Chapter 38: Guiding the Auspicious Beast, Gathering the Gold of Life
Watching the approaching Three-Eyed Golden Lion, a trace of imperceptible deep meaning flashed in Lei Chen's eyes.
He reached out his hand, gently stroking the Auspicious Beast's brilliant golden, warm-to-the-touch fur. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion also seemed to enjoy this closeness, emitting a comfortable purring sound from its throat and slightly narrowing its three eyes.
"Little one," Lei Chen's voice carried a hint of casual gentleness, "Are you interested in taking human form?"
Suddenly hearing Lei Chen's question, the Auspicious Beast's enjoying movements paused. It raised its head, all three eyes revealing clear surprise.
It tilted its head and spoke in a crisp, pleasant, almost girlish human voice: "Take human form? You mean become like Bi Ji and the others?"
Hearing the Auspicious Beast mention her, Bi Ji, standing nearby, also revealed a gentle smile on her face, but she did not interrupt, merely listening quietly to the exchange between the Plane Master and the Auspicious Beast.
"More or less, but there are some fundamental differences," Lei Chen explained, his fingers brushing past the vertical pupil on the lion's forehead that contained the power of fate. "The transformation I speak of is for you to truly take human form like a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, possessing a Martial Soul just like a human Soul Master."
"Is that so?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion pondered, scratching its chin with a paw. "Then... if I transform, what are the benefits?"
Although its intelligence was extremely high, its thoughts were relatively simple, and it directly asked the question it cared about most.
Lei Chen smiled slightly and straightforwardly gave the most tempting answer: "The greatest benefit is that your cultivation speed will become extremely fast."
"Extremely fast?" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's ears instantly pricked up, its golden eyes sparkling with interest. "How fast?"
Lei Chen did not answer directly but instead asked a counter-question: "At your current cultivation speed, how long do you think it would take for you to surpass Di Tian and become the strongest in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Hearing this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion began to think seriously.
It deeply understood Di Tian's power; he was an existence it needed to look up to. After some estimation, it spoke somewhat hesitantly: "Probably... tens of thousands of years? Or maybe over a hundred thousand?"
This timeframe was unimaginably long for humans, but for an Auspicious Beast with a long lifespan, although it felt distant, it was not unacceptable.
Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, Lei Chen immediately laughed and continued, "If you take human form, I can guarantee you that within ten years, you will have a one hundred percent certainty of surpassing Di Tian. At that time, beating him soundly would not be difficult."
"Ten years?! Really only ten years?!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's three eyes instantly widened into perfect circles, its brilliant golden fur puffing up slightly with excitement.
Ten years was not a long time in its life. To exchange such a short period for power surpassing Di Tian was far too great a temptation!
Furthermore, its innate nature also held the pride of an Auspicious Beast; its yearning for powerful strength was no weaker than other Soul Beasts'. Therefore, with almost no further hesitation, while happily wagging its dragon-like golden tail, it excitedly said to Lei Chen:
"I'll transform! I'll go prepare for the transformation right now!"
As soon as the words fell, it transformed into a streak of golden light, hurriedly running deep into the forest, clearly unable to wait to begin this metamorphosis.
Seeing this, Bi Ji couldn't help but reveal a trace of worry on her face. The Auspicious Beast was crucial to the Star Dou Great Forest, and its thoughts were simple. She was truly uneasy about it undertaking such a major event as transformation alone. Thus, she quickly bowed respectfully to Lei Chen:
"Esteemed One, the Auspicious Beast transforming alone may be inconvenient. Bi Ji humbly requests permission to go and watch over it."
Lei Chen naturally understood Bi Ji's concern and nodded: "Go. Having you there to protect the process is indeed more secure. When the critical moment of her transformation arrives, I will naturally pay attention."
"Thank you, Esteemed One!" Bi Ji bowed once more, her figure transforming into a streak of emerald light as she chased after the direction of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
As the auras of Bi Ji and the Auspicious Beast faded into the distance, the Lake of Life's shore regained its tranquility, leaving only Lei Chen. The gentle smile on his face gradually faded, his gaze becoming profound and focused.
Having the Auspicious Beast transform was both part of his plan to accelerate the nurturing of the Golden Dragon King's origin and a piece of his overall scheme. Now, he needed to begin handling his own affairs—forging a divine artifact bound to the grade of this Plane.
He slowly raised his right hand, giving the void a gentle grasp as if seizing the entire Plane's lifeline.
"Come." A seemingly ordinary, soft exclamation, yet it contained the supreme authority of holding the cosmos in one's palm.
Instantly, across the entire Douluo Plane, in every location that contained 'Gold of Life'—whether hidden beneath ten-thousand-zhang deep seas, concealed within the cores of ancient mountain ranges, or buried under endless desert sands—a faint resonance occurred simultaneously.
In the next moment, dozens of emerald-green streams of light, as if summoned by a supreme call, tore through space, shooting from every corner of the Plane to gather above the Lake of Life, quietly suspending themselves before Lei Chen.
These emerald-green, crystal-like metal blocks varied in shape and size.
The smallest were only the size of a fingernail, emitting a faint green glow; the largest were as big as fists, completely translucent, with what seemed like green liquid slowly flowing inside, releasing a vast, ocean-like vitality.
The moment they appeared, the life aura of the entire Lake of Life area suddenly surged violently. Even the plants and trees along the shore began to grow and bloom at a visible rate.
Among these dozens of pieces of Gold of Life, the most eye-catching was a massive crystal suspended in the center, its volume far exceeding its counterparts. It was as large as a human head, its entire body displaying an incredibly deep ink-green color, crystal clear and without the slightest impurity.
The life energy contained within it was as vast as an abyss. Merely its naturally emitted fluctuations caused the surrounding space to ripple with faint green waves.
This largest piece of Gold of Life originated from the deepest part of the Lake of Life beneath Lei Chen's feet, the essence accumulated by the Star Dou Great Forest over countless ages.
Lei Chen's gaze swept over the dozens of pieces of Gold of Life gathered before him, containing the life essence of the entire Plane. A trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
So-called Gold of Life is not ordinary ore; it is the ultimate condensed form of the purest and most massive vitality between heaven and earth.
It is an immeasurable amount of life energy that, under some extremely special environment, is continuously compressed and purified, nurtured over tens of millions of years or even longer, finally solidifying from gaseous and liquid states into a supreme treasure of heaven and earth.
The formation of each piece of Gold of Life can be called a miracle, the embodiment of a Plane's life force sedimented to its extreme. And this was precisely the main material Lei Chen would use next to forge the divine artifact.