Treasure Beast?" The Red King looked puzzled.
It seemed this world didn't know the term—then again, it made sense. The original story had the Treasure Beast as Blue Xuanyu's vision on Senluo Star. The Red King said, "It's normal that you don't know. I'm not from this world either. Like Di Tian, I come from the Divine Realm."
"The Divine Realm!" The Red King was shocked, and the Three-Eyed Golden Ni was equally surprised, instinctively interrupting.
"That's a lie, right? I've never heard Uncle Di Tian mention any Treasure Beast. Besides, you're so weak—how could you be from the Divine Realm like Uncle Di Tian?"
Zhu Wu clenched his fist, revealing a pained expression, and sighed. "My divine core was shattered by the Asura God's slash. My divine body was cleaved in two. During my fall, the Asura God's power constantly eroded my body and divine consciousness."
"Then I lost consciousness."
"When I woke again, my body had returned to nature, and my divine consciousness was broken, leaving only a faint spiritual essence lodged in the single thin trace of dragon god bloodline in my body. Back then, under the protection of a dragon scale bestowed by the Dragon God, I barely survived."
"I tried to recall my past, but could only remember fragmented scraps. Piecing them together, I understood my circumstances and origins."
"To survive, and to search for Di Tian's personal guards and the Dragon God's split self who escaped the great war, I had no choice but to possess this young boy who came to collect soul rings, becoming human."
"Though most memories faded, that great battle, that sword strike, remains the deepest part of my recollection."
"Of course, the hatred in my heart is also a major reason I came here to train."
At that, his mind flashed back to Tang San killing his own Dahuang and stealing from him. Anger flared inside, and the mental fluctuations from his emotions were very real.
"Sorry," he said, releasing his fist and taking a deep breath. "Seeing someone familiar to Di Tian's guards, I spoke more than I should."
The Red King was silent, sensing Zhu Wu's anger. Though it couldn't imagine the war's brutality, even the revered Beast God Di Tian had to flee—this showed how powerful the gods were and how fierce the battle had been.
More importantly, Zhu Wu's revelations didn't seem false.
This was serious. He needed to inform Di Tian and let him judge.
The Three-Eyed Golden Ni looked at Zhu Wu with a hint of pity.
"No worries," the Red King said solemnly, "but I cannot decide this alone. I must report to Lord Di Tian."
"Would you be willing to come with me?"
"Of course," Zhu Wu answered without hesitation. "Since I awakened, I've had some thoughts. It's a perfect chance to discuss them face-to-face with Di Tian's personal guard."
The Red King nodded and glanced at the Three-Eyed Golden Ni.
"Forget the tiger, let's head back quickly," the Ni said, tail wagging.
"Very well." The Red King slightly stepped aside. "Please, this way."
Zhu Wu nodded and stepped forward.
The two figures—a golden lion and a human—walked deeper into the forest.
After a while, the Three-Eyed Golden Ni couldn't help but ask, "Senior Treasure Beast, how can you transform into other soul beasts with their exact aura?"
"That's a power granted by the Dragon God," Zhu Wu replied. "I was originally a parasite on the Dragon God. Before gaining intelligence, I fed on something from the Dragon God's body—honestly, I don't remember exactly what. Maybe blood, or fur, or something else. But from the memories I have, I definitely consumed something from the Dragon God."
"Parasite?" The Red King glanced at Zhu Wu, unsure whether to admire the Dragon God's greatness or consider Zhu Wu's original form bizarre.
"A parasite!" The Ni gasped, body shaking as if it actually had parasites.
Zhu Wu glanced at her awkwardly. "My original form really was a worm."
"Because I consumed something from the Dragon God and was influenced by his aura for many years, I gradually gained intelligence. Then the Dragon God bestowed me with abilities—mainly transformation and storage."
"I can transform into anything I've seen, with an identical aura. At my peak, my transformations could even possess some of the original's abilities."
"Now, I can only transform into soul beasts, probably due to my fragmented origin."
"As for storage, I have an independent space inside me to hold rare materials and treasures."
"Additionally, my aura can nourish these treasures. For this, the Dragon God assigned me to manage the Divine Realm's medicinal garden."
"Humans would call me logistics—responsible for cultivating, managing, storing, and transporting resources for my master."
"In fact, I'm not the only parasite the Dragon God raised; there are many, each with different powers and roles. I don't remember how many or who they are, except one named Xiaobao, who seemed like our leader." His voice suddenly dimmed, filled with sadness.
"I don't even know how many are still alive today."
The Red King and Ni fell silent, having just met Zhu Wu and unsure how to comfort him.
Seeing this, Zhu Wu shook his head. "Enough about that."
He paused, then continued introducing himself. "As a parasite on the Dragon God, we can't survive long away from him. I survived because of the faint dragon bloodline in me. My original form died, and only a sliver of divine consciousness remains—too weak alone, but supported by this bloodline. I guess you could say I'm lucky."
"Sometimes, being weak can be an advantage, because it gave me a chance to take revenge on the Divine Realm!"
"Whether that's possible, I'll have to discuss with Di Tian's guard," he sighed. "Besides, I've forgotten much. Most of what I said is just guesses from fragmented memories."
The Red King felt some admiration. At least Zhu Wu dared to dream and act!
He recalled Zhu Wu's fight with the White-Eyed Tiger—this logistics guy turned fighter and could hold his own against a stronger opponent after 1300 years was impressive. It showed how deep Zhu Wu's grudge against the Divine Realm, especially the Asura God, was.
His body had been sliced in two, divine core and consciousness shattered—a deep feud indeed.
Having crafted such a detailed story, and reading the Red King's expression carefully, Zhu Wu inwardly hoped, "I just want to avoid any memory searches or identity checks when I meet Di Tian or the Silver Dragon King later. That would be really bad."
Suddenly, the Red King's firm voice came: "There will always be hope."
Zhu Wu turned and nodded slightly. "Yes, there will always be hope."
They walked on, and knowing Zhu Wu's soul power was still weak, the Red King suggested he ride on his back to travel faster. Zhu Wu gladly accepted.
Mounted, their pace quickened. After a few hours, they reached the core area.
Zhu Wu didn't see the Greater or Lesser Ming areas—only knew they crossed a mist and heard flowing water nearby.
Eventually, they arrived at a bird-filled, flower-scented clearing. It was an island in the middle of a wide lake, dominated by a giant water cypress tree whose canopy shaded over a hundred meters. Around it, within nearly a thousand meters, no mist obscured the view, and the sky was clear. The lake shimmered and was crystal clear. Yet beyond a thousand meters, thick mist covered everything, reducing visibility to under three meters.
"Please wait here a moment," the Red King said politely after Zhu Wu jumped off.
"Okay." Zhu Wu nodded, watching the Red King return to human form and leap into the lake.
"Hehe, Senior Treasure Beast, this is where I rest outside. Uncle Di Tian's place is farther away. His surroundings are all water—boring." The Three-Eyed Golden Ni wagged her tail and approached.
"Come, I'll take you to my place. You can tell me about what you saw in the human world."
At this moment, the Ni was quite cute. Zhu Wu smiled, "Then I won't keep you."
"No problem! Follow me!" The Ni urged and led the way.
Zhu Wu followed briskly, soon arriving beneath the giant tree and entering a hollow.
Inside was a circular den over ten meters across, lined with layers of various soul beast pelts and feathers.
"No wonder there are so few light attribute soul beasts—this Three-Eyed Golden Ni has killed so many." Zhu Wu was impressed looking at the white pelts stacked high. No doubt, they all belonged to light attribute soul beasts.
The Ni strutted to the center, lay down, and patted the spot beside her.
"Senior Treasure Beast, come sit here!"
If you were Queen Wang Qiuer in human form, Zhu Wu might suspect you were teasing him.
He nodded and strode over to sit.
"Call me Xiao Ni," she continued. "Everyone does."
"Alright," Zhu Wu smiled. "Since you want to hear about the human world, I'll start with a general overview."
"First, the territory. The continent now divides into two great empires, one called the Tiandou Empire…"
As he explained human geography and culture, footsteps suddenly approached quickly.
Zhu Wu instinctively turned. Soon two black shadows appeared at the entrance: on the left, the humanoid Red King he had met before; on the right, a black-clad man with golden eyes.
"Uncle Di Tian!" The Ni lifted her head and stood.
Zhu Wu stood as well and stepped forward. He sighed, "Di Tian's chief guard, long time no see."
"How much do you remember about that great war?" Di Tian asked immediately.
Since Zhu Wu revealed those secret details, Di Tian basically confirmed he was indeed one of the Treasure Beasts. But to be sure, he wanted to ask directly.
He also hoped to hear what Zhu Wu remembered about the great war, especially what happened after he and their master escaped the Divine Realm—to see if there was useful information.
(End of Chapter)
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