Chapter 529

When his vision returned to normal, Tang Wulin had already arrived in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Regarding the current state of the Star Dou Great Forest, he had already learned roughly from the driver when he came to Shilake Academy.

Over these ten thousand years, the trees of the Star Dou Great Forest have been continuously logged, leaving only the central core region now.

About three thousand years ago, humanity once fought a great war with the ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest and won that war.

After that war, the Spirit Pagoda, representing humanity, signed a series of treaties with the ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the most important of which was to guarantee mutual non‑invasion.

The Spirit Pagoda guaranteed that humanity would no longer log trees, preserving the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, and the ferocious beasts guaranteed that soul beasts would not leave the core region.

If humans enter the core region, unless they pay extra, the Spirit Pagoda does not guarantee their safety.

Likewise, if soul beasts leave the core region and intrude into human society, humanity will directly employ massive destructive weapons to retaliate.

At first glance this rule seems fair to both sides, but in reality it is a complete trap.

Because from the moment the ferocious beasts agreed to this treaty, they went from being free existence to becoming beasts raised by humanity.

Taking advantage of the ferocious beasts' delayed reaction, the Spirit Pagoda built a wall around the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest's core region, placing many soul‑cannon shells and powerful soul masters on it; any soul beast trying to break out would surely face a barrage of fire.

Even a ferocious beast, faced with encirclement by strong ones and the detonation of fixed soul‑cannon shells, could not possibly break through this defensive line.

When the soul beasts realized the hidden meaning behind this, it was already too late; they could no longer successfully break out to the outside world.

The Spirit Pagoda, relying on the existence of the Star Dou Great Forest's core region, turned it into a profit‑making project, began selling tickets to enter the core region at high prices—only those who pay may enter, and life or death is irrelevant.

Of course, the Spirit Pagoda also offers related services: for extra payment it will dispatch strong experts to provide escort, but that is another matter.

Although entering the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest is extremely dangerous and a slight mistake can be fatal, many high‑rank soul masters still flock there, willing to spend heavily just to get in.

After all, the soul rings sold on the market today are basically artificial, and their strength is far inferior to that of natural soul‑ring soul beasts; thus the only place on the whole continent where one can see natural soul beasts and obtain natural soul rings is here.

But recently the atmosphere here has become somewhat tense.

The recent outbreak of ferocious beasts attacking the Spirit Ice Douluo affected not only human society internally, but also caused a huge shift in how humans view soul beasts.

Only then did people belatedly realize that the protective wall seemed to have little effect on the ferocious beasts; they could actually mobilize entirely unnoticed and travel all the way to the extremely distant East Sea City to attack the soul‑guided trains, which is truly terrifying.

Therefore, during this period the Spirit Pagoda has actually been under great pressure; its pillar Qian Gu Dongfeng has appeared multiple times, promising strict supervision of the Star Dou Great Forest and that such incidents will not happen again.

But his words can only fool ordinary low‑cultivation folk; true high‑cultivation soul masters understand that a mere wall could never stop the Beast God Di Tian, who has mastered spatial power.

If he wishes, the entire Douluo Continent is like his backyard—he can go wherever he wants.

Qian Gu Dongfeng also has no good recourse; he has been preparing to deal with Shilake Academy, needing only a few more years to complete his preparations and fulfill his grand plan—who would have thought that at this moment something completely unforeseen would occur.

He repeatedly requested a meeting with the Star Dou Great Forest side, but all were ignored; under normal circumstances he would have long used his authority to give them a lesson, but at this critical juncture he truly dare not act rashly.

Everything must wait until after dealing with the two major threats—Shilake Academy and the Tang Sect—before proceeding.

Tang Wulin, having entered a deep meditative state recently, is not well informed about recent affairs; looking at the surrounding trees standing thick, he cannot help but feel moved.

When he first crossed over, he also arrived in the Star Dou Great Forest and there met Huo Yutong.

Now he has come to the Star Dou Great Forest ten thousand years later, but here even the outer regions are gone; only the core region once called the Land of Great Ferocity remains.

Even this core region, once listed as one of the heavenly‑earthly forbidden zones, is now little better than an animal‑watching park.

Ten thousand years have passed, and indeed they can change many things.

Tang Wulin let out a light sigh and walked forward.

Since the previous incident passed, Gu Yue disappeared from East Sea College; if he is not mistaken, she is likely hiding in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

In fact, if he wishes, he can fully use the power of his Natural Son martial soul to mobilize all the plants here and forcibly drive Gu Yue out.

Even if he cannot force Gu Yue out, he could drive out Di Tian, believing Di Tian always has a way to contact Gu Yue.

But having come here this time, he would rather personally see what the Star Dou Great Forest has deteriorated into.

After casually walking a few steps, Tang Wulin heard a wolf howl, and then a wolf whose whole body was wrapped in blue‑colored airflow appeared before him, lunging at him the moment it appeared.

"Azure‑Wind Wolf, sixty‑thousand‑year."

As an outstanding student of Shilake Academy, Tang Wulin instantly recognized the wolf's breed and age.

An Azure‑Wind Wolf of this cultivation at least possesses Soul Saint‑level combat power, and even against a Soul Douluo it might not be unable to win.

But against Tang Wulin, its strength is still too weak.

Only saw Tang Wulin flash‑like extend his hand and whip it; the Azure‑Wind Wolf emitted a mournful wail and collapsed motionless on the ground.

Tang Wulin did not deal a fatal blow, anyway he had no use for this soul ring, soul beasts are already scarce, and he had no intention of slaughtering it.

He continued forward this way, encountering several more soul beasts along the way, but each was easily settled with the same method.

Along this route, Tang Wulin also got to see the current state of the Star Dou Great Forest; the environment here has indeed been greatly affected, the omnipresent vitality of ten thousand years ago has almost dried up—let alone forming the legendary life‑force gold, it even lacks the concentrated life force of Haishen Dao's center.

In fact, Tang Wulin has never believed that the near‑extinction of soul beasts is due to human slaughter; after all, no matter how much humans slaughter, a person needs at most eighteen soul beasts to be satisfied, whereas a soul beast that can live to a hundred thousand years would consume millions or even tens of millions of soul beasts.

Compared to the casualties from soul beasts killing each other, the number humans kill is truly tiny; if one tallies by casualties, the soul beasts themselves are actually the fundamental cause of their own extinction.

But seeing the depleted vitality of the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang Wulin cannot deny that human activity has indeed greatly impacted the soul beasts.

If possible, he wishes to restore the vitality of the Star Dou Great Forest.

However, thinking more about this now is pointless; even if implementation were considered, it would have to wait for later, and if he fails to reach an agreement in this negotiation, he will not be especially merciful toward his enemies.

Tang Wulin continued forward; finally, after walking about twenty minutes, a green figure appeared before him.

"Tang Wulin! Why are you here?! Isn't it still before the agreed deadline!"

This green figure is none other than the Ten‑Thousand‑Demon King, who ranked fifth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts ten thousand years ago.

At this moment he stared at Tang Wulin with a stern yet inwardly fearful gaze, his body tense, ready to flee at any time.

In the previous battle, he and Xiong Jun likewise suffered severe injuries; if not for Bi Ji's timely treatment, he would have already died there.

Afterwards, although he relied on Bi Ji's treatment to barely preserve his life, he also left a lingering ailment that has not improved to this day.

Just now, he learned from his subordinate plant‑type soul beast that an incredibly powerful human had come to the Star Dou Great Forest to run amok; he hurried over to see, and found it was Tang Wulin.

He is now extremely fearful, for in terms of affinity, almost all the ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest are restrained by Tang Wulin, and he is among those most severely restrained.

Plant‑type soul beasts facing the Natural Son are, even if not quite as overmatched as dragon‑type soul beasts facing the Dragon God, actually not much different.

He can only hope his subordinates quickly notify the other ferocious beasts to summon Di Tian and the others; facing Tang Wulin alone, he truly has no confidence.

Tang Wulin rolled his eyes speechlessly.

"What nonsense are you talking? When did I ever agree to you? Back then I just felt it wasn't time to exterminate you all, so I chose to listen to your boss's request and let you go, but now I've freed up my hands, so naturally I came to find you."

While speaking, he walked toward the Ten Thousand Monsters King.

The Ten Thousand Monsters King's whole body shuddered instantly.

"Don't come over! Otherwise, the Star Dou Great Forest and I will be mortal enemies!"

Tang Wulin hehe coldly laughed and said:

"Sure, come on. Last time you all sent so many people to assassinate me, talking as if our initial interactions were so friendly. I want to know how long you can last against me if you all attack together."

Hearing that, the Ten Thousand Monsters King instinctively stepped back, and various bad memories began to resurface in his mind.

"What a joke. Last time, when all those fierce beasts attacked together, they were all easily dealt with by Tang Wulin. Looking at his condition then, he obviously hadn't used his full strength. So no matter how many soul beasts come, they'd just be throwing away their lives."

He could only suppress his anger and ask:

"Tang Wulin, what exactly do you want? You humans have persecuted us so terribly, and you still want to keep hurting us!"

Tang Wulin didn't answer his question but instead asked: "You just sent your subordinates to contact Di Tian and the others, right?"

"!"

"Don't put on such a surprised expression."

Tang Wulin smiled faintly.

"You also know I am the Natural Son. After entering this forest, all the plants here are already under my control. If you let an animal-type soul beast go notify Di Tian, that's fine, but you sent your own subordinates to notify... Should I say that's overthinking out of concern?"

"... What exactly do you want to do?"

The Ten Thousand Monsters King said hoarsely:

"Last time was our fault; I apologize. Please don't attack. Our soul beasts are really on the verge of collapse."

"Heh heh, really?"

Tang Wulin gave a heh heh laugh and asked:

"Even if the Silver Dragon King awakens, can it not save you?"

"——"

The Ten Thousand Monsters King was instantly stunned speechless.

"The awakening of the Silver Dragon King is a core secret among soul beasts; even among soul beasts, only those of a hundred thousand years or more know this, and human society knows nothing about it. How did this human Tang Wulin find out? Tang Wulin sighed and said:"

"So don't try any petty tricks; you can't fool me. But rest assured, I'm not some devil—I have no intention of exterminating you. I came this time just to talk with your leader. Originally I wanted to find someone myself, but thanks to you, I now only need to wait here for Di Tian."

"Really?"

At that moment, a steady voice sounded, a mass of black mist suddenly appeared out of thin air, and as it churned violently, it gradually condensed before Tang Wulin.

When the black mist had fully condensed, a handsome young man with black hair and golden eyes appeared before him, tilting his head curiously.

"What do you want from me?"

This was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.

Seeing him, Tang Wulin smiled and said:

"It's been a few months since we last met. How are your injuries?"

"……"

Di Tian's mouth corner twitched involuntarily.

"This brat, with such a sharp mouth—is he deliberately picking at my wound? He said angrily, 'Thanks for your mercy last time; I'm mostly healed now.'"

As the leader of the soul beasts, he knows just how abnormal the true Dragon God's power is.

When retreating last time, when he saw Tang Wulin's seventh soul ring light up, his heart leapt to his throat, and an intense fear almost filled his chest.

So when he saw Tang Wulin give up using the Dragon God True Body and let them go, he truly sighed with relief from the bottom of his heart.

At that moment, a jade-green figure descended from the sky; a green-haired woman appeared here, caught her breath, and said:

"Please wait; please absolutely do not attack Di Tian. If you really want to kill soul beasts to vent your anger, then kill us instead."

Tang Wulin clicked his tongue speechlessly.

"You all are just like me and the Great Demon King, making me wonder if it wasn't you who attacked me last time, but I who attacked you. Rest assured, I didn't come this time to fight you; I just came to talk with your leader."

"Leader?"

Di Tian narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "You mean you want to see the Master?"

"Exactly."

Tang Wulin nodded calmly.

"That is, Gu Yue. As her strongest subordinate, Di Tian, you should have a way to contact her. Call her out; I want to ask her some questions."

Di Tian didn't act immediately, but asked:

"What do you want to ask her? I can help answer for her."

Tang Wulin saw through his thoughts at a glance.

"Are you afraid I'll devour her?"

"If Na'er's words are correct, the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King should be in a mutually devouring relationship."

"In other words, the Dragon God formed by their union should also be able to gain greater power by devouring her."

"Given Tang Wulin's situation, if he devoured her, perhaps the Dragon God's second trial would be waived outright, allowing him to advance directly to the third trial; frankly, that's quite tempting."

"...... Yes."

After a moment of silence, Di Tian nodded in acknowledgment.

He sighed and said:

"If you want anything, you can ask me; even if you truly demand it, I have no problem giving you all my soul rings and soul bones. Please spare her."

Tang Wulin was genuinely surprised this time.

"What's the point? Why are you so obsessed with her? If you're hoping she'll lead you to revive the soul beast clan, I suggest you give it up—nowadays the soul beasts are already a spent force; there's simply no possibility of any so-called revival."

Moreover, to be honest, Tang Wulin always felt that, given Gu Yue's intelligence—so low that even an eight-year-old like Na'er could outwit her—expecting her to lead the soul beasts' revival just isn't very realistic.

Di Tian sighed helplessly.

"Because I'm the chieftain of the Black Dragon Clan, ah—we Black Dragon Clan have served the Dragon God generation after generation; our duty is to protect the Dragon God's safety, so I could never betray her."

Tang Wulin became even more puzzled.

"Then, according to what you're saying, you shouldn't be listening to me, right?"

Di Tian's face darkened, and he said: "Didn't I say that last time? You're ultimately just a human; you can't possibly think entirely from the soul beasts' standpoint."

"Is that so? Then let's just leave it at that."

Anyway, it's all the same.

Tang Wulin sighed and said:

"All right, don't worry—I swear I won't lay a hand on her. Hurry up and call her over; I have some questions I need to ask her in person."

Di Tian gave a doubtful look.

"Really?"

Tang Wulin smiled and spread his hands.

"Even if it's not true, what of it? You can't beat me anyway."

If worse comes to worst, he'll knock Di Tian down, then bring him back so Huo Yutong can examine his mind.

With Huo Yutong's mental power, she can already use that necromancy magic on Di Tian.

"Sigh, fine, you make sense."

Di Tian let out a dejected sigh.

He has relied on his own strength to roam the Douluo Continent for so many years, yet this is the first time someone has suppressed him so completely with strength.

Only now does he finally understand what it felt like for earlier humans to face him.

(End of chapter)