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*****
This place was a picturesque landscape of mountains and beautiful waters.
The aura of life here was incredibly rich.
A massive lake, crystal clear all the way to its bed, was shrouded in a dense, vibrant vitality that made the lake's surface appear even more wondrous.
Soul Masters from the outside world would probably find it hard to believe that the core area of the Great Star Dou Forest--the most perilous place in its entirety--was actually such a scenic, beautiful lake.
The Lake of Life.
Su Wen did not even know whether this Lake of Life was formed by the geography of the Great Star Dou Forest converging life essence, or if it was generated under the guidance of the life essence leaking from the Great Worm.
Or perhaps it was a combination of both.
Arriving by the Lake of Life, Su Wen instantly sensed several powerful auras.
Among them, the few auras at the very bottom of the Lake of Life were the strongest, and there was one even more unfathomable aura flickering faintly, as if obscured by some kind of power.
Aside from the life at the bottom of the Lake of Life, there were also three powerful auras in the shallower layers of the lake.
The Scarlet King.
Flames surged into the sky as a soul beast burning with fire erupted from the lake.
This soul beast possessed three identical heads resembling lion heads. Its teeth gleamed with a crimson-gold luster, piercingly cold. Its body structure was similar to a Tibetan Mastiff, and it simultaneously exuded waves of dragon might.
The Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff possessed a portion of pure-blooded True Dragon lineage, which was quite peculiar. Aside from that, it also carried the bloodlines of the Scarlet Flame Divine Lion, the Hell Three-Headed Dog, and the Blood Demon Tibetan Mastiff. Though a mix of many lineages, they were perfectly integrated, making its species exceptionally powerful. The outstanding individuals among them could even surpass true pure-blooded dragon clans.
The Scarlet King stared at Su Wen with three pairs of eyes burning with crimson-gold flames.
The Scarlet King did not act rashly.
Su Wen's soul power had him firmly locked down, giving him a lethal sense of crisis.
Soul beasts were naturally superior in instinct, and they consequently trusted this sense of crisis much more.
Aside from the Scarlet King, two more soul beasts appeared on the Lake of Life, their body sizes significantly more exaggerated than the Scarlet King's.
The Titan Giant Ape, its entire body resembling a small mountain composed of lava, gave off a very visceral pressure purely through its power-packed form.
The Sky Azure Bull Python, with a bull's head and a python's body, carried a pure-bred dragon lineage.
Of course, only those three were the truly powerful ones, but there was also a relatively weaker presence--Xiao Wu--who silently crept to the lakeshore at this moment.
She looked at Su Wen, a flash of fear passing through her eyes, though it was overwhelmed by hatred.
She knew that her Third Brother must have been killed by this guy.
"The Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python... truly worthy of being called variants," Su Wen praised as he looked at the two 100,000-year soul beasts.
Variants were species born out of pure happenstance and serendipity.
A variant represented immense power, something that could not be judged by conventional reasoning.
The Titan Giant Ape was a variant, and its strength was actually superior to the Titan Ice Giant, which also possessed the Titan Giant lineage. It was just that if they fought in the Far North, the two sides might break even.
As for the Sky Azure Bull Python, it was likely the only one of its kind on the entire continent, and its form of mutation could not be replicated.
A True Dragon bloodline, yet possessing the body of a python and the head of a bull.
This meant that during its mutation process, the python bloodline and the bull bloodline had perfectly digested the True Dragon bloodline, eclipsing it in terms of status, which was why it manifested in the appearance of these two forms.
"Scarlet King, call Di Tian out. I believe he is the only one who can make the decisions for the upcoming negotiations," Su Wen said calmly.
The Scarlet King's pupils contracted. His six eyes stared at Su Wen as his flames flared up, though it was unclear whether this was out of instinct or anger.
However, knowing that his strength was inferior to Su Wen's, he did not force a confrontation.
When faced with a truly overwhelming disparity in strength, even soul beasts would not recklessly erupt into battle.
At the bottom of the Lake of Life, a succession of auras soared into the sky.
One figure after another materialized.
First was a man with black hair and golden eyes.
Flanking him on either side were two breathtakingly beautiful women, wearing emerald green and deep purple attire respectively.
Further to the outside stood a burly man radiating a fierce and sinister aura.
"Are you the Grandmaster Wen?" Di Tian questioned, his pair of golden eyes locking onto Su Wen.
"Di Tian," Su Wen lamented inwardly.
Di Tian was also a pitiful soul beast.
This guy's natural talent was unquestionably supreme.
If not for the rule dictating that soul beasts could not achieve godhood, he would have undoubtedly become a god.
Among all the soul beasts nearing godhood, his success rate was the highest, bordering on a certainty.
Because all of his power stemmed from himself.
Most of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's power was acquired through devouring. Perhaps supported by a cultivation base bordering on a million years, his strength wasn't inferior to Di Tian's, but in terms of comprehension, he was absolutely no match for Di Tian.
And the Evil Eye Tyrant King also ranked ahead of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King--referring to the success rate, of course. In terms of raw strength, he was likely inferior to the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
Between these two, one relied on a rich True Dragon bloodline, the cultivation of the Silver Dragon King, plus his own talent to unearth his power to the absolute limit, possessing power akin to a god despite having an 800,000-year cultivation base; the other relied on a specialization in the mental domain, deriving the two forces of time and space while also mastering the power of destruction.
"Was it you who brought about the revolution in the Soul Master world, leading to the even more rampant hunting and killing of my soul beast clan?" Di Tian asked in a deep voice.
There was a trace of anger in his tone, yet it wasn't an explosive fury.
"Indeed. A soul beast's cultivation takes centuries, millennia, or even tens of millennia, while a human Soul Master's lifespan is a mere century or so. Under such a disparity, a single Soul Master may require up to nine soul rings from soul beasts in their lifetime.
This is unequal. As Soul Masters develop, soul beasts will face extinction.
However, don't soul beasts also slaughter one another?
If a Soul Master does not kill indiscriminately, they will at most hunt nine soul beasts in their lifetime. Yet for a single soul beast to grow up, how many soul beasts of other species must it devour and hunt?" Su Wen replied calmly.
"That is the survival of the fittest, the law of the ecosystem."
Di Tian looked at Su Wen, not expecting this Grandmaster Wen to lecture him right off the bat.
As the Beast God, he naturally understood this ecological law.
However, the internal development of the soul beast clan could tend toward stability.
Weaker soul beasts reproduced quickly to provide sustenance for the stronger soul beasts, ultimately forming a stable system.
This was a stable food chain.
Human Soul Masters, on the other hand, were a completely different system outside of this food chain.
The development of Soul Masters disrupted the internal ecological chain of the soul beasts.
This was the root of the conflict.
"I didn't come here today to debate theories with you." Su Wen shook his head.
Di Tian frowned.
You're the one who came up here to reason with me, and now that you've lost the argument, what are you trying to do?
Resort to fists?
A flash of light gleamed in his golden eyes as he looked at Su Wen, the complementary Yin-Yang dual soul cores within his body already beginning to rotate.
"I advise you not to make a move, otherwise I'll have a justifiable reason," Su Wen said softly, seemingly offering advice, though his tone carried a hint of indifference.
Believing that Su Wen was looking down on him, Di Tian instantly erupted.
Su Wen was highly satisfied.
You're the one who attacked first.
This way, after I win the battle and suppress you, it won't be unreasonable for me to study your complementary Yin-Yang dual soul cores.
As the World of Books unfolded, Su Wen raised his right hand high, and a colossal imprint manifested above his head.
The Heaven and Earth Imprint.
"Suppress!"