[Level: 80]
[Reward Settlement: 4000 Years of Freely Allocated Age]
[Freely Allocated Age: 293,000 Years]
"Half a month has passed..."
Li Yu muttered to himself, his eyes filled with exhaustion.
It had been half a month since he arrived at the Star Dou Forest. He had practically explored the entire forest but still hadn't found any sign of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
Under the shroud of the 'Natural Life Domain', no soul beast could detect his presence.
Thanks to this, he had even visited the Lake of Life multiple times.
He had seen the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python, yet still failed to find the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
"It shouldn't be this small!"
That was the conclusion he reached after exploring the entire forest.
"Could it be... this isn't the complete Star Dou Forest?"
A flash of surprise passed through Li Yu eyes, but it soon returned to calm.
The current timeline's version of the Star Dou Forest was vastly different from that of the later timelines.
This wasn't a change that could be brought about by just "ten thousand years."
The growth of soul beasts and the cultivation of Spirit Master couldn't be compared on the same temporal scale.
Therefore—
The Star Dou Forest couldn't possibly be the way it currently appeared.
It wasn't something worth being too surprised about.
"So, the real Star Dou Forest might be within some kind of 'seal'?" Li Yu made a deduction.
He once again returned to the location of the Lake of Life.
The Titan Giant Ape's massive body lay on a clearing like a hill, snoring and deep in sleep.
But the Azure Bull Python was nowhere to be seen.
Li Yu activated his 'Spirit Vision', but still couldn't detect the Azure Bull Python.
"Did it go to the 'sealed' area?" Li Yu speculated.
Then, a flash of silver-grey light passed through his eyes as space power unfolded, and a dense network of spatial threads appeared before him.
"Hm!"
With just one glance, Li Yu was shocked.
The spatial network around the Lake of Life was significantly different from other areas!
The Holy Church Altar was only "missing a point."
But the area around the Lake of Life was "missing a piece," and even the surrounding spatial threads were distorted and crowded!
"It really is sealed!" A trace of excitement flashed in Li Yu eyes.
This world had just become more interesting.
The next moment—
Without hesitation, Li Yu touched the thinnest point of the space and instantly disappeared.
The current him was no longer the same as when he had intruded on the Holy Church Altar. What he couldn't penetrate before, he could now easily find the "gap" and silently slip through.
Of course, this was also due to the excessive amount of "missing" spatial threads around the Lake of Life.
The longer the "boundary," the easier it was for places to be overlooked or poorly guarded.
Put another way: even the Thorn Dragon back then had managed to find a weak spot and sneak out. Compared to that dragon, he was now far more powerful.
That's why he could find that weak spot and "smuggle" his way in.
Whoosh~
As soon as he entered, a more abundant aura of life filled Li Yu nostrils.
A vaster world appeared before his eyes.
Stronger and more mysterious life auras also entered his perception.
Fortunately, he maintained utmost vigilance. His 'Natural Life Domain', 'Shadow Fold', and other techniques to conceal his aura and presence were all activated to the limit.
Therefore—
He wasn't discovered. Even that strange sense of repulsion from earlier had now vanished.
"The so-called fortune of the Star Dou?" Li Yu recalled the information Xiao Wu had given him the last time he was hunted by the Titan Giant Ape.
Then, maintaining extreme caution, he began moving around the "outer zones."
Existences like the Dark-Eyed Golden Dragon King Di Tian weren't something he could afford to provoke right now.
Even his current target, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear clan, had the savage Beast Sovereign Bear King among them.
He naturally dared not be careless.
Unlike before, because he now had the "right method," he quickly found his target.
Residing inside a massive tree hollow—was a family of three.
Strong father, sturdy mother, and a cute little cub.
The two adult Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears had cultivation around 60,000 to 70,000 years. With Li Yu current strength, he could handle them.
But he still backed off and looked for another target.
Because he was in a "foreign land," Li Yu acted with extreme caution and moved much slower. It wasn't until half a day later that he found his target.
It was a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear that had just experienced a brutal battle and was now on the verge of death, with cultivation around 50,000 years.
By soul beast age standards, it should be in its prime, or even still young.
However, it exuded a heavy aura of decay.
That was because it was dying.
Perhaps due to being a loner, even now it was still all alone, without any clan members visiting.
Moreover, on the edge of its territory, several soul beasts were watching greedily, waiting to divide the corpse and devour the flesh.
It was a stark contrast to the family he had seen earlier.
Such was the cruelty of the soul beast world.
"But how is the human world any different? If anything, it's even crueler." Li Yu sighed softly.
He silently waited beside the tree hollow for the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's death.
At the same time, the 'Natural Life Domain' quietly enveloped the area, perfectly imitating the bear's current aura, keeping the surrounding soul beasts barely at bay.
Night fell.
Li Yu wasn't even sure how sunrise and sunset worked in this sealed space, but after some speculation, he realized it was indeed synchronized with the outside world.
"Is it because one of the missing spatial threads connects the 'sky' here with the outside world?" Li Yu guessed.
His gaze then became sharply focused.
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear could no longer hold on.
Under Li Yu intense watch, its aura grew fainter and fainter. Finally, its eyelids drooped—it was about to die.
At the last moment, Li Yu sent a sliver of his power into the bear.
The bear's half-closed eyes twitched slightly, showing a trace of confusion—but it couldn't resist and passed away.
A pitch-black spirit ring then rose from its body.
At the same time, its right claw glowed with an unusual light.
Both the spirit ring and the [Dark Gold Dreadclaw] were obtained!
Li Yu flickered over to the corpse, first storing away the [Dark Gold Dreadclaw], then immediately began absorbing the black spirit ring.
With his current cultivation, killing and absorbing a 100,000-year soul beast was no longer a challenge.
But what he now sought more was the rare properties soul beasts possessed.
The difference of several ten thousand years of cultivation might mean much to others, but for him, it was just a matter of a few days.
Li Yu was no longer the stingy version of himself from before.
At the same time—
A massive presence with a terrifying aura slowly opened its eyes.
"Ah Man has died after all. I had long advised him not to be so headstrong. What a pity. Though I'm the Bear King, I cannot interfere with the 'rules.' But... at least I can collect his body."
This Bear King, known for his fierceness, had actually once advised his clansman not to be too unyielding?
If word of this got out, no soul beast would believe it!
Then, his massive body shrunk in an instant and vanished in a flash.
He had gone to retrieve the remains...