Silver Dragon King: I'll Go Myself

"Auspicious Beast, what's wrong?"

Just as Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked around, a commanding voice rang out beside her. As the voice fell silent, the space nearby twisted, and a black-haired man in a black robe stepped out.

"Di Tian." Three-Eyed Golden Lion sounded somewhat bewildered. "I think... I think I sensed the aura of destiny. It's at the edge of the forest."

"The aura of destiny? Another of your kind?" Di Tian was slightly taken aback. Then, an ethereal female voice seemed to echo from every direction.

"I sensed it too."

"Master, you're awake?"

Joy appeared on Di Tian's face at the sound of that voice. He quickly dropped to one knee, while Three-Eyed Golden Lion merely lowered her head beside him in a show of respect.

Though she was the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, her status was certainly not higher than Di Tian's. The only reason she did not need to kneel was because Master had always favored and cared for her.

"Yes. Two years ago, I sensed that this plane had suddenly gained an aura similar to that of the Auspicious Beast. I had already awakened then. The aura the Auspicious Beast mentioned is now outside the Star Dou Great Forest."

Di Tian frowned at this. "How could this be? Could the deities of the Divine Realm have done something?"

The ethereal voice pondered for a moment before making a decision. "Auspicious Beast, stay here for the time being and do not run around. I'll go take a look myself."

"You'll go yourself?" Di Tian was slightly stunned. "Master, have your injuries healed?"

"Not yet. They will not heal anytime soon, but this matter must be clarified."

There were some things the voice did not say. What she had sensed two years ago was far more than that. For one brief instant, she had even sensed the auras of two deities. Yet compared to true deities, while those two auras were not low in rank, their strength was so feeble as to be insignificant. If they had not been in the same plane, she might not even have been able to sense their existence.

The only possibility she could think of was that deities from the Divine Realm had died, leaving behind only wisps of remnant souls—not even enough to count as Divine Sense—which had entered this world by chance.

Whether they were enemies or friends could wait. If things were truly as she expected, then this was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to learn about the Divine Realm's current situation.

In an instant, the entire Star Dou Great Forest began to tremble faintly. The earth split inch by inch as an enormous dragon claw covered in silver hexagonal scales burst from the ground. A massive body crawled forth as though emerging from an abyss, and the dazzling silver radiance it erupted with even dimmed the sun in the sky.

An indescribable aura spread outward. From high above, one would see the entire Star Dou Great Forest shrouded in a faint silver glow, everything within it gradually becoming blurred and indistinct.

For a time, every soul beast in the forest seemed to sense it and prostrated itself toward the center of the forest—except for a snow-white giant silkworm wriggling beneath the ground toward the forest's outer edge.

The moment it sensed that terrifying aura, it sped up its tunneling while letting out a near-hysterical cry.

"Do they really have to target me like this?! I finally reached a Million Years and barely escaped death right under that Beast God's nose, and now someone even stronger has popped up."

"Help—huh?"

Its cry cut off halfway through. Feeling the aura recede like a tide, the giant silkworm blinked its two tiny brilliant-gold eyes.

"Doesn't seem like she's here to catch me."

"Phew... that scared me to death. This damn place really isn't fit for a silkworm. Go, go, go."

As if it had just taken a trip through the Gates of Hell, the giant silkworm let out a long breath and grunted twice. Its frantic movements did not slow in the slightest as it desperately squirmed toward the edge of the forest.

Meanwhile, in the Great Ominous Land at the center of the forest, a young girl in a plain white dress had appeared before Di Tian and Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Crystal-like silver hair cascaded from her shoulders to her waist, while her exquisite features perfectly embodied what it meant to be a peerless beauty.

"Master, you're so beautiful!"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes widened. This was the first time since her birth that she had seen the true form of the Soul Beast Matriarch. She immediately moved closer and affectionately rubbed against the girl's arm. The girl first lowered her head expressionlessly to examine herself, then raised a hand to stroke her head before turning to Di Tian.

"While I'm gone, the Star Dou Great Forest will remain under your management."

"Yes, Master."

Outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huo Yuhao stood naked in a stream, occasionally scooping water up with the wooden basin in his hand and pouring it over himself.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across his body, clearly outlining his lean, powerful muscles and displaying the improvement in his Physical Quality over the past two years.

After taking a simple bath, he retrieved a jar of ointment with a strange scent from his Storage Space and began applying it all over his body.

Since he intended to venture deep into the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao naturally had not come unprepared. This ointment, which he had concocted himself, could conceal his aura quite effectively.

Though it might not be especially effective against certain soul beasts with exceptionally sharp senses of smell, this was already the limit of what he could do. If his luck was bad enough for that to happen, then he had nothing to say. Besides, with the Eye of Destiny, he could sense some dangers in advance, so there was no need to worry too much.

"If you want to become stronger, how can you avoid all risks?"

Muttering softly, Huo Yuhao got dressed again. Feeling the waves of fluctuation from the Eye of Destiny, he looked toward the center of the forest with a complicated expression. However, that complexity was soon replaced by determination.

"Now isn't the time yet."

With the ointment and the Eye of Destiny's warnings, Huo Yuhao advanced very quickly, without the slightest trace of caution. With his current strength, searching slowly was actually more dangerous. The longer he remained in the forest, the greater the danger.

When he passed the place where he had met Skydream Iceworm in his previous life, Huo Yuhao deliberately paused for a while. After waiting and finding that no strange voice sounded in his mind, he set off once more.

When he was focused, time always passed quickly. As the sky gradually darkened, Huo Yuhao finally reached the edge of the Mixed Region.

The soul beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest were generally not strong; even thousand-year soul beasts were rarely seen. The Mixed Region was different. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts could appear at any time, and with a bit of bad luck, one might become fertilizer for the forest on the spot.

After traveling for half the day, Huo Yuhao simply began looking for a suitable place nearby to set up camp. Soul beasts active at night were often more ferocious, making it unsuitable to continue deeper. It was better to rest well and continue the next morning.

After looking around briefly, Huo Yuhao found an open clearing with a broad field of vision, suitable for camping.

Now that he had entered the inner forest, he certainly could not light a fire to cook. Fortunately, he had always carried ample food, especially after unlocking Gluttony Original Sin. He almost never allowed himself to go hungry.

He skillfully scattered a circle of beast-repelling powder around the area. Just after setting up his tent, he heard footsteps approaching, accompanied faintly by noisy voices.

"There seems to be an open clearing ahead. Let's go take a look."

Footsteps drew closer, and before long, a group entered Huo Yuhao's field of vision. There were twelve of them in total, men and women alike, all appearing to be around twenty years old.

When he saw the appearance of the woman at the front, a flicker of surprise passed through Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Zhang Lexuan—the Inner Courtyard Senior Sister of Shrek whom he had known so well in his previous life.

As for the other eleven, he did not recognize a single one of them. They were presumably Inner Courtyard Disciples of Shrek.

Xuan Zi: Hey, hey, hey, you're here!