Yao Yan hid beside the woods, staring hard at the golden-furred Emperor Auspicious Beast.
He had checked with Xiao Ying dozens of times, and the answer was always the same: this was a Mutated Snake Vine Flower using Simulation.
"But how could a Plant Spirit Beast simulate an Auspicious Beast? And so convincingly?"
Even if it might be fake, the thought of attacking an "Emperor Auspicious Beast" still made him uneasy.
This was the princess of the Star Dou Great Forest!
There could never be two Emperor Auspicious Beasts on the Douluo Continent at once. Its presence doubled the cultivation speed of Spirit Beasts.
Almost every Spirit Beast revered it and would never attack it. Any Spirit Beast it chose as food could only run; fighting back was unthinkable.
More importantly, a three-hundred-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast stayed by its side.
Who would dare go after it without the strength of a Super Douluo?!
Now Yao Yan faced that very choice.
He lowered his head in thought for a moment. Then his eyes flashed with an idea.
He poured Soul Power into the ground through both hands. Blue Silver Grass grew rapidly, weaving itself into a young man with a Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back.
Yao Yan glanced at the Grass Man's face and patted his shoulder. "Go on. Win this fight, and I'll give you a handsome face."
The young man hoisted the Heavy Xuan Ruler and charged the Emperor Auspicious Beast without a trace of fear.
Yao Yan swiftly retreated more than twenty meters, calculating, If the Emperor Auspicious Beast is attacked, it'll summon other Spirit Beasts.
If it can't do that, it must be fake...
He only had to watch. If anything went wrong, he would run.
Under Yao Yan's watchful gaze, the young man soon reached the Emperor Auspicious Beast.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast sprang to its feet, golden fur bristling as it let out a low, warning growl.
The young man said nothing. He raised the Heavy Xuan Ruler and attacked!
He lunged, gripped the Heavy Xuan Ruler in one hand, and leaped up, bringing it crashing down toward the beast's head!
Golden flames flared around the Emperor Auspicious Beast's limbs as it roared at the sky!
"Roar—!!"
It dodged sideways and stamped both feet into the ground, cracking the rock beneath it. Then it sprang up, raking its sharp foreclaws across the young man's body.
Several gruesome "wounds" appeared on him.
But the Emperor Auspicious Beast had miscalculated. He was a Grass Man through and through; he felt no pain.
Man and beast fought fiercely beside the pool, their clash sending the once-calm water splashing.
After several exchanges, the young man slid beneath the Emperor Auspicious Beast. The Heavy Xuan Ruler in his hand swelled to two meters long.
He slammed it into the beast's rear.
"Boom—"
The Emperor Auspicious Beast flew three meters and crashed onto the rocks by the pool, looking badly injured.
Yao Yan watched quietly from a distance.
Something about the scene felt wrong. The Emperor Auspicious Beast was a fifteen-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast. Even if it had yet to mature, it should have the strength of a five-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast. How could it be so weak?
It could not even deal with a Grass Man!
He also noticed that, terrifying as the Grass Man's wounds looked, his Soul Power flowed without the slightest disruption.
Could it be simulating wounds to scare the Grass Man away?
And why is it relying on brute force instead of using its flames?
After thinking it over, Yao Yan concluded that this Auspicious Beast really was a simulation.
As for why the sounds of their fight did not resemble vines or wood, it must have simulated those too.
"I've struck gold this time!" Yao Yan's eyes burned with excitement.
If he hunted it for a Soul Ring, he might well gain an all-around skill capable of simulating appearance, sound, and movement.
"You little Mutated Snake Vine Flower, just watch me catch you!"
Blood surging, Yao Yan rose and prepared to finish the fight himself.
The instant he took his first step, the Emperor Auspicious Beast struggled to its feet and let out a thunderous roar!
"Roar—!!"
The vertical eye on its forehead slowly opened, sending a golden pillar of light straight into the sky.
An overwhelming aura of majesty burst from its body and spread across the entire forest!
The next instant!
Violent tremors came from the nearby Dense Forest, and the trees shook wildly. Yao Yan turned to see dozens of Spirit Beasts swarming in from every direction.
"It... it's real?" Yao Yan froze, cold sweat trickling down his temple.
Only one thought remained in his mind: Run!!
Just as he turned to flee, a question sprang into his mind: If it's real, why hasn't the Scarlet King appeared?
He could crush me with one hand. Why would he let the Emperor Auspicious Beast be attacked?
It must have a secret. Yao Yan looked at the beast, a suspicion already forming in his mind.
But whatever secret it hid, it had to die here today!
A cold glint flashed in Yao Yan's eyes. He formed a Blue Silver Overlord Spear in his hand and rushed forward. At the same time, his Spiritual Power erupted, making the surrounding Blue Silver Grass swell rapidly.
It wrapped tightly around the "Emperor Auspicious Beast," which was still flaunting its power.
He had to wipe it out before the army of Spirit Beasts arrived.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast thrashed until it finally broke free of the Blue Silver Grass, only to feel a bone-chilling sensation above its head.
It jerked its head up!
A young man hung in midair, holding a long green spear aloft. Backlit by the sun, he looked like a god descending to earth.
He drove the spear down!
"Boom—!!"
The Blue Silver Overlord Spear pierced its body and exploded. A mushroom cloud rose three meters high as dust blasted outward.
The approaching Spirit Beasts stopped abruptly, growling in confusion. Why had the Auspicious Beast's aura suddenly vanished?
After calling back and forth, they returned to their own territories.
When the dust cleared, a five-meter-long crater had appeared in the once-level ground.
There was no sign of the Auspicious Beast inside. Only a plant broken into several pieces remained—the Mutated Snake Vine Flower.
A Purple Soul Ring slowly condensed from its remains and hovered nearby.
Yao Yan jumped straight into the crater. His first Soul Ring lit up. "First Soul Skill, Blue Silver: Tree Realm Birth."
Thousands of Blue Silver seeds scattered around him, broke through the soil, sprouted, and grew into tough Blue Silver Vines.
Yao Yan guided the vines over the crater, then spread the remaining Blue Silver Grass around it.
Within three meters of the pool, they formed a Blue Silver Forest.
Yao Yan stroked Xiao Ying's forehead and smiled. "Wait here for me. I won't be long."
Xiao Ying gave a soft cry and nodded obediently.
Yao Yan drew the Purple Soul Ring into his Blue Silver Grass. A vast surge of energy and powerful Spiritual Power rushed into his body!
The Spiritual Power grew fiercer and fiercer, striking straight at Yao Yan's mind. He jolted in alarm!
Soul Shock?!
The world spun around him. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a Dense Forest.
Ahead stood a young Emperor Auspicious Beast, seemingly just born. With wide eyes, it curiously studied a sprout that had just broken through the soil.
It bit its forepaw and let a drop of blood fall onto the tender sprout.
"So that's how it happened." Understanding dawned on Yao Yan.
Having done that, the young Auspicious Beast walked slowly into the distance.
Yao Yan was about to follow when dark clouds suddenly swallowed the clear sky. They rolled overhead like spilled ink, pressing down until it was hard to breathe.
Lightning burst through the clouds, and thunder rumbled like a roaring dragon, deafening him.
Yao Yan snapped his head up!
Deep within the dark clouds, an enormous dragon head slowly emerged. Its Dragon Pupils burned with golden flames, like two dazzling stars, and fixed on Yao Yan below!
"Di Tian!!!"
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