Chapter 49: Vast and Boundless

While a shock ran through his heart, Pei Ye's other hand finally hooked onto a rock, while the arm held by his first hand continued to slip away powerlessly.

Pei Ye halted his fall, exerted his strength in a leap, and carried the body in his hand back up to the slope.

Laying the man flat on the ground, Pei Ye felt along his arm for a moment. Just as he touched the man's nose and mouth, he heard that mouth say weakly, "Stop touching, I'm still alive."

Pei Ye let out a sigh of relief and looked around. It was dim and shadowy, the outlines unclear, so he wanted to find a source of fire to check Zhu Gaoyang's injuries.

And the moment this thought arose, a ball of ghostly blue flame ignited on his hand with a "poof."

Pei Ye was stunned for a moment, then released his hand, letting it float in the air as he leaned down to help Zhu Gaoyang.

Zhu Gaoyang's gray shirt was already soaked through with blood. Pei Ye helped him take off his outer garment and, under his direction, retrieved a bottle of medicinal pills from his abdomen—if the situation hadn't been so dire, Pei Ye really would have wanted to stick his head in there to see what else was stored inside.

With a pill swallowed, Zhu Gaoyang's complexion looked a bit better, and the outward gushing of blood was also staunched by his Qi.

"Are you feeling better?"

Zhu Gaoyang nodded. He raised his hand to tear off the disguise on his face, revealing a face that was pale, slightly gasping, and excessively handsome.

This face was dashing and upright; the arrogant and jumpy temperament that came from Zhang Siche had completely vanished, replaced by composure and even solemnity.

"Let's look at you first." He stared at Pei Ye's stomach and said, "What does it feel like now?"

Pei Ye felt it for a moment and frowned: "No feeling. Those liquids can still be mobilized as usual, but the light cocoon seems to have gone quiet. Oh right, and this flame—I didn't know how to do this trick before."

"It is hatching." Zhu Gaoyang coughed up a mouthful of blood and said, "This ability to produce flames should be a leakage of its authority. As the hatching progresses, you should gradually develop other abilities, just like that Qiongqi—we can verify my guess in the time to come."

"Hatching..."

"Originally, it shouldn't have needed this step." Zhu Gaoyang said, "Remember the bead floating above the fire field? The light cocoon provided the hatching ground, and that bead provided a massive amount of energy; it should have been able to complete this stage rapidly."

"Since that bead wasn't used, how long will it take to hatch?"

"I don't know. As time passes, you should be able to perceive its awakening yourself."

"After it hatches, what will happen? Will it turn me into that kind of monster?"

"How would I know?" Zhu Gaoyang gave a bitter smile, "I don't even know what it actually is. Although it looks like a Dantian Seed, what Dantian Seed is this bizarre?"

Pei Ye silently touched his stomach. After that seed burrowed in, the light cocoon in his abdomen seemed to have started operating quietly, and those clawing, dancing tentacles didn't seem likely to appear again.

And that seed was gestating inside; Pei Ye didn't have any very obvious feeling, and this seed didn't react to his stimulation either.

If a normal Dantian Seed were to sprout, aside from some secret methods, it would require tempering the body; once Qi and blood were sufficient, it would naturally be stimulated to break the seed and generate life.

Pei Ye had long since reached this standard. If what was in his abdomen right now were a normal seed, it should already have been able to be stimulated to sprout.

But now it was not. Rather than saying it was a plant seed, it was more like an animal's embryo. It did not germinate due to external sunlight and rain, but had its own hatching cycle.

No matter how vigorous your Qi and blood were, it had nothing to do with it; it had to absorb enough required nutrients before it would be willing to break its shell.

"Then what should we do?" Pei Ye asked.

"Proceed as usual." Zhu Gaoyang sighed, "If it had brought a Qiongqi, I would have killed it, cut out this seed, and brought it back to the Immortal Platform. Now that it's you, I'll just bring you back."

"Thank you for your mercy in not killing me."

"Haha." Zhu Gaoyang laughed, his tone bright and amiable, "I'll have to rely on you to carry me."

He lay limp on the ground, not moving at all.

Pei Ye hoisted him onto his back and identified the direction: "What place is this?"

"Head west, to Fenghuai County. Try to be as fast as possible; I don't know when the Candle World Sect will catch up."

"Fenghuai actually doesn't have the strength to deal with them."

"My companions will report my disappearance to the Immortal Platform, and the Divine Capital should dispatch heavy reinforcements."

"They have entered the mountains to look for you." Blue patterns crawled all over his skin, and Pei Ye sprinted westward with long strides.

"What?" Zhu Gaoyang frowned and sighed helplessly, "Little Zhi."

"But it certainly didn't delay the report. When will the reinforcements arrive?"

"There are many influencing factors; it depends on how far away the nearest Crane Inspector is. But to be honest, a single ordinary Crane Inspector isn't enough to pin down this situation. If they have to dispatch people from the Divine Capital, it will probably be two to three days."

"Two or three days... what will we rely on to hold out?"

"Rely on me." Zhu Gaoyang laughed weakly.

These words sounded quite heroic, but the person speaking was currently limp on Pei Ye's back, unable to move even a finger.

"Fine." Feeling this body on his back that was as soft as if it had no bones, Pei Ye didn't tear down his facade.

"Besides, we actually still have a helper."

"Who?"

"Do you know the purpose of our coming here this time?"

"Shang Lang said it was the descent of the Immortal Hunt."

"Mm, you've met him; Shang Lang's mouth is just like that." Zhu Gaoyang smiled, "Regarding the descent of the Immortal Hunt, actually, many people have misunderstandings—seeing that sometimes it's a Buddhist guardian or Qilin, and sometimes it's a Taotie or Xiangliu, they think the birth of a divine beast is like flipping a coin, either an Immortal Hunt or a Demonic Calamity."

"Isn't it?"

"No. In reality, when divine beasts are born, the Immortal Hunt and the Demonic Calamity always appear in pairs."

Pei Ye felt the little black dragon in his abdomen begin to listen intently.

"This is a conclusion the Immortal Platform reached decades ago. Although the reason is unknown, the two divine beasts born always exhibit all-encompassing repulsion and struggle. This struggle even elevates to the level of concepts: one side is an Auspicious Beast, the other side must be a Calamity Beast; one side controls water, the other side must have the ability to control fire; one side is good, the other side is evil; one side is calm, the other side is manic..."

"... So that's how it is." Pei Ye was quite shocked, but he soon discovered something wrong, "That doesn't seem very symmetrical; that Qiongqi could control both water and fire."

"Yes. This is the peculiarity of this descent of the Immortal Hunt." Zhu Gaoyang sighed, "This Qiongqi's growth was too rapid, and its numerous and bizarre abilities are not what a normal Demonic Calamity could possess. It possesses a trait that other Demonic Calamities before it did not have, and it is very likely that this trait is the core of the Candle World Sect's plot."

"Isn't that... this seed in my stomach?"

"As it currently appears, it's eight or nine tenths likely."

"So this seed was carried by the Qiongqi from the moment it was born?"

"Perhaps."

Carried from birth, as if it were an intimately symbiotic object, yet it could be spat out at any time to parasitize someone else—what kind of origin was this?

Pei Ye felt a strange sensation, as if this Qiongqi, a beast that made people tremble with fear, was merely a transport tool, and the meaning of its birth was just to bring this seed into the human world. ===== CHAPTER 50 =====