"Hmm? Golden Lion, what's wrong?"
When Tang Heng got home, he suddenly noticed a glow coming from inside the doghouse. Golden Lion was curled up in a ball, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Awooo~"
Golden Lion had no idea what was happening, so she could only answer her master's question with a soft whine.
This sort of thing didn't happen often. Maybe he could figure out more of the game's mechanics, so Tang Heng watched Golden Lion's changes closely.
It didn't last long, just a little while.
After about half an hour, the dazzling golden light had completely faded.
Golden Lion felt her whole body grow lighter, as if something faint had come from a distant place and lifted her up.
When she stepped out of the doghouse, Tang Heng stared in astonishment.
Had she gone to Korea for cosmetic surgery?
Her fur was golden, and her entire body seemed to be made of translucent crystal, giving it an unusual texture.
Golden Lion's overall shape now resembled a lion, but her four paws were dragon claws, each one treading upon a ball of golden flame.
Her muzzle was also longer than that of other lion-type Soul Beasts, and beneath her fur seemed to be fine golden scales.
In addition to her normal pair of eyes, she had a third eye—a vertical pupil.
Her two ordinary eyes shimmered gold, while the vertical pupil gave off a strange, demonic red glow.
His Soul Spirit had evolved, becoming a Three-Eyed Golden Lion, a beast of auspicious omen.
Tang Heng hurriedly switched to his Gold Dragon King Martial Soul and found that all three of his Soul Skills had improved, each by a considerable amount. Their power had increased by at least fifty percent.
Now that really was getting more for his money.
"Master!"
Golden Lion pounced on him in delight, pinning him to the ground with her four paws. She stuck out her tongue and licked his face, her tail wagging like a helicopter rotor.
"You can talk now?"
Tang Heng pushed Golden Lion off him. That last sentence hadn't been telepathic; he had genuinely heard her speak.
"Mm! Thank you, Master. If it weren't for you, I might never have achieved this form in my entire life."
Golden Lion spun in place, seeming to love her new appearance.
Back when her awareness was still hazy, she had followed her instincts and chosen to stay by his side. It had been the best decision of her life as a beast.
Tang Heng was just as happy. She was his Soul Spirit, after all.
He guessed that the Dragon God Bloodline had been activated during the self Martial Soul Fusion just now, and Golden Lion, who was deeply bonded to him, had been affected by the Dragon God's aura as well. She had broken through her shackles in one go, becoming the second Emperor Auspicious Beast.
The Dragon God really was useful for everything.
Tang Heng ruffled Golden Lion's head. Now that she had become a Three-Eyed Golden Lion, her body had grown a full size larger.
But the feel of her fur hadn't gotten any worse.
Golden Lion enjoyed Tang Heng's petting, too, and purred like a kitten being scratched in just the right spot.
"This servant wants the master's loving touch, too~"
The Spirit Sheath said this from inside his backpack, sounding a little aggrieved.
"You just sit tight for now and work on that habit of yours of saying lewd things," Tang Heng said bluntly, with a lack of patience.
Ever since the Spirit Sheath had gained its own consciousness, fighting monsters had become inconvenient. Every time he used it, the thing kept spouting one lewd remark after another.
He finally understood why some people didn't want to use Senren Banka.
One "Ciallo~ (∠・ω)⌒☆" per slash. Even that got annoying after a while.
"Waaah, Master, your words have wounded this servant's heart."
Though it said that, the Spirit Sheath still obeyed. At least it didn't make any more lewd remarks while Tang Heng continued petting the Auspicious Beast.
He stroked her head and belly with practiced hands, petting Golden Lion until she could barely stand it. Her whole body went limp.
Only after a while did he finally withdraw his wicked hands, satisfied.
By then, Golden Lion was lying on her back, belly up, panting with her tongue out. Her eyes were slightly unfocused.
"Ha, that hit the spot."
Tang Heng stood up and summoned the three Soul Rings of his Gold Dragon King Martial Soul.
The deep purple glow from before had been replaced by a heavy black radiance. He hadn't expected a single bloodline evolution to add four thousand years of cultivation, turning all three of his Soul Rings into Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.
If the word "invincible" were written on his face right now, it would have to be in huge letters.
"Wulin should be about to reach level ten. I'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest and get him a Soul Spirit for his birthday."
Tang Heng thought it over.
There was a Spirit Ascension Platform dimension here, so he could turn Soul Beasts into Soul Spirits, too.
Come to think of it, if he made a bunch of powerful Soul Spirits, could he steal the Spirit Pagoda's business?
Don't miss out! True Dragon Soul Spirits, going up for auction!
Tang Heng chuckled. If he really did that, the Spirit Pagoda would probably come after him and blow him to pieces.
But plenty of powerful factions would likely protect him. The Spirit Pagoda controlled the core technology for Soul Spirits, and in this age of extinct Soul Beasts, that was tantamount to holding Soul Masters' lifelines.
If he could produce Soul Spirits equal to the Spirit Pagoda's in both quality and quantity, he would effectively break its monopoly.
That was something plenty of other factions would be happy to see.
But he had no plans to do that for now. Catching Soul Beasts one by one and taking them to the Spirit Ascension Platform to make Soul Spirits would take too much effort.
He'd be better off reaching the Limit early, then reincarnating to farm attributes. Once he became a god, would he really care about those few crumbs?
As the saying went, "While your neighbor hoards grain, you stockpile guns. Your neighbor becomes your granary."
After putting on his Enchanted Diamond Armor and preparing various potions and Golden Apples, Tang Heng set out for the Star Dou Great Forest with Golden Lion.
As soon as they arrived, Tang Heng sensed something was wrong.
Wait, why was there a green lake here?
He opened the map and realized he'd accidentally selected the wrong location. He'd been teleported straight to the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
This lake had to be the legendary Lake of Life, with a pile of priceless Life Gold at the bottom.
There were plenty of Soul Beasts near the lake, all immensely powerful.
A million-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, a million-year-old Silver Moon Wolf King, a million-year-old Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign...
For now, the effects on his body kept these Soul Beasts from attacking him, but if he got too close, he still risked being attacked.
Tang Heng glanced at the Lake of Life, steeled himself, and gritted his teeth. "If I die, so what? I can just revive! Fortune favors the bold, right?"
He pulled out an Enchanted Netherite Pickaxe, drank a Water Breathing Potion, and plunged straight into the Lake of Life.
"Regeneration X, Damage Absorption X, Max Health Boost X"
The moment he entered the lake, several positive effects appeared. These were even more outrageous than Enchanted Gold.
Tang Heng didn't waste any time. He took out some water bottles and filled them with lake water, too.
Just as he was about to dive to the bottom, a loud crash erupted overhead.
A Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was fighting a million-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.
Wait, why had an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion spawned here?
The battle quickly came to an end. There was no suspense: the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was no match for the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. Its stats were way too overpowered.
Even Di Tian himself would probably have a hard time fighting this thing.
"Hmm? It dropped equipment. Is that a Soul Bone?"
Tang Heng spotted something floating on the lake. After the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King had gone farther away, he surfaced and picked it up.
[Ice Jade Empress Scorpion · Beast Disk]
[Use: Beef, Chicken, Pork]
Holy crap, it had dropped a Beast Disk!
This thing was a real treasure. It could directly give him the corresponding Soul Beast, and he could raise it to as old as ten million years. If he didn't want it anymore, he could choose to turn it into a soul, making it his new Martial Soul.
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