Star Dou Great Forest

"Finally, we're back on Douluo Star! Mom, let's hurry to the Star Dou Great Forest. I want to eat the Lake of Life's silverfish and berries, hehe."

Gu Xingling nestled in Gu Yuexi's arms, rubbing her little head against her chest like a tiny golden kitten.

At the thought of going home and seeing gentle Aunt Biji and Aunt Ziji, as well as Di Tian, Xiong Jun, Scarlet King, and the others, the little one was especially excited.

"Alright, we'll head out now. Huo Yuhao, what about you?" Gu Yuexi stroked the little one's head, then turned to ask Huo Yuhao behind her.

"I'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest with you first. Then I'll learn about this era's Soul Guidance Technology before heading to the Spirit Pagoda to assess the situation.

"Only then can I establish a usable Soul Guidance Technology system for the Soul Beast Clan." Huo Yuhao considered it before replying.

"Then let's go."

"Yay! Silverfish and berries!"

Watching the little one in her pocket, her face brimming with excitement, Gu Yuexi sighed. She only hoped that the child would not be too heartbroken when she saw the Star Dou Great Forest.

Star Dou Great Forest.

This had once been the largest gathering place for soul beasts on Douluo Star, an immense primeval forest with extremely complex terrain within it—wetlands, swamps, mountains, and more.

Countless soul beasts lived within it. The closer one got to the forest's central core, the more powerful the soul beasts became.

As for the core region, it was a great lake. It served as the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena's place of healing, constantly radiating Life Energy to sustain the entire Star Dou Great Forest.

Once upon a time, the Star Dou Great Forest had been known as a forbidden zone for human soul masters and a paradise for soul beasts.

But now, after the Sun Moon Empire defeated the three nations of the former Douluo Continent, drove them to several other continents overseas, and renamed itself the Sun Moon Federation,

Soul Guidance Technology began to develop at a breakneck pace. The emergence of mechas and Battle Armor—war machines that embodied the pinnacle of Soul Guidance Technology—erased the soul beasts' advantages in strength and speed against human soul masters.

Soul masters began entering the Star Dou Great Forest, once a forbidden zone of life, in large numbers.

After all, to soul masters, soul beasts were treasures from head to toe. Beyond Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones, which could help them advance and improve their strength,

the flesh and blood of soul beasts were also highly nourishing, and most of them tasted exceptionally delicious. Naturally, they attracted greedy eyes.

Thus, under such circumstances, the soul beasts living in the Star Dou Great Forest were slaughtered on a massive scale and had now reached the brink of extinction.

As for the agreement between the Spirit Pagoda's founder, Lingbing Douluo Huo Yuhao, and the Soul Beast Clan?

Please, ten thousand years had already passed, and the Spirit Pagoda had changed hands through countless generations. Who still cared about that?

If the Soul Beast Clan had an agreement with someone, then go find that person!

And so, the once-vast Star Dou Great Forest rapidly shrank as soul masters invaded and destroyed it in great numbers, while the soul beasts within suffered extensive slaughter.

By now, only the core region remained as the last pure land. The Lake of Life, which had nurtured countless soul beasts, was also nearing the point of drying up.

Around this core region stood metal walls hundreds of meters high, densely covered in all kinds of weapons. Mechas patrolled the skies without pause, preventing the soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest from escaping.

Beneath those towering walls, the remaining soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest were like livestock kept in pens.

At that moment, several figures appeared out of thin air above the Star Dou Great Forest without causing the slightest disturbance.

Neither the various detection-type Soul Tools and radars atop the walls nor Beasts like Di Tian discovered them.

"Th-this is the Star Dou Great Forest? How did it become like this? Mom, did we come to the wrong planet?"

Gu Xingling stared at the ruined forest before her, her wine-red eyes filled with shock.

"How could this happen? Why has it become so much smaller? The Lake of Life is almost dry too."

"I remember that area was clearly the outer region, where some century-old soul beasts lived. When I was little and naughty, I often ran there to play. How did it become a city now?"

"And these high walls weren't here before! Wuwuwu, Mom, did we come to the wrong place? This isn't the Douluo Continent, wuwuwu!"

"We must have come to the wrong place. I don't believe it, I don't believe it!"

Gu Xingling burst into tears in Gu Yuexi's arms, while Huo Yuhao and the several Soul Spirits beside him remained equally silent.

"Hmph. Huo Yuhao, I remember that your purpose in creating that Soul Spirit system was to ease the conflict between soul masters and soul beasts, wasn't it?"

"But looking at this, the chief culprit behind all of this seems to be your Spirit Pagoda. Is this how you eased the conflict?" Evil Emperor snorted coldly at the young man beside him.

"Golden Dragon King Master, we..."

The other Soul Spirits wanted to defend themselves, yet they could find no reason to do so. Looking at the state of the Star Dou Great Forest before them, they too, as soul beasts, were filled with anger.

Especially Ice Empress and Snow Empress, who had once been among the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North. If the Star Dou Great Forest had become like this, then what about the Far North, another gathering place for soul beasts?

"I... I..." Huo Yuhao opened his mouth, but he did not know what to say.

At that moment, his fists were tightly clenched, and a fury he could barely suppress surged within him. The Spirit Pagoda had been founded by him, and it had long since betrayed its original purpose. As its founder, he naturally bore an inescapable responsibility.

Boom!

Gu Yuexi said nothing. Instead, she circulated the Divine Power within her body, forming an enormous golden dragon claw in the sky that crushed all the metal walls surrounding the Star Dou Great Forest, along with the weapons and mechas deployed upon them.

"Who dares invade the Spirit Pagoda?!"

"Could the Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest have broken out? Those beasts need to be taught a lesson today!"

As the high walls collapsed, large numbers of mechas shot into the air. Soul Tool Cannonballs rained down toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the same time, several figures rose into the air from the direction of the Lake of Life and sped toward them. They were the Beasts led by Di Tian.

Seeing this, Gu Xingling finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least Di Tian and the others were alright.

With a wave of her hand, Gu Yuexi detonated every Soul Tool Cannonball and mecha in midair. Then she looked calmly at the young man before her.

"Huo Yuhao, I know that during your years in the Divine Realm, you were constantly watched or suppressed by Tang San and had no chance to do anything else."

"So now, I'm giving you three days to resolve the Spirit Pagoda's problems."

"Otherwise, the Spirit Pagoda will be bathed in blood!"

"Alright, Senior Golden Dragon King. Leave this to me."

With that, Huo Yuhao took Wang Dong'er and the Soul Spirits toward the Spirit Pagoda. A great purge thus began.

As for Gu Yuexi, she took Gu Xingling and flew toward the Lake of Life.