The Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python felt their hearts sink to rock bottom.
How could this human be so terrifying?
With just a lift of his hand, he had casually dissolved the strength they took such pride in.
That oppressive presence left them unable even to think of resisting.
Ye Guixu glanced at them as though they were two ornaments unworthy of much thought.
There were more important things to do right now.
These two gatekeeping Soul Beasts were not worth wasting his time on.
He flew toward the heart of the Lake of Life with Yan Lingji and the Tide Siren.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast lay in Ye Guixu's arms, her entire body rigid.
She did not even dare breathe heavily.
Right beneath them was the secret space where her lord slept.
She could not lead this human inside.
But what could she do?
Resist?
Even Xiong Jun had been slaughtered.
And she had no idea where Di Tian and the others were trapped.
She did not even have the right to struggle.
"Guixu Sky-Rending Claw."
Ye Guixu raised his right hand and casually swept it through the air.
Five pitch-black claw marks appeared out of thin air.
Space itself was as fragile as thin paper beneath his claws.
He seized the rift and gave it a forceful tug.
He forcibly tore open a Spatial Passage leading to the core region.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast stared at the five claw marks suspended in the air and swallowed with difficulty.
That was Xiong Jun's Sky-Rending Claw...
No, it was even more terrifying than Xiong Jun's.
Xiong Jun's Sky-Rending Claw could only forcibly tear space apart through sheer, overwhelming strength.
But this man seemed born to rend space itself.
It's over, it's over, it's over...
My lord's domain is about to be invaded by a human.
Di Tian, aren't you coming back yet?
We're doomed!
The instant they stepped into the Spatial Passage, dense vitality rushed toward them as though it had physical substance.
It was as if all the life in the world were converging here.
This was an independent Grotto-Heaven World.
Lush grass carpeted the ground, and the air brimmed with a life aura a hundred times richer than outside.
It was like a secluded paradise forgotten by time.
At its center lay a small, clear lake.
The water was so clear that the bottom was visible, and it gave off a soft, lustrous glow.
The source of all that life aura lay deep within those waters.
"The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body."
Ye Guixu's gaze fell on the remains of a huge, fat silkworm lying on the ground.
With a wave of his hand, he put them into his Inner Space.
This worm's Soul Origin had already been sacrificed to him.
But his body was still here, as was his Soul Bone.
"Master, is the Silver Dragon King you mentioned in here?"
Yan Lingji looked around curiously.
Her gaze settled on the lake in the center.
Ye Guixu did not answer directly.
He merely tossed Xiong Jun's mangled body out of his Inner Space.
"See what tasty dishes you can make with his meat."
Seeing Xiong Jun's corpse thrown onto the ground, the Emperor Auspicious Beast's fur stood on end.
Humiliation...
This was naked humiliation!
Cooking the corpse of one of the Star Dou Great Forest's high-ranking Soul Beasts in the forest's most sacred core!
But faced with this savage human, she could only tuck her tail between her legs.
She carefully huddled in a corner.
She was terrified that he might roast her too if he grew displeased.
Ye Guixu scratched the Emperor Auspicious Beast's head.
It was like soothing a frightened kitten.
Yan Lingji and the Tide Siren immediately selected a few cuts of Xiong Jun's meat and prepared to cook.
Ye Guixu sat by the lake.
While stroking the Emperor Auspicious Beast's trembling head, he took several pieces of Void Profound Ice out of his Inner Space.
He fused and compressed them, liquefying them into a crystal that radiated surging ice-blue light, with liquid flowing inside.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast had still been trembling.
But when that astonishing fragrance drifted into her nose, all three of her eyes went wide.
It smells so good...
What is this?!
Ye Guixu found her reaction rather amusing and immediately condensed another piece of Void Profound Ice.
He placed it in front of her.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast forced herself to turn her head away.
She told herself she could not eat anything from the enemy.
Yet her gaze could not help drifting back again and again to the ice crystal giving off that enticing scent.
Ye Guixu was in no hurry.
He simply watched her struggle in silence.
At last, the Emperor Auspicious Beast could no longer hold out.
She stuck out her little tongue and gave it a gentle lick.
That sweet scent instantly flooded her senses.
It sent a shudder through her entire mind.
Immediately afterward, brilliant golden light erupted from her body.
As though something had ignited it, her power instantly surged to three times its former level!
"H-how is this possible?!"
The Emperor Auspicious Beast looked down at her paws in disbelief, then looked up at Ye Guixu.
"This thing... made me three times stronger in every respect?!"
She hesitated for a second.
Then she could no longer resist and hugged the Void Profound Ice, crunching away at it.
It's so delicious!
Yan Lingji and the Tide Siren lit a fire by the lake.
Xiong Jun's meat sizzled over the flames.
It gave off a rich aroma utterly unlike that of ordinary Soul Beasts.
The flesh and blood of a 470,000-year-old Ferocious Beast.
Every wisp of its meaty aroma contained immense life energy.
The Tide Siren lightly sprinkled on seasonings she carried with her.
The dripping fat hissed and sizzled.
The aroma grew even richer.
Ye Guixu took a sniff and nodded in satisfaction.
Just right for fishing.
He then took out a fishing rod condensed from Soul Power.
He attached the Liquid Crystal formed from Void Profound Ice to the hook.
With a forceful cast, he sent it into the lake.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast held a small piece of Void Profound Ice in her mouth, eating with relish.
Seeing what he was doing, she froze.
She had seen humans fishing before.
A rod, a line, a hook...
But this was the most sacred Life Core of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Where would fish come from in the true Lake of Life?
"Human, what are you trying to do?"
"Fish, of course."
"Here... there aren't any fish here!"
"Isn't that lord of yours a fish?"
Ye Guixu reached out and scratched her chin, as though teasing a little kitten by the roadside.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast instinctively drew back her neck.
Then she quickly caught herself. "M-my lord isn't a fish!"
"A Silver Dragon Fish is still a fish."
Ye Guixu withdrew his hand and gazed at the lake.
The scent of the Void Profound Ice spread downward through the water.
It penetrated the many layers of water in the Lake of Life.
It slowly spread toward the sleeping silver-white figure deep at the bottom.
Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena was doing her utmost to wear away the divine power lingering within her.
Unable to sense the Divine Realm's presence, she had a rare opportunity to focus so intently on healing her injuries.
After all, this was a wonderful opportunity.
The Divine Realm was gone, and so were those detestable gods.
She was wearing away this divine power hundreds or thousands of times faster than before.
A passage had been torn open in the space outside, but she could not be bothered to pay attention.
It was probably Di Tian fiddling with something.
What else could it be?
But suddenly, a presence that made even her origin tremble reached her senses.
It came through layer upon layer of lake water.
"What is that?"
Her eyes snapped open.
Silver light flashed through her violet, slit-pupiled eyes.
Instinct drove her to swim toward that presence.
When she saw the piece of Void Profound Ice hanging from the fishhook at the bottom of the lake, a flicker stirred in her violet eyes.
"It gives off a presence even I can't ignore..."
She circled halfway around the ice crystal and gently sniffed it.
"Where did this come from? Did Di Tian find it and bring it back?"
"How insolent. That fellow Di Tian actually left it here instead of delivering it to me himself."
She gave a quiet huff.
After struggling for a while, the Silver Dragon King ultimately failed to resist the lure of that presence.
She opened her draconic maw and swallowed the Void Profound Ice together with the fishhook.
The float on the surface suddenly plunged downward.
"Got a bite!!!!"
Before you continue