Beside the lake, Tu Ya and Xiao Wu paced back and forth, watching the pitch-black sphere.
Tu Ya was well aware of the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger’s treacherous nature, and as so much time had passed, she had no idea how Chu Fei was faring inside.
Daming and Erming spoke up from the side to comfort her. "Aunt Tu Ya, Chu Fei will be fine. He is the one who can resurrect you, after all."
"Mhm." Tu Ya nodded, though her mind was clearly elsewhere. Even with Daming and Erming’s assurances, she could not set her heart at ease.
"Hum—"
The black spherical pocket dimension gradually dissolved like melting ice, scattering onto the ground. Sensing the presence that connected to her, Tu Ya instantly teleported to the spot.
Within the now-exposed space, Chu Fei stood atop the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger, which had returned to its normal size. With the beast's death, the pocket dimension dissipated. He casually reached down and retrieved a round, dark purple inner core from the tiger's body.
Xiao Wu lunged forward instantly, her eyes brimming with tears. Tu Ya stroked Chu Fei up and down, checking him over, and only let out a sigh of relief once she confirmed he was unhurt.
She scolded herself, saying, "That Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger was so vicious; it almost succeeded."
"Fortunately, you are safe, Master."
Chu Fei waved it off indifferently, comforting both Xiao Wu and Tu Ya. "The Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger was only heavily injured because of your help. If it had been at its peak, I would have been the one in trouble. Besides, this was a necessary step for me to hunt it. There is no need for you to blame yourselves."
As he spoke, Chu Fei shook the inner core in his hand at Tu Ya. "Look, I even got this treasure."
It was the inner core of the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger, the culmination of its sixty thousand years of cultivation. Seeing that Chu Fei bore no grudges and was genuinely pleased to have obtained the core, Tu Ya stood guard to protect him while he began to absorb the Soul Ring.
Daming and Erming sat off to the side as well, though with Tu Ya there, her protection was more than enough. The two brothers were momentarily lost in thought, their attention drawn to the mysterious lake before them. They watched the calm surface, where bubbles occasionally rose and burst.
"Gurgle!"
Within the bubbles that burst, there existed a life force capable of nourishing the flesh. Or rather, the entire lake was filled with a massive amount of vitality; even the small amount escaping from those bubbles was enough to make them yearn for it. Still, it was only a fleeting desire.
Deep within the lake, a faint, ethereal aura drifted about, causing the bubbles to erupt at the surface. The source of this was a massive silver dragon hidden deep within the dark abyss. Its immense body was invisible to the naked eye, with silver-white light flickering across it from time to time. With every breath it took, its aura bypassed the immense water pressure to drift upward. Wrapped in the currents, the great dragon lay in a peaceful slumber. It remained here to mend its form using the power of the lake, and it would not awaken unless absolutely necessary.
Suddenly, the sleeping dragon opened its eyes. Its molten gold pupils glowed like flowing rivers of gold, instantly illuminating the darkness. With only the slightest release of Soul Power, it could inspect everything in the vicinity in minute detail, and the commotion above had captured its interest.
The silver dragon perceived everything happening by the lake with great intrigue. Two Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts and a Soul Master carrying the scent of a beast were actually helping an eight-year-old human boy hunt a top-tier, evil spirit beast like the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger. It felt no sorrow for the death of the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger; among spirit beasts, there were distinctions, and there was no pity to be had for the death of such an evil creature.
The only thing worth noting was the background of this eight-year-old human boy—to be able to go deep into Star Dou and have Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts at his beck and call. It watched Chu Fei, who was beginning to absorb the Soul Ring, with a thoughtful gaze. It finally reached a decision: if it wanted to know the answer, why not simply make contact?
However, appearing in its true spirit beast form would be inappropriate, especially while it was still recovering from its wounds.
After a brief preparation, the Soul Power overflowing from the silver dragon gradually condensed into a petite human figure in front of it. It murmured, its voice carried through the soul, as if relaying trivial matters to the body before it.
"I have forged you from half of my soul. Your name is Na'er."
"I shall seal your dragon essence and memories. Aside from your name, you will remember nothing else."
"Do not be sad, and have no doubts. I bestow upon you the Silver Dragon Spear as your martial spirit for self-protection. Na'er, your sole mission is to approach the boy on the lake and learn everything about him."
The consumption of soul and power added to the silver dragon's burden. After condensing the six-year-old silver-haired girl, the dragon sent her directly away. Feeling the aura gradually gathering, it chuckled, closed its eyes, and returned to its slumber.
Perhaps this child would bring it some unexpected surprises.
"Swish—thud!"
"Splash!"
"Daming wins!"
Erming picked up a round, smooth, flat stone and tried to skip it across the lake. Unfortunately, the naturally formed stone simply splashed once and sank straight to the bottom.
Xiao Wu, acting as the referee, stood with her hands on her hips like a little adult. Daming, on the other hand, merely flicked its tail, and even a rough, jagged stone skipped across the surface with ease.
Seeing the gap widening, Erming let out a dejected sigh, turned its head, and sulked. This round brought its record to zero wins and one hundred twenty-four losses. It was being bullied! Who would even want to play with it?
The two brothers hadn't noticed the movement beneath the lake at all, their attention instead drawn by the humming sound coming from Chu Fei.
The sixty-thousand-year pitch-black Soul Ring merged into Chu Fei’s body inch by inch, and the unyielding roars of the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger’s soul gradually weakened. By the time it was completely suppressed and waves of rising Soul Power rippled out from him, Chu Fei opened his eyes with a long exhale.
A trace of evil energy circulated within his mouth—it was the remnants left behind by the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger, now completely refined. Chu Fei had also inherited its Dark Demon Evil Thunder, and by using the power of the Sea of Blood, he forged the "Dark Demon Blood Thunder Fury!"
After absorbing a Soul Ring above his level once more, his Soul Power rank rose by four levels, reaching rank thirty-four. The form of the Blood God Child suddenly emerged. Chu Fei had no intention of wasting such a good soul, so he channeled it into the Blood God Child.
The changing body gradually shifted toward a feminine form. The red robe could not conceal her tall, slender frame; a deep black "King" character appeared on her smooth forehead, and tiger whiskers and fangs became prominent as she shook out a mane of purple-black hair.
The moment she gained her form, the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger glared at Chu Fei. But facing Chu Fei’s absolute control, she instantly became as docile as a kitten. In that single instant, under the control of life and death, she realized the disparity in their strength—she would have to weigh her own power carefully before trying to resist.
Besides, she had effectively skipped the hundred-thousand-year process of becoming human and had become a rank seventy-six Spirit Saint directly. Rather than a bad thing, it was a tremendous stroke of luck. If she had tried to ascend to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast on her own, it would have been a distant, unreachable prospect.
Chu Fei looked at the Darkdemons Evilgod Tiger, who had begun to act cute, and murmured, "From now on, you shall be called Blood Tiger."