Just moments ago, Da Ming and Er Ming were still hesitating about whether they should agree to the deal.
Even if they did agree, they thought it was necessary to make this arrogant human suffer a little.
But now.
Seeing Dai Chengfeng's seemingly "terribly troubled" expression, they exchanged glances instantly.
Is this human regretting his decision?
Thinking this, Er Ming immediately spoke up impatiently. "Human, I'll accept the deal on behalf of my elder brother—we'll escort you out…"
"But your additional condition? Absolutely not!"
"I advise you—don't push your luck!"
Da Ming also nodded. "Human, it's your choice!"
"Either we escort you out, and you promise not to harm Xiao Wu for the time being—or we devour you right now and head straight for Xiao Wu!"
"Damn it!"
Dai Chengfeng looked at the smug Da Ming and Er Ming, his face filled with apparent "regret." But in the end, he reluctantly appeared "defeated."
"Fine, I agree—I won't ask for any extra conditions!"
"Good!"
The two soul beasts spoke in unison, as if afraid that Dai Chengfeng might change his mind.
Then, looking at Dai Chengfeng's defeated demeanor, they exchanged a glance. 'This human is somewhat clever, but unfortunately…'
'Compared to us hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, he's still a step behind!'
Da Ming gave a slight nod, seemingly pleased with their conclusion.
Meanwhile, the "defeated" Dai Chengfeng had to suppress his laughter.
'Though the Azure Sky Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape have human-level intelligence…'
'When it comes to cunning, they're far inferior to the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger!'
From the very beginning, Dai Chengfeng never intended to get these two soul beasts to agree to any extra conditions. After all, they couldn't leave the Great Star Dou Forest, and their ability to help him was limited.
What Dai Chengfeng truly wanted was to ensure they didn't impose any additional conditions on him.
After all, his father and mother didn't even know about Xiao Wu's identity as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Moreover, Dai Chengfeng wasn't willing to trade Xiao Wu's soul ring for anything—it would be a massive loss.
As for not wanting Xiao Wu's soul ring? That part was genuine.
Although Xiao Wu's soul ring was from a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, it offered no significant benefits to Dai Chengfeng's White Tiger martial soul beyond increasing his soul power.
If that were the case, why not consider other options?
As someone who had transmigrated, Dai Chengfeng knew that the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in this world weren't limited to those mentioned in the original story.
For instance, there was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress…
He had plenty of choices.
Not to mention, there were likely many hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in this world that hadn't appeared in the original story.
"Sigh…"
Dai Chengfeng let out a long, "regretful" sigh. "If that's the case, when will you escort me out?"
Upon hearing this, Da Ming looked up at the sun in the sky.
"Tonight."
"After all, if we appear near the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest now, it would draw too much attention."
Dai Chengfeng nodded and glanced at the angle of the setting sun. "It'll probably take another three or four hours for it to get dark, right?"
"Since I've come all the way to the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest—a place rarely visited by humans—maybe I can look for some rare herbs to give to Elder Ye so he can refine them into medicinal pills?"
Thinking this, Dai Chengfeng decided it was a feasible plan.
Though he didn't recognize immortal grasses, he was familiar with common medicinal herbs…
After all, he had studied many pharmacopoeias while searching for books about immortal grasses.
"I'd like to explore the area. Da Ming, Er Ming, who will protect me?"
Hearing this, Er Ming lazily flopped onto the ground.
"Don't worry. Aside from me and Elder Brother, there are no powerful soul beasts nearby. You can wander freely."
Da Ming also nodded, casually waving his snake tail. "As long as you don't go too far, the area is quite safe. There are only some docile herbivorous soul beasts around."
"As for that guy, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger…"
"If he dares to show up, we'll definitely sense him in advance."
"And even if there's any real threat, we can reach you quickly."
Seeing the two soul beasts who just wanted to relax, Dai Chengfeng nodded. "Alright then."
Dai Chengfeng trusted that they wouldn't deceive him. After all, if they truly wanted him dead, they wouldn't need to resort to indirect methods—they could easily kill him outright.
In fact, they might now be even more worried about something happening to him than he was.
After all, the importance of Xiao Wu to them went without saying.
With this in mind, Dai Chengfeng soon ventured into the forest alone.
As Dai Chengfeng left, Er Ming's smug voice rang out.
"Elder Brother, I've always heard how cunning and sly humans are, but compared to you, they're nothing!"
"I bet he's regretting it deeply right now, huh? Haha…"
Da Ming raised his head slightly. "He does have a bit of cleverness, but compared to me, he's still lacking!"
"As for regret? It's too late!"
"Hahaha…" Er Ming burst into laughter again. "Just thinking about his regretful expression makes me want to laugh. I was even considering giving him a hard time since he dared to threaten me!"
"But now, it seems unnecessary."
---
The core region of the Great Star Dou Forest
The ground was covered with layers of fallen leaves, soft like a sponge. The air carried the unique damp scent of the deep forest, mingled with the fragrance of earth and vegetation.
Dai Chengfeng wandered alone through the dense forest.
From time to time, he crouched down to carefully examine the herbs growing among the grass and tree roots.
"This Jade Grass is quite old—about six hundred years. And this one…"
As he walked, Dai Chengfeng joyfully discovered that most of the herbs here were several hundred years old.
Though they paled in comparison to legendary immortal-grade herbs, in the outside world, they would be priceless treasures.
"No wonder this is the rarely visited core region of the Great Star Dou Forest—this trip hasn't been in vain!"
Dai Chengfeng smiled as he carefully dug up the herbs and stored them in his soul-guidance ring.
As he continued deeper into the forest, the intertwined branches formed a dense canopy, blocking out the light and making the surroundings increasingly dim.
At this moment—
A faint silvery glow caught Dai Chengfeng's attention, causing him to stop abruptly.
Under the shade of a tree, an unusual plant had appeared.
Its stem was slender, with a deep blue hue, and its leaves were long and willow-like, edged with a faint silvery glow, as if encrusted with a dazzling silver rim.
At the top of the stem bloomed a delicate flower.
The petals were translucent like crystal, and inside, mysterious liquid seemed to flow, resembling tiny dragons swimming within.
"What is this?"
A flicker of excitement passed through Dai Chengfeng's eyes as he slowly approached to examine the plant more closely.
"Ying, ying, ying~"
Suddenly, a series of soft chirps sounded.
"A soul beast?"
Dai Chengfeng instantly became alert, turning toward the source of the sound. Soon, a peculiar three-eyed creature emerged, walking toward him.
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