"Elemental Tide, Fire Form, Glaring Azure Nether Flame."
Blue flames sprang up all around Su Qing, who hovered in midair. After circling him once, they shot off in every direction, surrounding the entire area. The temperature soared, and the scorching air drove the Wind Baboon pack into an even greater frenzy. Just before they launched their attack, another flame, half a person's height, appeared where Su Qing was. The instant it stopped flickering, the flames that had surrounded the area exploded.
Then, as if Taotie Douluo had spotted a chicken leg, the flames rapidly spread toward the center. A wave of heat swept through, turning everywhere it passed into a sea of fire. The slightest contact with the flames was enough to engulf a Wind Baboon in an instant. Before long, only Su Qing and dozens of white Soul Rings remained in the blaze.
"No wonder they're so vicious. They're all about as strong as Godslayer."
After muttering a complaint, Su Qing willed the sea of fire to vanish in an instant. He looked around. The view here was now incredibly open, since the blaze had burned the place bare. Fortunately, he hadn't let it spread too far, since he needed to conserve Soul Power. Given the Star Dou Great Forest's ability to recover, this little damage was practically negligible.
"Ah!!!"
Just as Su Qing was wondering where Huo Gua had gotten to, a scream pointed him in the right direction.
"Oh, looks like our esteemed Godslayer has found his prey."
Muttering as he flew that way, he soon spotted a Wind Baboon chasing a scrawny little fellow.
"Not bad, kid! Your legs are as skinny as kindling, and you can still run that fast!"
Seeing Huo Yuhao's speed, Su Qing couldn't help praising him. But as someone who knew the story, he knew that once the boy ran out of steam, he'd start showing off his White Tiger Dagger. Since that would be indecent, Su Qing decided to lend him a hand.
He fixed his gaze on the Wind Baboon and summoned the Silver Dragon Spear in his hand. With a casual throw, he pinned the beast to a tree.
With nowhere left to run, Huo Yuhao turned around and saw the terrifying scene. He collapsed to the ground, either from fright or exhaustion.
"Who saved me?"
The thought immediately surfaced in his mind. He looked around, searching for clues, and soon noticed a white-haired, purple-eyed boy walking toward him. The boy's clothes were in tatters, with patches of multicolored animal hide sewn over some of the holes.
"Could this be... a native? Why's he looking at me? Is he going to take me back and eat me?"
Meeting Su Qing's deep-set gaze, Huo Yuhao tried desperately to read something in his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Those eyes betrayed no emotion at all.
"Hello, my name is Huo Yuhao. Thank you for saving me."
After thinking it over, he decided it was best to be polite. He introduced himself and thanked the boy first. Surely the other boy couldn't just kill him without a word, could he? And even if he planned to kill him, seeing how sincere he was ought to make him feel guilty. Surely it would!
"It was nothing. I just couldn't stand by and watch someone in trouble. My name is Su Qing. It's nice to meet you."
Things turned out just as Huo Yuhao had hoped. Su Qing didn't give him a hard time; he even showed him kindness. Huo Yuhao felt deeply ashamed. The other boy was so kind, yet he'd harbored such malicious suspicions—especially after Su Qing had just saved him.
"Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao, you really don't know a good person when you see one!"
He couldn't help mocking himself inwardly. This was the first time in his life—no, the second—that he'd received kindness from someone else. And he'd nearly wounded the other boy with his malicious suspicions.
Looking at Huo Yuhao, who had lowered his head and seemed lost in thought, Su Qing was thoroughly confused. What was wrong with him? Why had he gone quiet and lowered his head right after introducing himself? Under normal circumstances, shouldn't he thank Su Qing and then tell him about his tragic family background?
But before Su Qing could speak, a massive surge of spiritual power erupted from the ground beneath Huo Yuhao, instantly spreading across a radius of ten thousand meters. Tang Ya and Bei Bei, who had rushed over after hearing the scream, were knocked unconscious before they even had time to react.
"At last! At last I've found a human with spiritual attributes! What a pity I can't cry, or I'd be weeping tears of joy right now!"
As the wave of spiritual power subsided, the earth beneath Huo Yuhao began to tremble. Before long, the ground split open, and pale golden light poured out. A snow-white silkworm rose from below the surface, its two gleaming eyes fixed firmly on Huo Yuhao.
"Y-you... what are you?"
Huo Yuhao had never seen anything like this. Terrified, he scrambled behind Su Qing. Just as Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was about to explain, he noticed another human standing there.
"Hmm? Why aren't you unconscious?"
Unfortunately, Ice Silkworm had no expression. Otherwise, he'd have been wearing a bewildered look. This human had actually withstood his million-year-class spiritual power?
"Oh, right. I'm supposed to be unconscious."
With that, Su Qing turned sideways and lay down on the ground, resting his head on one hand while tucking the other behind his back.
"Ahem. Things didn't go quite as planned, but I don't have time! Little fellow, it might hurt a bit later. Just bear with it..."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm ignored Su Qing's fake fainting right in front of him and turned his attention back to Huo Yuhao. He'd been about to explain, but Su Qing's appearance had thrown him off. To keep his aura from being exposed and prevent the Ferocious Beasts from dragging him back, he had no choice but to hurry things along and become Huo Yuhao's Soul Ring first.
"Hey, don't come any closer! Ah!!"
Watching Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wriggle toward him without so much as a word, Huo Yuhao was terrified. So the Star Dou Great Forest really was this dangerous!!! If he could do it all over again, he'd never choose this route!
A flash of white light passed, and Huo Yuhao lost consciousness.
"They're already starting to fuse?"
Once Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent, Su Qing opened his eyes and stared in confusion at Huo Yuhao, a white Soul Ring gradually forming above him. This guy wasn't following the usual script. Wasn't he supposed to put on a big show first, then coax Huo Yuhao into accepting him? Why was he being so rough now? He'd scared the kid into a voice crack. Heaven knew how badly Su Qing had wanted to cover his ears when Huo Yuhao screamed.
But now that the two of them had begun fusing, the thing Su Qing was waiting for should arrive soon. Just as he'd expected, the moment the man and silkworm began to fuse, a streak of azure lightning flashed across the sky. Then the clouds swirled into a vortex, and a gray bead flew out from within.
"With the sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars from the sky; none beneath heaven can compare to me! I never imagined this old man's remnant soul would survive. In that case, allow me to find myself a place to stay."