chapter 5 Divert disaster to the east

Looking at the Peak-stage Second-ranked Soul Crystal in his hand, Ethan took a deep breath and said firmly, "There's no reason to hand over something you've obtained."
Glancing back, he saw William, James, and the others relentlessly chasing after him. The two of them were filled with murderous intent at this moment, once again directing it outward. As for the body of the Black Jade Tiger, they had long discarded it. Compared to the Soul Crystal, the body of the soul beast wasn't as valuable.
Fortunately, they were in a dense jungle. Otherwise, with Ethan's speed, he would have died countless times.
Employing the Phantom Steps to its fullest, only an afterimage could be seen in the forest. Ethan passed through, untouched by even a single leaf.
"This is ridiculously dangerous! This is the direction deeper into Mount Sunset," Ethan gritted his teeth. William and James were chasing him for a Peak-stage Second-ranked Soul Crystal.
After an hour, Ethan was already extremely exhausted. The Second-grade Battle Skill, Phantom Steps, consumed a significant amount of soul power. This was despite his extremely refined control of soul power. If it were any other Battle Spirit Cultivator, they would have long since collapsed.
During this half-hour, his mind was extremely tense. Not only did he have to guard against the pursuers catching up, but he also had to be wary of other monsters in the area.
"No, I must replenish my soul power immediately, or they'll catch up sooner or later," Ethan said in a focused voice, staring at the crystal-clear soul stone in his hand, determination gleaming in his eyes.
The next moment, Ethan swallowed the soul stone directly. Suddenly, the majestic soul power surged into his meridians like a torrent, causing his pubic region to tremble violently.
The soul power contained in the Peak-stage Second-ranked Soul Crystal was enough to overwhelm any Battle Spirit Cultivator. Ethan hadn't anticipated this. He only felt as if his pubic region was about to explode, experiencing excruciating pain.
At this moment, the Ghost Battle Soul suddenly stirred, greedily devouring the excess soul power in his pubic region. Interestingly, the amount of soul power Ethan could bear happened to reach its limit.
Boom! Suddenly, a sound like crashing waves reverberated, and the torrential soul power surged out of Ethan's body like a river, instantly boosting his momentum.
"Early-stage Warrior!" A trickle of blood spilled from Ethan's lips, but he couldn't help but smile. He had made the right gamble. A Peak-stage Second-ranked Soul Crystal had indeed allowed him to break through to the Early-stage Warrior.
However, he also noticed something remarkable, the Ghost Battle Soul, after absorbing the surplus soul power, seemed to grow even deeper, with faint traces of soul power seeping out, continually cleansing his meridians.
Though the progress was slow, Ethan could truly feel it. It meant that he was constantly training. While he might not see immediate results, the cumulative effect would be significant.
With this realization, Ethan felt an inexplicable excitement swelling within him. Just as he was pondering, suddenly, the roar of a monster echoed through the air.
"Grrr~~"
Twenty meters ahead, a giant wolf two meters high and nearly four meters long stood roaring up to the sky. It had a pair of red eyes, revealing its blood-killing nature. Its whole body was blood red, like blood-colored iron thorns, exceptionally sharp.
It can be seen that this soul beast's attack and defense are extremely powerful.
Ethan quickly stopped himself, with a look of horror on his face, "No way, I just managed to break through the Early-stage Warrior, and I immediately ran into a third-level Bloodmark Wolf."
Although he didn't know what level three strength this Bloodmark Wolf had, Ethan could feel that this Bloodmark Wolf was much more powerful than the Black Jade Tiger that William Su and the others had killed before.
The gap between Third-ranked Soul Beasts and second-order soul beasts is better than the gap between Battle Warriors and Battle Masters. They are not at the same level at all.
"Oliver, let's see where you are hiding!" At this moment, William's angry voice sounded.
"Now it can be said that there is a wolf in front of me and a tiger behind me. There is almost nowhere to escape." Ethan's eyes flashed with a sinister look, and he picked up a stone and threw it at the Bloodmark Wolf.
He used both feet to push hard, and his body suddenly rose into the air. In an instant, he escaped into the bushes nearby.
"Grrr~~" Seeing someone who dared to challenge it, the Bloodmark Wolf looked up to the sky and roared. Its two lantern-like blood-colored pupils swept towards Ethan's location.
"Third-ranked Soul Beast Bloodmark Wolf?" At the same time, William appeared in the Bloodmark Wolf's sight out of nowhere. Seeing the sarcasm in the Bloodmark Wolf's eyes, William swallowed his saliva fiercely.
It was very difficult for him to fight against a second-level peak Black Jade Tiger, let alone a third-level Bloodmark Wolf. He had already greeted Ethan's ancestors a hundred times in his heart.
"Young Master, run!" The man next to William, swallowed with fear in his eyes.
"Henry, stop him for me. Your family will be my confidants from now on." William nodded, glanced at the middle-aged man with satisfaction, and disappeared into the woods.
Ethan, who saw this scene not far away, sneered. If he could, the middle-aged man named Henry would run away, but once he ran away, his family would definitely die.
The Bloodmark Wolf roared low, jumped up with its huge figure, and pounced directly on Henry. With just one glance, he bit off Henry's head.
"Trash, you can't even hold back for a few breaths!" William cursed angrily and quickly disappeared into the jungle. Although the Bloodmark Wolf was powerful, its huge body could not move quickly in the jungle. William then narrowly escaped with his life.
"How pitiful a low-level Cultivator is. If he dies, his death will be in vain." Ethan shook his head and sighed. He felt a little regretful that William had escaped.
This is indeed a world where the strong prey on the weak. If you don't have enough strength, you can only become cannon fodder for others.
Just based on the attack just now, Ethan also realized how powerful this third-level Bloodmark Wolf was. It was definitely not an ordinary third-level wolf. It might be a late third-level wolf, or even a peak third-level wolf.
After a while, the Bloodmark Wolf slowly returned to its original place, and Ethan couldn't help but look strange. Although a soul beast has its own territory, it rarely stays in the same place.
Suddenly, Ethan's eyes lit up, his nose twitched, and his eyes fell on a green grass next to the Bloodmark Wolf. The grass had already opened a flower bud and would bloom at any time.
"Dragon Saliva Grass? It must be at least hundreds of years old." Ethan was extremely shocked.
Although Dragon Saliva Grass is only a fourth-grade herbal medicine, it is the main ingredient in brewing many medicinal liquids. It is also very rare in the entire Sunset Mountain Range, and it is extremely rare to be hundreds of years old.
If you take it out and sell it, it will be worth at least tens of thousands of low-grade soul stones, which is enough for him to cultivate to the Battle Master level.
However, Ethan also knew that a third-level Bloodmark Wolf was guarding it, and he had almost zero chance of getting the fourth-level Dragon Saliva Grass.
"This Dragon Saliva Grass has nothing to do with me." Ethan shook his head, crawled on the ground, and slowly exited the bush, occasionally looking at the Dragon Saliva Grass with reluctant eyes.
Suddenly, the Bloodmark Wolf looked up to the sky and let out an angry roar. Ethan trembled all over and was about to run away with all his strength, but he suddenly caught a glimpse.
However, what horrified him was that a huge black python hung upside down on the ancient tree. The python was at least twenty meters long, and its whole body was covered with a layer of black scales. It was like a battle armor, exuding terror. The dim light spoke of snake letters to the Bloodmark Wolf.
Ethan just glanced at the giant python and instantly recognized its origin, "The Peak-stage Third-ranked Soul Beast Black-armored Giant Python!"