Edited by RED

Luan slowly stood up, seeing as the Black Tortoise was so insistent on going. Its last arm drooped weakly as it headed east, not even paying a little attention to the severed arms.

Xu Qi and the Black Tortoise followed closely behind Luan, while the Constellation Guards were walking at the back. None of them used their movement techniques, only walking at a human’s pace.

“Uncle, why are you calling it Mie Luan? Isn’t it called Luan? Also, the talk about the woman sealing its ten siblings, it was Goddess Nuwa, right? And what’s with the Godsfeather Bow?” Xu Qi asked Black Tortoise.

“You really have a lot of questions. Ai, I’ll start from the battle against its ten brothers,” Black Tortoise sighed and started recounting their history during the ancient era.

“At that time, Luan and its brothers began cultivating with the aid of the mysterious energy formed from the humanity’s negative emotions. They gradually grew stronger, and the negative emotions humans experienced did as well. All ten of them were extremely cruel, causing mayhem everywhere. In the end, the ancient cultivators could no longer sit by idly and started an operation to get rid of them.

“However, to their surprise, Luan and its siblings were extremely cunning. They played the ancients like fiddles, and soon the number of cultivators who fell to their hands grew to an astronomical amount.

“At last, Goddess Nuwa learned about this matter and she went searching for them. She summoned us, the Four Divinities, and began exterminating them.

“In the end, we won the battle, and I killed their Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother. Speaking of that, me killing three of them wasn’t because I was stronger than the other three divine beasts. Rather, it was the Azure Dragon who purposely had me kill them. I only learned about this after the matter.

“The four of us originally intended to kill all of them, but Goddess Nuwa said that it was destiny for them to exist in this world. She only sealed them and left.

“It was unthinkable that someone was actually able to break Goddess Nuwa’s seal and went in there, saving those who were already killed, and brought them to this Spirit Domain.”

“So you’re saying that the ten of them coming to this side was destiny, and me bringing the Four Divinities Coffer here was also destiny?” Xu Qi asked.

“I guess you could say that. I didn’t expect to run into Luan here, either. Though, its strength has really plummeted by a considerable margin,” Black Tortoise lamented.

“Luan and its siblings were incredibly strong in the past?” Xu Qi asked curiously.

“Hmm. Very strong. At the very least, they were stronger than my current strength,” Black Tortoise said.

Xu Qi sucked in a breath of cold air at hearing this, thinking about the strength of the ten elite monsters.

“Though, I feel that in this Spirit Domain, cultivating seems to be limited by something. I feel as if it’s extremely tough for my current strength to recover to half of what I had,” the Black Tortoise said.

“Your strength isn’t even half of what it used to be? My god, don’t scare me, Uncle,” Xu Qi exclaimed in shock.

“No one is scaring you. Even the top cultivators in Spirit Domain, a Saint realm cultivator, couldn’t be compared to half my strength when I was at my peak. What do I gain from bluffing you?” the Black Tortoise quipped.

Xu Qi nodded at hearing this, feeling that what the Black Tortoise said was right. He was one of the four divine beasts, after all. They were unique existences whose strengths were unparalleled. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“Then what was the matter about the Godsfeather Bow? Who used it in the past? Could it be that Hou Yi, who used it to shoot down the suns?”1 Xu Qi asked.

“What Hou Yi, that was only a fictional character the humans came up with. The owner of the Godsfeather Bow was a direct disciple of Nuwa, the number one goddess of might, the Dark Lady of Nine Heavens!” Black Tortoise explained.

“The Dark Lady of Nine Heavens? Why does this sound so familiar? Can you introduce her a little?” Xu Qi thickened his skin and inquired further.

Black Tortoise smiled and continued, “Goddess Nuwa had two disciples she was the most proud of. They were the Dark Lady of Nine Heavens and the White Lady of Nine Heavens. The White Lady of Nine Heavens was also known as the healing goddess, while the Dark Lady of Nine Heavens was known as the celestial world’s number one martial goddess, dubbed the Goddess Xuanmu, honored as the Empress Xuan Yang of Nine Heavens. She wears dark clothes and wields the Heavenly Profound Spear, killing decisively. Most people were only aware of her Heavenly Profound Spear, but a small handful knew that there was still a Godsfeather Bow in her arsenal. It was forged by Goddess Nuwa and gifted it to her.”

“This Dark Lady of Nine Heavens was such a big shot?” Xu Qi asked doubtfully.

“Haha, brat, don’t doubt the Dark Lady of Nine Heavens’ strength. She was ridiculously strong. Even I would only be the one getting beat up if I were to fight her,” the Black Tortoise chuckled.

“If she’s so strong, why did her Godsfeather Bow end up here?” Xu Qi continued asking.

“Don’t ask me. I was sealed for so many years; how would I know what happened on the outside?” the Black Tortoise quipped.

Xu Qi was even more confused seeing as even the Black Tortoise had no idea how the Godsfeather Bow got here. A thought suddenly came to his mind: Could it be that even bringing the Four Divinities Coffer to Spirit Domain was part of fate?

“Brat, there’s something I have to remind you of. Earlier, I talked about that person whose strength wasn’t any weaker than me. I’m afraid he too, was someone who was like us, a person who came from that side. I could sense that his aura was definitely not from a cultivation method of Spirit Domain,” Black Tortoise said.

“Uncle, can you not giving me psychological blows? If that truly was a powerful cultivator from the ancient era, how am I supposed to live on? He could get rid of me easily; that kind of feeling is really terrible,” Xu Qi said.

“You’re feeling set back from just that? Though, there’s something you can rest assured of. That person wouldn’t even bother with you. Otherwise, with your insignificant strength, you would be long gone,” the Black Tortoise continued.

Xu Qi rolled his eyes, deciding to keep quiet. The Black Tortoise’s words hurt his pride too much.

“I’m very curious though, who exactly was it that was able to take the Godsfeather Bow away?” Black Tortoise mumbled to himself.

“Wasn’t it the ancient cultivator you spoke of? Who else could it be?” Xu Qi replied.

“No, it’s definitely not him. From what I know, the Dark Lady of Nine Heaven’s Godsfeather Bow can only be used by a woman of pure Yang constitution. That person I sensed earlier was definitely not a woman,” Black Tortoise said resolutely.

Hearing this, Xu Qi stopped in place and turned to Black Tortoise, asking, “You’re saying that the person who came to Mt Burning Cloud tonight to steal the Godsfeather Bow was someone else, and a woman on top of that?”

“That’s right,” Black Tortoise replied.

“Hey, say, it’s not a solution for us to keep walking like this. When will we ever reach our destination? Why don’t you two help me, and we’ll move faster, alright?” Luan said after stopping in place at the front, and turned to Xu Qi and the Black Tortoise.

The Black Tortoise slowly came up to Luan and placed one of his hands on Luan’s body, flying with Luan’s huge figure.

Xu Qi and the Constellation Guards quickly used their movement techniques and followed behind them.

---

Soon, the group arrived at Mt Burning Cloud. They entered the cave, which wasn’t very deep. They only walked for a bit before arriving at its deepest part, but it was dark all around.

“Mie Luan, you should have a way to illuminate this cave, right?” Black Tortoise asked.

Hearing this, Luan replied, “I don’t like the light. I prefer darkness; I don’t have a way to make this place well lit.”

The Black Tortoise pushed Luan aside gently and released his blue energy. His body shook for a moment and his energy spread to the cave’s surroundings, illuminating the entire cave.

The center of this cave had a stone platform. Xu Qi asked, “Was this platform where the Purple-flamed Dark Phoenix’s egg was placed?”

Luan nodded at Xu Qi’s question.

“Those items, where are they?” Black Tortoise asked.

Luan walked deeper into the cave and came to a place with a stench, saying, “They’re all here.”

“Why is it so smelly? What is that?” Xu Qi asked, pinching his nose.

“This is the scent of my body. I usually rest here, and my smell is a little unique,” Luan replied, annoyed.

The Black Tortoise, on the other hand, didn’t bother covering his nose. He walked to a pile of dark objects and waved his hand. The layer of dark substance vanished, revealing a huge pile of objects.

Seeing this, Xu Qi’s eyes lit up and no longer cared about the smell. He directly walked forward and squatted down, looking for any treasures.

However, after searching through the pile several times, not to mention a treasure, there wasn’t even an object that was considered useful. They were all clothes, wooden weapons and some gemstones.

“There was only these things along with the Godsfeather Bow when you arrived at this cave?” Xu Qi asked doubtfully.

Luan nodded and said, “That’s right. They were all here.”

The Black Tortoise didn’t say a word. He slowly walked up to Luan and smiled, “Mie Luan, are you taking us for fools, playing such childish games with us? If the Godsfeather Bow was here, that layer of substance on top wouldn’t exist!”

Hearing this, Luan replied frantically, “Oh, oh, I remembered wrongly. The Godsfeather Bow was originally placed there.”

Then, Luan turned and walked to another side. Xu Qi and Black Tortoise exchanged a smile and followed Luan.

“It was here. Look,” Luan said, pointing at the ground directly before it.

Xu Qi quickly went up, but he didn’t discover anything, only a bow-shaped crater was on the ground.

“Yes, that’s the shape of the Godsfeather Bow,” Black Tortoise confirmed from behind Xu Qi.

Xu Qi stood up and asked Luan, “There’s only these useless things in your cave? I saw that the messy pile over there wasn’t any treasure at all. Why are you keeping them?”

“Who said that I wanted to keep it? I can’t take it away even if I wanted to. Try taking them if you don’t believe me. I won’t stop you if you can take them all,” Luan said, pointing at the messy pile from before.

Xu Qi’s interest was immediately piqued. Could there be some tricks to the pile of objects over there? He hurriedly walked over.

Xu Qi looked at the things on the ground and extended his hand to pick up a wooden sword. However, his expression instantly froze upon contact with it.

He discovered that no matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn’t budge the wooden sword an inch.

Black Tortoise was curious, too, when he saw this strange situation. He tried to pick up one of the torn clothes, and he couldn’t lift it up, either. It was as if the objects were locked in place. Black Tortoise tried his hand on several other objects as well, but he couldn’t move any one of them.

“Uncle, what exactly is going on? There must be a ghost at work here,” Xu Qi asked blankly.

“Hmm, I don’t understand what’s going on, either. Though, I’m very curious about that person who was able to steal the Godsfeather Bow.”

“So? I didn’t bluff you, did I? I’ll tell you this. This pile of objects were here for so many years, and I tried countless times. I couldn’t move a piece of it away. Also, every once in a while, a red light would shine from this pile of objects, with countless talisman characters above it,” Luan said.

Xu Qi looked at this pile of objects, puzzled. No matter how he inspected them, it didn’t look like treasures. Why would it be like this? And it would emit red light every once in a while, with talisman characters above it? What was going on?

“Brat, if it truly is as Mie Luan said, that red light and talisman characters would shine above it, I’m afraid these objects are sealed,” Black Tortoise said.

“Sealed? Then why was someone able to take the Godsfeather Bow away?” Xu Qi asked.

“That, I don’t know,” Black Tortoise replied helplessly.

“You three believe me now, right? I didn’t lie to you,” Luan interjected from the side.

Xu Qi glanced over to Luan and asked, “The Purple-flamed Dark Phoenix’s egg is gone, and so is the Godsfeather Bow. Are you still going to stay here?”

Luan sighed at hearing this and said, “Where else can I go? My strength is abysmal right now. I wouldn’t have a day of peace if I went out and was discovered by someone. Also, if I encountered someone powerful, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even get to keep my life intact. It’s better to cultivate here peacefully. Moreover, that person instructed me to remain here. I won’t be able to locate my brothers if he doesn’t show up.”

Xu Qi and Black Tortoise nodded. It was as Luan said. Remaining here was its best course of action.

“Mie Luan, aren’t you worried about me killing you?” Black Tortoise suddenly asked.

“What’s there to be worried about? I don’t even know how long I’d lived for. Since I ended up in your hands, just do as you wish to me. I’ve already accepted the situation,” Luan said casually.

“If your brothers appeared and continue causing harm to the world, are you going to continue taking the side of the evildoers?” Black Tortoise asked.

“Yes. I’ll do whatever they’re doing. We’re brothers, after all,” Luan answered frankly.

There wasn’t any killing intent in Xu Qi even after hearing this. Instead, he even felt a little respect for Luan.

“Mie Luan, can you assume human form now?” Black Tortoise asked.

Xu Qi was shocked at hearing this. Luan was actually able to transform into a human?

“I don’t know. There’re too many wounds in me, and my strength won’t restore to what it was. It’s very difficult for me to transform into a human. Truthfully speaking, I’ve hated my current form ever since I was able to transform into a human,” Luan said, shaking its head.

“I won’t kill you today. It was as Goddess Nuwa said when she sealed you. There are reasons for you and your brothers existing in this world. I only hope that you will simply stay here, not causing harm to the world outside,” Black Tortoise said, revealing his sincere and earnest wishes.

Luan was dumbfounded at hearing this. It didn’t expect that the Black Tortoise would actually let it go. It truly came as a surprise.

“Uncle, it’s getting late. Let’s go,” Xu Qi said.

Black Tortoise nodded in agreement.

However, before they left, Xu Qi said to Luan, “I hope you can keep our encounter today a secret. I don’t know why, but I actually have some trust in you.”

After speaking, they left the cave, leaving Luan alone, dazed.

TL Note:

1: A Chinese legend that there was once a time when the sky had ten suns, and the divine archer Hou Yi shot down nine suns with his bow.