The Ink Qilin Clan's Future

Xuanqing shook his head helplessly. These ancient exotic beasts were truly wary by nature.

He did not approach any closer. Instead, he sat down cross-legged and took a jade bottle from his storage space.

The moment he removed the stopper, a refreshing fragrance spread through the air. It was the Three Lights Divine Water!

Looking at the few drops of divine water left in the jade bottle, Xuanqing felt a pang of heartache. This was something Master had given him—every drop used was one less remaining.

But when he thought of the boundless merit this little fellow represented, he gritted his teeth and flicked out a drop, sending it precisely toward Little Qilin.

Little Qilin instinctively tried to dodge, but the Three Lights Divine Water melted the instant it entered its mouth, merging into its body at once.

A vast surge of vitality erupted within it. Those horrifying wounds covering its body actually began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its previously listless aura swiftly recovered as well.

Little Qilin froze. It could feel that this drop of liquid was of immense benefit to it.

When it looked at Xuanqing again, there was finally less wariness in its eyes and more curiosity.

"How does it feel?" Xuanqing asked with a smile.

Little Qilin tilted its head, then cautiously took two steps toward Xuanqing. It stretched out its tongue and licked his hand.

"Haha, quite spirited, aren't you?" Xuanqing was in high spirits as he reached out and patted its head.

Though Little Qilin's fur was black, it was extraordinarily smooth to the touch.

Yet as he stroked Little Qilin, his divine sense swept through its body, and Xuanqing's expression abruptly changed.

He discovered that this little qilin's bloodline seemed even purer than he had expected!

The pressure originating from deep within its bloodline was faint, yet it carried the kingly bearing of one who ruled all beneath heaven.

Moreover, beneath its ink-black scales, a faint glow flickered.

An innate divine ability?!

This isn't an ordinary qilin... Stormy waves rose in Xuanqing's heart. Innate divine abilities were natal spells that ferocious beasts possessed from birth. Even if they were a full realm below their opponent, once they unleashed an innate divine ability, they could still hold their own without falling behind!

Judging from this qilin's appearance, Xuanqing carefully recalled what Master Yuanshi had once told him about the qilin clan of Honghuang. In an instant, a name leaped into his mind.

Ink Qilin!

The sovereigns of the qilin clan! Ink Qilin were one of Shi Qilin's direct bloodlines. Their numbers today were even scarcer than the descendants of Zu Long and Yuan Feng! So long as an Ink Qilin did not perish halfway through its life, it would possess at least Golden Immortal cultivation upon reaching adulthood, and might even have the hope of charging toward Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal and beyond!

Xuanqing sucked in a cold breath. Looking at the little fellow before him, still rubbing its head against his palm with a blankly adorable expression, he felt as if he had won the grand prize.

"So merit and fortune truly are as the living beings of Honghuang pass down by word of mouth. Right now, it feels like a dream."

Xuanqing muttered to himself.

If he could build a good relationship with this Ink Qilin in the future, it would be a thigh to cling to—a thigh that could even serve as a mount!

Xuanqing had only just recovered from the joy of finding treasure when he saw the little Ink Qilin crawling crookedly toward him.

Its round black eyes stared fixedly at the jade bottle in his hand. It even let out soft, coquettish whimpers, repeatedly rubbing its little head against the jade bottle.

Xuanqing's mouth twitched.

"In your dreams!"

His hands moved like lightning as he instantly put the jade bottle back into his storage space, the motion completed in one fluid sweep. He was afraid of being even half a second too slow.

What a joke. This was Three Lights Divine Water! A treasure bestowed by Master Yuanshi Tianzun—a sacred healing medicine that could even promote the growth of Spiritual Roots. It was incomparably precious.

If he had not previously enlightened several spiritual plants of Honghuang and accepted them as disciples for a bit of merit, he would not even have been willing to use it himself. Giving this little fellow one drop to heal its wounds had already been a massive loss, and it still wanted to drink it like water? No chance!

"Little fellow, this is for saving my life. It's very precious, so I can't give you any more." Xuanqing put on a stern face and lectured it in all seriousness.

The little Ink Qilin froze. The light in its large eyes instantly dimmed, and its head drooped, leaving it looking pitiful and aggrieved.

Xuanqing felt somewhat guilty, but he still hardened his heart.

When dealing with something that knew how to act cute, he absolutely could not go soft!

He cleared his throat and adopted a coaxing tone. "Well, it's not as if there's no chance at all."

The little Ink Qilin's ears immediately perked up, and it raised its head to look at him.

Xuanqing crouched down until he was eye level with the little fellow, then patted his own shoulder and gave it a meaningful look.

"Understand?"

The little Ink Qilin blinked, seemingly pondering the meaning of that gesture. It hesitantly looked at Xuanqing's shoulder, then at his empty hands, as if weighing the pros and cons.

A moment later, it seemed to make up its mind and gave a slight push with its hind legs.

With a whoosh, a black shadow leaped onto Xuanqing's shoulder. It settled there steadily, found a comfortable position, and rubbed its little head against him.

Xuanqing immediately broke into a grin.

"That's more like it." Satisfied, he reached up and scratched Little Qilin beneath the chin.

"Follow me from now on. As long as you behave, you won't lack good things like this."

The little Ink Qilin seemed to understand. It let out a cheerful cry and nodded.

Xuanqing was delighted. He rose to his feet, identified the direction, and prepared to leave this ancient battlefield.

He had unexpectedly gained an ancient auspicious beast—and one from the Qilin imperial clan, no less. This trip had been an absolute steal!

He rode the wind, turning into a streak of azure light, and swiftly vanished beyond the horizon with the Ink Qilin on his shoulder.

Not long after Xuanqing left, the space within the ancient battlefield twisted.

Two enormous figures appeared without a sound. They were two adult Ink Qilins.

One was slightly smaller, roughly a hundred meters tall. The scales covering her body glimmered with ethereal light in the gloom, and her aura was powerful yet restrained. She was a female qilin.

The other was even larger, more than twice the female qilin's size, like a moving black mountain. It stood there silently, yet the majesty born of the Qilin Clan's pure bloodline spread through the air.

"Brother, are we really just letting him take our child away? What about the Old Ancestor...?" The female qilin named Moyan spoke with anxiety thick in her voice.

Moyuan's enormous head turned toward the direction in which Xuanqing had departed, his deep eyes filled with complicated emotions.

He remained silent for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.

"This is an act born of helplessness."

His voice echoed through the empty ancient battlefield, carrying a trace of age and powerlessness.

"Have you forgotten the great calamity of old?"

At his words, Moyan's body trembled slightly, and her gaze dimmed.

That war, which had swept across all of Honghuang, was an eternal pain in the hearts of every Qilin descendant.

Moyuan continued, "The Dragon-Han Calamity turned heaven and earth upside down and shattered Honghuang. The Fortune Merit of our three clans was almost entirely scattered, and we were burdened with boundless karmic sin."

"Old Ancestor Yuan Feng became an Undying Firebird and suppressed the Undying Volcano. Though her descendant Kong Xuan possessed peerless talent, he alone could not hold up the falling tree. Old Ancestor Zu Long perished, and the Dragon Race's descendants were punished by the Heavenly Dao, forever trapped within the Four Seas—called the leaders of the aquatic clans, but in truth prisoners of heaven and earth."

"Our Qilin Clan may seem to have had the best outcome, but that, too, came at a price."

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