When he had awakened from meditation, Tang Wulin discovered that Gu Yue had laid her head against his thigh. She was sleeping soundly.

Looking at her lying there, Tang Wulin could not prevent his emotions from getting the better of him. He caressed her long hair gently.

'Gu Yue, oh Gu Yue. Why do you have Na'er's face? There's no sign of makeup on you at all. What happened to you?'

There was no way he could treat her in this place that was very likely to be the Great Star Dou Forest. He could only heal her injuries after getting out of here.

He had to proceed with caution step by step now. On the other hand, Shrek City's downfall would have sent a shockwave throughout the entire continent. Therefore, as a leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters, he would undoubtedly suffer from an enormous amount of stress even after leaving this place.

He could clearly remember that Atlas Douluo Yun Ming had told him that they were Shrek's seeds before he ascended into the sky. Shrek Academy cultivated them, and Tang Wulin would not be the man he was without Shrek. There was no doubt that he was duty bound to avenge Shrek.

Clenching his fists tightly, he struggled to keep himself from recalling the familiar faces in Shrek Academy.

Sorrow was useless, so he had to be strong.

He wondered how his companions were. They should have been fine after the bomb was blocked. Tang Wulin procured his soul communicator from his storage soul tool. Just as he had expected, there was no signal on the communicator, so he could not reach anyone outside.

He sighed, careful not to wake Gu Yue, and then he procured some dry rations to eat.

In the distance, the ten-thousand-year soul ring that arose from the Scarlet Fire Monkey King's body had already dissipated after some time. There was no doubt that the ring was wasted. However, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue had no need for a soul ring right now. Tang Wulin would not have killed it if not for the Scarlet Fire Monkey King's surprise attack. The soul beasts that still existed on the continent today, especially powerful ones, were already as rare as unicorn's horn.

Meanwhile, Tang Wulin's chest tightened suddenly when he thought of the Emerald Demon Bird. He turned his head to the side and took a glance.

By his side, Goldsong had coiled itself like a snake, and the Emerald Demon Bird was right in the middle of the coil. It was unusual that the wound on its body had so swiftly healed completely and was covered with feathers once again. It was already awake as it looked at Tang Wulin with its red ruby-like eyes. It did not even struggle with Goldsong winding around its body.

Tang Wulin frowned as he stared at the Emerald Demon Bird. If he had had his way, he would have already killed the bird. Its reputation alone was enough of a reason for him to do away with it.

The Emerald Demon Bird seemed to feel his hostility as its body recoiled. It thdn looked at Gu Yue lying on his thigh and gave out a few crisp chirps.

Gu Yue's body jerked, and her long lashes lifted as she groggily opened her eyes.

"What's going on, Little Emerald? I was having a nap. Why'd you wake me?"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp," the Emerald Demon Bird called out again.

Gu Yue turned over her body and looked at Tang Wulin by her side. She immediately pouted her lips and spoke, "Father, Little Emerald says that you wish to harm it. Were you trying to scare it?"

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment. "You can understand what it's saying?"

Gu Yue nodded and spoke, "Yes! I'm Little Emerald's master, so naturally, I understand it."

Tang Wulin's face was filled with astonishment. "Is that true? Are you sure?"

Gu Yue nodded once again. "Of course I'm sure. Take a look if you don't believe me. Little Emerald, am I beautiful?"

Emerald Demon Bird hastily nodded.

Tang Wulin could not help laughing. "So am I handsome?"

Emerald Demon Bird glared at him ferociously then turned its head away. Its human-like behavior made Tang Wulin gawk in bewilderment.

"Hah hah hah hah!" Gu Yue laughed aloud joyously. "Father, release it quickly. I promise that it won't hurt me."

Tang Wulin squinted. Even though he was still concerned, he thought that it should be fine judging by the look of the Emerald Demon Bird. Moreover, he was by Gu Yue's side, so he was not afraid.

"Goldsong, release it."

Goldsong flung its tail once as a green glow surged skyward. The Emerald Demon Bird soared straight into the sky.

Tang Wulin raised his hand to catch it but was stopped by Gu Yue. The Emerald Demon Bird spun around for one circle in the sky before it spread its wings and descended slowly. It slowed its descent before finally landing on Gu Yue's shoulder. It affectionately rubbed its head against hers.

Was it truly tame?

This was Tang Wulin's first time learning that a human was capable of taming a soul beast. Moreover, the variant Emerald Demon Bird's before his eyes had at least a ten-thousand-year cultivation base, so it would certainly be very helpful if Gu Yue was truly able to domesticate it.

The Emerald Demon Bird appeared extremely docile and did not show the slightest hostility. It stood on Gu Yue's shoulder obediently and used its head to rub against her long hair occasionally.

Tang Wulin was relieved. Goldsong cruised its way to his side. With a flash of golden light, it fused into his body and vanished.

"Little Emerald, that's your name from now on." Gu Yue petted Emerald Demon Bird with a smile.

"Why don't we call it Emerald Flower? Green body with red eyes. Doesn't it look like a red flower on a nest of green leaves?" Tang Wulin suggested sincerely.

"Chirp, chirp!" the Emerald Demon Bird crowed in fury.

Gu Yue pouted her lips and spoke, "Little Emerald doesn't like it. I'll call it Little Emerald then."

Tang Wulin glared at the Emerald Demon Bird coldly. "Be good. Otherwise, humph!"

Emerald Demon Bird raised its head but refused to pay any attention to him.

It did not have a favorable impression of the man that once hurt it.

"Let's go." Tang Wulin unleashed his Bluesilver Grass and linked up with the surrounding plants to explore the situation in the area as they advanced.

He had only walked two steps before he stopped and spoke to Gu Yue, "Can you ask the bird which direction we should take to leave this forest?" Despite having the plants' guidance, a soul beast, especially one of a higher order with intelligence equal to a human's such as this Emerald Demon Bird, would understand the forest even more compared to them.

Gu Yue looked at the Emerald Demon Bird. There seemed to be a flicker in her eyes as it chirped a few times. Gu Yue nodded and spoke, "Father, you're on the correct path. You can walk to the outside if you go in this direction. However, Little Emerald said that there are even more terrifying creatures out there, but it sounds like that means humans."

Tang Wulin frowned. The place sounded more and more like what he had assumed. If it was true, it would be natural for soul beasts would fear mankind as it was mankind that continuously took over their original habitat.

From what he could recall, the peripheral area of the entire Great Star Dou Forest's core should be heavily guarded in order to prevent the surviving powerful soul beasts inside from rioting. The large military presence did not come from the Federation but the Spirit Pagoda.

On the continent, Shrek Academy's advantage was its prestigious reputation and its graduates from all over the world. On the other hand, Tang Sect's strong point was its resources and commercial value. The Spirit Pagoda's main strength was its control over the soul masters' world through the spirit soul and the spirit ascension platform.

The Spirit Pagoda's headquarter was located near Shrek Academy on the outside of Shrek City. It was also located not far away from the Great Star Dou Forest. The core of the Great Star Dou Forest had always been within the Spirit Pagoda's control so no one knew what was actually happening inside. One would need to pay a high price to the Spirit Pagoda in order to enter the place. It was said that the Spirit Pagoda was rearing the most powerful soul beasts in a pen.

He did not know how Gu Yue and he had entered this place, but in order to walk out of here, not only did he need to deal with the powerful soul beasts in the forest but at the same time he would need to make it out of the Spirit Pagoda's tightly controlled perimeter before he left.

At this point, Tang Wulin could not help looking at Gu Yue. It was she that brought him into this place. Moreover, she must have a rather high position in the Spirit Pagoda by now. Yet she had no memories of the past and was as pure as a blank paper.

It seemed like he could only bring along her as he applied the infiltration method learned from the Old Demons on the Demon Island as they broke free from the guarded area.

They trekked through the forest aided by Gu Yue's guidance from the Emerald Demon Bird. Emerald Demon Bird told Gu Yue that there were only a few soul beasts left in the forest, so the beasts were not fighting for territory and instead lived in their own separate domains. Hence, the probability of encountering a soul beast was not considered too high. The bird had known the Scarlet Fire Monkey King, but they had not bothered each other. The Scarlet Fire Monkey King told the bird that human prey had entered the forest, so it came in an attempt to hunt for food.

The Emerald Demon Bird's cultivation base seemed to have reached a bottleneck, so it could only evolve by feeding on a powerhouse's brain. The problem was that the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest were not that easy to deal, so it would not attack recklessly. The Soul Beast King that controlled the forest explicitly forbade soul beasts from killing each other, and it dared not disobey.

"What's Soul Beast King?" Tang Wulin asked the Emerald Demon Bird out of curiosity.

The Demon Bird was stunned for a moment before it shook its head. The feathers on its entire body shivered as if it was terrified.