The Aeon's gaze

Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

The smoke and dust that blotted out the sky lingered for a long time.

Where the arrow of The Hunt had struck, a crater several kilometers across now gaped. Radial cracks covered its edges, and every ancient tree along its path had toppled. Scorching currents swept up splinters and rubble, churning across the devastated earth.

The Ancient Tree of Abundance that had once obscured the sky had vanished completely.

Its wildly growing roots, the ceaselessly spawning Abominations of Abundance, and the pale golden mist shrouding the forest had all turned to ash in the explosion.

The catastrophe seemed to have finally ended.

"Little Yuan!"

Lin Yuan swayed. Light Feather Douluo appeared beside him in an instant and caught him before he fell.

Lin Yuan's face was deathly pale, his eyes tightly shut, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. His Reignbow Martial Soul had dissipated on its own, and the cold, boundless presence of The Hunt had vanished without a trace.

"Lin Yuan!"

Qian Renxue hurried over and pressed her fingers to his pulse.

Only after feeling its weak but steady beat did she relax a little.

"He's still alive."

Guang Ling did not answer. He merely poured ice-blue Soul Power slowly into Lin Yuan's body.

A moment later, his expression grew even grimmer.

Lin Yuan's Soul Power was almost completely depleted, and his spiritual presence was exceedingly faint. Yet his meridians, bones, and internal organs showed no obvious damage.

That power, far beyond the limits of what he could withstand, had not directly destroyed his body. Instead, it had drained every last thing he could draw upon.

"His body has no obvious injuries."

Guang Ling's brows knitted tightly.

"But his Soul Power, spiritual power, and stamina have all been exhausted to the limit."

Qian Daoliu walked over and laid two fingers on Lin Yuan's wrist.

Gentle Angel Soul Power flowed through his meridians for a moment before Qian Daoliu withdrew his hand.

"His life signs are stable. He's in no danger for now."

"For now?"

Guang Ling looked down at the unconscious Lin Yuan.

"That power just now was never something he could withstand."

Qian Daoliu gazed at the sky, which had returned to calm.

"That power went beyond our understanding. Using a Soul Master's methods alone, I cannot determine what happened within his spiritual world."

Guang Ling tightened his hold on the boy.

"Had I known it would come to this, I should never have let him act."

"If he never wakes up..."

"He will."

Qian Renxue suddenly spoke.

She looked at Lin Yuan's pale face, her tone unusually firm.

"He promised me he wouldn't die here."

On the other side, Di Tian had already returned to human form.

His black-and-gold robe was somewhat tattered, and his face was a little paler than before the battle. Xiong Jun stood behind him, his dark golden fur covered in dust as he continued to pant heavily.

Di Tian did not approach Lin Yuan. Instead, he stood at the crater's edge, staring down into its depths, where the smoke and dust had yet to fully clear.

A speck of pale golden light flickered in and out of sight amid the scorched earth.

"There's still something there."

Everyone looked toward his voice.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a piece of wood the length of an arm appeared at the bottom of the crater.

It was pale gold all over, almost like amber. Ancient, naturally formed patterns covered its surface, and something like liquid light seemed to flow slowly inside it.

It had no branches, leaves, or roots, nor did it release the Ancient Tree of Abundance's unsettling presence of life.

Yet everyone instinctively sensed danger the moment they saw it.

The piece of wood lay quietly where the Ancient Tree of Abundance had originally taken root.

It had endured a direct strike from the meteor of The Hunt without suffering any damage.

"That thing was what spawned that monstrous tree?"

Xiong Jun stepped forward, dark golden claws extending from his fingers.

"Whatever it is, another swipe will settle it."

"Stop."

Di Tian immediately barked.

Xiong Jun paused.

"Even that monstrous tree was destroyed. Can a piece of wood like this overturn the heavens?"

Di Tian stared coldly at him.

"It emerged unscathed from that attack."

"Do you think your claws are stronger than that meteor?"

Xiong Jun immediately fell silent.

Qian Daoliu gazed at the piece of wood at the bottom of the crater.

"We cannot touch it."

"Until we understand its origins, any contact might bring the catastrophe back."

Di Tian turned his gaze toward the unconscious Lin Yuan.

Of everyone present, only this human boy seemed to truly understand the Ancient Tree of Abundance and that power from moments ago.

To deal with this mysterious piece of wood, they would have to wait until he woke.

"Seal this place off first."

Di Tian raised his right hand.

Dark dragon power surged from his palm, forming a translucent barrier around the crater. The barrier did not touch the wood; it merely shut out the Soul Beasts and the presence of life outside.

Qian Daoliu also released his angelic power.

Several pillars of golden light descended from the sky, forming an inner and outer seal together with the dark barrier.

The two starkly different powers, sacred and dark, remained distinctly separate without clashing.

"We'll decide how to deal with it once Lin Yuan wakes," Qian Daoliu said.

Di Tian nodded slightly.

Xiong Jun retracted his claws and asked:

"When will this human brat wake up?"

No one could answer.

After a moment of silence, Di Tian turned toward the forest's core.

"I'll go fetch Bi Ji."

Xiong Jun was somewhat surprised.

Bi Ji was the matriarch of the Emerald Swan clan and possessed the most powerful healing abilities among Soul Beasts, yet she rarely treated humans.

"He's still a human, after all," Xiong Jun said.

"He's also the savior of the Star Dou Great Forest."

Di Tian glanced at him.

"If not for him, that monstrous tree's roots would already have spread to the Lake of Life."

"We cannot refuse to acknowledge this debt."

Xiong Jun did not argue further.

Not long ago, he had advocated killing all these humans first.

But after witnessing that meteor destroy the Ancient Tree of Abundance, even he could no longer regard Lin Yuan as an ordinary Soul Master.

Di Tian soon vanished into the forest.

Qian Daoliu's group took Lin Yuan to a safe area far from the crater.

Guang Ling never handed Lin Yuan to anyone else. He sat down against a boulder that was still intact, then fashioned a simple bed from ice and laid Lin Yuan on it. Qian Renxue kept watch beside him.

Qian Daoliu continued observing the sealed-off piece of pale golden wood.

Though the battle was over, the mysteries kept multiplying.

Where had the Ancient Tree of Abundance come from?

What exactly was that piece of wood?

And what kind of being was the towering apparition Lin Yuan had summoned?

Qian Daoliu had served the Angel God all his life and considered himself familiar with divine power.

Yet when that bow-wielding figure appeared, a thought he himself found absurd arose in him for the first time.

That being might stand on a level above even the Angel God.

And Lin Yuan had actually received a response from Him.

A quarter of an hour later, gentle fluctuations of life came from deep within the forest.

Unlike the Ancient Tree of Abundance's twisted, ravenous power of life, this presence was pure and warm. Wherever it passed, broken vegetation stopped withering, and frightened little Soul Beasts gradually calmed.

Di Tian reappeared before them.

Beside him walked a woman in an emerald-green dress.

She had gentle, beautiful features, and emerald-green hair fell to her waist. A faint halo of life surrounded her.

She was none other than Bi Ji, matriarch of the Emerald Swan clan.

A trace of shock flashed through Bi Ji's eyes at the sight of the devastated battlefield.

"Was this the child who saved the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Yes."

Di Tian said:

"Check his condition first."

Bi Ji approached the ice bed, but Guang Ling did not immediately step aside.

He stared at Bi Ji for several breaths, only shifting half a step aside after confirming she bore no hostility.

"Heal him."

Bi Ji did not mind his wariness.

She crouched down and held her right hand above Lin Yuan's chest.

Gentle emerald light spread from her palm, slowly enveloping Lin Yuan's entire body. A rich yet noninvasive presence of life seeped into his meridians, bones, and internal organs.

A moment later, Bi Ji frowned slightly.

Lin Yuan's condition was very strange.

His Soul Power was completely depleted, and his spiritual power had been severely drained, yet his body bore no corresponding damage.

Stranger still, a faint layer of starlight seemed to envelop his Sea of Consciousness.

That starlight did not harm Lin Yuan. Instead, it acted like a barrier, protecting his Spiritual Origin and preventing any outside power from penetrating further.

Even Bi Ji's power of life could not pass through.

She did not attempt to force her way in and soon withdrew her hand.

"How is he?" Guang Ling asked immediately.

"Don't worry. His life is not in danger."

Guang Ling and Qian Renxue both breathed sighs of relief.

"His body has no serious injuries, and his Spiritual Origin is very stable."

"He fell unconscious because he used power far beyond what he could withstand in a short period. His Soul Power, spiritual power, and stamina were all exhausted at once, so his body shut down his consciousness on its own, putting him into a deep sleep."

Qian Daoliu asked:

"Does he need treatment?"

Bi Ji gently shook her head.

"There is a power within him that I cannot understand, protecting his spiritual world."

"Recklessly stimulating him with outside power might disrupt his recovery instead."

She looked at Lin Yuan again.

"Just let him rest. Once his body replenishes what it has spent, he'll wake naturally."

Guang Ling's tense expression finally eased.

Di Tian looked toward the crater sealed behind the double barrier.

The piece of pale golden wood still lay quietly at the bottom, its light flickering in and out like some life-form that had not yet fully awakened.

"Until this human wakes, no Soul Beast is to approach that place."

Though Xiong Jun remained hostile toward the wood, he raised no objections.

The Star Dou Great Forest had suffered an unprecedented catastrophe.

And the answers to it all now rested with the unconscious Lin Yuan.

None of them knew that Lin Yuan's consciousness had not fallen entirely silent.

Deep within his spiritual world, a boundless sea of stars slowly unfolded.

The Imperial Bow floated quietly amid the starlight, the light on its body exceedingly dim, as though that earlier strike had exhausted its power as well.

Lin Yuan's consciousness floated before the Imperial Bow.

He could neither open his eyes nor move. He could only vaguely sense that, at the far end of the distant sea of stars, a gaze had yet to fully depart.

Cold.

Vast.

Forever pursuing its appointed prey.

That was the Aeon of the Hunt-Lan.

Lin Yuan had originally thought he had merely gotten lucky and drawn a faint projection through the Imperial Bow's connection to the Path of the Hunt.

But just as his consciousness was about to sink into slumber again, a brilliant arrow of light suddenly crossed the sea of stars.

The arrow of light did not attack any target. Instead, it slowly came to a stop above the Imperial Bow, finally becoming a cyan-blue, arrow-shaped mark.

An intent devoid of any emotion then descended into the depths of Lin Yuan's consciousness.

Lin Yuan's consciousness shook violently.

This was no lingering echo of a Path, nor was it an illusion created by the Imperial Bow.

Lan had answered him of his own accord.

At the far end of the sea of stars, that figure, so vast that its full form could not be seen, did not turn back. Yet for the first time, he truly acknowledged this youth who had called upon the Hunt in a mortal body.

"The abominations are not yet vanquished."

"The hunt shall not cease."

The cyan-blue, arrow-shaped mark slowly merged into the Imperial Bow.

Before Lin Yuan could feel the changes within it, a sudden burst of laughter rang throughout the entire mental sea of stars.

"Haha..."

"Hahahahaha!"

The laughter sounded distant one moment and close the next.

Countless vivid colors forcibly tore open the cold, silent sea of stars. Streamers, confetti, and masks of every shape drifted down from the void.

An enormous smiling face hung upside down above the Imperial Bow.

"How interesting!"

"Far too interesting!"

Accompanied by exaggerated laughter, a blurred figure draped in dazzling colors poked his head out from behind the mask.

He glanced at the arrow-shaped mark that had merged into the Imperial Bow and laughed even more unrestrainedly.

"Lan, that dullard who only knows how to chase prey all over the place, actually answered a mortal of his own accord?"

"That tight-lipped gourd has learned to pick people, too?"

"Hahahaha!"

"This is much more interesting than a piece of wood that can grow eyes!"

Lin Yuan could not move, but he could feel that figure sizing him up.

It was utterly different from Lan's cold, pure gaze.

There was no killing intent in this gaze, nor any oppressive might.

Only an almost insane interest.

The enormous smiling face suddenly leaned right up to Lin Yuan.

"Mortal."

"To make that dullard of the Hunt stop and spare you a glance..."

"You really are a remarkable source of amusement."

Countless masks smiled at once, and deafening laughter filled the entire sea of stars.

Before he lost consciousness completely, Lin Yuan vaguely heard that voice speak again.

"Since Lan has seen you..."

"Then Aha has seen you, too!"

The laughter abruptly receded into the distance.

Silence returned to the mental sea of stars.

Only a cyan-blue arrow mark flickered faintly upon the Imperial Bow.

And beside the arrow mark, a fingernail-sized smiling mask had appeared at some unknown point.