Not Closed Means Open?

"Dragon-type martial souls are also excellent. I know of several dragon-type soul beasts, and every single one of them could provide you with multiple powerful soul skills!"

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He didn't need to guess; Sky Dream Iceworm was definitely talking about Di Tian and that group of fierce beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Seemingly realizing that his previous suggestion was truly impractical, Sky Dream Iceworm nudged Huo Yuhao's arm with his round head.

"There are two people approaching from outside; hurry up and go take a look."

Two people?

Huo Yuhao's heart stirred. Could it be...

He immediately opened his eyes. A faint golden light shimmered within his otherwise clear, deep blue pupils, and a black soul ring slowly rose from beneath his feet, circling his body.

Thanks to the complete transformation brought about by the Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, his physique had long since surpassed that of his original self. The soul ring age he could withstand had reached approximately twenty thousand years, and the range of his first soul skill, Spirit Detection, was also far superior to before.

More than three hundred meters away, Huo Yuhao clearly saw the two people Sky Dream Iceworm had mentioned.

A young girl with a ponytail was followed by a tall, upright youth who was slightly taller than her.

"Beibei, I'm so hungry..." The girl dragged her feet listlessly, sighing at the youth beside her with a pout on her pretty face, her tone full of regret. "If I had known, I would have listened to you. We should have just rested at the inn for the night and come tomorrow."

"Seeing how insistent you were on hunting for a soul ring earlier, I thought you had infinite energy and wouldn't get tired." Beibei shook his head helplessly. Though his words were teasing, his actions were doting; he raised his hand to retrieve a packet of dry rations wrapped in oil paper from the soul tool at his waist and handed it to Tang Ya. "Eat something to pad your stomach first. The soul beast we're looking for lives in the outer perimeter. Once you've successfully absorbed the soul ring, we'll go back and have a proper meal to make up for it."

Tang Ya took the rations and gave a dry laugh. "It was just a sudden whim, that's all."

Earlier today, the two of them had just arrived at an inn on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. They were almost finished with the check-in process when a strong, inexplicable premonition welled up in her heart.

If they entered the Star Dou Great Forest right now, they would surely reap a massive reward.

This premonition was as abrupt as it was vivid, so Tang Ya had immediately changed her mind, dragging Beibei along without a moment's delay.

And now, the deeper they ventured into the forest, the stronger that premonition became, as if something were pulling her toward it from the unknown.

Huo Yuhao watched as the two of them talked while walking straight toward him.

If there wasn't something fishy about this, he would eat his hat!

Huo Yuhao had no interest in reenacting a cringeworthy scene with Tang Ya, so before they could get any closer, he summoned the Bronze Gate and departed the Dou-II world directly.

Star Dou Great Forest.

Tang Ya stopped in her tracks halfway, a look of bewilderment appearing on her face.

Beibei walked forward a few steps before turning back to look at the confused Tang Ya. "Xiao Ya, what's wrong?"

This time, Tang Ya didn't correct Beibei's way of addressing her as she usually did. "Strange, why did that feeling suddenly disappear?"

Beibei looked at her curiously. "What feeling?"

Tang Ya used her not-so-clever little head to think for a long time. "It was just a... I can't quite describe it, but it was a very strange premonition. It just suddenly vanished."

Huo Yuhao had only stayed in the Dou-II world for about half a day, and in this Dou-I world, ten thousand years in the past, only about half a day had passed as well.

"It seems the flow of time between the two worlds is synchronized."

"Good heavens, it really is the world from ten thousand years ago!" Sky Dream Iceworm exclaimed in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea. "Could this Bronze Gate be a divine artifact left behind by a god?"

As soon as he emerged from the Bronze Gate, Sky Dream Iceworm sensed the existence of another version of himself.

This sensation was incredibly profound—indescribable and mysterious—yet he could clearly perceive that the other "himself" was currently trapped in the Lake of Life, kept under tight guard by that group of soul beasts.

The me from ten thousand years later hasn't disappeared, and the me from ten thousand years ago is still alive!

At this rate, perhaps he really could scrape together another million-year soul ring for Yuhao!

It was just... how was he supposed to rescue his past self from the mouths of those beasts at the Lake of Life?

Sky Dream Iceworm fell into deep thought.

"Yuhao, wait here for a moment." Electrolux suddenly appeared before Huo Yuhao. His figure was translucent, and his gaze was fixed on a certain direction. "He should be here soon."

Without the depletion of ten thousand years, the fragment of Electrolux's divine consciousness that had first entered the Douluo Continent was sufficiently powerful.

Upon sensing his presence, he would surely arrive quickly.

Huo Yuhao didn't have to wait long—not even two minutes had passed—when a streak of gray light flashed by.

The light shifted, and another, more solid-looking Electrolux appeared before Huo Yuhao.

"I did not expect that another fragment of this old man's divine consciousness would exist on this continent."

The Electrolux from ten thousand years later didn't say much more; he simply transformed into a ball of gray light and merged into the newly arrived Electrolux.

Electrolux closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them slowly. "So that is how it is. In that case, Yuhao, I shall be troubling you from now on."

Huo Yuhao was pleasantly surprised. "Elder Eli, you really succeeded in merging?"

Did this count as exploiting a bug?

It was a pity that this Bronze Gate could only be fixed to this specific time period and couldn't be pushed further back; otherwise, he really could have used it to glitch out a complete Electrolux.

"Mm, the fusion went very smoothly." Electrolux nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It seems that the idea of two million-year soul rings mentioned by that big worm is not mere talk; it is indeed feasible."

"However, while there may be two soul rings, there will ultimately only be one consciousness remaining. Just like this old man—two fragments of consciousness merged into one, returning to a complete individual."

"That's good, that's good." Tian Meng forcefully interjected into the conversation.

Huo Yuhao nodded in deep agreement. "Having one Tian Meng is enough."

Tian Meng: "..."

Although what Yuhao said was exactly what it was thinking, why did it sound so off?

"The soul ring has been successfully obtained. Elder Electrolux, Tian Meng, let's go home." Huo Yuhao wore a smile, his tone relaxed as he headed toward Guyan Village.

With the divine consciousness fragments of Electrolux from ten thousand years in the future and ten thousand years in the past now merged, he no longer needed to remain in a deep slumber.

However, he still had to get his hands on the Gold of Life; not only would it help Electrolux recover further, but it would also allow his Spirit Eye to evolve.

The Gold of Life in the Dou-I era was located in the Lake of Life, and aside from that, the only other source was that carving knife at the auction house.

With his current strength, it was questionable whether he could even slip past those two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts guarding the place.

The fastest and most reliable method was the carving knife, but purchasing it would require a significant amount of funds; he had to find a way to make money.

Surely he wouldn't have to rely on selling grilled fish to make a living in the Dou-I world, would he?

"Mother, I'm home!"

Huo Yun'er was embroidering a handkerchief and looked surprised to see Huo Yuhao return so quickly.

"Do soul masters always obtain soul rings this fast?"

Huo Yuhao poured himself a cup of water and drank it. "I went back through the Bronze Gate and landed right in the Star Dou Great Forest, where I happened to run into a soul beast that was perfect for me."

Speaking of this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile.

His golden finger had suddenly doubled; who could understand this kind of joy!

If it wasn't closed, did that mean it was open?

Nonsense! How could the affairs of a cheater be called cheating!

This was clearly just the daily life of a cheater.

It was the first time Huo Yuhao had clearly felt the favoritism from the plane consciousness of the Douluo Continent, and it was so blunt and intense.