Life Spirit Gold

Black light tore through the void as Di Tian brought Qin Chuan down to the ground. The four Ferocious Beasts waiting nearby immediately turned to look.

"Di Tian, how did it go? What did our lord say?" Green Ji stepped forward to ask. The other three Ferocious Beasts were just as concerned, their fierce auras spilling out as misty light shimmered around them.

"Our lord's noble self would never cooperate with these lowly humans. Now, prepare to face your hell, human!" Xiong Jun's mountain-like body glimmered with golden light as he approached from nearby, each step making the earth rumble.

"Don't think you can act all high and mighty just because you've managed to survive until now! All that awaits you is an eternity of damnation!"

Xiong Jun had a short temper and hated humans, but Qin Chuan couldn't sense much killing intent from him.

So he still wants to put on a show of strength. That stupid bear really doesn't know when to quit. But...

The corner of Qin Chuan's mouth lifted. He wasn't the naive country bumpkin he'd once been. Now he had powerful backing.

If he didn't give them a taste of their own medicine, these guys would really think he was easy to bully.

He casually pulled out a small water gun and sprayed a pale green liquid onto Xiong Jun, who hadn't bothered to defend himself.

"Hahaha... You little human brat, with your level of cultivation, you still think you can—at—tack—me..."

The next second, a bizarre scene unfolded!

Xiong Jun had been bearing down on them like a mountain, every step shaking the ground. Suddenly, his enormous body stiffened.

The golden light around him instantly dimmed. A hard, snail-like shell spread over his burly beast body, binding him tight from head to toe!

Only moments ago, Xiong Jun had been so violent he seemed to blot out the sky, boasting that he would crush Qin Chuan to death. Now, his movements had slowed to an extreme. It wasn't just his movements—even his speech had slowed countless times over.

First, he slowly raised a hand. Then he took a step, and finally turned his head. Every movement was as slow as a crawling snail, ridiculous and frustrating!

Forget crushing someone to death—he could barely move an inch!

The entire area fell into dead silence!

Di Tian's pupils contracted, his face filled with disbelief!

The Ten Thousand Demon King's sinister smile froze completely. The Hell Demon Dragon and Three-Headed Mastiff were equally shaken. None of the Ferocious Beasts had imagined that a tiny bottle of medicine could instantly incapacitate Xiong Jun, whose strength was second only to Di Tian's!

The strange effect was simply unbelievable!

Di Tian warily eyed the oddly shaped little water gun in Qin Chuan's hand. "What is that treasure? What did you do to Xiong Jun?"

Qin Chuan put away the water gun and smiled faintly. "There's no need to be so tense, Senior Di Tian. I was only joking around with Xiong Jun. He'll be back to normal in a few minutes."

He looked calm and unruffled, but inside, he was positively thrilled.

Grey Wolf's inventions really were heaven-defying.

This little water gun was none other than one of the gadgets he'd collected on the grasslands: Snail Slowing Liquid!

Once sprayed onto a target, it could slow them down to a snail's pace.

The drawback was that it only lasted ten minutes.

But ten minutes was more than enough for a cultivator to be killed hundreds of times over in battle.

At that, Di Tian gave Qin Chuan a long look. Deep in his eyes lay unmistakable dread.

Qin Chuan's combat prowess was formidable, but compared to theirs, it was insignificant. Yet with nothing more than a tiny, inconspicuous gadget, he had managed to take Xiong Jun by surprise!

Di Tian was beginning to take him more and more seriously.

Two minutes later, perhaps because Xiong Jun was simply too powerful, the ten-minute effect was squeezed down to just two minutes.

Xiong Jun, who'd been caught off guard, flew into a rage. His scarlet eyes blazed, and the frustration inside him threatened to burst.

"Xiong Jun, don't forget the lesson you just learned. Those people from another world have taught you a few times already, and you still haven't learned your lesson." The Ten Thousand Demon King wore a faint, shadowy smile.

The Hell Demon Dragon and Three-Headed Mastiff watched thoughtfully. Even the hot-tempered Hell Demon Dragon couldn't help but feel wary.

"Ten Thousand Demon King, what do you mean?" Xiong Jun's expression shifted, turning dark as his scarlet eyes fixed on the being that looked like a tree spirit. It seemed as if he might pounce at any moment.

But in the end, he didn't dare attack again.

"Enough. Everyone, quiet down. Our lord has agreed. From this moment on, this human must not be harmed!" Di Tian finally spoke, his expression grim.

The Ten Thousand Demon King's words seemed to have struck a nerve, reminding him of those arrogant outsiders who'd thought themselves gods.

He said coldly, "He'll be leaving here shortly and returning to the outside world. Once he's taken care of everything he needs to, he'll help us leave this world, as agreed."

"Until then, we must ensure his safety and see that he doesn't meet his end along the way. So Scarlet King will go with him and serve as his protector."

As he spoke, Di Tian glanced at Qin Chuan. They'd already discussed this on the way over.

But this so-called protection was nothing more than surveillance. They both knew it, but Qin Chuan didn't say so.

After all, why wouldn't he take a free bodyguard at the God-Demon Realm level, especially one who wouldn't secretly try to kill him?

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan turned to Scarlet King with a beaming smile. "I'll be counting on you to look after me on the journey, Senior Scarlet King."

The Three-Headed Mastiff had scarlet fur and three heads. Standing there, he looked like a burning crimson flame.

"Mm!"

He had no objections. He answered flatly and said nothing more.

Qin Chuan didn't mind. In fact, he was rather pleased. Among all the Ferocious Beasts present, Scarlet King seemed to be the best choice.

Xiong Jun and Di Tian didn't get along, and like the Hell Demon Dragon, he had too short a fuse. If either of them went with him, Qin Chuan feared they'd start fighting before they even left the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for the Ten Thousand Demon King, he was always shrouded in gloom, with a deep and treacherous mind—the very picture of a villain. He was out of the question.

That left the woman in the green dress, Green Ji. She seemed like a good choice too, but Di Tian wouldn't agree to it.

He's probably afraid the colorful world outside will tempt her away from him.

The Ferocious Beasts' perilous forbidden zone had somehow become a rare patch of peace.

Qin Chuan was no longer shy around them. He walked right up to Di Tian and asked with a beaming smile, "Senior, I'd like to ask you something. Do you know about the metal at the bottom of the lake outside?"

"What are you planning to do?" The moment the metal outside came up, Di Tian grew wary, his deep gaze fixed on Qin Chuan.

"Uh, it's nothing much. My cultivation has hit a bottleneck, so I was just..."

"No. Don't even think about it!"

Before Qin Chuan could finish, Di Tian cut him off brusquely, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"Come on, Senior. Just think about it. Once you leave here, you won't need these metals anymore. Don't you have any stored away? You might as well let me use some now!" Qin Chuan smiled ingratiatingly, setting his sights on the metal.

Such heaven-defying metal seemed to be made from pure essence of heaven and earth. He didn't believe the Ferocious Beasts could be unaware of its value or that they didn't have any stored away.

"This Life Spirit Gold is the foundation of Life Lake. It nourishes the entire core of the Star Dou Great Forest and is incomparably precious! So stop indulging in wishful thinking." Di Tian spoke coldly, giving Qin Chuan no quarter.

"Ah, I see. The continent is so dangerous right now, and I just used my only treasure on Senior Xiong Jun."

"Now, with only Senior Scarlet King by my side, who knows... Forget it. If I really do face a mortal crisis, I can only blame my fate. It's just a shame I'll have to break my promise to the senior in that ancient tree."

Sure enough, the moment he heard about the silver dragon in the ancient tree, Di Tian's expression changed instantly. He looked as uncomfortable as if he were constipated.

He glared viciously at Xiong Jun.

What he feared most now was Qin Chuan coming to harm, which would void the deal with their lord and leave his people without hope!

He could be cold, wary, and on guard, but there was one thing he didn't dare do: gamble.

He didn't dare gamble on Qin Chuan's death or on his people losing their one chance at survival!

How frustrating! Infuriating beyond measure!

The mighty Beast God, the strongest Ferocious Beast on Douluo Continent, had been utterly cornered by one little human!

Flashes of green light appeared, and a strange, fist-sized piece of metal suddenly materialized, floating in front of Qin Chuan.

"Take it."

Di Tian gritted out the words, his voice trembling with the pain of it.

He gazed at the metal with the anguish of a man having a piece of himself cut away.

"Hey, Senior Di Tian, didn't you say this was the foundation of Life Lake and that you didn't have any?"

Qin Chuan stared at the metal, his excitement barely contained. Just before taking it, he still put on an act and asked Di Tian.

"Take it already. Stop wasting time."

"All right! Thank you, Senior!" Qin Chuan stopped needling Di Tian and hurriedly picked up the strange metal, unable to bear letting it go.

He could hardly keep the grin off his face.

"Absorb it here. If anything goes wrong, we can suppress it by force."

After saying that, Di Tian vanished.

His figure dispersed into a wash of dark light. He didn't want to watch Qin Chuan absorb the Life Spirit Gold—otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Qin Chuan smiled and paid no more attention to the others. He found a spot, sat cross-legged, and prepared to absorb the Life Spirit Gold.

He would use it to try to break through his bodily shackles once more.

His original plan had been to refine it into a pill, which might let him achieve the seventh transformation of his body in a short time.

He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. This essence of heaven and earth, concentrated to the extreme, was probably beyond even some spirit medicines.

"I wonder how many transformations that guy named Luo Lie has gone through. His body doesn't feel all that strong."

As for the powerful beings of this world, their physiques weren't particularly strong. At the same cultivation level, or the same age, he could smash them all with his body alone.

"Enough thinking. The priority now is to begin the path to my seventh transformation." Qin Chuan's gaze was resolute. The Life Spirit Gold contained an extremely dense energy. It would surely allow him to break through to the seventh transformation of his body—and perhaps go even further.

His vast spiritual power swept out like a mighty sea, enveloping the Life Spirit Gold floating in midair. Its surging essence instantly blazed like a roaring inferno.