Xiao Lin and the others could already sense that something was off. That feeling of unease and dread—veterans like Su Yuntao, who had spent years in the Soul Hunting Forest, naturally sensed it too.
After Xiao Gui hurriedly changed into dry clothes, the group set off at top speed toward the forest's exit.
Normally, the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest was also its exit.
With the experienced Captain Wang Neng leading the way, it only took half a day for them to cover half the journey.
If all went smoothly, they would be out of the forest after another half day of travel.
Suddenly, Tang San sensed something wrong. He immediately reached out and stopped Xiao Lin and then Xiao Wu as well.
"Something's off. There's a smell of blood."
His words instantly startled the group.
At that moment, even Wang Neng and the others couldn't bother questioning how Tang San's sense of smell could be sharper than that of Beast Spirit Soul Masters like themselves.
Feeling the danger, their soul hunting squad joined Xiao Lin's group in heightened alert.
As dusk faded and evening approached, a strong sense of unease swept over everyone present.
Only Xiao Lin remained oblivious, his body constantly protected by soul power through his Vajra Indestructible Body, which dulled his senses.
"There's more than just the smell of blood. There's also the scent of snake-repelling powder."
When Tang San confidently named the faint scents in the air, Su Yuntao stepped forward and activated his spirit: the Lone Wolf.
To conserve soul power, only Shi Dan with the Battle Chicken Spirit and Xu Yi with the Lazy Pig Spirit had their spirits activated at the time.
Hearing Tang San's observation, everyone halted and waited for Su Yuntao's Lone Wolf to sniff out the scents in the air.
Once Su Yuntao's spirit was activated, his body bulked up, and the prominent wolf nose above his mouth twitched in the air.
Before long, Su Yuntao frowned.
"There's definitely the smell of blood and snake-repelling powder in the wind, and even more strongly—the stench of decaying corpses."
Hearing this, Wang Neng didn't hesitate either—he activated his Beast Spirit as well.
As Wang Neng's muscles expanded, he transformed into a half-beast tiger-man.
His powerful, muscular frame, even more imposing than Su Yuntao's, reassured the frightened Xiao Gui.
At this moment, Xiao Lin—without doubting Tang San in the slightest—quietly walked to the back of the group to bring up the rear.
He flicked some dirt off his bamboo armor, which produced a crisp metallic sound.
"The situation's urgent. Rather than sitting around waiting for danger, we should head toward the source of the blood scent. That way, at least we'll know who or what is putting us on edge."
Xiao Lin stood at the back, grasping a coiled dragon staff in hand, shielding Tang San and Xiao Wu.
As long as he stood there, no one would harm them from behind.
"I agree. We should take a look," Su Yuntao nodded, supporting Xiao Lin's suggestion.
Generally speaking, soul beasts rarely attack humans if they are already full.
But this ominous feeling had lasted too long. If they didn't figure out the source of their fear, they wouldn't be able to rest at night.
Humans tend to huddle together for comfort and safety.
Of course, they could try traveling at night to leave the Soul Hunting Forest—but that would be far more dangerous.
It's hard to stay alert to soul beasts behind you or venomous bugs at your feet while rushing through a dark forest.
Before long, the group followed the trail of blood to where the stench of decay was strongest.
Along the way, Tang San leaned in close to Xiao Lin's ear and whispered, "Lin-ge, my Blue Silver Rebirth Bracelet can only support four people for ten minutes. Besides us and Xiao Wu, that leaves just enough for Brother Tao."
As he spoke, Xiao Lin noticed a trace of hesitation in Tang San's eyes.
If things turned critical, he might not even want to include Su Yuntao in his healing plans.
The bracelet only provided light healing and soul power transfer. If he used it on too many people, it would drain Tang San dry.
"It's fine. When necessary, prioritize yourself and Xiao Wu. Don't worry about me," Xiao Lin replied calmly. He had nothing to say against Tang San's reasoning—just considering Su Yuntao already showed he was loyal.
They couldn't expect Tang San to sacrifice himself recklessly, potentially risking his life.
"Keep a close eye on Xiao Wu. Don't let anything happen to her."
If she died by accident, her 100,000-year spirit ring and spirit bone could trigger infighting within the group.
Speaking of Xiao Wu, Xiao Lin was genuinely curious—could a 100,000-year soul beast in human form still use their full soul beast power?
If not, transformation seemed far too risky...
Xiao Lin shook off those thoughts, deciding that once they returned to their secret base, he needed to explain that Tang San's choice of vitality-type spirit rings was all about resurrection.
That way, if Xiao Wu were to sacrifice herself, her spirit ring and bone could end up on either Xiao Lin or Tang San, making her easier to resurrect later.
As for Xiao Wu, Xiao Lin still stood by his word: he wasn't interested in her spirit ring or bone.
The Invincible Golden Body wasn't truly invincible. One day it might be less effective than Xiao Lin's own soul defense.
Clearing his mind, Xiao Lin and the group soon arrived at the source of the decay.
"This is where my Blue Silver Grass sensed something off," said Tang San, drawing Xiao Lin's full attention.
This place was quite far from where they had gotten their previous spirit rings.
Could that ominous feeling really have come from here?
"Huh? Aren't those Captain Wang Fugui and Ah Wei?"
Su Yuntao, a long-time local of the Soul Hunting Forest, recognized the corpses instantly.
Xiao Lin frowned. Wang Fugui had been arrogant but came with two soul-hunting squads—not weaker than their own setup.
If even they had fallen, this was serious.
Looking around, Xiao Lin saw at least five corpses. Three of them seemed to have been shot in the back—like suicide by gunshot.
"Instant kills. The attacker's strike was incredibly fast and powerful," Xiao Lin thought grimly.
At that moment, Tang San frowned and stepped forward to inspect the bodies more closely.
Xiao Wu and Xiao Gui, now terrified, clung to Xiao Lin.
"The wounds are large—about the size of a baby's fist—and there's very little blood. The bodies even look shriveled."
Tang San examined the corpses and analyzed them.
"Most importantly, they were all taken down in one hit—instantly losing combat ability. Their faces are bluish, showing signs of poisoning, but they also appear to have suffocated."
"There are signs that the bodies were bitten by large insect mandibles, but the bites are shallow—like the killer only tasted them and moved on."
As Tang San spoke, his brow furrowed deeply.
Even as a Tang Sect disciple, he found this type of poisoning strange.
The Tang Sect had poisons that caused suffocation, but these people hadn't even had a chance to resist.
It was like giving a tiger cobra venom—completely unnecessary, yet still used.
"Bullet Bees. This kind of poison pattern comes from Bullet Bees—and a single one at that."
"If that's the case, I suspect this Bullet Bee isn't just at the 700-year level, but over a thousand years."
"With that much power, it could kill weaker enemies in one shot without even needing to use its poison."
Xiao Lin's expression darkened. If it really was a millennia-old Bullet Bee, he had to worry about whether Tang San and Xiao Wu would survive the encounter.
"It didn't eat the corpses, which suggests it didn't attack for food—but rather for fun. Cruelty."
"A mutation? Did this Bullet Bee mutate? Like the Man-Faced Demon Spider—taking pleasure in killing?"
While speaking, Xiao Lin moved Xiao Wu and Xiao Gui closer to Tang San, his brow tightly knit.
Things were really not looking good—had this Bullet Bee been stalking them for half the day?