Ambush

"This beast tide had the involvement of quite a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts behind it. One of them is even Bear Lord's descendant," Scarlet King explained to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion beside him.

The small-scale beast tide erupting in a border city of the Star Dou Empire was not originally a major matter.

It was hardly unusual for ordinary low-level soul beasts to occasionally lose control, and Scarlet King normally could not be bothered to deal with such things.

However, intelligence from his subordinates indicated that the unrest surrounding this border town was different. It had been premeditated.

When Scarlet King learned that Bear Lord's descendant was involved, he developed a headache.

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Bear Lord was notoriously violent and had always been an aggressive hardliner when it came to war against humans.

Thus, Scarlet King could not determine whether the unauthorized actions of this ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear had been ordered by Bear Lord.

If they had, it would be troublesome. If Bear Lord had launched an attack on the human world without authorization, it would be difficult to avoid retaliation against the Star Dou Great Forest from human powerhouses.

Scarlet King sighed. As one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, being assigned as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head bodyguard was one thing, but now he even had to personally handle this sort of affair. He was practically nothing more than a handyman.

Myriad Demon King fancied himself a strategist and disdained to bother with such trivial matters. As for Bi Ji, there was even less need to mention her. Thus, Scarlet King was the one who often had to show his face and rush about on the front lines.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not find accompanying Scarlet King on a mission boring in the slightest. Instead, she was faintly excited. Having spent all year in the forest under tight protection, she had very few opportunities to interact with the outside world. Occasionally following Scarlet King to the border to see a human town was a small trip for her.

As the surrounding trees grew shorter and shorter, they had clearly reached the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Hm?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion beside him suddenly let out a soft, puzzled sound.

Scarlet King turned to look at her. "What is it?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped walking and closed her two normal eyes, leaving only the vertical eye on her forehead open. This crimson, bewitching eye was the Eye of Destiny she took such pride in.

A faint crimson radiance flickered within the vertical pupil. Clearly, it was sensing something.

"I suddenly felt something strange, as if someone is like me?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion murmured in confusion. Then, as though she had recalled something, she said incredulously, "Could it be him?"

Upon hearing this, Scarlet King recalled what Di Tian had told him three years ago. After seeing no sign of it for years, he had already given up hope. Yet while coming out to handle this matter today, he had unexpectedly run into it.

"Auspicious beasts alone can increase the cultivation speed of the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. If I can capture him and bring him back, the benefits to the forest's soul beasts will likely far exceed what they have now."

With that thought, Scarlet King decisively rearranged his priorities. Following the direction indicated by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's senses, the large and small soul beasts quickened their pace.

"Whew." Mu Feng let out a breath. Looking at the towering, sturdy trees around him, he could not help sighing inwardly. I have to say, the air in the Star Dou Great Forest is really fresh.

Unlike the dark, damp Evil Demon Forest, the Star Dou Great Forest was filled everywhere with life force brimming with soul power.

The four who had just flown out from the town did not linger for long and chose to head directly deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest. Perhaps because of the beast tide, they did not even encounter more than a few ten-year soul beasts after walking for half a day. The journey had been utterly peaceful.

After finding a stream, the four planned to set up camp and spend the night. Seeing the scene before him, Mu Feng recalled that Huo Yuhao would also enter the Star Dou Great Forest from the Star Dou Empire two years later.

Perhaps this very river was where he would first make grilled fish for Bei Bei and the other. On a sudden whim, Mu Feng decided to give it a try. Although the sky had already darkened and he could no longer see the movement in the water, this was a trivial matter for the level-thirty Mu Feng.

Mu Feng rolled up his trouser legs, stood in the water, and closed his eyes. As his hands repeatedly shot out, one plump fish after another was caught.

"Now all I need are perilla leaves." He walked ashore and came to the edge of the grass, intending to gather some locally. Just as he was about to activate the soul tool lamp he carried with him, a hand suddenly reached out from the grass.

Yet even faster was another hand behind Mu Feng—the hand of Long Xiaoyao, who had been concealed behind him.

With his keen spiritual perception, Long Xiaoyao had long noticed two auras skulking around nearby. He spread out his Dark Domain and silently remained at Mu Feng's side. Finally, the other side could not resist making a move when Mu Feng was alone.

He shouted sharply, "Who is it?!"

Long Xiaoyao's aura surged continuously. Pitch-black dragon scales crawled over his extended right arm, fully revealing the presence of a level-ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo.

The one hiding in the grass was Scarlet King, already in human form. He had been watching this group the entire time. Though he had noticed this old man early on, he had assumed he was at most an ordinary Titled Douluo.

Still, in order to reduce the variables, he had cautiously waited until Mu Feng was alone before making his move. He had not expected to fail nonetheless, much less that the old man before him was actually an Ultimate Douluo powerhouse.

Of course, this was not really his fault. Scarlet King had already been extremely cautious. Besides, there were at most enough Ultimate Douluo-level powerhouses across the entire continent to count on one hand. Who could have imagined that he would run into one in the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest?

Scarlet King instinctively retreated, hoping to evade Long Xiaoyao's dragon claw. But the Three-Eyed Golden Lion behind him was not so fortunate. Nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, black, black, black, black, red, red—appeared beneath Long Xiaoyao's feet.

His second yellow soul ring flashed. In the darkness of night, several shadowy dragon-shaped chains of light surged from the ground and tightly bound the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had failed to escape.

Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could contend with ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts through her twin ultimate attributes of ultimate fire and ultimate light, she was utterly powerless before Long Xiaoyao, who stood at the pinnacle of combat power on the Douluo Continent.

She struggled desperately, but it was futile. Several black dragons restrained her so tightly that she could not move in the slightest.

Seeing the auspicious beast fall into the enemy's hands, Scarlet King instantly panicked. Before Mu Feng's shocked eyes, the red-haired man transformed into an enormous three-headed Crimson Demon Mastiff, spewing flames as three fiery serpents shot toward where Mu Feng stood.

At this point, he could no longer worry about Di Tian's order to "bring Mu Feng back intact." Ensuring the auspicious beast's safety was what mattered most.

He only hoped that Long Xiaoyao would free up a hand to protect Mu Feng. That way, he could rescue the auspicious beast and escape.

As the three blazing streams of crimson fire bore down on him, Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei, whose strength was only at the Soul Sage level, suddenly flashed in front of Mu Feng. Even if they would be reduced to ash in an instant, this was their mission—protect Mu Feng.

Long Xiaoyao snorted coldly. How could he not understand Scarlet King's little scheme? But Scarlet King had underestimated him far too much.

In the depths of Long Xiaoyao's eyes, inky darkness churned. Vast, boundless soul power erupted from within him, and a pitch-black domain spread outward.

The three imposing torrents of flame vanished without a sound the instant they touched his Dark Domain, like clay oxen entering the sea.

Scarlet King's expression changed drastically. He finally realized the vast disparity in strength between himself and the old man before him. If he focused solely on escaping, he might still have a chance at survival. But the auspicious beast had already been captured. If he fled back alone, Di Tian would not spare him easily either.

"Wait." The giant beast covered in crimson mane spoke in human words.