Mu Tianyi pointed at the uncooked dragon meat beside them.
The Golden Earth Dragon King was enormous, and he had eaten less than a tenth of it.
The remaining raw meat was neatly arranged atop several broad leaves. It was bright red, clearly marbled, and looked fresh.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion swept her gaze over the pile of raw meat. Her vertical eye narrowed slightly, and the corner of her mouth seemed to twitch.
She said nothing, but her expression clearly conveyed:
Raw meat, no. Bring cooked meat.
Mu Tianyi understood her expression. After a moment of silence, he resigned himself to sitting back down before the grill, picking up another slab of meat and beginning to roast it.
What was this supposed to make him?
The Emperor Auspicious Beast's cook?
Forget it. Being alive was enough.
Three-Eyed Golden Lion: "You little human cub, no scared. No crying. You understand?"
Meanwhile.
At the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, beside a stream.
Xuan Zi leaned against a large rock with one leg crossed over the other. In his left hand, he held a jug of fruit wine he had specially mixed himself, while his right hand gripped the roasted, golden-brown leg of some unknown bird.
"Fruit wine with chicken legs—this Sea God Pavilion Master is unmatched."
He took a bite of meat, gulped down some wine, and looked up at the canopy overhead while humming an unknown tune. He was as content as if he were sunning himself in his own backyard.
He was in a good mood today.
He had helped that kid Mu Tianyi obtain the Golden Earth Dragon King's soul ring. The boy's talent truly was exceptional; he would surely achieve greatness in the future.
As for himself, he had wandered around the forest's outskirts, acquired some excellent fruit wine, and casually hunted a plump Wind Feather Chicken. This trip had been worth it.
Xuan Zi took a huge gulp of wine, narrowed his eyes, and smacked his lips.
Then—
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
A palm-sized jade plaque at his waist suddenly began vibrating wildly, emitting a piercing alarm.
Xuan Zi sprang up from the rock. Fruit wine splashed all over him, the bird leg flew from his hand, and he snatched up the jade plaque and looked down—
Fuck, it shattered.
The sensing mark on the Grade Eight defensive Soul Tool he had left with Mu Tianyi had shattered.
Xuan Zi's face instantly turned deathly pale.
"Something's gone terribly wrong!"
He threw down the jade plaque and transformed into a streak of gray light, shooting toward Mu Tianyi's location so quickly that he did not even have time to wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth.
A few minutes later.
Xuan Zi landed where they had been.
No one was there.
The Golden Earth Dragon King's corpse was still there. The grill was still there. The fire had not completely gone out. Fragments of the bronze mirror were scattered across the ground, reflecting a dazzling glare beneath the sunlight.
But Mu Tianyi was gone.
"Where's my disciple? Where's my disciple?!"
"Soul beasts, I'm not done with you!"
Xuan Zi's gaze fell upon the footprints on the ground.
They were clearly the tracks of a large soul beast.
Every step was deeply embedded in the soil, and the distance between the prints was immense, clearly left behind during a high-speed run.
The tracks continued without end, stretching toward the depths of the forest.
That direction led to the Core Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Great Fierce Land.
Xuan Zi's mind buzzed.
He stood where he was, his lips trembling twice, unable to say a single word.
It was over.
Completely over.
He had lost Mu En's great-grandson.
He had lost him at the edge of the Great Fierce Land, a place crawling with ten-thousand-year soul beasts and perhaps even hiding hundred-thousand-year ferocious beasts.
Xuan Zi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, they were bloodshot.
He did not give chase.
It was not that he did not want to. He simply did not dare.
He could sense several auras deep in that direction that made even him, a Rank 98 Super Douluo, feel his scalp go numb.
If he charged in alone, not only would he fail to save Mu Tianyi, he might end up getting himself killed as well.
Xuan Zi clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms and drew blood.
He gave that dark forest one final look, then turned and flew toward Shrek City.
This time, he flew much faster than before—so fast that he could not even care about the wind pouring into his mouth or the tears streaming wildly from his eyes.
But only one thought remained in his mind...
How was he supposed to explain this to Mu En?
Elsewhere.
Held in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mouth, Mu Tianyi once again experienced the familiar sensation of "the body flying through the sky while the soul chased after it."
Only this time, the mode of transportation had changed.
From Xuan Zi's hand to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mouth.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's speed was absurdly fast.
Flames flickered beneath her four hooves. Each step carried her more than ten meters, her body weaving through the forest like a golden bolt of lightning.
Mu Tianyi was held by the back of his collar, his entire body dangling in midair.
The wind shrieked painfully past his ears. Branches and vines flashed by at his sides, and several times they nearly whipped him across the face.
He was going to throw up.
Really.
"Hey, where... are you taking me..." Mu Tianyi struggled to speak, his voice torn apart by the wind.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not answer. An excited gleam flickered in her vertical eye.
Mu Tianyi did not dare ask again.
She was stronger than him. If she wanted to carry him in her mouth, she could carry him in her mouth. If she wanted to take him somewhere, she could take him wherever she pleased. What right did a Rank 33 little soul master like him have to bargain?
Being alive was already good enough.
He had no idea how long they ran. Mu Tianyi had already given up struggling, hanging like a salted fish caught in someone's mouth as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion carried him through the dense forest.
Suddenly, the view ahead opened up.
The trees vanished, and the sky reappeared overhead.
Mu Tianyi instinctively narrowed his eyes. Once they adjusted to the harsh light, he froze.
Before him lay an enormous lake.
The water was a deep emerald green, its surface calm as a mirror and reflecting the blue sky and white clouds above. It was so beautiful that it did not seem real.
Unknown flowers and plants covered the lakeshore. The air was filled with a life aura so dense it was almost viscous, and with every breath, he could feel his Soul Power gently tremble inside him.
Mu Tianyi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Lake of Life.
The core of the Star Dou Great Forest. The Great Fierce Land.
A forbidden place said to be inhabited by ferocious beasts, where even Titled Douluo dared not venture lightly.
He had been carried into the Great Fierce Land by a Three-Eyed Golden Lion with fifteen thousand years of cultivation.
Mu Tianyi closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, then opened them again. Only one expression remained on his face:
Numbness.
Fine, then. What else was there to say?
With luck like this today, he would probably win the jackpot if he bought a lottery ticket.
Di Tian was happily hiding in the shadows, enjoying some rare leisure time.
A fleeting glance...
Ah, the Emperor Auspicious Beast was back.
And she had brought a little human child with her.
Hm?
Where had this little human child come from?
Judging by his clothes, he seemed to be from Shrek just now.
Hm, better pretend he had not seen anything.
Somewhere beside Lake of Life.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion finally stopped. She loosened her mouth, and Mu Tianyi fell bodily onto the soft grass.
Mu Tianyi lay facedown on the ground for quite a while before finally rolling over. He stared up at the sky and gasped for breath.
His stomach churned violently, but he still managed not to throw up.
"What... what exactly do you want..."
Mu Tianyi's voice was hoarse and weak.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sat down beside him, her tail elegantly curled at her side. The vertical eye on her forehead was half-open, half-closed, and she wore an expression that plainly said, "I have something to say."
"I want to ask you to be... be... the kind of person who can make meat hot before eating it."
Her tone was perfectly matter-of-fact, as though she were stating something completely natural.
Mu Tianyi turned his head to glance at her and fell silent for five seconds.
"What did you say?"
"Make tasty meat." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion repeated herself, her golden vertical pupils filled with seriousness. "The meat you made was delicious. I want to eat it every day."
Before you continue