Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, the air was thick as congealed phlegm.
The towering ancient trees around them blotted out the sky, too stingy to let even a sliver of sunlight through.
Miasma drifted slowly through the woods like invisible ghostly hands.
The atmosphere within the group was oppressive to the extreme.
The deeper they went, the heavier the primal pressure emanating from the soul beasts became, like slabs of lead pressing on everyone's hearts.
Han Yuchen still walked at the very front, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
He advanced steadily toward that water-element soul beast.
The Little White Fox in his arms seemed to sense the unease as well, its fluffy tail wrapping itself tighter.
Interesting.
The soul beasts in this area were not merely powerful.
They were... irritable.
Like rabid dogs that had taken expired stimulants, they were brimming with aggression.
It seemed Solonsen's so-called Seed Plan had contaminated a far broader area than he had imagined.
Just then.
From the corner of his eye, Han Yuchen caught a flash of pure white that did not belong in this dark forest.
Leng Yuebai.
The icy beauty who had been trailing at the back of the group like a ghost had somehow come to his side.
Walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
Oh? The iceberg had moved?
How rare.
Han Yuchen raised a brow inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.
The two walked in silence, neither saying a word.
Yet a strange resonance originating from their Divine Soul Origins flowed quietly between them.
It was faint, but undeniably real.
Like two magnets separated by a thick wall, drawn to each other yet unable to touch.
Finally.
Leng Yuebai's cherry-petal lips parted slightly.
Her voice was still as cold as ice that had not melted for ten