Time passed, and the sky soon darkened.
On a winding dirt path, Ye Xuan and Tang Long hurried along side by side.
"Tang Long, is the Asura Forest far from here?"
"I checked the map. The Asura Forest is about three hundred miles from the Ye family. We should arrive by tomorrow morning. It works out well, since the Asura Forest isn’t suitable to enter at night."
Ye Xuan nodded and asked, "What are you going to the Asura Forest for?"
"What else? To find serendipity, of course. What if I stumble upon some ancient ruins and obtain a Frenzy Soul Crystal? Even if I can’t break through to the Frenzy Spirit Realm in one fell swoop, the energy of a Frenzy Soul Crystal can at least help me locate the first Small River Vein."
Hearing this, Ye Xuan nodded. Tang Long was just a Ranger without any background. He indeed needed serendipity if he wanted to advance to the next major realm. Actually, Ye Xuan could tell Tang Long where the first Small River Vein was located and let him try to break through to the Frenzy Spirit Realm. The reason he didn’t do so was that he still wasn’t sure if Tang Long had ulterior motives. If he could obtain the Hidden Green Grass thanks to Tang Long this time, he might consider it.
They traveled in silence. The next day, Ye Xuan finally arrived at the entrance to the Asura Forest.
The entrance was a wide road trampled down by human foot traffic. The rest of the perimeter was covered in brambles and barbed vines. All of these were highly poisonous.
"Why are there so many tents..."
Currently, several tents were pitched along the path. This was definitely a very rare sight. Even if people were going to explore the Asura Forest, they would absolutely never set up tents here.
"Hmm? The Niu family!" Tang Long suddenly clenched his fists, grinding his teeth loudly. He unexpectedly saw members of the Niu family at the entrance to the Asura Forest. And there was more than one. Those entering and exiting these tents were all Niu family members.
"That’s... Patriarch Niu Tong! He actually came in person."
"The Niu family’s Patriarch? Which one is he?" Ye Xuan asked.
"Over there, the one roasting meat."
Ye Xuan turned his head and saw a bonfire set up outside the largest tent. A burly man was roasting meat over it. It was indeed Niu Tong. Beside the man sat Ning Zheseng.
"Tang Long, does Niu Tong know you?"
"He doesn’t know me, but I know him."
"Then let’s ignore him and just go straight in."
"Yeah."
The two of them ignored the Niu family and walked directly toward the Asura Forest. But they had only taken a few steps before a Niu family member called out to them.
"Hey, you! Yes, I’m talking to you. Stop right there."
Ye Xuan frowned slightly and asked, "What’s the matter?"
"The Asura Forest is temporarily off-limits. Go back for now."
"Why?"
"Why are there so many whys? Didn’t you see the banner hanging on that large tree?"
Ye Xuan turned to look and finally noticed a Double-headed Snake Banner hanging on a large tree. Ye Xuan had seen this banner before at the entrance of Niu Family Town.
Before Ye Xuan could speak, a cold harrumph rang out.
"The Asura Forest is a public area. All Cultivators can enter. What? Is some family trying to monopolize the Asura Forest for themselves?"
Ye Xuan and the others turned around to see a man around fifty years old speaking. The man had a prominent scar on his face and looked like someone not to be trifled with.
The Niu family member coldly shouted, "How impudent! Don’t you recognize this banner?"
The scarred man sneered and replied, "On the Beast Soul Continent, every family has a Clan Banner. Am I supposed to recognize them all? Get lost and don’t block my way. Otherwise, die."
"I think you’ll be the one to die!"
The Niu family member was instantly infuriated. But as soon as his words left his mouth, a muffled THUD echoed, and brain matter flew everywhere. The scarred man had directly blown his head apart.
"A mere ant dares to clamor in front of me." The scarred man sneered, glanced around, and then strode toward the Asura Forest.
"You killed my clansman and think you can just leave?" At that moment, the two-meter-tall Niu Tong let out a furious roar.
Above his head, a black water buffalo manifested. This was the Wild Beast Soul Niu Tong had awakened: the Big Black Bull.
Empowered by his Beast Soul Power, Niu Tong seemed unstoppable. His body emitted a dark glow. Looking like the reincarnation of the Bull Demon King, he threw a punch at the scarred man.
The scarred man merely sneered and casually threw a punch of his own.
BOOM.
Niu Tong’s two-meter-tall frame stumbled backward repeatedly. In terms of pure strength, he was actually weaker than the scarred man, and this was even while he was utilizing his Beast Soul Power.
"Niu Tong’s aura isn’t at the 4th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm, but the 5th Layer," Ye Xuan murmured softly.
"You can determine Niu Tong’s strength just from his aura?" Tang Long’s surprised voice rang out.
Ye Xuan didn’t explain, instead focusing on their battle.
After forcing Niu Tong back with one punch, the man charged at him. A broadsword materialized in his hand. The broadsword glinted with a cold light, looking as if it would cleave Niu Tong’s head from his shoulders.
However, the moment he raised his blade, an old man appeared beside him. A streak of cold light abruptly burst forth. The scarred man’s broadsword, along with the hand gripping it, instantly plummeted to the ground.
"Hmm?" The scarred man’s expression drastically changed. He knew this old man who had suddenly appeared was a supreme expert.
Without hesitation, the scarred man turned to flee. But the old man didn’t give him the chance. He extended his index finger, pointing at the scarred man’s back.
A speck of cold light coalesced once more.
"Piercing Mountain Finger."
SWISH.
The air released a sharp screech. The cold light shot from his fingertip like a bolt of lightning, instantly striking the scarred man. The scarred man’s body stumbled forward a few steps out of momentum before collapsing to the ground.
The scarred man was dead.
Having killed the man, the old man sat back down under the tree, adjusted his bamboo hat, and resumed sipping his wine.
At this moment, Ning Zheseng stood up. A Treasure Sword abruptly materialized in his hand. Evidently, Ning Zheseng possessed a Spatial Treasure capable of storing items. He walked over to the scarred man’s body and began to mutilate the corpse.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Blood splattered. The originally refined Young Master Ning looked like a madman. After mutilating the corpse for quite a while, he finally stopped. He turned to the Niu family members beside him, who were too terrified to even breathe loudly, and said, "Heh, he didn’t even recognize my Ning family’s Double-headed Snake Banner. Don’t you think he deserved to die without a whole corpse?"
Ning Zheseng’s smile was bone-chilling, sending shivers down everyone’s spines. As he spoke, he looked toward Ye Xuan and Tang Long.
"You two. If you don’t want to die, you’d better hurry up and get lo—"
Ning Zheseng’s words came to an abrupt halt halfway through. Ye Xuan and Tang Long had already sprinted into the Asura Forest. Because leaving was absolutely impossible, Ye Xuan had to obtain the Hidden Green Grass!
Their sudden action left everyone at the scene utterly dumbfounded. No one expected that after witnessing the Ning family’s might, these two would actually have the audacity to charge straight in.
"Courting death." Ning Zheseng finally reacted. These two were clearly slapping him in the face.
Radiant Spiritual Qi erupted from Ning Zheseng’s body. The Spiritual Qi formed a lithe, three-meter-long Cheetah that lunged toward Ye Xuan and Tang Long.
This aura belonged to the Frenzy Spirit Realm. Despite his young age, Ning Zheseng was actually already in the Frenzy Spirit Realm. From this, it wasn’t hard to see just how terrifyingly strong the Ning family’s foundation was.