Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

He subtly concealed Xiao Wu behind him, then picked up the fire dragon egg with both hands as if admiring it. Suddenly, he swiftly put the dragon egg into his treasure pouch, released his martial spirit, and retreated rapidly while holding Xiao Wu.

"call out!"

An entity lying in ambush noticed Yan's movements and couldn't help but jump out to launch an attack. A golden light struck at an extremely fast speed, and Yan sensed danger at that moment.

A golden streak of light appeared in Yan's sight in an instant. It was so fast that Yan couldn't even react in time.

The golden light arrived above his head almost instantly, and then he felt a blinding light burst forth. His vision was quickly filled with endless light, like a small sun releasing its light and heat.

Yan, holding Xiao Wu, rolled away to dodge the attack, and the strongest golden dragon flames instantly erupted, engulfing the original spot.

However, a scene that shocked him occurred. Even in the Dragon Valley Secret Realm, the Golden Dragon Flame, which was invincible, seemed to be absolutely suppressed at this moment. It was blown towards him by a blurry golden beast shadow with its mouth open.

Endless golden flames instantly engulfed Yan and Xiao Wu, but in the next instant, the dazzling golden light, which seemed to be half the size of the blazing sun, was torn apart from behind by dark golden claws.

Since Yan had detected the enemy in advance, he was not so easily eliminated. What was ambushed earlier was just a clone, while he himself delivered the fatal blow at the crucial moment.

But there was no joy on his face as he delivered this attack, because he was certain that the enemy who had ambushed him had not yet been dealt with.

Chapter 158 Imperial Beasts

"Boom!"

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Yan immediately retaliated after being attacked. He activated the Dark Gold Terror Claw, and five golden light streaks tore through the void. The moment they collided with the ball of golden light, a thunderous roar erupted, and the latter was instantly blasted away.

However, Yan was even more vigilant, because he sensed that the Dark Gold Terror Claws, which had landed on the ground, had failed to achieve their intended effect. The indestructible Dark Gold Terror Claws had not harmed the beast in the slightest.

The dazzling golden light gradually faded, and a strange, golden beast appeared in Yan's sight. It was a cub, over a meter long and three feet tall at the shoulder, its entire body covered in a layer of brilliant golden fur.

This soul beast's entire body was like translucent crystal, filled with a strange texture. Its overall shape resembled a lion, but its four claws were like those of a dragon, with a ball of golden flame beneath each dragon claw.

Its mouth was also longer than that of lion-type spirit beasts, and beneath its fur appeared to be fine, golden scales. In addition to its normal two eyes, it even had a third eye on its forehead, with a vertical pupil between its brows.

Its two normal eyes shimmered with gold, while this vertical pupil emitted a red, somewhat eerie red.

"Its light, fire, and spiritual attributes have all reached their peak. Among all the soul beasts I have ever seen, only the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger can compare to it."

Yan was secretly amazed by the beauty and power of this soul beast. After a few quick glances, he already knew what this soul beast was and why it could suppress him.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, an ancient auspicious beast, is an imperial mythical creature. It possesses intelligence comparable to humans from birth. In its habitat, all soul beasts grow at twice the normal rate, and the chances of a 100,000-year-old soul beast breaking through its bottleneck double.

This powerful soul beast is an imperial auspicious beast, even rarer than a true dragon. It possesses extremely pure golden dragon blood and ultimate light and fire attributes, giving it absolute suppression over Yan.

As an ancient auspicious beast, it holds an extremely special position in the world of soul beasts. No matter how powerful a soul beast is, it can only respectfully worship before it and would never dare to harm it. Soul beasts chosen by it as food dare not resist, except to flee.

"Human, hand over the dragon egg you stole."

Yan was observing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and the auspicious imperial beast was also watching him. Its golden eyes and ruby-like vertical pupils locked onto the Ruyi Treasure Pouch at Yan's waist, intending to snatch the fire dragon egg from Yan's hand.

"First of all, I am not a thief. This dragon egg was entrusted to me by her mother. Also, I am not a soul beast and will not be polite to you. Since you attacked me first, you can expect to pay the price."

With a wave of his hand, Yan sent Xiao Wu away into the distance. Then, with a sudden swipe of his right hand, surrounded by golden flames and dragon shadows, he transformed into a fire god of war. After fully releasing his martial soul, the suppression brought by the three-eyed golden lion was no longer much.

Yan's first martial soul has undergone multiple evolutions, absorbing the primordial flames of four powerful soul beasts. A single Golden Dragon Flame might be suppressed by the ultimate flame of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, but with the four flames gathered in his body, Yan has nothing to fear.

The three-eyed golden lion in front of him had a cultivation of about five thousand years. However, the combat power of such a divine beast was astonishing. With a cultivation of five thousand years, its combat power was definitely superior to most soul beasts with a cultivation of less than fifty thousand years.

However, Yan, whom it was facing, was no pushover either. Before obtaining his fourth spirit ring, he might have been defeated by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in a single encounter, but now, after his journey through Dragon Valley, he had been completely transformed and was not afraid of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Since you are unwilling to hand it over, I will kill you first and then take back the descendants of the dragon."

As the three-eyed golden lion spoke, it leaped into the air, and a beam of golden light shot out, changing shape in mid-air. A majestic golden dragon pounced towards Yan's direction.

"The true golden dragon soul, the imperial auspicious beast, is indeed powerful."

Yan's heart tightened, and he suddenly threw a punch with his right hand. The golden earth dragon spun upwards and collided head-on with the golden dragon soul that was pouncing on. The two golden flames clashed and faced each other.

"It's troublesome that it has such power even in its cub form."

Yan's figure darted swiftly through the woods, while the Three-Eyed Golden Lion pressed its advantage, continuing its relentless pursuit. Just as Yan was about to exhaust all its remaining strength, it leaped into the air and launched a preemptive attack from its elevated position.

"Ding~~~"

Between Yan's fourth soul ring, the golden earth dragon soul instantly expanded, and the ten-meter-long golden dragon shadow accumulated power. This ten-thousand-year soul skill also made the three-eyed golden lion stop slightly to prepare for defense and resistance.

"Roar~~~"

The Golden Earth Fire Dragon Soul crashed down, causing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to stop in place, its body shimmering with golden light and forming a golden light barrier.

As the dragon soul descended, unleashing endless flames, ripples spread across the light barrier, yet it never shattered. Yan's powerful ten-thousand-year soul skill was blocked, but his follow-up move was not limited to this.

Yan's right arm flashed with golden light once more. The auxiliary skill of the Golden Light Right Arm Bone was activated. The dragon soul in the sky expanded again and then quickly condensed, eventually transforming into a dragon shadow about ten feet long. It directly broke through the golden barrier and hit the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"Boom!"

Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was hit head-on by Yan's ten-thousand-year soul skill, it was not seriously injured. However, just as it was about to launch another attack, a cloud of powder suddenly covered its face, and then it felt its limbs weaken and lost its fighting ability.

"You really think I'd go head-to-head with you? I'm all brains."

Yan's smug smile filled the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's vision. After confirming that the soul beast offered no resistance and could only do as he pleased, he couldn't help but chuckle and pat the little golden tiger. Once he touched it, he couldn't help but stroke it a couple more times; it really did feel good.

Yan teased the little guy but it didn't react. He pinched its little head and made it look at him, and said in a deep voice, "Little guy, I don't think I've ever hunted any soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, nor have I attacked you, so why did you attack me?"

The three-eyed golden lion seemed to have recovered somewhat. It coldly stared at Yan and spoke again in a detached, aloof female voice, "You despicable human, you dare hurt me. I'll teach you..."

"Hey, threatening me? I'm a professional cat-petting master. This time I'll show you what I'm made of, the Eighteen Styles of Cat-Petting."

Yan chuckled wickedly and reached out his evil hand toward the still-growing cat in front of him.

"Stop it, don't..."

The three-eyed golden lion initially endured it for a while, but Yan's actions became increasingly inappropriate, touching every part of its body. When Yan touched its soft belly, the little beast finally couldn't resist anymore. Unfortunately, its protests were ineffective, and its body was still being played with by someone.

"Human, I'm going to make sure you suffer endless bad luck and die a horrible death."

The three-eyed golden lion lay on the meadow, its belly and neck slipping from its grasp. Yan's Ten Fragrant Softening Powder was too effective; it was still weak and could only let Yan do as it pleased. Yan's cat-petting skills were also quite good; the big cat couldn't help but stick out its tongue and lick itself while talking, clearly saying one thing but doing another.

"Your threats are ineffective. Don't think I don't know what kind of auspicious beast you are just because it's my first time seeing one. So-called imperial auspicious beasts are nothing more than those with peculiar ancient bloodlines, capable of influencing the fluctuations of the spiritual energy of the land through their bloodline aura."

Yan pinched the big cat's head and brought it closer to him, saying, "Besides, I probably know you better than you do, like how you can guide attributes and stuff."

"What do you want to do? No!"

Yan's head kept getting closer. Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could still speak, it didn't have much strength left in its mouth and could only watch helplessly as someone approached.

"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. If I were to exchange memories with you, I would be the one who suffers."

Yan ultimately did not stick the three-eyed golden lion's vertical eye on his forehead. Attribute attraction is a secret of the Emperor Beast. If Yan had done so, he could have gained great benefits, but he would have also exposed his biggest secret.

As he spoke, he tilted his head back slightly and lay down on the grass, placing the three-eyed golden lion's head in his arms. He then closed his eyes while holding the large cat, not even knowing why he was doing this.

The three-eyed golden lion probably didn't dare to provoke Yan anymore, or perhaps it was because Yan was quite skilled at petting cats. It stopped meowing, and the two of them lay quietly.

"Brother Xiaoyan, Brother Xiaoyan..."

Xiao Wu's voice soon came over, accompanied by the Titan Ape. He had been playing with Xiao Wu and exploring the bushes, and the Titan Ape hadn't actually gone far. When the commotion started, it rushed over.

It came over with Xiao Wu and saw Yan and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion lying motionless on the ground. The whole ape was stunned.

Although it didn't recognize the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, its noble aura was overwhelmingly oppressive. It also knew Yan's identity and status—the heir to humanity's strongest soul master force. With both of them gone, it felt its own doom was near.

"Xiao Wu, come here and play with the big cat. This little guy feels so nice to touch."

Yan beckoned to Xiao Wu, who boldly approached, but as she got closer to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, her body trembled involuntarily.

She was merely a Soft-Boned Rabbit that had evolved after 100,000 years of cultivation; among top-tier soul beasts, she was only average. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, on the other hand, had a bloodline so noble that few in the entire soul beast world could compare. And this creature was a carnivore; how could Xiao Wu, a herbivore, not be afraid when she encountered it?

"Don't be afraid of it, reach out and touch it, it feels very comfortable."

The three-eyed golden lion bared its teeth at Xiao Wu. After regaining some of its senses, it also became very hostile towards Yan. Xiao Wu was a little scared, but when Yan took her little hand and placed it on the three-eyed golden lion, she couldn't help but touch it a few more times.

"Xiao Wu, Holy Son, you..."

A figure appeared instantly at Yan and the others' location. It was a beautiful young woman with a gentle temperament, Xiao Wu's mother. She sensed the energy fluctuations coming from here, so she rushed over to check, only to find that her daughter and the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall seemed to be petting a large golden cat.

She walked over, glanced at it, and stopped. After taking a few steps forward, her finger trembling as she pointed at the three-eyed golden lion, she exclaimed, "An imperial auspicious beast! An imperial auspicious beast has actually appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest!"

“Aunt Mei is here. Perfect timing. Could you help me explain to this little guy that I meant no harm? It probably has some misunderstanding about me and attacked me as soon as we met.”

Yan turned the big cat's head toward the Soft Bone Charming Rabbit, while his hands continued to stroke the cat. Xiao Wu joined in, grabbing the big cat's tail and carefully stroking it. The closer she got to the big cat, the more she felt her martial spirit activating. Once she grabbed it, she didn't want to let go.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke, but its words were anything but kind: "You two rabbits actually chose to transform into human form and even betrayed us to humans. You are traitors among the soul beasts. And you, you gorilla, hurry up and save me."

Its attitude remained quite arrogant. What was even stranger was that after hearing its voice, the Titan Giant Ape Erming involuntarily reached out to grab it. If it hadn't reacted in time and pulled its arm back, Yan and Xiaowu might have been injured.

"Still causing trouble? Take back your power of destiny and spiritual power."

Yan couldn't resist slapping the big cat's butt. It felt so soft, and he couldn't help but scratch it a couple more times.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's soul skill was interrupted, and it let out a resentful roar, "Bastard, you despicable human, you will pay the price!"

It had endured humiliation and hardship for so long, suffering Yan's 'playing'. Although those eighteen cat-petting techniques were indeed very comfortable, being captured was an extremely shameful thing for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. It had finally found an opportunity but failed, so of course it was unwilling to accept it.

"This little guy, what's his background? I almost fell for his trick."

The Titan Ape had probably spent a lot of time with humans, and its speech had become much clearer. The thought of how it had involuntarily wanted to rescue it earlier still made it feel a little scared.

Its intuition told it that if it had encountered this soul beast when it was weak, even if it were of the same level and age, this soul beast might have just roared once, and this king of the forest might have obediently offered up its life without any resistance. It was truly terrifying.

The Emperor Beast is the emperor among beasts, and its restraint on soul beasts is even more obvious. Most soul beasts instinctively feel fear when facing it and dare not harm it. Prey that is targeted by it can only run away and dare not put up a fierce resistance.

This means that the Titan Ape has already reached a cultivation level of 100,000 years. If it were still at the 10,000-year level, it might have already been rescued from the attack.

At this moment, Xiao Wu's mother spoke up from the side, "Holy Son, could you please release it first?"

Yan shook his head. "That won't do. It has a terrible temper and is very strong. I only won by cheating. Let's go see Da Ming first. I have something I need to ask him."

The Soft-Boned Rabbit hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Please, please be careful. Don't use excessive force. Although it has offended you, you can't hurt this soul beast."

"I know."

Yan nodded, and then went with Xiao Wu and the others to the center of the Star Dou Great Forest, where the Lake of Life was located.

Chapter 159 Dialogue with the Ming Dynasty

The Star Dou Great Forest is undoubtedly the number one forest on the Douluo Continent. Its area is so large that it even surpasses some provinces of the two great empires or even some smaller vassal states.

Within this vast forest lies the most diverse soul beast ecosystem on the entire Douluo Continent, home to the most complete range of soul beast species in the world. Naturally, it also harbors many dangers. Even titled Douluo-level powerhouses must exercise extreme caution in its core area.

Because the energy of heaven and earth gathered here is extremely rich, it has attracted countless powerful soul beasts to settle and divide up their territory. Without strength, it is impossible to live here.

It is said that there used to be quite a few 100,000-year-old soul beasts in this area. However, in the last few hundred years, there have been very few legends about 100,000-year-old soul beasts and ferocious beasts. Currently, the only ones that can be confirmed are the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python.

According to the ancient records of the Spirit Hall that Yan had searched, there was a central area deeper within the Star Dou Great Forest, known as the Forbidden Land. However, it is unknown when, but the Forbidden Land of the Star Dou Great Forest was shrouded in thick fog and sealed off, and there has been no news of it for a long time.