Er Ming seemed to have become completely absorbed in his own thoughts, but a series of extremely clear images had appeared around him.

This was a forest that a bright-eyed young woman was skipping through while humming a song.

"The mushroom-picking girl had a basket on her back...

"

This was mental manifestation, the signature ability of all Limit Douluos!

What was even more astonishing was that his mental manifestation included sound! What level of spiritual power was required to achieve this?

Yuanen Tianshang had only speculated that this man was most likely a Limit Douluo; only now did he realize that this man was even more powerful than his own father.

The young woman in the image was picking up mushrooms in patches of grass and under tree roots, then placing them into the bamboo basket she was carrying.

All of a sudden, she stumbled upon a fat monkey lying at the foot of a large tree.

The monkey had glossy black fur, and was quite adorable in appearance.

The statue in the ancestral hall immediately surfaced in Tang Wulin's mind at the sight of the monkey; the two bore a striking resemblance.

"Wow, what an adorable little monkey,

" the young woman exclaimed with excitement in her eyes. The monkey appeared to be no more than half a meter tall, and she squatted down next to it before gently stroking its fur.

The monkey was sleeping very soundly, and it seemed to be enjoying her caress as it turned over and continued to sleep.

The young woman gently pinched the monkey's nose as she giggled,

"Let's see if you'll wake up if you can't breathe.

"

As expected, the monkey didn't enjoy what she was doing, and it abruptly opened its eyes as it slapped her hand away.

The monkey then turned toward the young woman with a fierce look in its eyes, but the young woman completely disregarded its animosity as she gently patted its head.

"You're so adorable!

"

The monkey's sharp claws faltered slightly, and it decided against attacking the young woman in the end. Unbeknownst to the young woman, she had just brushed shoulders with death.

The young woman pulled a mushroom out of her little basket, and said,

"Here, have a delicious matsutake mushroom; it was very hard for me to find.

"

The monkey hesitated momentarily before accepting the mushroom and quickly stuffing it into its own mouth.

"Wow, I'm so glad you like it! Here's some more.

"

The young woman handed the bamboo basket to the little monkey, which accepted it without any hesitation, and after just a short while, all of the mushrooms in the basket had been devoured.

However, not only was the young woman not displeased to see this, she became even more elated and excited.

"Go home now; I have to continue picking mushrooms. Otherwise, I'll have nothing to sell to buy wine for Father. By the way, my name is Xiong Xiaoling; make sure to remember my name.

" After that, the young woman waved at the monkey before skipping away, and the image paused before vanishing.

Yuanen Zhentian and Yuanen Tianshang were looking on with dumbstruck expressions, and they felt as if their skin were crawling.

Another image emerged, this time of a massive fire.

An entire village had been completely engulfed by these flames, and the fire was only continuing to spread.

At the center of the village was a huge flaming spherical object with a diameter of roughly 30 meters, and it was clear that this was what had brought about this disaster.

Howls and sobs rang out in all directions, and Xiong Xiaoling was also bawling amid the sea of flames.

The massive spherical object had struck her home, and her entire family had been crushed under it!

The surrounding flames were rapidly approaching her, but she was still bawling her eyes out, having already completely forgotten about her own safety.

Right at this moment, a figure descended from the sky and grabbed her before leaping out of the sea of flames. In the instant that she was picked up, Xiong Xiaoling had already fallen unconscious.

This was a massive Titan Giant Ape, which was also the same little monkey as the one from before. It galloped through the forest, then placed her down onto a rock beside a lake.

After that, the Titan Giant Ape took on a human form that was identical to Er Ming.

"I'll save your life for feeding me mushrooms,

" the Er Ming in the image murmured to himself.

He scooped up a handful of water and splashed it onto Xiong Xiaoling's face, and only then did she awaken from her unconscious state.

Her eyes were slightly out of focus, but she quickly recalled what had happened earlier and began to sob again.

Er Ming stood beside her and simply let her cry.

After a long while, Xiong Xiaoling's sobs finally subsided, and only then did she notice the burly man next to her. She asked in a slightly fearful manner,

"Wh, where am I right now?

"

Er Ming replied,

"You're in the forest. Your home was destroyed by a meteorite, and I saved you from the wreckage.

"

Xiong Xiaoling immediately burst into tears upon hearing this, and she cried until she fainted from exhaustion.

Three days passed by, and after crying herself unconscious several more times, Xiong Xiaoling finally calmed down.

Er Ming brought fruits and fish for her to eat, and the two of them spoke very little. During this entire time, Xiong Xiaoling was constantly in a trance-like state.

On this day, she finally asked,

"What's your name?

"

"My name is A'Tai. If you're feeling better, then I'll take you to the city,

" Er Ming replied.

Xiong Xiaoling's face fell slightly upon hearing this.

"But I don't have anywhere else to go.

"

Er Ming offered no response to this.

All of a sudden, Xiong Xiaoling looked up at him with an intense gaze, and asked,

"Do you not want me?

"

Before Er Ming had a chance to react, Xiong Xiaoling had already thrown herself at him, and the image disappeared at this point.

When the image reappeared, it was already the next morning. Xiong Xiaoling was lying in his arms, and for the first time after that tragedy, there was a smile on her face. The sun was shining down upon her soft hair, reflecting hints of faint golden radiance.

Er Ming was appraising the woman in his arms in a slightly slack-jawed manner, and it seemed that he was struggling to convince himself that this wasn't a dream.

Shortly thereafter, Xiong Xiaoling woke up before giving him a shy smile.

"I don't want to return to the city. We have everything we need here; can we live here?

"

"Alright,

" Er Ming replied in a concise manner.

He then began to fell trees to build a house. He didn't need a house, but he didn't want Xiong Xiaoling to be exposed to the elements.

One day passed by after another, and their life together was very happy, but there was a persistent hint of hesitation in Er Ming's eyes.

Finally, on this day, while Xiong Xiaoling was still sound asleep in the wooden hut, he took a deep breath before carving a message and a map onto the ground.

He then sprang up and transformed into his massive Titan Giant Ape form before quickly departing.

Xiong Xiaoling woke up to find herself completely alone, and she called his name out loudly, but received no response.

Finally, she saw the message and the map.

This was a map that showed her how to get out of the forest, and the message was very clear.

"I am the monkey you once fed mushrooms to. I am not a human; I'm a Titan Giant Ape. There are some things that I have to do, and I'll be back in roughly 10 days. If you don't mind the fact that I'm a soul beast, then wait for me to come back, and I'll continue to be with you. If you can't accept me for who I am, then you can return to the human world using this map.

"