The Gears of Fate Nearly Jumped the Track

Compared to the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, where the spirit beasts are generally weak and even thousand-year spirit beasts are rarely seen, the mixed zone is entirely different. This is the area within the Star Dou Great Forest with the greatest variety of spirit beasts, and one might encounter a ten-thousand-year spirit beast at any moment.

Seeing the sky gradually darkening, and knowing that nocturnal spirit beasts are often more ferocious, continuing to venture deeper was clearly not a wise choice.

Huo Yuhao simply began searching for a suitable spot nearby to set up camp, intending to rest and recover his energy before continuing his search for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm at daybreak.

He circled the area, using branches to push aside obstructing vines from time to time, carefully looking for a suitable place to settle.

Before long, he found an open space with a clear view, perfect for camping.

He took beast-repellent powder from his storage ring, sprinkled a circle around the perimeter, and then quickly pitched his tent.

Just as he was about to retrieve dry rations from his storage ring, Huo Yuhao suddenly paused, his nose twitching as he sensed something amiss, and his gaze snapped toward the bushes on his right.

In that instant, a pitch-black shadow lunged from the bushes, accompanied by a faint "pfft" sound.

Immediately following, a thick, sweet fragrance rushed toward him.

Huo Yuhao reacted with extreme speed, instantly covering his mouth and nose as he retreated explosively, moving away from the location of his tent.

He did not want to accidentally ruin his tent during the ensuing battle.

By now, he had clearly seen the true form of that shadow.

It was a large snake, three meters long, with a body that was entirely peach-red. On its forehead was a small protrusion shaped like a flower bud about to bloom.

"A Mandala Snake? And it's at the thousand-year level."

Huo Yuhao steadied his footing, his gaze locked firmly onto the large snake, a grave expression on his face.

An ordinary Soul Elder level spirit master would likely have no choice but to turn and flee upon encountering such a thousand-year spirit beast.

Although his current physical strength was already on par with a typical beast-type martial soul Soul Elder, the toxins of the Mandala Snake posed no threat to him.

However, in this perilous mixed zone, the commotion caused by entangling with a spirit beast would inevitably attract greater trouble.

It seemed he had to end this quickly.

"Gwa-gwa—"

The Mandala Snake let out a strange cry. Its tail lashed out violently, and its entire body suddenly sprang up, lunging straight at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's pupils suddenly transformed into a brilliant gold. An indescribable pressure radiated from his body.

The Mandala Snake seemed to be intimidated by this pressure, its movements pausing for a brief moment.

The flower-shaped protrusion on its head suddenly burst open.

A pink arrow of blood shot toward Huo Yuhao with lightning speed.

At the same time, it whipped its tail, and its entire body suddenly turned, attempting to flee the scene.

Huo Yuhao flashed aside to dodge the blood arrow and lightly brushed the storage ring on his finger.

The White Tiger Dagger appeared in his hand.

In Huo Yuhao's eyes, the fleeing Mandala Snake was now covered in dense, fine white lines.

The spirit power within his body flowed continuously into the White Tiger Dagger.

As the golden light flickered in his eyes, he prepared to sever the white line of fate that symbolized the life of the Mandala Snake from afar.

However, at that very moment, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently without warning.

Fine cracks began to appear on the ground not far ahead.

These cracks expanded and spread at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually forming a bottomless fissure.

Faint, golden-white light could be seen overflowing from those cracks.

A somewhat childish female voice suddenly rang in Huo Yuhao's ears:

"Hahahaha! Big Sister is truly blessed; I actually encountered a human with spiritual attributes so quickly. Don't be afraid, little guy, Big Sister is coming out to save you right now!"

The Mandala Snake, which had intended to flee, also froze in place, slowly turning its raised head. Although as a thousand-year spirit beast it possessed a certain level of intelligence, it had clearly never encountered such a bizarre situation before.

The area of the fissure grew larger and larger; in just a moment, it had reached a diameter of over five meters.

A trace of icy chill began to emanate from the ground fissure, the surrounding temperature dropped significantly, and a thin layer of frost condensed on the leaves.

And that golden-white light finally revealed its true form.

It was a round, chubby-looking head, over a meter in diameter.

It was slowly wriggling its body, struggling to crawl out of the fissure.

Huo Yuhao was also taken aback—why did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm have the voice of a young girl?!

This intense sense of shock caused him to subconsciously continue swinging the White Tiger Dagger in his hand.

A white line on the Mandala Snake snapped in response.

Before the Mandala Snake could even react, its entire body began to shatter.

It eventually turned into specks of golden light and dissipated completely into the void, not even leaving behind a spirit ring.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, still struggling to crawl out from the fissure, witnessed the scene where the Mandala Snake was left without a complete corpse.

His two golden eyeballs rolled around a few times, his gaze landing on the delicate-featured youth holding the dagger, specifically those dragon eyes that shone as brilliantly as golden pupils.

His previously wriggling body came to a sudden, sharp halt, ceasing its attempt to crawl out, before he let out an awkward yet polite laugh: "Um... young man, my apologies, Big Sister might have mistaken you for someone else. You go back to your business, and Big Sister will be on her way."

Huo Yuhao naturally could not let Sky Dream Ice Silkworm escape just like that; he stepped forward quickly and reached out to gently touch the silkworm's chubby body. The moment he made contact, he felt a cool, icy sensation.

"Young man, Big Sister is a good person, please don't do anything rash, don't hurt Big Sister."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was on the verge of tears.

This youth had previously crushed a thousand-year-level Mandala Snake into powder with a single slash through the air, not even leaving a soul ring behind.

Now that he had touched him, wouldn't he be crushed into a pulp in an instant?

Thinking of this, he began to squirm his plump body uneasily, preparing to shrink back into the ground and teleport away the moment the other party let his guard down.

"Alright, Tian Meng... Big Sister, I will explain everything to you slowly later. For now, I'm going to begin. Don't worry, I'll be gentle; I won't cause you too much pain."

Huo Yuhao looked at the somewhat cowardly silkworm baby before him and spoke helplessly.

His previous display had clearly terrified Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Wait, young man. How do you know my name is Tian Meng, and what are you planning to do to Big Sister..."