Since We're Here

Xiao Wu scrunched up her little face, feeling deeply conflicted.

The Star Dou Great Forest was dangerous. Even though she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form and knew the Star Dou Great Forest extremely well, she had no confidence she could make it to the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Unless Da Ming and Er Ming came to help her.

But if that happened, wouldn't Yuhao find out that she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Then she would not be able to give Yuhao a surprise anymore!

However, after carefully considering it, Xiao Wu felt that eating grilled fish and playing with the Soul Tool Propulsion Device were more important. She could not resist that temptation!

Having made up her mind, Xiao Wu looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "You said you were going to give this Soul Tool Propulsion Device thing to me, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

Xiao Wu said, "Fine, I agree. You have to keep grilling fish for me from now on!"

Huo Yuhao laughed. "Sure. As long as you want it, I'll make it for you."

Xiao Wu's eyes curved into crescents as she hurriedly grabbed Huo Yuhao and said, "Quick, teach me how to use this thing! I was dying of envy watching you play with it earlier!"

Huo Yuhao removed the Soul Tool Propulsion Device from his vest and the Soul Tool Variable Propulsion Device from his feet, then fitted them onto Xiao Wu.

He also taught Xiao Wu how to use them.

Xiao Wu immediately began playing with them.

Before long, Xiao Wu's noisy cries echoed through the woods on the Back Mountain:

"Yuhao... why won't this thing listen to me? It shoved me into a tree..."

"Ah! Yuhao, come save me! I can't control it..."

"I refuse to believe I can't tame you! Move! Go left, go right..."

Huo Yuhao watched Xiao Wu play from the side with a smile.

At first, Xiao Wu was utterly unskilled. She crashed into trees, shot into the sky, burrowed into the ground... and made a complete mess of herself.

But Huo Yuhao could clearly tell that Xiao Wu was having a great time.

As Xiao Wu became increasingly familiar with them, she gradually learned to control their direction and power, getting better and better.

The combination of the Soul Tool Propulsion Device and the Soul Tool Variable Propulsion Device could not be mastered in a day or two. Fine control required even more time and practice.

After an entire day, Xiao Wu finally gained a basic grasp of the Soul Tool Propulsion Device and the Soul Tool Variable Propulsion Device, though she still could not use them in battle.

Huo Yuhao spent another two days making a new Soul Tool Propulsion Device and Soul Tool Variable Propulsion Device for himself, while giving the previous pair directly to Xiao Wu.

Once he had equipped himself, Huo Yuhao prepared to take Xiao Wu to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Star Dou Great Forest was roughly in the middle of the entire continent. Traveling from Nuoding City to the Star Dou Great Forest would take around half a month.

A round trip would take a full month, which was no short amount of time.

Huo Yuhao packed all his money and Soul Tools, then set off for the Star Dou Great Forest with Xiao Wu.

Along the way, Xiao Wu was extremely excited, as though she were going home.

The two did not travel entirely along the official roads. Instead, they traveled almost in a straight line, entering cities whenever they came across them to replenish their dried provisions and water.

They encountered hardly any travelers along the way. Other than when they entered cities, the journey was quite dull.

Still, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Wu chatted and laughed all the way, so they did not find it too difficult to endure.

After thirteen days, the two finally arrived outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huo Yuhao sighed with emotion. "I didn't expect the Star Dou Great Forest to be this vast now..."

In his previous life, the Star Dou Great Forest had been where Huo Yuhao's dream began. There, he had gained his first Wisdom Soul Ring, as well as Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the companion who had been both mentor and friend to him.

But the Star Dou Great Forest back then had been nowhere near as vast as it was now.

After ten thousand years of human hunting and slaughter, the Star Dou Great Forest ten thousand years later had seen both its Soul Beasts and plants greatly reduced in number.

"Let's go! Stop sighing. Since we're already here, hurry up and get inside!"

With that, Xiao Wu pulled Huo Yuhao into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Star Dou Great Forest, Forbidden Land.

Several figures were gathered here.

One of them was a Soul Beast resembling a small lion. It was about one meter long and two feet tall at the shoulder, its entire body covered in a layer of brilliant golden fur.

This Soul Beast was exceptionally beautiful. Its golden fur resembled translucent crystals, while its four claws were like dragon claws, each one stepping upon a cluster of golden flames.

Unlike other Soul Beasts, it had a vertical mark between its brows, resembling a closed eye.

Suddenly.

This Soul Beast opened its eyes.

The vertical mark between its brows truly was an eye. All three of its eyes were now open. What was strange was that the eye between its brows was an eerie red, while the two below were golden.

This Soul Beast was the Imperial Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

"Auspicious Beast, what is it?" A gentle voice sounded. Its owner was a man with long golden hair, a towering build, and a height exceeding three meters. His face was handsome and resolute.

Confusion flashed through the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes as she gazed into the distance and murmured, "Just now, fate stirred. I sensed that a human very important to me has entered the Star Dou Great Forest."

The handsome man said in puzzlement, "A human... important to you? Have you been to the human world?"

"No..." the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said. "That is precisely what confuses me."

The handsome man pondered. "Perhaps fate can be wrong as well."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook her head. "I want to go take a look."

After thinking for a moment, the handsome man nodded. "Go. Remember not to leave the Star Dou Great Forest... Scarlet King, go protect the Auspicious Beast."

Another figure responded and came to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's side. "Let's go, Three-Eyes."

This figure was over five meters long and immensely muscular. Its body somewhat resembled a lion's, but it possessed three identical massive heads, each over one meter in diameter. Its terrifying canine teeth gleamed with a crimson-gold radiance.

It was Scarlet King, one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion frowned and said, "Scarlet King, I told you, either call me Auspicious Beast or call me Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Don't call me Three-Eyes."

"Alright, Three-Eyes," Scarlet King said.

"..." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at the handsome man and snapped, "Di Tian, hit him for me!"

The handsome man smiled. "Scarlet King, stop provoking the Auspicious Beast."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion glared at Scarlet King, then strode away from Life Lake.

The moment they entered the Star Dou Great Forest, both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Wu became alert.

Their Soul Power was only at a little over ten ranks. Let alone a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, even a Soul Beast with over a thousand years of cultivation could leave them scrambling.

And the Star Dou Great Forest was not lacking in Soul Beasts with over a thousand years of cultivation. Even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts occasionally appeared in its outer regions.

The two gradually ventured deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Just as the frequency of nearby thousand-year Soul Beasts began to rise, Xiao Wu stopped. Her little face was filled with gravity. "Yuhao, we can't go any farther. It's too dangerous ahead."