Unless this is the work of an Ultimate Douluo who has hidden himself from the prying eyes of the public? And it can’t be just any Ultimate Douluo! He or she must be a spiritual-type Ultimate Douluo whose power far exceeds that of the Darkness Holy Dragon and the Death God Douluo! This is the only possible explanation! In fact, this Ultimate Douluo could very well be more powerful than the Beast God... If not, why would the Beast God fail to protect me when I possess his reverse scale? There can only be one answer: the Beast God is not aware of this.
“Young fellow, stop guessing. Your guesses are all wrong.” Huo Yuhao heard a gentle voice from afar. Following which, he felt his senses turned inside out as everything that his soul could sense spiraled into a chaotic mess. He could feel a formless force transforming his surroundings into radiant colors before the colors started to pale into black and white.
The black and white alternated continuously between one another as Huo Yuhao found himself morphing between countless forms. But regardless of how the external world changed, Huo Yuhao managed to keep his soul intact and out of harm’s way.
He managed to dispel all distractions from his mind and return to a calm state of mind by focusing on his spiritual energy and retaining it. After a temporary shock, he was able to collect himself. But he knew very well that regardless of what this external force was, it was not something that he could fend off. Hence, he knew there wasn’t much point going against someone who was a lot more powerful than him, so chose to sit and wait for that person’s next move. After all, they didn’t seem to bear any malevolent intentions. He or she had merely abducted his soul. Since I can’t figure out what you are up to, all I can do is wait.
While it was only a short while, it felt like an eternity. His surroundings suddenly turned clear, and much to his surprise, Huo Yuhao found himself regaining control over his soul.
He was in was a mountain valley—a valley which did not seem to be particularly unique. It was filled with blooming flowers, as well as grass and trees which seemed to be radiating vitality. The tall, majestic trees spread their branches and leaves to form a shady canopy. Up above the valley in the sky, rainbow clouds floated by from time to time.
Huo Yuhao had regained his human shape; but he was currently in his spiritual form. The only perception he had of the external world could only be described as “comfortable”.
At this very moment, a peculiar thought formed in his head. How wonderful would it be if I could breathe in all the fresh air within this valley… The air in this valley must be very refreshing… It must be filled with the natural qi of heaven and earth!
He found himself edging towards the depths of the valley subconsciously, and a pebbled path soon appeared before his feet. The path, which was sandwiched by the different flora beside it, extended into the depths of the valley. With the experience he had, Huo Yuhao was able to identify many treasured herbs and spices. However, there were still so many plants which he could not recognize. Every single one of them seemed to be brimming with spiritual energy.
The winding path continued straight into the center of the valley. Huo Yuhao continued his walk for over ten minutes until the sight before his eyes transformed abruptly. A pavilion had appeared before his eyes.
Huo Yuhao could see two people sitting within the pavilion. There was a good-looking young man on the left who looked approximately twenty-seven years old. His long golden hair covered his shoulders as he exuded an all-encompassing Buddhist aura.
There was an old man sitting opposite him. The old man’s head was covered with snow-white hair, and his looks could not be plainer. However, he did not seem to possess the fatigue and soulless vibes which plagued most elderly people. Both of them did not seem to radiate any fluctuations of spiritual energy, and appeared to be engrossed in their game of chess.
Huo Yuhao knew nothing about chess, but he was certain that the two people before him were the ones who had connected his soul to this heaven-like place.
Even though he didn’t know where this place was, he had already calmed himself down after being brought here. Huo Yuhao made his way to the pavilion slowly, and stopped by the chessboard. He stood there quietly and observed their game.
Even though Huo Yuhao didn’t know how to play chess, he knew that one should not speak while watching a game of chess. Not disturbing someone else’s game was a matter of manners and being polite.
This game of chess appeared to be ending soon. The old man’s brows were locked in a frown for an extended period of time before he moved his chess piece hesitantly. Conversely, the young man reacted very quickly and confidently, as though everything was going according to his calculations.
“Teacher, you have lost your composure. I’m afraid there’s no chance of you beating me anymore,” the golden-haired young man smiled.
The old man scolded laughingly, “You little brat! Since we started playing chess, you have never given me a chance to win. Sometimes, I regret training and guiding you for all those years!”
The young man revealed a smile. “Alright. Come on! Don’t be angry! How about this? I’ll prepare our lunch for today.”
The old man was visibly excited by the prospect of the young man’s suggestion as he replied, “Really?!”
The young man nodded and reassured the old man, “Cooking has always been an interest of mine! Why would I lie to you when you were the one who taught me how to cook?”
The old man seemed to be very pleased as he surrendered the chess game and spoke, “Okay okay! I surrender! Now go and prepare lunch for us!”
The young man with the golden hair nodded and said, “Okay. Could you put the chess pieces away for me?”
“Alright.” The old man waved his hand, and before anyone could see how he did it, the chess pieces floated naturally and separated themselves into clusters of black and white before returning to the boxes beside the chess board.
Huo Yuhao was shocked by what he had just witnessed. The old man was able to move those pieces without giving away any fluctuation in his power!
The young man with the golden hair stood up and stretched before heading to the other end of the pavilion. As he walked over there, he waved his hand at Huo Yuhao before saying, “Come and join us, little friend.”
Previously, when the young man was talking to the old man, Huo Yuhao didn’t sense anything wrong or unnatural with the way he spoke. But now that he was speaking to Huo Yuhao, he found to his surprise that the young man’s voice was exactly the same as the voice he had heard after his soul was sucked out of his body. Is he the powerful guy who brought me here?
However, there was no way he could turn the young man down at this moment. Thus, Huo Yuhao acknowledged the man’s invitation and went after him.
The old man remained seated where he was as his face revealed a smile. He muttered to himself, “It seems like that little brat has also had moments when his emotions waver. If not, why would you be so anxious? But I must say your decision is quite unexpected… In fact, it is borderline insane! This is literally snatching one’s prey from the jaws of a tiger, isn’t it? But I must say I like it.”
Huo Yuhao followed the young man with the golden hair to the other end of the pavilion, and noticed a small courtyard not too far from it. The entire courtyard was made from wood, and there were a few children playing around in it. There was a beautiful lady dressed in a red dress taking care of the children. Not too far from them, another beautiful lady dressed in blue was eating something. All of them seemed to be very blissful.
This was obviously a family who was happily residing in a paradise away from the prying eyes of normal people. Huo Yuhao suddenly felt envious of what he saw, even though he wasn’t sure why he was feeling that way. When can I form a family with Wutong and live in a paradise like this? That would be so great… We would have a few children, and live happily ever after.
The young man with the golden hair smiled and asked, “Are you very envious of what you’re seeing?”
Huo Yuhao nodded without hesitation.
The young man smiled awkwardly. “Actually, if anyone were to lead such a life for an extended period of time, he or she would most definitely feel lonely. I have multiple wives, but they’re often not around me. Only the two of them—the ones before you—stayed to accompany me. The rest of them left to go out and play, and I don’t know when they’ll return.”
“Multiple wives?” Huo Yuhao had not expected the young man to share this with him. He could not help but shake his head and reply, “Isn’t one wife enough already? The more partners one has, the likelier it is for people to part ways.”
The young man squeezed out a smile and replied, “What you said makes sense. However, sometimes, it is not up to one to make that decision. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. We’re going to prepare lunch now. It’s not easy keeping this huge group of people happy and full everyday!”
As he spoke, he led Huo Yuhao into a room within the courtyard. It was almost as if the two beautiful ladies and the children did not see them at all. They merely continued with what they were doing.
The young man led Huo Yuhao into what seemed to be a kitchen. From outside the kitchen, it did not seem to be particularly big. But after entering the room, Huo Yuhao found much to his surprise that it was much larger than it seems. It was at least a hundred square meters. All the ingredients were placed in an organized manner in a certain area within the kitchen, while another area was reserved for the actual cooking process.
The young man instructed, “You can just stand here and watch. How much you would learn will depend on how much you can infer and absorb.” As he finished his sentence, he made his way to the chopping area.
At that very instant, Huo Yuhao could sense a change within the young man. His breathing suddenly become slightly labored as a strong wave of pressure suffocated Huo Yuhao’s soul.
Following which, the young man made his move. As he moved his right hand gently, his index and middle fingers extended into a small cloth bag next to the chopping board, and withdrew a small knife. The knife emerged from the bag with a reflective flash. It was less than five inches long, and its tip appeared to be very delicate. The blade and the handle appeared to be equal in length. The blade seemed to be exuding a Mayan blue flash, and there was also a scary-looking carving on the side of it.
He waved his left hand and produced a huge empty plate before him effortlessly. At the same time, nine similar-looking cucumbers flew towards him.
Is he actually cooking? But why would he use such a small knife? That knife is even smaller than the carving knife I use to make soul tools…
Huo Yuhao continued watching with many questions in his head.