Auspicious Beast, What Exactly Did You Do?

A vein seemed to throb at Bi Ji's temple.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand again and delivered two consecutive flicks to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head.

"Ow! Ow!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hurriedly clutched her head with both forepaws and looked at Bi Ji pitifully. "Sister Bi Ji, I was wrong! I won't joke around anymore!"

"That's more like it." Bi Ji withdrew her hand and shook her head helplessly. "He came here seeking treatment. I merely treated him while I was at it. But you—"

"Since you've come here, stay obediently by my side. You are not allowed to run off again."

Her tone was gentle, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"Got it..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion drooped her head, scratched the spot that had been flicked with a forepaw, and reluctantly agreed.

She stepped forward to follow Bi Ji toward the tranquil forest at the center of Lake Heart Island.

Yet her three eyes still could not help repeatedly glancing back at the peculiar group of three dragons and one human by the lake.

"Sister Bi Ji, those three dragons... what exactly are they?"

"That human's Martial Soul is very special. It is a Mutated Martial Soul..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's three eyes all lit up.

"That amazing? Does that mean... those soul beasts did not truly die?"

"You could understand it that way." Bi Ji nodded slightly. "But because of that, their fates have become completely bound to that boy's. If he lives, they remain. If he dies, they disperse. That is why they would save him at any cost."

"So that's how it is..." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion thoughtfully looked back once more.

By the lakeshore, as Bi Ji and the Auspicious Beast departed, the other Emerald Swans gradually scattered as well.

The Three-Headed Dragon Beast let out a breath of relief.

The invisible pressure Bi Ji had exerted just now, along with the profound and ethereal aura around the Auspicious Beast, had placed them under immense strain.

"That was the legendary Auspicious Beast..."

The Wind Dragon muttered softly, its jade-green dragon eyes filled with shock. "I didn't think she really existed."

The Fire Dragon cautiously approached Jiang Bai and gently nudged its master's cheek with its snout.

A low whimper came from its throat. Then it lowered itself and coiled its massive body around Jiang Bai.

Seeing this, the Earth Dragon and Wind Dragon lay down to either side as well. The Three-Headed Dragon Beast formed a triangular formation around Jiang Bai, guarding him in the middle as they warily watched everything around them.

Time slowly passed in the silence.

Emerald Lake was beautiful at night. The lake surface reflected the stars and bright moon overhead, while the luminescent plants along the shore emitted a soft blue-green glow.

At midnight, a faint rustling came from the direction of Lake Heart Island.

The Three-Headed Dragon Beast raised their heads in alarm at the same time, their dragon eyes glimmering faintly in the darkness.

A golden figure poked her head out from the edge of the forest. The golden flames beneath her four paws were especially conspicuous in the night, yet she carefully suppressed them to keep them from shining too brightly.

It was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

She seemed to be trying to sneak out, moving so lightly that she made almost no sound.

Her golden eyes darted about. She first cautiously scanned her surroundings, and only after confirming that Bi Ji and the other Emerald Swans were not paying attention did she creep toward the lakeshore.

The Three-Headed Dragon Beast exchanged glances, each seeing confusion and wariness in the others' eyes.

But remembering that she was the Auspicious Beast, an existence even Bi Ji treated with respect, they did not dare act rashly. They could only remain lying down and pretend to be asleep.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion soon arrived near them.

She first curiously studied the Three-Headed Dragon Beast. Her gaze lingered on them briefly before finally settling on Jiang Bai in the middle.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves and fell across the boy's face, outlining his delicate features.

"This human..." the Three-Eyed Golden Lion muttered softly. "He's actually pretty good-looking..."

She slowly circled Jiang Bai once, observing him with all three eyes.

Driven by an indescribable curiosity and impulse, the blood-red vertical eye on her forehead slowly opened. An invisible fluctuation carrying the aura of destiny quietly spread out, enveloping Jiang Bai's entire body.

The bloody glow within the vertical eye violently surged, as though a massive boulder had been thrown into a calm lake!

She sensed countless intertwined threads of fate extending from this human. Some were thick and bright, while others were thin and dim.

But what shocked her most was Jiang Bai's fortune!

"Gasp—!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sucked in a sharp breath, and her vertical eye instantly closed.

"This human's fortune... how can it be so immense? And his threads of fate... it is as though they have been deliberately marked!"

Could this human be...?

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's heart pounded wildly.

She withdrew the Eye of Destiny, but she could not suppress the curiosity filling her heart.

This seemingly ordinary human boy possessed far more secrets than she had imagined.

She circled Jiang Bai twice more, placing each paw down with extreme care, afraid of disturbing something.

In the end, she stopped in front of Jiang Bai, lowered her enormous head, and fixed all three eyes tightly on his sleeping face.

Curious.

Far too curious.

As the Auspicious Beast, she was innately close to profound forces such as destiny and fortune.

She had seen the threads of fate of countless living beings, but Jiang Bai was the first like this.

She wanted to see more clearly.

She wanted to know what exactly was hidden within that halo.

A bold thought took root in her heart, spread, and eventually overwhelmed her reason and caution.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion took a deep breath and slowly lowered her head, gently pressing the blood-red vertical eye at the center of her forehead against Jiang Bai's brow.

The instant they touched—

"Bzzzt!!!"

An invisible hum exploded at the level of their souls!

Strange, distorted halos erupted from the point between their foreheads, instantly enveloping Jiang Bai and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!

"!!!"

The Three-Headed Dragon Beast instantly jolted awake from their feigned sleep. Their dragon eyes widened so much they nearly popped from their sockets!

They abruptly rose, instinctively wanting to rush over and separate their master from the Auspicious Beast.

Yet the aura emitted by that halo made it impossible for them to move even a step!

"W-What is happening?!"

"Oh no! If anything happens to the Auspicious Beast, we... we'll probably be chopped into meat paste by that senior!"

The Three-Headed Dragon Beast were frantic, yet utterly helpless.

They could only watch helplessly as the two figures within the cocoon of light gradually blurred, as though they were about to merge into one.

At that moment, inside the halo.

Jiang Bai's Spiritual Sea, which had long remained still, was stirred into monstrous waves!

The originally dark and chaotic space of consciousness was violently invaded by a golden torrent!

That torrent carried vast fragments of information, as boundless as the sea.

Di Tian's stern teachings, Bi Ji's gentle caress, running through the forest—

This information was too immense and too chaotic, crashing against Jiang Bai's mental barriers like a tsunami.

At the same time, Jiang Bai's memories surfaced within the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Spiritual Sea.

The two forces formed a perfect cycle between them.

No one knew how much time passed.

The light slowly faded. The distorted halos drew back in, eventually becoming two specks of light. One entered Jiang Bai's brow, while the other entered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's vertical eye.

Silence returned to the lakeshore.

Jiang Bai still lay beneath the tree, breathing steadily.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, however, staggered back two steps, all three eyes filled with confusion and shock.

She could feel that something had appeared deep within her soul.

Fragments of memories that did not belong to her, vague knowledge of the human world, and a strange,

warm sense of connection.

Far away at the center of Lake Heart Island, Bi Ji, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, seemed to sense something.

She immediately flew over.

Bi Ji looked at the staggering Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and for the first time, her stunning face revealed an expression of gravity and deep thought.

Auspicious Beast, what exactly did you do?