here while we were hunting the Spirit Beast. We sincerely apologize for the offense—please forgive us."
Yu Tianheng stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Taichu looked at him, noticing the emblem embroidered on the corner of his clothing—a clan crest unique to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
"That's right. Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng."
Yu Tianheng introduced himself immediately.
Hearing this, Taichu inwardly thought, As expected.
His gaze swept across the group. All of them were in a state of Martial Soul Possession.
Combined with Yu Tianheng's presence, the identity of this group was instantly clear.
The Huangdou Team.