The symbols were twisted, eerie signs, seemingly formed by the Entanglement of countless suffering Souls.
These eerie symbols, coupled with the black-robed figures, the sinister aura Ronova had warned him about, and the structures built within the Soul Beast forest, all reminded Caelus exactly where he was.
The Holy Spirit Cult!
This name instantly flooded his mind, and Caelus finally understood his location.
One of the continent's three major Soul Beast gathering places, the most dangerous and bizarre Evil Demon Forest within the Sun Moon Empire.
And this place was the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Upon realizing this, Caelus's mouth twitched, his face darkened, and he thought, 'Oh, heavens! I actually stumbled upon the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters by mistake. Isn't this just delivering myself to them?'
He wanted to retreat and hide back under the forest's cover, but it was already too late.
"Who goes there?!"
A sharp, stern shout rang out.
Almost at the same moment he was discovered, several figures radiating cold spirit power fluctuations appeared like Gui Mei from different directions, instantly surrounding him.
These people were pale-faced, their eyes filled with bloodlust and cruelty. The spirit power surging around them was saturated with foul and ominous aura. They were clearly Evil Soul Masters, and their cultivation level was at least that of a Soul King.
When they saw that the intruder was merely a little girl, appearing to be about six years old, with silver hair and purple eyes, her clothes tattered but unable to conceal her delicate features, their expressions were not of relief, but of even deeper suspicion and vigilance.
What kind of place was this? The depths of the Evil Demon Forest, the entrance to the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar.
How could an unarmed, seemingly harmless six-year-old girl possibly appear here alone?
An anomaly must imply an underlying abnormality. Thinking of the 100,000-year Soul Beasts in the forest capable of transforming into human form, these Evil Soul Masters treated the situation as a major threat, secretly gathering their spirit power, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.
They would rather kill by mistake than dare to take the matter lightly.
Just as the tension was high and Caelus's heart was in his throat, a clear female voice, carrying a hint of laziness and mockery, abruptly rang out in the clearing:
"Oh dear~ Why is the surface entrance so lively today? What are you doing surrounding the little cutie?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a petite figure gracefully walking over from nearby.
It was a loli dressed in a gorgeous Gothic black dress, holding a delicate black parasol. Her face was as exquisite as a doll's, yet her red eyes held an air of world-weariness and amusement that completely contradicted her appearance.
Seeing the newcomer, the Soul King-level Evil Soul Master guards immediately bowed, their tone respectful yet fearful: "Greetings, Third Enshrinement."
The newcomer was none other than the Third Enshrinement of the Holy Spirit Cult, a Level 97 Titled Douluo, renowned for her bizarre methods and unpredictable personality—Scarlet Douluo, Fei Yan.
Fei Yan took elegant steps closer, ignoring her nervous subordinates, and scrutinized Caelus, who was surrounded and trying hard to remain calm.
Her pair of red eyes, which seemed capable of piercing the Soul, swept over Caelus. Immediately afterward, as if she had seen something extremely amusing, she suddenly burst into laughter, and the laughter grew louder and louder. She even exaggeratedly wiped away non-existent tears from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.
"Hahahaha... I'm dying of laughter! A genuine little human girl, clearly six years old by bone age, without even a spirit ring fluctuation on her, managed to scare you bunch of cold-blooded killers into this state?"
"Hahahaha, you're going to make the Holy Spirit Cult lose face!"
Fei Yan laughed so hard she trembled, causing her parasol to sway.
As a Level 97 Super Douluo, her discernment was incredibly sharp. She saw through Caelus's identity instantly—definitely not a transformed Soul Beast, but a genuine human girl whose Bloodline seemed somewhat special.
Watching a group of normally ferocious Evil Soul Masters frozen in fear by a little girl, the extreme contrast of the scene struck her as utterly hilarious.
Caelus kept his small face taut as he watched the Gothic loli laughing hysterically before him, his internal alarm bells ringing loudly.
The girl, who didn't look much older than himself, felt infinitely more dangerous to him than all the surrounding Evil Soul Masters combined.
Fei Yan's scarlet eyes scrutinized the small figure desperately trying to maintain composure, as if she had discovered a new and interesting toy.
Holding her parasol, she leaned slightly, and asked in a sugary voice laced with mockery:
"Little cutie, tell big sister, how did you manage to run to such a nice place all by yourself?"
Caelus secretly scoffed inwardly, 'Old hag, pretending to be young.'
However, he still tried hard to imitate the gentle and quiet demeanor of Castorice from his memories.
He raised his amethyst-like eyes, which quickly welled up with a perfect layer of moisture, and his voice carried a hint of choked fear:
"I... I am Castorice. I... I came with my Family Elder to... to hunt for my first spirit ring."
His small hands nervously twisted the torn corner of his clothes, a detail full of conviction.
"But... but we were too unlucky. We encountered a very, very terrifying 10,000-year Soul Beast... The Elder... he... he covered for me..."
His voice appropriately broke off here, leaving enough room for imagination, and large tears rolled down his fair cheeks, the performance utterly convincing.
He continued, sobbing: "I... I ran desperately, I don't know for how long, and then... then I ran here... When I saw buildings, I thought... I thought I was saved..."
This explanation created a very complete picture of a six-year-old child who had suffered a catastrophe, was panicked, and still held onto a glimmer of hope.
As Fei Yan listened, the amused smile on her lips intensified.
She gently tapped the tip of her parasol on the ground, making soft clicking sounds, as if keeping time with Castorice's story.
"Oh? Hunting for your first spirit ring, and running all the way to the depths of the Evil Demon Forest?"
Fei Yan tilted her head, and her red pupils glittered with light that seemed to see through everything.
"Little Castorice, do you know how far this place is from the edge of the forest? What Family, unafraid of death, would bring a newly Awakened sprout to a place like this to serve as a feast for Soul Beasts?"
Her tone was gentle, yet every word was damning, exposing the massive flaws in the story without reservation.
However, much to Castorice's surprise, Fei Yan had no intention of delving further.
She straightened up and yawned lazily, as if the previous exchange had merely been a boring interaction.
"Meh~ Forget about it."
Fei Yan waved her small hand dismissively, looking completely unconcerned.
"Where you came from, whose little darling you are, or why you could appear here... none of that matters."
Her gaze swept over the surrounding Evil Soul Masters who were still on high alert, before finally settling back on Castorice, her smile turning somewhat cold and cruel.
"What matters is that you have come to the Holy Spirit Cult. Since you are here, do you think you can easily leave?"
Her words carried an undeniable chill.