Two days later, in a cave on Knight Sacred Mountain.
Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes and looked around, his face somewhat pale.
The cave was very quiet. The five old men who had presided over the formation were no longer there.
He could feel something pressing against his chest, though.
He struggled to lift his head and saw that it was the silver-haired Silver Dragon King, lying asleep on his chest. She seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Huo Yuhao smiled at the sight. He kept still, closed his eyes, and began to meditate in silence.
He had lost too much blood, and although he had taken a potion, he was still somewhat weak. If he circulated his Internal Spiritual Power to help heal his injuries, he would recover faster.
To Huo Yuhao's surprise, however, when he circulated his Internal Spiritual Power, he found that his body contained not only ice-attribute Spiritual Energy, but also Spiritual Energy of the other five attributes, though only in tiny proportions.
With the appearance of the other five attributes, the Spiritual Core in his body had also changed from a purely ice-attribute core into a mixture of six attributes.
Huo Yuhao was both happy and worried.
He feared that he would be unable to balance the six kinds of Spiritual Energy in his body.
So when he used his Spiritual Energy, Huo Yuhao focused on circulating the other five attributes to make them a little stronger.
Although Huo Yuhao's movements were slight and he exercised great restraint in circulating his Internal Spiritual Power, Gu Yuena was the Silver Dragon King and was exceptionally sensitive to elemental fluctuations. The instant Huo Yuhao began circulating his Spiritual Energy, she woke up.
But she said nothing, instead sensing Huo Yuhao's cultivation.
Only after Huo Yuhao had circulated his Spiritual Energy through several major cycles did she sit up and speak slowly:
"If you want to balance the Spiritual Energy of all six attributes, it will seriously hold back your cultivation."
Huo Yuhao's expression turned serious as he asked:
"Silver Dragon King, do you have a better method?"
Huo Yuhao was not surprised that the Silver Dragon King had woken up. With the strength of his Spiritual Power, he had noticed long ago.
"Of course I have a method, and I can help you, but I have one condition."
"What condition?"
Huo Yuhao had no objection to the Silver Dragon King bargaining with him.
On the contrary, only if she had a condition would she help him wholeheartedly.
He also wanted the relationship between them to improve, but some things were engraved in the bloodline. It was obviously impossible to change the Silver Dragon King's prejudice against humans all at once; he could only win her over gradually.
After pondering for a moment, Gu Yuena looked at Huo Yuhao and said:
"My condition is simple. You need to tell me the basics about this world, and how Soul Beasts should get along with humans. Should we fight them, or cooperate?"
Huo Yuhao smiled when he heard this.
The Silver Dragon King was even more naive than he had imagined.
And from what the Silver Dragon King said, it seemed she had come to the Holy Demon Continent to learn how to get along with humans.
In that case, the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent could still be resolved.
At the thought, Huo Yuhao said earnestly:
"I would have told you about the Holy Demon Continent even if you hadn't asked. That doesn't count as a condition, so pick another one!"
"As for Soul Beasts and humans, in my view, they complement each other. If they fight, both sides will only suffer. Why not join hands and develop together?"
"Given how quickly the Spirit Pagoda is developing, I believe it won't be long before human Soul Masters no longer need physical Soul Rings and can use the Spirit Pagoda's Soul Rings instead."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Gu Yuena fell into thought.
She knew far too little about humans, but she also understood that, compared to Soul Beasts, humans developed far too quickly. In a few years, even if she fully recovered, she would no longer be able to deal with them.
If humans really could coexist peacefully with Soul Beasts, nothing could be better.
If they truly could not coexist, she knew how talented Huo Yuhao was. By watching and learning here, she could also learn a great deal and change the Soul Beast Clan in the future.
At that thought, Gu Yuena said seriously:
"I won't take advantage of you. If you tell me about the Holy Demon Continent, I'll definitely repay you. Take the way you changed my constitution earlier: you used up nearly half your blood, but when I gave you a transfusion afterward, I only gave you a little over a tenth. That isn't fair to you."
"Besides, if you had more of my blood in you, it would be easier for you to balance the six attributes of Spiritual Energy."
Huo Yuhao frowned and asked:
"Is that the method you were talking about?"
Gu Yuena nodded and said:
"That's right. It's the quickest method."
Once he had confirmation, Huo Yuhao shook his head and refused:
"If that's the method, forget it. I'll cultivate slowly. It'll only take a few extra years, and by then the six attributes will be balanced."
"Hm? You won't use such a simple method? Don't you humans love the essence blood of high-level Soul Beasts most of all? It can strengthen your body and increase your cultivation."
Gu Yuena was utterly puzzled. In her memory, humans were extremely fond of Soul Beast corpses.
Ordinary Soul Beast meat could be used as food, but Soul Beasts with high-level bloodlines were used for more than just food.
Even the blood of dragons could be used to temper the body, and their flesh had quite a few benefits as well.
That was why she found Huo Yuhao's refusal so puzzling. She was now the Soul Beast with the highest dragon bloodline, and her blood had many benefits for Huo Yuhao.
Hearing the Silver Dragon King's question, Huo Yuhao smiled and explained:
"Normally, you'd be right. Your blood is enormously attractive to anyone."
"But I'm different from other people. We signed an Equal Contract. If you give me a blood transfusion, it will harm your origin and affect your cultivation and growth."
"And likewise, if I hadn't signed an Equal Contract with you, you definitely wouldn't be willing to give me your blood, right?"
Gu Yuena nodded thoughtfully, then said with killing intent written across her face:
"That's right. If anyone else wanted my blood, I'd slap him dead."
"Exactly."
Huo Yuhao nodded and continued:
"You just said humans covet Soul Beasts with high-level bloodlines, but the same principle applies the other way around. Soul Beasts want to eat Soul Masters and turn them into resources for cultivation. It's the law of the jungle, and it applies to both sides. It just comes down to who's stronger."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena looked enlightened, though her face still showed plenty of confusion.
Huo Yuhao simply reassured her: "You still have a lot to learn, so just take your time. I'll tell you the basics about the Holy Demon Continent later, and teach you to read and write. That way, you'll be able to learn what you want to know."
"In any case, you need to know that we've signed an Equal Contract now. I won't harm you, and you certainly won't harm me."
"Instead, it's other people we need to be wary of now. In the future, while you're at my side, watch more, learn more, speak less, and do less. With your talent, you'll definitely be able to fit into the human world quickly."