"Traveler, wake up!"
A soft voice stirred Aether from his sleep, sunlight stabbing into his eyes before he could even fully open them.
"Paimon, where did you go?"
Aether rolled over, only to realize Paimon wasn't beside him.
"I'm outside," came her exasperated voice as she lifted the tent flap.
"The sun's practically on your butt already. Get up, will you?"
"…Where's Keke?"
Aether deflected, trying to change the subject.
"Keke's outside too! Now hurry up, I'm starving!"
Paimon kept pestering him.
"Speaking of which, what kind of soul beast should Keke get for her first soul ring?"
After packing up, the three stood at the edge of the Heaven Dou Forest, gazing inward.
"How would I know? I don't know anything about this stuff…" Paimon scratched her head.
Ever since arriving in this world, she'd pretty much given up trying. Neither she nor the Traveler could cultivate soul power, so why bother learning more than they had to?
"…Keke, do you have anything in mind?"
Aether turned to Yu Keke.
Although he had some inherited knowledge of this continent, it only covered key places—he couldn't remember the details.
"Umm… Brother, Paimon, I'm not too sure either…" Yu Keke said shyly after thinking it over.
Most of what she knew about martial spirits came from what her father told her when she was younger. He never went into deep detail about soul rings or anything beyond the basics.
But you couldn't really blame her. What kind of detailed knowledge could a child from a small village possibly have?
If her father hadn't once served in the Spirit Hall, she probably wouldn't even know what little she did.
"Great… Three amateurs," Aether muttered with a groan.
Now what? He should've asked Xue Qinghe or Dugu Bo back in Heaven Dou City…
Speaking of Dugu Bo, Aether suddenly remembered something.
The treasure he'd gifted them—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—they hadn't collected it yet…
Whatever. He'd pick it up when they had the chance.
"So what now? We don't know anything. Are we still going in?" Paimon asked.
She mostly just remembered the last time they came here and how chaotic it was.
"Well, we're already here. Might as well take a look."
After some thought, Aether looked at the dazzling golden light above Yu Keke's head and knew they couldn't just walk away.
Her commission was clearly to become stronger, and the next step was to help her hunt a soul ring and achieve that.
As for how strong she needed to become, Aether figured they still had a long road ahead.
After all, a golden commission wasn't going to be completed that easily.
As for what kind of soul beast to hunt—they'd figure that out along the way.
Yu Keke's martial spirit was a mutated one, directly enhancing her physical body.
So maybe they could look for some strength-type soul ring that would improve her overall attributes…
"Alright then," Paimon nodded. Then her eyes sparkled.
"With such a big forest, there must be loads of tasty things inside, right?"
"Oh yeah. Like giant fist-sized 'delicacies'. You wanna try those?"
Aether replied flatly.
"Giant fists? Are fists even tasty? Hmm… kinda wanna try… hehe~"
Paimon started seriously imagining whether those giant fists would be better steamed or braised.
"…"
Aether looked at her with blank stare and knew she was already lost in her fantasy world. He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
Despite her noisy complaints, the three of them walked into the Heaven Dou Forest.
The forest's outskirts were still relatively calm, but once they ventured deeper, they began encountering various animals.
Some were just regular wild beasts, while others, according to Aether's senses, were low-level soul beasts.
However, they were all too weak. Upon sensing humans approaching, they scattered in panic.
"Wow, look at those big flowers up ahead! They're so pretty! And they smell amazing! Keke, do you smell that?"
As they walked along the forest's edge, Paimon noticed a half-acre patch of soft pink flowers blooming ahead.
"Yeah, I smell it too," Keke sniffed the air behind Aether. There really was a faint fragrance.
"Let's go check it out!"
Paimon shot forward, floating above the flower field and trying to lean in for a closer sniff.
Suddenly, rustling came from the nearby bushes, startling her into flying higher to get a better look.
From her aerial vantage point, she spotted a small bird ensnared by a vine, struggling desperately to escape.
But the more it thrashed, the lower it sank—until it was dragged into a massive flower.
From above, Paimon watched the bird touch the liquid pooled inside the flower.
The moment it did, its body began to melt grotesquely, and the once-clear liquid turned a deep, bloody red.
"Eek! Traveler, help!"
Paimon screamed, darting back to Aether and pointing fearfully at the flower field.
"What's wrong?"
Aether looked confused. Wasn't she just admiring the flowers?
"That flower… it eats things! No, it eats birds!"
"Huh? That's terrifying," Yu Keke shuddered, having just been thinking about checking the flowers out herself.
"Those flowers are probably plant-type soul beasts."
Aether activated his Elemental Sight. Wisps of strange energy rose from the flower field—proof that every flower there was a soul beast imbued with soul power.
"You jerk! Why didn't you warn me earlier? I almost got eaten!"
Paimon stomped her feet in outrage. She had just been thinking about sniffing one up close—thank goodness she flew away in time, or she'd have ended up like that poor bird.
"I did say this place was full of danger. If you don't listen and get eaten, serves you right~"
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
Paimon crossed her arms and turned away dramatically. She resolved not to speak to this mean Traveler for one whole minute!
"Alright, alright. Those flowers are just low-level plants—they can't eat you."
Aether reassured her.
If there'd been any real danger, he'd have warned her—or eliminated it—immediately.
"Hmph hmph~"
Paimon gave a few proud snorts, still putting on her act.
One minute of silence meant one full minute of silent treatment!
Aether shook his head. "Stick close from here on out. The soul beasts are only going to get more numerous."
"Okay," Yu Keke replied obediently from behind. Paimon didn't say anything, but she stayed right on Aether's shoulder now, not daring to fly off again.
Meanwhile, somewhere deeper in the Heaven Dou Forest, the sound of low growls and fierce battle echoed through the trees.
"Yue'er, be careful! Do you need help?"
Several figures stood at the edge of a clearing, watching nervously as a girl fought a massive gray wolf.
"No need! It's almost down—I've got this!"
The girl battling the beast sounded confident, but her companions remained poised to jump in at a moment's notice.
After all, she was only a rank 32 Soul Master, and the creature she was fighting was a thousand-year soul beast.
The only reason she was holding her own was because her teacher had already crippled the wolf's strength before the fight even began.
_
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