Foodies Are Easier to Deal With

"Let go of my prey!"

A voice suddenly rang out, filled with undisguised fury and a scorching aura. Xiao Xiao looked up to see a completely golden lion already standing before them.

The soul beast's body resembled translucent crystal. It looked similar to a lion, but its four paws were like dragon claws, each one stepping on a cluster of golden flames.

Its mouth was somewhat longer than that of an ordinary lion-type soul beast, and fine scales could vaguely be seen beneath its golden fur. Besides its normal pair of eyes, it had a third eye standing vertically between its brows.

It could speak? A hundred-thousand-year soul beast!

A soul beast capable of speech was undoubtedly a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. That was an ironclad rule from the textbooks.

"This fellow..."

Azure Phoenix recognized the soul beast before them. Completely golden, three eyes, walking on fire? The Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?

After recognizing it, she felt a headache coming on. No matter the era, this was not a soul beast one could afford to provoke.

"Tell Xia Liang that if it doesn't work out, we should leave."

"Is this soul beast very strong?"

Xiao Xiao asked. Wasn't Xia Liang very strong? Why did they need to leave?

"Not strong, but troublesome."

While Azure Phoenix explained things to Xiao Xiao, Xia Liang had already faced off against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Human, let go of my prey, or I'll eat you too!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared angrily at Xia Liang in the sky. She had clearly been the one to cripple this Golden Dragon Ao first, yet this human dared to come and steal her prey!

"Hmm... Food?"

Xia Liang seemed to think of something. Rather than retreating, he released the pressure he had been exerting on the Golden Dragon Ao and looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. A bottle appeared in his hand, filled with dark-red, scorching blood. Even through the bottle, one could see magma-like streams of light slowly churning within the liquid.

Then, a massive steak appeared in his other hand.

"???!!"

The Nine-Headed Serpent steak and scorching blood—two top-tier ingredients from Nightmare-difficulty Twilight Forest—completely stirred the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's appetite.

"Human... Mm." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion swallowed, her eyes fixed intently on the two foods in Xia Liang's hands before she continued threatening him, "Bring me the blood and meat in your hands, and I'll spare your life. If you have more, hand it all over!"

"Call Di Tian over, and I'll let you eat this."

Sure enough, foodies were easier to deal with.

"Di Tian? Human, if I call Di Tian over, you'll die."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion froze at Xia Liang's request. This was the first time she had heard of a human rushing to die. Given Di Tian's hatred for humans, if he really came, the human would be in grave danger.

Since Xia Liang had brought delicious food, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion still did not want him to die. What if he had more good food in the future?

"It's fine. Just call him over."

Xia Liang took out five bottles of scorching blood and three Nine-Headed Serpent steaks, then tossed them to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Fine, I'll... call Di Tian over right away. Don't worry. From now on, you're my little brother. I'll protect you."

When she saw the three steaks and five bottles of blood, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes lit up. Now she truly feared that Xia Liang might die. She had to protect him later!

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lowered her head and lightly poked the side of her neck with a front claw. Beneath the fine scales there, a reverse scale slightly lifted, revealing a small patch of dark-golden skin below.

She condensed her spiritual power into a thin thread and sent it through the reverse scale. Very quickly, a steady male voice appeared in her mind, low and carrying the weight of someone long accustomed to authority.

"Auspicious Beast, what is it?"

"Ahem, well..."

Hearing the voice of the one who was practically half a father to her, the little soul beast who had snuck out to steal food felt somewhat guilty, especially since this involved humans.

"Um, Di Tian, someone wants to see you."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke somewhat guiltily.

"What did you say?!"

The moment the words in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mind fell, a tyrannical aura erupted from the Star Dou Forest.

The entire Star Dou Forest seemed to tremble slightly. An invisible pressure descended between heaven and earth, and dark-red light flashed abruptly as Crimson King, the three-headed Scarlet Demon Dog, appeared before them, separating Xia Liang from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

And it was not alone. Several figures emerged from the surroundings, their powerful pressure directly enveloping Xia Liang's position. Every one of them possessed cultivation exceeding a hundred thousand years. They were all fierce beasts!

"This is... the aura of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King? Why does it feel so familiar?"

Azure Phoenix's beak opened and closed. She found this aura familiar, as though she had seen it before.

Faced with the current situation, Xiao Xiao was nearly scared to tears. With so many fierce beasts here, she feared that she was going to die.

"What are you panicking for? Even if he can't beat them, I can still take you and run."

Azure Phoenix did not care in the slightest. This was merely the mortal realm. Even the Dragon God from back then could not catch her. Even if Xia Liang could not hold on, she could still escape with Xiao Xiao without any problem.

At that moment, Di Tian looked down at Xia Liang, astonished. He could not see through this human's aura at all.

"Human, you were looking for me?" Di Tian spoke, his voice calm and heavy. His gaze swept over Xia Liang's surroundings, and only after confirming that the Auspicious Beast was unharmed did the killing intent hidden in his eyes slowly recede somewhat. "You have a lot of nerve."

Di Tian transformed into a two-meter-tall human form and appeared before Xia Liang. His golden eyes carried an immensely powerful sense of oppression.

The moment he heard there was a human, he had gathered all the fierce beasts together. Had the Auspicious Beast not been unharmed, he would have already struck with a Dragon God Claw.

"Di Tian, take a look at this first, then decide whether we should fight."

Xia Liang took out an azure-blue ball of light. It contained memories about soul spirits, along with some footage provided by the Snow Empress.

"Hmm?"

Di Tian accepted the memory. It was only a small portion of spiritual power and posed no threat whatsoever to him.

After absorbing it, Di Tian saw the explanation and practical process of the Soul Spirit Method. Once he finished absorbing it, his expression did not change, but his gaze lingered over the images and words longer than expected. When he had finished, he crushed the ball of light in his palm, and his golden vertical pupils fell on Xia Liang again.

"Human, your soul spirit is indeed remarkable, but how do I know whether it is real?"

Di Tian was indeed interested in soul spirits, but who knew whether this memory was fake? What if it had been specially brought to deceive him?

"Simple. We can test it on the spot."

Xia Liang looked at Xiao Xiao behind him. This time, she had truly caught up with him. Was her luck really that good?

Xiao Xiao: "..."

Can I leave? I really don't want to stay here.

Xiao Xiao truly wanted to cry. Standing at the back had been bad enough, but now she was being made to step forward and bear the pressure.

"Greetings, senior fierce beasts."

She had no choice. Since she had already been called out, Xiao Xiao could only force herself to step forward.

"Level 30."

Di Tian saw through Xiao Xiao's soul power cultivation, then looked at the Golden Dragon Ao beside them.

"Directly absorb a ten-thousand-year soul spirit?"

Although Di Tian now somewhat believed in the Soul Spirit Method, a ten-thousand-year soul spirit—even if the soul beast was willing, with the power of this level-30 human, she would likely be burst to death.

"Yes, she'll be fine."

Xia Liang spoke. As for the methods involving soul spirits, Electrolux had also researched a sealing method similar to Tianmeng's. Naturally, that was a secret of the Spirit Pagoda.

"Fine."

Di Tian looked at the Golden Dragon Ao. Being able to participate in the Soul Spirit Method before him meant that this Golden Dragon Ao had not died in vain.

"Xiao Xiao, sit over here. I'll begin drawing the formation."

"Yes, Senior."