Though Di Tian usually spoiled her, she knew now wasn't the time to be stubborn. The human expert before them was too strong for her to provoke.
"Let's go," Di Tian said, looking deeply at Lu Jingming behind Jingliu, then leading the Emperor Auspicious Beast and Scarlet King deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast couldn't help but glance back at Lu Jingming, her eyes not filled with anger for having her prey taken, but with curiosity—a longing for the unknown world outside.
"Let's go too. It's not safe to stay here," Jingliu suddenly said.
Lu Jingming froze, then immediately nodded, his face changing slightly.
He quickly stored the frozen Holy Flame Sky Tiger in a soul device capable of holding living things.
If even Di Tian couldn't deal with Jingliu, and she thought it was unsafe to remain, then the threat wasn't Di Tian or the other fierce beasts—it could only be the slumbering Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena.
"She's awake?" Lu Jingming felt a headache coming on. Running into the Emperor Auspicious Beast was one thing, and drawing Di Tian's attention was expected, but the awakening of the Silver Dragon King was completely unexpected and not in any of his plans.
"Mm, it should be her," Jingliu nodded.
She'd heard Lu Jingming mention information about this world before, and the Silver Dragon King was a key figure.
She had just clearly sensed a gaze upon her—a gaze that made even her, still not at full power, feel a strong threat. It felt like facing the Emanator of the Abundance, Shuhu, back then.
Even if Gu Yuena at her peak was far inferior to Shuhu, Jingliu was not at her peak now, and a fight would be dangerous.
Although Gu Yuena was unlikely to attack, being watched by such a strong opponent was uncomfortable—it was best to leave.
...
"Bi Ji, Emperor Auspicious Beast is yours now," Di Tian said as he led Scarlet King and the Emperor Auspicious Beast to the very core of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The air here was rich with energy, and the surrounding plants glowed with strange lights.
Di Tian nodded to a gentle green-haired woman approaching them.
Bi Ji smiled softly, nodding in understanding of what had happened.
She gently comforted the Emperor Auspicious Beast and led her away.
"You go cultivate. That bug won't last many more years," Di Tian said to Scarlet King, his voice calm.
"Yes!" Scarlet King brightened, almost jumping with excitement.
Not only was he not punished for his failure, but he could continue absorbing the life force of that lucky giant bug.
That bug was a million-year soul beast with an immense source of life. The increasing number of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts and the steady rise in power of the fierce beasts in recent years was all thanks to it.
Unfortunately, despite its million-year cultivation, its combat power was pitiful. It couldn't even resist ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
Di Tian returned alone to the Lake of Life. Standing by the shore, he knelt on one knee, head bowed in respect. "My Lord, that boy…"
His voice carried complex emotions—confusion, shock.
"Yes, destruction and creation—but still too weak," an ethereal voice sounded from the void, transcendent and clear, falling into Di Tian's ears.
Di Tian's body shook violently, his eyes wide with shock.
Destruction and creation—powers even the Dragon God couldn't perfectly control—now appeared in a human youth?
Back then, the Dragon God was torn apart from the strain of holding these opposing forces, leading to disaster.
Even now, in the God Realm, the God Kings of Destruction and Life are married yet childless due to their opposing powers—a constant source of frustration.
And just now, that human youth harbored both forces in perfect harmony, as if born with them.
This discovery stunned both Di Tian and Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena.
Even the supreme Dragon God had failed, yet an ordinary human youth had done it. No wonder they were shaken to their core.
Had Gu Yuena not been gravely wounded and unable to act, and had Di Tian been unsure of his advantage over Jingliu, they might have tried to capture Lu Jingming on the spot to uncover the secret behind his power.
"It's probably twin martial souls, but the details require observation," Gu Yuena's voice echoed softly.
As the Silver Dragon King, she controlled the creation godhood. To become the new Dragon God, she had to devour the destruction godhood of the Golden Dragon King.
But if she followed that path, she'd likely fall into the same torment as the Dragon God—being torn between two opposing powers, an agony too frightening to imagine.
Yet in Lu Jingming, Gu Yuena saw a glimmer of hope—a chance to control both destruction and creation.
Becoming the new Dragon God would be extremely difficult; the Golden Dragon King was still sealed in the God Realm, and in her wounded state, Gu Yuena couldn't reach it.
But that didn't stop her from seeking ways to master both forces in advance.
As she pondered this, a silver dragon claw glowing with ethereal light slowly reached out from the void.
Where it passed, space shattered like a broken mirror, revealing a life-filled alternate dimension.
In the depths of that dimension, the elegant silhouette of a silver dragon could be seen, surrounded by radiant life force.
At the tip of the silver dragon claw, a drop of silvery divine blood slowly fell.
As the divine blood landed, the Lake of Life rippled wildly.
The emerald water seemed to come alive, swiftly enveloping the droplet.
In an instant, immense life energy gathered from the lake bottom, and a delicate figure gradually formed atop the water.
Then, a silver light orb, pulsing with powerful spiritual energy, shot out from the alternate dimension and merged into the new body, completing the process in one smooth motion.