Watching Mu Qianqian walk step-by-step toward the massive Golden Rong Tree, Li Qian didn’t follow. Instead, he asked, "This is...?"

"This is the ’Rong Saint’ I told the tourists about earlier," Mu Qianqian replied. "It is also our Mu Family ancestor’s Contracted Pet Beast, and even more so, the Guardian God of this Mysterious Forest Secret Realm."

As she spoke, she had already arrived beneath the canopy of the giant Golden Rong Tree.

After a moment of thought, Li Qian also followed her under the canopy.

Li Qian wasn’t surprised that the giant tree before him wasn’t just a tree, but a Pet Beast—a powerful Pet Beast.

So massive, so towering, so mystical, and so extraordinary—how could it possibly be just an ordinary giant tree?

Besides, this was the Beast Taming World. Any kind of Pet Beast could possibly exist.

Plant-type Pet Beasts were not uncommon.

"It... What’s wrong with it?" Li Qian asked.

Mu Qianqian had mentioned that the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm had a problem. She had then brought him here to see the Secret Realm’s Guardian God. He couldn’t help but infer that the Guardian God itself was likely the one in trouble.

As it turned out, his guess was correct.

Soon, Mu Qianqian’s answer confirmed it. "Ever since our ancestor passed away, the Rong Ancestor has been guarding this place. It’s been twelve hundred years. Even though it reached the Saint Spirit Level long ago, it’s now approaching the limit of its life."

Whether they were plant-type, elemental-type, or even metal- and rock-type Pet Beasts, they were all, in essence, life forms.

And all life forms have a limited lifespan. Even the Mechanical Element, which is theoretically immune to such constraints, cannot escape this truth.

It is said that once a Mechanical Element being reaches a certain age, it generates a self-destruct virus that corrupts its internal programming. Countless Mechanics have dedicated themselves to researching this, but none have been able to solve the problem.

Plant-type Pet Beasts generally have longer lifespans, but they too have their limits.

Li Qian wasn’t sure what kind of impact the death of the Secret Realm’s Guardian God would have on the Secret Realm.

However, he had no doubt that the impact would be a negative one.

Since he understood the situation but not the specifics, Li Qian decided to ask directly, "If this Secret Realm’s Guardian God perishes, what will happen to the Secret Realm?"

"This Mysterious Forest Secret Realm will collapse and vanish into nothingness," Mu Qianqian said, her voice dejected as she looked at the motionless Golden Rong Tree.

"Is there any way to save it?" Hearing this and sensing the sorrow in Mu Qianqian’s voice, Li Qian asked.

Of course, he was well aware that his question was merely for comfort; in reality, it would be of little use.

A problem that a millennium-old Beast Taming Family like the Mu Family couldn’t solve was one that a minor figure like Li Qian could only sigh over, even if he knew the cause. He was willing to help, but utterly powerless.

Mu Qianqian was clearly aware of this as well. However, even knowing Li Qian couldn’t possibly have a solution, she began to explain the situation, if only to relieve some of her own inner turmoil.

"There are two possible solutions, but both are extremely difficult to achieve."

She continued without pause, "First, we could use all sorts of resources to help the Rong Ancestor break through a minor realm. That would extend its life by at least twenty years. It wouldn’t solve the root problem, but it would treat the symptoms and resolve our immediate crisis."

"However, the Rong Ancestor’s true form is an Ancient Golden Rong Tree. Even after undergoing a mutation, its Potential was capped at Tier One Holy Spirit. Its current power has already reached the Holy Spirit Fourth Rank, which is considered its theoretical limit."

"To raise its power again, even by a single minor realm, would be exceptionally difficult. It’s a monumental task."

Mu Qianqian’s use of the phrases "exceptionally difficult" and "a monumental task" was enough to illustrate the sheer difficulty of the matter.

Given the Mu Family’s resources as a millennium-old Beast Taming Family and the importance of the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm to them, they had likely tried every method imaginable.

By this point, they must have reached a dead end.

Hearing this, Li Qian nodded helplessly. "And the second method?"

He restrained himself from mentioning evolution.

Whether it was the evolution from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, or from Koi Carp to Frostfire Salamander, it was all, in the end, research at the Dominator Level.

But the mutated Ancient Golden Rong Tree was different. It was a Saint Spirit-level Pet Beast that had already reached the Holy Spirit Fourth Rank.

To research an evolutionary path for a Pet Beast of this caliber... even with his complete faith in his Golden Finger, Li Qian felt it was impossible.

Simply impossible.

Given the difficulty of such a task, it was entirely possible it could sit on his mission panel for ten years and never be completed.

Li Qian certainly wasn’t foolish enough to create such a research task.

Mu Qianqian shook her head and revealed the second method. "Have another Saint Spirit-level Pet Beast take control of the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm."

Hearing this, Li Qian couldn’t help but nod. "That is indeed an excellent method."

Then, he continued, "Your Mu Family should have more than one Saint Spirit-level Pet Beast, right?"

Mu Qianqian gave a bitter smile. "We do have more than one. But the Pet Beast that takes control of the Secret Realm must be from the same lineage. In other words, it must also be an Ancient Golden Rong Tree, and it must reach the Saint Spirit Level."

"Our Mu Family still has several Ancient Golden Rong Trees, but they are all ordinary and unmutated. We’ve poured most of our resources into cultivating the one we call the Second Ancestor, but its power is stuck at Tier Nine Emperor, with no hope of a breakthrough."

After listening to Mu Qianqian’s explanation, Li Qian couldn’t help but frown.

It seemed there were two solutions, but in reality, both were next to impossible to achieve.

No wonder Mu Qianqian looked so worried.

In fact, every member of the Mu Family he had seen in the Secret Realm had looked weighed down with worry.

"How long can the Rong Ancestor last in this state?" Li Qian asked, looking at the motionless, mutated Ancient Golden Rong Tree.

"To avoid excessive Energy loss, the Rong Ancestor is hibernating for most of the time now. But even so, it can only last for about five more years." Mu Qianqian also glanced at the Rong Ancestor, then became lost in memories.

This mutated Ancient Golden Rong Tree was not only the Guardian God of her Mu Family; for her, it held a different, more personal significance. She remembered often coming here to play with her cousins when she was little.

Once, while playing hide-and-seek, she had even mischievously climbed onto the Rong Ancestor’s body.

A family elder later found out and almost spanked her bottom raw.

In the end, it was the Rong Ancestor who suddenly spoke up to plead her case, saving her from disaster. So for her, the Rong Ancestor was more like a kind and loving elder than a Guardian God or a Pet Beast.