Dai Mubai forged ahead, with Martial Soul Possession, tiger claws slashing, tearing apart the thorns blocking the path, significantly speeding up their progress.
Ye Yu, with keen senses, surveyed the surroundings.
Along the way, they encountered some soul beasts that had lived for ten or a hundred years. Dai Mubai intended to deal with them, but Ye Yu said, "Ignore them; killing them won't help us and will only create trouble. The scent of blood will attract powerful soul beasts."
Dai Mubai nodded, that made sense.
Xiao Wu said, "They pose no threat to us, no need to strike. If every Soul Master kills any soul beast they see, will there still be soul beasts left in this forest in the future?"
Dai Mubai agreed.
After advancing for an hour, Zhao Wuji said, "Let's take a break."
Dai Mubai cleared a hundred-meter area for rest; Ye Yu didn't need rest, but others did. Here, everyone needs to be in peak condition at all times.
"Hmm?"
Ten minutes later, Ye Yu and Zhao Wuji simultaneously raised their eyebrows slightly; Tang San soon noticed the disturbance too.
Zhao Wuji took a deep look at Ye Yu, marveling internally, "Such sensitive perception, coincidentally the same moment I noticed."
Zhao Wuji said, "Zhu Zhuqing, see which soul beast it is."
Zhu Zhuqing agilely leaped onto a tall tree, bending down to squat atop, showcasing her perfect figure. After a glance, she said, "It's a flying snake, its head adorned with a fleshy crown, blood-red, with a fan-shaped tail."
Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up, "Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, Xiao Ao is quite lucky; let's see how many years it has."
As the Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake approached, Tang San used the Purple Extreme Demon Pupil to discern from afar.
"About seven meters long, this is a millennium Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, roughly fifteen hundred years old, just suitable for Xiao Ao."
"Looks like we can head back early, quite lucky." Zhao Wuji said, "I'll leave it to you; discuss how to handle it."
Tang San nodded, reminding, "The Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, although not venomous, is extremely fast; its attack is singular, killing by squeezing and entangling opponents. Even though it's singular, given its speed, it becomes very formidable. Ideally, a flying Soul Master would counter it, but none among us can fly, so Fatty suits it, with long-range attacks and Martial Soul pressure that can suppress it, so later…"
As Tang San spoke, Ye Yu interrupted, "No need for strategies against this millennium Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, just leave it to me."
The Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake darted in swiftly like lightning; Ye Yu sprang forward.
The snake scorned, quickly maneuvering to evade Ye Yu's attack, moving behind Ye Yu intending to coil around him, but Ye Yu's speed startled it, suddenly disappearing from sight, moving inexplicably to its right.
Ye Yu entered Xingdou Great Forest, not wearing any burdens.
Ye Yu punched the Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake's head. Initially, the snake didn't care; such a young boy, without releasing Martial Soul or using Soul Techniques, how strong could he be?
But soon, it was overwhelmingly horrified, despairing; the fist struck its head, producing a ghastly scream. The force was so terrifying, it instantly fainted.
The Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake lay motionless on the ground, everyone else looking in awe.
No strategy compares to absolute power.
Oscar stepped forward, ready to pierce the Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake's head with a dagger, when a voice halted him.
"Stop!"
Following the voice, Ye Yu and the others turned to see an elderly woman and a young girl approaching, both female.
The elderly woman, in her sixties or seventies, spirited and vigorous, held a three-meter-long snake-head cane, advancing as six soul rings rhythmically moved around her, demonstrating her presence.
The young girl beside her was also pretty, sixteen or seventeen, dressed in dark blue attire that perfectly highlighted her well-developed figure.
Seeing their soul rings, Tang San and the others felt relieved, initially thinking such an old person would be powerful, but she was merely a Soul Emperor, inferior to Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji's gaze swept over the elder's cane, seemingly recalling someone, asking, "What do you need?"
Saying this, Zhao Wuji's seven soul rings appeared around him, relaxing the elder immediately.
The elderly woman gently inquired, "Hello, esteemed Soul Saint, could you let this Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake go to this child here?"
The elder glanced at the pretty young girl beside her.
Zhao Wuji was perplexed, glanced at Ye Yu, then said, "This Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake was dealt with by my student; why should we give it to you?"
The elder and the girl were astonished, a fifteen-hundred-year-old Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, defeated by this young boy here?
The young girl internally found it hard to believe, pondering, "Impossible, he looks four or five years younger than me, possessing such strength?"
After the elder's surprise, she explained, "It's like this, we encountered this Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake first, chasing it here. You can check the Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake's abdomen; there are indeed two scars."
Zhao Wuji examined and indeed found them.
The elderly woman continued, "This Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake's soul ring suits my granddaughter well; hopefully, it could be given to her."
The young girl clasped her arms across her chest, arrogantly said, "If we hadn't injured it beforehand, how could he possibly defeat this Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake?"
The girl glanced at Ye Yu, clearly implying, if not for the snake's injuries, Ye Yu couldn't have defeated it.
Therefore, meaning they found the Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake first, and its defeat was partly attributed to their actions.
Hearing this, Oscar laughed first, "Ridiculous, Boss Yu handled this Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake with just a punch. Don't assume it's because you injured it we could finish it, nothing to do with you."
Upon hearing, the elder and young girl were further astounded, resolving with a single punch?
Following astonishment, they completely disbelieved it.
The young girl sneered, "Hmph, one punch, misleading ghosts? Just admit you don't want to give it away, rather than concocting such a foolish excuse. He appears only eleven or twelve, how could he settle this Phoenix-tailed…"
As the young girl spoke halfway, Zhao Wuji, the elder, and Ye Yu simultaneously sensed activity from afar.
Whoosh!
Ye Yu abruptly moved first, flashing several hundred meters away at extreme speeds, amidst dense shrubbery, making everyone lose sight of Ye Yu.
Bang!!
"Oww!!"
Then came an intense bang and ghastly scream, a large snake exploded over, crashing onto the ground between Zhao Wuji and the elder, raising dust clouds.
As dust settled, observing the scene, the elder and young girl were stunned!
For this was a longer Phoenix-tailed Crowned Snake, dead, its head blasted!
Whoosh!
A shadow flashed by, Ye Yu surged over, crossing his arms resting against a tree nearby, without saying anything, nor needing to.
Oscar admired, "Wow, Boss Yu, impressive!"
Ye Yu sighed, "Went a bit too hard, accidentally killed it with one punch."
The elder: "…"
The young girl: "…"