"Watch out, Venusaur has defeated that big guy!"
Beside a small lake, Venusaur, now back to its original size, is battling a giant blue crocodile, while the Three-Eyed Lion cheers it on.
Upon seeing this, Qing Mu's lips twitched slightly. Is it really okay for an imperial beast to cheer for humans?
Venusaur is a martial soul, so it's alright!
However, this three-eyed golden lion adapted quite quickly, becoming good friends with Venusaur in such a short time.
Soon, under the powerful whipping of Venusaur, the blue crocodile let out a mournful cry and was defeated by Venusaur.
"Yay! We won again!"
The three-eyed lion also cheered and quickly ran towards Venusaur.
"Da na, da na~"
Venusaur also took a liking to this little fangirl who was an experience booster, and the two quickly became friends.
Seeing this, Qing Mu smiled faintly. He wasn't against it; as long as Venusaur was happy, that was all that mattered.
After all, Venusaur has no companions in this world, so having a companion like Gynostemma is a good thing.
"Gurgle~"
After playing for a while, the three-eyed golden lion's stomach suddenly made a rumbling sound, and she scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Qingmu, could you get me some to eat? I want to eat a light-attribute soul beast."
"Okay, I'll find it for you in a bit."
Qing Mu nodded. He generally did not kill soul beasts unless absolutely necessary, but the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's request for food was undoubtedly legitimate.
After all, although soul beasts are a broad category, they are actually quite different, and it is as natural for them to devour each other as for humans to eat animal meat.
Moreover, as an imperial auspicious beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion inherently possesses the right to eat. Soul beasts chosen by it as food cannot resist and can only flee.
"Hehe, thank you, Brother Qingmu."
Upon seeing Qing Mu agree, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was overjoyed, and even its attitude towards Qing Mu changed somewhat.
Seeing this, Qing Mu couldn't help but smile. This three-eyed golden lion seemed to be even more naive than he had imagined.
Indeed, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion is currently only following those ferocious beasts, and can only sneak out if it wants to. It is definitely different from the willful and somewhat spoiled girl ten thousand years later.
Just then, a dark red figure suddenly rushed from a distance and arrived in front of Qing Mu in the blink of an eye, launching an attack on Qing Mu.
"Humans, how dare you kidnap a mythical beast! Die!"
The dark red figure attacking Qing Mu was none other than the Crimson King. It had taken him a long time to catch up with Qing Mu, and he had been harboring a great deal of anger in his heart.
Upon discovering that the powerful human titled expert he was somewhat wary of was not there, and that only a Soul Emperor was guarding the auspicious beast, he immediately rushed forward, intending to kill Qing Mu instantly and save the auspicious beast from its suffering.
Seeing Qing Mu about to die under his claws, the Crimson King couldn't help but reveal a cruel smile.
However, the smile on his face froze instantly the next moment, because his attack was blocked by a light green shield.
"A mere Soul Emperor actually blocked my attack? Could this shield be the Invincible Golden Body?"
The Crimson King was shocked, his mind racing as he considered everything about the green shield.
A moment later, the green shield dissipated, and a dark green toad with a powerful aura, no smaller than him, appeared before the Crimson King.
I said, "Can we talk?"
Qing Mu stood with his hands behind his back, perched atop Venusaur's head. His dark green clothes fluttered in the strong wind, giving him the air of a powerful figure.
Upon seeing Qingmu and the grown-up Venusaur, Red King seemed to understand something and subconsciously exclaimed, "It was you!"
It matches up! That strange aura from before matches up. No wonder the lingering aura had such a strong beast smell, yet also a faint human scent. It turns out this human's martial soul is quite peculiar, with most of their combat power lying in this detached, beast-like martial soul.
But soon, the Crimson King realized he had lost his composure, and seeing that the auspicious beast was unharmed, his expression softened, and he said coldly:
"What is there to talk about? I have nothing to talk about with a human like you. Quickly hand over that little golden lion beside you, and we'll end things here. Otherwise, you'll face the wrath of the Soul Beast race."
"Soul Beast Clan, pfft~ hahaha..."
Hearing the Crimson King mention the Soul Beast race, Qing Mu couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing Qing Mu's actions, the Crimson King's expression darkened, and he suppressed his anger, saying, "What are you laughing at?"
"I thought of some happy things," Qing Mu replied, forcing a smile.
The Crimson King pressed on with an unfriendly expression, "What's the good news?"
"I just obtained a 90,000-year-old soul bone," Qing Mu replied with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, the Crimson King's expression softened slightly. For humans, obtaining a 90,000-year-old soul bone was indeed a cause for celebration.
Immediately, the Crimson King seemed to realize something and said fiercely to Qing Mu, "Human, don't change the subject. Quickly give me that little golden lion next to you!"
"No, this spirit beast and my martial spirit hit it off immediately and get along well. How about letting her stay with me for the time being?"
Qing Mu refused outright. He was joking; he still needed the double experience from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, so how could he possibly return it to the other party?
Seeing that Qing Mu was unwilling to hand over the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the Crimson King's eyes turned cold, and his tone became chilling:
"Human, you should think this through. Do you know what that soul beast beside you is?"
Her name is Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the only imperial auspicious beast on the continent, and the bearer of the fortune of the soul beast race. Wherever she is, the growth rate of soul beasts doubles, and the chances of 100,000-year-old soul beasts surviving the heavenly tribulation are also greatly increased.
If anything were to happen to her, all the spirit beasts in the world would surely fight to the death with humans!
"I know everything you're saying, so I won't hurt her. I just want her to stay with me temporarily."
Despite the chilling killing intent emanating from the Crimson King, Qing Mu's expression remained unchanged.
If the Soul Beast race were truly as strong as the Crimson King claimed, their territory wouldn't have been constantly encroached upon by humans.
In fact, the soul beast race is even more disorganized than humans, and this kind of social structure, which doesn't even qualify as a tribe, will never become stronger.
Humanity, on the other hand, can continuously accumulate strength. As long as there is no major disruption and the time frame is long enough, each generation can become stronger than the last.
This is evidenced by the fact that the prestige of 100,000-year-old soul beasts was lowered in the second season of the series.
The only one among the soul beasts is Emperor Tian, who can command all the soul beasts on the continent. Otherwise, the soul beasts, unable to organize themselves, would be no match for the humans.