Three-Eyed Golden Lion

An extremely rare soul beast with powerful healing abilities.

Legend had it that its blood could regrow flesh and bones and revive the dead. Powder ground from its antlers was the main ingredient in refining top-tier healing elixirs.

Emerald Spirit Deer were gentle by nature and never attacked first. Yet precisely because of that, their numbers were scarce, their whereabouts elusive, and they were exceedingly difficult to find.

Unexpectedly, they had encountered one after searching for less than half an hour.

"Judging by its Soul Power fluctuations, it should be around four thousand years old." Long Aotian licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Perfect for your second soul ring. Junior Brother, want it?"

Dai Tu nodded. "Yes."

"Alright, watch me."

Long Aotian grinned, his body flickering as he vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he appeared at the edge of the forest clearing, less than a hundred paces from the Emerald Spirit Deer.

The Emerald Spirit Deer immediately sensed danger. It raised its head, and a hint of panic flashed through its pair of emerald-green, gem-like eyes.

It neither attacked nor fled. It merely retreated two steps, lowered its head, aimed its beautiful antlers at Long Aotian, and let out a warning cry.

"Pretty alert." Long Aotian smiled. Without using a soul skill, he flickered and vanished again.

When he reappeared, he was already behind the Emerald Spirit Deer. His right hand clenched into a fist, and he threw a punch.

There was no Soul Power fluctuation, no earth-shaking display—only the simplest, most direct straight punch. Yet wherever the force of the punch passed, the air let out a piercing boom, and even space twisted slightly.

The Emerald Spirit Deer tried to dodge, but before Long Aotian, its speed was as slow as a snail's.

Bang!

The fist struck the Emerald Spirit Deer squarely in the ribs.

Crack—

A crisp sound of breaking bones rang out.

The Emerald Spirit Deer cried out miserably. Its entire body was blasted sideways by the punch, snapping seven or eight small trees as thick as bowls before crashing heavily into an ancient tree that took three people to encircle. It slid to the ground, large mouthfuls of emerald-green blood pouring from its mouth.

Long Aotian shook out his hand and walked back to Dai Tu, looking as relaxed as if he had just swatted a fly.

"Done. A four-thousand-year Emerald Spirit Deer, severely injured in one blow and stripped of its ability to fight. Junior Brother, go on. Put it out of its misery, then absorb the soul ring."

Dai Tu glanced at him without speaking, then silently walked over to the Emerald Spirit Deer.

The Emerald Spirit Deer was still alive, but the light had already faded from its emerald-green eyes, leaving behind only pain and... a profound sorrow.

It looked at Dai Tu, at this black-haired youth, and a faint, weeping whimper came from its throat.

Dai Tu crouched down and gently stroked its head.

It felt icy cold, like a piece of fine jade. Its fur was soft and carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.

"I'm sorry," Dai Tu said softly, unsure whether he was saying it to the deer or to himself.

The scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan spun in his eyes, and black flames quietly emerged at the tips of his right fingers.

Amaterasu.

The black flames fell upon the Emerald Spirit Deer and burned soundlessly.

There was no pain, no struggle, not even a scream. The Emerald Spirit Deer's body slowly dissipated within the black flames, like a pencil drawing being erased bit by bit, until it became nothingness.

In the end, only a profound emerald-green soul ring remained, floating in midair and radiating a gentle yet majestic aura of life.

A four-thousand-year soul ring.

Dai Tu sat cross-legged and drew the soul ring toward himself, beginning the absorption.

The process went smoothly. The Emerald Spirit Deer was a healing-type soul beast, and the energy of its soul ring was gentle. Combined with the Tree of Life Martial Soul's natural affinity, there was almost no resistance during absorption.

Half an hour later, the soul ring had been fully absorbed. Dai Tu opened his eyes, satisfaction flashing through them.

"How was it? What soul skill did you get?" Long Aotian leaned closer curiously.

Dai Tu rose to his feet. With a thought, the Tree of Life Martial Soul appeared behind him.

Two soul rings rose from beneath his feet. One was a deep purple, four thousand years old; the other... was also purple. Though its color was slightly lighter, it had still exceeded a thousand years.

"Second soul skill—Life Eulogy." Dai Tu's voice was calm.

"Group healing, with a range of three hundred meters. It can also accelerate the Soul Power recovery of allies within the range by roughly... thirty percent."

"Group healing? And it speeds up Soul Power recovery?" Long Aotian's eyes lit up. "Come on, try it on me."

Dai Tu nodded. With a thought, his second soul ring lit up.

Emerald-green light spread outward from him, forming a green halo twenty zhang in diameter. Within the halo, grass and trees grew wildly, flowers bloomed in profusion, and even the air became fresh and sweet.

Standing within the halo, Long Aotian could feel a gentle vitality flowing into his body, nourishing his meridians, soothing hidden injuries, and even greatly increasing the speed at which his Soul Power circulated.

"Damn..." Long Aotian felt the changes within his body, shock flashing through his eyes.

"This is stronger than the sixth soul skills of the healing-type soul masters in our sect. And accelerating Soul Power recovery... in a prolonged battle, this is practically a divine skill!"

Dai Tu withdrew his soul skill and nodded. "It will be less effective on Soul Emperors and above, but for Soul Ancestors and Soul Elders, it should be a great help."

"More than a great help—it's a lifesaver." Long Aotian patted Dai Tu on the shoulder and grinned.

"Junior Brother, your Martial Soul will definitely become our sect's treasure someday. If those old fellows find out you have this soul skill, they'll probably put you on an altar and send you pills every day."

Dai Tu did not respond. He only asked, "Senior Brother, what about your soul ring? Do you have a target?"

Long Aotian's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I'm looking for a ten-thousand-year soul beast focused on strength or vitality, preferably over fifty thousand years old. Those kinds of soul beasts are hard to find. We'll have to go deeper."

Dai Tu nodded. "Then let's go. My third soul ring also needs to be over ten thousand years old, preferably a mental or destruction-type soul beast suitable for the Mangekyō."

The two set off again, heading deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

The farther they went, the more primitive the forest became. The trees grew taller, and the light dimmer.

Thousand-year soul beasts had become rare. In their place were ten-thousand-year soul beasts radiating powerful Soul Power fluctuations. Some lurked deep in swamps, some occupied mountain peaks, and some wandered through forest clearings. Every one of them exuded a terrifying ferocious aura.

Dai Tu and Long Aotian were very careful, avoiding areas with particularly intense Soul Power fluctuations whenever possible. Even so, they still encountered several attacks.

And so, the two fought their way deeper into the forest.

Yet they still failed to find suitable soul beasts.

Strength-type soul beasts over fifty thousand years old were simply too rare. Soul beasts of that level were overlord-class existences even within the Star Dou Great Forest. They were either in the core region or forbidden areas and rarely showed themselves.

As for mental or destruction-type ten-thousand-year soul beasts suited for the Mangekyō, they were equally difficult to find. Under the Mangekyō's insight, Dai Tu had discovered several soul beasts such as Nightmare Beasts and Soul-Devouring Spiders, but none were old enough. They were only twenty or thirty thousand years old at most, far below his requirements.

"This isn't going to work." Long Aotian leaned against an ancient tree, breathing heavily. His body was covered in blood—some from soul beasts, some his own.

"Further ahead is the deeper part of the mixed zone, close to the edge of the core region." Dai Tu raised his head and looked toward the darker, more primitive forest ahead. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun at full force as he tried to see farther into the distance.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

"Senior Brother, look over there." Dai Tu's voice tightened as he pointed northeast.

Long Aotian followed the direction of his finger, but saw nothing—only layer upon layer of trees and spreading mist.

"Look at what? I don't see anything."

"Eighteen hundred paces away, two soul beasts are fighting." Dai Tu's voice was low, carrying a trace of disbelief.

"No, they aren't fighting. It's... one chasing and the other fleeing. The one fleeing is a Shadow Demon Tiger over fifty thousand years old, but it doesn't dare fight back at all. Like a stray dog, it's focused only on running for its life."

Long Aotian froze. "A fifty-thousand-year Shadow Demon Tiger doesn't dare fight back? What's chasing it? A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

Dai Tu did not answer. He only stared fixedly in that direction, the pattern of his Mangekyō spinning wildly as he tried to see the scene more clearly.

Then he saw it.

Chasing behind the Shadow Demon Tiger was a golden figure, brilliant beyond measure.

It was a soul beast... one he had never seen before, yet one that had appeared in certain fragmented memories.

It was no more than three chi long, its entire body covered in dazzling golden scales as translucent as crystal. Its head resembled a lion's, but a third eye grew upon its forehead, its vertical pupil an enchanting rose gold.

Its tail resembled a dragon's, with a cluster of golden flames burning at its tip. Its four claws were sharp as blades, and it walked through the air. With every step it took, a phantom of a golden lotus bloomed beneath its feet.

Elegant, noble, sacred.

Yet it also radiated an almost arrogant majesty that stood above all things.

"This is..." Dai Tu's heart gave a violent thump.

He remembered.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast.