While Heita was studying at East Sea Academy, things were also progressing on the other side — that's right, Na'er!
Although according to Yao Lan's plan, Na'er had to head to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy to plant the seed of the Jianmu (World Tree), there was one place she needed to visit first — a place incredibly special to her...
The Star Dou Great Forest!
"Even though the Star Dou Forest has now become forbidden ground guarded by the Spirit Transferring Tower, with my abilities, getting in is still a piece of cake~"
The silver-haired girl easily bypassed all the barriers and arrived at the edge of the forest. Although human development had reduced its size, the forest still covered a vast area. Reaching the central region would still take a considerable amount of time.
"Is that the place we're headed to?"
A voice sounded by Na'er's ear, causing her to immediately stop walking.
Then, a silver-white phantom flickered from Na'er's body, forming into a petite figure — a child who looked extremely similar to Na'er, except… she was chibi-style!
"Of course. That place can be considered the final sanctuary for soul beasts on land. Our goal this time is to find those soul beasts."
Watching the little chibi Na'er circling around her, Na'er couldn't help but recall certain scenes from Douluo Dalu: Peerless Tang Sect — wasn't Huo Yuhao's Snow Lady soul spirit just like this?
Seems her choice had been right after all!
After Heita gained the Bai Ze (White Marsh) soul spirit, Yao Lan had Heita begin studying soul spirits. Once they mastered the method of creating soul spirits, they also gained a lot of useful information.
So when Yao Lan went to Hongshan Academy to retrieve Na'er and Tang Wulin, he used a special method to transform the original Na'er into his soul spirit, while letting his clone become the dominant self.
Of course, the current Na'er is just Na'er. She no longer has her past memories, nor is she the Silver Dragon King's clone. Instead, she now appears as a completely new soul spirit!
"This place feels so familiar… like I've stayed here for a long time..."
The soul spirit Na'er sensed the aura of the Star Dou Forest and showed a nostalgic expression.
"Yes, we did stay here for a long time in the past. And now, we've returned in a new identity."
Yao Lan had some thoughts about the soul beast factions, so he wanted to use Na'er's identity to investigate the situation in the Star Dou Forest.
Even if it didn't succeed, there was no need to worry about safety. After all, the current Na'er was truly a Dragon Ancestor — a status even higher than the Dragon God! She also had considerable strength, so escaping wouldn't be a problem — just like how she sneaked in undetected.
"Well then, no time to waste. Let's head in!"
With Na'er walking lightly ahead, the soul spirit Na'er quickly followed. She was very curious about this place that was both familiar and strange.
However, Na'er soon noticed something odd. Even though she was hiding her presence, she should have encountered at least one soul beast along the way, right? Could it be that soul beasts had really been wiped out this badly?
So, Na'er directly dropped her disguise and revealed her true form — but even then, she didn't sense any soul beasts or anyone else noticing her presence.
Where did all the soul beasts go?
Na'er narrowed her eyes. While the soul spirit Na'er no longer retained the memories of the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, Na'er — as Yao Lan's avatar — had inherited those memories. She knew that based on the timeline, Gu Yuena should currently be asleep in this forest...
"Could something have happened here that I don't know about?"
Na'er furrowed her brow and released her aura and soul rings without hesitation.
Three Rings — Soul Elder!
And her soul rings — they were all nine-colored!
In the world of Douluo Dalu, the only person ever known to have nine-colored soul rings was Lan Xuanyu, the protagonist of Douluo Dalu 4.
But even Lan Xuanyu only gained nine-colored soul rings after becoming the Dragon God. Yet Na'er already had them now — and these weren't ordinary nine-colored rings either, but ones imbued with Immortal Power!
This so-called Three-Ring Soul Elder title was only her surface-level strength. The power Na'er could truly unleash was far beyond that.
Even so, despite releasing her aura at the risk of being discovered, no soul beasts appeared. She couldn't even sense the presence of life nearby!
"The Star Dou Forest... is empty?"
Following the path in her memories, Na'er quickly made her way toward the core region of the Star Dou Forest. If she remembered correctly, that should be the location of the Lake of Life — a place where soul beasts should definitely still exist.
But when Na'er arrived at the site of the Lake of Life, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"The Lake of Life… is gone?"
The area that should've been a lake was now completely dry — not a single drop of water remained!
It was as if something had forcibly dug out the entire lake. All that was left was barren land. Even the trees and flowers that once surrounded the lake had begun to wither — no sign of life anywhere.
"What on earth happened here?"
Even soul spirit Na'er found it hard to believe. She had originally felt this forest to be warm and familiar, but now that feeling had completely disappeared.
"They've all left…"
Na'er gently stroked the withered flowers on the ground, slowly closing her eyes.
"So that's what happened. After discovering that incident… they left together with Di Tian?"
"And without being detected by the Spirit Transferring Tower, they even took the very foundation of the Star Dou Forest with them… Looks like she was truly determined."
With her other half gone, and soul beasts now reduced to such pitiful numbers, Na'er felt that Gu Yuena could no longer afford to patiently learn about humans like in the original timeline. What would she do now?
The already human-hating Gu Yuena, now free of Na'er's influence, would certainly make drastic decisions. As for what exactly… Na'er could only speculate.
Ding—!
A faint sound rang out. Na'er's expression changed — had her earlier released aura finally been detected by the Spirit Transferring Tower?
In that case, she couldn't stay any longer.
"My other self, it's time to go!"
"Got it, partner!"
With a flash of silver light, the power of space enveloped Na'er's entire body, and in the next moment, she vanished without a trace — leaving behind only the soul beast homeland, now withering away...