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Months later, at the Lake of Life, sunlight filtered through the clear lake water, casting golden patches on the bottom of the lake, like a dreamy galaxy.
On the surface of the lake, ripples shimmered as a gentle breeze stirred the water.
Xuan Ming sat cross-legged on a large bluestone by the lake, his eyes closed, a soft and mysterious glow emanating from his body.
The Yin-Yang Spirit Core operated steadily within him, like two stars echoing each other, releasing vast and balanced power.
"Auntie, he's been sitting there for almost half a month. When will he wake up?"
Not far away, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was lying in Bi Ji's arms, watching Xuan Ming on the stone with boredom.
"I don't know. What's wrong?" Bi Ji stroked the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head.
"I'm so bored. I'm waiting for him to play with me," the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said.
Bi Ji smiled gently, her eyes full of doting affection: "Xuan Ming is currently at a critical stage of cultivation, so we can't disturb him. When he wakes up, he will naturally play with you."
"He won't be like you guys, sleeping for hundreds or thousands of years at a time, will he?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked with some suspicion.
The cultivation of Spirit Beasts is extremely tedious and long. The secluded cultivation of fierce beasts is measured in centuries, and it's normal for them to sleep for thousands of years. Usually, it's the Red King who accompanies her on walks in the forest, which is incredibly boring.
She had lived for over five thousand years, but so far, the actual time she spent playing with Bi Ji and the others was at most a few years. The rest of the time, everyone was in secluded cultivation.
As for the other ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, their intelligence was not high, and she couldn't play with them.
Bi Ji gently stroked the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's soft fur and whispered, "No, he is human, and he will wake up soon."
"Human… Can I go to the human World with him to see?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly asked.
"No," Bi Ji refused without thinking.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion carried the power of destiny of the Star Dou Great Forest, and nothing could happen to her!
"Why? He can come here to play with us, so why can't I go out and play with him?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked, feeling a little wronged.
Bi Ji sighed slightly, holding the Three-Eyed Golden Lion a little tighter, and gently explained, "It's not the same. This is our territory. When he comes here, we can guarantee his safety. But if you go to human territory, he can't guarantee your safety."
"He is our friend, but humans are not necessarily his friends. Moreover, there are many people with ill intentions among humans. If they knew about your special identity, they would definitely try every means to capture you, and then it would be big trouble."
"Oh…" Although the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still a little unwilling after hearing this, she understood that Bi Ji was doing it for her own good, so she could only nod helplessly.
Just as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion finished speaking, the light on Xuan Ming's body suddenly intensified. The originally stable Yin-Yang Spirit Core erupted with an even more brilliant radiance, and a powerful aura spread out from him in all directions.
Bi Ji and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were both attracted by this sudden movement, their gazes simultaneously fixed on Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming took a deep breath, and the power of the Yin-Yang Spirit Core within him quickly converged. The light around his body also gradually dimmed, returning to normal.
"You succeeded?" Bi Ji asked with some disbelief.
According to her knowledge, only Di Tian successfully condensed and controlled the Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Spirit Core. Xuan Ming only took this short amount of time to stably control this thing?
"It's basically stable," Xuan Ming jumped to the ground.
With Di Tian's guidance and months of cultivation and control, he was now able to skillfully stabilize the Ice-Fire Spirit Core. When fighting, he no longer needed the Ice Dragon King to help him stabilize one of them, unlike before.
"Have you found the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger?" Xuan Ming asked.
Over the past few months, his spirit power had increased very rapidly. The energy from the thunder core he absorbed earlier was slowly feeding back into his body. In just four months, he had advanced two levels, now reaching level fifty-nine.
According to the current speed, he should be able to reach level sixty before the Spirit Master Tournament. If he could find the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, he could go directly to Slaughter City after the Spirit Master Tournament.
"Not yet. The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger is very cautious. The Myriad Demon King and the others are all helping to look for it, so it shouldn't be too long now," Bi Ji said.
If it were other Spirit Beasts, Di Tian would still need to consider the impact to some extent, as he is a Beast God, yet he mobilized the beast horde to help a human find a spirit ring. But the nature of the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger is different; its existence is a huge threat to the entire Spirit Beast race.
Taking this opportunity to find that thing would also eliminate a hidden danger. Otherwise, she was somewhat worried that if the Three-Eyed Golden Lion accidentally encountered it while playing outside, it would be dangerous.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hopped and skipped, excitedly saying, "Xuan Ming, Xuan Ming, since you've finished cultivating, can we play together now?"
Xuan Ming looked at Bi Ji, and Bi Ji looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Xuan Ming sighed, "What do you want to play?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Hmm… I don't know either, but as long as I can play with you, anything is fine!"
Looking at the excited Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Xuan Ming felt a little helpless. He really wasn't good at dealing with children, but the current Three-Eyed Golden Lion was just like Ning Rongrong back then, and the current situation was even more troublesome.
Back then, Ning Rongrong would drag him around to play, and he only needed to accompany her. But now, with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, he had to think of what to play.
But in this forest, there were only trees and grass. Last time, he had to bite the bullet and play hide-and-seek with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion for a whole day, as if he was teasing a fool!
Then, the Ice Dragon King laughed at him for three days!
Xuan Ming frowned slightly. After a moment of thought, he slowly raised his hands, palms upward, and the power of ice surged.
Wisps of white cold air rose from his palms, dissipating into the air.
As the cold air was released, the surrounding temperature dropped, and fine ice crystals formed on the lake surface, making a "crackling" sound.
Xuan Ming waved his hands, and the cold air converged towards the center of the lake.
Wherever it passed, the lake water instantly froze, and the ice spread outwards. Soon, the vast lake surface turned into a huge, flat ice sheet, shimmering in the sunlight.
"What is this for?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked curiously.
Bi Ji also cast a curious gaze. She had almost always lived in the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest and knew very little about the human World.
"To build you a playground." Xuan Ming closed his eyes and, according to the playgrounds in his memory and the entertainment facilities in Seven Treasure City, controlled the power of ice to construct them.
Ice pillars rose from the ice surface, intertwining and spiraling, outlining the shape of a giant slide.
As Xuan Ming moved his fingers, more cold air surged towards the slide, making its surface smooth, sturdy, and gleaming with a faint blue light.
On one side of the slide, ice pillars stacked and merged, forming a high diving platform.
The edge of the diving platform had simple patterns, and below it was a huge ice pool. The water in the ice pool was clear, with a thin layer of ice on the surface, allowing the lake water below to be seen.
Xuan Ming also created small ice houses and various ice toys on the ice surface.
After completing these, Xuan Ming moved his hands in the air, and lines of ice crisscrossed on the ice surface with his movements.
As the ice lines continuously extended and connected, a massive ice and snow maze gradually took shape on one side of the playground.
Finally, Xuan Ming raised his hands, and countless ice flowers drifted down, scattering over the entire playground.
The ice flowers danced gracefully in the air, like dreamy spirits, decorating the entire ice and snow playground like a fairy tale World.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes widened, full of surprise and excitement. She let out a "wow" and eagerly broke free from Bi Ji's embrace, sprinting towards the playground, looking like a frolicking Alaskan.
"Auntie! You come too!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion shouted from the ice slide.
Bi Ji looked at Xuan Ming, "You…"
"You go play with her. I'll make something to eat first." Xuan Ming took out his camping gear.
The Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had been at the bottom of the lake during this time, most likely helping the Silver Dragon King recover. Di Tian, after explaining the situation of the Yin-Yang Spirit Core and teaching him some things, also went down, coming up to check about once a month.
Usually, Bi Ji was here guarding him. Originally, Zi Ji was also quite curious about him, but that big sister particularly liked to tease him, and the Ice Dragon King seemed a little jealous, so she called Zi Ji down to the bottom of the lake as well.
"Do you need my help?" Bi Ji asked, watching Xuan Ming tinker with various bottles and jars.
"No need, I can manage. You go play with her. Playing alone will get boring very quickly," Xuan Ming said.
Bi Ji looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was rarely this happy, and nodded, "Alright."
"Auntie! Come quickly!"