Compared to the map, Himmel Soan cared more about the details. For instance, how this team felt about the Dusk Soul Forest.

Since the other party didn’t want the map, Rustam didn’t insist. After all, his teammates refused to give it. By not taking the map, Himmel Soan had relieved the tension between them.

“When we came here the first time, we thought the beasts were edible. We ate some beast meat, too. Afterward, we felt a type of energy that was incompatible with our own. It’s the same as the energy in the air.”

Rustam thought Himmel Soan would understand him. He was talking about the energy in the air, which should be self-explanatory.

Himmel Soan frowned. Incompatible energy?

The energy in the air was a dense spiritual essence. Would absorbing it have that effect?

It shouldn’t, but why did they feel that way?

“I see.” Himmel Soan nodded.

He wanted to have another look at the bear’s meat. Turning around, he only saw Firey standing there, looking pleased with herself. The grease on her lips told him where the bear was.

Firey had eaten it all.

Rustam and his teammates were shocked.

“She ate it all?” Zuxra swallowed. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

The bear was gone!

The only explanation was she had eaten it!

“Since you guys won’t eat it, I didn’t want to waste any food. We should cherish what we have, so I ate it all.

“Do you want some now? I’m sorry, but it’s gone!” Firey chuckled.

She had been listening to their conversation. When Rustam said they couldn’t eat it, she wanted to have the bear to herself. When he explained the reason, she started eating and soon finished the whole bear.

Even if the others wanted to change their minds, there was nothing left.

“Did you finish the entire bear?” Zuxra still couldn’t believe it.

“How did you do it? You’ve eaten more than ten of us put together! How can you still stand up? Even if that were an ordinary bear, it would still be too much for one person!”

The team members were all astonished.

They couldn’t believe it. It was too hard to digest!

How could someone finish such a big bear in such a short period of time?

The amount of meat aside, they couldn’t understand how she withstood the incompatible energy.

“Ordinary people also hunt in the area, but why aren’t they affected by consuming the meat?” Himmel Soan asked.

He also killed a bear when he first arrived. The bear had a core, so it had to have come out of the forest.

After killing the bear, Oech took it back to the village. He then distributed the meat among the villagers. Nothing happened after they ate it.

If the incompatibility existed, why weren’t they killed?

All the villagers were fine.

“The lower one’s cultivation level is, the less severe the effect is. Villagers in the nearby villages are mostly ordinary people and low-level cultivators. That’s why they aren’t affected.

“As your cultivation level rises, you’re affected more. Most people getting killed in the Dusk Soul Forest are advanced cultivators. People like us are usually attacked by the beasts.” Rustam smiled bitterly.

He recalled his friends. So many of them had been killed by the incompatible energy or the beasts. They used to have around thirty people on the team, but there were only four left now. He didn’t know how many of them would return in the end.

“I see.” Himmel Soan nodded.

He had an answer, but he wasn’t sure yet. He needed to test it before he knew it was accurate. If his guess was right, he would solve the mystery of the forest.

After talking to these people, he needed to test his theories.

“I’m going to leave you here. I need to go deeper into the woods. See you around.” Himmel Soan left with Firey.

They left so suddenly that Rustam and his team members didn’t have time to react. When they realized what had happened, the duo was nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had never existed.

After a long while, one of them said, “Did we run into a spirit?”

Rustam frowned. “Don’t be silly. That gentleman saved us. Show some respect!”

“I’m just saying. There’s no need to get angry.”

“You’ve been calling him a gentleman the whole time. I almost thought he was your friend!”

“Have you forgotten we’re your actual friends?”

Two other team members scolded Rustam.

Zuxra immediately intervened, trying to separate Rustam from the other two men. “That’s enough! We’re friends. Isn’t that obvious? Why are we fighting over such a petty thing?

“Get some rest! We have a long road ahead!”

The other two men snorted. They had been displeased with Rustam for a long time. The conflict had stayed under the surface until Farit died. But they couldn’t stand it anymore.

They couldn’t put up with Rustam’s attitude and he couldn’t tolerate them either.

“That gentleman saved us. Shouldn’t we be grateful? Why couldn’t we give him the map in return? We could always draw another one. Why did you have to embarrass that gentleman and me?”

Rustam brought it up again. He didn’t want to, but the other two men kept accusing him, so he wanted to shut them up.

“You want to talk about the map, don’t you?” They smirked.