In the modern-looking white villa, Meng Yiran was like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden for the first time. Even the way she wiped the blood from her nose looked a little comical.
Seeing Meng Yiran's dazed expression, Na'er playfully blinked and hopped into the middle of the living room. She snapped her fingers crisply.
"Yiran, imagination is the most powerful weapon here!" As Na'er spoke, a three-tiered strawberry cream cake appeared out of thin air on the coffee table, giving off an enticingly sweet aroma.
Meng Yiran tried to picture the Serpent Cane charm she liked best in her mind. The next second, a miniature replica, emerald-green from top to bottom and as exquisite as a work of art, landed in her palm. This magic, which made whatever she imagined come true, had shattered her worldview, only to veil it in a dreamy new hue.
They spent a long time discussing things in this private domain belonging to Gu Tian, until their mental strength began to flag.
When Gu Tian brought everyone out of the Sea of Consciousness and back to their rooms in the Dragon Palace, the moon was already high outside the window. Moonlight shimmered across the waters of the Lake of Life, casting a quiet, chilly glow. After their constant travels and the shock of the mental world, the girls were all a little tired. Before long, even breaths rose and fell through the bedroom.
The next morning, soft green light spilled into the bedchamber.
Gu Yuena summoned Gu Tian and Bi Ji to the main hall of the Dragon Palace. Her silver gown glimmered with a cold sheen in the dawn light. Her purple eyes swept over the two of them, and her tone held the sternness of an elder.
"Gu Tian, although Chiyan has been revived, your divine trials are still demanding. You need to report to me regularly on how things are progressing between you and Bi Ji. The life essence of the Emerald Swan Clan can also nourish your bloodline."
Bi Ji stood to one side, her long emerald hair falling to her waist. She twisted her hands together nervously. At these words, the cheeks of this Ferocious Beast with six hundred thousand years of cultivation even took on a faint blush.
"My lord... Bi Ji has been alone for six hundred thousand years. Whatever feelings I once had about love have long since faded over the endless years." Her voice was gentle and soft, touched with helpless shyness.
Looking at the gentle, saintly older sister, Gu Tian couldn't bring himself to rush her. He said softly, "Dear, you can't force these things. Sister Bi Ji has a quiet nature. We can take our time. Let's not scare her."
It wasn't that Gu Tian didn't want to accept Bi Ji right away. He simply wanted a love without any psychological burden, without anyone being forced into anything—a pure and unblemished feeling. He couldn't indulge his own desires by entering into a relationship with Bi Ji when she didn't truly understand what she was agreeing to.
Gu Yuena sighed, then abruptly changed the subject. "What about your Second Trial? You're supposed to win over two more women for your harem, and right now, you only have Meng Yiran!"
Gu Tian rubbed his chin, a profound look flashing through his eyes. "I decided on the second candidate long ago. There's someone suitable in the Star Luo Imperial Family: Zhu Zhuqing."
After everyone had spent several days frolicking at the Lake of Life, the end of the year drew near. Gu Tian decided to take Meng Yiran home first.
Although Meng Yiran now looked up to him, they still hadn't officially defined their relationship. Besides, Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch were surely waiting at home for their granddaughter to return for the New Year.
"See you after the New Year, Yiran."
Gu Tian had Gu Yuena lay down a precise spatial array in the main hall. Amid ripples of silver light, Meng Yiran waved goodbye reluctantly and vanished in the glow of the teleportation.
After seeing Meng Yiran off, Gu Tian returned to the courtyard of the Dragon Palace. Na'er, Xiao Wu, and Gu Yue were sitting together.
"Brother Gu Tian, what does this New Year you keep talking about mean in human society?" Na'er tilted her head, curiosity written all over her silver eyes.
Gu Tian sat down beside them, his gaze gentle. "The New Year is when everyone, no matter how far they've traveled, comes home. The whole family gathers to share a lively New Year's Eve dinner and pray for peace in the year to come."
At those words, the lively Xiao Wu suddenly shuddered. Her long rabbit ears drooped limply, and a mist instantly clouded her ruby-red eyes.
She thought of her mother, Da Wu. She thought of the figure who had vanished completely while protecting her during Spirit Hall's assault.
Gu Tian saw what was on Xiao Wu's mind. His heart ached, and he reached out to draw the dejected little rabbit into his arms, gently stroking her hair. "Xiao Wu, don't be sad. I'll stay with you. Besides... if the divine trials can awaken the Dragon Kings, then perhaps one day we can retrieve Da Wu's remnant soul, too."
Xiao Wu buried her face in Gu Tian's chest and nodded silently, greedily breathing in his reassuring scent.
"There's still some time before the New Year." Gu Tian lifted his head and looked into the distance. "I'm planning to take you all to Star Luo City."
"Why are we going there?" Gu Yue asked curiously.
"First, I want to take you around the biggest shopping district in the empire, buy you some pretty clothes, and pick up some New Year's provisions for my parents back in Ancient Dragon Village. And second..." A sharp glint flashed through Gu Tian's eyes. "I want to scout the place out. The struggle for power within the Star Luo Imperial Family has reached a fever pitch. It's time to put an end to the farce within the Dai Family, too."
"What farce? And why are the imperial families fighting among themselves?" Xiao Wu asked curiously. As far as she was concerned, they were all kin, bound together by blood. Why couldn't one family speak as one?
"I can't explain it clearly. I only know a few things here and there." Gu Tian hesitated, then continued. "The Star Luo Empire is mainly divided among three great families: the Dai Family, with its White Tiger Martial Soul; the Zhu Family, with its Nether Civet Martial Soul; and the Xu Family, with its Star Crown Martial Soul."
"But the Dai Family currently controls the Star Luo Empire's government, the Zhu Family controls its military, and the Xu Family is weaker than the other two. At present, it only controls some of the empire's commercial interests."
"Brother Gu Tian, why is the Xu Family weaker than the other two?" Na'er was like a walking encyclopedia of questions. Whenever Gu Tian explained something, she always asked about this and that.
Gu Tian gently patted Na'er's head. "It's because the Xu Family's Martial Soul isn't very powerful. It's only a support-type Martial Soul. Also, the Dai and Zhu Families can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill called Hell White Tiger. That's led the two families to intermarry frequently, naturally leaving the Xu Family out in the cold."
"But as the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire, the Dai Family requires its direct descendants to fight one another to the death, choosing a future heir from among them. That heir will have the best chance of awakening the Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King."
"Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King? What's that? I wonder if it tastes good." Na'er stuck out her tongue and made a playful face.
At this, Ao Linxi could no longer sit still. "Xiao Tian, say that again. Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King? What does it look like?"
Ao Linxi was so flustered that, for the first time, she spoke aloud within Gu Tian's Sea of Consciousness. She startled both Gu Tian and Chiyan.
"The Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King should be a white tiger with eyes of different colors. I think..." Gu Tian scratched his head, carefully recalling every detail. "It also has six wings!"
At the last sentence, Ao Linxi's suspicions turned to certainty. "Xiao Tian, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King you're talking about is the Auspicious Beast White Tiger I sent out before!"
"Huh?" Gu Tian was stunned. If the Evil-Eyed White Tiger Saint King was the White Tiger, one of the Four Divine Beasts, then his earlier guess had been completely right!
"Those wretched humans!" Ao Linxi was furious. Auspicious Beasts held immense significance for the Soul Beast Clan, and their lifespans were no different from those of ordinary Soul Beasts. No wonder she hadn't sensed their presence when she came into this world.
Earlier, she had asked Gu Yuena which other Auspicious Beasts still existed on Douluo Continent, but Gu Yuena only knew of a five-thousand-year-old Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Unlike ordinary Soul Beasts, Auspicious Beasts could be turned into the Martial Souls of human Soul Masters if they fell into the hands of someone with ill intent.
"It seems the Dai Family of the Star Luo Empire used some vile method to control the White Tiger and forcibly turn it into their family's Martial Soul, passing it down through the generations." Ao Linxi's words also brought something to Gu Tian's attention.
He desperately wanted to remind Ao Linxi that, if his guess was right, the Azure Dragon had probably been imprisoned by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. The sect was based in the Gulei Kingdom, southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, and was one of the Upper Three Sects on Douluo Continent.
As for the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, they were trapped in the Phoenix Sect in the south of the Star Luo Empire and the Xuanming Sect in the north of the Heaven Dou Empire, respectively.
However, the Phoenix Sect and Xuanming Sect weren't ranked among the Seven Great Sects on Douluo Continent. They were either reclusive clans that kept a low profile, or they had yet to unlock the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise's full power.
The Four Divine Beasts' general locations also happened to correspond to the traditional directions: "Azure Dragon to the left, White Tiger to the right, Vermilion Bird to the front, and Black Tortoise behind."
That explained everything.