“Wow…
so this is the Great Star Dou Forest?”
“The pressure…
it’s so overwhelming…”
“Little Haohao!
The soul beast aura here is super thick!
There must be tons of delicious things to eat!”
“Benefactor, are we…
really going inside?”
A month later, exhausted from their long journey, the group arrived at the edge of the legendary Great Star Dou Forest.
The four of them voiced four completely different reactions.
Tang Ya gripped her hilt, her eyes gleaming with uncontainable excitement and fighting spirit.
Gu Yuena crossed her arms, her expression indifferent, as though she had merely arrived at a slightly larger backyard garden.
Tianmeng nestled in Huo Yuhao’s collar, poking out her little head with drool practically dripping from her mouth.
And Jiang Nannan hid behind Tang Ya, gazing timidly at the pitch-black forest that gaped like the maw of a giant beast, her voice trembling slightly.
Unlike the simple gloom of the Sunset Forest, the Great Star Dou Forest carried an air of primordial antiquity, boundless wildness, and unfathomable depth.
It felt as though this forest had existed since the dawn of creation, witnessing the rise and fall of countless eras.
Any living creature that set foot within was merely a fleeting, insignificant passerby in its vast existence.
Huo Yuhao did not answer anyone’s question.
He simply stood in silence at the forest’s outermost edge, where the tall, dense canopy cast dappled shadows over him, veiling the expression on his face.
His eyes held a complex swirl of emotions.
Here…
He was back here again.
In his past life, it was right here that he had met the girl who sacrificed her life for him.
A girl as proud as the sun, yet foolish enough to break one’s heart.
Wang Dong’er, Wang Qiuer…
Two names, two identical faces flashed alternately through his mind before finally settling into a brilliant streak of gold.
He remembered acquiring his first soul ring here.
He remembered fusing with the Skydream Ice Worm here.
And even more, he remembered feeling the fickleness of fate for the first time right here.
Now, he was back.
But this time, he was no longer that helpless, bitter Huo Yuhao consumed by hatred.
He had new companions at his side.
And new ties of affection in his heart.
He thought he could face all of this with complete composure.
Yet standing on this familiar soil, the dust-laden memories deep within his soul resurfaced uncontrollably, stirring a faint tremor…
one he himself had not even realized.
“You seem a little nervous.”
A cool voice suddenly sounded beside him.
It was Gu Yuena.
Unnoticed, she had walked up to his side, tilting her head as her violet eyes—seeming capable of seeing through all things—gazed at him.
Huo Yuhao’s heart skipped a beat.
He instinctively drew in his focus, restoring a serene, unruffled expression.
He turned to meet her gaze and calmly denied it, “I’m not.”
The corner of Gu Yuena’s lips curved into a playful arch.
“When you lie,” she said slowly, word by word, “your heartbeat is one beat faster than usual.”
“…”
Huo Yuhao was rendered instantly speechless.
He had forgotten that the woman standing beside him was a clone of the Dragon God, the former Silver Dragon King.
How acute her senses were!
Especially when she paid close attention to him, even the slightest physiological or emotional flicker could never escape her notice.
sense of comfort.
He didn’t defend himself further.
Shifting his gaze back toward the deep forest, he changed the subject: “Get ready, we’re going in.
The Great Star Dou Forest isn’t like the Sunset Forest.
Thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts can be found everywhere here.
Everyone must maintain the highest state of alert.”
“Yes, Benefactor!” Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan immediately replied.
Gu Yuena did not press further either, though a thoughtful light glinted in her violet eyes.
Upon entering the forest, Huo Yuhao instantly pushed his Spiritual Detection to its limit.
His vast spiritual power surged outward like an invisible tide centered on him, spreading in every direction and vividly mapping everything within a radius of several miles into his mind.
The rustling of wind through leaves, the scuttling of insects across the earth, the low growls of century-old soul beasts in the distance, the squirming of thousand-year earthworms underground…
every detail was presented with flawless clarity.
Compared to the Sunset Forest, the density of life in the Great Star Dou Forest was night and day.
As he carefully guided the party around the territories of overly powerful soul beasts, he closely observed everything nearby.
After walking for about half a day, as they set up camp in a relatively safe zone to prepare for the night, Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power suddenly caught a strange fluctuation.
The ripple came from the southeast direction of the forest, roughly a hundred miles away from them.
It was unlike the soul power fluctuations of any ordinary soul beast—it bore no trace of violent, cold, or tyrannical aura.
Quite the opposite.
It was a warmth pure to the absolute extreme, an energy brimming with life force.
If other soul beasts’ soul power was a cluster of burning flames, then this energy was like a…
little sun suspended in the dark night.
It was neither blinding nor scorching, yet it radiated light and heat that made all living things long to draw close.
This energy was slowly moving deep within the forest.
Huo Yuhao’s heart violently skipped a beat.
Right then, Tianmeng, who had been dozing on his shoulder, suddenly raised her head.
For the first time, the laziness and mischief faded from her large, ice-blue eyes, replaced by an exceedingly rare look of gravity.
“Little Haohao…”
Tianmeng’s voice turned solemn as well.
“In that direction…
there seems to be…
an aura very similar to ours.”
“Ours” referred to spiritual-type soul beasts.
With Tianmeng’s words, the last trace of wishful thinking in Huo Yuhao’s heart vanished into thin air.
He knew.
He knew what it was.
In the Great Star Dou Forest, there was only one existence that could possess such pure, vast life energy coupled with spiritual attributes.
Fate’s beloved, heaven’s gift, the incarnation of the Great Star Dou Forest’s fortune.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast—the Three-Eyed Golden Ni.
Which meant…
Wang Qiuer.
She actually appeared in this area at this time.
Was this the butterfly effect caused by his rebirth?
Huo Yuhao’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
His immediate reaction was to lead the team away from that direction right away.
Coming to the Great Star Dou Forest this time, his objectives were clear: first, to find a suitable second soul ring for himself.
Second, when the time was right, to go to the core region to meet Di Tian and the others, paving the way for the future Spirit Soul Project.
As for Wang Qiuer…
He hadn’t figured out how to face her yet.
The debt from his past life was far too heavy—so heavy that he didn’t know how to repay it in this life.
His original plan was to wait until he possessed sufficient strength—at least after becoming a Titled Douluo—before searching for her to make amends in another way.
Not right now.
Rashly approaching the Emperor Auspicious Beast would only bring unpredictable variables.
Reason told him that avoiding her was the best choice.
However…
Just as he attempted to suppress the tremor in his heart and plan a new route, an irresistible tug echoed from deep within his soul.
It was a strange sensation, as if an invisible thread were connected to his soul at one end, and connected to that “little sun” a hundred miles away at the other.
Gently yet with absolute firmness, the thread pulled him toward that direction.
Was it the bond of fate?
Or was it the indelible mark left in this life by the deep-seated love of his past life?
Huo Yuhao did not know.
He only knew that the harder he tried to resist, the stronger the tug became, even causing a faint prickle of pain in his soul.
His hesitation and struggle all fell into the violet eyes beside him.
Gu Yuena hadn’t spoken, silently watching him the whole time.
Watching him turn from shock to gravity, and finally to his current inner struggle and anguish.
She suddenly spoke softly.
“If you want to go, go.”
Huo Yuhao snapped his head up to look at her.
Gu Yuena leaned against a tree, the firelight illuminating her flawless profile, her tone so calm that no emotion could be discerned.
“I’ll wait for you here.”
A simple sentence, yet like a key, it instantly unlocked the chains around Huo Yuhao’s heart.
Indeed, what was he hesitating for?
Evading had never been his style.
No matter how complex the karmic ties of his past life were, in this life he was Huo Yuhao, and he had his own path to walk.
Since fate had allowed him to encounter her again at this time, he would face it.
Go take a look, resolve a lingering matter in his mind, and then continue his journey.
He took a deep breath, the struggle and hesitation in his eyes entirely clearing away, replaced once more by composure and resolve.
He stood up and said to Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan, who were preparing dinner, “Stay here, you two.
Don’t wander around.
Until I get back, do not stray more than a hundred meters from the campsite.”
“Benefactor?
Where are you going?” Tang Ya asked in confusion.
“I’m taking care of something,” Huo Yuhao replied without overexplaining.
“Na’er will stay here.
If any danger arises, follow her instructions.”
Saying that, he cast a glance at Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena gave him a subtle nod.
Having received her response, Huo Yuhao hesitated no longer.
He turned and set off alone at a swift pace toward the direction of that aura.
His figure soon vanished into the thick night and dense jungle.
…
Meanwhile.
Deep in the forest, a hundred miles from the campsite.
Beside a lake blooming with exotic flora, a cute soul beast resembling a small lion—its body glowing faintly with golden light and a third vertical eye set upon its forehead—was joyfully chasing a luminous butterfly.
It was having a grand time, occasionally letting out cute “woo-woo” whimpers from its throat.
Every time it leaped, it left a brilliant golden trail in the air.
Suddenly, the Three-Eyed Golden Ni halted its playful pursuit.
It snapped its head up, its large golden eyes—pure without the slightest speck of impurity—gazing toward the northwest in confusion.
Over there…
It seemed…
to sense an aura that felt remarkably familiar and intimate, drawing it in with an irresistible urge to draw near.