The one the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was looking at was Ji Yang.
By now, a Soul Power Pill had appeared in his hand, and he kept rolling it between his right thumb and forefinger.
Out of curiosity, and as a test, Ji Yang wanted to see whether his Soul Power Pill could tempt the little Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Judging by her reaction, he had clearly succeeded.
At that moment, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was staring longingly at the Soul Power Pill in his hand, her eyes brimming with curiosity and desire.
She could sense that this pill would be enormously helpful to her and benefit her growth.
"Human, give me that 'tasty thing' in your hand!"
Drool dribbled from the corners of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mouth as she asked Ji Yang for the Soul Power Pill without the slightest restraint. Her telepathic tone was far from polite, either.
"That depends on whether you listen to me. If you behave, I'll often let you eat these good things that can increase your cultivation age."
"But if you don't behave, not only will I refuse to give you any, I'll also have them toss you back to your Uncle Di Tian!"
Ji Yang smiled at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as he spoke.
The best way to deal with a "Demon Pill" was, of course, to seize their weakness and hold it firmly in his grasp.
Now that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had delivered her own "weakness" right to his doorstep, how could he fail to take advantage of it?
At first, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was somewhat angry, but that soon turned to surprise. "You know Uncle Di Tian?"
From Ji Yang's tone, he seemed to be quite familiar with her Uncle Di Tian.
"More or less!"
Under Da Ming's and Er Ming's hesitant gazes, Ji Yang launched straight into a fabrication. "So, little Auspicious Beast, you wouldn't want to be tossed back into that secret space deep beneath the Lake of Life, staying bored out of your mind and getting lectured by your Uncle Di Tian, would you?"
As he spoke, a trace of ill intent appeared on his face.
"Mm..."
Those words, dripping with threats, made the Three-Eyed Golden Lion shudder instinctively, her face filled with resistance.
She had finally been allowed out for a stroll. The last thing she wanted was to return to that tiny place, much less suffer another merciless lecture from her rigid Uncle Di Tian.
"I understand. I'll be good, and I'll listen."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion followed her heart and "admitted defeat."
Her genuine fear was one reason.
Another was that, in her eyes, Ji Yang could only have learned about the secret deep beneath the Lake of Life from her Uncle Di Tian.
That meant Ji Yang really did know her Uncle Di Tian.
Since that was the case, what did it matter if she temporarily "submitted" to a mere little human like Ji Yang for the sake of those tasty things that were so useful to her?
Besides, Ji Yang was probably no ordinary human.
Otherwise, she would not have sensed a hint of danger from him.
After all, she was an Auspicious Beast, with innate abilities and strength far beyond those of ordinary Soul Beasts.
Though her cultivation age was only a little over three thousand years, her combat strength could at least rival that of a thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast.
Yet facing Ji Yang gave her the same feeling as facing Uncle Scarlet King or Sister Zi JI.
That alone showed how extraordinary Ji Yang was.
On this point, it had to be said that the Auspicious Beast's senses were extremely keen.
What she had sensed were the auras of the Radiant Sun Sacred Phoenix Soul Spirit and the Crimson Flame Fire Dragon Soul Spirit within Ji Yang's Sea of Consciousness.
Although Ji Yang himself was only a Soul King, he had two Ferocious Beast-level Soul Spirits, which made him comparable to a Super Douluo in certain respects.
It was perfectly normal for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to sense a threat from him because of that.
What was more, Ji Yang's actual combat strength was by no means limited to the Soul King level.
The enhancements granted by the Soul Skills of his Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and his Soul Bone were simply immense.
Even if a Titled Douluo came to fight him, he was confident he could make them shed a layer of skin.
"Good. What a good girl!"
Ji Yang glanced at the obedient-looking Three-Eyed Golden Lion before him, then reached out to pat her head despite the reluctance in her eyes.
Next, he pushed the Soul Power Pill in his hand straight into her mouth. "This Soul Power Pill is your reward!"
"It's so tasty!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had still been somewhat reluctant a moment earlier, instantly looked delighted when she tasted the Soul Power Pill in her mouth.
This thing called a Soul Power Pill really was every bit as delicious as its aroma promised.
That was only the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's impression, however. Ji Yang, Xiao Wu, Da Ming, and Er Ming did not actually find Soul Power Pills particularly delicious.
Still, that might have been because their attention was focused on the pills' medicinal effects.
"I want more!"
After reluctantly swallowing the Soul Power Pill, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Ji Yang with longing and asked for another.
The pill's delicious flavor certainly appealed to her, but its tremendous benefits were an even greater attraction.
She had only just swallowed it, yet she felt that her cultivation age had already increased by at least several decades.
Moreover, the pill's effects were far from exhausted. It was still slowly increasing her cultivation from within her body.
If she began cultivating diligently, she could absorb it even faster and gain an even greater increase in cultivation.
That was another reason she craved the Soul Power Pills so much.
Sure enough, her instincts had been right. These Soul Power Pills really were enormously helpful to her.
"Then I'll give you another. Any more will depend on how you behave from now on, and whether you're a good girl!"
Ji Yang smiled.
He was not stingy, casually taking out another Soul Power Pill of the same several-thousand-year potency and tossing it to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
"Awooo-"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes lit up. With a single eager gulp, she swallowed it and swiftly began absorbing the cultivation gains from the two Soul Power Pills she had eaten in succession.
While the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was absorbing them, Da Ming and Er Ming asked Ji Yang about his plans. "Yang, what should we do next? Take the Auspicious Beast with us when we leave? Or should one of us stay in the Star Dou Great Forest to look after her? Or perhaps we could have that newly advanced Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast take care of her?"
Originally, after becoming Ferocious Beasts, they had planned to leave the Star Dou Great Forest with Ji Yang and Sister Xiao Wu, serving as their bodyguards.
Now that the Auspicious Beast had arrived, their plans were undoubtedly affected and would need some adjustments.
The newly advanced Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast they mentioned was one they had previously found with a suitable cultivation age of eighty or ninety thousand years.
They had pooled their surplus Soul Power Pills to raise him, intending for him to take over their position as guardian of the Lake of Life.
As for his species, that newly advanced Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was a King Kong Terrorclaw Bear, a closely related but lesser branch of the dark gold terrorclaw bear lineage.
His strength was not much weaker than theirs at the same cultivation age, which was quite impressive.
"Let's take her with us! If we leave the Three-Eyed Golden Lion here and go off on our own, we won't be able to guarantee her safety. Especially since she's so restless and mischievous-that big, clumsy bear might not be able to keep an eye on her."
"Besides, if Di Tian, the strongest Ferocious Beast deep beneath the Lake of Life, finds out, you two won't be able to give him a satisfactory explanation, and you'll suffer for it afterward. Taking her with us will actually make things easier to handle."
"But before we take her away, we'd better leave a message outside the Lake of Life so those Ferocious Beasts don't misunderstand."
Ji Yang spoke.
Since the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, an Auspicious Beast, had appeared, he had no reason not to take her along, even if only as a lucky mascot.
As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's innate Fate Connection, he did not place much importance on it.
Forming a Fate Connection with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would certainly increase his spiritual power, but with his spiritual power already in the Spirit Abyss Realm, the gain would probably be limited. He would be better off gradually improving it himself with Soul God Pills.
And that so-called power of fate was not something he particularly needed at present. It might even affect the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest, drawing Di Tian and the others' attention and hostility.
That seemed rather unnecessary.
Beyond all that, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Fate Connection had another crucial drawback.
Each of them would gain complete knowledge of the other's memories.
That was something he did not want to see.
All the more reason not to form a Fate Connection with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Before you continue