Natal Feather

Like True Dragon soul beasts possessing True Dragon's Reverse Scales, avian soul beasts also possessed Natal Feathers.

The Natal Feather of Bi Ji in her hand was likely the strongest Natal Feather in this plane.

Bi Ji's profound cultivation nearing six hundred thousand years endowed her Natal Feather with a powerful innate ability: it could take a death in her place! Once the Natal Feather was lost, Bi Ji would have no chance of surviving her six-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation and would inevitably perish beneath it.

Bi Ji's true form, the Emerald Swan, was a soul beast specializing in healing. Her Natal Feather possessed no offensive or defensive means and could only be given to the person closest to her.

From the vibrant ripples on the Natal Feather, Zi Ji seemed to see a miniature Lake of Life, rippling with emerald-green fluorescence.

A woman in an emerald-green gown stood at the center of the lake. Her beauty could topple nations, her skin as delicate as water, and her long emerald-green hair cascaded down her back with the incomparable softness of a waterfall.

Tall and slender, her fitted emerald-green gown perfectly outlined the curves of her delicate body. Her snow-white arms, tender as lotus roots, were exposed, while a pair of strange wings spread behind her—wings seemingly carved from gemstones, utterly natural and flawless.

The feathered wings were steeped in emerald green. Every feather was dazzlingly radiant, their lush, dripping green brimming with the aura of life, making their owner even more breathtaking, like a goddess of nature.

Yet this peerless beauty was now weeping quietly, grief-stricken and desolate.

The miniature Lake of Life beneath her seemed to have been formed from her falling tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Even beneath the faint sounds of sobbing, her voice itself still echoed like heavenly music.

"My healing abilities are of great use to My Lord. He definitely won't let me leave so easily."

"Once I assist My Lord in completing the great cause of reviving the soul beasts, he will surely take my contributions into account and won't make things too difficult for you over your abandonment back then."

"Also, Zi Ji probably thinks the same way I do. Don't blame her."

"And with Zi Ji's impatient nature, she should go look for you at the first opportunity after leaving My Lord's sight."

"But I won't be able to look for you anytime soon. My Lord will definitely summon me from time to time."

"Besides, we will surely have public identities while infiltrating the human world. If both of us leave at the same time, it will be easy for someone observant to notice and cause unnecessary trouble."

Zi Ji quickly finished reading the contents recorded in the ripples of the Natal Feather.

Only a few words remained on the emerald-green feather itself, as though water of life clung to its surface—words that could never fade: Wait for me. You must wait for me!

Having finished reading, Zi Ji froze in place like a statue.

Staring at the freshly arrived little sister Xue Ling, then recalling the Black-Robed Woman who had fled earlier, Zi Ji felt her beastly life had gone completely dark.

She had thought she was the first to come looking for Di Tian, but never in her wildest dreams had she expected to be the last one! "Damn it, how did I forget about Natal Feathers?"

Bi Ji had a Natal Feather, and she had a True Dragon's Reverse Scale that she could strip off!

This round, she had suffered a crushing defeat.

"Hmph!"

"Bi Ji only knows how to cry!"

After delivering what she thought was a highly "fitting" remark, she shoved the Natal Feather, which could take a death in one's place, back into Di Tian's hand.

"Don't worry. I'll convey what you want to say to Bi Ji and tell her not to worry. Di Tian is far more thorough than we are."

"You're still that Di Tian who cares for My Lord and worries over the future of the soul beast clan—the Beast God."

"And I'll say, Bi Ji, Bi Ji, stop crying already~"

"Di Tian's little life is much more comfortable than ours. Traveling with beauties at his side, enjoying the blessings of having them all, keeping company together in the mortal world and living freely and carefree~"

"Uh..." Di Tian did not know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing that, so he could only change the subject and ask about the recent circumstances of his other former colleagues.

"Them? They're still the same as ever."

"Xiong Jun has always been outwardly submissive but inwardly defiant toward you. Now he wants to take your place at My Lord's side even more, and he's been exceedingly attentive."

"Still, I think that even if you and My Lord went your separate ways and angered him, Xiong Jun still couldn't replace you."

"As for the others, aside from occasionally asking Bi Ji and me about you, they have been obediently carrying out My Lord's instructions."

Just as she listlessly recounted the recent circumstances of this group of colleagues, there came a knock on the Small Canteen's door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in!"

As soon as Di Tian gave permission, a man with his hair tied up entered.

His eyes swept over the room, and a flash of amazement passed through them.

But recalling Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua's warning—see less, ask less, hear less after entering—he quickly lowered his gaze.

"I am Xie Yinling, a member of the Forging Masters Association's guardian family. By order of the president, I have come to deliver the design blueprints for the Four-Word Battle Armor and God-level Mecha."

"The president said that these are only the rough versions that were just designed. The details will require much more time and careful planning."

As soon as he finished speaking, the long scroll in his hand was pulled away out of thin air in a blur.

Xie Yinling was not surprised by this.

The president had specifically warned and reminded him, even lending out the Small Canteen. How could the handsome black-haired, golden-eyed man before him be an ordinary figure?

Unrolling the scroll containing the design blueprints, Di Tian found a total of four designs.

The first two were designs for Four-Word Battle Armor and a God-level Mecha intended for a Soul Master with the Dark Sacred Dragon martial soul.

The latter two were updated versions created by Mu Ye and Zhen Hua based on the first two designs and the characteristics of Di Tian's true form, the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King.

Although they appeared somewhat rough compared to the first two blueprints, the materials were exquisite and exceptionally rare. There was no deliberate attempt to design them with inferior quality.

"Essence of Cold Iron, Dragon Pattern Black Gold, Ten Thousand Year Sinking Silver Silver Mother..."

Tsk, Forging Masters truly were one of the most profitable professions on the continent.

Even with humanity's current Soul Guidance Technology and mining capabilities, these rare metals and mineral materials remained incomparably precious.

His gaze continued smoothly to the end, where it lingered for a long while over the final few lines. They were Zhen Hua's message:

Gold of Life was compatible with all types of metals and mineral materials. Adding it would not only allow it to serve as an adhesive, but also raise the overall quality of the battle armor and mecha.

This would also increase the success rate when forging battle armor and mecha for soul beasts.

Neither my own collection nor anything circulating on the market contains such an unusual stone as Gold of Life.

The Beast God has lived through many long years and may perhaps have acquired some by chance. Would you be willing to provide one or two pieces?

Di Tian indeed still had some Gold of Life left. After surviving the latter half of the Million Year Soul Beast Tribulation—the Earth Fire Wind Water Four Extremes Four Tribulations—there was still less than half remaining.

And as the foremost among life-type metals, it truly was compatible with all kinds of metals and mineral materials.

But the humans standing at the upper levels of the continent all knew that Gold of Life existed within the Lake of Life at the core of the Star Dou Great Forest.

At this moment, Zhen Hua's deliberate mention of it carried a deeply intriguing true purpose.