Star Dou Great Forest

"We've been traveling for days, we should be there soon!" Huo Yuhao looked at the directions on the simple map in his hand, then glanced up at the fork in the road ahead, confirming they were very close to the Star Dou Great Forest.

A girl, considerably smaller than him and with exceptionally delicate features, sat beneath a tree behind him. She clutched a peculiar, jet-black spider doll in her arms and had a small pack on her back. Her large eyes blinked as she asked, "Brother, are we there yet?"

"Mm, we're not far from the Star Dou Great Forest." Huo Yuhao wiped the sweat from his brow, a smile on his face.

Huo Yuxi, upon receiving a positive answer, happily stood up and walked over to Huo Yuhao. Her ears twitched as she heard the sound of flowing water from not too far away.

"Brother, I think I hear water over there!"

Water meant fish. They had been eating dried rations for days, and this was a welcome opportunity to improve their meals, exciting both of them.

Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul was the Spirit Eyes, a spiritual attribute, making his senses far stronger than ordinary people. He hopped onto a rock ahead and activated his Martial Soul.

Indeed, less than two hundred meters away, there was a stream about three meters wide. The water was crystal clear, and he could clearly see the flicking tails of fish within.

"Xixi, the fish in the stream are so big, let's go quickly." He jumped off the rock and led Huo Yuxi towards it, holding her hand.

Hearing this, Huo Yuxi's eyes lit up. It was understandable; her health had never been good, and she had been traveling constantly for the past few days, not eating or sleeping well. She looked quite thin now.

Upon reaching the stream, she quickly washed her face. She hadn't cleaned herself for days and looked like a little beggar.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, broke off a branch, used the White Tiger Dagger to sharpen the tip, and walked to the stream's edge. He took a deep breath with his eyes closed. When he opened them, his eyes glowed with golden light, and the details in the water magnified, their speed slowing down immensely.

"Swish."

His movements were incredibly fast. The sharpened branch plunged into a fish's body. When he pulled it up, a grass carp was already impaled.

The fish wasn't very large, and one wouldn't be enough for the two of them. So, Huo Yuhao caught several more in quick succession.

"This is great! We don't have to eat those dry rations anymore," Huo Yuxi said excitedly, looking at the fish wrapped in leaves. "Cooked fish won't spoil easily, so we can save some for tomorrow and the day after."

Huo Yuhao also wore a relaxed smile. Unlike the oppressive atmosphere of the Duke's mansion, here there were only the sounds of birds chirping and water flowing, which made one feel involuntarily at ease.

He looked down at the White Tiger Dagger in his hand and thought of his mother, that frail yet resilient woman. A faint sadness washed over him, and Huo Yuxi, seeing his expression, knew what he was thinking.

She missed their mother too. Since birth, because her physical condition was worse than her brother's, their mother had always shown her more favoritism. Even when she passed away, she was still worried about her frail daughter.

She had tried her best to suppress these thoughts for so long, but now that they were triggered, she couldn't control her grief.

Huo Yuhao pushed these thoughts away and looked up to see Huo Yuxi looking dejected.

"Xixi," he said, standing up and placing the fish on the makeshift grill to cook. He wiped the tears from her face and comforted her, "Mom is just living in another world. We need to train hard so we can avenge her."

"Mm," Huo Yuxi knew he was right, but she couldn't help herself.

"Alright, don't think too much. The fish will be ready soon, let's eat something first," Huo Yuhao said, changing the subject.

As expected, the aroma of grilled fish filled the air, immediately whetting Huo Yuxi's appetite and successfully diverting her attention.

Huo Yuhao's heat control was perfect, and the fish was soon cooked through. Huo Yuxi ate two whole fish.

After eating their fill, Huo Yuhao sat down to meditate and recover his strength. His talent wasn't exceptional; although he possessed a rare spiritual attribute, innate spirit power, he only had level one. This was in stark contrast to Huo Yuxi's innate spirit power of level fifteen. After five years of diligent training, putting in several times the effort of others, he had only just reached level ten.

Their goal this trip was his First Soul Ring. The Star Dou Great Forest was vast and rich in various Soul Beasts, but Soul Rings had attribute restrictions. Spiritual attribute Soul Beasts were extremely rare, and they didn't know when they would find a suitable one.

After resting for about ten minutes, the ground suddenly began to vibrate.

Huo Yuxi immediately became alert, "Brother!"

As soon as she spoke, Huo Yuhao's eyes snapped open, and he stood up, shielding Huo Yuxi behind him and activating his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul to scan their surroundings.

He didn't know what kind of Soul Beast it was, but it was incredibly fast. Even with the enhancement of his Spirit Eyes, he could only catch a fleeting glimpse of a blurry shadow.

At the same time, a white Soul Ring and a yellow Soul Ring lit up beneath Huo Yuxi. Then, the fabric texture on the outside of the spider doll in her arms peeled away, shrinking to the size of her palm as it stood in her hand.

Its body was colorful, with legs that faded from pink to blue, shimmering eerily in the sunlight.

Unsure of its target, it didn't move erratically, preparing itself and waiting for Huo Yuhao's instructions.

"Xixi, four meters to your right."

"First Soul Skill, Gui Yan Blade." Huo Yuxi reacted instantly. The spider's pink legs transformed into eight sharp blades, lunging towards the target.

Gui Yan Blade was an area-of-effect attack skill. The blades were imbued with a potent poison; anyone struck by them would be instantly pulled into an illusion, their bodies consumed by the toxin until death.

The Soul Beast was incredibly fast, dodging the attack with a flash. It then turned, brimming with fury, and lunged at the two of them.

Huo Yuhao's reaction speed, amplified by his Spirit Eyes, became incredibly sharp. Feeling the imminent danger, he quickly pushed Huo Yuxi aside and tightly gripped the White Tiger Dagger with both hands, thrusting it forward.

"Pfft." An invisible force sent him flying backward, crashing into a large tree behind him. The blood he spat out instantly stained the front of his clothes red.

At this moment, he finally got a clear look at the Soul Beast. It resembled a leopard, about a meter long, with dark purple tiger stripes all over its body. Its eyes gleamed with ferocity.

"Brother," Huo Yuxi cried out in alarm, seeing Huo Yuhao spit blood, and rushed towards him.

Just then, a sudden change occurred. A brown bear, about two meters tall, appeared out of nowhere. With its sharp claws, it grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and ran into the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Xixi."

The events unfolded in an instant. Huo Yuhao, ignoring his injuries and the menacing Soul Beast behind him, stood up and chased after them. In moments of extreme urgency, people's potential is often unleashed. The leopard couldn't keep up with his speed.

Huo Yuxi was panicked at first. Tears streamed down her face as she was jostled on the path, only to be dried by the wind. She forced herself to calm down and tried to use her Soul Skill.

However, the power difference was too great. The bear's hide wasn't even scratched.

If this continued, she would exhaust all her spirit power without any effect. She needed to think of another way.