The journey from Heaven Dou City to the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't actually very far. At his flying speed, it would take only about a week. But unfortunately, he couldn't use both Martial Souls at once. This meant that whenever his spiritual power sensed a powerful Soul Beast, he was forced to switch to his Second Martial Soul to conceal his aura, then continue on foot.
After a full half-month on the road, he felt as helpless as if he were doing a stop-start challenge along the way.
Thankfully, with his extraordinary spiritual power, he managed to avoid nearly every risk and arrive safely at the Star Dou Great Forest. Now, all he had to do was find where the Elemental Sprites gathered.
"When it comes to Soul Hunting, it's best to get in and out fast. Who knows what might happen in this vast Star Dou Great Forest?"
With that, he continued switching back and forth between his two Martial Souls. What he didn't know was that, though this let him avoid the dangers right in front of him, it was also drawing in the greatest wild card of his journey.
Su Qing released his spiritual power and searched along the way for signs of Elemental Sprites. Thousands of years had passed, and the Star Dou Great Forest had changed considerably. He remembered only the general locations of many Soul Beast gathering grounds, and the unfamiliar surroundings made his search extraordinarily difficult.
"If only some local Soul Beast could show me the way..."
After searching in vain, he began to daydream. Who could have guessed that, in the next instant, the space around him would be completely sealed off? A terrifying, suffocating aura descended from above, and a towering figure cast its shadow over him. Su Qing swallowed hard and looked up at the figure that had suddenly appeared before him.
"Di... Di Tian?"
Looking at the man before him, who bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the Silver Dragon King in human form, Di Tian was nearly certain that this was the person he'd been looking for. And the fellow had recognized him the moment they met, to boot.
"You've got guts, kid. Come with me!"
Before his words had even finished, Di Tian grabbed Su Qing and strode into a rift in space.
Su Qing was completely baffled. He had met Di Tian before, but only because he was looking for the Silver Dragon King. Why had Di Tian come looking for him now? And how had he recognized him at once, when his appearance had changed so much?
"Di Tian, what are you looking for me for now? I don't have time to mess around with you. I still have to find Soul Beasts!"
Now it was Di Tian's turn to be puzzled. Why was this human so bold? How dare he talk to the Beast God like that? Wasn't he afraid Di Tian would kill him in a fit of rage?
"You've got quite the nerve, brat. Come with me to meet my Lord. Afterward, I'll personally take you to find the Soul Beast you're after!"
Hearing this, Su Qing stopped struggling. His resistance had been useless anyway, and since Di Tian had offered to help him find a Soul Beast, he was more than willing to go along. But what had Di Tian said he was supposed to do? He replayed the words in his mind and froze.
"Your Lord? Which Lord?"
Hadn't the Silver Dragon King self-destructed?
Seeing that Su Qing didn't understand, Di Tian rolled his eyes at him. "You look like that, and you're telling me you don't know which Lord I mean?"
Di Tian swore that if Su Qing didn't have that face, he'd have beaten him half to death before taking him to meet Gu Yuena. This guy had far too many questions and not the slightest sense of humility. Was this really how he spoke to the strong? How had he survived this long?
"Wait... Is this a parallel world? No, that doesn't make sense. Is the spacetime turbulence really that powerful?"
Su Qing murmured in disbelief, but soon realized there was another problem. He couldn't be the only human in the Star Dou Great Forest. How had Di Tian found him so precisely?
"What are you talking about?"
Di Tian asked in confusion. Why did this guy keep saying things he couldn't understand?
"Nothing. I was just wondering how you managed to find me in this sea of people."
Su Qing decided to use this chance to figure out which part of his plan had gone wrong and made him so easy to find.
"Oh, that? I spread my spiritual power across the entire Star Dou Great Forest and found that you were the only one whose presence kept blurring and disappearing. I thought you were unusual, and might be the person I was looking for. Then I came over, saw your face, and knew you were the one."
Normally, Di Tian wouldn't have been so patient with a human. But this fellow had Gu Yuena's face, and he didn't dare treat him too harshly. What if he was some kind of incarnation of Gu Yuena? If Di Tian showed even the slightest disrespect, his future would be in for a world of pain.
So this was a beautiful misunderstanding, born from both sides misjudging each other.
The speaker might not have meant anything by it, but the listener took it to heart. Su Qing broke out in a cold sweat. From now on, he couldn't conceal his aura too often in front of others, especially in places guarded by powerful beings.
Still, Di Tian's attitude toward him was strange. He clearly seemed not to know him, yet he was so patient, responding to practically every word. Even in his previous life, when he and the Silver Dragon King had appeared together, Di Tian had been cool and distant toward him.
Although he couldn't make sense of it, Su Qing quickly ruled out the possibility of a parallel world. The reason was simple: the spacetime turbulence born in the crude plane of the Douluo Continent was nowhere near powerful enough to break through the barriers between worlds. But he still couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for what was happening.
"I'll have to wait until I see Gu Yuena."
Su Qing shook his head helplessly, silently following Di Tian as they stepped out of the rift in space.
"My Lord, I've brought him."
The instant Su Qing stepped into Life Lake, he clearly sensed several gazes locking onto him. If he weren't so familiar with this place, he would probably have been scared out of his wits. But to Su Qing, who had faced Asura Judgment, this was merely an appetizer.
"Have him come down and see me."
The familiar voice rang out, and memories from the past rushed into Su Qing's mind. His body trembled. That really was Gu Yuena's voice! Before Di Tian could reply, Su Qing plunged headfirst into Life Lake.
The Ferocious Beasts watching were all dumbstruck. Who would have thought that this tiny little runt would have the nerve to come alone to a place where Ferocious Beasts gathered, then leap into the lake without a word to face the mightiest being of the Soul Beast Clan?
At the sight, Gu Yuena took human form before Su Qing. A flicker of approval passed through her eyes, and then she spoke coldly:
"Courageous, I'll grant you that. But this concerns my weakened divine status. If you can't explain yourself, I'll still kill you."
Su Qing didn't say anything. He simply smiled at Gu Yuena. Seeing her banished the greatest gloom in his heart. But Gu Yuena had clearly never been stared at like this before. She instinctively wanted to kill the insolent human before her, but she hadn't yet gotten the information she wanted from him. For a moment, she was caught between two choices.
"Don't look at me with that disgusting, sticky gaze of yours."