“What? Wulin disappeared?” Yali's gentle smile instantly disappeared, and her aura began to fluctuate in an extremely unstable manner.

"Tell me what happened!"

Thus, Ye Xinglan gave a recount of what had happened to them in the Great Star Dou Forest.

"Beast God Di Tian?" Even as a Limit Douluo, Yali's heart jolted upon hearing this name.

This secret had been hidden by the Spirit Pagoda for far, far too long.

Beast God Di Tian was still alive?

It wasn't the case that no one had entered the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest before; it was just that none of those people came out again. As such, only the past chairmen of the Spirit Pagoda were aware of the fact that Di Tian was still alive.

"Go and get some rest; I'll take care of this." Yali did her best to calm herself down. No matter how anxious she was feeling, she had to address the situation with a cool head.

After all, Tang Wulin hadn't perished by the hands of Di Tian; he had been taken away by some unknown power instead. What made her even more concerned was the giant silver claw that had appeared at the end. It was able to intimidate Di Tian and rescue Shrek's Six Monsters and Sima Jinchi, so its owner definitely wasn't any weaker than Di Tian himself.

Since when did such an outrageously powerful being appear on the continent?

Di Tian was a quasigod, and he was definitely the most powerful among the current quasigods. Even if Yun Ming were still alive, he definitely wouldn't dare to proclaim that he could best Di Tian in battle.

This was a very important matter, and she had to discuss it with the other Limit Douluos right away.

All of Shrek's Six Monsters also had heavy hearts. Tang Wulin had disappeared during such an important juncture in the Shrek Academy rebuild, and no one had any idea where he could be.

His soul communicator couldn't be contacted or traced; it was as if he had vanished off the face of the planet, and that was what was most concerning.

......

I've reached it!

Finally, his hand had come into contact with that red line, and in that instant, an indescribable sense of relief washed over his body.

The same comfort he had experienced when he had been on the brink of death resurfaced, and all of his pain was instantly alleviated.

All of a sudden, the ground gave away from beneath his feet, but he couldn't even muster up the emotions of alarm and panic anymore.

In the next instant, he plunged into a vast expanse of warm liquid that immediately began to nourish his body.

The crushing sense of exhaustion reappeared, but at the same time, he was able to sense his own body again.

The liquid didn't make him recover right away. Instead, it was nourishing him in a slow and subtle way. His exhaustion faded bit by bit, seeping away just as slowly as it had accumulated.

His consciousness also began to return to him, and after an indeterminate period of time, a voice rang out within his mind.

"There's often only a fine line that separates life and death, and only those treading on that line can truly experience death. Death is never the most painful thing, but by choosing death, one is choosing to run away. Everyone's conclusion is different, but you were able to last until the very end, and that shows that you possess unyielding will. You have passed the first trial of the Sea God!"

......

"What do we do about this?" Gathered in front of Yali were Heartless Douluo Cao Dezhi, Amorous Douluo Zang Xin, and Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue. All four Limit Douluos were present.

"There's no need for us to be concerned for Wulin's safety; he'll definitely be fine," Cao Dezhi said in a confident manner. He had the most confidence in Tang Wulin among the four as he had witnessed in person how Tang Wulin had been blessed by the plane and forced back the powerful beings of the abyss.

"That trident is most likely a part of the godly power that he inherited, and I'm sure it wouldn't take him to a dangerous place. Even though he hasn't returned, I don't think there's any cause for concern."

Zang Xin said, "Then what do we do about the Beast God situation? The most concerning thing for us is that we don't know the current relationship between the Spirit Pagoda and those Great Beasts. The Spirit Pagoda has essentially imprisoned them in the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest, but they're offering no resistance, and that's very suspicious."

Light Dark Douluo Long Yeyue nodded in agreement. "That is indeed quite troublesome, but I don't think the Great Beasts would allow themselves to be used by the Spirit Pagoda. After all, it could be said that the Spirit Pagoda is the main culprit behind the soul beasts' descent toward extinction. Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao founded the Spirit Pagoda with the intention of minimizing the slaughter of soul beasts, but his successors have completely altered his original plan. They've slain and captured countless soul beasts under the guise of research, and that's resulted in the gradual destruction of the soul beast world. As such, there's virtually no chance that the Great Beasts would directly collaborate with the Spirit Pagoda."

Cao Dezhi nodded, and said, "I think they're only allowing themselves to be contained for their own survival. In any case, I'm sure Wulin will be fine. He was chosen by the plane, so it's no surprise to see some extraordinary things happen to him. Perhaps the planar ruler is bestowing upon him some type of brilliant opportunity that will contribute to his rise to the top; the fact that he was able to escape with his life even after facing Di Tian is already a testament to many things. However, the fact that the Great Beasts are still residing in the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest indicates that there's a very good chance that crystals of life can indeed be found there."

Zang Xin asked, "Are you saying we should all take a trip to the Great Star Dou Forest?"

Cao Dezhi's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he offered no response.

Long Yeyue harrumphed in a slightly disdainful manner, "You two sure are on the same wavelength!"

In terms of age, she was a generation above both the Amorous Douluo and Heartless Douluo, so she naturally didn't need to be polite to them, especially after the Amorous Douluo had set her up not long ago.

Cao Dezhi shook his head, and sighed, "Forget it, they're all in a very pitiable situation as well. No matter how powerful they are, they no longer have any brethren around them. Those Great Beasts can act as a relic to commemorate the soul beast world."

Yali interjected, "So are we just going to wait and do nothing? What if Wulin doesn't come back? The other powers aren't opposing our Shrek Academy rebuild on the surface, but all of them are looking for an opportunity to strike against us. On top of that, Wulin is the Tang Sect Master; what if he appears in the outside world and gets attacked by the Tang Sect's enemies?"

Cao Dezhi smiled, and said, "Rest assured, Yali; with Wulin's current level of power, he should be able to look after himself. We have to be confident in his ability to react and adjust as the situation requires."

......

"Would you like to leave or move on to the second trial?" A vast voice came surging toward Tang Wulin like waves of the ocean.

Following the conclusion of the first trial, Tang Wulin had returned to that boundless golden world, and everything around him had taken on an illusionary quality.

"May I ask what the second trial will be?"

"Each successive trial will be more difficult than the last one, and only after completing all Nine Trials of the Sea God will you be able to fully control the Sea God's Trident. Following each completed trial, you'll be given an option to leave, and you'll also be ejected if you were to fail a trial. With each trial that you complete, your affinity with the Sea God's Trident will improve, and that affinity will reach its peak once you complete all of the trials."

Tang Wulin asked, "If I want to continue to undergo the trials, how do I come back here?"

"All you have to do is use the power of the Sea God's Trident, and you'll automatically be teleported here."

Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin immediately realized that this Nine Trials of the Sea God was something that his father created for him! His father really was sparing no effort to help him.

With that in mind, he immediately decided, "I choose to leave."

He couldn't disappoint his father, so he had to complete all Nine Trials of the Sea God. If he wanted to do that, then he needed to accumulate more power.

Furthermore, he didn't know what situation his friends were currently in. He had been teleported here, but what about his friends? Were they still in the Great Star Dou Forest? Were they still alive?

As such, he had to leave this place no matter what.

Golden light flashed, and the light around him dimmed. The entire golden world blurred, and Tang Wulin found himself hovering in mid-air.