"Alright, let's leave things here for now. Rest assured, if we can successfully complete what we're doing here, the progression of our plan will be sped up significantly. Once we achieve that, Shrek Academy and everything else will be completely irrelevant." Ghost Emperor's voice softened slightly as he spoke, and a special type of allure seemed to have crept into his voice.

Qiangu Dongfeng replied in a solemn voice, "Alright, but try to finish what you're doing as quickly as possible; I'll do my best to ascertain what the situation over at Shrek Academy is like."

"You've always been bogged down by indecision; there are many things that require bold and decisive measures. You already control the federal parliament now; can't you use the power of the military against them?" Ghost Monarch chuckled.

Qiangu Dongfeng replied, "Shrek Academy has existed for 20,000 years; do you not know how much societal influence it has? Don't forget who it was that destroyed your Holy Spirit Cult 10,000 years ago. Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect are our collective enemy."

Ghost Emperor said in a nonchalant voice, "The one who destroyed our Holy Spirit Cult 10,000 years ago was the founder of your Spirit Pagoda, yet you're still collaborating with us now, aren't you?"

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression darkened upon hearing this. "What are you trying to say?"

Ghost Emperor replied, "Not much, I'm just trying to tell you that we're not as close as you proclaim. Also, thanks for the new medicine you developed."

The call was immediately cut off, and Qiangu Dongfeng almost crushed the soul communicator in his hand to a pulp in a fit of fury.

At the same time, the first thing that occurred to him was that the Holy Spirit Cult was no longer controllable. What exactly were they going to do? What was their objective? These things couldn't be determined purely through guessing.

He was beginning to regret his decision. The shift in the Holy Spirit Cult's demeanor was definitely a direct result of the new medicine that had been developed.

The Holy Spirit Cult had one sovereign, two emperors, and four heavenly monarchs, and the medicine was developed for Demon Sovereign to use. According to Ghost Emperor, Demon Sovereign was more of a symbolic existence in the Holy Spirit Cult, but what exactly was the medicine's purpose?

Back when he had agreed to collaborate with the Holy Spirit Cult, he had two objectives, one of which was to destroy Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, and the other one was to complete the ultimate objective of the Holy Spirit Cult alongside them. However, from Ghost Emperor's current attitude, it seemed that the Holy Spirit Cult was trying to cast him aside.

It could be said that the Spirit Pagoda was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes in the federal parliament, how did the Holy Spirit Cult benefit from casting aside such a powerful ally? Did they have enough resources to put their plan into motion without his help?

At the very least, without the Spirit Pagoda's efforts, the war would be delayed indefinitely. What exactly was it that had made Ghost Emperor undergo such a drastic shift in attitude?

......

"With a more powerful ally to collaborate with, why would I continue to waste my time with a pathetic idiot like Qiang Dongfeng? Haha!" An abrasive cackling voice echoed within a dark space.

......

This wasn't the first time that Tang Wulin had come to the Great Star Dou Forest. On the previous occasion, he had been here with Gu Yue, and they had been plunged into a perilous situation. In the end, even he didn't know how they had managed to escape that ordeal.

However, one thing was for sure: there were indeed some powerful soul beasts residing in the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest. He didn't know exactly how many of them there were, but they truly were very fearsome, and they were the reason why the humans had failed to conquer the forest even after all these years.

For Shrek’s Seven Monsters, it was a simple task to infiltrate the defenses that the Spirit Pagoda had set up around the forest. Infiltration was one of the important skills they had learned on the demonic island, and it took them only a day to successfully enter the forest.

In reality, even though the entire core region of the Great Star Dou Forest had been surrounded by a stronghold, the defenses were more aimed toward the soul beasts in the core region rather than to keep people out. No one was concerned that someone would want to enter such a perilous place.

"Be on your guard, everyone," Tang Wulin cautioned.

"This place is so beautiful!" Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but exclaim.

The eight of them had formed a formation with Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan at the center, while the other six were surrounding them.

Yue Zhengyu said, "Apparently, the Great Star Dou Forest was once the largest forest on the continent in ancient times, and millions of soul beasts resided within it. The occasional beast tides that erupted out of the forest would bring upon our human race massive disasters."

Tang Wulin sighed, "In ancient times, soul beasts were far more powerful than us humans. At the time, us humans had to fight to survive, and that was how Soul Masters came to be. As humans developed, they gradually staked out a territory for themselves. Countries emerged, as well as the infamous Spirit Hall. Come to think of it, the Spirit Hall united all Soul Masters and played a pivotal role in ensuring the survival of the human race. It's just that they later strayed away from their pure objectives."

Yuanen Yehui said in a grim voice, "The problem is that the human race is developing far too quickly. With the invention of soul tools, soul beasts are no longer a match. Nowadays, there are barely any soul beasts left, let alone beast tides."

Tang Wulin's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Indeed. If things continue like this, soul beasts will become completely extinct sooner or later. As such, the Eagle Faction's ideologies make sense to a certain extent. Our Douluo Continent has already been overdeveloped, and a massive conflict has arisen between the severe shortage of resources and the ever-increasing demand for them. This war was instigated as a means to defer this conflict."

Ye Xinglan said, "If this situation doesn't improve, then us humans will eventually destroy ourselves."

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "The best way forward is actually for all three continents to collaborate and make a collective effort to make space exploration a reality. If the Spirit Pagoda truly had an eye for the future, they should be nurturing soul beasts. The fact that they're able to produce soul spirits indicates that they definitely have soul beasts locked up in captivity, but that's not the way to go."

Xie Xie said, "The current objective of the Spirit Pagoda is to create perfect man-made soul spirits so they can make the existence of soul beasts completely redundant."

Tang Wulin replied, "That's a ridiculous concept. Soul beasts are a part of the Douluo Continent; the weakness of the ancient Golden Tree was largely a result of the severely damaged state of the current continent's biosphere. Once we complete Shrek Academy's rebuild and establish stable footing, I plan to join forces with the Dove Faction to create initiatives to increase the population of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent. If the biosphere continues to be damaged like this, I'm concerned that the continent will fall into complete ruin before we manage to make space exploration a reality."

Grim looks appeared on everyone's faces upon hearing this. The Eagle Faction was currently dominating the federal parliament, and the Spirit Pagoda was backing the Eagle Faction; it would not be an easy task to create a soul beast resurgence!

They advanced deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest as they talked, and the deeper they went, the richer the life force energy in the surrounding area became. The air here was clearly different from that of the outside world, and breathing in itself was an enjoyable activity here.

"It would be awesome to live here in a small wooden cabin!" Xie Xie sighed.

Yue Zhengyu said in a disdainful manner, "You think you can abandon your playboy lifestyle in the city?"

Xie Xie immediately flared up with rage. "When have I ever been a playboy? I'm a good, reliable man; don't slander me in front of my Yuanen!"

Yuanen Yehui merely rolled her eyes in response.

Yue Zhengyu chuckled, "Why are you so defensive, Xie Xie? Have you done something that you should be telling Yuanen about?"

Xie Xie rolled up his sleeves in a furious display. "Yue Zhengyu, I'm going to teach you a good lesson!"

"Shh!" Tang Wulin suddenly made a shushing gesture, and everyone immediately fell silent. They all knew that Tang Wulin possessed the most exceptional spiritual power among them, so he had to have sensed something.