Xiao Wu!

"What a rich abundance of life force. No wonder it's Life Spirit Gold!" Ten Thousand Demon King looked at the Life Spirit Gold with burning eyes, but he didn't dare make a move.

It wasn't just him. Xiong Jun and the other Ferocious Beasts were the same, their eyes gleaming with greed that showed plainly on their faces.

But no matter how covetous they were, with Di Tian there, they didn't dare act, fearful of his terrifying strength.

At the same time, Qin Chuan's strange treasure from earlier had also made them wary.

Strands of the essence of heaven and earth were drawn out of the Life Spirit Gold, swirling like clouds and mist, dotted with faint light and flickering with an intensely rich aura of life.

Qin Chuan didn't dare be careless for even a moment. He focused all his energy, enveloping each wisp of essence and drawing it into his body.

Boom!

It was far too pure, just like the true origin of heaven and earth!

Qin Chuan was astonished. Though only a few wisps of essence had been drawn out, it was as if he'd swallowed a great medicinal herb. Its surging potency blazed like flames.

He felt that his body, which had only just grown stronger, seemed to be rising to another level. The change was slow, but he could feel it happening, bit by bit.

"Wonderful. With essence this rich, perhaps I really can undergo more than one transformation."

His heart surged with excitement, but Qin Chuan moved with even greater caution, letting none of the essence escape as he drew every last wisp into his body.

As the threads of essence were absorbed, his body radiated boundless rosy light, brilliant as the sun. His fair skin became translucent, and he could vaguely see his bones beneath it.

Even his internal organs evolved. Strands of dark impurities were expelled, and his body gleamed like a divine object.

Boom!

As if heaven and earth were being cleaved apart, the severed river surged with waves. Fresh red blood flowed from his marrow, bringing immense vitality and brimming with life.

The seventh transformation—complete!

Yet his evolution still hadn't stopped. More than half of the Life Spirit Gold remained; he had used only a small portion.

Threads of essence swirled around Qin Chuan like clouds and mist, blanketing a vast area around him.

Time passed slowly. The radiant golden beam continued to shine brilliantly. At last, the Life Spirit Gold vanished completely, and Qin Chuan slowly opened his eyes.

"What a shame. I still couldn't reach the eighth transformation. The energy needed for each successive transformation is becoming more and more astonishing."

Even so, Qin Chuan wasn't discouraged. He was already very satisfied to have broken through the shackles of his body's sixth transformation.

Still, the composition of this Life Spirit Gold had sparked his intense curiosity.

If he sent the rest of it to the grassland, could Slow Sheep, a top-notch inventor, find a way to manufacture this treasure of heaven and earth?

At the thought, he willed it, sending the remaining Life Spirit Gold straight back to the grassland.

Green Green Grassland, Sheep Village.

Looking at the unprecedented crowd in the classroom, with countless animals crammed into the tiny room to hear him teach the Immortal Path, Slow Sheep smiled smugly.

His dream of becoming a celebrated teacher was finally about to come true.

Just as he was secretly rejoicing, a piece of green metal suddenly dropped through the space above and, with a thud, smacked him on the head.

"Ow! Who did that?"

He was about to blow his top when a voice came from the empty air. "Village Chief Slow Sheep, study this piece of metal and see if it can be mass-produced."

"...It's Qin Chuan!"

Recognizing the voice, Slow Sheep leisurely picked up the Life Spirit Gold. Then...

His expression changed dramatically. "This metal has such a rich aura of life! Just holding it makes this old sheep feel as if he's young again. I remember Hua Yangyang was young back then, too..."

On Douluo Continent.

"Looks like your cultivation went well." Di Tian appeared at some point and stood before Qin Chuan, speaking calmly.

"Mm, it went very well. Thank you, Senior! Otherwise, I might have had to wait a long time before I got another chance to break through."

Qin Chuan spoke sincerely. This time, he truly was grateful to Di Tian, even if that hadn't been the other man's intention.

"Spare me the thanks. We each got what we wanted. Just remember your promise."

"Of course. Well, enough time has passed. I should be on my way."

At that, Scarlet King walked over. He'd been here the whole time, and as a Ferocious Beast, he hadn't had anything to prepare.

His towering, flame-red body stood on the ground. A cloud of light enveloped him, and his form abruptly shifted, transforming into a red-haired man.

"Wait... Senior, aren't the Soul Beasts here unable to take human form after passing the hundred-thousand-year mark?"

Qin Chuan asked in confusion. It was something he'd wanted to ask ever since he'd first been brought here.

But the timing hadn't been right then.

Now that everything was settled, he couldn't help voicing his question.

"The Soul Beast Clan really can no longer take human form after passing the hundred-thousand-year tribulation, but that only applies to Soul Beasts between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand years old. Once they pass that threshold, the restriction no longer applies."

Scarlet King patiently explained.

Qin Chuan was a little surprised. Douluo Continent had a long history, so it was no wonder that a few Ferocious Beasts existed beyond common understanding.

But he hadn't expected to encounter them himself—and in such a large group.

"Senior, there's no time to lose. Let's leave at once!"

"Mm!" Scarlet King nodded, then carried Qin Chuan into the air and shot upward through the space above.

Only Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others remained behind.

Di Tian watched the two grow smaller in the sky, then suddenly moved his lips. "Observe him carefully during this time. See if you can discover the method those otherworldly people used to escape."

Just as Qin Chuan had guessed, Di Tian and the others had indeed captured those otherworldly people before, even succeeding several times and bringing them here.

But whenever they used force to restrain them and search for clues, those otherworldly people escaped in a way beyond description, vanishing without a trace—as if the ones they'd caught had been nothing but balls of air.

That was precisely why they hadn't laid a hand on Qin Chuan after capturing him, limiting themselves to threats at most.

They didn't want him to feel his life was in danger and escape from there.

"Di Tian, do you think he'll come back?" Bi Ji asked gently. In her green dress, she looked like an immortal maiden from the heavens, tender as flowing water.

"He will." Di Tian gazed into the sky, as though looking toward the exalted gods above. Then he turned around, a faint smile on his face.

On the other side, Scarlet King moved swiftly, and the two soon flew out of the small world. Bubbles suddenly rose to the surface of the clear lake, stirring up sprays of water.

Suddenly, with a bang, two figures burst out of the lake, sending up towering waves. They hit the ground like cannonballs and kicked up clouds of dust.

"Who's there?"

The two Ferocious Beasts near the lake were startled and instantly went on guard. Their enormous bodies were like hills, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

The next moment, a calm figure strolled out.

"Senior, have you forgotten me so soon?" Qin Chuan emerged from the dust with a faint smile and looked at the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. On the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder, he spotted a familiar figure.

"It's you!"

Almost simultaneously, two voices rang out: the Sky Azure Bull Python's and Xiao Wu's.

Xiao Wu frowned and asked, clearly unwelcome, "What are you doing here? Who let you come?"

The battle from before had left a deep impression on Xiao Wu.

The seven members of Shrek had fought against him, but they'd been suppressed and even utterly crushed from beginning to end. With talent like that, there was no way she could forget him.

But things were different now.

Her two underlings were both here.

"Xiao Wu, you know each other?" The Sky Azure Bull Python turned his enormous head toward Xiao Wu, his voice tinged with confusion.

As for Scarlet King beside Qin Chuan, his aura was concealed so perfectly that the Sky Azure Bull Python hadn't sensed anything amiss. He simply ignored him.