Chapter 3 Double Pupils are an invincible path, why rely on the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?
The outer edge of the Starry Sky Forest.
After traveling day and night for half a month, Liu Yuan finally stood on the edge of the most famous gathering place of soul beasts on this continent.
Before me stretched an endless green ocean, with towering ancient trees blocking out the sun, and the air filled with the fragrance of earth and a faint smell of blood.
From time to time, low roars of beasts could be heard in the distance, reminding every intruder that this was the territory of wild animals, a true reflection of the law of the jungle.
Liu Yuan took a deep breath and composed himself.
Instead of rushing in recklessly, he first drew a gleaming short knife from his waist.
This is a level one melee soul tool. Although it is not high-level, he bought it when he passed through a small town. However, it is sharp and tough. After being injected with soul power, it can also generate a layer of weak sharpness, which is more than enough to deal with low-level soul beasts.
"Phew... Let's begin."
Liu Yuan lowered his profile, foregoing sunglasses and exposing his striking, eerie double pupils to the air. In this perilous forest, visibility was life itself, and he wouldn't allow any obstruction.
He cautiously took his first step, entering the Star Dou Great Forest.
Although he awakened his double pupils, Liu Yuan did not become arrogant because of it.
He always keeps in mind his current shortcomings—a lack of practical experience and relatively weak physical fitness.
Therefore, he walked very slowly, trying to keep each step as quiet as possible, his double pupils constantly scanning his surroundings, alert to any possible danger.
"rustle..."
Just as he had ventured a few hundred meters deeper into the forest, a patch of dense grass on his left suddenly began to rustle without any wind.
Liu Yuan's steps froze instantly, his double pupils locking onto that location.
The next second.
"roar!"
With a sharp roar, a gray figure shot out of the bushes like a cannonball, bringing a foul stench straight to Liu Yuan's face!
It was a baboon about one meter tall, covered in long gray fur, with a pair of red eyes filled with a bloodthirsty ferocity, and sharp claws that gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Ten-year-old soul beast, Wind Baboon!
Faced with this sudden attack, if it were Liu Yuan before he awakened his double pupils, he would probably only be able to dodge in a panic.
But at this moment, in his vision, the world seemed to be on slow motion.
The wind baboon's pounce, which seemed as fast as lightning to ordinary people, appeared full of flaws and even somewhat...slow under Liu Yuan's double pupils.
Its muscle contraction trajectory, the angle of its claw swings, even the fleeting cruelty in its eyes... all the details were captured clearly by those divine eyes.
This is the second ability of the double pupils that Liu Yuan discovered during his two-week journey, besides "distortion"—insight.
Or rather, seeing through illusion.
Before these eyes, the enemy's movements will be slowed down infinitely, and any slightest sign will be magnified infinitely.
This gave Liu Yuan a reaction speed and predictive ability far beyond that of ordinary people.
"Too slow."
Liu Yuan snorted coldly in his heart.
Just before the baboon's claws were about to touch his nose, he slightly shifted his body to the right, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
The baboon clearly hadn't expected that this seemingly weak human could dodge its sneak attack. Its body was unable to change direction due to inertia in mid-air, which exposed its vulnerable nape to Liu Yuan.
This is an opportunity!
A fierce glint flashed in Liu Yuan's eyes, and his right hand, gripping the short sword, instantly exerted force, causing the powerful level 20 soul power within him to surge into the short sword like a flood bursting its banks.
Buzz!
A faint white light instantly shone on the surface of the short sword, its sharpness greatly amplified.
"die!"
Liu Yuan let out a low shout and plunged the short knife in his hand deep into the back of the wind baboon's neck!
"Pfft!"
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was clearly audible. Empowered by soul power, the level-one soul-guided dagger pierced the wind baboon's tough fur and muscles as easily as cutting tofu, going straight to its cervical spine!
"squeak--!"
The wind baboon let out a shrill scream, its body convulsing violently.
But Liu Yuan didn't give it any chance to catch its breath.
He twisted his wrist sharply and then pulled it outward with force!
Click!
With a cracking sound of bones breaking, a ferocious baboon head shot into the air, and warm blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the surrounding grass red.
Thump.
The headless corpse of the wind baboon crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still. A faint white halo slowly rose from the corpse—the mark of a ten-year soul ring.
"call..."
Liu Yuan took a few steps back, avoiding the splattered blood, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Although the process seemed easy and effortless, it was, after all, his first real killing.
Looking at the corpses and blood on the ground, he felt a slight discomfort in his stomach, but more than that, he felt a thrill of being in control of life and death.
"Is this what real combat is like... With the insight of the double pupils, these low-level soul beasts pose no threat to me at all."
Liu Yuan calmly wiped the blood off the short knife, ignoring the ten-year soul ring.
He did not linger there.
The smell of blood will soon attract even more powerful soul beasts, so we must move immediately.
We need to find the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm as soon as possible.
Liu Yuan sheathed his short sword, and with a flash, disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
...
However, reality is often far more brutal than ideals.
Liu Yuan originally thought that with his understanding of the plot and the search ability of his double pupils, finding the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm should be a piece of cake.
But he was wrong.
The Star Dou Great Forest is simply too vast.
Even the outer areas are vast and boundless.
Finding a million-year-old soul beast that deliberately conceals its aura to avoid its enemies within such a vast area is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Time passed day by day.
Five days... ten days... fifteen days.
A full two weeks have passed.
Liu Yuan practically turned the outer area upside down.
He encountered countless attacks from soul beasts.
From the initial Wind Baboon to the later Ten-Year Netherworld Wolf, the Hundred-Year Spotted Cat, and even several unknown soul beasts that had just entered the millennium.
Every battle honed his combat skills and made him increasingly adept at using his double pupil ability.
He can now skillfully switch between the "Insight" and "Distortion" abilities in battle.
However, the one thing he longed for most—the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm—remained elusive.
"Damn it...where am I?"
Inside a secluded tree hollow, Liu Yuan leaned against the damp tree wall, gnawing on dry rations, his brow furrowed.
The intense search and battle of the past two weeks had left him physically and mentally exhausted. His once neat clothes were now tattered, and he had several shallow wounds on his body.
"Am I really that unlucky?"
Liu Yuan looked at the half-eaten pancake in his hand, somewhat irritated. "Or is this what they call destiny? Is the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm destined to belong only to Huo Yuhao, and I, an outsider, have no right to touch it?"
He doesn't believe in superstitions.
"Search for another two weeks!"
Liu Yuan took a big bite of the flatbread, a fierce glint in his eyes. "I refuse to believe that a living person can die from holding in their pee. Since we're here, there's no reason for us to leave empty-handed!"
After a short rest, Liu Yuan embarked on his search once again.
This time, he expanded the search area, even venturing into areas close to the mixed zone.
However, fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on him.
Another two weeks have passed.
The leaves in the forest turned from emerald green to somewhat withered and yellow, and Liu Yuan's stubble grew quite a bit, making him look like a wild man.
But the result was still the same—nothing was gained.
Forget about the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, he didn't even see a single hair of it. He almost bumped into a ten-thousand-year-old demonic ape, though. If it weren't for his double pupils granting him excellent vision and allowing him to run fast, he'd probably be dead by now.
...
One month later.
Beside a stream on the outskirts of the Starry Sky Forest.
Liu Yuan squatted by the water's edge, scooped up a handful of cool stream water to wash his face, looked at his somewhat disheveled reflection in the water, and sighed deeply.
"It seems... this road is blocked."
The facts are undeniable and must be acknowledged.
Some opportunities are simply not available just because you know the plot.
"Continuing this is pointless. Not only is it a waste of time, but it could also cost you your life at any moment."
Liu Yuan stood up, his eyes regaining their clarity and determination.
Although he was disappointed and even somewhat unwilling to not snatch the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, he was not able to do so.
But this doesn't mean his path is blocked.
With double pupils in hand, what way out is there to worry about?
He had already considered backup plans.
If he's really unlucky enough to not find the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, then he'll find a soul ring that suits his double pupils, maximizing all their advantages and abilities.
Double pupils are the path to invincibility...
So what if we don't have the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?
He can still defy fate and change his destiny!
(End of chapter)