Absolute Charm

As he repeatedly worked through his escape plans, the long-dormant mysterious diary deep in his consciousness suddenly trembled faintly, giving off a warm, familiar glow.

[Diary entry complete]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Basic reward: Soul Power increased by one level]

[Special reward: Teleportation Talisman (single-use item; can transport the user to a safe location five hundred kilometers away)]

[Usage restriction: Can only be activated when the user is not being locked onto by any form of Spiritual Power, Soul Power, or spatial Soul Skill]

An Ancient Talisman shimmering with silver spatial ripples, its edges traced with obscure runes, quietly appeared in his mental space.

"Teleportation Talisman! Five hundred kilometers!"

Yu Tiancheng's heart lurched, and a near-blazing surge of joy instantly swept away a day's worth of tension and oppression.

It was like a key from heaven, delivered in the midst of despair!

He forcibly reined in the excitement threatening to spill from his eyes, pressing his surging emotions deep inside.

With this talisman, he was no longer a prisoner forced to walk the blade's edge. He was a prowler with the initiative in his hands.

His escape plan had changed from "risking everything on one desperate attempt" to "retreating with preparation."

But after the elation came an even deeper calm.

The clearly worded restriction beneath the talisman was like a basin of ice water, sobering him at once.

"Not being locked onto..." he murmured inwardly, his gaze casually sweeping over the graceful figure seated by the campfire not far away, and the two Titled Douluo a little farther out, whose auras still made his heart pound despite being restrained.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei were still two insurmountable mountains.

An opportunity... he had to wait for one, and create one. A "moment" that was absolutely safe and went unnoticed.

"This is the core of the plan now."

Yu Tiancheng let his consciousness sink into the talisman, carefully sensing the stable and powerful Space Power it contained, as if he had grasped a tangible glimmer of hope.

The Star Dou Great Forest was full of danger, and the path ahead led to the Forbidden Land, a place even Titled Douluo feared. Chaos and danger often came hand in hand with opportunity.

"I'll find that moment eventually." He quietly considered the thought, and his newly reconstructed escape plan grew clearer and more resolute with this key Chess piece in place.

At almost the same time, on the other side of the campfire, Hu Liena's long lashes, beneath her half-closed eyes, trembled almost imperceptibly.

[Because you were the person mentioned by name most often in yesterday's Diary]

[Bonus reward: First Soul Skill · Fox Charm effect enhanced]

[Enhanced effect: Charm now succeeds absolutely; the duration of control is inversely proportional to the target's Spiritual Power. Those whose Spiritual Power is far below yours can be controlled almost permanently.]

A cool yet profound power poured from the void into her Sea of Consciousness. Her understanding and use of the "Charm" Soul Skill seemed to deepen and transform in an instant. Countless more subtle and harder-to-guard-against applications flowed through her mind like a stream.

She could feel that her First Soul Skill had been completely remade. It had evolved from a powerful control skill into something terrifying, almost like a "rule."

Hu Liena slowly opened her eyes, and a trace of pink light deep in them quietly faded.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze seeming to pass casually over the shadow where Yu Tiancheng was, and the corner of her lips curved in a faint, complicated smile.

This reward had come at just the right time.

A charm that succeeded a hundred percent meant that, before her, most of her peers and even some seniors would lose the ability to "refuse." It was undoubtedly an extremely powerful trump card.

"Lin Fan"—or rather, the person who might be Yu Tiancheng—had become even more valuable.

Hu Liena's thoughts raced. The diary's reward mechanism had become clear: if Yu Tiancheng paid attention to her and wrote about her in the Diary, she could gain real increases in power! This enhanced "Fox Charm" was the best proof.

First, she had to confirm whether he really was Yu Tiancheng and learn more about the Diary.

The enhanced "Fox Charm" gave her confidence and means she had never possessed before.

Perhaps... she could find a moment when no one was watching, when it was absolutely safe, and try using it on him?

She didn't need to control him completely. Even if she only influenced him a little, guiding him to reveal some key information or observing his reaction as he teetered on the edge of being charmed might be enough to make a breakthrough.

Of course, she had to be extremely careful. She couldn't alert him, much less let the two Elders notice.

Second, if he really was Yu Tiancheng, she had to make sure he kept paying "attention" to her—ideally, she could get him to write more about her.

An even more tempting thought surfaced: what if she could bring him completely under her control? Make him a "reliable source" of rewards from the Diary?

The thought made her heart beat a little faster. For now, though, the most important thing was to maintain the status quo, strengthen their "connection," and look for the perfect opportunity to test him with "Fox Charm."

The night passed in silence, filled with unspoken tension and private thoughts.

When the first faint rays of dawn struggled through the dense canopy in the heart of the Mixed Zone, casting mottled shadows across the damp ground, the group set out again.

Their search for Spirit Beasts did not go smoothly.

The Spirit Beasts clearly knew how to use the terrain to hide and ambush them.

The surroundings grew increasingly perilous.

The exposed roots of towering ancient trees twisted together, forming natural traps; flowers that gave off a strange, sweet fragrance could suddenly release deadly spores; beneath seemingly calm pools lurked tentacles capable of dragging a Spirit Beast into the mud in an instant.

The pressure in the air grew increasingly distinct. It was heavy and violent, carrying a mixture of sulfur and blood, like the aura of a domain. It felt as though they were stepping closer and closer to the lair of some primordial giant beast.

"Stop." Gui Mei, walking at the front, suddenly raised a hand, his figure almost completely blending into a patch of distorted shadow ahead.

The others stopped at once and warily scanned their surroundings.

They were in a relatively open clearing in the forest, but the sight before them made their hearts pound.

Several enormous trees, each too wide for several people to encircle, lay fallen in the center of the clearing. Their jagged breaks looked as if some terrifying force had ripped them apart and smashed them down.

The ground was covered in massive claw marks and charred patches. A small pool of blood from some Spirit Beast had formed there, though the blood's aura had already grown faint. Scattered beside it were several translucent fragments that shimmered with a dark sheen, as if crystallized from pure Spiritual Power, along with broken tentacles marked with strange patterns.

Yue Guan stepped forward and carefully enveloped one of the translucent fragments in Soul Power, sensing it closely. His brows furrowed.

"These are... fragments of spiritual crystals left behind by a spirit-type Spirit Beast like a 'Shadow Phantom Demon' or a 'Nightmare Beast'? The aura is pure, but the Spiritual Power within is violent and chaotic, full of fear and pain... This Spirit Beast must have endured terrible torment and terror before it died."