Star Dou Great Forest, Core Circle—Lake of Life.
Gu Yuena's cold, majestic summons carried the weight of an invisible decree, instantly piercing through layers of space.
Almost the moment her words fell, space rippled violently. A black figure tore through the void and appeared silently on the shore of the Lake of Life.
The newcomer wore a black robe, his expression icy and indifferent. Black hair draped over his shoulders, and his golden pupils gleamed with terrifying authority. He knelt on one knee, head slightly lowered, and spoke with absolute reverence.
"Lord, you summoned me."
This was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian, revered by all Spirit Beasts as the Beast God.
Gu Yuena's enormous silver dragon body slowly emerged from the mist rising off the Lake of Life. Her violet dragon pupils looked down at her most loyal subordinate, her voice unusually heavy.
"Di Tian, did you sense that aura just now?"
Di Tian raised his head. A trace of lingering fear flickered in his golden eyes as he replied in a deep voice,
"Reporting to my Lord, I sensed it. Compared to the last time it appeared, that aura is more complete… and far more powerful."
Gu Yuena nodded slowly, her pupils shimmering.
"Last time, it was fleeting. You went to investigate and found nothing."
"But this time, the aura lingered longer and was far clearer. That proves its existence is no coincidence."
Her voice grew colder with every word.
"I will not allow such an uncontrollable variable to exist within my territory."
"Di Tian, I command you—find the source of this aura at all costs. I want to know exactly what it is."
"Yes, my Lord!" Di Tian responded without the slightest hesitation.
An existence capable of making his Lord this cautious was no trivial matter. Last time, he had searched exhaustively and found nothing—an outcome that alone spoke volumes of the other party's strangeness and strength.
This time, he was prepared to scour the forest down to the last inch.
However, just as Di Tian stood and was about to tear through space—
"Awoo—!!!"
A shrill, agonized wail suddenly echoed from the direction of the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest!
The sound itself was not loud and even seemed weak, but the pain and terror within it struck Gu Yuena and Di Tian like a heavy hammer to the chest!
Gu Yuena's expression changed instantly.
She snapped her dragon head toward the source of the sound, her majestic violet pupils filling with boundless cold fury.
Because in that instant, she clearly felt the Luck that enveloped the entire Star Dou Great Forest—sustaining the cultivation and growth of countless Spirit Beasts—suddenly drop sharply, like a punctured balloon.
There was only one possible explanation.
"The Auspicious Beast!" Gu Yuena's voice trembled with suppressed rage.
"Something has happened to the Auspicious Beast!"
Di Tian's expression also changed drastically, shock and fury surging within him.
"How is that possible?! Who would dare harm the Auspicious Beast?!"
A thought flashed through Gu Yuena's mind—the terrifying aura that had descended from the sky not long ago.
"Could it be… that existence from earlier?" Her voice was ice-cold.
"Did it not only provoke my authority, but also dare to attack the Auspicious Beast?"
The Auspicious Beast—the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—was the incarnation of the Star Dou Great Forest's Luck, and the hope of the entire Spirit Beast race!
Its importance surpassed even that of Di Tian and all other Vicious Beasts combined.
"Di Tian!" Gu Yuena's rage reached its peak as she let out a roar that caused the waters of the lake to churn violently.
"Go immediately! Investigate at once! Summon all Vicious Beasts!"
"If this truly was that being's doing, I want its soul shattered and its existence erased!"
"By your command, my Lord!"
Di Tian was burning with fury as well. He no longer restrained himself in the slightest. His terrifying aura erupted as black dragon wings unfurled behind him. In an instant, he transformed into a streak of black light that tore through heaven and earth, charging toward the Mixed Zone at an unimaginable speed.
An unprecedented storm—triggered by the injury of the Auspicious Beast—had completely ignited within the Star Dou Great Forest.
…
Elsewhere in the forest.
Star Dou Great Forest, edge of the Mixed Zone.
In truth, the one who injured the Auspicious Beast was not Liu Yuan.
At this moment, two figures stood within the devastated woodland, their expressions filled with panic.
One was a burly old man with wild hair and a thick beard—Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi, who had been punished and sent into seclusion to reflect on his mistakes.
Beside him stood a plain-looking youth of only twelve or thirteen years of age—it was Huo Yuhao.
Not long ago, Huo Yuhao's spirit power had finally broken through Rank 30, and he urgently needed his third spirit ring.
However, with Shrek Academy currently overwhelmed and lacking high-level combat power, Sea God's Pavilion Elder Mu En had given Xuan Zi a chance to redeem himself—temporarily lifting his punishment and allowing him to escort Huo Yuhao into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a suitable spirit ring.
Thus, the two had arrived here.
Their luck was astonishingly good.
Before long, they encountered a young Spirit Beast with an unusual aura, its entire body glowing with brilliant golden light.
The beast did not appear powerful, but the auspicious qi and dense vitality radiating from it caused even Xuan Zi, a Super Douluo, to feel alarmed.
Instinctively, he sensed that this was an extraordinary Spirit Beast—something rarely seen even in ten thousand years! If Huo Yuhao could absorb its spirit ring, his future achievements would be limitless.
There was no time to hesitate.
Xuan Zi acted decisively. Without a word, he activated Martial Soul Possession and struck with thunderous force!
Even though he had deliberately restrained his strength, how terrifying was an attack from a Super Douluo?
The golden young beast had no chance to react. It let out a piercing cry before being smashed away by the enormous claw, blood spraying from its mouth as it was grievously injured!
Yet just as Xuan Zi stepped forward to finish it off—
The heavily wounded beast erupted with blinding golden light, activating an incomparably profound secret technique. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a streak of golden radiance and vanished into the depths of the forest.
At that same instant, the Heavenly Dream Ice Worm's panicked, distorted scream rang out within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.
"Oh my god! Yuhao! Stop him—quickly stop that old man! Th-that thing was the Auspicious Beast! The Three-Eyed Golden Lion of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Immediately after, another cold and equally shocked voice echoed—it was the Ice Empress.
"Heavenly Dream is right! That was the Emperor Auspicious Beast—the Three-Eyed Golden Lion! It's over… it's completely over. That old bastard Xuan Zi has caused a catastrophic disaster!"
"Auspicious… Beast?!"
Huo Yuhao's mind went blank with a loud buzz. Every hair on his body stood on end in terror.
Even at his age, he understood—through books and Heavenly Dream Ice Worm's explanations—what the Auspicious Beast meant to the Star Dou Great Forest and the entire Spirit Beast race.
Injuring it was no different from declaring war on the whole forest.
"E-Elder Xuan!" Huo Yuhao's voice trembled as he desperately grabbed Xuan Zi, who was about to give chase.
"We can't pursue it! We have to leave—now! The one you injured just now… it was the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest! The Three-Eyed Golden Lion!"
"What?!"
Xuan Zi froze in place.
His pupils shrank violently, and his mind felt as though it had been struck by lightning.
"The… Auspicious Beast?"
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
As a high-ranking elder of Shrek Academy, he understood the gravity of this better than anyone. This wasn't just trouble—it was tearing a hole in the heavens.
At that very moment, his powerful Super Douluo perception caught several terrifying auras surging toward them from the forest's core, each one enough to make his scalp go numb.
The leading aura was dark, tyrannical, and all too familiar.
Beast God—Di Tian!
"Run!"
Xuan Zi no longer cared about spirit rings or missions. He grabbed Huo Yuhao, his ninth soul ring blazing as his Gluttonous True Form erupted.
Without another word, he fled desperately toward the outer regions of the Star Dou Great Forest.
At this point, surviving would already count as a miracle.
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest.
Liu Yuan was completely unaware of the earth-shattering chaos unfolding within the Star Dou Great Forest.
He had just finished testing Dragon Sword Dance to his heart's content and recalled the majestic Mega Rayquaza back into his body. An irrepressible smile still lingered on his face.
"A massive harvest. Time to head back."
He clapped his hands, glanced at the Snow Empress beside him, and prepared to return to Shrek Academy.
But the very instant he took a step—
Whoosh!
A streak of golden light shot out from the dense forest like lightning!
Liu Yuan barely had time to react, only feeling a light bump against his ankle.
He looked down—
And froze.
At his feet lay a small Spirit Beast covered in brilliant golden fur, shaped like a qilin, with a third vertical eye on its forehead.
It had just collided with his leg.
Then, as if having exhausted its last ounce of strength, the small golden beast slumped sideways—
And promptly fainted, as though deliberately staging an accident.