181 Sheng Wuyong's Remains

While Song Weihan was waiting for Sheng Feilong's reply, Sheng Lingtian started frowning. He didn't understand why Song Weihan thought the spot where Sheng Wuyong turned into a human would be important. "Brother Song, why would we need to know where that was?"

"If we find out where he came from, we might be able to track his remain down..." Song Weihan said with a small smile, not elaborating further. Sheng Lingtian frowned; Song Weihan had once asked him about the Clan's Ancestor after Sheng Feilong's bloodline awakened and mutated his Spirit Eyes Spirit Essence.

Back then he didn't think much of it due to his excitement over Sheng Feilong's change. He told Song Weihan the story about Sheng Wuyong; How he founded the Sheng Clan at the outskirts of the city together with the wife he found himself during his travels. Records of the Ancestors remains as well as how he really died were unclear, though.

"So, you still suspect that Ancestor Wuyong left the Clan before his passing?" Sheng Lingtian questioned Song Weihan. The latter nodded his head with a small smile. "From what Feilong told us back then, that mountain overseeing the lands should hold some importance to Sheng Wuyong. Moreover, with his remains and cause of death being unknown, it is more than likely that he left the Clan to return to the turf that belonged to him when he was still a Soul Beast."

Sheng Lingtian couldn't help but agree with Song Weihan's logic once more. He nodded his head, then looked at Sheng Feilong who had silently listened to the conversation between the two of them. Song Weihan also turned towards Sheng Feilong, waiting for an answer.

"I'm not sure where it was. When I first saw Ancestor Wuyong, I was standing on a cliff overlooking a vast forest of red and orange leafed trees. It didn't seem like fall yet, so that might have been their natural colour. Ancestor Wuyong transformed into a human for the first time and spoke a few words about having been on that mountain for 30.000 years..." Sheng Feilong said, trying to remember as many details as possible.

Song Weihan nodded his head with a content smile on his face. "If he really was on that mountain, it's highly likely that he returned there. A few tens of years living as a human and creating a Clan couldn't possible match up to the time he spent on that mountain. Moreover, Three-Eyed Golden Lions are incredibly proud and loyal."

Sheng Feilong was still thinking about what he saw back then and remembered a certain detail that caused him to frown. By now, he knew about the process of Soul Beasts turning human and what happens to them, thus the confusion. He looked at Song Weihan with a questioning expression. "Master, there's something that's on my head regarding Ancestor Wuyong."

"What is it?" Song Weihan replied immediately; Any information on Sheng Wuyong would help him and Sheng Feilong was the most reliable source regarding him. Sheng Feilong frowned and looked at him. "When Soul Beasts turn into humans, it is the same as if they are reborn, correct? They would start out as infants or at least as little children, right?"

Song Weihan nodded his head. This was exactly what was known of Soul Beasts transformation into humans. "Correct. They transform into infants or little children at first and then grow naturally like normal humans. At the age of six, they awaken their Spirit Essence like any humans would, with it being the Soul Beast they have been before; A Three-Eyed Golden Lion turned human should awaken a Three-Eyed Golden Lion Spirit Essence."

"Well, from what I saw, Ancestor Wuyong didn't turn into an infant or little child." Sheng Feilong said, prompting Song Weihan to frown. "What do you mean?" Sheng Feilong looked at him with an equally confused frown. "...He turned into an adult. Maybe one in his late twenties? He had a chiseled face and fully grown, muscular body, not one of a child."

"...That's the first time I've heard of something like this." Song Weihan's expression turned thoughtful. He remained silent for a moment, trying to make sense of that information. She Meixiao, who stood by the side had a similar expression and voiced her thoughts after a few seconds. "Maybe it's because of his strength?"

Song Weihan's gaze fell onto her and she continued with a calm tone. "We've never heard of a Three-Eyed Golden Lion transforming into a human before, but we know just how powerful it is. Moreover, from what Feilong said, it remained in solitude on a mountain for 30.000 years. I assume that means it remained their for that long after it already reached 100.000 years of age. Sheng Wuyong might be the most powerful Soul Beast to have ever turned into a human."

Sheng Feilong chimed in before Song Weihan could say something, nodding his head to She Meixiao's assumption. "He said something about absorbing the power of the sun for all that time. I don't think a Soul Beast in the 10.000-years-old range would be able to do that."

"...A 100.000-years-old Three-Eyed Golden Lion absorbing the power of the sun for 30.000 years before turning into an adult human... It sounds ridiculous, but it's indeed the most probable explanation for why he would be an adult upon transforming for the first time; He was simply strong enough to take an adult human's form." Song Weihan said after a few more moments, agreeing with their assumptions.

Then, he suddenly turned to face Sheng Lingtian with his eyebrows raised slightly. "Right, that reminds me; Brother Ligntian, didn't you say your Clan's Ancestor's Spirit Essence wasn't the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?" Sheng Lingtian wasn't surprised by the sudden question and calmly nodded his head. "Yes. Records say that the Ancestor's Spirit Essence was the Sun Swallowing Mountain Lion."

Song Weihan nodded his head repeatedly. "In that case, it's even more plausible that absorbing the power of the sun made him stronger; So much so that it mutated him into another, unique Soul Beast. With such a mutation in mind, it wouldn't be that unthinkable for his human transformation to be different from the norm as well."

She Meixiao agreed with him before turning back to Sheng Feilong. "That leaves us with the matter of the mountain itself and the forest of red and orange leafed trees." Her gaze wandered over everyone present, including Yuanen Yehui and Huang Jialong. "Any ideas?"

Song Weihan frowned, while Sheng Lingtian and Sheng Feilong looked lost in thought. Huang Jialong directly shook his head; He didn't know anything about the geography of the Douluo Continent, much less a specific forest or mountain. She Meixiao sighed lightly and was about to request for Daedalus' information network to look into this, before Yuanen Yehui spoke up.

"I remember a forest that sounds similar..." Her words drew everyone's attention towards her, Song Weihan and Sheng Lingtian looking especially eager, while the others looked more surprised than anything. "I've heard about it from my Clan. There's a forest bordering its territory that no one is supposed to ever enter. I've never been close to it, but every clansman has been warned that the red trees symbolize the territorial border and that we're not to cross it."

After she finished, Song Weihan pulled a map of the Douluo Continent up on his Soul Communicator and stood in front of Yuanen Yehui. "Do you remember where it was? Can you pinpoint it?"

Yuanen Yehui nodded her head and took a look at the map. A few moments later, she pointed at a place on the map and started running her finger down on the map. "From here... until here. That was the border we're not to cross, approximately."

While most of them didn't know much about the region Yuanen Yehui pinpointed, Song Weihan and She Meixiao started frowning. That was especially true for Song Weihan, who had a bit more information on the area than even She Meixiao. "That's... the region of the old Star Dou Forest..."

Sheng Feilong didn't know much about the region, thus asked without much worry. "So, we know where it might be? Should we go there to look for the mountain?" Song Weihan glanced at him and shook his head lightly with a smile. "Yes, we will, but we need to prepare before that. The Great Star Dou Forest is... dangerous, to say the least."

"Dangerous?" Sheng Feilong was taken aback. The core region of the Star Dou Forest was known as a forbidden land on the Douluo Continent, but the middle regions like the one Yuanen Yehui pointed at shouldn't be much of a challenge to a Titled Douluo like Song Weihan.

Still, there seemed to be something Sheng Feilong didn't know. He looked at Song Weihan with a confused expression. Song Weihan then nodded his head. "Do you remember the legend of the Spirit ice Douluo Huo Yuhao?"

"Of course." Sheng Feilong nodded his head, as did the others in the room, save for She Meixiao, who already knew how dangerous the forest was. "That region of the Great Star Dou Forest is the place where His Eminence, the Spirit Ice Douluo, obtained the true Eye of Destiny after an encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that was originally known as the Auspicious Emperor."

The others' eyes widened, but Song Weihan wasn't finished yet. "After Senior Huo Yuhao obtained the Eye of Destiny, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was gone. And with it the greatest protector of the region. Humans poached through the region continuously for the last few thousand years, so much so that there's now a few powerful Soul Beasts guarding the region instead of the Auspicious Emperor. Humans that enter there become prey to be hunted down, much like the Soul Beasts ages ago."