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--- Chapter 352 ---
After a prolonged discussion, the Great Beast heads of the ferocious spirit beast clans decided to fully cooperate with Han Yuan for the 'longevity' of their clan.
Ultimately, this cooperation between the two races would bring immense change to the Star Dou Forest, and the spirit beasts realized they couldn't afford to remain uncompromising.
Otherwise, they risked getting left behind in the new era.
By then, they could only regret it.
Fortunately, Han Yuan didn't exploit the Great Beast clans too much, at least according to their current understanding.
The terms of their exchange were quite fair, if not more profitable for them, in the early stages.
There weren't many agreements to begin with, and the content was very transparent.
Han Yuan would provide seeds of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame to each ferocious beast clan in exchange for spirit bones, ideally those over 50,000 years old.
However, he was also willing to take the younger spirit bones, specifically those dropped by pure-blooded or even mutated spirit beasts. Overall, the older the spirit bone, the better deal they received from him.
In addition to spirit bones, Han Yuan was open to exchanging other rare resources, such as metals from rare veins, medicinal herbs, and, last but not least, the 'Inner Core' from powerful spirit beasts.
Yet, the chance of acquiring an 'Inner Core' before the great merging of the two worlds was very low.
Even so, the Demon Queen, Zi Ji, surprisingly possessed one. According to her, it was the Dragon Core left behind by her Abyss Demon Dragon ancestor, which she had partially refined for cultivation, and she was willing to exchange it for a more powerful flame seed.
Regarding the energy gathering array formations, Han Yuan offered the ferocious beast clans many options beyond the basic one to nurture the flame seeds. These included elemental (fire, wind, earth, space, time, etc.), spiritual (illusion, willpower pressure), conceptual (emotions, suppression, life, death), and finally, bloodline testing and projection formations (primarily for testing bloodline purity).
The costs were more straightforward than previous deals, as Han Yuan only asked for bloodline essences from the ferocious beast clans over time as their bloodlines evolved.
They didn't think much of it and agreed immediately because the value of bloodline essences paled in comparison to the temptation Han Yuan had offered.
The Great Beast Clans believed they could recover their lost bloodline essences even faster after this deal.
When Han Yuan presented these deals, even the Beast God, Di Tian, was tempted to set one up in his lair.
After all, many revered Di Tian, the Beast God of Star Dou Forest, but few realized the amount of hard work he invested in his cultivation.
Yes, Di Tian was a prodigy, born to two noble Dragon Kings. Nevertheless, he had spent much of his time alone.
The period during which Di Tian's parents mentored him in the Dragon Clan was brief, and their unfortunate fall was unexpected.
Thus, Di Tian had to cultivate through self-teaching and his recollection of painful memories. Every time he recalls that moment, all he can witness is countless dragons falling from the crimson sky, and his parents' worried voice echoes in his head.
Despite this, Di Tian's talent was unquestionable. Drawing solely from his own comprehension and memory, he had already attained the status of 'strongest' under divine rank.
If Di Tian could draw inspiration from the rules of the world that Han Yuan made through formations, his mastery over laws would definitely advance significantly.
Why didn't Di Tian ask the Silver Dragon King, who inherited the wisdom of the Dragon God and elements of creation?
The answer is that he did seek her guidance, but didn't gain much.
After fleeing from the Divine Realm, the injured Silver Dragon King could only remain in slumber to recuperate. She rarely woke, and when she did, it was only for a brief moment.
While the Silver Dragon King 'trained' Di Tian by presenting him insights about Darkness and Space elements, insight and direct teaching are worlds apart.
Also, the Silver Dragon King had limited options herself. Strictly speaking, she had only been born after the Dragon God's demise and was directly responsible for leading the spirit beasts.
Han Yuan understood this well, and that's why he did not expect much from her.
Anyway, now that Han Yuan has finalized the close deal with the Star Dou Forest, he can proceed to the next step.
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It took a week for Han Yuan to set up formations in each ferocious beast clan, which was the fastest he could manage with the help of the Blue Silver Clan as the base.
Yes, all the spirit formations Han Yuan created utilized blue silver grass as the foundation because it was the most versatile plant he could work with—and it also served to protect the future of the Blue Silver Clan.
"And done," Han Yuan said, completing the last deal. Behind him stood a group of worried-looking three-headed dogs led by the Scarlet King, the 300,000-year-old Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff.
"Is it finally done?" asked the Scarlet King, his three heads looking very nervous because his clan had invested a significant amount in this.
Han Yuan nodded and replied, "Well, it's all set. From now on, the territory of the Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff will have six spirit formations: bloodline testing and projection, spiritual pressure, vitality enhancement, gravity, and, finally, dual elemental fire and darkness spirit formations."
"As for the method of using flame seeds, here they are."
Han Yuan handed his own method of purifying the bloodline to the Scarlet King, which he accepted graciously.
The 300,000-year-old Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff was shocked by the content of Han Yuan's bloodline purifying method, and could see just how profound it was at first glance, making him respect this human even more.
"Thank you, Han Yuan. From now on, you're my Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff Tribe's close friend!"
Han Yuan waved, "It's alright, the Spirit Beast Clan is my ally, and this was a deal, so I am just doing my part of it."
"I am also interested in your clan's legacy."
"My clan's legacy?" Scarlet King tilted his three heads. "Do we have such a legacy?"
As far as Scarlet King remembered, his clan's legacy was 'merely' fighting, eating, sleeping, and cultivating. He was a pioneer of his group, reaching the 300,000-year-old realm not too long ago.
"I am talking about the legacy of Golden Lion Mastiff, the Ancestor of Lion Spirit Beats, if not most canine ones." Han Yuan's words made the Scarlet King and his clan members dumbfounded on the spot.
"While rather thin, your Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff Clan definitely inherited its blood."
"Your bloodline purity is the highest one so far, allowing you to possess not only a monstrous physique, but also a wild nature of the Golden Lion Mastiff."
"Once you use the flame seed, I reckon you might evolve into a Three-Headed Scarlet Golden Mastiff."
"This..." Scarlet King didn't expect Han Yuan to know this. Yet, thinking about it, this human really knew them well.
"Why are you saying this?" asked one of the Scarlet King's heads.
Han Yuan shrugged, "Nothing, I am just thinking the potential of your clan is not inferior to Bear Lord and Di Tian."
"I'm willing to do you guys a favor to reach that dream, but..."
"I will need someone from your clan to be my disciple's Spirit Soul."
Scarlet King fell into a deep thought, "Spirit Soul..."
"You probably want someone from my direct lineage, too."
"Mm," Han Yuan admitted calmly. "Don't worry, my disciple's talent is very high, and becoming a god is not impossible for him."
"The reason I do this is that his spirit is very peculiar and needs a spirit beast with a powerful strength-type bloodline."
"As much as I can create artificial Spirit Soul and spirit ring, their quality is nothing compared to the genuine one."
"Alright, I agree." Scarlet King pondered for a bit before answering on the spot. He wasn't wary of Han Yuan because he sensed the sincerity in his words.
'Allowing my descendant to become Spirit Soul of Han Yuan's disciple will also strengthen the bond between our groups, so it wasn't that bad.'
'Not bad, not bad at all, hahaha~!'
Unknown to Scarlet King, Han Yuan's offer is merely a spur of inspiration he had about the Three-Headed Scarlet Devil Mastiff clan and their possible evolution.
Two legendary beast names rang in Han Yuan's head when he thought about it.
The multi-headed hound who guarded the very Gate of Underworld, theCerberus!
And the fearsome beast who fought the Greek Hero, Heracles, as his first labor, the Nemean Lion!