Lake of Life

The moon was bright and the stars were few. A Sisi chill crept up his spine, and Chen Yuan was jolted awake from his unconsciousness, sitting up abruptly.

As soon as I sat up, the first thing that caught my eye was a small, light green lake with a smooth, mirror-like surface, resembling jade.

Even at night, its vibrant green light is clearly visible, and Chen Yuan can clearly sense that this place is full of life and has an incredibly strong vitality.

"Old Yi, what's the situation now?"

"Don't worry, I'm watching. If those beasts make any move to harm you, I'll get you out of here immediately."

"Alright, thank you for your trouble Old Yi."

Standing up, Chen Yuan was surprised to find that despite lying on the grass for so long, he wasn't covered in any dust.

The red light separated from Chen Yuan, Dali Gu curiously looked around as soon as he emerged.

"Xiao Yuan, why did you suddenly call me out Gulu?"

"It's been too long since I let you out; let you get some fresh air."

19

Chen Yuan looked around. It was eerily quiet. Even though the scenery was beautiful, Chen Yuan still felt a chill run down his spine.

On all the maps of the Star Dou Great Forest, only the very center is always blood red. To this day, no one knows what the Land of Great Evil at the core of the Star Dou Great Forest looks like.

Chen Yuan was fortunate enough to become the first one.

"Oh? This dragon is your partner?"

A tall, black figure appeared silently beside Chen Yuan, curiously eyeing Dali Gu standing at Chen Yuan's feet.

Di Tian sensed a faint but powerful bloodline aura emanating from the small dragon before him. He was certain of the dragon's species; he had never seen one before.

Could it be a newly emerged sub-dragon species on the Douluo Continent? But why would a sub-dragon species possess such a high-level bloodline?

Moreover, it's so small, yet it can talk; this clearly doesn't fit Di Tian's understanding.

Di Tian had been observing Chen Yuan, the Son of Nature, when he saw a dragon separate from Chen Yuan's body.

Judging from this, it's not a detached martial soul, but more like a deeper connection.

Because of Dali Gu, Di Tian's gaze towards Chen Yuan became much kinder. He had previously only valued Chen Yuan's status Son of Nature and intended to give something in exchange for Chen Yuan's future possession of the Seed of Nature here.

"You are... Senior Di Tian?"

"Well, if you want to call me that, then call me that. Is this dragon your martial soul? Or something else?"

"Dali Gu, he is my partner in life and death."

"Yes! We'll share life and death, Gulu!"

Dali Gu assumed the starting stance of the Eighteen Arhat Fist towards Di Tian, looking very fierce. Chen Yuan followed suit.

Now that Di Tian has brought him here, Chen Yuan no longer needs to worry about his life.

Speechless, utterly speechless.

Looking at the two, a man and a dragon, clowning around in front of him, Di Tian felt that the future of the continent was bleak, even bleaker than his own dragon life.

"Alright, regarding your previous kidnapping of the Auspicious Beast, tell me, how should I settle this with you?"

"Oh, you need to go find Xuan Zi. He's the one who kidnapped me. I'm just an accomplice at most."

17

"Even accomplices must die before me!"

Di Tian unleashed a terrifying surge of Soul Power, as if Chen Yuan were witnessing an endless abyss.

The killing intent and dragon's might instantly locked onto Chen Yuan, the chilling killing intent pulling Chen Yuan out of his shock at Di Tian's Soul Power.

Chen Yuan decisively activated his right palm bone, unleashing his Domination Domain. The oppressive Soul Power and dragon might vanished without a trace.

Upon seeing the golden halo filled with black runes beneath Chen Yuan's feet, Di Tian fell silent.

No? Weren't Golden Lion Mastiff extinct long ago? How can there still be a Golden Lion Mastiff's Soul Bone? And it even comes with the Domination Domain?

Upon seeing the Domination Domain, Di Tian knew that his pressure would have no effect on Chen Yuan, and his plan to intimidate him had failed.

Since intimidating Chen Yuan into staying at the Lake of Life has failed, let's try a more conciliatory approach.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

Chen Yuan.

Di Tian sat cross-legged on the ground, his gaze fixed on Chen Yuan's forehead, where the skin was smooth and white, with no visible marks.

Seeing Chen Yuan sitting so openly next to him, Di Tian couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

This human is the first to dare sit next to him, the leader of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts.

"The mark I saw on you earlier wasn't the mark of a divine inheritor, was it?"

"Oh? Senior Di Tian noticed?"

"At first, I was also fooled by you. While you were unconscious, I examined your body, and there was no divine power within you."

"Even if it's just the inheritance mark of a Second-Level God, the inheritor should still possess some divine power within them. This is your most fatal flaw—your attempt to intimidate others by borrowing their power."

"You're just using someone else's power to intimidate others. I doubt anyone on the entire Douluo Planet except me will notice anything amiss."

Di Tian saw neither surprise nor panic at the exposure of his lie on Chen Yuan's face; this made him somewhat bored.

"Senior Di Tian didn't kill me, so it seems he knows my true identity, right?"

"Yes, the Ten Thousand Demon King reported your identity as the Son of Nature to me when we first met today."

"The Ten Thousand Demon King, it's not surprising that it is."

From the moment Di Tian exposed his identity as a false god's successor, Chen Yuan knew his identity as the Son of Nature, and Di Tian must have known as well.

It was unexpected that Di Tian had already learned about this from the Ten Thousand Demon King from the very beginning.

It seems there's no problem. After all, the Ten Thousand Demon King is a 530,000-year-old Demon Eye Demon Tree, the strongest Plant-type Soul Beast in the Douluo Continent.

As Plant-type Soul Beast, it's understandable that it could detect Chen Yuan's abnormality.

But why isn't the Ten Thousand Demon King here? As Plant-type Soul Beast, shouldn't it be practically begging to be with Chen Yuan after seeing him?

"Judging from your expression, you should know the importance of the Son of Nature. If it weren't for me and the Ten Thousand Demon King being here today, the entire Douluo Planet would have perished because of you!"

"Senior Di Tian, let's skip the pointless chatter and get straight to the point. Since you know I am the Son of Nature, what is your purpose in bringing me here?"

Di Tian glanced at Chen Yuan, wondering if this kid had some other trump card, or if he was simply certain that Di Tian wouldn't do anything to him.

"It's very simple, just plant the Seed of Nature in my Star Dou Great Forest."

"Ten thousand years ago, the Sea God Tang San transplanted the Golden Tree from the Core Zone of my Star Dou Great Forest to the Shrek Academy."

"When I awoke, the Golden Tree had become the Life Core, and could not be disturbed lightly. Therefore, I must now correct everything and allow the Life Core to return to my Star Dou Great Forest."

"If you agree, you'll be an honored guest of my Star Dou Great Forest. I can help you with your remaining four Soul Ring, and they'll definitely be 100,000-year-old! You can choose any Soul Bone from the Star Dou Great Forest."

With four Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, a complete set of Soul Bone, and the status of an honored guest in the Star Dou Great Forest, it can be said that Di Tian's sincerity is very evident.

In the world of Soul Beast, there isn't much intrigue and backstabbing; in most cases, it's a matter of who has the bigger fist.

Therefore, the emotions of Soul Beast are often much more genuine than those of humans.

"What if I want the Scarlet King?"

"The Soul Ring of Ferocious Beast are not something a human like you can absorb, even if you are Son of Nature."

"If you want to burst from being stuffed, as long as you can beat the Scarlet King, it's fine."

Ferocious Beast Soul Ring — the Soul Power contained in it can only be withstood by Soul Master at least at the Titled Douluo level.

Soul Master at the Titled Douluo level generally don't have empty Soul Ring slots, unless they are Twin Martial Souls Soul Master.

Alternatively, one could have already reached the level of Titled Douluo before Titled Douluo, as only in this way could one absorb the Soul Ring of Ferocious Beast.

The Scarlet King's lifespan is 300,000 years, which places even higher demands on Soul Master. Not everyone has the same opportunity as Huo Yuhao, which allows Ferocious Beast to actively seal its own origin.

With Electrolux by his side, Chen Yuan doesn't need to worry about excess energy. If things really get too tough, Electrolux can simply place a seal on his Soul Ring and his body.

"Forget it, let's keep Scarlet King as a backup option for the seventh Soul Ring for now. Maybe I'll find a better choice."

Di Tian didn't take Chen Yuan's words seriously, thinking it was just an excuse that a young man was too embarrassed to admit his difficulties.

"To be honest, after I became Son of Nature, I also thought about where to plant the Seed of Nature, Star Dou Great Forest was the first choice that came to mind."

"Oh? Why not choose Shrek? You're a Shrek student, aren't you? Shouldn't you be thinking about contributing to your academy?"

"Pfft! Hahaha--!"

Chen Yuan couldn't help but burst out laughing, which puzzled Di Tian. Was there anything funny about what he had just said?

Dali Gu lay on Di Tian's lap, enjoying Di Tian's massage. It's estimated that only Dali Gu and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion on the entire continent received this treatment.

After laughing for a while, Chen Yuan sat up straight, rubbing his slightly aching stomach, and looked at Di Tian with a puzzled expression.

"I apologize, I lost my composure, Senior Di Tian. Why do you think I should bring Seed of Nature to Shrek?"

"Isn't that your academy? Don't you Shrek people value Shrek Academy highly? The Golden Tree is right there at the Shrek Academy, so there shouldn't be any problem planting the next Life Core there, right?"

"But Shrek is just an academy."

Chen Yuan immediately gave his answer.

"I paid tuition to attend Shrek Academy, and I received a lot of resources Shrek, but I also helped Shrek maintain its so-called eternal glory."

"Many of the things I received weren't given to me by the academy, but rather privately bestowed upon me by those elders in their own capacity."

"Those favors absolutely cannot be attributed to Shrek."

At this point, Chen Yuan thought of Gong Changlong, who was currently the only person among Shrek's high-ranking officials that Chen Yuan cared about.

Whether it was the Golden Lion Mastiff or the Blazing Pegasus Right Leg Bone that had not yet been fused, Chen Yuan could feel that Gong Changlong truly cared for him.

"Shrek has always been just an academy to me. I may spend a part of my life there, but it's not my whole life."

"What would an academy need Life Core for? If I weren't worried about the potential disaster such an important thing could bring, I might have just planted it in my own home."

Compared to Shrek, the Seed of Nature of Small Lake Village Shrek a higher priority in Chen Yuan's heart.

Putting aside other things, the Seed of Nature in Small Lake Village ensures that the villagers are free from illness and disaster, and live to be a hundred years old without any problem.

"An academy? Yes, Shrek was once an academy, but now it's become a large, neutral force."

"In that case, can I take it as you agreeing to my conditions?"

"I don't need Soul Beast from the Star Dou Great Forest for my sixth Soul Ring, and I already have several targets for Soul Bone."

For his sixth Soul Ring, Chen Yuan will definitely go to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to get his hands on the Infernal Delicate Apricot. For his seventh spirit ring, he'll see if he can turn his fortunes Extreme Reversal the Snow Empress's spirit ring. If not, he'll have to find another target.

The Scarlet King should be considered as an alternative after the Snow Empress's Extreme Reversal to turn things around.

If Chen Yuan were to choose the Scarlet King at the seventh ring, he would definitely have to replace the Scarlet King with Soul Spirit, allowing it to provide the remaining Soul Ring for Chen Yuan.

Anyway, Chen Yuan and the Scarlet King were already one entity at that time, so they definitely had to be squeezed dry.

In return, Chen Yuan will help the Scarlet King become a god!

As for Soul Bone, the Fire Dragon King's Soul Bone is definitely a must-have. The others can be checked at the Dragon Graveyard later; the Mountain Dragon King's Torso Bone would be quite suitable.

"Senior Di Tian, I want your Star Dou Great Forest to stand unconditionally behind me in the future."

"Hmm? What are you planning to do?"

"To do something that can overturn the current state of the Soul Master World, and even the entire Douluo Continent."

Soul Spirit, a valuable element that appeared in the Douluo II and became mainstream in the Douluo III, how could Chen Yuan possibly give up on them?

In the original story, if Huo Yuhao hadn't inherited the Divine Throne, he could have accumulated enough Power of Faith to ascend to the Divine Realm in a few decades.

Besides, wasn't Chen Yuan's purpose in seizing the Snow Empress to allow Electrolux to research Soul Spirit? For that, he killed someone who had no grudge against him.

Chen Yuan felt sorry for that person. Chen Yuan acknowledged that he had made a mistake in this matter, but Chen Yuan did not regret it.

The Soul Spirit is extremely important. Without the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Wisdom Soul Ring Technique, the Snow Empress Embryo must be obtained.

The original Soul Spirit was something that Electrolux had roughly researched in the very short time before his death, and there were many imperfections. That Soul Spirit Method could be said to completely devour the Soul Beast, leaving no soul untouched.

Huo Yuhao, the Child of Destiny tasked with resolving the conflict between humans and Soul Beast, was in such a hurry to ascend to find Tang Wutong that he didn't perfect his Soul Spirit Method.

The rapid development of Soul Tool and the emergence of storage methods such as Soul Spirit Ball further accelerated the demise of the Soul Beast Clan.

This time, Chen Yuan plans to have Electrolux add an equal contract, or some other magic, to the Soul Spirit Method Soul Spirit Method to completely perfect it and directly harvest the faith of humans and all Soul Beast.

However, there are simply too many issues and powerful forces involved.

Anyway, now is the perfect time. Let's just get Di Tian and the Soul Beast onto his pirate ship first.