(Wang Qiu'er · Beautiful illustration 1)
"No! Lady Auspicious Beast!"
At the side, Scarlet King saw that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's sacrifice was complete. He raised his three heads, his six beastly eyes turning red in an instant as tears streamed down, and struggled to get up.
But he had only pushed half his body up when he fell heavily back down. All he could do was lie on the ground, all three heads letting out roars of utmost grief.
"Lady Auspicious Beast! Why would you go this far for me?!"
"What have I done to deserve this?! What have I done to deserve this?!"
Scarlet King was filled with grief and sorrow, blaming himself bitterly.
At that moment, the golden dome of light finally dissipated completely.
Xu Nuo stood where he was and slowly opened his eyes. Sensing that his cultivation had broken through once again to level thirty, he wasn't surprised.
But he discovered that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had actually merged with the Golden Sacred Dragon Martial Soul Origin in his dantian and become his Second Martial Soul.
This left Xu Nuo very pleased and happy, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He had originally thought that, after the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's sacrifice, she would at most become a Soul Spirit residing in his Soul Ring.
But he had never imagined that, through the effect of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's wish,
the Golden Sacred Dragon Origin would merge perfectly with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's life origin and soul, directly becoming a Second Martial Soul with a physical body: the Golden Sacred Dragon!
It was truly an unexpected delight.
"Three-Eyed Golden Lion!"
Smiling, Xu Nuo communicated with the young dragon in his dantian through his thoughts, speaking sincerely.
"From now on, you'll be my Second Martial Soul. Please take good care of me!"
As he spoke, Xu Nuo seemed to remember something and continued with a smile.
"But since you've now become my Martial Soul, you're no longer the Three-Eyed Golden Lion you used to be."
"It wouldn't be quite right to keep calling you the Three-Eyed Golden Lion."
"Let me give you a new name!"
"A new name?"
The young dragon tilted her head, her interest piqued, and spoke in a clear, sweet voice.
"Yes! Yes!!"
"Since you're my Martial Soul, you'll share my surname, Xu, from now on. How about Xu Qiu'er?"
"Xu Qiu'er!"
Xu Nuo said with a smile.
"Xu, as in Xu Nuo."
"Qiu represents the golden autumn, symbolizing abundant fruit and a bountiful harvest. It suits your golden scales and your fortune as an Auspicious Beast perfectly."
"Xu Qiu'er... Xu Qiu'er..."
The young dragon repeated it twice, a delighted light shining in her dragon eyes.
"It sounds lovely! I like this name!"
"From now on, I'm Xu Qiu'er!"
But after her excitement subsided, Xu Qiu'er looked at the darkness all around her and spoke somewhat sheepishly.
"By the way, Xu Nuo, it's so dark in here!"
"Can you summon me out? I can feel that I have a physical body and can move around outside!"
"Of course!"
Xu Nuo smiled and summoned Xu Qiu'er with a thought.
For a moment, golden light blossomed before him.
A young Golden Sacred Dragon appeared in an instant, golden from head to tail, with wings on her back. She looked sacred and majestic, yet adorable.
Then he looked at Scarlet King and called out directly.
"Stop howling! Your Emperor Auspicious Beast isn't dead yet!"
By then, Scarlet King had also seen Xu Qiu'er. All six of his eyes widened, and his voice trembled slightly as he spoke in disbelief.
"Lady... Lady Auspicious Beast, you're... you're not dead?!"
Xu Qiu'er turned around and looked at Scarlet King, who was lying on the ground, gravely injured and in a sorry state. She spoke in her clear voice.
"I only sacrificed myself to Xu Nuo."
"Xu Nuo promised to bring me along to become a god someday, and to let me keep my intelligence and continue to exist."
"Now it seems he didn't lie to me."
"Don't be sad. I'm not dead."
"From now on, I've just become Xu Nuo's Martial Soul."
Seeing Xu Qiu'er as she was now, Scarlet King opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. His feelings were complicated.
He was relieved that Xu Qiu'er hadn't died.
But he was also deeply troubled. He had let Xu Qiu'er become a human's Martial Soul. How was he supposed to explain this to Lord Di Tian?!
While Xu Qiu'er was talking with Scarlet King,
Xu Nuo checked the information about the Soul Skill from his Wishing Magic Lamp Martial Soul's Second Soul Ring that had been conveyed to his mind.
After learning what the second Soul Skill did,
Xu Nuo was filled with excitement. The corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably, and he nearly laughed aloud.
The effect of this second Soul Skill was simply too heaven-defying!
Based on its effect, Xu Nuo named the Soul Skill Fortune Absorption.
Its effect was simple: it allowed him to actively absorb the power of fortune from a person.
The person whose fortune was absorbed would have less of it.
If they didn't have much fortune to begin with, they would immediately enter a state of bad luck: even cold water would get stuck in their teeth, and they could step in dog poop just walking along.
Xu Nuo could store all the absorbed power of fortune in the Wishing Divine Lamp inside his body, then use it to bless himself with fortune when needed.
The stronger the blessing of fortune he gave himself, the more heaven-defying the benefits he could obtain.
On a smaller scale, enemies might inexplicably make mistakes in battle, or he might get lost in the wilderness and happen upon heavenly treasures.
Even in a life-or-death crisis, he could turn danger into safety and calamity into good fortune.
Although Xu Nuo could obtain similar effects by making a wish to the Wishing Divine Lamp,
wishing to the Wishing Divine Lamp required paying a corresponding price.
But when he blessed himself with the power of fortune like this,
the good luck obtained by consuming that power of fortune required no price.
Good heavens... Is this what a fate-type Soul Skill is worth?
Xu Nuo was inwardly astounded.
Sure enough! I was right to choose to trick the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and have the Wishing Divine Lamp absorb her Soul Ring this time!
After all, she might be the only fate-type Soul Beast on the continent!
And that wasn't all.
Xu Nuo checked the Soul Bone Skill of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion Vertical Eye, the External Soul Bone that had fused into the space between his brows.
He found that the Soul Bone Skill of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion Vertical Eye was also a rather powerful fate-type Soul Skill.
Xu Nuo named it Fate Judgment.
Its effect allowed him to designate a target and grant them fate's blessing, putting them in a lucky state and sending their combat condition soaring.
Besides that, he could also reverse it, placing a designated target under fate's misfortune and causing them to suffer various negative states of his choosing.
Although, at his current Soul Power Level, the negative states he could inflict on enemies couldn't be too outrageous,
and their duration was very short,
as long as his cultivation improved, the effect of this Soul Skill would only become more and more overpowered!
"Nice! As expected of fate-type Soul Skills, they really are overpowered!"
Sensing how much he had gained this time, Xu Nuo couldn't help grinning, his mood excellent.
But elsewhere, in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest,
in a cavern ten thousand meters underground,
Di Tian, Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, and a group of other fierce beasts, along with many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, were all in the cavern, absorbing the origin energy released by the sealed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
But suddenly, Di Tian discovered that the Emperor Auspicious Beast's blessing of fortune that had enveloped him had vanished!
Generally speaking, there was only one reason this would happen.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast had been killed!
In an instant, Di Tian's eyes turned red. Panting like a bull, he sprang to his feet, his face blazing with rage, and roared furiously.
"Who was it?!"
"Who dared kill the Emperor Auspicious Beast of my Star Dou Great Forest?!"