Chapter 43: The Purple Jade Qilin

  Zhuang Xiong carefully looked at the strange beast, and saw that its body was as crystal clear as purple jade, with a height of two zhang and a length of over three zhang. It had the head of a dragon, the eyes of a lion, the back of a tiger, and the waist of a bear. Its body was covered in scales, and it clearly had the appearance of a qilin. However, it also had a pair of wings, which was strange because qilins were not supposed to have wings. Moreover, its four limbs should have been hoof-shaped, but instead they looked like the paws of a cat, either tiger or leopard. Most importantly, qilins were supposed to have cow-like tails, so why did this strange beast have a tail that was as long as a zhang and resembled a flattened dragon's tail? Was it still a qilin?

  Zhuang Xiong's eyes widened in surprise, his interest piqued. With a flick of his sleeve, a dark aura descended, but it was short-lived as the light reappeared. The strange beast had vanished, taken away by Zhuang Xiong. This move was executed with ease and finesse, exuding an air of mastery. Zhuang Xiong was pleased with himself, while the little demons below exchanged speechless glances.

  Zhuang Xiong didn't care about the thoughts of the little monsters below, but they were just ordinary minions. At this time, Zhuang Xiong was circling around the monster. The cloud that Zhuang Xiong's master was riding on was different from the clouds that hurried along the road. Since it wasn't seeking speed, it naturally sought comfort, and it was dozens of feet wide, enough to hold the monster. At this time, Zhuang Xiong was circling around the monster, marveling at it, which made the monster glare at him with a wary gaze, occasionally letting out a few angry roars to threaten him, as if it would pounce on him at any moment. Zhuang Xiong didn't care about its small threats and continued to examine it calmly.

  Zhuang Xiong looked around for a long time, especially focusing on the tail that seemed to emit a fierce aura, and couldn't help but feel speechless. He asked: "What exactly are you? A Qilin? A dragon? Or a flying bird?"

  The monster was unmoved, still warily staring at him.

  Zhuang Xiong rolled his eyes, rubbed his forehead and said, "It seems that communicating like this is a bit of a problem." After finishing speaking, Zhuang Xiong smiled warmly at the monster's eyes and said, "You can tell from my gaze that I don't have any malicious intentions, right? And you also saw my abilities just now. If I wanted to harm you, even if you resisted, it would be pointless, wouldn't it? Why not answer my questions properly instead? I'm really very curious, and if you answer well, I'll arrange a place for you to go. You can see that I have many connections and friends who are all powerful beings, so arranging a place for you will allow you to avoid being pursued and killed, won't it?"

  The monster finally put down its guard and nodded slightly with some hesitation.

  Zhuang Xiong couldn't help but secretly scold: "Unbelievable, you can understand human language, yet you're still a creature that doesn't know how to speak? How is it possible for a Qilin with such low cultivation to exist? Is it really a Qilin?" Zhuang Xiong thought to himself, and his eyes also revealed a skeptical look. He hesitated and asked: "Are you really a Qilin?" This guy finally knew that asking this way would be the easiest for a creature that doesn't know how to speak to answer.

  The monster nodded in agreement.

  Zhuang Xiong suddenly exclaimed: "How can you be a Qilin? How can a Qilin grow wings?"

  The monster then retreated like a startled rabbit, instantly retreating tens of meters, almost to the edge of Lao Ye Yun's cloud. The pair of wings suddenly retracted under Zhuang Xiong's astonished gaze, shrinking back into tiny wings only a few inches long, hidden under its ribs, shining like purple jade, flowing with light, and was quite lovely.

  Zhuang Xiong was stunned, his eyes wide with shock, and for a moment he was greatly shocked. He seemed to be in a daze, blinking blankly, but his mouth still said: "Then what about your claws and tail? I remember that Qilin aren't like this."

  The monster gave him a disdainful look with an odd gaze that seemed to say, "Silly hat, the Qilin shouldn't be like this."

  Zhuang Xiong was shocked, he was actually despised by the little monster. Am I not stronger than Ultraman? Do you think I won't fight you? However, Zhuang Xiong had never seen a Qilin before. When he crawled out of the Not Weekly Mountain, the Three Clans War had already ended, and the remaining members of the three clans had all gone to lick their wounds in a corner. Zhuang Xiong knew that maybe he could see the Dragon Clan in the Four Seas, or find the Phoenix in the South, but he really didn't know where to find the Qilin. However, according to legend, the Qilin was a heavenly beast, and this group of Qilins might have discovered the yet-to-be-revealed Heavenly Court and were hiding there now.

  Zhuang Xiong couldn't determine whether this monster was a Qilin or not, but he always felt that he had been fooled by it. He couldn't find any flaws for the time being, after all, he really hadn't seen a Qilin before. So he hesitated and said: "Okay, I'll temporarily admit that you're a Qilin, but how did you end up like this? Even if dragon tail and tiger claws are reasonable, what about these wings? Don't hide it anymore, I can still see them even if you try to conceal them. You're a combination of the three tribes, aren't you?"

  Zhuang Xiong saw that Qilin, well, let's just call it Qilin for now. Zhuang Xiong looked at the Qilin dodging back and forth before being called to a stop, then gazed at himself with a dazed expression, involuntarily rolling his eyes in secret. He almost forgot that this little thing couldn't speak. Forget it, he's already considered a great immortal now. The things that happened afterwards are hard to calculate, but the things that have already occurred can still be figured out. So Zhuang Xiong stopped asking the Qilin and instead began calculating with his fingers under the Qilin's slightly frightened gaze.

  Zhuang Xiong's calculation technique is not particularly powerful, but it can still handle this kind of thing. It turns out that the monster was indeed a Qilin, but it had half of its bloodline from the Hun Dun Demon God. During the Great War of the Three Clans, many survivors of the Hun Dun Demon God participated in the war and formed a deep connection with the three clans. It is highly likely that this little thing was born with a strong resemblance to the combined form of the three clans, so its mother hid it away secretly and went to participate in the Great War, but never returned. However, this allowed her own descendant to escape disaster. For Qilin or most living beings in Hong Huang, at this time, the Qilin is still in its youth, and without anyone to teach it, it would not be able to transform or speak, which is quite normal.

  Zhuang Xiong naturally knew at this time that the strange place of this Qilin was from the inheritance of the Hunyuan Shenmo, but although he deceived himself, Zhuang Xiong saw his pitiful life, born to find his mother and yet being hunted every day, couldn't help but feel sympathetic, and no longer blamed him. The problem was how to arrange for him? Thinking that this Qilin was born strong, with the blood of Hunyuan Shenmo, naturally having a strong physical body, and his talent could be said to be top-notch, Zhuang Xiong suddenly thought that he still didn't have a mount, and couldn't help but move his thoughts.

  Actually, Zhuang Xiong didn't really need a mount either, and at that time, the great divine powers hadn't started popularizing mounts yet. Actually, which of the great divine powers really needed a mount? It was just like a child, showing off in front of the door. Generally, they would find some exotic beasts to be different from others, not because they really needed speed. This Qilin was extraordinary by birth and had a hint of primordial demon bloodline, which made it slightly stronger than Laozi's green cow. It could still hold its own in front of the door.

  Zhuang Xiong smiled and said, "Don't think that I really didn't figure out your origins. It's just that I saw how pitiful you were born and didn't want to bother with you. But next time, don't try to deceive me like this." Seeing Zi Qilin look up at him with a timid expression and nodding his head, Zhuang Xiong continued, "You've been in the Hongyuan for so long, I'm sure you know about the Qilin tribe's situation. There's no need to search for your mother like this." Zhuang Xiong paused slightly before continuing, seeing Zi Qilin's gloomy expression, "Now that you're alone and have nowhere to go, but still want to survive... I happen to be short of a mount. Why don't I give you the identity of a nominal disciple? On ordinary days, you can listen to my lectures, and when we travel, you can serve as my attendant. When your cultivation is complete, we can make further arrangements. What do you think?"

  The purple qilin forgot about Zhuang Xiong for half a day with a dazed expression, and when he saw that Zhuang Xiong was still staring at him intently, he couldn't help but reveal a look of grievance. Zhuang Xiong was suddenly greatly stimulated and angrily shouted: "What kind of gaze is that? I am also a being who emerged at the beginning of the world, having heard the Tao in the Purple Mansion, discussing the Three Purities, and in the vast wilderness, I can be counted among the few. You won't be humiliated by serving as my mount. How can you still feel aggrieved?"

  That adorable Qilin tilted its head as if in thought, and finally gave Zhuang Xiong a look that said "Anyway, I don't have anywhere to go for now, so I'll just follow you for the time being". Zhuang Xiong was both surprised and helpless. To say that this Qilin couldn't speak, yet it could clearly convey its meaning through its eyes. But if it didn't want to give you an answer, it would show a confused expression, leaving you wondering whether it really hadn't understood or not.

  Zhuang Xiong shook his head, not wanting to delve deeper into the issue. He changed the subject and said: "We can't keep calling each other like this. From now on, you'll be called Zi Yu (Purple Jade), since you're as beautiful and transparent as jade. I'll call you either Ah Zi or Xiao Yu for now, but we'll see which one sounds better later. As for me?" Zhuang Xiong thought for a moment before saying: "From now on, I'm your husband."

  Zhuang Xiong casually said a couple of words, and didn't notice that the purple qilin was rolling its eyes. With a light leap, it jumped onto the back of the purple qilin, facing east and shouting loudly: "Departure, destination - East Sea! I want to build a happy divine nest in the East Sea!"

  At this time, the Hong Huang had not yet popularized the trend of riding mounts. The purple jade, originally a mount, was determined to show off its speed. Upon hearing Zhuang Xiong's order to depart, it instantly accelerated to its limit and transformed into a streak of light, dashing out. Zhuang Xiong was caught off guard and stumbled, but as a powerful Da Luo Golden Immortal, he naturally didn't fall off. He quickly regained his composure, sat up straight, and slapped the purple jade's head with a loud crack, shouting: "Stop! It seems I need to teach you some manners about being a mount!"

  Zi Yu stopped in her tracks, gazing blankly at Zhuang Xiong, a hint of grievance still visible in her eyes.

  "Alright, it's also my fault for not saying it earlier. Let me tell you, I didn't ask you to ride with me yesterday just because of your speed, got it? If we were really in a hurry, my speed would be much faster than yours. Even if you're faster than me, rushing around isn't my style. So, usually when I take you out, either we're traveling with others and you just need to not lose to other mounts, or if we're going out on business, we need to make an impression. What's 'making an impression'? It means being cool, being awesome, being majestic... basically, it means being able to grab people's attention in the first instance and holding their gaze. But when I'm just casually strolling around by myself, it's different. Did you notice my mount earlier? It was slow and leisurely, not rushed, comfort is important. Most importantly, I like collecting rare spiritual fruits, so we need to collect those along the way. Sightseeing and collecting spiritual fruits are the most important things, don't worry about rushing, if we need to speed up, I'll let you know."

  Zhuang Xiong was talking nonsense here, and Zi Yu's eyes flashed a hint of disdain. However, she immediately put on an innocent and cute expression, listening attentively and even nodding her head. Zhuang Xiong didn't notice the flash of disdain in Zi Yu's eyes and looked very satisfied. The two of them were like master and servant, one person and one beast, with one talking and the other nodding. After a while, Zhuang Xiong thought that Zi Yu should have understood and nodded his head in satisfaction. He leaned back against Zi Yu's back, propped up his legs, and said, "Alright, let's go. Don't forget to tell me if you find any Ling Gen Yi Guo along the way." This guy didn't even use his three-eyed six-eared divine sense, leaving everything to Zi Yu. He himself was holding a blue calabaza, taking a sip from it.

  However, it's unclear whether Zhuang Xiong didn't explain clearly, or if Zi Yu misunderstood, or if Zi Yu did it on purpose. Anyway, without Zhuang Xiong noticing, they gradually deviated from the original direction in a strange way. Zi Yu didn't directly change direction either, but according to his understanding, although he was heading east, when spiritual fruits appeared in the north, how could he not go? The old master's orders were that hurrying on the road wasn't important, spiritual fruits were the most important. Since they had already deviated north, then going to see the spiritual fruits in the due north direction wouldn't be a problem either, or even if it was west, it would also be fine?

  At this time, Zhuang Xiong was drinking wine while gazing at the white clouds in the sky, lamenting that he had fallen and it wasn't good. He didn't use his three eyes and six ears to explore the direction, nor did he know if he really trusted Zi Yu or if she was just being troublesome. Sometimes, using the exploration divine sense for a long time can be mentally exhausting. As a result, without Zhuang Xiong's awareness, and with Zi Yu following her own understanding of his words, the two master and servant moved slowly northward, westward, or sometimes southward, gradually heading towards the center of the Hongyuan continent along a complex and strange route.

  That day, Zhuang Xiong was woken up by Zi Yu once again. He dazedly put away the wine gourd, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly became stunned, staring blankly at the scenery in front of him. Zhuang Xiong said vaguely: "Is this the place you mentioned with the Lingguo?"