Soul Beasts Can Speak? Xiao Wu's Worldview Shattered!

Just as Lu Ming was immersed in the exhilaration of his rapidly growing power, two figures returned to the valley, one after the other.

They were Feng Qie and Zhu Mao, who had gone out to scout the area.

"Master!"

The moment Feng Qie landed, he saw the strange phenomenon in the valley and Lu Ming surrounded by countless motes of light. A look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Wow, what is Master doing? It looks incredible!"

Zhu Mao said nothing. He simply walked silently to Lu Ming's side, dropped to one knee, and continued carrying out his duty as a guard.

"Hey, big spider, what do you think Master is cultivating?"

Unable to keep still, Feng Qie nudged Zhu Mao beside him with his elbow.

Zhu Mao remained silent. His eight dark green compound eyes merely swept vigilantly over their surroundings, as if saying, "Don't bother me."

Feng Qie curled his lip, completely unconcerned by Zhu Mao's coldness.

He continued talking to himself. "I took a look around just now. This place is pretty nice. There aren't many soul beasts, but the energy is abundant. The strongest ones are only a few thousand-year soul beasts. They're all asleep in their own territories, so they pose no threat at all..."

When no one responded, Feng Qie grew terribly bored. Then his attention was drawn to Yue Xi, who was sitting quietly beside Lu Ming.

"Hi, little one." Feng Qie crouched down and forced what he thought was a friendly smile onto his face. "You're Yue Xi, right? I'm Feng Qie. From now on, we're companions."

Yue Xi raised her violet eyes and glanced at him, then quickly lowered her head again. Her little hand clutched Lu Ming's sleeve even tighter.

"Hey, don't be scared of me." Feng Qie sounded helpless. "I'm not going to eat you. Look, I can do magic tricks too."

As he spoke, he extended his hand. A wisp of azure airflow swirled in his palm, quickly condensing into a lifelike little bird. The bird fluttered its wings and flew back and forth before Yue Xi.

At last, a trace of curiosity appeared in Yue Xi's eyes, though her body still instinctively shrank closer to Lu Ming.

"See? Fun, right?" Feng Qie pressed on. "Later, I'll take you flying through the sky. It'll be a hundred times more fun than this!"

Up in the tree, Xiao Wu watched the scene and felt her worldview being shattered bit by bit.

[These altered soul beasts can actually speak?]

And they communicated in exactly the same way humans did!

That Feng Qie had a lively personality and was even somewhat of a chatterbox.

That Yue Xi was timid and wary of strangers, just like an ordinary human little girl.

If not for the lingering aura of soul beasts around them, as well as Feng Qie's occasional display of inhuman speed, Xiao Wu would have almost believed they were actual humans.

[What is going on?]

[They retained the souls of soul beasts, gained human bodies, and even acquired human intelligence and language...]

Yet this young man before her seemed to possess a shortcut... a way for soul beasts to ascend in a single step and directly obtain all of that!

What did that mean for soul beasts?

Xiao Wu did not dare think any further.

She only knew that if this matter got out, all of Douluo Continent—no, even the entire world of soul beasts—would be thrown into an unprecedented, earth-shaking storm!

And the source of it all pointed to that young man sitting cross-legged, resonating with the entire forest.

[Who... exactly is he?]

At that moment, Xiao Wu's curiosity about Lu Ming reached its peak.

She even had the urge to jump down immediately, grab him by the collar, and make him tell her every one of his secrets.

Of course, she only thought about it.

She still remembered Da Ming and Er Ming's warning.

[Watch a little longer... I have to figure this out!]

Xiao Wu decided to remain hidden...

Time passed bit by bit amid this strange atmosphere.

Lu Ming's aura grew increasingly powerful, and his connection with the surrounding forest became ever closer. He could feel his soul power level rapidly charging toward the threshold of level twenty-one.

Within his spiritual world, the domain core called "Gluttonous Sea of Light" continuously absorbed life energy from the forest, becoming increasingly solid and expansive...

The plants in the valley also grew more lush!

Basking in this life aura, Zhu Mao, Feng Qie, and Yue Xi could also feel their strength slowly growing. They had been altered by Lu Ming's hand and shared a special soul connection with him.

As Lu Ming grew stronger, it would also drive their growth to a certain extent!

Everything seemed so harmonious and beautiful.

No one knew how much time passed...

When the soul power within Lu Ming finally broke through the barrier of level twenty-one and reached an entirely new height.

He suddenly opened his eyes!

Two brilliant green flashes flickered through his eyes and vanished in an instant.

He slowly rose to his feet, feeling the unprecedentedly abundant power within him. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curved upward.

"Success."

Lu Ming had completely mastered the preliminary use of Myriad Essence Life-Eater and established a stable resonance with the forest in this valley.

Now, all he needed to do was test the results!

He wanted to see just how powerful his domain could become with the forest's blessing!

"Zhu Mao, Feng Qie, Yue Xi, step back."

Lu Ming gave the order.

The three immediately retreated without hesitation, putting enough distance between themselves and him.

Lu Ming took a deep breath, and an entirely different power erupted from within him.

Seeing Lu Ming rise, Xiao Wu's heart tightened atop the tree canopy.

[What is he going to do?]

Before she could react, the young man's clear voice echoed through the entire valley.

"Domain Expansion—"

"Gluttonous Sea of Light!"

Boom!

A terrifying energy beyond words erupted from Lu Ming, bursting outward in every direction!

Endless emerald motes of light surged through the entire valley in an instant like floodwaters bursting through a dam!

Xiao Wu's vision blurred. An irresistible force enveloped her, and she immediately tried to leave her spot, only to find that her body seemed to be seized by countless invisible hands. She could not move at all!

The next second, the world before her completely changed...

When Xiao Wu regained her vision, she discovered that she was no longer in that familiar ancient tree.

She stood in a bizarre and wondrous world.

Beneath her feet was grass as soft as a carpet, stretching all the way to the end of her sight.

Above her was no sky, only a dazzling galaxy formed from countless emerald motes of light.

The air was filled with the strange fragrance of countless plants mingled together—sweet, yet carrying a faintly intoxicating danger.

All around her, innumerable exotic flowers and plants she had never seen before grew, bloomed, withered, and cycled endlessly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Giant mushrooms released rainbow-colored spores. Singing vines wound around crystal-like trees. Glowing dandelion seeds drifted leisurely through the air like snowflakes...

Everything here was as beautiful as a dream, yet every corner of it revealed something eerie!