Descending upon the Lake of Life, the Auspicious Beast Nurturing the Golden Dragon King Origin

Within the Plane Origin Sea, Lei Chen withdrew the strand of consciousness he had cast beneath the icy sea.

The Demon Empress's brutality and the Sea Princess's kindness had already set the stage for this grand drama of retracing the First-generation Sea God's path. The seeds of conflict had long been planted; all that remained was to wait for them to take root and sprout.

Thus, after finalizing the script, Lei Chen did not descend in person as he had before. He only needed to offer a slight nudge at some crucial moment in the future, and everything would fall naturally into place.

Now, it was time to deal with my own affairs.

With a thought from Lei Chen, a faint seven-colored radiance flickered around him, and his figure vanished from the Sea of Origin.

The next moment, at the core of the Star Dou Great Forest, beside the Lake of Life.

Subtle ripples spread through space as Lei Chen's figure silently emerged. The majesty of a Plane Lord, perfectly fused with heaven and earth, along with the Violet-Gold Thunder Mark between his brows that carried the aura of judgment, made him seem like a deity descending into the mortal realm.

The Lake of Life had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to before.

The already incomparably rich life energy had undergone a qualitative leap after the Golden Ancient Tree took root here. Above the lake, there was even a dense layer of milky-white mist that seemed impossible to disperse.

This was not ordinary vapor, but spiritual mist formed from highly liquefied life energy. The vegetation along the shore had grown wildly, spiritual herbs covered the ground, and their refreshing fragrance filled the air. The entire region seemed to have transformed into an earthly paradise, peaceful and brimming with vitality.

Because he had not deliberately concealed his aura, Lei Chen's sudden arrival naturally drew the attention of those here.

By the lakeshore, a graceful figure clad in emerald hues sat cross-legged, absorbing the dense life energy around her.

She had long dark-green hair, skin as fair as jade, breathtakingly beautiful features, and a gentle, tender temperament. She was Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan ranked fourth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.

Sensing that vast yet familiar pressure, Bi Ji immediately awoke from her cultivation. Opening her emerald-green eyes, she saw Lei Chen standing by the lake with his hands behind his back. She quickly rose and approached him, respectfully lowering herself in greeting. Her voice was clear and melodious. "Bi Ji pays respects to the Plane Lord."

Not far from Bi Ji, a strange Soul Beast had been lazily sprawled atop a smooth bluish stone, basking in the sun. Its body resembled a lion's, its four claws resembled dragons', and its entire body was covered in brilliant golden fur, making it appear exceptionally noble.

Most peculiar of all, it had three eyes. Besides its normal pair, there was a vertical eye on its forehead that flickered with an eerie red glow.

This was the Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Lei Chen's arrival had startled it as well. It lifted its head, and all three eyes turned toward Lei Chen in unison, its golden pupils filled with intense curiosity and scrutiny.

It could sense Bi Ji's respect toward this suddenly appearing stranger, as well as the vast aura emanating from him that instinctively made it feel both close to him and awed by him.

Lei Chen gave the bowing Bi Ji a slight nod. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, sensing that the life energy within her was fuller and purer than when they had last met. The corner of his lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"Not bad." Lei Chen's voice was calm, yet it carried an insight that allowed no doubt. "It has not been long since we last met, yet your cultivation has improved considerably. You are already nearing the peak of five hundred and eighty thousand years. At this rate, breaking through the six-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck is just around the corner."

Faced with the Plane Lord's praise, Bi Ji showed no trace of pride on her exquisite face. Instead, she lowered her head even more humbly and replied softly, "Your Excellency overpraises me."

"Any progress in Bi Ji's cultivation is entirely due to Your Excellency's grace. If not for your relocation of the Golden Ancient Tree here, causing the life energy in this place to far surpass what it was before, Bi Ji could never have advanced so swiftly. This is not Bi Ji's own ability, but entirely Your Excellency's creation."

Lei Chen naturally understood the reason. Bi Ji's true form was an Emerald Swan, and she had been born with an exceptionally strong life affinity. Her cultivation method was inherently closely tied to the density of life energy.

Among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, her combat power might not have been among the best, but thanks to her affinity for life energy and her efficiency in absorbing it, her cultivation advanced the fastest.

Now that the environment around the Lake of Life had received an epic enhancement, it would have been difficult for her cultivation not to grow rapidly.

"Though the environment is an external factor, making good use of it is also part of your fortune." Lei Chen spoke indifferently before turning his gaze toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, which was tilting its head as it studied him.

Sensing Lei Chen's gaze, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was not frightened. Instead, it rose to its feet and took several elegant steps forward. The Fate Eye on its forehead flickered faintly, as though it wanted to see through Lei Chen's true nature.

Afraid that the Auspicious Beast might offend the Plane Lord, Bi Ji hurriedly explained in a soft voice, "Your Excellency, this is the Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Its intelligence is extremely high, but it has rarely come into contact with the outside world. If it behaves improperly in any way, I ask that you forgive it."

Lei Chen waved a hand to indicate that it was of no concern. Looking at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, his gaze directly pierced through its body and saw the cluster of dark-golden origin slowly circulating within it. This stirred a hint of emotion in his heart.

The essence of this origin was the remnant of the Golden Dragon King, the incarnation of half the Dragon God's power and violent will. It represented the status of the God King Level, a supreme existence above ordinary deities that controlled the laws of the universe and overlooked the birth and destruction of countless worlds.

Yet this God King Level origin was now pitifully weak. To restore it to its peak state, where it possessed the true might of a God King, would likely require tens of thousands of years or even longer.

The root of the problem lay with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, its vessel. Although the Auspicious Beast was noble and naturally gathered the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest, its own cultivation and strength were simply far too insignificant compared to an existence like the Golden Dragon King.

Having it nurture this God King origin was like trying to fill a vast ocean with the water of a stream. The efficiency was abysmally low; at its current pace, success was still unimaginably far away.

If the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could become stronger, or even surpass mortal limits and reach the God-level, then with its unique talent for gathering fortune, combined with a God-level life essence, the speed at which it nurtured the Golden Dragon King Origin would undergo a qualitative leap. Its efficiency would surpass the present by hundreds or thousands of times.

However, while the idea was good, reality was rather harsh.

Soul Beasts cultivated slowly to begin with, and the accumulation required to break through to the God-level was as vast as the sea.

Given the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's current cultivation and growth rate, even with a holy land like the Lake of Life, crossing that insurmountable threshold would likely still take no short amount of time.

Unless... it took human form and cultivated in a human body. Then her cultivation speed would surely rise to an astonishing degree.