Huo Yuhao entered Star Dou Forest.
He wasn't rushing to find Tian Meng Ice Silkworm.
What's meant for him will come to him.
Luck techniques teach that the grand tide is unchangeable, but small events can shift.
As the Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao's rise is inevitable—a fixed fate.
Whether he rises as a plane's master, a Tang family lapdog, or something else depends on the ripple effects of minor changes.
No need to panic.
Huo Yuhao didn't venture deep into the forest, so he encountered no soul beasts—perhaps his boosted luck was already working.
The mightiest soul beast, the near-god-slaying Wind Baboon, narrowly escaped.
Huo Yuhao: *Be grateful—you dodged death!*
In Star Dou Forest, Huo Yuhao shed his good-boy act, becoming a rat in a granary.
Before Tang Ya and Beibei, he'd restrained himself, appearing merely playful.
A Level 10 weakling couldn't afford to act reckless around two Level 30 experts.
Now, he was free.
Huo Yuhao inhaled the forest's sweet air… and a chunk of its luck.
"Star Dou Forest is just too perfect! I love this place!"
Activating the Fortune-Seizing Dragon Transformation Technique and Aura-Reading Technique, he watched the forest's leaking luck flow into his own.
His luck visibly swelled.
The golden glint in his Spirit Eyes phantom grew brighter.
But he didn't let the absorbed luck merge haphazardly.
Under his control, most fused into the middle of his Spirit Eyes phantom—his personal fortune.
A small portion went to the lower part, to bless future generations.
None went to the upper part—he didn't want his luck linking to the White Tiger Duke, letting him benefit.
While absorbing luck, Huo Yuhao found a secluded spot to practice Buddhist cultivation.
An hour later, he opened his eyes, exhaling deeply.
His Buddhist cultivation had advanced!
He'd successfully cultivated Buddhist radiance!
"As Pudu Cihang's memories suggested, my cultivation speed is like it's on fast-forward. If I practiced the quick evil cultivation methods too…"
Double the speed?
Huo Yuhao quashed the thought, shivering at memories of Pudu Cihang's evil cultivators. "I don't want to eat people or drink blood, ending up neither human nor ghost. At most… I'll learn some evil techniques for self-defense."
But this method—gaining luck to accelerate cultivation—was exhilarating.
He craved more luck!
"Once the Pandora's box of desire opens, it's never satisfied. Sitting on Star Dou Forest's luck, I still want more," Huo Yuhao sighed, his mind racing. "If the White Tiger Duke's family all died, as the heir to their bloodline, I could easily claim their luck, right?"
Appalled at the thought, he slapped himself, cursing inwardly.
"Huo Yuhao, how could you think that? Cursing your birth father and innocents? That's no better than an evil cultivator!"
He practiced Buddhist cultivation again, erasing his greed and malice, his expression calming.
"I just want them to reunite with my mom! After all, in the end, the White Tiger Duke loved Huo Yun'er deeply. I can't bear seeing lovers separated by death."
"The Duchess loves him too—she can't be left out. And their two sons—a loving White Tiger Duke family must stay complete!"
"Oh, and the Duchess is the Star Luo Emperor's favorite daughter…"
"Amitabha."
Like a living Buddha, Huo Yuhao meditated, radiating serene Buddhist light, his luck rising further.
An uninvited guest interrupted.
"Finally, I've found a mental-attribute human! If I could cry, I'd be in tears!"
A voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind. He snapped his eyes open.
He's here, he's here, bringing a soul ring!
He's here, he's here, with his origin in tow!
Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, grand entrance!
Facing the fat white silkworm, Huo Yuhao halted his cultivation, hid his Buddhist light, and put on a pitiful, helpless look, squeezing out fearful tears.
"A-a soul beast?! Why's there a soul beast here?" he stammered, feigning panic.
"Heh heh… kid, don't be scared. Your bro's not a bad guy," Tian Meng Ice Silkworm chuckled.
It was pleased with Huo Yuhao's act, thinking: *A naive little guy—perfect. I love pure kids like this. Easy to control, he'll follow me to the Far North to find Bing Bing!*
Tian Meng began spinning tales, sweet-talking Huo Yuhao.
Minutes later, after a long spiel, Huo Yuhao mustered "courage" to ask, "If I let you become my first soul ring, you'll make me a god?"
"Of course! Stop dawdling—accept my sacrifice!" Tian Meng urged, worried the core zone's beasts would notice his escape.
"I know you're impatient, but hold on," Huo Yuhao said with an innocent look, timidly adding, "How can I trust you? Unless… you let me drip a drop of blood on your forehead. Back home, it's a common pact ritual."
"Fine, fine, whatever you want," Tian Meng agreed without thinking.
What harm could a small, helpless kid have?
Huo Yuhao bit his finger, dripping blood onto Tian Meng's forehead, subtly tracing a mark.
In cultivation circles, this was a "Beast-Taming Seal."
Tian Meng didn't notice, eagerly releasing its mental origin to begin the sacrifice, not wasting a moment.
It didn't realize its origin had bonded with Huo Yuhao's blood.
A thunderous boom shook the sky—the ripple of a million-year soul beast's sacrifice drew Yi Laike's soul fragment.
Two major cheats secured!
Later, Huo Yuhao inspected his mental sea—a vast white space, boundless. A pale golden ocean held ten massive gold-white orbs. A tiny gray orb floated apart, avoiding the larger ones.
The ten orbs were Tian Meng's origin; the gray orb, Yi Laike's soul fragment.
A big haul: his Spirit Eyes gained a million-year soul ring, and Tian Meng granted him a soulless Ice martial soul.
As Huo Yuhao admired his mental sea, Tian Meng's scream shattered the calm.
"Ahh! What's with your memories?! You tricked me! Who—what are you? Are you even human?!"
No wonder Tian Meng was rattled.
It thought it nabbed a lamb, but reading Huo Yuhao's memories revealed Pudu Cihang's millennium-long demon life.
Calm? As if!
Xiao Huo's human memories, a mere decade-plus, were glossed over.
"Chill, Brother Tian Meng," Huo Yuhao said, flashing an innocent smile.
The memories shown were enough to intimidate. Core memories were shielded using the Beast-Taming Seal, keeping Tian Meng out.
Tian Meng shivered, blustering, "D-drop the act! Who are you? Tricking me—believe me, I'll detonate my origin, and we'll both go down!"
Huo Yuhao's innocence vanished, replaced by a mocking grin.
"Self-destruct? Can you?"
He activated the Beast-Taming Seal, and Tian Meng collapsed, limp.
Stunned, Tian Meng gasped, "W-what is this?"
"Didn't you see the memories? Beast-Taming Seal. A drop of blood in a beast's mental origin, and I control its life and death."
Huo Yuhao's smile hit Tian Meng like a thunderbolt.
Having seen Pudu Cihang's memories, Tian Meng knew he wasn't lying!
In despair, as Tian Meng wallowed, Huo Yuhao crouched before it, picking his ear with a sly grin. "Brother Tian Meng, didn't you want to make a god? I've got a path—high risk, but the rewards are huge. I'm guaranteed at least a plane's master. I'll grant you immortality. Interested?"
Tian Meng, pulling out of despair, stared warily. "Really?"
It was terrified of more tricks.
In its eyes, Huo Yuhao was a thousand-year-old demon in human skin.
"Believe it or not, give me a straight answer!" Huo Yuhao snapped.
"I… believe!"
To survive, Tian Meng surrendered.