The Hunt Draws Near

The ancient tree of Abundance attacked with ever-increasing ferocity.

Countless roots burst from underground like an endlessly surging golden tide, relentlessly squeezing the space in which they could move.

Holding the Angel Holy Sword, Qian Daoliu stood guard before the ice barrier.

Every descending flash of his sword burned great swathes of roots to nothing.

Yet before the scattered ashes could even finish falling, they sprouted anew under the influence of the power of Abundance.

Di Tian took the form of a black dragon and circled the sky.

His immense wings spread, whipping up fierce storms that swept the abominations continually falling from the canopy into the distance.

But mere moments later, more golden fruit grew upon the branches.

It seemed there would never be an end.

Xiong Jun let out a furious roar.

His Dark Gold Dreadclaw swept across, tearing apart more than a dozen Abominations of Abundance at once.

"Di Tian!"

"There's no end to this if we keep fighting like this!"

Di Tian did not respond.

His golden dragon eyes looked down upon the battlefield, his expression already dark beyond measure.

Of course he understood that.

They could still hold out for a long time.

But the Star Dou Great Forest could not last much longer.

With every inch the ancient tree of Abundance's roots spread outward, more living beings were devoured and corrupted, ultimately becoming part of that enormous network of life.

Once those roots reached the Lake of Life, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

Inside the ice barrier, Lin Yuan had already closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into the deepest recesses of his soul.

There, the Reignbow Martial Soul floated silently.

No Soul Power flowed over the bow, nor did any Soul Rings surround it.

Only countless tiny blue glimmers of starlight slowly traveled along the Imperial Bow's ancient patterns.

And behind the Imperial Bow lay a barely perceptible will.

Cold.

Distant.

Vast.

Like a hunter walking among an endless sea of stars, forever pursuing prey that could never be forgiven.

The Hunt.

When the Imperial Bow first awakened, Lin Yuan had briefly touched that will.

It was at that very moment that a trace of power outside the Soul Master system had been imprinted deep within his soul alongside the Imperial Bow.

It was not a Soul Skill.

It relied on no Soul Rings, nor could it be activated with Soul Power alone.

It was a trace of authority from the Path of the Hunt.

Using the Imperial Bow as a medium and himself as coordinates linking to the sea of stars, Lin Yuan could attempt to summon a trace of the Aeon of the Hunt's projection.

Even if it were only a faint projection, its standing was far beyond anything the Abominations of Abundance before them could contend with.

The Hunt was the natural enemy of the Abominations of Abundance.

But Lin Yuan had never truly tried to use this power.

He did not know whether the summoning would necessarily succeed.

Much less did he know whether his current body could withstand the pressure produced by that projection's descent.

The only certainty was that the process would take a long time.

And it could not be disturbed in any way.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes again.

Deep within them, a speck of cold blue starlight flashed and vanished.

At that very instant, the enormous eye at the center of the ancient tree of Abundance suddenly contracted.

Immediately afterward, every golden eye on the trunk stopped moving at once.

The entire battlefield fell into an instant of eerie silence.

The next moment, without any warning, the ancient tree of Abundance let out a piercing shriek.

It no longer sounded like wood scraping against wood.

Instead, it sounded like tens of thousands of living beings sensing death at the same time.

Rumble!

The entire ground split apart.

Countless roots abandoned their original targets and surged toward the ice barrier without regard for anything else.

High in the canopy, masses of golden fruit burst open at once.

Hundreds upon thousands of Abominations of Abundance plummeted from above.

They did not attack Di Tian, nor did they pay Xiong Jun any heed.

The golden eyes in the chests of every abomination were fixed squarely on Lin Yuan.

Light Feather Douluo's expression changed, and he fired dozens of ice arrows in succession.

"Why did this thing suddenly go berserk?"

"It sensed it."

Lin Yuan spoke quietly.

Qian Renxue looked at him.

"Sensed what?"

Lin Yuan did not answer immediately.

He walked to the edge of the ice barrier, his voice carrying across the chaotic battlefield with the aid of Soul Power.

"Senior Qian Daoliu."

"Senior Di Tian."

The two powerhouses resisting the roots turned their heads at the same time.

Qian Daoliu swung the Angel Holy Sword, severing every vine rushing toward the barrier.

"What did you discover?"

Lin Yuan raised his head and gazed at the ancient tree of Abundance.

"I have a way to destroy it completely."

Xiong Jun smashed an abomination before him with one swipe, then whipped his head around at those words.

"Human brat, do you know what you're saying?"

"You think you can destroy something even Di Tian can't, with that little bit of cultivation?"

Lin Yuan ignored Xiong Jun.

"Your attacks haven't truly weakened it because what sustains its existence isn't the trunk, nor any particular root underground."

"All the roots, the abominations, and the corrupted life are part of this tree."

"As long as the power of Abundance remains, it can keep being reborn."

Di Tian landed on a raised root, his golden slit pupils fixed intently on Lin Yuan.

"In that case, how do you intend to sever that power?"

Lin Yuan slowly raised his right hand.

No Soul Rings rose.

Nor was any Soul Skill activated.

Only a wisp of blue starlight, so faint it was almost imperceptible, flashed at his fingertip and vanished.

Yet that faint speck of starlight made the ancient tree of Abundance let out another shrill, agonized screech.

The entire ancient tree shook violently.

That was not anger.

It was fear.

Like a monster that boasted of its own immortality finally sensing an existence that could truly grant it death.

Lin Yuan said calmly:

"What I'm going to use isn't a Soul Skill."

"It's a trace of the Hunt's authority."

Qian Daoliu's gaze sharpened slightly.

An unusual look also flashed through Di Tian's eyes.

They did not know what this so-called Hunt actually was.

But the ancient tree of Abundance's reaction had already proved that the power could indeed threaten it.

"I'll use myself and the Imperial Bow as coordinates to attempt to summon a trace of the Aeon of the Hunt's projection."

"As long as that existence's gaze can descend, no matter how many times this ancient tree of Abundance can be reborn, it won't escape the Hunt's pursuit."

Lin Yuan paused, his expression becoming especially grave.

"But I need time."

"Preparing to summon the projection takes a long time."

"Until it's complete, I can't move or suffer any interference."

Lin Yuan looked first at Qian Daoliu, then turned his gaze toward Di Tian.

"So I hope you can help me hold it off."

"Until the preparations are finished, you mustn't let any roots or abominations get near me."

As his words fell, the ancient tree of Abundance's shrieks abruptly grew even more piercing.

It seemed to have understood what Lin Yuan had said.

Its immense canopy shook wildly, and the life force throughout the forest began converging on this place.

Several times more roots than before burst from the earth.

Newborn abominations fell from the golden fruit one after another, forming a torrent of twisted monsters that surged toward Lin Yuan without regard for anything else.

The ancient tree of Abundance had only one purpose.

To kill this human capable of calling upon the Hunt before that great will descended.

Qian Daoliu held his sword across his body before the ice barrier.

The Six-Winged Angel fully unfurled behind him, its sacred radiance illuminating the entire forest.

"How much time do you need?"

"I can't be certain."

Lin Yuan answered truthfully.

"Perhaps a quarter of an hour, or perhaps longer."

"And I can't guarantee it'll succeed."

Di Tian slowly rose into the sky.

Overwhelming dark dragon power erupted within him, and his immense black dragon form blotted out half the sky.

A deep dragon's cry resounded through the forest.

"Then be quick."

"Until you fail, I won't let it touch you."

Qian Daoliu raised the Angel Holy Sword, his tone calm and resolute.

"Go do what you must."

"Leave this to us."

Light Feather Douluo stood before Lin Yuan, his ice-blue longbow giving a clear hum.

Qian Renxue likewise unfurled her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, shielding Lin Yuan's back with golden wings.

Lin Yuan hesitated no longer.

He sat cross-legged, his hands resting flat before his knees.

The Imperial Bow did not appear in his hands, instead condensing into a hazy outline of starlight behind him.

No Soul Rings.

No fluctuations of Soul Power.

Only an indescribably cold will, centered on Lin Yuan, sent its first call toward the distant, boundless stars.

In an instant, Lin Yuan's consciousness seemed to leave the Douluo Continent.

Countless stars streaked past him.

A brilliant arrow of light spanned the sea of stars, piercing the endless darkness.

Upon that Path of the Hunt with no end in sight, a figure holding an enormous bow, so vast that its full form could not be seen, was slowly advancing.

And when Lin Yuan's call reached it-

The footsteps of that towering figure paused ever so slightly for an instant.