Jiang Li had indeed been in seclusion for a hundred thousand years, but that didn't mean he knew nothing.
Before transmigrating, he had read novels about this world and learned the name of this giant ape from one of them.
The creature was called the Titan Giant Ape. It possessed boundless strength, and the might of a single punch could shatter mountains and split rocks. It was one of the most terrifyingly powerful Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent.
In the original story, it and another Soul Beast called the Sky Azure Bull Python were known as the two great rulers of the Star Dou Forest. It also had a close relationship with a fellow member of Jiang Li's wife's clan, a Soft Bone Charm Rabbit named Xiao Wu.
What puzzled Jiang Li was how the creature had found its way here.
He had already set up a Mind-Confusing Array all around the small courtyard.
He had personally carved the array, using divine stone as its foundation and gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into a barrier. Even a powerhouse at the Titled Douluo level would lose their bearings upon entering it, wandering in circles for half a day without getting anywhere near the courtyard.
He had given Xiao Rou only one token, and had warned her never to enter the courtyard unless absolutely necessary, lest she be corrupted by the Abyssal aura.
For this reason, in a hundred thousand years, no person or Soul Beast had ever managed to pass through the array and find this place.
Yet this Titan Giant Ape had charged straight through.
Was it a coincidence?
Or had something gone wrong with the array?
Jiang Li's gaze settled on the giant ape. His expression was calm, but countless thoughts had already flashed through his mind.
At that very moment, the Titan Giant Ape had no idea what kind of formidable array he had just broken through.
All he knew was that he had to run for his life. His furry face was filled with panic and fear, and even his pair of bell-like eyes were bloodshot.
"Sister Xiao Wu... Sister Xiao Wu..."
He cried out frantically in his heart.
"I'll save you! I swear!"
The Xiao Wu he spoke of was also a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast from the Star Dou Forest, an heir of the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit clan.
But unlike him and Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, Xiao Wu had chosen a far more difficult path:
to take human form and cultivate from the very beginning.
Taking human form was a path open only to Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
Once they chose to become human, they gave up their Soul Beast bodies and cultivation, and were reborn as human infants, starting over from scratch to cultivate Soul Power.
The process was perilous in the extreme. The slightest mistake could mean death and the destruction of their very soul.
But Xiao Wu had still chosen that path.
She wanted to see the human world and experience a different life.
Though Er Ming and Da Ming hated to see her go, they respected Xiao Wu's choice.
They thought that with Xiao Wu's intelligence and quick wit, she shouldn't run into any major trouble in the human world.
Besides, although Xiao Wu had taken human form, her Soul Beast origins remained. If she truly encountered danger, she could at least count on the two of them in the Star Dou Forest to come to her aid at any time.
Everything should have gone smoothly.
But Er Ming and Da Ming had never imagined that Xiao Wu would meet someone.
A man named Tang San.
What they had even less expected was that Tang San would take Xiao Wu to Spirit City!
Spirit City was the headquarters of the Spirit Hall.
It was the largest Soul Master organization on the Douluo Continent, with influence spread throughout the land.
The Spirit Hall and the Star Dou Forest were natural enemies, as incompatible as fire and water.
The Spirit Hall's Soul Masters hunted Soul Beasts for Soul Rings, while the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Forest regarded humans as their mortal foes. The hatred between them had stretched back for countless tens of thousands of years.
Even more deadly, every Soul Master on the continent longed for a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring meant a foundation of power on the level of a Titled Douluo. And when a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast died, it was certain to leave behind a Soul Bone as well.
A Soul Bone was worth even more than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
And Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts produced both.
Take Xiao Wu to Spirit City?
Tang San was sending her to her death!
Er Ming's chest felt like it was about to burst.
He couldn't understand what means that human named Tang San had used to make Xiao Wu willingly go with him.
He couldn't understand how a girl as clever as Xiao Wu could fail to see the danger.
But there was no time to dwell on that now.
What kind of place was Spirit City?
It was the Spirit Hall's lair, where the strongest of the age gathered!
Pope Bibi Dong, Ghost Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo... weren't they all figures who stood at the pinnacle of the continent?
With Xiao Wu's current strength, if her identity were exposed in Spirit City, the consequences would be unthinkable.
The moment they received the news, Er Ming and Da Ming had wanted to rush to Spirit City.
But the Star Dou Forest was more than ten thousand miles from Spirit City.
Even as Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, they would have to travel at full speed, running day and night. By the time they reached Spirit City, it would probably be too late to do anything.
What's more, with their strength, barging into Spirit City would be no different from walking straight into a trap.
The Spirit Hall's Titled Douluos weren't pushovers. They might not only fail to rescue Xiao Wu, but could get themselves trapped as well.
Er Ming was frantic.
Just as he and Da Ming were at their wits' end, Da Ming suddenly remembered something.
A legend that had circulated in the depths of the Star Dou Forest for who knew how many years.
There was another forbidden existence in the Star Dou Forest!
That forbidden existence had once said that, unless the continent was destroyed, no one was allowed to enter the small courtyard.
In fact, for a hundred thousand years, all the Soul Beasts had obeyed that command.
Not a single Soul Beast dared approach that place. They treated it like a forbidden zone, a place where life itself was off-limits.
But Er Ming and Da Ming had also heard something else from Xiao Wu's mother.
"Aunt Xiao Rou once said that she and that person go way back..." Da Ming's voice trembled with uncertainty. "If Xiao Wu gets into danger, we can go to him."
Although Aunt Xiao Rou hadn't returned for a long time, Er Ming wasn't sure whether the man named Jiang Li still remembered her, or whether he'd be willing to help.
But Aunt Xiao Rou had said with certainty that he would help when it came to Xiao Wu.
This was the only choice they had left.
The only choice that could save Xiao Wu!
Er Ming clenched his teeth. His enormous body plowed through the dense forest as he charged with all his might in the direction Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, had described.
"Please..."
He prayed over and over in his heart.
"Senior, please, I beg you—help us just this once."
"Only if you help can Sister Xiao Wu survive!"
He didn't know whether that person would help, or whether the man known as the forbidden one was even still there after a hundred thousand years.
But to save Xiao Wu, he had to try!
At last, Er Ming passed through the maze. He lifted his head and looked at the small courtyard ahead, seemingly plain and simple, yet radiating a forbidden aura.
"My lord, do you remember a Soft Bone Charm Rabbit named Rou Rou?"
"If you do, please help save her daughter!"
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