15: Chapter 15: The golden cat sensed it... Qiu'er, how am I supposed to face you...?

"Wow... is this the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Such... such immense pressure..."

"Huo Yuhao! The scent of Spirit Beasts here is so strong! There must be lots of delicious things!"

"Benefactor, are we... really going in?"

A month later, when the group arrived travel-worn at the edge of the legendary Star Dou Great Forest.

The four of them voiced four completely different sentiments.

Tang Ya gripped her sword hilt, her eyes filled with irrepressible excitement and fighting spirit.

Gu Yuena stood with her arms crossed, her expression indifferent, as if she had just arrived at a slightly larger backyard.

Tianmeng lay in Huo Yuhao's collar, poking her little head out, her drool almost flowing out.

As for Jiang Nannan, she hid behind Tang Ya, looking at the pitch-black forest before her—which resembled the maw of a giant beast—with a hint of fear, her voice trembling slightly.

Unlike the simple gloom of the Sunset Forest, the feeling the Star Dou Great Forest gave people was one of antiquity, wildness, and unfathomable depth.

It was as if this forest had existed since the dawn of heaven and earth, witnessing the rise and fall of countless eras.

Any living being that stepped into it was merely an insignificant passerby in its long life.

Huo Yuhao did not answer anyone's questions.

He just stood quietly at the very edge of the forest, the tall, dense canopy casting mottled shadows over him, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.

His gaze was somewhat complex.

Here... He had returned here again.

In his previous life, this was where he met the girl who had sacrificed herself for him.

The girl who was as proud as the sun, yet so foolish that it made one's heart ache.

Wang Donger, Wang Qiuer... Two names, two identical faces flashed alternately in his mind, finally freezing into a streak of brilliant gold.

He remembered that he had obtained his first spirit ring here. He also remembered that he had merged with Tianmeng Iceworm here. And he even more clearly remembered that he had first felt the impermanence of fate here.

Now, he had returned. But this time, he was no longer that lonely, helpless Huo Yuhao filled with hatred. He had new companions by his side. And in his heart, he had new concerns.

He had thought he could face all of this calmly. But when he truly stood on this familiar land, the sealed memories deep within his soul still surged up uncontrollably, bringing with them a hint of... a stirring that even he himself had not noticed.

"You're a bit nervous."

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out beside him. It was Gu Yuena.

She didn't know when she had walked to his side, and was tilting her head, watching him with those purple eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously restrained his thoughts, restoring his expression to one of stillness, like an ancient well.

He turned his head, met her gaze, and calmly denied it: "I'm not."

The corners of Gu Yuena's mouth curled into a playful arc.

"When you lie," she said slowly, enunciating every word, "your heartbeat is one beat faster than usual."

"..."

Huo Yuhao was instantly speechless.

He had forgotten that the woman standing beside him was an avatar of the Dragon God, the former Silver Dragon King. Her perception was incredibly sharp, especially when she was deliberately paying attention to him; any minute physiological or emotional change he had could not be hidden from her at all.

This feeling of being completely seen through made Huo Yuhao feel a hint of helplessness, but also a hint of... an indescribable sense of peace.

He did not argue further, but simply shifted his gaze back to the deep forest and changed the subject: "Get ready, we're going in. The Star Dou Great Forest is not like the Sunset Forest; thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts are everywhere inside. Everyone must maintain the highest level of vigilance."

"Yes, Benefactor!" Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan immediately replied.

Gu Yuena did not press the issue further, but a thoughtful gleam flashed through her purple eyes.

After entering the forest, Huo Yuhao immediately pushed his Spiritual Detection to the limit. His vast Mental Energy, like an invisible tide, spread out in all directions with him at the center, clearly presenting everything within several miles in his mind.

The rustling of wind through leaves, the scuttling of insects across the ground, the low growls of hundred-year Spirit Beasts in the distance. The movement of thousand-year earthworms underground... everything was revealed in minute detail.

Compared to the Sunset Forest, the life density of the Star Dou Great Forest was simply worlds apart. While carefully leading his team to avoid the territories of overly powerful Spirit Beasts, he carefully sensed everything around them.

After walking for about half a day, when they set up camp in a relatively safe area to spend the night, Huo Yuhao's Mental Energy suddenly captured a trace of unusual fluctuation.

That fluctuation came from the southeast of the forest, about a hundred miles away from them. It was not like the Soul Power fluctuations of any Spirit Beast, which carried a violent, cold, or cruel aura. On the contrary.

It was a warmth pure to the extreme, an energy filled with the breath of life. If the Soul Power of other Spirit Beasts was like clusters of burning flames, then this energy was like a little sun hanging in the dark night. It was not blinding, not scorching, yet it radiated light and heat that made all things unable to resist wanting to draw close.

This energy was slowly moving deep within the forest. Huo Yuhao's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Just then, Tianmeng, who was dozing on his shoulder, suddenly raised her head. In her large, ice-blue eyes, for the first time, the usual laziness and playfulness faded away, revealing an extremely rare expression of seriousness.

"Huo Yuhao..."

Tianmeng's voice also became grave. "In that direction... there seems to be... an aura very similar to ours."

"Ours" referred to mental-type Spirit Beasts. The last shred of hope in Huo Yuhao's heart vanished with Tianmeng's words.

He knew. He knew what it was. In this Star Dou Great Forest, there could only be one existence that possessed such pure and vast life energy, and also had mental attributes.

The darling of fate, a gift from the heavens, the incarnation of the Star Dou Great Forest's fortune. The Emperor Auspicious Beast—Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Which was also... Wang Qiuer.

She had actually appeared in this area at this time. Was this the butterfly effect brought about by his rebirth? Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed involuntarily.

His first reaction was to immediately take the team and detour around that direction. His goal in coming to the Star Dou Great Forest this time was very clear: First, to find a suitable second spirit ring for himself. Second, when the time was ripe, to go to the core area to meet Di Tian and the others, paving the way for the future "Soul Spirit Plan".

As for Wang Qiuer... He had not yet figured out how to face her. The debt from his previous life was too deep, so deep that he didn't know how to repay it in this life.

His original plan was to wait until he possessed sufficiently powerful strength, at least until he became a Titled Douluo, before seeking her out to make up for his regrets in another way. And not now.

He was too weak right now, and he had three "dead weights" with him. Rashly making contact with the Emperor Auspicious Beast would only bring unforeseeable variables. Reason told him that avoiding it was the best choice.

However... when he tried to suppress the stirring in his heart and prepare to plan a new route, a feeling of irresistible pulling came from deep within his soul. The feeling was very strange, as if there was an invisible thread with one end connected to his soul. The other end was connected to that "little sun" a hundred miles away.

That thread was gently yet unshakeably pulling him, urging him to move in that direction. Was it the fetters of fate? Or was it the brand left in this life by that unforgettable, bone-deep emotion from his previous life? Huo Yuhao did not know.

He only knew that the more he wanted to resist, the stronger that pulling sensation became, even causing a slight, sharp pain in his soul. His hesitation and struggle all fell into those purple eyes beside him.

Gu Yuena had not spoken the whole time, just quietly watching him. Watching him go from shock, to gravity, and now to entanglement and pain. She suddenly spoke indifferently.

"If you want to go, then go."

Huo Yuhao suddenly looked up at her. Gu Yuena was leaning against a tree, the firelight illuminating her flawless profile, her tone so calm that no emotion could be detected. "I will wait for you here."

A simple sentence, yet it was like a key that instantly unlocked the shackles in Huo Yuhao's heart. Yes, what was he hesitating about? Evasion had never been his style.

No matter how complex the karma of his previous life was, in this life he was Huo Yuhao, and he had his own path to walk. Since fate allowed him to meet her again at this time, then he would face it. Take a look, resolve a piece of his heart, and then continue his journey.

He took a deep breath, the struggle and hesitation in his eyes completely dissipated, and he regained that calmness and firmness. He stood up and said to Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan, who were preparing dinner: "You two stay here, don't wander off. Before I return, with the campsite as the center, do not leave a range of more than one hundred meters."

"Benefactor? Where are you going?" Tang Ya asked confusedly.

"I'm going to take care of something." Huo Yuhao did not explain too much, "Na'er will stay here; if there is any danger, listen to her arrangements."

After speaking, he glanced at Gu Yuena. Gu Yuena nodded slightly at him. Having received her response, Huo Yuhao no longer hesitated, turned around, and walked quickly alone in the direction from which the aura came. His figure soon disappeared into the thick night and dense jungle.

...

At the same time. Deep in the forest, a hundred miles away from the campsite. By a lake overgrown with strange flowers and grasses, a cute Spirit Beast, whose whole body shimmered with a faint golden light and whose appearance resembled a small lion, with a third vertical pupil growing on its forehead, was happily chasing a glowing butterfly.

It was playing with great delight, its throat occasionally emitting cute "woowoo" sounds. Every jump left a brilliant golden trail of light in the air. Suddenly. This Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped its pursuit.

It suddenly raised its head, those large golden eyes, pure and without a trace of impurity, looking suspiciously toward the northwest. Over there... it seemed... to have sensed an aura that it felt was very familiar, very intimate, and which it couldn't help but want to draw close to.