Edited by RED

“You speak too much nonsense. But I have to let you know, I won’t be able to provide much help with the strength I command now. This damned seal was here for so many years, and yet I had no knowledge of it! I only felt my cultivation declining, but couldn’t find the cause of it!” Vermilion Bird said, looking at the rainbow seal around her resentfully.

“Don’t you worry. I can help you recover your strength as long as you come with me. After all, I’ll gain a greater advantage with you becoming stronger,” Xu Qi chuckled without restraint.

This was the first time Vermilion Bird felt that Xu Qi looked pleasing to her eyes. At the very least, he wasn’t a hypocrite like the others. It was true that Xu Qi saving her was to benefit himself.

Rainbow energy shone in Xu Qi’s hand at this moment, drawing a talisman in the air. The talisman was soon completed and Xu Qi immediately manipulated it without hesitation, melding it into the rainbow seal.

As Xu Qi’s talisman came into contact with the rainbow seal trapping Vermilion Bird, countless talismanic characters appeared on the seal, interweaving with the runes already there.

In the end, the seal shone with a blazing radiance.

The rays of light faded, and Vermilion Bird realized that the rainbow seal that had trapped her for days had vanished.

“Alright, begin,” Xu Qi said.

“Begin? Begin what?” Vermilion Bird asked, confused.

“That Scarlet Flame Seal of yours or whatever.”

“Oh? You’re not subduing me first before letting me plant the Scarlet Flame Seal on you? You’re not afraid that I’ll kill you?”

“Great madame, you can forget about leaving here if you kill me. You must be as smart as you are pretty; I don’t believe you’ll be so silly. Moreover, we’ll be family from now on. Let’s start putting our trust in each other,” Xu Qi said.

Vermilion Bird felt her heart stop for a moment as she looked at Xu Qi. She had lived for uncountable years, and although she hadn’t encountered many humans, most of them were almighty experts. Yet none of them was as sincere as this young man standing in front of her.

Those who were able to become almighty experts were extremely mindful of others. They might end up losing their cultivation, or even their lives, if they let their guards down for a moment.

Vermilion Bird stared fixedly at Xu Qi, seemingly trying to discern what was on his mind as scarlet flames silently appeared in her hand, shaped into a miniature Vermilion Bird, and flew into Xu Qi’s body.

“Is it done?” Xu Qi asked.

Vermilion Bird nodded as she looked at Xu Qi, impressed. How big-hearted of him!

Xu Qi rubbed his chest where the miniature scarlet-flamed Vermilion Bird entered him, rolling his eyes back, seemingly sensing something.

“Why don’t I feel a thing? I can’t seem to sense its existence,” Xu Qi asked, puzzled.

“That is why you should be careful around me. Otherwise, this madame will claim your life at any moment. Alright, let’s drop the nonsense. I don’t wish to be in here a moment longer,” Vermilion Bird replied, as proud as ever.

Xu Qi nodded blankly and formed a seal with his fingers. The rainbow summoning seal quickly formed in his hand and he planted it in Vermilion Bird’s head.

Xu Qi slowly felt a connection with her being established in his mind, and smiled widely like a fool.

The Vermilion Bird was finally subdued. Although her cultivation had regressed by a huge margin, she was a Divine Beast, after all. No ordinary men would be able to deal with her as long as she recovered her strength. The addition of a hidden ace up his sleeves would mean a greater chance at victory.

After much trouble, the Vermilion Bird was finally subdued by Xu Qi. Although he was met with more complications compared to subduing Black Tortoise, it turned out well in the end.

As she neared the rainbow energy wall by the cavern entrance, Vermilion Bird turned around to look at the cavern she was trapped in for uncountable years, sighing. At that moment, she was actually feeling apprehensive of leaving.

The stone door leading to the Vermilion Bird’s cavern slowly lowered and closed itself. Xu Qi and Vermilion Bird were now at the Four Divinities Cavern’s plaza.

Just as they exited the Vermilion Bird’s cavern, she picked up a familiar, tempting scent and wondered out loud, “Hmm? What’s that scent?” She couldn’t believe her eyes when she discovered the Green Mystique Trees by the corner, rubbing it in disbelief.

“Like I told you..” Xu Qi spoke up awkwardly, but the Vermilion Bird had already turned into a streak of light, heading straight toward the Green Mystique Tree.

Vermilion Bird was grinning from ear to ear, looking at the Green Mystique Fruits before her. Although she had a head full of white hair, there weren’t any wrinkles on her face, and her sharp features made her look like a young miss in her twenties.

She extended her delicate hand, grabbing at a Green Mystique Fruit.

“Don’t!” Xu Qi suddenly cried out at seeing this. He was reminded of the scene when the Ice-Armored Horned Dragon did the same.

The Ice-Armored Horned Dragon had also been excited at the sight of the fruits and tried plucking them. However, not only did he fail to obtain the fruit, he was even struck by a golden ray.

Alas, Xu Qi’s warning was a little too late. A golden ray shot out from the Green Mystique Tree without any warning even as he cried out, aimed at Vermilion Bird.

She was unable to dodge the sudden golden streak of light. She felt her body turning limp and numb after she was hit by it, as if she had been struck by lightning.

“Ai, I forgot to tell you. When Blackie was out the last time, he was as impatient as you and tried to pluck the Green Mystique Fruit, but failed to do so for some unknown reasons, too!” Xu Qi explained helplessly as he came to Vermilion Bird’s side.

She rubbed her hands, looking at Xu Qi doubtfully and asked, “This wasn’t your doing?”

“Oh, please, great madame. You’re thinking too highly of me. I don’t have such capabilities. I even wanted to ask if you knew anything about this. After all, your knowledge is much greater than mine,” Xu Qi chuckled.

Hearing this, she sighed and said, “I too, have seen a Green Mystique Tree during the ancient era, but it was much smaller than this tree here. The fruits it bore were only a mere handful, too. Ordinary men only knew of its ability to increase one’s cultivation, but what they didn’t know was that the Green Mystique Fruits were much more beneficial to us monsters.”

“Oh? Why haven’t I heard Uncle Black Tortoise mention anything about this before? He was guarding this tree day after day, and yet he never asked for a Green Mystique Fruit from me,” Xu Qi asked, puzzled.

“Due to his constitution, he is unable to consume Green Mystique Fruits, and thus didn’t care about them. But I, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon all needed these fruits to increase our cultivation. A single fruit could heal my injuries, and a second one could recover about half of my strength,” Vermilion Bird explained, looking at the Green Mystique Fruits longingly, her throat rolling in anticipation.

“What should we do now? Blackie tried before, but he couldn’t touch it even if I were to pick the fruit and gave it to him,” Xu Qi asked as he plucked a Green Mystique Fruit, dangling it before her eyes.

“We can only consider at length. I didn’t think Venerable Ziyan would actually spend so much effort to guard against us!” Vermilion Bird said, gnashing her teeth. She seemed really resentful of Venerable Ziyan.

Xu Qi saw the huge mound by their side and hurriedly clasped his palms, bowing thrice to it.

“Who is buried under this mound?” Vermilion Bird asked casually.

“How was I supposed to know? This area was littered with corpses the first time I came here. These people are my seniors, after all. I can’t possibly leave their corpses lying around, and thus buried their remains in there,” Xu Qi explained deliberately, recalling the scene he first saw when he came to the Four Divinities Cavern.

“You’re saying, that corpses were lying everywhere the first time you arrived here?” Vermilion Bird asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Xu Qi could tell her tone was a little amiss, but he nodded in acknowledgement.

She walked around the huge mound, her brow furrowed tightly.

“Say, madame, you aren’t thinking of digging up this grave, are you?” Xu Qi asked softly.

“Hmm. How did you know?” Vermilion Bird replied, nodding.

“Erm, I was only asking casually. But as the saying goes, the dead should return to the earth in peace. It’s been so many years; even if there are grudges between you, you should let it go. Let’s not do something like digging up someone’s grave. Moreover, I spent quite a bit of effort burying them in the first place,” Xu Qi said.

“What do you think I’m trying to do? I only wanted to confirm some matters,” Vermilion Bird said.

Could she know the reason why they were here and lost their lives? Xu Qi thought after hearing this. He had asked Black Tortoise about this before, but the latter had no knowledge of it.

Vermilion Bird walked away from the grave and checked out her surroundings, asking, “Did you think just anyone is able to enter the Four Divinities Cavern?”

Vermilion Bird’s words left Xu Qi even more confused. The Black Tortoise had never told him much about the ancient era. Even if he did mention it, he only talked about it briefly, in a sentence or two.

“Hmph, just look at you; you’re just a brat who doesn’t know anything. Let me ask you: do you know why Venerable Ziyan tried so hard to keep the four of us sealed in here?” Vermilion Bird asked.

Xu Qi did know something about this. Venerable Ziyan had explained to him before he vanished, that due to his negligence while guarding the cavern, he had almost let the four divine beasts loose, and to make up for his mistake, he tried his hardest to seal them. Moreover, he claimed the four divine beasts were demons.

However, Xu Qi felt that Black Tortoise didn’t seem to have the nature of a demon after spending much time with him. On the contrary, he had a gentle nature and was amiable.

“The four of us were spirits born into the world, and each of us guarded an area in each direction. We were living in peace until we encountered Lady Nuxi, who subdued all four of us and taught us to transform into human form. She explained the laws of nature to us, and used her omnipotent ability to form the Four Divinities Cavern for us to live in,” Vermilion Bird said, recalling the past as her eyes fogged up.

“The Four Divinities Cavern transformed into the Four Divinities Coffer, and became a treasure of Lady Nuxi. The four of us travelled the world by her side, and contributed much to exorcising evil, until one day when she suddenly told us that she was going on a distant trip and we were to wait in the Four Divinities Cavern for her return. Not only that, she also said that the Four Divinites Coffer would be handed over to her disciple, and we were not to cause troubles. This disciple of hers was none other than Venerable Ziyan,” Vermilion Bird explained.

Xu Qi was full of doubt after hearing all this. What Vermilion Bird and Venerable Ziyan told him were two completely different stories!