Danger

This time, when the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm performed the soul sacrifice, he did not release that intense mental shockwave; the powerful energy fluctuations from just moments ago had already triggered a riot among the nearby soul beasts.

Even some ten-thousand-year soul beasts were drawn out by this surge of energy.

At this very moment, a hundred-year Ink Shadow Poison Snake was slithering rapidly toward the direction of Huo Yuhao.

However, Huo Yuhao remained completely oblivious, still slowly making his way toward the position of Ye Guchen.

Although Ye Guchen did not recognize Huo Yuhao by sight, according to the original setting, appearing here at this time as a frail-looking level ten soul master was simply too recognizable.

Should I intervene or not?

The Ink Shadow Poison Snake was currently coiled on a branch directly above Huo Yuhao's head, its maw agape, preparing to pounce!

As for Huo Yuhao, he was only vigilantly scanning his surroundings, failing to look upward, and remained unaware that danger was already upon him.

Ye Guchen was startled by his own thoughts; even if it were a stranger, he would have to save them, let alone the fact that this soul beast riot was caused by his own actions. How could he possibly stand by and watch someone die?

Thinking this, Ye Guchen had no time for further hesitation. He was a full hundred meters away from Huo Yuhao; if he tried to run over, it would be too late.

Immediately, Ye Guchen utilized the ability of his fourth pet beast to launch a long-range mental attack.

Just as the Ink Shadow Poison Snake initiated its strike, a massive surge of mental power erupted from the center of Ye Guchen's brow, piercing through the layers of trees and slamming directly into the creature's soul.

The soul of a hundred-year soul beast was inherently weak. Facing the mental impact of Ye Guchen's level fifty strength, it had no capacity for resistance, crumbling like a thin sheet of paper being pierced through.

The venomous snake maintained its striking posture, but its life had been extinguished.

The four-meter-long snake body slid straight down from the tree, the commotion finally catching Huo Yuhao's attention.

He looked up abruptly, only to see a massive venomous snake lunging toward him.

Panic seized him instantly; he shrieked and pulled out his White Tiger Dagger, waving it around wildly.

"Ah! I'm not afraid of you!"

However, the snake had long since lost its life; it was nothing more than a corpse.

The venomous snake landed heavily in front of Huo Yuhao.

Yet, Huo Yuhao clearly had not yet recovered from the terror of looking up to face a python head-on.

He held the White Tiger Dagger in front of him, backing away in a panic, keeping his guard up against the soul beast at all times.

At this moment, Ye Guchen arrived. Seeing Huo Yuhao in such a disheveled state, he couldn't help but recall when his own body first transmigrated to the Douluo Continent—before his martial soul had awakened, with no background to rely on, he had been just as distressed when facing difficulties.

"Hey! It's already dead!"

Ye Guchen's sudden voice pulled Huo Yuhao back from his panic.

"Careful, that snake is poisonous!"

Seeing Ye Guchen suddenly appear beside the snake, Huo Yuhao shouted a warning for him to stay back.

This took Ye Guchen by surprise. To be able to maintain his integrity after suffering so many grievances—truly rare!

Ye Guchen waved his hand to signal that he was fine.

"No need to panic, I already killed it!"

Looking at the simple boy before him, Ye Guchen couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. After all, he had first snatched away the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux, which should have belonged to him, and then triggered a soul beast riot that nearly killed him indirectly.

He felt a bit sorry for Huo Yuhao, but there was no helping it—he couldn't exactly give them back! Forget it, he would just have to help him out in other ways in the future.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao saw the yellow soul ring floating above the snake and finally let his guard down.

At this point, Huo Yuhao realized that the soul beast had clearly intended to ambush him, and he had been saved by this older brother. Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but bow to thank Ye Guchen.

"Many thanks to you, big brother, for saving my life!"

Ye Guchen couldn't help but rub his nose. Still thanking me! If you knew I was the one who caused this, I wonder what you'd think.

But on the surface, he pretended to be nonchalant, acting as if he didn't know who Huo Yuhao was.

"Small matter. Tell me, how does a tiny level ten soul master like you dare to come into the Star Dou Great Forest alone to hunt for a soul ring?"

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao appeared somewhat constrained. A strong sense of inferiority washed over him, and he found himself unable to look Ye Guchen in the eye.

"I... I don't have the money to hire a soul-hunting team..."

His voice grew quieter as he spoke, until it was barely audible.

Seeing this, Ye Guchen stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well done!"

Huo Yuhao looked a bit dazed.

"Uh... what?"

Ye Guchen patted his shoulder again.

"I said well done. You've got the spirit of a man! A real man should be just like that!"

Huo Yuhao felt somewhat flattered; from childhood until now, no one had ever affirmed him like this.

"However, while I admire your courage to venture into the Star Dou alone, I do not approve of such actions. After all, if you lose your life, you lose everything!"

Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement and was about to say something, but when he looked up, he caught Ye Guchen staring with a grave expression toward the direction he had just come from.

"Not good, little brother, my juniors are in danger. Stay here and don't move; I will come back for you later!"

After the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sacrifice caused such a massive commotion, Ye Guchen had been keeping his spiritual power condensed into a straight line a kilometer long, continuously scanning the surrounding environment ever since he emerged.

Just moments ago, at the edge of his detection range, he caught the image of Tang Ya and Beibei being hunted by a ten-thousand-year Earth Cave Demon Spider.

He had clearly underestimated the scale of the disturbance he had just caused; in this outer region, it had actually attracted a ten-thousand-year spirit beast!

Immediately, Ye Guchen summoned the Martial Soul Contract Grimoire, quickly flipped to the first page, and summoned a nearly two-meter-long emerald scorpion from within.

"No time to explain. It is my pet beast. I am leaving it to protect you. Remember, this area is no longer safe; you must follow it!"

Ye Guchen's voice carried a hint of urgency. Although Huo Yuhao was somewhat afraid of the scorpion spirit beast before him, seeing Ye Guchen's anxious expression, he knew his big brother's friend must be in a very dangerous situation. With the situation critical and no time to overthink, he could only nod in agreement.

Immediately, Ye Guchen flipped to the second page of the Martial Soul Contract Grimoire, and a giant bird wreathed in raging flames emerged from it.

Ye Guchen jumped directly onto the giant bird's back and flew toward the direction of Beibei and the others.

Watching Ye Guchen's departing back, Huo Yuhao felt himself becoming increasingly insignificant.

On the other side, Beibei and Tang Ya were being chased in a sorry state by a ten-thousand-year Earth Cave Demon Spider.

"Damn it, how could there be a ten-thousand-year spirit beast in the outer Star Dou Great Forest! Xiao Ya, you run first, I'll hold it off!"

Seeing the Earth Cave Demon Spider getting closer and closer, Beibei knew well that if this continued, they would be caught sooner or later, and neither of them would escape.

Rather than waiting for it to catch up and both dying, it was better to fight for a chance of survival for his beloved.

However, Tang Ya had no intention of sacrificing Beibei to save herself.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I am your teacher; it's not your turn to stay behind!"

Just as the two were arguing incessantly, a massive spider web was spat out by the Earth Cave Demon Spider, heading straight for them.

Beibei sensed it first and dodged the sneak attack with a sidestep, but Tang Ya lacked such keen perception and was firmly ensnared by the sudden spider web.

Seeing no hope of escape, Tang Ya shouted loudly at Beibei, who was rushing toward her.

"Don't worry about me! Run! Remember this, you old hag—I, Tang Ya, love you!"

Yet Beibei seemed not to hear her, charging toward Tang Ya without a second thought.

But at this moment, the Earth Cave Demon Spider was less than a hundred meters away from the two!