Three-Eyed Golden Lion

Night fell.

While Duke Molong was out checking on his men's watch, Xia Linyuan, who had seemed to be fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes. His golden eyes shone dazzlingly in the darkness.

"Second-Fold Inversion!" Xia Linyuan said in a low voice.

The next moment, something seemed to stir in the darkness around him, but soon it fell still. Xia Linyuan closed his eyes again.

A hundred meters from the river where Xia Linyuan and the others had set up camp, a tall, slender figure was walking away with his back to them.

He looked to be only about twenty. His short white hair was neat and tidy, and his golden eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion. Yet despite their icy gaze, those eyes were as deep as a bottomless whirlpool. Meeting them felt like being pulled into its depths.

If Duke Molong and the others had seen that face, they would never have believed their eyes.

Because that face was none other than Xia Linyuan's—or rather, an older version of Xia Linyuan.

Just moments ago, while Duke Molong was out checking on his men's watch, Xia Linyuan had used his ability, "Nine-Fold Inverted Body," to create a clone. The clone was pretending to rest in the tent, while Xia Linyuan himself slipped out and hid in the darkness.

"Carlos," he called in a low, cultured voice.

As if in response, a loud cry rang through the forest.

The next moment, a giant Dragon Crow landed before him, its beating wings stirring up gusts of wind.

With a light leap, Xia Linyuan landed on Carlos's back.

"Carlos, let's go visit that poor little thing."

Carlos let out a long cry and beat his wings, carrying Xia Linyuan up into the air and toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

On the Dragon Crow's back, Xia Linyuan's cold, handsome face shifted and transformed into a completely different appearance.

In the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, inside the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's cave.

The resting Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to sense something. She opened all three eyes at once and rose, hurrying toward the cave entrance.

Suddenly, a huge crimson eye opened in the darkness before the entrance, startling the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Carlos, it seems this poor little thing doesn't like us very much," the low, cultured voice said with a chuckle.

"Who are you? Why have you trespassed on my territory?" a cool female voice came from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I've taken a liking to you."

A glimmer of light flashed at the cave entrance, and the entire dark cavern brightened.

"Human?!"

Seeing Xia Linyuan—and sensing the deep, abyssal aura of destruction emanating from him—the Three-Eyed Golden Lion instinctively retreated.

He was like a god high above, looking down on all beings. No one could even bring themselves to resist him.

"What do you want? I'm warning you! If you dare hurt me, I'll make sure you die horribly! You'll be plagued by misfortune! Di Tian and the others won't let you get away with it!"

"Oh, is that so?" Xia Linyuan couldn't help laughing. "You really think that just because you're called the Emperor Auspicious Beast, you can control other people's fates? Even R'lyeh can only destroy me, not control my fate. Do you think you're any different?"

The mockery in his voice was unmistakable.

"As for Di Tian, do you think he'd really oppose me for your sake?"

Xia Linyuan said coolly, "That little thing from just now, the one with three dog heads and a cultivation of three hundred thousand years, nearly got itself killed with a casual slap from my pet Carlos—the only thing it knows how to do is hunt."

"Let's make a guess. This is the Star Dou Great Forest's innermost Core Circle, and some time has passed since I let that little thing go. With Di Tian's cultivation, why do you think he still hasn't shown up to save you from me?"

That was right. Di Tian usually slept in the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, so why hadn't he come yet? Wasn't she the one he cherished most?

Once she understood the crucial point, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's heart sank. She stopped trying to act tough and simply lay on the ground, resigned to her fate.

"Heh." Seeing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion like this, Xia Linyuan couldn't help chuckling.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was already vexed at being abandoned by Di Tian. Hearing Xia Linyuan's contemptuous laughter only enraged her further. "Human! What are you laughing at?"

"Human?" A mass of pitch-black matter appeared from nowhere. Xia Linyuan sat down on it and reclined on his side. "I never said I was human. Though I used to be."

Staring straight at Xia Linyuan with all three eyes, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said coldly, "Human, what exactly do you want?"

"Didn't I already tell you? I've taken a liking to you."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at him coldly, clearly not believing a word.

Xia Linyuan suddenly said, "You've watched long enough. Surely you've seen enough by now, Di Tian?"

Di Tian!

At the sound of that name, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sprang to her feet.

"May I ask your name, sir?" a low voice asked.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but the Three-Eyed Golden Lion thought she heard a note of humble pleading in Di Tian's voice.

"My name is Nyarlathotep. You may call me Naiya."

"Esteemed Nyarlathotep, what would it take for you to return the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to us? Our Soul Beast Clan needs her."

"I only said I'd taken a liking to her. I never said I planned to take her away. I already have Carlos as a pet, and I have no interest in raising another little lion that can only serve as a mascot—even if this one has three eyes and a bit of a temper."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion didn't understand what he meant by "mascot," but she could more or less guess. She was instantly furious, but since she couldn't beat him, she could only seethe in silence.

"Thank you, sir." Di Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

"The one sleeping at the bottom of the lake should be awake by now, too, shouldn't they?" Xia Linyuan asked casually.

At Xia Linyuan's words, the air seemed to freeze.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was confused. Who was he talking about?

Several minutes passed in silence before Di Tian's voice sounded again. "Esteemed Nyarlathotep, please come with me."

"Heh." Xia Linyuan chuckled, rose, and headed for the cave entrance.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was curious about that person, too. This Nyarlathotep seemed to have come specifically to find her, so she wanted to follow him and see what kind of being that person was.

"Auspicious Beast, stay here and rest."

But before the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had gone far, Di Tian's low voice rang out.