Familiar Place

Early morning.

Sunlight pierced through dense clusters of leaves, casting dappled Light Spots below.

Squeak!

Crawling out of its nest, the large yellow squirrel proudly stood atop a thick branch. With a wave of its little paw, six or seven equally yellow baby squirrels crowded out of the tree hollow.

However, these little ones clearly had no idea what "giving way" meant.

As a result, they unfortunately got stuck in the somewhat narrow entrance.

Wordlessly pushing two of them back inside with its paw, the remaining babies finally managed to squeeze out.

Still, this reminded the thousand-year Yellow-skinned Squirrel that it needed to consider finding a larger, roomier tree hollow.

Otherwise, once the little ones entered their growth period, the small nest it had built with its own paws would easily become crowded and unlivable.

It was different from the human world.

There were not that many housing options in the Star Dou Great Forest for homeless Soul Beasts to choose from.

They either had to find raw materials themselves and build a home with their own paws.

Or find an ownerless dwelling, clean it out, and take over the nest.

In any case, reality was always cruel.

Still, this large Yellow-skinned Squirrel firmly believed that as long as it worked hard, its life would keep getting better day by day.

Then, seeing the familiar human before it, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel's little paws trembled, and it nearly lost its footing and fell straight from the tree.

Who knew why this damned thing had come back again!

It instinctively wanted to run, then instinctively stopped. Hurriedly driving its babies back into the tree hollow, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel shook like a leaf, yet stubbornly blocked the entrance.

A large hand reached over and grabbed it.

Here it came.

Here it came.

A stream of humiliated tears burst forth as the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel helplessly accepted its fate of being caught and casually toyed with by this hateful human.

Resistance was impossible!

If it did not want to die, it had better not resist.

As though recalling some horrifying scene, the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel trembled as it exposed its belly.

"You're quite practiced at this, huh?"

Silver light flashed. A finger with neatly rounded nails gently scratched the Yellow-skinned Squirrel's belly.

Good. It would not die.

That thought surfaced in the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel's mind. Then it did its best to cooperate with the finger, putting on a comfortable expression.

Soul Beasts were not impossible to tame.

As long as you first made them feel your sincerity, they would naturally be tamed by you.

Lu Yuan believed that as well.

So that was what he had always done.

Though the methods he used along the way might have been a little aggressive, the results had been surprisingly good.

Look at it now. Even though he had been gone for more than a month, this Pikachu was still so obedient when he returned.

That proved from the side that this Pikachu had already been conquered by him!

Of course, Lu Yuan's inner thoughts could not possibly be known by this "Pikachu."

Otherwise, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel would definitely have spat in its heart: Try acting like a human!

"Do you know where the Man Faced Demon Spiders are?"

Man Faced Demon Spiders?

What kind of spider was that?

Hearing the human's question, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel froze. Its Little Head crashed for a moment.

Human currency could not be used here.

Human rules could not be used here.

Therefore, the names humans used for certain Soul Beasts could not be used here either.

After all, most Soul Beasts could not read. Even if someone threw them an encyclopedia of Soul Beasts, they would not understand it.

However, Lu Yuan quickly realized the problem and hurriedly changed the way he asked.

"A Man Faced Demon Spider is a large spider with a pattern on its belly resembling a human face. Have you seen one?"

Those things were rare.

Lu Yuan had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for six years, yet the number of Man Faced Demon Spiders he had seen could be counted on one hand.

However, for small Soul Beasts that had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for years, they had certainly seen Man Faced Demon Spiders more often than an outsider like Lu Yuan.

Thus, asking them was the fastest way to obtain the location of Man Faced Demon Spiders.

Of course, that was assuming these small Soul Beasts could understand him and were willing to cooperate.

Fortunately.

This "Pikachu" had not only seen one, but was also willing to cooperate. It squeaked and chattered while gesturing wildly through the air with its little paws, clearly trying to explain something.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan could not understand it.

Still, Lu Yuan's cold gaze softened slightly.

At the same time, he silently considered whether to give this "Pikachu" a chance to become an official member.

Naturally, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel had no idea what Ghost Idea Lu Yuan was plotting in his heart.

Otherwise, it would definitely have tearfully declared: I'm working for you, sir. I truly don't want anything in return!

"You point the way."

Placing Pikachu on his left shoulder, Lu Yuan gave the order indifferently. Then, with a casual swipe, he enclosed the great tree beneath his feet from bottom to top.

If Double Draw Ground as Prison could not stop them, then whether Pikachu's babies ran or not would make no difference.

Giving its babies one last lingering look, determination flashed through the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel's eyes. It waved a little paw and pointed toward the front left.

Lu Yuan's figure silently vanished from where he stood.

The predator had returned.

Some old friends had to be informed.

Didn't they?

An Elite Squad stopped at the outer area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The reason it was called an "Elite Squad" was mainly because its members were generally above Rank Seventy.

In other words, most members of this squad were Soul Saints!

Unfortunately, not all of them were.

Two Rank Forty Quasi Soul Ancestors and one Rank Thirty-Nine Soul Elder seriously dragged down the Elite Squad's average combat strength.

Fortunately, the inclusion of two Titled Douluo forcibly raised that average again.

He wore a magnificent elder's robe decorated with countless gems, as if afraid that others would fail to recognize his noble status.

If he had been an ordinary person, these Soul Saints would have cursed this flamboyant fellow to hell long ago. Unfortunately, he was a Titled Douluo.

Yue Guan—the Chrysanthemum Douluo!

Unlike the ostentatious Yue Guan, the other figure cloaked in Black Robe was clearly far more low-key.

Not only did he wear no ornaments whatsoever, but beneath the black robe, he even wore black light armor set with blue gemstones. He had practically carved the creed of "caution" into his instincts.

Gui Mei—the Ghost Douluo!

If news of two Titled Douluo personally setting out spread, it would certainly cause a great disturbance in the Soul Master World.

Forces hostile toward Spirit Hall would surely become highly vigilant.

Yet probably no one would have imagined that the reason these two powerful Titled Douluo had come was merely to escort and protect someone.

"Na Na, the Star Dou Great Forest is ahead. Are you tired? Should we stop and recover some Soul Power?"

Xie Yue helplessly held his forehead and turned his face as he walked off to one side.

Although he had a good relationship with Yan, Yan was groveling so shamelessly that even Xie Yue, as her brother, found it hard to deal with!

Even if he wanted to help him out, there was no way he could do so at this moment.

If nothing unexpected happened, his little sister would definitely reject him and rebuke him.

Sure enough, just as Xie Yue expected, Hu Liena spoke coldly.

"First, please call me by my full name, Hu Liena, not Na Na. Thank you."

"Second, I'm not tired, nor do I need to recover Soul Power. If you can't keep going, you may say so yourself."

"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need next time."

After a brief exchange, the squad set off again.

Yan eagerly caught up and bumped Xie Yue with his shoulder. Xie Yue helplessly slowed down a little, keeping pace beside Yan.

"Na Na said 'thank you' to me. Do you think I have a chance?"

Yan was beaming, seemingly unaware that Hu Liena's words had actually been meant to create distance between them.

Xie Yue's face darkened, and without saying a word, he accelerated.

Pig teammates!

Hopeless!

Even support would not save him!

No one was asking him to become some battle-hardened wolf. Could he at least understand what people were saying first?

Please recommend, favorite, and comment.

Hu Liena made her appearance.

Xie Yue, Yan, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Pikachu appeared.

I skipped the walking part—from Shrek to the Star Dou Great Forest—and also skipped the greetings part—the hunt for the Man Faced Demon Spider. I moved directly into the next section of the plot in the fastest and most convenient way. I wonder whether you'll feel the transition was too abrupt.

But I think writing those parts would have been pointless and unrelated to the plot, so I did not write them.

6489.