In the end, Huo Yuhao inevitably encountered the people from the Tang Sect.
The group exchanged a few pleasantries, but this time Huo Yuhao did not show off his roasted fish skills from the original text. Plus, the scene of him entangled with Zhongli Yu was too much for the eyes, so Tang Ya was not particularly interested in him.
Due to his association with the Holy Ghost Cult, Huo Yuhao's attire didn't resemble that of a commoner's child. Therefore, Tang Ya did not extend an olive branch to him to join the Tang Sect.
Bei Bei couldn't see through Zhongli Yu's depths, so he didn't dare to let Tang Ya linger for too long. He found an excuse and left with her.
"Those two are Shrek students," Zhongli Yu said with a sudden smile as she watched the two figures depart, a faint killing intent flickering in her beautiful eyes.
"Just a few little bugs, not worth mentioning," Huo Yuhao waved his hand, signaling her not to mind them. He knew very well that this woman, Zhongli Yu, had committed no small amount of evil following Zhongli Wu. It was only in front of him that she put on a harmless appearance.
"Let's go. It's getting late. Let's enter the Star Dou Great Forest."
...
"Are they going to the Star Dou Great Forest?" Tang Ya said thoughtfully, looking back at the retreating figures of Huo Yuhao and Zhongli Yu.
Bei Bei shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. I can vaguely sense that the boy, Huo Yuhao, has soul power, but it's hidden very deeply. His child bride also doesn't seem simple. She should be able to help him hunt for a soul ring."
Tang Ya stuck out her tongue and said, "He has soul power, you say? How about we absorb him into our Tang Sect?"
Bei Bei could only smile bitterly. "Great Tang Sect Master, Miss Tang Ya, before you took me in as your disciple, the Tang Sect was just you, a lone commander. Your ambition is to strengthen the Tang Sect, so of course you should recruit suitable people. However, this Little Brother Huo seems very steady. From his clothes, you can tell he should be a child of some major family. Our Tang Sect right now can only absorb commoner disciples with no background."
Tang Ya looked at Bei Bei with some curiosity and said, "I didn't realize you had such a keen eye for talent."
Bei Bei stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said, "This is called being smart. Or if you say wise, I can accept that too. Let's go. They have a background and strength; they don't look like they need our help."
Tang Ya also stood up, giggled, and said, "Alright then. I'll catch a few fish and roast them first, then we'll go."
Huo Yuhao naturally didn't know that the world line had already changed because of Zhongli Yu. But even if he did, he would have clapped his hands in approval. After all, the Tang Sect was too deeply entangled with that Buddha. The moment he was noticed, he would be in danger.
"How about it, Your Majesty Empress? You didn't detect any of Tang San's divine sense on those two Tang Sect disciples just now, did you?" After Bei Bei and Tang Ya had walked far away, Huo Yuhao couldn't wait to ask Bibi Dong about them.
Unexpectedly, Bibi Dong in the spiritual space had a solemn expression. She glanced faintly at Huo Yuhao. "Neither of those two people had any divine sense on them. However, the young man named Bei Bei has the aura of the Sea God's Light."
"He's the great-grandson of the Sea God Pavilion's Master. He must have bathed in that Sea God's Light plenty of times," Huo Yuhao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had Bibi Dong to shield him from the perception of fortune. As the continent's new Son of Fortune, he would surely attract the attention of the God Realm.
Not long after the two of them set out, a wooden sign on the side of the road caught Huo Yuhao's attention.
"Warning: The Star Dou Great Forest begins 50 li ahead. Soul beasts are present. Please be careful."
I didn't go the wrong way. He was finally about to arrive at the destination from the original text. At this moment, besides excitement, Huo Yuhao also felt a trace of nervousness. He touched the dagger at his lower back, suppressed the agitation in his heart, and strode forward with firm steps.
The air gradually became cooler. Beyond the coolness, there also seemed to be a special solemnity. The Star Dou Great Forest was like a soul beast with its mouth wide open, waiting for the entry of a young life—for opportunity, or... to be devoured!
In his excited state, Huo Yuhao subconsciously quickened his pace. He was getting impatient.
Zhongli Yu trailed behind Huo Yuhao, not too far and not too close. This was also Huo Yuhao's own request. After all, he couldn't have Zhongli Yu step in for every danger he encountered; it would be of no benefit to his cultivation.
Huo Yuhao was moving forward when suddenly, a somewhat strange feeling appeared in his mind. He felt as if his eyes had slightly touched something, and he subconsciously channeled his soul power into his Spirit Eyes.
Crimson spirals spun around his pupils. Huo Yuhao instantly caught a black shadow flashing past on the left side of the road ahead.
As an extremely rare spiritual-type mutated martial soul, the evolved Spirit Eyes had a very strong perceptive ability. Did the sense of crisis make Huo Yuhao's reaction instantly sharper?
A black figure flashed past the spot where he had been and pounced on the ground next to him. At such a close distance, Huo Yuhao instantly saw its appearance clearly.
"Whoa, it really is you—"
It was a baboon about one meter tall, covered in brownish-yellow fur. Its eyes were brown, its arms were unusually long, and its claws had sharp nails. Its canine teeth were exposed at its lips, and its eyes radiated a fierce light. After its first strike missed, it immediately let out a low roar at Huo Yuhao, and with a powerful push from its hind legs, it pounced at him again.
That's right, the visitor was none other than the ten-year Wind Baboon from his memory, the one that had almost sent the future God of Emotions to meet King Yama!
Although Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes did not yet have a single soul ring attached, the skills it now possessed were far more exaggerated than a normal added soul ring. With the infusion of soul power, the pouncing baboon's movements in his eyes were as if time had stopped.
The sound of a slightly rapid heartbeat could be heard clearly. Huo Yuhao's breathing became noticeably heavier. This was the first time in his two lives that he had faced an attack from a beast.
He only needed to condense his soul power in his left eye and use Amaterasu to finish off this ten-year Wind Baboon.
But trash-talking about killing someone and actually doing it were two different things.
As the saying goes, he who hesitates is lost. Just as Huo Yuhao was having an internal battle in his mind, the Wind Baboon had already pounced. Its long arms stretched forward, and its clawed hands grabbed Huo Yuhao's shoulders simultaneously. But it had ultimately underestimated Huo Yuhao's physical strength. Its sharp claws could only scratch a few white marks on his shoulders, as if they were cast from bronze and forged from iron.
The baboon let out a strange cry. Grabbing Huo Yuhao's shoulders, its strong body flipped in the air with the momentum of its charge, about to slam him viciously to the ground.
Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. I wanted to play around with you, pretending to be a noob, but all I get in return is a merciless attack. I'm done pretending, I'm laying my cards on the table, I'm a cheater!
His left pupil snapped open, and Amaterasu was unleashed!
Where his gaze focused, strange black flames instantly ignited. The searing pain made the baboon wail miserably, and it fell to the ground, rolling over and over.
Before long, after rolling on the ground for a while, the baboon completely stopped moving. A faint white light began to appear on its body. Gradually, this white light slowly condensed into a white ring of light above its body. The ring was not clear, and the light flickered, but it still made Huo Yuhao, who was seeing the birth of a soul ring for the first time, stare in a daze.
Just as Huo Yuhao was marveling at the wonders of nature, suddenly, without any warning, a voice sounded in his mind.
"Finally, I've met a spiritual-attribute human. If only I could cry, I'd be weeping buckets right now!"
The ground beneath Huo Yuhao suddenly trembled without warning. A series of cracks began to appear on the ground two meters in front of him. The cracks gradually grew larger, turning into fissures. A faint golden-white light could be vaguely seen shining from within the fissures.
A trace of icy coldness emanated from the cracks in the ground, and the surrounding temperature began to drop significantly. The area covered by the cracks grew larger and larger, and in a short while, it had reached a diameter of over five meters. And that golden-white light finally revealed its true form.
It was a round and chubby head, looking fleshy, with a diameter of over one meter. It wriggled as it slowly crawled out, its body length exceeding seven meters.
Along with its appearance, Huo Yuhao's breath began to turn into icy mist, and the freezing coldness couldn't help but make him shiver several times.
Its entire body was the color of white jade, crystal clear. Although it had emerged from the soil, its smooth skin was not stained with any dirt. A halo of light flowed under its skin, and on its head, there was even a pair of small, sparkling golden eyes. The most peculiar thing was that starting from half a meter from its head, there was a golden ring at regular intervals. From head to tail, there were a total of ten golden rings.
Old buddy, you've come! Huo Yuhao was the one who wanted to weep buckets the most. Brother Tianmeng, I've been waiting for you for a whole year.