Chen Jiuge cautiously cradled the Ya Dragon, only about the length of a palm, in his hand. The golden scales emitted a brilliant radiance under the sunlight, making him reluctant to even blink.

“How is it possible? It actually underwent Nirvana. Isn’t that an ability exclusive to the Phoenix?”

“Wrong. This isn’t an ability exclusive to the Phoenix. Many Spiritual Beasts and Spirit Plants have similar abilities. The transformation of the Dragon Clan has the same effect, only with greater side effects!”

“Are you speaking?” Chen Jiuge exclaimed in shock.

“Of course it’s me. Is there a second living creature here besides me?”

“Caw, caw, caw.”

A crow, as large as an eagle, flew over Chen Jiuge’s head, letting out a series of harsh cries.

The little Ya Dragon was somewhat embarrassed and angry. Its tiny horn emitted an imperceptible golden light, instantly evaporating the unfortunate crow, leaving not a single trace behind!

“Phew, now it’s just the two of us!” the little Ya Dragon said, its expression unchanged.

“Haha, you really know what you’re doing!” Chen Jiuge was a bit speechless. Why did this little Ya Dragon seem so unserious?

“Alright, let’s get down to business!”

“You should have realized by now that I’m not a Ya Dragon, right?” The little Ya Dragon crossed its small, short arms, barely managing to make a gesture of a human crossing their arms over their chest.

“Mm, what are you?”

“Sniff, sniff, sniff.”

“It’s the scent of the Chaos Pearl. I never thought that treacherous thing, Ying City, would be completely done for.”

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Tian Luo, and I’m the Messenger of the Nine Great Treasure Hosts!”

“Messenger?” Chen Jiuge asked in confusion.

“That’s right. Initially, the nine of them weren’t particularly close, but they managed to count as friends. Some among them were quite good friends, bound by complex relationships. But Cultivators?”

“In the pursuit of the Great Dao, many things are lost. The Blood Soul Host once had the idea to monopolize the Nine Great Treasures, and in a chance encounter, attacked the All Things Ruler. Although unsuccessful, it left the All Things Ruler heavily wounded.”

“Once such an event starts, doubts arise, but after knowing each other for so many years, they couldn’t just cut off contact. So I appeared!”

“My true form is an Aurora, possessing unmatched speed. Afraid others might hide something sinister, I was jointly refined by the Nine Great Treasure Hosts!”

“When they came to the Heavenly Gift Realm, they brought me along, and I was mainly responsible for their communication!”

“Wait, your true form is an Aurora, and you’re responsible for their communication. Then why are you appearing in a giant serpent’s body now?” Chen Jiuge asked in return.

“I don’t know. When the nine of them came to the Heavenly Gift Realm, this world was just beginning to develop, and even the Heavenly Dao had just been born. After some investigation, they discovered that this was a world with potential comparable to the True Realm. At that time, they divided the entire Heavenly Gift Realm into nine!”

“During that time, I was only responsible for directly sending messages between them, most of which were about resources, personnel exchanges, and such!”

“Until one day, the sky of the Heavenly Gift Realm shattered!”

Thinking of that terrifying scene, Tian Luo’s petite Ya Dragon body trembled continuously, a layer of cold sweat appearing on the surface of its golden scales.

“Can you imagine? The sky shattered, all at once. An incomparably gigantic hand firmly grasped the entire Heavenly Gift Realm, and the Heavenly Dao, which had developed a faint consciousness, had no resistance against this giant hand, being directly beaten back to its original chaotic state.”

“At the time, I was beside Ying City. Ying City said the giant hand’s target was the nine of them and asked me to send a message. Then, they did something to the Heavenly Dao that had reverted to chaos, and I was thrust into a Fierce Beast by the Blood Soul.”

“So, what is that giant hand? And you still haven’t explained why you are in that giant serpent!” Naturally, Chen Jiuge wasn’t going to believe Tian Luo’s words so easily.

“I don’t know what the giant hand is. It’s just a great terror. After all, they’ve visited many small worlds, especially the ones Blood Soul destroyed. Among them, there would occasionally appear things far beyond the world’s limits, but the terror is always based on the world’s inherent strength.”

“As for why I’m in the giant serpent, is it possible that the combination of Blood Soul and the Chaos Pearl’s abilities allows me to freely traverse each Fierce Beast’s body?” Tian Luo felt speechless, as if this guy didn’t quite understand the true power of the Nine Great Treasures!

“Combination? Freely traverse?” Chen Jiuge was shocked. How was such a thing possible?

Tian Luo sighed helplessly: “It seems you’re still a novice!”

“Blood Soul has an incredibly strong ability to control blood, with understanding of the blood path not lower than that of the Heavenly Dao. It might even be the source of the blood path itself, while the Chaos Pearl focuses more on the nurturing of Spiritual Beasts, possessing a unique understanding of the path of Life.”

“When the two join forces, they can create a Bloodline Secret Technique!”

“I don’t know its name; they created it on the spot. But I deeply feel its capability. It can transform me into an invisible, intangible existence of the Spiritual Beast Bloodline and can even continuously change the types of bloodlines, allowing me to traverse various Spiritual Beasts. Those beasts I possess cultivate faster!”

“To think there’s such a magical secret technique. But why did nurturing that giant serpent bring about Heavenly Punishment, and why did you emerge from the serpent’s skeleton?”

“It’s a method employed by the nine to prevent new Nine Great Treasure Hosts like you in this realm from recklessly using the treasure’s abilities. Doing so risks invoking the great terror of the past!”

“As for why I emerged from the skeleton, it’s an insurance they set up. I can sense the aura of the Nine Great Treasure Hosts. Once someone invokes Heavenly Punishment by using the treasure’s abilities, I can activate the restriction to absorb the nearest Spiritual Beast Bloodline, assuming a new form and starting a new life!” Tian Luo took a deep breath, tilting its head.

How many years had it been? How many years spent among these rubbish Fierce Beasts, enduring their stupidity, in endless solitude with no one to talk to? Such a terrifying ordeal, Tian Luo thought to itself, tears streaming down as it realized it finally saw hope.

“Uh.”

Chen Jiuge looked at the suddenly saddened Tian Luo, unsure of what to say. Could these ancient cultivators still burst into tears so easily?

“Slurp.”

“Chaos Pearl, let’s go!” Tian Luo said, calming its emotions.

“Huh?” Chen Jiuge was stunned before frowning. “First of all, don’t call me Chaos Pearl. I have a name. I’m Chen Jiuge. Secondly, I don’t recall saying I’d take you with me!”

Tian Luo’s small eyes widened constantly, seemingly about to pop out of its sockets: “You actually don’t want to take me!”

“Impossible. Didn’t Ying City tell you anything? That sneaky guy might have left some means to meet with you as the new host!”

“We did meet, but he wanted to seize my body. I saw through it. As for your matters, he truly didn’t mention anything!”

“Oh no, it can’t be. So deceitful! I haven’t changed my heart, and yet he went back on his word, abandoning me like this. That scoundrel is too much!”

After a bout of cursing, Tian Luo showed an extremely fawning smile, rubbing its tiny claws: “Um, well, Brother Chen, Big Brother Chen, you see I’m out of options now. After all, it’s because of you that I was able to emerge.”

“How about you carry it through and take me along? I know some of the abilities of the Chaos Pearl. Though I’m not sure how to use them, I know generally what effects they have and can surely help accelerate your understanding of the Chaos Pearl!”

Chen Jiuge shook his head slightly, reaching out to remove Tian Luo from his palm.

“Brother, Brother, don’t do this. It’ll be the death—not the death of a dragon!”

“I’m begging you, Brother, please take me along!”

Seeing Tian Luo, even tears and snot were bubbling out, Chen Jiuge suddenly felt a chill, as if an old being, outwardly an elderly man but mentally a small cute creature, was throwing a fit at him.

“How do I know you aren’t a backup measure they’ve left to deal with us new Treasure Hosts?” Chen Jiuge shrugged.

“Ha, that’s impossible. They’re long gone, dead as can be. Don’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“Once you sign with a treasure, indeed you gain a powerful ally, but there’s a downside: you can’t split your soul, greatly fragmenting your Divine Soul and Spirituality!”

“That means no Treasure Host can cultivate split-body life-saving Divine Skills!”

“As for Ying City, it seems he was tinkering with some Spiritual Essence. In any case, you say Ying City’s trace of Spirituality tried to seize your body—it’s impossible. It must be that with time, that trace of Spirituality had other ideas.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep