The three-eyed beast slowly lowered its massive head. Its soft golden mane fell around it, and the vertical eye in the center of its forehead narrowed slightly. A thread of warm, pearly-white light shot from the eye and settled steadily between Lie Xu's brows.
The white light slowly seeped in through the boy's forehead. A moment later, Lie Xu's lashes trembled. He groaned, his eyelids struggling open, and slowly awoke from his long unconsciousness.
His awareness was still fixed on the moment he had been approached. The instant his eyes opened, he rolled sideways, putting distance between himself and the three-eyed beast before him, and stared intently at the creature crouched on the ground.
But the three-eyed beast made no move. She calmly watched the little human, who was no taller than her leg.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
A clear, melodious voice sounded in Lie Xu's mind.
"Who's there?"
Lie Xu's heart tightened. He warily surveyed his surroundings, but there was nothing besides the dim space and the blue-black rock walls.
If he had to name anything alive, then apart from himself, the only living thing in the cave was the three-eyed beast before him.
Summoning his courage, Lie Xu cautiously asked, "Were you talking to me just now?"
The three-eyed beast slowly nodded, and that familiar, pleasant voice sounded in Lie Xu's mind once more.
"Yes."
Lie Xu maintained his defensive stance and asked again.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, though they've always called me the Emperor Auspicious Beast."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion slowly rested her enormous head on her forepaws.
"The Three-Eyed Golden Lion?"
"The Emperor Auspicious Beast?"
At the sound of those names, a storm surged through Lie Xu's heart. Wasn't this a Soul Beast that only appeared in Douluo II? The fate of the Star Dou Great Forest rested on her, and she even possessed the power to control fate. Why had she appeared now? Had his transmigration changed the original story and altered the timeline?
But there was no way for him to find out now.
"So you're the Beast of Fate?"
Now it was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's turn to grow unsettled. She was curious how this tiny human knew she could control fate. Her three eyes narrowed in unison as she scrutinized the little figure before her, as though trying to see through him.
But just as before, all she could see was chaos, and everything she sensed in her heart was an illusion.
Seeing the beast fall silent, Lie Xu had to change the subject. He continued, "Then why go to all that trouble to snatch me right under the noses of two Limit Douluo, only to leave me uneaten? What do you want? There's nothing about me that your Soul Beasts should be interested in."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion fell silent for a moment. Then she lifted her head and stared into Lie Xu's eyes, her expression suddenly turning solemn.
Her long-missed voice sounded in Lie Xu's mind once more.
"Do you believe in fate?"
"Fate?"
"Yes. I awoke from my slumber in response to fate's call and glimpsed a corner of the future. I will make my life an eternal hymn, welcoming the supreme ruler."
"Speak plainly!"
Lie Xu furrowed his brow.
"Right."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sounded a little embarrassed. "Fate woke me from my slumber and showed me what's going to happen in the future. So it wants me to sacrifice myself to you."
"What? Sacrifice yourself to me? Why?"
Lie Xu was so shocked that, for a moment, he forgot to maintain his defensive stance.
"Don't ask. There's no time. That old fossil Di Tian is about to discover me."
"But my Martial Soul isn't with me."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's urgency had made Lie Xu nervous, too.
"Huh?"
"I mean the little golden lion beast that was with me."
"Easy."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion closed both her eyes. The vertical eye on her forehead opened, and rose-gold light blazed from it, releasing a strange wave of energy. It followed the trace of energy she had left on the lion beast, crossing time and space...
Meanwhile, above the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest, a man sat cross-legged, nearly two meters tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with a stern, resolute face and an aura of restrained authority. His eyes were closed.
He wore a black robe embroidered all over with dark-gold dragon patterns. His long, jet-black hair swayed at his waist in the wind, its strands glimmering faintly with a dark golden sheen under the moonlight.
In the distance, the battle between the two great Soul Beast kings and the two human powerhouses still raged on.
"Worthless!!!"
Di Tian's aura erupted, sending a hundred-meter-high spray surging from the lake below.
He rose and took one step. Space shattered, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared at the center of the battlefield.
The aura of an 880,000-year-old Soul Beast burst forth, forcibly splitting apart the evenly matched battle.
The Titan Giant Ape had already gone berserk. It rose, ready to tear apart whoever had interrupted its fight, but the Sky Azure Bull Python held it down with all its strength.
"The Emperor Auspicious Beast is in that human girl's arms."
"Hmph!!!"
"The Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Forest really are getting worse with every generation."
Di Tian gave a cold snort and waved his hand. Black Soul Power surged, and before Qian Daoliu could react, Xiao Jiu vanished from Qian Renxue's arms and appeared in Di Tian's.
"I told you not to run off, didn't I? You'll remember this time..."
Suddenly, Di Tian's words cut off. The creature looked very much like the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in her shrunken form, but it wasn't the Emperor Auspicious Beast at all. It was a lion beast with a trace of the Emperor Auspicious Beast's energy clinging to it.
"You really are asking to die!!!"
Di Tian flew into a rage. His black Soul Power instantly condensed into a dragon claw, ready to crush the lion beast the humans had used to deceive him.
Just then, a strange spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared around Xiao Jiu, blocking Di Tian's furious grasp.
In the blink of an eye, the lion beast before Di Tian vanished without a trace.
As Xiao Jiu disappeared, a rose-gold pillar of light suddenly burst forth on the other side of the Star Dou Great Forest, brilliant and clear against the starry night.
Every living thing in the Star Dou Forest, human or Soul Beast, felt an indescribable emotion rise within them. It was like sorrow, like grief, as though something deeply precious had passed away, leaving them helpless to stop it...
At that moment, every living being felt the forest's grief. The wind died, all sound fell silent, and even the starlight above the forest seemed to dim.
Only the pillar of light on the other side of the forest remained, bright and dazzling, radiating an ancient, mysterious aura.
"No!!!"
"Stop at once!!!"
Di Tian knew exactly what this was. He didn't need to judge by the aura to understand what was happening.
A sacrifice: the ritual formation that appeared when a Soul Beast willingly offered everything it had to another—their Soul Power, body, and soul.
And there was only one being whose sacrifice could cause such a commotion, filling the entire forest with grief.
The master of this forest's fortune—the Emperor Auspicious Beast!!!
And the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was more than just the Emperor Auspicious Beast. She also possessed the power to control fate. That was what mattered most.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
Before you continue