Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 31

Volume 6 Chapter 31: Success and Departure (Part 1)

Two long, thick black bull horns, one of which is sharply driven into Zhuyin’s vital point.

For all snakes, this vital point is the most crucial, similar to the human heart; even Zhuyin is no exception.

After the bull horn pierced, Zhuyin was doomed to die, yet thanks to its strong life force, it still had a glimmer of hope, as part of its snake body inside the mountain writhed and twisted continuously. The painful cries escaped its mouth but slowly grew faint.

"Ominous" looked down at Zhuyin, eyes lacking pity, but filled with deep regret, as if letting Zhuyin die would give it too much of an advantage.

If "Ominous" could speak human language, it would surely say something like, "You’ve been trapped for too long, your strength is not what it used to be, I accidentally killed you, which is really lucky for you." However, seeing "Ominous" bow its head and roar softly now, it probably means something similar in beast language.

After a low beast roar, "Ominous" lifted its foot and gently pressed it on Zhuyin’s still-struggling head; with a light step, red and white splattered everywhere, and Zhuyin’s head was instantly crushed. After a slight twitch of its snake body, this powerful being among the demons of the Southern Wasteland, Zhuyin, died.

With a hint of warning, "Ominous" once again cast a deep look at Kui, as if to warn it not to act recklessly. Then it slowly turned and continued to gaze deeply at the still trapped "Auspicious."

On the other side, Xu Qingfan was habitually sighing, remembering that at the beginning of his journey as a cultivator, he thought his master Lu Huayan and those sect leaders and guardians of Jiuhua were the most powerful beings in the world. But after witnessing the strength of grandmasters, he thought they were truly the top. He later realized that there were also tiers among grandmasters; Venerable Deaf Mute Blind and Mr. Liu’s powers were almost incomparable. Just when Xu Qingfan thought Mr. Liu was the real top figure, he witnessed the strength of the kylin and realized Zhuyin’s power was roughly equal to Mr. Liu’s, yet it was so easily killed.

Unknowingly, Xu Qingfan’s strength had now reached the level of his master Lu Huayan from years ago. In a real fight, Lu Huayan would surely not be a match for Xu Qingfan, who had become what he once thought of as the greatest. Yet at this moment, Xu Qingfan found it increasingly hard to see the end of his path.

"But can humans also reach the strength of a kylin? By that time, one must have found the legendary way to immortality, right?"

As Xu Qingfan thought this to himself, he suddenly saw "Ominous" walk in front of "Auspicious," and the two were deeply staring at each other, leaving him very shocked.

"Ominous" and "Auspicious" were sworn enemies throughout the ages, never missing an opportunity to kill each other. At this moment, "Ominous" had broken free and regained most of its strength, but "Auspicious" was still trapped. Would "Ominous" take the chance to kill "Auspicious"?

To be honest, compared to "Ominous," Xu Qingfan felt more favorable toward "Auspicious" and hoped "Auspicious" would survive. However, if "Ominous" truly intended to kill "Auspicious," Xu Qingfan would not try to stop him. His strength was still not enough to interfere with the matters of the kylin tribe; he could only hope that after killing "Auspicious," "Ominous" would remember his earlier act of saving him and spare his life.

But unexpectedly for Xu Qingfan, after staring at each other for a long time, "Ominous" suddenly began to help "Auspicious" break free from the "Spirit Locking Ring." Although Xu Qingfan did not know what they communicated, he understood the general idea from "Ominous’s" proud and eager eyes.

"In the future, we will still be mortal enemies, but you gave up your chance to escape first for me. Although it was not for my sake, I do not want to owe you anything. I will help you break free, and we will start anew. Next time we meet, we will fight until life and death are decided."

Under the combined power of "Ominous" and "Auspicious," even the divine "Spirit Locking Ring" was quickly torn apart. Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan secretly collected the eight broken pieces of the "Spirit Locking Ring." Although these eight "Spirit Locking Rings" were damaged, they were still one of the greatest masterpieces of human cultivators and might be useful in the future.

When "Auspicious" was completely freed, its aura suddenly increased dramatically, regaining about sixty to seventy percent of its peak strength, while the remaining strength still needed time to recover gradually. At the same time, it let out a triumphant howl that was clear and gentle, unlike the long howl of "Ominous" that had caused Xu Qingfan to suffer and spit blood.

When "Auspicious" was free at last, Xu Qingfan finally understood why Kui, even after ambushing "Ominous", did not punish or retaliate against it; Kui was "Auspicious" itself.

Although "Auspicious" represented goodness, it would not spare Kui, the traitor that had tormented them for thousands of years. However, "Auspicious" was not as cruel as "Ominous." It slowly walked in front of the trembling Kui, deeply gazing into its eyes. After a moment, Kui suddenly fell to the ground, its powerful presence vanished, lifeless and quietly passed away.

Then, "Auspicious" and "Ominous" exchanged a glance and walked towards Xu Qingfan together. Little Gold, seeing that its parents had finally resolved everything, happily rushed forward, nuzzling their legs with its small head. With its parents finally free and all enemies except the nine-tailed demon fox dead, this was probably the happiest day of Little Gold’s life.

"Auspicious" and "Ominous" looked kindly at Little Gold at their feet, then took turns lovingly licking Little Gold’s body. Finally, they turned their heads towards Xu Qingfan.

"Human cultivator, we must thank you for our freedom this time."

"Ominous" said.

"Both of you are an important part of the Heavenly Mechanism. Under the predetermined fate, it was only a matter of time before you were free. My arrival was just a coincidence."

Xu Qingfan had already regained his calm and replied with a smile.

"Auspicious" shook its head and said, "Under the heavens, there are both fixed destinies and changing circumstances. The changes are within the fixed, and the fixed is within the changes; it is something that cannot be clearly explained. You humans created the art of divination, which is indeed a clever idea, but what is seen is only one of countless possibilities for the future. Moreover, we cannot attribute everything to the Heavenly Mechanism. What you said is somewhat hypocritical."

"Auspicious" is still a beast at heart. Although its wisdom is far above most humans, it will never understand human "politeness" and bluntly tells Xu Qingfan he is being hypocritical.

Xu Qingfan knows that beasts are like this, but he is not angry. After hearing the word "Auspicious," he feels a stir in his heart but says, "Indeed, I have been hypocritical."

"Ominous" asked, "Human, we owe you a request. Have you thought of what it is?"

Speaking of this, "Ominous" turns to glance at the bodies of Zhuyin and Kui, then says to Xu Qingfan, "If you really cannot think of anything, I can give you the bodies of those two traitors to repay the favor we owe you. As far as I know, their bodies should be very precious to your kind."

Upon hearing "Ominous", Xu Qingfan is truly moved. The bodies of Zhuyin and Kui, these two ancient beasts, could create so many high-level magical items and excellent spirit pills for him! If there is wealth among cultivators, based on the value of how many spirit stones they possess, then after acquiring these two bodies, Xu Qingfan would indeed be one of the few wealthy individuals in the cultivation world. Perhaps only Zhang Xusheng, who has obtained all the treasures of the "Treasure Pavilion," and Mr. Liu, known as the "Treasure Immortal," could compare to him.

However, even though he is tempted, Xu Qingfan ultimately holds back the urge to agree immediately and shakes his head, saying, "I don’t need those things for now."

Xu Qingfan is not foolish. The bodies of Zhuyin and Kui are indeed precious, but they are not something he can possess right now. Not to mention the trouble that could come from having something so valuable, even if he turned them into magical items, he wouldn’t have the ability to use them now.

In fact, given the value of the two bodies, turning them into magical items would be a waste; they should be made into treasures instead, but the methods for creating treasures are only known among Mahayana cultivators, which Xu Qingfan has no knowledge of.

Besides, no matter how precious the bodies of Zhuyin and Kui are, they are far less valuable than the request from the two kylins. In the future, Xu Qingfan can think of requests that would help him even more. Even if not, the bodies won’t just disappear, right? He can always ask for them later after some time.

Hearing Xu Qingfan refuse its suggestion, "Ominous" showed a hint of disappointment in its eyes, but suddenly remembered something. It exchanged a glance with "Auspicious," and then both nodded slightly.

Then, while Xu Qingfan was curious about their reactions, he suddenly noticed that both kylins began to release a strange energy. In the midst of the energy, a drop of blood appeared on each kylin’s forehead.

Under Xu Qingfan’s surprised gaze, these two drops of blood slowly floated into the air and then quickly flew towards Xu Qingfan, merging into his body.

After that, Xu Qingfan knew nothing, because at the moment the blood merged into his body, he fainted.