"Where did these people even come from?"
Hu Liena, dressed in light golden clothing that perfectly displayed her body's curves, frowned, her eyes full of confusion.
"Who cares where they're from? Just kill them all!"
Yan, clad in dark red attire, kicked the three corpses aside, his eyes filled with disdain.
"These people are sneaky, not worth our attention. What I'm hoping for now is to meet their so-called leader and have a good battle!"
Xie Yue stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of fighting intent.
As members of the golden generation of the Spirit Hall, they were around 20 years old and had already reached the rank of five-ring Spirit Kings. Not only had they defeated many of their peers, but even the older generation of soul masters had been defeated by them.
Faced with these people who resembled rats, he naturally wasn't concerned. Only the so-called "leader" could spark his interest in a fight.
"We should still be cautious," Hu Liena said carefully. "These people may not be very strong, but their sudden large-scale appearance is strange. And from what we know, they seem unaware of what their so-called leader is planning..."
"It's very odd!"
"We know that Spirit Hall is already monitoring the Star Dou Forest, especially the outskirts. The forest has always been under our watch," she continued.
"To be blunt, the Star Dou Forest has always been monitored by us!"
"In other words, if the so-called leader has any brains, they must know that such a large operation would surely be detected by us!"
"But…"
"They're still doing it!"
At this point, Hu Liena frowned even harder. "Do you think their goal is to deliberately lead us here?"
"That makes sense!" Yan nodded seriously, then smirked in disdain. "But you missed one point, Liena!"
"What?"
Hu Liena asked, puzzled.
Xie Yue raised an eyebrow, looking at Yan in surprise.
"Ha!" Yan chuckled. "With the strength of Spirit Hall, no matter whether your analysis is right or wrong, they won't be able to stir up any big waves!"
"Just the fact that the Supreme Pontiff sent the three of us to investigate shows that Spirit Hall doesn't even take these rats seriously!"
Yan placed his hands behind his head and walked forward casually. "So, Liena, you're overthinking this!"
Xie Yue twitched his lips. He had a little bit of a brain, but not much.
Hu Liena didn't relax. "Our teacher sent us here to get some experience before the Soul Master Tournament. This doesn't mean we should underestimate our opponents!"
She paused. "And the teacher also told us that if something goes wrong, we should prioritize escaping to save ourselves! Why didn't you mention this?"
"Tch!" Yan scoffed. "The Supreme Pontiff must have left something for you. We're so close, even if we run into danger, with the strength of the three of us, we should be able to hold out until help arrives. What's there to be afraid of?"
"You!"
Hu Liena became furious and was about to argue with Yan.
"Alright, alright!" Xie Yue quickly stepped in to mediate. "You two are both right!"
"But now's not the time to argue. We should continue our mission!"
"Kill anyone we can, and if there's anything unusual, like Yan said, if we can't handle it, we run!"
Saying that, Xie Yue placed an arm around each of their shoulders.
"Hmph!"
Hu Liena and Yan exchanged glances, both snorting and turning their heads away.
Xie Yue shook his head helplessly.
But in the end, the team stopped arguing and continued moving forward.
...
...
Meanwhile, Li Yu had just intended to leave when he suddenly noticed black mist rising from the three corpses.
Next, the bodies rapidly turned into blood, which flowed across the forest floor and seeped into the soil.
All that remained were the white bones inside the black robes!
Li Yu frowned, using his spatial power to lift the white bones of the three black-robed figures. He carefully examined them.
Still, there was no useful information.
Even after activating Elemental Vision again, all he could see were two clean skeletons. Nothing else!
"What kind of method is this?"
Li Yu grew more certain that these people were part of an Evil Soul Master organization.
The strange transformation and the mention of a "Holy Sect" seemed to confirm this.
However, he still couldn't figure out what the so-called "leader's" goal was.
Could it just be to send these subordinates to die in the Star Dou Forest?
What would that achieve for the leader?
Perhaps... it was for some kind of ritual?
Li Yu thought back to the Evil Soul Master and the ritual encountered by "Pitiful Xiao Huo" in a later timeline.
At that time, had it not been for the power of Ilex, Pitiful Xiao Huo might have been in grave danger.
But with the current situation, it was difficult to make an accurate judgment.
Perhaps only by finding the so-called leader could things become clear.
At that moment, Li Yu regretted not having soul-searching or spirit-binding abilities.
If he had those, even if he couldn't find the leader, he could at least gather information from these lackeys about the "Holy Sect."
"Hmm!"
Suddenly, Li Yu eyes lit up.
His thoughts shifted, and with a small movement of his mind, the best-preserved skeleton inside the black robe instantly disintegrated.
Water elements gathered to wash the black robe inside and out.
Then, fire elements converged, quickly drying the black robe.
Satisfied, Li Yu wore the robe, and his aura began to change under the influence of Life Tree. After a brief moment, his aura was nearly indistinguishable from the three others.
If any other black-robed individuals encountered him now, they would probably assume he was one of them.
This was Li Yu goal.
How could he find out more and meet the "leader" faster?
Simply infiltrate the organization!
"Leader, I miss you. I've come to find you!"
Li Yu stopped hiding his form, and with the black robe now on, he began to wander through the mixed zone.
He was looking for suitable soul beasts with the right age and special attributes, all while searching for his "comrades."
He was doing both at the same time.
Unfortunately, despite the moonlight and the sparse stars, he didn't encounter a second group of black-robed individuals.
"Damn it, have all my dear friends and loved ones been killed off?" Li Yu muttered, feeling quite speechless.
He had finally prepared to be a good person for society, but it seemed that the door to being a good person had suddenly closed!
How hard could it be?
"Forget it..."
Li Yu cursed under his breath, about to take off his "beloved comrade certification black robe."
But just then, he heard footsteps approaching.
Then, a rather excited voice called out:
"There's one here, kill him, and we should be able to go back, right?"
Li Yu froze: "Kill me?"
"???"