Setting Out for the Star Dou Great Forest

The days passed amid such bumps and stumbles. Spring gave way to autumn, and the osmanthus blossoms in the courtyard bloomed and withered.

Meng Hongchen's development of her Self-Created Soul Skill gradually got on track. At first, she could only release half a ring. Later, she could push out a complete one, and then control the direction and force of its repulsion at will. Her progress was plain to see.

Bao Liang had not been idle either.

He cultivated during the day and studied the Immortal Herb Catalogue at night, memorizing the habits of the Immortal Herbs recorded in it until he knew them inside out.

He had even secretly asked Jing Hongchen a few questions about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well-though of course, he brushed them off as things he had read in a book and asked about on a whim.

He had also gone out of his way to ask Jing Hongchen about the finer points of absorbing Soul Rings with an Ultimate Martial Soul.

Jing Hongchen told him that choosing Soul Rings for an Ultimate Martial Soul was far more demanding than it was for an ordinary Soul Master. Age, attribute, the Soul Beast's bloodline-not one of them could be treated carelessly.

Just like the Evil Eye Clan he had found for his First Soul Ring, a Soul Beast with an inadequate bloodline simply could not catch an Ultimate Martial Soul's eye.

Bao Liang took those words to heart, quietly considering what kind of Soul Beast he should choose for his Second Soul Ring.

That 2,500-year-old Evil Eye Tyrant from his First Soul Ring had already given him so many surprises. If he chose his Second Soul Ring carelessly, he would be doing his ultimate talent a grave disservice.

"Aha! I finally reached level twenty!" One day, Bao Liang burst out of the cultivation room and let out a long cry toward the sky.

He had spent nearly eight long months working toward this day.

His Second Martial Soul, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, was like a gold-devouring beast that could never be fed enough. Even though he spent every day in the cultivation room until late at night without fail, tempering his meridians again and again with Ultimate Flame, most of his vital energy and blood and Soul Power had basically all gone to feeding it.

Now that he had finally broken through, he wanted nothing more than to run ten laps around the estate. But he was afraid that making too much noise would wake Xiao Hongchen, whom Meng Hongchen had just coaxed to sleep, so he settled for lowering his voice and hopping twice on the spot.

Hearing the commotion, Jing Hongchen poked his head out of his study. When he saw how elated Bao Liang looked, he could not help smiling too. "You broke through? Good! Come here and let Grandpa take a look."

He examined Bao Liang carefully, sending his Soul Power into his meridians and feeling how solid his foundation was, inch by inch.

Only after confirming that his Soul Power foundation was stable, his meridians unobstructed, and even the rhythm of his circulating Soul Power had grown noticeably more solid than before his breakthrough did he nod in satisfaction. "Not bad. Your foundation is very solid.

"Keep cultivating this way, and Grandpa can aim for a 5,000-year Soul Beast for your Second Soul Ring with plenty of room to spare. Your First Soul Ring is already a purple 2,500-year Soul Ring, so your second can't be too shabby."

"Really?!" Bao Liang's eyes lit up.

"Would Grandpa lie to you?" Jing Hongchen smiled and patted his head. "This works out nicely. We'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest first and take care of both your Soul Ring and Xiao's."

"Weren't you a bit slow?" Xiao Hongchen leaned against the doorway with his arms folded, his tone indifferent. "I reached level thirty ages ago."

"'I reached level thirty ages ago~'" Bao Liang pitched his voice up to imitate him. "So who was it, exactly, whose younger sister's Second Soul Ring was a thousand-year ring while his own was still yellow, and who spent a few extra months training his body because he wanted to absorb an older Soul Ring for his third? Who could it possibly be? So hard to guess~"

Xiao Hongchen: overheating warning!

"Bao Liang!!" Xiao Hongchen's face instantly turned red, and he reached out to grab him.

"Hahahaha-" Bao Liang turned and ran, shouting as he went, "Oh my~ Someone's getting mad from embarrassment~"

"You damned Baozi, stop right there!"

"I won't! Catch me if you can!

"If you catch me, I'll let you hehehe~"

The two chased each other around the courtyard while Meng Hongchen watched the show from under the veranda with her arms folded, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she laughed.

Jing Hongchen came out to smooth things over. "All right, stop fooling around. Everything's ready, so let's get ready to set out for the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Is this the first time the whole Hongchen Clan's assembled?" Bao Liang's eyes lit up, and he stopped. "Interesting."

"Someone had better not hold us back." Xiao Hongchen snorted, his hand still hanging in midair.

"'Someone had better not hold us back~'" Bao Liang mimicked him with an exaggerated expression.

"Fight! Fight!" Meng Hongchen clapped her hands and egged them on from the side.

Jing Hongchen pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. Then, after confirming that he really did have three Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Bombs in his Storage Soul Tool, he felt considerably more at ease.

Those three bombs were his most treasured life-saving trump cards. He had never even thought of bringing them along on ordinary days, but for the sake of these three children, he had truly spared no expense this time.

In any case, with those three bombs, he could put up a fight against not just a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but even a Ferocious Beast.

When it came to life-saving items, one could never have too many.

On the night before their departure, Bao Liang tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In the end, he got up and packed.

He stuffed his Storage Soul Tool full of snacks-honey, osmanthus cakes, dried meat, and steamed buns, packing it to the brim. Then, after a moment's thought, he tucked his treasured Immortal Herb Catalogue into a corner as well.

"What if I get hungry on the way?" he muttered as he packed. "The Star Dou Great Forest is so big. Who knows how many days we'll be traveling?"

He touched the Storage Soul Tool Meng Hongchen had given him, tucked inside his clothes, and suddenly felt a little wistful.

The seven-year-old who had treated a little girl to steamed buns at the bun shop four years ago was now going with the entire Hongchen Clan to pick out his Second Soul Ring.

At the thought of the Soul Beasts and unfamiliar mountain forests ahead, he was not afraid in the least. Instead, he was eager to get started. Ultimate Flame flowed through his bloodline, as though answering his anticipation.

Early the next morning, the three children gathered at the estate gates.

The steward, Uncle Li, led several servants as they carried bags and bundles onto the soul guidance vehicle, all the while reminding them, "Young masters and young miss, be careful on the road. This old servant has prepared some rations and insect-repellent powder. There are a lot of bugs in the forest..."

"Thank you, Uncle Li!" Meng Hongchen replied sweetly.

Xiao Hongchen glanced at Bao Liang's Storage Soul Tool, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Do you think we're going on a picnic?"

"Of course." Bao Liang was unapologetic. "It's my first long trip. I have to eat and drink well."

"...Whatever makes you happy." Xiao Hongchen gave up.

"Oh, right." Jing Hongchen gave them one final reminder. "The Star Dou Great Forest isn't like the Far North. There are plenty of Soul Beasts in there, with all sorts of temperaments.

"Once we get there, do as Grandpa says. Don't run off, and don't blow things up at random."

"Got it!" the three children answered in unison.

Standing at the estate gates, Bao Liang gazed at the sun rising on the horizon, and an indescribable sense of exhilaration suddenly welled up in him.

He looked back at the Hongchen estate, where he had lived for three years-the koi pond, the training room, and the sealed-off laboratory.

Then he grinned and climbed into the soul guidance vehicle.

The interior was spacious, with room to spare even with the three children sitting side by side.

Meng Hongchen leaned against the window and looked outside, too excited to stop talking. "Grandpa, is the Star Dou Great Forest far away? How long will the ride take?"

"Our Sun Moon Empire is on the westernmost side of the continent. To reach the Star Dou Great Forest, we have to cross the Ming Dou Mountain Range. It's a long journey.

"Besides, the soul guidance vehicle can't take us deep into the forest." Jing Hongchen sat at the very front. "We'll stop first at a border town near the Ming Dou Mountain Range and rest for the night, then walk into the Star Dou Great Forest.

"That'll also give you a chance to get used to the feel of the forest."

"We have to walk too?" Bao Liang clicked his tongue. "How long will that take?"

"That depends on how fast you walk." Jing Hongchen did not turn around. "If you walk fast, two days. If you walk slowly, four or five."

"Then we have to walk fast!" Bao Liang clenched his fist. "I don't want to spend the night in the woods. What if a Soul Beast carries me off while I'm asleep?"

"You're such a big lump. What Soul Beast could carry you?" Xiao Hongchen joined in for once.

"Xiao! You!"

"Stop it, stop it." Meng Hongchen hurriedly intervened. "Little Baozi, did you bring osmanthus cakes? I'm a little hungry."

"I did, I did!" Bao Liang pulled an oilpaper packet out of his Storage Soul Tool and handed everyone a piece. "Try it. The kitchen made them fresh this morning."

The three children each munched on a piece of osmanthus cake as they enjoyed the scenery outside the window, their cheeks bulging.

Star Dou Great Forest-they were coming.

Jing Hongchen watched the scene in the rearview mirror, the corners of his mouth lifting without his realizing it.

"Good, let's go-to the Star Dou Great Forest!"