Curing the Symptoms is Worse Than Curing the Root Cause

These methods only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

To resolve the contradiction between the two races that has persisted since ancient times, one must break out of this vicious cycle and allow both to coexist harmoniously for mutual benefit.

Gu Yuan nodded, not denying his words, then shifted the tone as a flash of insight into the future crossed his eyes.

"That is why I have long prepared a method to thoroughly resolve the conflict between humans and soul beasts at its root."

The breathing of every fierce beast instantly hitched; they all looked toward Gu Yuan, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The conflict between humans and soul beasts is like an unsolvable dead end.

For humans to cultivate, they must hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings; for soul beasts to survive, they must resist human hunting.

This is why the hatred between the two sides has grown deeper and the slaughter more severe, with no one ever finding a solution.

But now, Lord Dragon God says he has a way to resolve this contradiction from the root?

"This method is called the Soul Spirit Method."

Gu Yuan slowly uttered these words. His voice was not loud, yet it struck like a thunderbolt in the minds of all the fierce beasts.

"Soul Spirit Method?" Di Tian murmured, repeating the four words, his eyes filled with confusion.

"What... what kind of method is this?"

"It is a secret technique that allows for a symbiotic relationship between soul masters and soul beasts."

Gu Yuan explained slowly: "In the traditional way of hunting souls, humans must kill soul beasts to obtain soul rings, seizing both the ring and the soul bone. The soul beast pays with its life only to provide a human with a soul ring of a fixed age, and the soul skill is limited by the soul beast itself."

But the Soul Spirit Method is completely different.

Soul beasts do not need to sacrifice their lives; they only need to voluntarily strip away a portion of their own soul origin to sign a symbiotic contract with a human soul master, becoming their soul spirit.

Humans can obtain soul skills far exceeding the age of a standard soul ring, and can even continuously increase the age of the soul ring as they grow, gaining greater power.

In Gu Yuan's plan for the future, promoting and refining the Soul Spirit Method is an extremely important step.

By allowing soul beasts to reside within the human soul master's sea of consciousness and share in the cultivation of human soul power, they not only avoid damaging their own lifespan but can break through the shackles of their species, greatly extending their lives, and even follow the human soul master to transcend heavenly tribulations and achieve higher cultivation.

"Soul beasts that become soul spirits forever retain their independent consciousness and soul freedom. Once the contract expires or the human soul master commits an act of harm against the soul beast, the soul spirit can terminate the contract at any time."

Gu Yuan's words left all the fierce beasts in the palace stunned, their faces etched with unbelievable shock.

They had never dreamed such a method could exist! Humans can obtain soul rings without killing soul beasts, and soul beasts can gain benefits, even extending their lives and breaking through cultivation levels!

This completely subverted all their understanding of soul rings and cultivation!

"Is... is this true?" Di Tian's voice trembled. He stared fixedly at Gu Yuan, his eyes filled with wild joy and disbelief.

"Does the Lord truly possess such a secret technique? Can it really allow humans and soul beasts to stop killing each other and instead coexist and win together?"

"Naturally, it is true." Gu Yuan smiled faintly and nodded.

"I saw the prototype of this secret technique in memories of the future. It was supposed to appear on the Douluo Continent more than two hundred years from now. However, that prototype was imperfect; it still caused significant damage to the soul of the soul beast and had many limitations."

"I will work with someone to mend all the flaws of this secret technique and perfect the symbiotic contract so that it causes not a shred of harm to the soul beast, but instead brings endless benefits."

In the future, this Soul Spirit Method will be promoted by Douluo Hall to every corner of the Douluo Continent.

It will let all soul masters on the continent know that to obtain stronger soul rings and to go further, there is no need to hunt soul beasts; one only needs to sign a symbiotic contract with a soul beast to become partners, achieving a win-win situation.

Gu Yuan's gaze looked out of the palace, his deep eyes seemingly seeing into a future countless years away: "When this secret technique becomes widespread, and when all human soul masters accept the existence of soul spirits, no one will ever again be willing to risk their lives to hunt soul beasts."

Only then will the slaughter and hatred between humans and soul beasts, which has lasted for tens of thousands of years, truly come to an end.

Only then can the soul beast race truly cast off the fate of being treated as 'cultivation resources' and stand on equal footing with humans, coexisting and living together.

The moment his voice fell, sounds of uncontrollable, joyful weeping erupted throughout the Crystal Palace.

Di Tian stood where he was, his entire body trembling violently with excitement.

The soul beast race had waited for this opportunity for tens of thousands of years!

"Thank you, Lord!"

Di Tian knelt down on the ground with a thud once more, prostrating himself, his voice choked with unprecedented firmness and wild joy: "On behalf of all soul beasts on the continent, this subordinate thanks the Lord for granting us a path to survival!"

"We thank the Lord!"

All the fierce beasts knelt in unison, bowing deeply to Gu Yuan. The sounds of their joyful tears shook the entire Crystal Palace and the entire Life Lake.

They had finally waited for the true hope of the soul beast race.

Gu Yuan watched the light reignite in their eyes, a faint smile curling the corners of his lips.

He turned and walked back to the dragon throne, waving his hand to cause a supreme treasure radiating vast power to slowly hover before Di Tian.

It was a dark golden jade bottle containing half a bottle of golden liquid, emitting a rich, inseparable aura of the dragon race's origin. Even the mere trace of aura overflowing from the bottle's mouth caused the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King bloodline within Di Tian to tremble crazily.

"This is Myriad Dragon Marrow, which I refined using the remains in the Dragon Graveyard combined with the power of the Dragon God," Gu Yuan said slowly.

"This bottle of Myriad Dragon Marrow can purify the origin of all soul beasts possessing dragon bloodlines, allowing their bloodlines to revert to the realm of pure-blooded true dragons. Not only you, but fierce beasts like Scarlet King and Zi Ji who possess dragon bloodlines can use this to break through bloodline shackles and take their cultivation to the next level."

Di Tian looked at the three supreme treasures before him, his hands trembling slightly. Each of these items was a treasure sufficient to drive the entire soul beast world mad, yet Lord Dragon God had handed them to him without reservation.

"This subordinate... this subordinate will certainly not fail the Lord's trust!" Di Tian solemnly accepted the treasures, as if holding the future of the entire soul beast race, and bowed to receive the order.

Gu Yuan looked at him, nodded slightly, and then raised his hand again, a crimson dragon egg slowly emerging from his palm.

This dragon egg was half a person's height, its shell inscribed with countless intricate fire dragon patterns. Within it, surging laws of fire and the origin of the dragon race pulsed faintly; even through the shell, one could sense the vibrant life force of a pure-blooded Fire Dragon King.

The air surrounding the egg was slightly distorted by this extreme power of fire, yet it was wrapped in a layer of gentle Dragon God Heart energy, preventing even a shred from leaking out.

The moment this dragon egg appeared, the temperature inside the entire Crystal Palace soared several times over.

Di Tian looked at the dragon egg, his pupils constricting sharply, his voice filled with extreme shock and ecstasy: "This... is this the dragon egg of Lord Fire Dragon King?"

As a direct descendant of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, he was intimately familiar with the bloodline aura of the Nine Great Dragon Kings.

The bloodline within this egg was the purest, direct origin of the Fire Dragon King, who commanded the extreme of fire among the Nine Great Dragon Kings!

"Correct." Gu Yuan looked at the dragon egg, a flash of nostalgia and gravity crossing his eyes.

For countless years, this dragon egg had remained in a sealed state, only unsealed upon Gu Yuan's awakening, which stirred the life origin within.

Her name was Jialing; she was the last bloodline of the Fire Dragon King and the hope for the future revival of the Fire Dragon clan.

Gu Yuan gently placed the fire dragon egg into Di Tian's hands, his gaze solemn: "Di Tian, I entrust her to you. From this day forward, you shall raise her personally, nourish her with the origin of the Life Lake, and protect her until she hatches safely and grows up. She is in your hands now."

Di Tian had raised the Emperor Auspicious Beast and, ten thousand years later, had even brought up Gu Yuena as if she were his own daughter; he certainly possessed a wealth of experience in child-rearing, making him the most suitable choice.

Di Tian held the warm dragon egg in both hands, feeling the vibrant dragon bloodline within that shared the same origin as his own.

He was a direct descendant of the dragon race, yet he had failed to protect them, watching the once-glorious dragon race step by step toward decline, leaving only a few descendants with thin dragon bloodlines.

But now, not only had the Dragon God returned, but he had also placed the last direct bloodline of the Fire Dragon King into his hands.

The hope for the revival of the dragon race was in his grasp!

"I obey, My Lord!" Di Tian clutched the dragon egg tightly and kowtowed heavily to Gu Yuan.

"Even if this subordinate must sacrifice this life, I will surely protect Jialing! I will help her hatch successfully and grow up safely! This subordinate will definitely restore the glory of the dragon race, never failing your trust, and never failing our ancestors!"

Gu Yuan nodded with satisfaction and reached out to pat his shoulder: "Very well, you may all withdraw. I have already made everything clear. The affairs of Star Dou and the future of the soul beast clan are now in your hands."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Di Tian held the fire dragon egg and, along with the other fierce beasts, bowed deeply once more to Gu Yuan and the quietly standing Gu Yuena before exiting the Crystal Palace in succession.

Only Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena remained in the vast hall.

Gu Yuena walked slowly to Gu Yuan's side, her purple-gold dragon eyes filled with the intimacy of a shared origin: "Is everything arranged?"

"Yes." Gu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the depths of the palace.

"The chessboard of the secular world has been handed to Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong; the foundation of the soul beast clan has been entrusted to Di Tian and the others. Now, it is our turn."

He turned to look at Gu Yuena, a gleam of light flashing in his deep eyes: "Two hundred years will pass in the blink of an eye. What we must face in the future are the Five Great God Kings of the God Realm, the dual-god-position Tang San, and the entire ruling order of the God Realm. Our current strength is far from enough."

"I will enter seclusion to completely merge with the Dragon God Heart and restore myself to the peak God King realm. You must complete all the law fragments and resonate with my origin so that we may return to the realm of God Kings together. Only then will we have sufficient power to confront the God Realm in the coming war."

Gu Yuena looked at him and nodded slowly, her purple-gold eyes showing no trace of retreat, only a yearning for the future: "The revival of the dragon race and the future of the soul beasts—we shall achieve them together."

Gu Yuan looked at her, a smile of relief curling the corners of his mouth.

He waved his hand, and the heavy doors of the inner sanctum at the deepest part of the Crystal Palace slowly opened.

Inside lay an endless source of life energy, resonating perfectly with the aura of the Dragon God Heart to form the most perfect cultivation secret realm.

The two exchanged a glance and stepped into the inner sanctum.

The heavy crystal doors slowly closed, sealing off everything from the outside world.

The waters of the Life Lake flowed on in silence.