Chapter 1293: Bleak Souls and Reincarnation

"According to my knowledge, the Hundred Ghost Forest is a very dangerous place, and we know next to nothing about it, so isn't this too risky a course of action?" Shi Chuankong asked with tightly furrowed brows.

"How much do you know about this Hundred Ghost Forest, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know a whole lot, but I've heard that there are many bleak souls in the Hundred Ghost Forest that are very troublesome to deal with," Shi Chuankong replied.

"What are bleak souls?" Han Li asked, and Weeping Soul, Jin Tong, and Violet Spirit also turned to him with curious expressions.

"Normally, there's a limit on the number of times that a soul can enter the cycle of reincarnations, but there are some souls that possess exceptional aptitude or were able to exceed this limit due to other special reasons. These souls will gradually turn into bleak souls, which possess no intelligence, only a basic instinct for slaughter.

“Due to the special environment in this Hundred Ghost Forest, it has become a perfect gathering place for these bleak souls, making it a very dangerous place," Shi Chuankong explained.

"No matter how powerful these bleak souls are, they're still souls, are they not? Surely they'll be easier to deal with than the four major tribes," Weeping Soul said.

"I agree. With Weeping Soul on our side, no souls will be able to pose any threat to us," Jin Tong chimed in in agreement.

"In that case, let's try our luck through the Hundred Ghost Forest," Shi Chuankong acquiesced with a nod.

With the decision made, the group immediately flew into the Hundred Ghost Forest.

Inside the forest, visibility was limited to no more than several dozen feet, but thankfully, spiritual sense remained uninhibited here, so they were able to traverse through the forest without too much trouble.

Han Li was flying along at the forefront of the group with his Infernal Devilish Eyes activated, paying close attention to everything that was happening in the surrounding area.

All of a sudden, a petite, two-headed, black snake shot out of the forest like lightning with the intention of sinking its fangs into his calf.

However, before it was even able to reach Han Li, its body was split into two down the center by a streak of golden light. Black blood came spilling out of its body, sending plumes of smoke rising up into the air upon splattering onto the ground.

The two halves of its body twitched a few times before falling still, and by then, Han Li's group was already long gone.

"It looks like there are also many powerful ghostly beasts in the Hundred Ghost Forest in addition to the bleak souls. Make sure to be on your guard, everyone," Shi Chuankong cautioned, and everyone nodded in response with alert expressions.

Around half a month passed by in the blink of an eye, and as the group advanced deeper and deeper into the Hundred Ghost Forest, they began to encounter more and more ghostly beasts, some of which had already reached the High Zenith Stage.

The group tried to avoid trouble as much as possible, and all of the trouble that they were unable to avoid was quickly eradicated.

Close to another month quickly passed by.

On this day, a cacophony of roars and sharp cries rang out near a black river, and the commotion was audible for hundreds of kilometers.

However, it then quickly subsided, and peace and quiet was restored.

The entire area within several dozen kilometers of the river had been severely ravaged, and several massive, bottomless rifts that stretched for dozens of kilometers in length had appeared on the ground, with plumes of smoke rising up from within them.

Han Li's group was situated next to the river with close to ten thousand black, wolf-like ghostly beasts littered across the ground.

These ghostly beasts were each around seventy to eighty feet in length, and they possessed thick and muscular bodies that were covered in coarse, black fur.

However, all of them had been split in half, or had had their heads, chests, or other vital regions punctured, and the ground was soaked in their black blood, which possessed very potent corrosive properties, reducing the nearby ground to a charred black state.

Han Li, Weeping Soul, and Shi Chuankong were doing just fine, but the Violet Spirit and Jin Tong were looking a little pale.

These wolf-like ghostly beasts had been quite formidable, and in particular, they were capable of unleashing a type of spiritual attack. Violet Soul and Jin Tong's souls were particularly powerful, so the two of them had struggled more than everyone else in the group.

"Are you two alright?" Han Li asked.

"I'm fine," Jin Tong replied with a forced smile, while Violet Soul also nodded in response.

"According to the scriptures that I've read on the Hundred Ghost Forest, the spiritual attacks unleashed by the bleak souls in the forest are far more formidable than what these ghostly beasts are capable of.

“Right now, we should still be in the outskirts of the forest, and that's why we haven't encountered any bleak souls, but we should be encountering them soon from this point. If it becomes too much for you, then stand down and don't force yourselves," Shi Chuankong said.

Violet Spirit and Jin Tong nodded in response, and the group set off once again.

Han Li approached Violet Spirit as he asked, "How have you been doing Devil Realm, Violet Spirit."

"I've been doing quite well. With Senior Xie and Fellow Daoist Shi taking care of me, I haven't had to worry about anything aside from cultivation," Violet Spirit replied.

"Speaking of cultivation, it's truly remarkable that you were able to make such incredible progress in the less than one thousand years that we've been apart," Han Li said.

"It's all thanks to Senior Xie. He set up a special space in which I was able to progress very quickly in my cultivation, and everything that you left behind for me has also been very beneficial to my cultivation," Violet Spirit explained.

"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.

As a Dao Ancestor, it was no surprise that Daoist Xie had some tricks up his sleeve to accelerate Violet Spirit's cultivation.

"How is Fellow Daoist Xie? Is he still in the Scalptia Spatial Domain?" Han Li asked.

Violet Spirit was just about to answer when Han Li suddenly stopped in his tracks and raised a hand to stop her.

Shi Chuankong, Weeping Soul, and the others also drew to a halt with solemn looks on their faces.

Violet Spirit hurriedly cast her gaze forward, and she discovered that a layer of deathly white mist had appeared in the forest up ahead.

The cloud of mist was rapidly drifting toward them, and everything in its wake was enshrouded in a layer of frost.

An incredibly menacing aura was emanating from deep within the mist, and Shi Chuankong warned in a wary voice, "It's a bleak soul, and this one is at least a thousand years old, so make sure to be on your guard, everyone!"

As soon as his voice trailed off, the white mist up ahead suddenly began to churn violently, and countless gusts of white yin wind came surging out from within to form a massive, white storm.

The nearby forest was instantly devoured by the storm, and everything within it was pulverized into powder.

The white storm came sweeping toward Han Li's group with unstoppable might, and the sound of shrill, ghastly howls could be heard ringing out from within it.

In the face of this harrowing sound, Shi Chuankong's soul began to ripple uncontrollably, and his devilish qi circulation also began to stagnate involuntarily.

He hurriedly darted back in retreat while doing everything in his power to suppress the unrest in his own soul, and everyone else quickly followed suit, with the exception of Han Li.

He remained standing still on the spot as a layer of golden light surfaced over his body, and he was peering intently into the white storm up ahead with his Infernal Devilish Eyes.

"Master!" Weeping Soul called out in an urgent manner as she stopped in her tracks before preparing to return to his side.

Jin Tong hurriedly grabbed onto her arm to stop her as she said, "Hold on a second! Uncle's not a reckless person, so there must be a reason why he's doing this. On top of that, this is only a single bleak soul, so I'm sure Uncle can handle it just fine."

A concerned look had also appeared in Violet Spirit's eyes upon seeing this.

The white storm descended upon Han Li in the blink of an eye before devouring him like a giant mouth.

Han Li remained completely still, and the golden light emanating from his body only grew brighter, forming a radiant barrier against the white storm.

The storm was instantly immobilized several dozen feet away from the golden light, unable to advance any further beyond that point.

All of a sudden, a thunderous roar rang out from deep within the white storm, and a wave of harrowing killing intent swept through the air, causing Shi Chuankong and the others to shudder in an involuntary fashion.

"What a fool! You've doomed yourself now that you've revealed yourself to me!" Han Li harrumphed coldly as he pointed a finger forward, and a streak of golden light erupted out of his fingertip before piercing into the white storm.

The violent, white storm instantly fell still, then exploded into scattered clouds of mist to reveal a giant, white ghostly creature that was over a thousand feet tall, but was incredibly thin, resembling a bamboo pole.

The ghostly creature was wearing a long, white robe that was dragging along behind it, and there was a long tongue hanging out of its mouth.

Tremendous ghostly qi was emanating from the creature's body, and it wasn't even inferior by much compared with Xue Li in this regard.

The streak of golden light had punched a large hole into its chest, and it was looking down at the hole with an incredulous expression, one that was mirrored on the faces of Shi Chuankong and the others.

Han Li raised his arm, and the streak of golden light slashed upward to slice the creature's upper body into two, following which its entire body disintegrated into dense, white smoke that dissipated in all directions.