Chapter 648 Investigation and unexpected discovery

The reconnaissance team set out quietly under the cover of night. They wore specially made black robes that could conceal them, with runes carved on them that could shield the fluctuations of soul power, making them look like ghosts in the dark.

The captain of the team is Xingying from the Star Soul Master Hall. His martial soul is the Star Shadow Leopard, which possesses extremely fast speed and excellent concealment ability.

"Everyone follow closely and don't make any noise." Xingying whispered, his eyes twinkling in the darkness like two stars.

The team members carefully moved towards the area where the dark forces might appear. They shuttled through the dense forest, skillfully avoiding the leaves under their feet without making a sound.

"This place feels eerie, could the dark forces be nearby?" A member from the Qingmu Soul Master Alliance whispered. His wood-type martial soul made him particularly sensitive to his surroundings, and at this moment he could feel a depressing aura.

"Shh, keep quiet." Xingying scolded softly.

Suddenly, Xingying stopped and gestured for everyone to squat down. The team members immediately became alert and looked in the direction of Xingying's gaze, only to see several dark shadows swaying in the open space ahead.

"Is it a patrol from the dark forces?" a team member asked quietly.

Xingying observed carefully for a while and shook his head: "Not really. The soul power fluctuations of these guys are very weak. They look like soul beasts corroded by the power of darkness."

At this moment, the dark shadows seemed to have noticed something and slowly walked towards them.

"Prepare to fight, but try not to expose our whereabouts." Xingying whispered.

The team members grasped their weapons tightly and quietly activated their soul power.

When the shadows approached, they could see clearly that these were indeed soul beasts that had been corrupted by the power of darkness. Their original appearance had been distorted, and they exuded a foul dark aura, and their eyes were filled with madness.

A corroded wild wolf-shaped soul beast suddenly pounced towards them. Xingying's figure flashed and disappeared like a ghost, and the next moment he appeared behind the wild wolf. With a light wave of the Xingying dagger in his hand, the wild wolf's throat was cut open and fell to the ground without making a sound.

Other team members also took action, using their respective skills to quickly deal with these corrupted soul beasts.

"Keep moving forward. We need to find the dark forces' base as soon as possible." Xingying said.

They continued to go deeper into the forest, and deep in the forest, they found a cave hidden in the valley. The cave was surrounded by thick dark soul power, and there were some strange runes flashing at the entrance of the cave.

"This cave is very suspicious. It might be the base of dark forces." said a team member.

Xingying nodded: "I will go investigate first, you wait here and be careful to hide."

After saying that, Xingying displayed his Xingying Leopard martial spirit, his body turned into a black shadow, and quietly sneaked into the cave.

The cave was very dark and damp, and filled with a pungent smell. Xingying walked carefully along the cave passage. His hearing and vision became extremely sharp under the blessing of his martial spirit.

Suddenly, he heard a low voice talking.

"Sir, our plan is going smoothly, and the source of the martial spirit will soon fall into our hands." A voice said.

"Don't take it lightly, those soul masters will not sit idly by. We must speed up our preparations." Another majestic voice replied.

Xingying quietly approached the source of the sound, hid behind a rock, and looked inside. He saw a tall man in a black robe standing there, emitting a strong dark soul power, and there were several dark forces around him.

"But sir, we are still missing a key thing to activate the formation that can control the source of the martial soul." said a subordinate.

"I have sent people to look for it. The thing is in the ancient ruins nearby. Once we find it, we can activate the formation, and then the entire martial arts world will be under our control." The man in black robe said with a sneer.

Xingying was shocked. He knew he had to pass the news to the team members outside as soon as possible. Just as he was about to leave quietly, he accidentally touched a small stone.

"Who?" the man in black robe shouted alertly.

Xingying rushed towards the cave entrance without hesitation.

"Chase! Don't let him get away!" the black-robed man ordered.

Xingying rushed out of the cave as fast as he could and shouted to the team members outside: "Hurry up, we've been discovered!"

When the team members heard Xingying's words, they immediately got up and ran towards the depths of the forest.

The people of the dark forces were chasing them closely, releasing dark soul attacks one after another, trying to prevent the reconnaissance team from escaping.

"Everyone, spread out and run, don't get caught by them all!" Xingying shouted.

The team members used their skills to flee in different directions, some using trees for cover, and others creating traps on the ground to confuse the enemy.

While running away, Xingying suddenly found a huge cliff in front of him. He didn't have time to brake and fell towards the cliff.

"Xingying!" the team members behind exclaimed.

Just when Xingying thought he was about to fall off the cliff, his Xingying Leopard Martial Spirit suddenly burst out with power, his body flipped in the air, and his claws grabbed a rock on the edge of the cliff.

"Phew, that was a close call." Xingying rejoiced secretly.

He quickly climbed up the cliff and continued to escape.

The other team members also successfully escaped the pursuit of the dark forces by relying on their own wisdom and skills.

After they met at the agreed location, Xingying told everyone the news he heard in the cave.

"We must find the ancient ruins as soon as possible and prevent them from getting the key things." said a team member.

"But we don't know where the ruins are." Another team member said worriedly.

"When I was in the cave, I heard them mention some clues about the location of the ruins. It seemed to be next to a forgotten lake. There were ancient stone pillars around the lake, and the stone pillars were engraved with mysterious runes." Xingying recalled.

"Then let's go find it quickly." said the team members.

So they began to search for the forgotten lake in the forest. As they searched, they were wary of the reappearance of the dark forces.

During their search, they met an old soul master who lived in seclusion in the forest. Seeing them, the old soul master asked curiously, "What are you young people looking for? You look so flustered."

Xingying told the old soul master about their situation. After listening, the old soul master pondered for a while, and then said: "I know where the lake you are talking about is. However, that place is very dangerous. In addition to the people who may be from the dark forces, there are also many ancient traps and powerful soul beasts guarding it."

"No matter how dangerous it is, we must go." Xingying said firmly.

The old soul master nodded and said, "Then I'll show you the direction. Go along this path, and when you reach a three-way intersection, choose the left road, then cross a swamp and you will see the lake."

"Thank you, old man." The team members said gratefully.

They followed the old soul master's instructions and headed towards the lake.

When they were crossing the swamp, they encountered a huge crocodile-shaped soul beast. This crocodile was covered with hard scales, and it lurked in the swamp, revealing only a pair of fierce eyes.

"Everyone be careful, this crocodile is not easy to deal with." A team member warned.

The crocodile suddenly jumped out of the swamp and pounced on the team member closest to it.

The team member quickly released his martial spirit, and a soul shield appeared in front of him. The crocodile bit the shield with its mouth, making a dull sound.

Other team members took action one after another, some used soul power to attack the crocodile's eyes, and some tried to bind the crocodile's limbs with vines.

After a hard battle, they finally defeated the crocodile-shaped soul beast.

Continuing forward, they finally saw the forgotten lake. The surface of the lake was as calm as a mirror, and there were some ancient stone pillars standing around it, and the stone pillars were engraved with mysterious runes, just like what Xingying heard in the cave.

"This is it. Everyone be careful. People from the dark forces may already be here." Xingying said.

They approached the lake cautiously, and on one side of the lake, they found an entrance to an underground ruin. There was a faint fluctuation of dark soul power at the entrance, indicating that someone from the dark forces might have entered the ruins.

"Let's go in too. We must stop them from getting that crucial thing." Xingying said.

They slowly walked into the ruins, which were filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere. Strange lights flickered on the walls, and these lights seemed to be telling the long history of the martial arts world.

Suddenly, they heard a fight coming from the front.

"It seems like a fight has broken out ahead. Could it be that there's a conflict between the dark forces and the guardians of the ruins?" one team member guessed.

"Anyway, let's go take a look first." Xingying said.

They ran towards the direction of the fighting sound, and in a huge hall, they saw the dark forces and some stone guardians fighting fiercely. The stone guardians were tall and mighty, and they wielded the stone axes in their hands and chopped at the dark forces.

The people from the dark forces released dark soul power in an attempt to destroy the stone statue guardian.

"Should we take action now?" asked a team member.

"Wait a little longer. When they are both defeated, we will take action. This way, we can reap the benefits." Xingying smiled cunningly.

So, the reconnaissance team hid aside and watched the battle between the dark forces and the stone statue guardian. Who will win this battle? Can they successfully prevent the dark forces from getting the key thing at the critical moment? All this is full of variables.