Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 35 Xiao Wu Returns, Crimson Swan

With Xiao Wu's signal, the Titan Ape naturally wouldn't use its full strength. However, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great. Although the people who were knocked away and stunned regained consciousness in a few minutes, they were unable to do any strenuous exercise for the time being.

Oscar and Ikehira distributed large sausages and white mushrooms, and everyone stood still to rest and recover from their injuries.

Most people looked relieved, after all, they had managed to escape with their lives from such a powerful soul beast.

Zhao Wuji's face was ashen. "How could the Titan Giant Ape possibly appear on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest... I'm sorry everyone, it's all my fault. I couldn't stop it from taking Xiao Wu away... Tang San, you, you should accept my condolences..."

"No, it's not your fault. I failed to protect Xiao Wu." Tang San kept his head down after getting up from the ground. His voice was calm, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation.

Zhao Wuji sighed, "Everyone, let's rest here for a while and then discuss this further in another place."

Just then, a faint yet incredibly clear voice rang in Chi Ping's ears, who had been deep in thought: "Brother Ping, Oscar, if you still consider me a brother, give me a purple mushroom and a mushroom sausage. Don't make a fuss, and don't let anyone see it."

—Transmitting sound secretly!

Chi Ping was startled, but remained outwardly calm.

He looked at Tang San, who also happened to look up. Their eyes met, and Chi Ping frowned, a rare display of anger on his face.

Tang San's eyes had turned blood red, as if they were about to drip blood. He looked indescribably eerie, and Chi Ping could sense an unspeakable coldness in his eyes.

She got up and walked to Tang San.

Snapped!

Chi Ping slapped Tang San to the ground.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong wanted to speak, but Dai Mubai and Oscar stopped them, believing that Chi Ping must have his own reasons.

Enrage caused Tang San to lose his mind; he raised his hand and shot a hidden arrow straight at Tang San's forehead.

Chi Ping dodged.

Tang San made his move, controlling the crane to capture the dragon.

Chi Ping closed in and, with the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, quickly captured Tang San and pinned him to the ground.

"Do you want Xiao Wu to die?!" Chi Ping roared.

Tang San stopped struggling, his eyes still bloodshot, and asked in a trembling voice, "You mean Xiao Wu is still alive?"

"There's a greater than 70% chance. The Titan Ape held back. It's very strong; it could kill us easily, but it didn't. It's intelligent and capable, no less than a human. Its attacks were restrained, without anger. Its purpose wasn't to kill! Xiao Wu might be its target, but its goal wasn't to kill her! Xiao Wu should still be alive, but if you rush in and provoke it, Xiao Wu will be in real danger! Do you want Xiao Wu to die because of you?!"

Chi Ping practically shouted the last sentence!

Chi Ping's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Tang San's head, extinguishing the burning anger that consumed his reason.

Tang San spoke in a dying voice, "Xiao Wu isn't dead?"

Chi Ping's heart softened, and he released Tang San, saying irritably, "She's not dead! But if you rush over now, she really deserves to die!"

Everyone else gathered around, chattering incoherently. Finally, Zhao Wuji roared, silencing everyone, and cautiously asked Chi Ping, "Xiao Ping, are you sure? Xiao Wu is really still alive?"

Chi Ping nodded. "More than 70% certain. But we still can't give up on the rescue; we need to keep up with the Titan Ape."

Zhao Wuji was taken aback. "You know where it went?"

The Titan Ape was too fast and had long since disappeared; Zhao Wuji couldn't find any trace of it.

Chi Ping didn't immediately answer Zhao Wuji's question. Instead, he looked at Tang San, who had gotten up, and said, "Now you know how reckless you were. You chased after him without any preparation. Did you want to commit suicide for love?"

"When we entered the Star Dou Great Forest, I used the characteristics of my Martial Soul to plant several mycelia on each of us. By using the connection between me and the mycelia, I can intuitively determine the approximate location of each person."

This is a lie. Chi Ping discovered Xiao Wu and the Titan Ape's location by using underground mycelium.

After hearing Chi Ping's words, everyone present subconsciously started touching themselves.

Chi Ping said speechlessly, "The mycelium is very fine, you won't be able to find it. And don't worry about me using this trick to spy on your privacy, it can only detect the general location."

Zhao Wuji coughed twice, trying to ease the awkwardness, "Since Xiaoping can pinpoint the location, then hurry up and take us to find Xiaowu!"

"right!"

"That's right!"

"Xiao Wu is our classmate, so we can't give up since there's still hope!"

Chi Ping looked at Tang San and said, "Come with me."

After saying that, Chi Ping led the way into the Star Dou Great Forest. Tang San immediately followed, and the others exchanged glances before following and forming a formation.

The chase lasted for quite some time, and the group traveled at least dozens of miles, but they still couldn't find Xiao Wu or the Titan Ape.

However, judging from the footprints, trampled weeds, and broken branches along the way, Chi Ping's path was indeed correct. This is also why Tang San was able to persevere.

However, Tang San wasn't made of iron; both his mental and physical strength had their limits. Although the Titan Giant Ape had held back, the overwhelming power still severely injured Tang San. Furthermore, the extreme emotional swings—from initially believing Xiao Wu was dead to learning she was alive—rapidly depleted his mental energy. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed.

"What should we do now?"

Seeing Tang San suddenly collapse, Ma Hongjun was at a loss and instinctively looked at Chi Ping, as did Dai Mubai and Oscar.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing looked at Zhao Wuji, but Zhao Wuji also looked at Chi Ping, letting him make the decision.

Chi Ping sighed, "Let's stop and rest. It's too dangerous here; we can't split up. We don't want to lose another person before we even save one."

So everyone stopped and rested on the spot.

Just as everyone was sharing the sausages and mushrooms, a light footstep caught the attention of Zhao Wuji and Chi Ping.

"Who?" Zhao Wuji looked coldly, his soul power suddenly gathering. The situation was different now; if the other party made any unusual move, he would unleash a thunderous attack.

Chi Ping seemed to be deep in thought, and reached out to stop Zhao Wuji.

"Xiao Wu?"

A slender figure emerged from the woods. Upon recognizing the newcomer, Zhao Wuji froze, and the others were also momentarily stunned.

Xiao Wu looked somewhat disheveled at this moment, with her clothes torn in many places and her neat scorpion braids disheveled, but her face was very rosy and she seemed to have matured a bit more than before.

"Xiao Wu, you're really not dead?" Oscar said, only then realizing how harsh his words were.

Xiao Wu said irritably, "Are you hoping I die?! What's wrong with him? Oh my god, what's wrong with Xiao San?"

Upon seeing Tang San lying on the ground, Xiao Wu's heart tightened, and she rushed over in three steps.

"He's fine, he's just too worried about you. There's a saying, 'worry makes one ill'? It's not entirely accurate, but it's not far off," Chi Ping said.

Xiao Wu's pretty face flushed slightly, but she still knelt down beside Tang San and took over the task of taking care of him, her eyes almost drooling.

Xiao Wu's safe return put the team at ease, and the tense atmosphere eased.

Zhao Wuji asked curiously, "By the way, Xiao Wu, how did you escape from the clutches of the Titan Ape?"

Xiao Wu recited her prepared explanation: "I don't know what happened, but that Titan ape grabbed me and ran into the forest. I don't know how long we ran, but then I seemed to hear a roar like a bull coming from one direction. The Titan ape seemed very nervous, looked at me, threw me aside, and then ran away."

"The sound of a cow? What kind of cow could make the Titan Ape nervous? And then what happened?" Zhao Wuji frowned.

Fear flashed in Xiao Wu's eyes. "The Titan Ape abandoned me, letting out a roar before leaving. I felt a dizzying sensation and then passed out. When I woke up, it was gone. The scene was terrifying. At least dozens of soul beasts around were stunned. The weaker ones were directly killed by the shock, bleeding from their mouths and noses. I don't know whether to call it good luck or bad luck, but I suddenly discovered that my soul power had also broken through to level 30."

Zhao Wuji was surprised. "Huh? You're already level 30?"

Xiao Wu said, "I was very scared at the time. Perhaps the increase in my soul power was due to too much external stimulation. I happened to find a thousand-year-old soul beast that was suitable for me while it was unconscious, so I hunted it down and obtained my third soul ring."

"This works?" *5

Everyone stared in disbelief, their expressions like they'd just stumbled upon a lucky coincidence.

Xiao Wu looked shaken. "I guess I'm lucky. I thought I was going to die. To avoid being attacked by the surrounding soul beasts after they woke up, I had to kill all the soul beasts that had been stunned. After absorbing my third soul ring, my strength returned, but I didn't know which way to go, so I just wandered around aimlessly. I was lucky to find you guys by accident."

Although there were some doubts in Xiao Wu's words, she did come back alive after all, so no one intended to hold it against her.

Zhao Wuji nodded. He said, "It's good that you're back. After you were arrested, Xiao San was so anxious that her eyes turned red. If Xiao Ping hadn't stopped her, she probably would have rushed out on her own."

He briefly recounted what had happened, and Oscar and Ikehira promptly handed him a recovery sausage and a white mushroom.

Xiao Wu took the food and glanced at Chi Ping without leaving a trace.

Chi Ping seemed to sense something, turned his head, and gave her a meaningful smile.

Xiao Wu's heart suddenly stopped.

Chi Ping nodded. "It's good that you're alright. Don't be afraid. By the way, I'm quite curious about that cow mooing sound you mentioned. Tell me about it when you get back to the academy. Don't worry, don't be afraid. I'm just curious about some things."

Xiao Wu nodded blankly.

About half an hour later, Tang San woke up groggily.

The first thing I saw was Xiao Wu in my arms.

What happened next was straightforward.

Tang San was overjoyed and, in his excitement, hugged Xiao Wu.

The two poured out their hearts to each other, completely oblivious to the people watching them.

In the end, Zhao Wuji couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to separate the two.

It was at this time that Tang San discovered he had broken through level 30 and could obtain his third spirit ring.

One more goal for this trip.

After a group discussion, everyone decided that they should not risk their lives to obtain the tiger's cubs, and they should resolve the issues with Ma Hongjun and Tang San's spirit rings before returning to the academy. However, there was a time limit: they had to do so within five days.

The next day, Ikehira continued to lead the way, and after half a day of trekking, they finally arrived at the habitat of the Red Swan—Red Lake, and saw their destination.

(End of this chapter)