Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 24

Volume 6 Chapter 24: Ominous and Auspicious, History of the Southern Wasteland (Part 2)

Seeing the "Ominous" suddenly attack Xu Qingfan and Little Black, Little Gold shouted in surprise. It let out low growls, as if trying to stop it with beastly language. Unfortunately, it was too late; in the blink of an eye, the terrifying beam of light had already reached in front of Xu Qingfan and the others.

"Damn it!"

Xu Qingfan cursed in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, recalling the expression on "Ominous" when it looked at Little Black, he finally understood why Little Black was terrified and why "Ominous" was angry, and what the vague feeling of unease he had sensed earlier really was.

Little Black had previously eaten some flesh and blood from Little Gold, which caused a change, and "Ominous" was able to sense this through Little Black’s aura.

Anyone would be angry if someone bullied their children or grandchildren.

But not everyone is like "Ominous," who would try to kill without any warning.

Xu Qingfan felt secretly wronged, but he had no chance to explain as the crisis was already near.

The golden beam of light came at an incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was less than three paces away from Xu Qingfan. The energy contained within it was overwhelming and fierce; if it hit Xu Qingfan, he would surely be turned to nothing.

Even though he knew he couldn’t resist, Xu Qingfan still did not give up on the chance to survive. He suddenly moved backward, maximizing his speed to extend the time before the golden beam reached him. At the same time, as Xu Qingfan’s thoughts shifted, the "Five Spirit Bell" suddenly appeared, forming a colorful shield in front of him. After doing all of this, Xu Qingfan did not stop; he quickly made hand signs, and black and white light swirled around him, gathering together until it blended into a single black-and-white Yin-Yang symbol that appeared before him.

This was the ultimate move from Xu Qingfan’s creation, the "Formula of Life and Death" — the Cycle of Life and Death.

That powerful and fierce beam of light came from Kylin’s attack; while it could instantly kill Xu Qingfan, for some reason, it was much weaker than he had imagined, at least not as strong as a Mythical Beast like Kylin should be when angry.

Xu Qingfan had mentally prepared himself for the possibility that the "Five Spirit Bell" might be shattered by this beam of light. He only hoped that it could hold off the golden beam for just a moment to give him time to use the "Way of Life and Death."

But to Xu Qingfan’s astonishment, the "Five Spirit Bell" actually blocked the golden beam. Although the situation was precarious, and it seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart, it not only bought Xu Qingfan time to perform the Cycle of Life and Death but also continued to hold its ground.

Xu Qingfan was surprised but did not hesitate. As he waved his hands, the Yin-Yang symbol made of "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" spun towards the clash between the "Five Spirit Bell" and the golden beam, merging with the "Five Spirit Bell." Now, aside from the shimmering five elemental lights, it also had black and white lights, with the Yin-Yang symbol occasionally appearing on its surface.

After merging the "Five Spirit Bell" and the Cycle of Life and Death, the defensive power greatly increased, finally stabilizing the situation and completely blocking the attack of the golden beam.

Combining "The Cycle of Life and Death" with the "Five Spirit Bell" was a method Xu Qingfan thought of by chance during a time of meditation. It has become Xu Qingfan’s strongest defense. When he used it for the first time, it truly worked.

But before Xu Qingfan could catch his breath, a new danger arose.

Seeing that Xu Qingfan had blocked his attack, the Ominous grew even angrier. With continuous roars, it opened its mouth again, and three or four golden light beams rushed towards Xu Qingfan.

Meanwhile, Little Gold watched "Ominous" continuously attack Xu Qingfan, and even though he anxiously whimpered, "Ominous" was too furious to hear him at all.

Many golden light beams gathered together. Even though Xu Qingfan had used his strongest defense and the Ominous attack was much weaker than he had imagined, it was still beyond what Xu Qingfan could withstand at that moment.

Xu Qingfan sighed inwardly and decided to take the chance during the defense of the "Five Spirit Bell" and "The Cycle of Life and Death" to turn and escape.

But just then, a turning point finally came.

Suddenly, another kylin-"Auspicious"-heard Little Gold’s anxious cries, and as if it understood something, it finally took action.

Several beast roars echoed, and although they were beastly, they contained a sense of balance and peace. There was no strange phenomenon, and the golden light beams aimed at Xu Qingfan suddenly collapsed, turning into tiny golden sparks and disappearing into the air.

After "Auspicious" attacked, even though it only dispersed a few golden beams of light, it appeared very tired. On the other side, "Ominous" was also like "Auspicious." Although it only used a few beams of golden light that were not particularly frightening, it seemed just as exhausted.

When Xu Qingfan saw "Auspicious" move to block, he knew that things had turned around, but he still took a few steps back, staying cautious and watching the scene in the mountains. Meanwhile, "Ominous" became even angrier, turning to "Auspicious" and roaring fiercely. It looked as if it wanted to kill "Auspicious" and consume its flesh and blood, a rage that was not just because "Auspicious" had stopped it from attacking Xu Qingfan, but also carried a hatred that had lasted for millions of years.

It seemed that although these two kylins had lived together for many years, their fateful hatred had not faded at all.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan finally noticed something he had missed in his hurry.

On the four legs of the two kylins were wrapped eight dark iron chains, covered in countless spiritual talismans that Xu Qingfan did not recognize. The other end of the chains was connected deep inside the mountain, trapping these two powerful demon beasts here.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qingfan seemed to realize something, and his eyes showed a thoughtful expression.

While Xu Qingfan was lost in thought, "Auspicious" and "Ominous" finally finished arguing, and Little Gold clearly explained how Xu Qingfan had been protecting it and had brought it to this place.

After hearing Little Gold’s explanation, "Ominous" still looked unkindly at Little Black, but its gaze towards Xu Qingfan was much friendlier. This scared Little Black, making it curl up tightly on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, not daring to leave. It was unclear whether it was regretting its moment of greed or blaming Xu Qingfan for insisting on coming to this frightening place.

"Human cultivator, it is safe now. You can come closer to us."

At that moment, a gentle voice suddenly appeared in Xu Qingfan’s heart. The voice was neutral, making it hard to tell if it was male or female, but it was warm and calm, surely coming from "Auspicious."

Although Xu Qingfan already knew that heavenly level demon beasts had intelligence and wisdom on par with humans, and that beings like Kylin were even more powerful, receiving such human-like words suddenly from Kylin’s mouth gave Xu Qingfan a surreal feeling, as if he was dreaming.

In fact, every heavenly level demon beast, as long as they understand human language habits, has some ability to communicate with humans. After all, heavenly level demon beasts, like humans, are considered intelligent beings. However, such situations rarely happen; when human cultivators see heavenly level demon beasts, those strong enough think only of the demon beast’s inner core and precious materials, while those weaker only think of fleeing to save their lives. At the same time, when heavenly level demon beasts see humans, they only think of hatred and food. Thus, even though demon beasts and humans have coexisted on the Shenzhou Continent for countless years, their communication remains extremely rare, to the point that most human cultivators are completely unaware that heavenly level demon beasts possess such abilities, viewing them simply as ordinary demon beasts that only know how to kill.

For example, the intelligence of the Four Spirits—Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, and Xuanwu—rivals that of Kylin, yet Mr. Liu and others never had any thought of communicating before or during the capture.

Suppressing his absurd feelings, Xu Qingfan looked at "Ominous" and found that "Ominous" truly no longer had any intent to kill him. He finally approached the two Kylins, feeling anxious yet curious.

Observing a divine creature like Kylin up close is not something every cultivator gets to experience.

Finally arriving beside "Ominous" and "Auspicious," Xu Qingfan hesitated about what to say, but once again, he heard "Auspicious’s" voice in his heart.

"Human cultivator, thank you for taking care of my child all these years and bringing it to see us. Now that I see it is safe, I can rest easy."

"What do you mean your child? It’s clearly mine!… One day, I will kill you!"

The last voice was that of "Ominous." It still sounded neutral, but compared to "Auspicious," which was gentle, it had more dominance and a sense of menace, suddenly appearing in Xu Qingfan’s heart.

"Auspicious" paid no attention to "Ominous"’s interruption and continued to look down at Xu Qingfan, saying, "Unfortunately, it cannot stay here for long. The monster watching over me might return soon. You can see my current situation, and I cannot effectively protect you and it."

As it spoke, "Auspicious" gently turned its head, gazing softly and sorrowfully at Little Gold, who was howling after hearing its words. Its beastly face showed a human-like expression of a bitter smile, then it turned to Xu Qingfan and said, "So, you must take it away…"

"Oh! ‘Spirit Locking Ring’! ‘Spirit Sealing Talisman!’"

Xu Qingfan had been quietly listening to "Auspicious." He could guess a little about the encounters between "Auspicious" and "Ominous," but he felt powerless. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he turned his gaze to the chains and symbols wrapped around the four limbs of "Auspicious" and "Ominous."

"Human cultivator, do you recognize the origin of these chains and symbols?"

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s slight exclamation, "Ominous" interrupted again, its voice filled with expectation and resentment.