Just as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was about to approach the man kneeling on the ground, she realized that her figure was slowly disappearing.
Deep in the Star Dou Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion abruptly opened her eyes inside the cave. The blood-red color in the vertical pupil on her forehead slowly faded, returning to its usual gold.
Her pair of pure-gold eyes were brimming with tears.
"Liu Lin, who are you, really?"
Recalling the hollow look in the man's eyes in the illusion, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion murmured to herself.
She was certain she had never met Liu Lin before, so why did she cry when she saw him sad and hurt?
And that golden-haired, red-eyed woman in the illusion even looked exactly like her.
Just as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was lost in confusion, the vertical pupil on her forehead lit up.
A gentle beam of light shot from the pupil, forming the golden-haired, red-eyed woman of peerless beauty from the illusion.
"Who are you, really?" Seeing the golden-haired, red-eyed woman, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion voiced the question troubling her.
Although she had seen in the dream that the woman was herself, she still wanted to hear it from her own lips.
"Didn't you see in the dream? I am your future self, Three-Eyed Golden Lion," the woman replied.
"How did you get here?"
"Was what happened in that illusion real?"
"And who is Liu Lin?"
"And why did you sacrifice yourself in the future?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion poured out all her questions in one breath.
"I'll keep it brief. Everything that happened in the illusion was real. Liu Lin is the person I love...
"As for my sacrifice and how I traveled back here, I can't tell you. I can only say it has something to do with people from the Divine Realm. If I say anything more, someone will notice." Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's barrage of questions, the golden-haired, red-eyed woman answered each one briefly.
After hearing the woman's answers, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion fell silent.
"Well, is there anything else you want to ask? Time is almost up."
Hearing the woman's words, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? Are you going to disappear?"
"Mm. I shouldn't have appeared here in the first place, so of course I'll disappear."
"Was I really that stupid in the past?" Looking at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's blank expression, the woman couldn't help doubting herself.
"It seems you don't have anything else to ask. Then it's time for me to leave." As she spoke, the woman's figure gradually turned into golden specks of light and vanished inside the cave.
"What will my name be in the future?" Remembering that Liu Lin had called her future self Qiu'er in the illusion, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion wanted to know what her future name would be.
"My future name is Wang Qiu'er, but I don't like it. So, you should pick a different name for yourself." With those words, Wang Qiu'er's figure vanished completely.
"Wang Qiu'er? As expected of my future self—she has the same taste as me. I don't like that name either. I'll come up with a one-of-a-kind name." Hearing Wang Qiu'er's words, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
Amid a vast sea of clouds stood a blue-haired man. He was none other than the renowned Sea God Tang San.
But at that moment, Tang San's eyes blazed with anger. He sensed that someone had disrupted his plans on the Douluo Continent. He had even used his divine power to investigate, but had found nothing.
"Who? Who dares to ruin this God King's grand plans? You have a death wish. You'd better pray I don't catch you."
Just as Tang San seethed over his plans being disrupted, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in the cave noticed an extremely fine golden thread appearing in her Eye of Destiny, stretching out of the cave.
As soon as the thread appeared, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to hear someone whispering in her ear, "He's over there. Hurry and find him."
Through the thread, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion saw the man from her dream, though he was still a cub.
But when she saw what Liu Lin was doing, her expression darkened. She saw the man who would be her future lover flirting with a little girl with golden hair and blue eyes.
Then she took a deep breath, looked away, and headed for the cave entrance.
As soon as she reached the entrance, a massive scarlet figure blocked her way. The Scarlet King looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in confusion.
"Auspicious Beast, where are you going? Are you hungry again? Going hunting?"
Hearing the Scarlet King, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion couldn't help rolling her eyes. Did he really think she was nothing but a glutton?
"No. I'm going out to find someone."
"Someone? Auspicious Beast, have you developed a taste for humans? If you want to eat one, there's no need to go yourself. I'll catch one for you."
Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, the Scarlet King mistakenly thought she wanted to eat a human.
"No, I'm not going to eat anyone. I'm going to find someone." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was thoroughly exasperated by the Scarlet King's words. After explaining, she headed outside without waiting for his permission.
Hearing the irritation in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice, the Scarlet King stopped asking questions. Then he strode after her on all fours.
And so, the two Soul Beasts set off in single file toward a part of the Star Dou Forest.
Half an hour later, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped and looked at several carriages in the distance. She could clearly sense that the thread ended right there.
"Auspicious Beast, I can sense a Titled Douluo inside one of those carriages. What are you going to do?" the Scarlet King asked the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had stopped.
"Uncle Scarlet King, just lure the Titled Douluo away. You don't need to worry about anything else."
"But, Auspicious Beast, my duty is to protect you."
"I won't be in danger, Uncle Scarlet King. And don't kill him."
Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's plea, the Scarlet King sighed and flew straight toward the carriages.
Meanwhile, after hunting down their Soul Rings, Liu Lin and the others were getting ready to return to Star Luo City when a furious roar rang out above the forest.
Old Wang and the others, who were Soul Emperors and Soul Kings, looked up at the sky when they heard the roar. Their faces turned deathly pale.
"A hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast? How could one appear here?"
Elder Lin, who had been resting with his eyes closed inside the carriage, opened them. His normally placid gaze was now grave.
"You've got to be kidding me. The Scarlet King—why is he here? Isn't he supposed to be protecting the Auspicious Beast?"
Through the carriage window, Liu Lin saw the Scarlet King in the sky too, and his face darkened terribly.
"Guys, seriously, am I going to survive this?" Seeing the Scarlet King overhead, Liu Lin couldn't help thinking to himself.
Elder Lin, seated inside the carriage, addressed Liu Lin and Xu Jiujiu solemnly. "I'll draw the Scarlet King away. Then you must leave the Star Dou Forest at once."
Before Liu Lin and Xu Jiujiu could respond, Elder Lin's figure appeared in the sky.