Returning to Star Dou Great Forest, Absorbing Dragon Aura

A few days later, Ye Ming, Gu Yuena, and Di Ruiqiu returned to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The moment they entered the Star Dou Great Forest, a cool breeze carried the floral fragrance mingled with Blue Silver Grass, and the three of them could not help but relax.

Others saw the Star Dou Great Forest as a place of great peril, but to Ye Ming and the others, this was their home.

While in the human world, even with the power of fate and fortune concealing them, they often worried about their identities being exposed.

Returning to the Star Dou Great Forest meant returning home.

"Our home is still the best!"

Ye Ming stretched, and his bones crackled all over.

"Then let's hurry. I miss Auntie and the others." Di Ruiqiu looked toward the depths of the forest, wishing she could sprint straight to the Lake of Life.

"Alright, little sister, Na'er, let's go home!" Ye Ming took Di Ruiqiu's hand in his left and Gu Yuena's in his right, striding toward the center of the forest.

Na'er's gaze rested on Ye Ming, her eyes filled with tenderness. A faint smile touched her lips as she tightened her grip on his hand.

Not long after the three entered the mixed region of the Star Dou Great Forest, a scorching yet familiar aura rapidly approached from the depths of the forest.

Accompanied by a low growl, Red King's massive body appeared before them among the three Red Demon Mastiffs.

Red King was over five meters long, shaped like a lion with three heads each more than a meter in diameter, its fangs gleaming reddish-gold.

As a fire-attributed soul beast possessing a portion of true dragon bloodline, Red King usually guarded the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Other than Bi Ji, Zi Ji, and Di Tian, Di Ruiqiu was closest to Red King.

"Uncle Red!!"

Di Ruiqiu cried out and skipped forward, leaping directly onto Red King's enormous middle head.

She lay sprawled over Red King's head and muttered, "I missed you so much!"

"Little Golden Lion, welcome home." Another of Red King's heads affectionately rubbed against Di Ruiqiu before it lowered itself and spoke joyfully to Gu Yuena and Ye Ming.

"My Lord, Ye Ming, you're back!"

"The Great Lord sensed your auras and specifically sent me to bring you home!"

It keenly sensed that in just one year, the three had become far stronger than when they had left!

Ye Ming in particular faintly emanated a dragon's might that made even Red King's heart tremble.

This had nothing to do with strength. It was simply because Red King possessed a trace of true dragon bloodline, and when facing Ye Ming, it was innately suppressed by bloodline.

"Uncle Red King, long time no see." Ye Ming greeted him with a smile.

Joy also appeared in Gu Yuena's gentle eyes. She nodded slightly. "You've worked hard, Red King."

"In a few days, we'll stand guard for you."

Red King naturally knew what Gu Yuena meant. Overjoyed, it prostrated all three heads on the ground, signaling for the three to climb aboard.

With Red King leading the way and the faint dragon's might around the three of them, no soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest dared to provoke them.

Soon, they passed through the mixed region and entered the core region, finally returning to the familiar Lake of Life, suffused with the aura of life.

Di Tian and Bi Ji were the first to sense their return. Two figures appeared by the lakeside like a breeze.

Soon after, Zi Ji, Xiong Jun, and Wan Yaowang also appeared.

"My Lord!"

"Greetings, My Lord!"

The great ferocious beasts bowed in unison.

Gu Yuena waved a hand slightly, smiling.

"Uncle Di Tian, Aunt Bi Ji, Aunt Zi Ji, Uncle Xiong Jun, Uncle Wan Yaowang." Ye Ming led Di Ruiqiu a step forward, smiling. "We're back."

"We even brought you some little gifts."

As he spoke, he took several items from Twenty-Four Bridges in Moonlight and handed them one by one to the great ferocious beasts before him.

These gifts had been bought in the city with Ming Lei Douluo's little stash.

Though they were not particularly valuable, to the great ferocious beasts, who possessed long lives yet remained in the Star Dou Great Forest year-round, they were already interesting gifts.

The gifts might be modest, but the sentiment was what mattered!

Bi Ji accepted a necklace made from deep-sea pearls and warm jade. Feeling the calming aura emanating from it, she patted Di Ruiqiu and Ye Ming on the heads, her face full of affection.

"What a lovely little trinket. Auntie likes it very much. You two are very thoughtful."

Xiong Jun hugged a huge jar of strong liquor supplied exclusively to the imperial family and gulped down a mouthful. "It's stronger than the fruit wine in the forest."

It casually wiped its mouth and grinned.

Ever since Di Tian had nearly beaten it half to death with a Dragon King's Claw, it had become much more obedient.

The little schemes it had once been tempted by completely vanished after learning of Gu Yuena's existence.

Thus, the great ferocious beasts at the Lake of Life became even more united.

After distributing the gifts, the ferocious beasts sat around the shore of the Lake of Life, eating the human pastries Ye Ming and the others had brought.

Ye Ming then began recounting their experiences in the human world over the past year.

To be honest, the three of them had spent most of the year cultivating inside the Golden Tree and had not experienced a complete academy life.

But merely the changes in the human world, the Holy Spirit Cult's invasion of Shrek, and the power of the ninth-rank fixed-installed soul cannon were enough to shock the ferocious beasts.

Gu Yuena added from the side, a trace of surprise in her gentle eyes. "I saw it with my own eyes. An attack of that level is already enough to threaten us."

"Human soul tool technology is indeed formidable. When we have the chance, we can seize control of such things for soul beasts."

Di Tian frowned deeply. He had witnessed the strength of humanity's peak soul masters ten thousand years ago, but humanity's advancement in soul tool technology had now surpassed even his expectations.

"In merely a thousand years, humans have actually created such weapons of slaughter."

After saying that, he looked at Ye Ming, then at Gu Yuena, and said joyfully, "Fortunately, you have awakened, My Lord."

"With you, Ye Ming, and Ruiqiu, the great cause of our soul beast lineage can succeed!"

Gu Yuena nodded slightly. Looking at Red King, she said softly, "The heavenly tribulation must not be underestimated. Spend these next few days restoring yourself to your peak condition."

"Once you have recovered, let Ye Ming and Qiu'er help you break through the three-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation!"

Red King nodded respectfully. "Yes!"

The sky gradually darkened.

The great ferocious beasts departed one after another, leaving the space to Ye Ming and the two girls.

Under the moonlight, layer upon layer of ripples swept across the Lake of Life, while creatures resembling fireflies danced over its surface.

Ye Ming sat by the lake, with Di Ruiqiu leaning against his left shoulder and Gu Yuena against his right.

A gentle breeze blew past, and he caught a delicate fragrance. He did not know whether it was the scent of flowers or the scent of the girls.

Over the past year, both Gu Yuena and Di Ruiqiu had grown quite a bit.

At that moment, the tenderness in Gu Yuena's eyes turned cool.

She gently leaned close to Ye Ming's ear and blew a breath against it. "I think I'm just a little short of breaking through. Let me absorb some dragon aura tonight, alright?"

Alright...?

Ye Ming swallowed. The breeze no longer felt cool, instead making his whole body burn with heat.

If I don't enter hell, who will?

The golden and silver horns he usually tried so hard to conceal emerged once more. Dense waves of dragon aura slowly spread outward.

In an instant, Gu Yuena took a deep breath, and her eyes became hazy.

"Go, go, hurry back to the room..."