Chapter 7: The Devil's Moon Forest

  Enormous trees stretch to the sky, ancient vines spread all over, unknown beasts either howl or make a low humming noise that comes in waves, adding an air of terror to this lush forest. Dense plants and withered vines entwine, leaving almost no gaps.

  Layer upon layer of woven screens, making it difficult for sunlight to shine through. At this moment, although it is noon, the interior of the forest is still as dim as dusk.

  Here is the mainland's dead land, the Demon Moon Forest.

  Although it is a dead land, the forest inside is bustling with busy animals foraging for food, from big tigers and leopards to small ants and butterflies, all running around for survival, either hunting or being hunted.

  Here, the only rule is survival of the fittest, natural selection.

  It was unusual for the Youyue Forest, where it was originally difficult to find any human footprints, but at this moment, a black-clad man with a dusty body was leaning against a dead tree, sitting leisurely. Although he was covered in dirt, he didn't bother to brush it off, and his left arm, which had been scratched by thorns, was tightly holding a red bundle. His right hand held a long wooden stick, stirring the flames of the fire in front of him. The rabbit meat on the fire had already turned golden brown, and the forest was filled with a strong meaty aroma. Many wild beasts that had never seen humans before were attracted by the smell, including several large and ferocious predators. However, strangely, none of the wild beasts dared to approach the fire, but instead looked at the rabbit meat from a distance, drooling. Several bold monkeys quietly climbed up the dead tree the man was leaning against, staring at the delicious food on the fire, but ultimately didn't dare to take it by force.

  This man is indeed Helian Shou, the mysterious Helian Shou who disappeared without a trace after the great disaster!

  Helian Shang's nephew, Sun Liao, was also staring blankly at the roasted meat on the fire, his Adam's apple rolling from time to time, clearly extremely eager for Helian Shang to share some of the roasted meat with him to satisfy his hunger. However, in Helian Shang's eyes, Sun Liao was just an infant who hadn't grown teeth yet. As the roasted meat was almost done, Helian Shang took the wooden stick with rabbit meat from the fire and, without even bothering to let it cool down, began devouring it in big mouthfuls.

  Sun Liao is very depressed at this moment! Extremely depressed!

  Watching Helian Shang sandwich himself in his arms, eating meat with a big mouth, and even having several times of fragrant roasted meat right at his mouth but still unable to eat it, Sun Liao just wanted to shout out loud. To know that these days, Helian Shang had only collected some juicy wild fruits, squeezed out the juice to feed himself, although the wild fruit juice was sweet and could fill his hunger, eating too much would also be greasy, especially when watching Helian Shang enjoy delicious food at his mouth but having no ability to ask for it, this was a kind of torture for Sun Liao.

  Sun Liao had to turn his head away, gazing at the blazing fire pit to shift his attention. Before long, the flickering flames made Sun Liao's eyes feel a bit sour. He closed his stinging eyes, then opened them again, and was shocked to find that on top of the fire stood an absolutely stunning woman, dressed in white with black hair, bright eyes, and pearly teeth - but it wasn't Nan Hengyue, so who could she be?!

  "Mother!", Sun Liao couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, and excitedly even shed tears. He hurriedly raised his hand to rub his eyes, and impatiently looked again, only to find that in front of him was just the crackling burning bonfire, where had Nan Huan Yue's figure gone?!

  It turned out that it was just an illusion after all.

  Sun Liao's gaze fell in despair, but his eyes couldn't stop streaming with tears. Nan Huang Yue, an otherworldly mother who had no relation to him, was now someone he desperately wanted to trade his own life for her revival.

  He didn't even dare to close his eyes, fearing that the moment he did, the scene of Nan Hua Yue looking at him with a benevolent gaze before leaving would appear in his mind. At that time, the determination and love in Nan Hua Yue's eyes had almost melted Sun Liao away. However, what truly shocked Sun Liao was still the sentence that Nan Hua Yue said before turning to leave, which made him feel like he was in a trance: "You must live on!!" This sentence pierced Sun Liao's ears repeatedly and impacted his already weak soul repeatedly.

  Live on! This is a phrase that Sun Liao is so familiar with and can't forget. In his previous life, his poor mother had said this sentence with tears in her eyes before she passed away: "Live on! No matter what, live on..."

  To be honest, Sun Liao didn't have too deep of a feeling for Nan Huan Yue before. After all, he came from another world and had a natural sense of rejection and unfamiliarity towards this new family in this new world. Even when He Lian Zong decided to die, Sun Liao's heart was filled with more admiration than pain. But Nan Huan Yue's simple words "live on" made Sun Liao feel a deep pang of pain. He felt his own insignificance and weakness, and understood that the love of a mother who crossed space had the same power and greatness. He calmly accepted the care given by this strange family, but in return, he gave them a cold and distant gaze, as if they were strangers. He only saw He Lian as a symbol of status and identity. He Lian Zong and Nan Huan Yue, even He Lian Chuang, were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of this surname. What made Sun Liao feel most guilty was that Nan Huan Yue was willing to use her life as cover for him to escape. What kind of motherly love is this? Looking down at the faintly visible tattoo of the Heavenly Wolf on his chest, Sun Liao secretly made up his mind: he would live on, in the name of He Lian, just as Nan Huan Yue had instructed!

  Xun Liao, no, at this moment he is already Helian Nuo. If previously Helian Nuo was just holding onto the idea of being in a game-like world, now he has decided to shoulder some responsibilities, some responsibilities that men must bear, perhaps also some responsibilities that sons must bear.

  Perhaps from now on, the other world will have one less traverser, but one more resolute soul. The other world will have to bear the wrath and gratitude that comes from Helian's soul.

  At this moment, Helian is more eager to gain power than ever. He has come to realize that without great strength, he will not have the opportunity to return to Tianfeng, help his mother find Helian's remains, or restore the prestige of the Helian family on this continent. However, how can he become stronger?

  He Lianuo subconsciously glanced at He Lian Shang, who was now full and leaning against a tree, dozing off with his left hand still tightly wrapped around He Lianuo. In fact, since He Lian Shang had handed himself over to this man, the man's face had always been shrouded in gloom, never letting him leave his embrace. He Lianuo finally understood why He Lian Shang was so willing to entrust himself to this cold and icy man - because the man had promised that even if it meant dying nine times, he would never go back on his word.

  Khalin seemed to feel the baby in his arms staring at him, quickly opened his eyes, took out a bright and juicy fruit from a small package made of leaves beside him, carefully broke it open, and gently brought it to Khalin's mouth.

  He actually thought Helian Nuo was staring at him because he was hungry!

  He Lianuo reluctantly opened his mouth to suck the sweet juice from the fruit, but in his heart, he was secretly muttering, "Can't this man remember that he just ate his fill less than half a time ago? At this rate of feeding, an ordinary baby would have been stuffed to death!"

  After feeding for a while, seeing that Helianuo was no longer willing to open his mouth, Helian finally stopped. A satisfied maternal warmth appeared on her cold face, like the South Pole!

  However, Helianuo clearly knew that this man who was as diligent as a nanny had how terrifying strength!

  A few days ago, Nan Huan Yue and He Lian Chang died together by the lake. The panic caused to his subordinates was huge, but the clever soldiers soon reacted after a moment of stunned silence. However, it was during this brief moment of distraction that He Lian Shuang swiftly took advantage of a tiny opening in the encirclement and broke through, escaping successfully. What's more surprising is what happened next: instead of fleeing far away, He Lian Shuang unexpectedly found a large tree nearby and climbed up to hide, remaining completely still. The enemy soldiers soon discovered this and began searching, but none of them thought to check the trees. He Lian Nuo watched in terror as the soldiers passed by beneath the tree, his tension almost causing him to cry out, while He Lian Shuang remained motionless, like a withered branch, holding his breath. This composure alone made He Lian Nuo look at him with newfound respect.

  The experiences of the next few days made Helian Xuan appear even more like a demon in Helian Nuo's eyes.

  After evading the pursuing soldiers, He Lianuo thought that He Liansheng would follow his instructions before leaving and seek help from his grandfather's old friend. But unexpectedly, He Liansheng once again took a risk and brazenly infiltrated the notorious Youyue Forest, which made everyone tremble with fear, and he rushed straight into the depths of the forest without stopping. It was a well-known fact that anyone who ventured into the depths of the Youyue Forest would never return alive!

  Something that made Helian Lian's eyes widen again happened. Helian Shou came all the way, and surprisingly, not a single wild beast appeared to block the road. There were even several times when he clearly saw a massive ferocious beast foraging in front of him, but Helian Shou still didn't care and charged forward. The wild beast saw him as if it had seen a ghost, let alone attack, it didn't even have the courage to take another look, tucked its tail and ran away without looking back. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, and the two of them continued on their way unimpeded for over a hundred miles, safely setting up camp under a large tree, and surprisingly, not a single wild beast came to disturb them!

  He Lian carefully sized up He Lian's ordinary appearance, and felt that this ordinary exterior concealed an extremely mysterious and powerful strongman!

  "Or else, ask Helian Luo to reveal his true abilities?" Helian Luo thought to himself.

  It was almost instantaneous that Helianuo overturned this idea again, not to mention that he was still just an infant and couldn't communicate with Helian Shang at all. Even if he could speak, it's likely that this cold and strange man would also refuse him unreasonably.

  Then who can guide himself in cultivating the power of this world? Helianuo couldn't help but feel anxious.

  "Foolish kid, you already have an all-knowing and omnipotent being in your own head, why bother seeking guidance from others?" Suddenly, a lazy voice echoed in Helianuo's mind, full of arrogance and disdain.