Star Dou Forest

Xu Xiaoyan begged Anping and Gu Yuena to let her stay with them in Heaven Dou City for a few more days. They agreed, and the three of them enjoyed touring the city together. But their fun was cut short when Ling Hongchen, the head of Sun Moon Academy, called and demanded Xu Xiaoyan's immediate arrival. With a heavy heart, Xu Xiaoyan boarded the train to Mingdu, leaving her friends behind.

Anping and Gu Yuena had their own troubles. The Tang Sect, and they who coveted their Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, had been keeping a close watch on them. They knew they had to leave the city soon, before the Tang Sect made a move.

"Anping, when are we leaving?" Gu Yuena asked him as they returned to their hotel. "I can't stand these Tang Sect people. They're always lurking around."

Anping nodded. "We've seen enough of Heaven Dou City. How about we go back to the Star Dou Forest? You haven't been there for a long time, have you? It's not too far from here."

Gu Yuena's eyes lit up at the mention of the Star Dou Forest. It was her home, where she grew up with the soul beasts. She hadn't visited for years, and she missed it dearly.

"Yes, let's go back and see how things are there." She smiled and took Anping's hand. "You can come with me."

Anping hesitated. He wasn't sure how the soul beasts would react to him, especially Di Tian, the king of the forest. He also knew that the Star Dou Forest was under the influence of the Spirit Pagoda.

"Is it okay?" he asked. "Will Di Tian and the others accept me?"

Gu Yuena frowned. "Don't be afraid. They know about you and your situation. They won't harm you."

Anping shook his head. "It's not that. It's just that the Star Dou Forest is controlled by the Spirit Pagoda now. We're part of them, but we don't have the authority to enter the forest without permission."

Gu Yuena waved her hand. "That's not a problem. We'll sneak in. When we get close to the Star Fortress, I'll contact Di Tian and ask him to meet us."

"Okay." Anping agreed, trusting Gu Yuena's judgment. He hoped that Di Tian would be friendly to him.

They packed their bags and checked out of the hotel. They were ready to leave Heaven Dou City and head to the Star Dou Forest.

Anping cast a spell to cloud the minds of the Tang Sect spies as he and Gu Yuena left the hotel. They made their way to a deserted corner, where Anping used another spell to teleport them to a location dozens of kilometers outside Heaven Dou City. They repeated this process several times, until they reached the vicinity of the Star Dou Fortress.

The sight of the massive fortress and the barrier above it filled Gu Yuena with sadness. She remembered how the Star Dou Forest used to be, before the humans built this prison for the soul beasts. She felt a surge of nostalgia and anger, mixed with a sense of helplessness.

Anping sensed her emotions and stayed silent. He stood by her side, offering his quiet support. He had read the history of the Star Dou Fortress, and he knew what it meant for the soul beasts.

The fortress was built three thousand years ago, after the humans won the war against the soul beasts. The Spirit Pagoda, a organization that claimed to protect the balance between the two races, took the opportunity to construct this fortress and impose a treaty on the soul beasts. The treaty stated that the soul beasts would not interfere with the human world, and the humans would not harm the soul beasts. If a soul beast crossed the defense line, the humans had the right to kill it. If a human entered the Star Dou Forest, they would face the consequences.

It sounded fair, but it was a trap. The fortress was designed to isolate and weaken the soul beasts, while the humans grew stronger and more advanced. The Spirit Pagoda even sold tickets to the fortress, allowing humans to observe and hunt the soul beasts for entertainment. It was like the Soul Hunting Forest of twenty thousand years ago, when the humans nearly wiped out the soul beasts.

The soul beasts realized too late that they had been deceived. They had no way to break free from the fortress, and no place to go if they did. Only Di Tian and a few other powerful soul beasts had a chance to escape, but they chose to stay and protect their kin.

Anping was not idle. He cast spells one after another, trying to analyze the barrier above the fortress. He soon understood its principle and function. It was a formidable defense, beyond his ability to breach. But he found a way to bypass it.

He nudged Gu Yuena, who was lost in her thoughts, and said: "We don't need Di Tian to pick us up. We can teleport in directly."

Gu Yuena looked at him, surprised. "Really? You can get past the barrier?"

Anping nodded. "Yes, the barrier is strong, but it also has a warning function. It can detect intruders, but it can't stop them. We can teleport through it without triggering the alarm. It's better than waiting for Di Tian to come out and risk being spotted by the Spirit Pagoda. But once we're in, it's up to you."

Anping finished his calculations and activated the teleportation spell. A flash of silver light, and they were in the Star Forest.

They were surrounded by green grass and towering trees that reached the sky. Only the faint outline of the Star Fortress reminded them that this was a prison for the soul beasts, built by the Spirit Pagoda.

They had barely entered the forest when the light dimmed, as if something had blocked the sun.

"We're here," Gu Yuena said.

She had barely spoken when a figure dropped from the trees and landed in front of them. He knelt before Gu Yuena and said, "I greet the Lord."

Gu Yuena said calmly, "Rise."

The man was dressed in black, in his thirties or forties, with a stern face. Anping recognized him as Di Tian, the king of the forest. He knew he was kneeling out of respect for Gu Yuena, but he still felt a strange contrast between their appearances.

Anping could feel the emotions coming from Di Tian. He had no hostility towards him, as Gu Yuena had assured him.

Di Tian stood up and asked, "What brings the Lord back this time?"

Gu Yuena shook her head slightly. "Nothing urgent. I was nearby and I realized I hadn't been back for a long time. I wanted to see how you were doing."

'A long time? The Lord had only been gone for a few years, right? Had she fallen into a deep sleep lately? Had I missed something?' Di Tian was puzzled, but he didn't question her.

He knew that soul beasts had a different sense of time than humans. For powerful soul beasts, a few years could pass like a nap.

"Let's go to the Lake of Life first," Gu Yuena said. She saw Di Tian's confusion, but she didn't explain. She had spent so much time in the human world that her perception of time had changed.

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