Chapter 456: Butterfly Bird

The long, long years.

A hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years—on the scale of the world, they are but a fleeting moment in the vast sea.

"Sitting and watching the bustling traffic, glancing at flowers while riding on horseback.

Arriving in a hurry, departing in a hurry, thinking of it... is long and lingering."

The middle-aged man was dressed in gold, a white jade belt tied around his waist, his appearance refined and his eyes handsome.

Before him lay a forest of chaotic graves.

In his eyes, there was nostalgia, and also reluctance to part.

"Master, how long are we staying this time?"

The young girl stood to one side, a look of curiosity on her face.

This was her master's old home; she had heard that every so often, her master would return to his old home to revisit it.

"One day." The white-robed man's gaze was profound, as if he had experienced all the vicissitudes of life.

He stood where he was, as if waiting for someone, yet also as if he could wait for no one.

"Master, then can I go out and play?" The young girl was eager to try.

The white-robed man nodded: "Alright."

With a cheer, the young girl left this place.

After an unknown amount of time, a strange figure appeared here.

"Ye Di, I didn't expect you to come again." The newcomer was dressed in black, with an aged voice and half a mask on their face.

"Hong Ying..." Seeing the person who had arrived, Ye Di sighed in his heart, "There are fewer and fewer old friends left."

"But there are still a few old things alive, for example... Shengtian."

Hearing this, Ye Di felt quite emotional.

This place was his hometown.

Ten thousand years ago, he was just a Beast Tamer Apprentice.

He was young and full of life, playing a game.

However, after the game's big boss fell, they, the players, were all suddenly kicked out of the game.

No matter how they tried, they could never enter the game again.

If it weren't for the fact that many people had this experience, Ye Di would have even thought it was a dream.

Ten thousand years ago, they, the players, searched for a long time for news of that game and the whereabouts of the Manager.

But there were no results.

At first, this group of game friends would still gather together.

In the end, all the players went their separate ways.

Some married and had children, some died of an epidemic, and some left this world to begin a path of cultivation.

To this day, ten thousand years of time have passed.

Ye Di still deeply misses the years from back then.

"Hong Ying, be careful, you have climbed to the ninth place on the Thunder Wanted List.

I do not wish to see another old friend wither away," Ye Di said slowly.

Hong Ying smiled, a look of disdain appearing on their face: "Why, are you afraid that I will implicate you and affect your official career?"

Hearing this, Ye Di smiled helplessly.

There were some misunderstandings between him and Hong Ying.

Half a month later, a massive phoenix boat flew above the Heavenly Vault.

Looking down from above the Heavenly Vault, it was a scene of devastation, with ruins everywhere.

The once-flowing steel and mud had long since been shattered.

The young girl followed by Ye Di's side, a trace of pity in her eyes: "Master, is this the Lost Zone?"

"Mm."

"I heard that there are many... people in the Lost Zone."

"Yes, suffering people struggling to survive."

"Master, I picked up quite a few Pet Beast eggs in your hometown; can I throw them down?"

In the Lost Zone, everyone was a descendant of sinners.

The environment of the Lost Zone was extremely harsh, and there were no strongholds of large merchant associations, so Pet Beast eggs could not be purchased.

Therefore, the descendants of sinners living in the Lost Zone almost never had the ability to leave the Lost Zone.

According to what the young girl knew, the space of the Lost Zone was extremely fragile and might collapse at any moment.

When that time came, all the living beings in the entire Lost Zone would be destroyed in an instant.

And to leave the Lost Zone and abandon the status of a sinner, the only way was... to become a Beast Master!

At this moment, the young girl carried seventy-one Pet Beast eggs on her, all of which she had picked up in Ye Di's hometown.

Ye Di looked at his disciple, his gaze filled with a trace of doting, and he nodded: "You may throw them."

"Master is the best."

The young girl cheered and tossed the Pet Beast eggs she had collected down from the sky.

More than seventy Pet Beast eggs descended from the sky, scattering and falling into various parts of the Lost Zone.

Seeing this scene, Ye Di felt somewhat melancholy in his heart.

The world was becoming more and more chaotic, and there were more and more Lost Zones.

He glanced at the falling Pet Beast egg, thought of something, and said casually, "Are you still searching for that legendary... dragon egg?"

Upon hearing this, the young girl revealed an embarrassed expression: "Since I have gone to Master's hometown, naturally I cannot let it go.

That is a dragon with wings; its left eye is life, and its right eye is destruction."

An excited expression appeared in the young girl's eyes.

Ye Di smiled: "The Yuan Palace has been searching for tens of thousands of years; if it truly existed, how could it not be found?

Moreover, all of this relies on fate.

Otherwise, even if it appeared before you, you would only think it was an Ordinary Pet Beast egg."

"Master, you say, is it possible that among the Pet Beast eggs I just threw down, there was that very dragon egg?" the young girl fantasized.

"Hahaha." Ye Di also laughed loudly; he remembered when he was young, he would also dream like this.

He thought again of that mysterious Manager.

However, he still had no news of that person.

He only guessed that that person's strength... must be unimaginably high.

Otherwise, how could their dilapidated little world have produced several powerhouses?

Moreover, they were all former game players.

……

Lost Zone.

A sixteen-year-old youth in fine robes rode a tall Li Horse, holding a bow in his hand, drawn into a full moon.

His expression was arrogant and full of malice as he looked at the guardian beside him: "Fat-headed Bird, how was the taste of Princess Xinyue?"

Fat-headed Bird had a fat figure, his eyes squinted into a slit; hearing this, a lewd expression appeared on his face: "It was good, it was good, it's just a pity she couldn't withstand the tossing."

However, thinking of something, Fat-headed Bird said: "Young Master, we should be more careful next time; doing this kind of thing can be more subtle, otherwise we wouldn't have been banished to this godforsaken place.

I don't feel much, it's just that the Young Master is suffering."

Hearing this, the malice on the fine-robed youth's face grew even stronger: "Didn't I just sleep with Empress Yunshang? That dog Emperor went to the Yuan Palace to report me, causing me to be banished.

It was clearly Empress Yunshang who saw my noble status and deliberately seduced me with the Pianhong Dance; I couldn't help myself for a moment."

The fine-robed youth was a second-generation member of the Yuan Palace with a noble status.

He passed through the Chen Kingdom, and the Emperor of the Chen Kingdom treated him with great hospitality.

The fine-robed youth had long known that Empress Yunshang was the number one dancer of the Chen Kingdom, and her Pianhong Dance was even more stunning to the world.

Therefore, he had the Empress of the Chen Kingdom perform a Pianhong Dance.

The Chen Kingdom was weak and could not refuse.

When Empress Yunshang performed the Pianhong Dance, the fine-robed youth grew covetous.

Taking advantage of the night, he and Fat-headed Bird wreaked havoc in the inner palace.

"I heard that bitch committed suicide; is this looking down on me?

When I go back, I must sleep with that Empress Dowager of the Chen Kingdom; I heard she is also a great beauty!"

The fine-robed youth was accustomed to being arrogant.

After all, the power of the Yuan Palace was truly too strong.

As he spoke, he released the bow in his hand.

A feathered arrow shot out, instantly killing a scavenger fleeing in front.

Seeing the scavenger's terrified expression, the fine-robed youth showed a look of disdain: "Who could have known that a once incomparably noble bloodline would now only be able to become a wild dog in the Lost Zone!"

The fine-robed youth was assigned to the Lost Zone with another task to complete, which was to Slay the remnants.

Ten thousand years ago, his family went to war with another family, and the family he belonged to won.

The other family's direct line all perished.

However, the other family ultimately had some connections, making it hard to slaughter them all, and some people always escaped.

Now, in this Lost Zone, there was a small town of a thousand people, which was the remaining bloodline of that family.

Now, he rode his Li Horse, drawing his bow from time to time to shoot and kill those defenseless mortals.

Among them, he did not even spare the infants in swaddling clothes.

While shooting and killing, he revealed a smile.

It was as if the slaughter could soothe the anger in his heart.

"Kill."

The fine-robed youth shot another arrow.

"Young Master has good archery; one big and one small, two skewered like candied haws," Fat-headed Bird laughed from the side.

Just now, the fine-robed youth had shot and killed a thin middle-aged man with one arrow, while also piercing through a young child in his arms.

The fine-robed youth was listless and yawned: "Boring."

As he spoke, he drew his bow again, directly piercing through the body of a little girl in the distance.

The powerful impact carried by the bow and arrow directly knocked the girl flying.

"Eh, not dead." The fine-robed youth was slightly stunned; he looked at the little girl of about seven or eight years old, and the expression in his eyes changed slightly, "It's actually a direct bloodline, with Tian Die protecting the body?"

The fine-robed youth's gaze became heated.

That was a direct bloodline!

A bloodline not inferior to his own.

"Interesting, I've seen this little look too many times," the fine-robed youth chuckled.

The thin little girl, on the verge of death, looked at the fine-robed youth with intense hatred in her eyes.

But in the next breath, the little girl's eyes suddenly became bright, as if it were a flash of light before death.

Just then, a plain-looking Pet Beast egg descended from the sky; the little girl reached out her hand, wanting to catch it, but in the end, her hand fell weakly.

Her life force was constantly fading, already as thin as a strand of silk.

However, that Pet Beast egg happened to land right in the little girl's hand.

A flash of white light streaked by, and between the two, a contract was unexpectedly formed.

The youth in fine clothes saw this scene, his eyes revealing a look of wild joy: "The Pet Beast egg initiated the contract? Could this be a Heavenly Absolute-level Pet Beast egg!"

Pet Beast eggs are divided into seven levels: Awakening, Elite, Commander, King, Overlord, Heavenly Absolute, and Mythical.

A Heavenly Absolute-level Pet Beast egg is extremely rare.

Even the youth in fine clothes, as a direct descendant of the Yuan Palace, did not possess a single Heavenly Absolute-level Pet Beast egg.

Now, that little girl was nearing death and was fundamentally unable to initiate a contract.

Therefore, it must have been the Pet Beast egg that initiated the contract.

That is... at the very least a Heavenly Absolute-level Pet Beast egg!

A look of greed also appeared in the eyes of the fat-headed bird: "Young Master, I will go help you seize that Pet Beast egg.

Even if it is contracted, I will still refine that girl's soul out and give her Pet Beast to you."

As the fat-headed bird spoke, he charged straight toward the little girl.

He did not even summon his Pet Beast.

After all, with his strength, he could walk sideways through the Lost Zone.

The fat-headed bird's large hand reached out instantly, wanting to snatch that Pet Beast egg away.

Just then, however, a ray of light suddenly erupted from the Pet Beast egg, knocking the fat-headed bird away directly.

Seeing this scene, the fat-headed bird's expression changed drastically.

"How is this possible!"

A look of shock also appeared in the eyes of the youth in fine clothes: "Could it be a Mythical-level Pet Beast egg?"

But, a Mythical-level Pet Beast egg shouldn't be able to, upon being contracted, just...

The fat-headed bird thought of something, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, the greed within them even greater.

He recalled some legends.

Above Mythical Pet Beasts, there are even higher levels.

If he were to seize it... he dared not imagine it.

Without any hesitation, he directly summoned his Pet Beast, the Black Flame Demon Dog.

The Black Flame Demon Dog had a massive body, with black flames radiating from it.

The Demon Dog suddenly opened its mouth wide and swallowed in one gulp.

The Black Flame Demon Dog did not swallow the little girl, but instead swallowed all the living beings in the vicinity, including that youth in fine clothes.

"No, fat-headed bird, you dare to betray me!"

The youth in fine clothes let out a miserable scream, meeting his end inside the dog's belly.

A trace of coldness flashed in the fat-headed bird's eyes: "Why is it that you get to sleep with the Empress, while I can only sleep with a Princess?"

This Pet Beast egg was of great importance, and he did not want the news to leak out at all, so he killed the youth in fine clothes directly.

Once the news leaked, if the big shots of the Yuan Palace came here, he would have no chance at that Pet Beast egg whatsoever.

After disposing of everyone cleanly, the fat-headed bird looked fierce and walked toward the little girl who had almost no life force left.

"Pet Beasts have spirits; she is already dying.

You might as well follow me."

The fat-headed bird walked over slowly, and he summoned several more Pet Beasts to guard his side.

One of them merged into one with him.

However, the little girl remained lying there, and the mysterious Pet Beast egg she had newly contracted ignored him entirely.

A smile remained on the fat-headed bird's face: "Since you are unwilling, then don't blame me for using force."

As he spoke, the fat-headed bird signaled the Black Flame Demon Dog, and the Black Flame Demon Dog immediately sprayed out dense flames.

The temperature of this flame was extremely high, comparable to underground magma.

This kind of flame was enough to burn the young girl to ashes.

Yet, to the fat-headed bird's surprise, a white light appeared around the little girl, resisting the flames.

The greed in the fat-headed bird's eyes grew even more intense as he looked at the white light: "Such strong vitality. Is this Pet Beast's attribute healing?

It hasn't even been summoned yet, yet it can resist my attack just by relying on instinct..."

The fat-headed bird's gaze was burning.

After contracting a Pet Beast, some of the Pet Beast's traits will be reflected back onto the master.

Even if the master does not summon the Pet Beast to fight, these traits can protect the master.

That little girl was at most an Awakening-level Beast Master; a Pet Beast contracted by a Beast Tamer Apprentice, even without being summoned, possessed such terrifying power.

How could the fat-headed bird not be tempted?

If he were to contract it!

He dared to imagine that he would be able to walk sideways through the Yuan Palace in the future!

"Attack together, break through that layer of defense!" the fat-headed bird ordered, and immediately, all the Pet Beasts he had contracted charged ferociously toward the little girl at this moment.

Otherwise, once the little girl woke up, if she happened to summon that terrifying Pet Beast, who knew what accidents might happen.

But the next instant, a terrifying, chilling voice came through.

"Die."

The voice sounded as if it had crawled out from hell, carrying endless fury.

The five ferocious Pet Beasts had their bodies instantly stiffen, turning into fragments.

A look of shock appeared in the eyes of the fat-headed bird as he looked at the little girl who had yet to wake: "How is this possible!"

His body also began to disintegrate at this moment.

At the very end of his consciousness fading away, he seemed to hear a whisper: "Butterfly Bird."

Radiance enveloped the young girl, slowly healing her body.

Endless tenderness.

(End of this chapter)