During the journey, Huo Yuhao had nearly finished exploring the functions of his mutated Spirit Eyes — changed because of his transmigration.
He named his altered martial soul the Eye of Truth, symbolizing its ability to see the world as it truly was.
He then began studying the four spirit skills bestowed upon him by the Skydream Iceworm. The moment he left his spiritual sea, the Iceworm transmitted the knowledge of these skills back to him through his martial soul — their names and functions becoming clear.
First Spirit Skill: Spiritual Detection. Second: Spiritual Sharing. Third: Spiritual Interference. Fourth: Spiritual Shock. Huh, looks like the same old set.
But in the original story, the ways those skills were used were too crude. Maybe with the Eye of Truth, I can refine them.
Though eager to try, now wasn't the time — they were still on the move, and casting skills could easily expose their position in the forest. Not to mention, tiring him faster.
Besides, in the original story, the Skydream Iceworm spent most of its time doing nothing but sleeping — what a waste of such a strong partner in the early stages.
Sorting through the Iceworm's information, Huo Yuhao sighed. His first spirit skill hadn't fundamentally changed despite the mutation of his martial soul.
Still, that didn't matter — his future spirit skills would need to be carefully planned. He didn't yet know what his mutated martial soul could achieve.
At the very least, he wouldn't choose his spirit rings as recklessly as before. Rather than gambling on random compatibility, he preferred to plan every step meticulously. After all, spirit beasts with spiritual attributes were rare, but not nonexistent.
If nothing else, he could hunt them one by one. Power wasn't the priority — stability was. Knowing the original story, Huo Yuhao cared more about each step being steady than fast.
In the original, Spirit Masters were limited by the God Realm — unable to break through, even being manipulated like pawns. Including the original Huo Yuhao, who ended up as Tang San's servant. The root cause, in his eyes, was vision.
They lacked understanding of the greater world. Gods and Tang San alike exploited this information gap to control them completely.
Tang San's no fool. If he finds out I'm a transmigrator too, that 'fellow traveler' meeting won't be tears of joy — it'll be a death sentence.
To preserve his Tang Family Empire plan, he won't hesitate to get rid of me.
I need to prepare early — find chances to break free from Tang San's schemes. And if all else fails... there's always Electrolux.
If it comes to that, I'll cling to him and flee to the Undead Plane. Even if it's only a half-plane, it should be enough to hide in.
The realm of God Kings is far too distant. Even if the power system from the novel is ridiculous, if they truly exist, then one of them could crush me like an ant.
Setting aside his wandering thoughts, they continued deeper into the Star Dou Forest. The trees grew denser, and traces of ten-year spirit beasts became more frequent.
The deeper they went, the more oppressive the forest felt. Whether it was because of transmigration or just the Eye of Truth's nature, Huo Yuhao could now perceive danger more vividly than ever.
Even before seeing any beasts, he could deduce their positions from the faint energy trails drifting through the air.
Now this is convenient. The original Huo Yuhao never showed this ability. Must be a mutation unique to the Eye of Truth — or maybe later replaced by Spiritual Detection.
Guided by this power, Huo Yuhao led Beibei and Tang Ya through the forest, skillfully avoiding unnecessary fights.
Beibei couldn't help but praise him. "Little Brother Huo's spirit power may be low, but the quality of his martial soul must be exceptional. This kind of early-warning ability is on par with a hundred-year spirit skill."
Tang Ya's eyes sparkled. If not for the urgency of their hunt, she might've stopped right then to invite Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect again.
After all, wasn't it perfectly reasonable for the Tang Sect Master to be interested in such a high-quality, unaffiliated Spirit Master?
Ignoring Beibei's words, Huo Yuhao suddenly halted. "There's something ahead. I can sense it — much stronger than any beast we've seen so far."
At once, Beibei and Tang Ya stopped, activating their Purple Demon Eyes to peer through the trees.
Within the thicket lurked a dark shadow — invisible without Huo Yuhao's warning. Even with their strength, stepping forward would've put them straight into its ambush.
"It's a Mandala Snake. Tang Ya, looks like your luck's good — we've found your target spirit beast already," Beibei said calmly.
As he spoke, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit flared around him. His right arm swelled, bursting through his sleeve, covered in blue-violet scales. Lightning crackled and coiled around his clawed hand.
Watching this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but think, Man, having to replace clothes every time you transform — good thing Beibei's not poor, or he'd never afford it.
Lightning danced across Beibei's body, like small serpents slithering under his skin, though none as fierce as his right arm.
Two yellow and one purple spirit rings spun around it. His first ring glowed, and a lightning-forged dragon claw shot forth toward the hidden beast.
Tang Ya wasn't idle either — Blue Silver Grass vines surged beneath her feet, weaving into nets that lunged alongside Beibei's attack.
"GRAAA!"
Caught off guard, the Mandala Snake was ensnared by the vines. Though it broke free quickly, Beibei's lightning claw struck it squarely, sending it tumbling out of the brush. Its tough scales spared it from serious injury.
The serpent's full form appeared — three meters long, its scales a deep rose, with a small blossom-shaped bulge on its forehead.
"A thousand-year Mandala Snake! Beibei, I want this one!" Tang Ya exclaimed excitedly.
Unlike her joy, Beibei's expression grew grim. Even with the advantage of surprise, a thousand-year beast was no joke. As a Spirit Elder himself, he couldn't guarantee victory unscathed.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes gleamed. His gaze pierced through the serpent's body, tracing its inner flow of spirit power. The yellow ring under his feet lit up — the first spirit skill, Spiritual Detection, activating.
His vision expanded dramatically. He no longer needed to focus with his eyes — he could now sense a vast area purely through spiritual perception.
Though basic for mental power users across worlds, this was still revolutionary in the Douluo Continent, where true mastery of spirit energy was rare.
Sure, this skill will be obsolete when I'm stronger — but for now, it's perfect.
Moreover, his Spiritual Detection seemed to have evolved alongside the Eye of Truth. Beyond its original 3D mapping, he could now perform deep analysis.
"Brother Bei, Sister Tang, watch out — it's attacking!"
As pink spirit power coursed through the Mandala Snake, Huo Yuhao clearly saw its technique forming and its target aligning.
A mist of pink toxin burst from its scales, melting the Blue Silver Grass instantly.
The serpent lunged for Beibei — the one who had hurt it most.
But in Huo Yuhao's eyes, every motion of the Mandala Snake slowed to a crawl. Within his detection field, nothing escaped his awareness.
He could see the twitch of every muscle, the surge of every blood vein, the movement of every bone, the pulse of every droplet of spirit energy — magnified a thousandfold.
Even the direction of the wind, the swirl of dust, the subtle variations in temperature — all of it formed part of the battlefield data streaming into his mind.
It was indescribable — like standing from a god's perspective, seeing everything, predicting each motion and even the creature's next thought.
Amazing... is this transcendence? Or is all this thanks to the Eye of Truth?
The original Spiritual Detection only gave vague sensory feedback — all information still had to be processed by the brain. It couldn't read intent.
But mine... mine lets me see instinct — even tactical thinking.
Next, it'll fake an opening to cover itself in toxic mist, using both visible and invisible toxins to suffocate its prey.
Realizing this, Huo Yuhao retreated from the front line. His frail body wasn't suited for direct combat with a thousand-year beast.
Even with the Iceworm's protection, he wasn't about to gamble with poison.
Following his warning, Beibei and Tang Ya sprang into motion, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track — Tang Sect's famed footwork adapted through spirit power instead of internal energy.
So that's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track... seems simple enough to mimic. But why aren't they stimulating these particular meridians in their legs? Is that...
As he monitored the fight through his detection field, Huo Yuhao began channeling his own spirit power through his meridians, trying to imitate the movement.
Hmm, finding and guiding the meridians is easy with spiritual power, but they won't circulate properly... must be blockages or undeveloped channels. Once I open them up, I should be able to perform it too.
He stopped experimenting and focused on giving precise alerts instead — directing Beibei and Tang Ya with uncanny accuracy.
Because he could see the Mandala Snake's every thought and movement, his guidance was near perfect — predicting its attacks and weaknesses with godlike precision.
Thanks to him, Beibei and Tang Ya struck again and again without injury, exploiting every pause and flaw.
Finally, as the serpent's stamina waned and its scales cracked from repeated blows, Beibei shouted, "Controlling Crane, Catching Dragon — Thunder's Wrath: Lightning Dragon Claw!"
Normally, no Spirit Master would shout the name of their technique mid-fight — it only warned the enemy.
But Beibei wasn't warning the snake. He wanted Huo Yuhao to witness the strength of a Tang Sect technique fused with a spirit skill — and to call Tang Ya into perfect sync.