"What kind of soul beast is the Goddess of Light Butterfly?"
Tang San asked again about the egg of the Goddess of Light Butterfly described in the diary.
"It is said to be a very beautiful soul beast, even regarded as the most beautiful," Zhou Qing replied. This was something he wasn't hiding, because even in Notting City, there were rumors about the Goddess of Light Butterfly—recorded in children's storybooks. "Speaking of which, if the Goddess of Light Butterfly were a human martial soul, it would be a very special case."
"Special? In what way?" Tang San asked, confused.
"In legend, this martial soul doesn't necessarily rely on the inheritance from one's parents, but rather appears spontaneously in beautiful women, though the probability is very low," Zhou Qing explained. "It's as if this martial soul itself has a consciousness, and it chooses to appear in beautiful women."
Readers familiar with the Douluo series might have speculated that Wang Dong's Goddess of Light Butterfly was a divine martial soul.
However, Zhou Qing didn't think so—at least, not entirely.
Based on the descriptions from Douluo II and his own understanding from the Douluo I era's fairy tales regarding the Goddess of Light Butterfly, it could be confirmed that before Wang Dong, there had certainly been soul masters with the Goddess of Light Butterfly martial soul. Moreover, the fact that it "doesn't necessarily rely on inheritance" meant that Douluo Continent's soul masters had clearly summarized the patterns for such martial souls to appear.
However, the unfortunate reality was that most women with the Goddess of Light Butterfly martial soul didn't leave any descendants.
Why?
Because possessing this martial soul often meant the soul master was likely female and incredibly beautiful.
Excessive beauty without power could be a curse—"to possess beauty is a crime."
Why was Wang Dong an exception?
Because she had initially disguised herself as a man, and with the backing of the Great Tang God King, no one dared to cause trouble for her. Anyone with such an idea would surely attract the attention of the Great Tang God King, and then—
They wouldn't even know how they died.
Not to mention, Tang Hao and Ah Yin were still on Douluo Continent.
Right now, Zhou Qing believed the Goddess of Light Butterfly and the peculiarities of the soul beasts associated with it likely hid a huge secret. It might even be connected to the "God of Love" in the Valley of Heaven and Earth.
After all, the original novel's description of the fall of that "God of Love" was too abstract and sorrowful. She fell to the mortal realm… but she was a god, surely with a divine soul? Was she really that fragile? When the Great Tang God King of Douluo V committed suicide, he first had to disperse his divine body! And even after that, he was still thinking about restoring it!
The God of Love's obsession with love was certainly real, but—
Zhou Qing believed she was definitely not serious.
In the original Douluo II, the Valley of Heaven and Earth was taken over by the Great Tang God King and Ning Rongrong, so Zhou Qing remained skeptical about whether the original tests were truly as described.
However, from this Soul Saint's diary, it seemed the God of Love's trials really did involve three key aspects: sincerity, risk, and sincere risk.
Given that the Soul Saint's mother—a normal person—was able to pass the trials and receive a reward, it was clear that the God of Love in the Valley of Heaven and Earth, though unserious, definitely had a great love. She wouldn't casually talk about "extermination" at every turn.
Could the God of Love truly embody the word "love" if it were only related to romance?
At the very least, the God of Love used her own power to transport the Soul Saint's mother to Douluo Continent.
That was quite gentle!
However, thinking in a darker direction, it might also mean the God of Love was scheming something. After all, both the Seed of Nature from the Golden Ancient Tree and the egg of the Goddess of Light Butterfly were far too precious...
Meanwhile.
In a certain underground space in the core area of the Star Dou Forest, a golden spherical shell shattered, revealing a cute, fluffy creature resembling a lion dog.
Covered in golden fur, its four paws were like those of a dragon, and in the center of its forehead was a third eye, glowing a strange red.
The moment it was born, the other soul beasts in the area—black dragons, purple dragons, giant bears, emerald swans, and three-headed red mastiffs—paused their cultivation and looked towards the small beast emerging from the golden orb.
"A auspicious beast is born!"
The giant bear, visibly excited, spoke, "Is the era of soul beasts about to arrive?"
The emerald swan transformed into human form, joyfully exclaimed, "It's born! As long as it grows slowly, the cultivation speed of all soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest will increase."
The golden-eyed black dragon king also expressed happiness, "If the master knew, he would be very pleased, though it's a shame that the master is still asleep."
The just-born auspicious beast was named the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, symbolizing the fortune of the Star Dou Forest. With its presence, the cultivation speed of all soul beasts could increase, so no soul beast dared harm it.
Even a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, if targeted by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, could only flee; they were unable to fight back.
At that moment, the third red vertical pupil on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's forehead blinked.
"There's something wrong."
The golden-eyed black dragon king had lived longer than all the soul beasts present and knew that the third vertical eye of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was capable of sensing the forces of fate.
This third eye wasn't a real eye like its golden ones, and couldn't blink in the usual way. When it did blink, it meant something had changed with the flow of fortune.
But the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still too young and unaware, so they could only wait for it to grow before taking any further action.
Meanwhile, behind these powerful soul beasts, a fat, white silkworm roughly seven meters long and over a meter in diameter curled up and shrank by a third before quickly jumping into a nearby crack in the ground.
Thump!
The sound caught the attention of the golden-eyed black dragon king and others, but it was too late; the silkworm had already entered the earth, and its ability to hide its aura was so potent that even the golden-eyed black dragon king couldn't detect it.
"The worm got away!" The dark golden terror-claw bear pounded its chest.
"No matter," the golden-eyed black dragon king replied indifferently, "Its accumulated ninety million years of cultivation and the enormous amount of world energy it released is already enough."
"It is a soul beast that has developed wisdom, so I'll spare its life."
The escaped silkworm had already left the core area of the Star Dou Forest and reached the middle region. It tunneled through the rock layers and poked its round head out, looking around. Its golden eyes revealed a hint of relief after escaping death.
"Those bastards were truly ruthless. Over the last ninety thousand years, they absorbed so much of my world energy. Though I've reached the level of a ninety-nine thousand-year-old soul beast, besides my mental power, my cultivation is reduced to just fifty thousand years!"
"Just you wait!"
"I'll have my revenge! I'll wipe you all out for absorbing my cultivation!"
This silkworm was a member of the Ice Silkworm clan, and it called itself the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Normally, an Ice Silkworm would struggle to become a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, but this one was incredibly lucky. It found a ten-thousand-year-old ice marrow mine, ate and slept there, and casually reached ninety thousand years of cultivation.
But this also meant it lacked combat ability. Eventually, it was captured deep in the Star Dou Forest's core space by other ferocious soul beasts, who forced it to convert its cultivation into world energy for them to cultivate.
Now, it had found the perfect moment to escape, triggered by the birth of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the golden-eyed black dragon king noticing its third eye blink. Seizing this opportunity, it made a break for it.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew that even with its remaining fifty thousand years of cultivation, it was no match for those ferocious beasts. It had to hide from any powerful soul beast.
Could it shapeshift?
This idea was quickly rejected by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Humans might cultivate quickly, but there were too many uncertainties. If it was discovered by a human and killed for its soul ring or soul bone, that would be a huge loss.
Though it believed humans couldn't fully refine its spirit, if its body was destroyed, resurrection would be almost impossible.
"Better to cooperate with a human. With the mental power I've accumulated over these years, I can preserve my soul completely through a sacrificial ritual. As long as my silkworm shell is preserved, resurrection will be easy. If one human doesn't work, I'll find another. Ninety thousand years—I've waited that long. With a human's lifespan, I can wait another ninety thousand years!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was a decisive creature. Once it had an idea, it immediately set to work, quietly moving around the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, observing the soul masters hunting soul beasts. It began its grim "self-sacrifice" experiment.
Why was it grim?
Because the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew little about humans. It would have to test which type of martial soul and which level of soul master would best match its own.
Outside Holy Soul Village.
After Zhou Qing and Tang San had tidied up the cave, it was already afternoon.
"It's time to head back," Zhou Qing said, holding the gray cloth bag and the beast hide map. "This gray bag should be the soul guide storage device that can hold living things. But since we don't have soul power yet, we'll have to wait until our martial souls awaken to see if we have innate soul power."
"Mm."
Though Tang San wanted to open it right away, he held back his impulse and decided to wait a few days. After all, he had already found a reason to perform the Xuantian Skill and other techniques in front of Zhou Qing, so there was no need to rush.