A Deal with the Sky Azure Bull Python

Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xiao Wu sat beside the Sky Azure Bull Python's enormous head, chattering away without pause.

"That jerk Bai Yi has such a terrible personality. He keeps knocking me on the head whenever he feels like it and never knows how to go easy on me."

"And he actually popped out of a rock. He's even a monkey that took human form, completely different from us."

The Sky Azure Bull Python's massive body lay half-curled on the grass beside the lake. Its bull head tilted slightly as it listened to Xiao Wu's complaints.

It could not help but chuckle. "Sister Xiao Wu, you actually like a monkey."

Xiao Wu's face instantly flushed red. She raised a hand and smacked one of its horns.

"What monkey? Da Ming, don't talk nonsense. He's very powerful. When he revealed his true form before, Er Ming immediately knelt down. He was even more respectful toward him than he is toward me."

The Sky Azure Bull Python rolled its eyes and looked toward the Titan Giant Ape lying nearby.

"Second Brother, is that true? You knelt to an ordinary monkey? That's a little embarrassing."

The Titan Giant Ape scratched the back of its head and said in a rough voice, "Big Brother, you don't understand Brother-in-Law's aura. The moment he revealed his true form, I had no thought of resisting at all. It was like... like seeing a golden giant ape whose head reached the heavens, like the ancestral god of our ape race."

The Sky Azure Bull Python flicked its tail through the water, its tone clearly skeptical. "Is it really as exaggerated as you say? We are Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Unless it is a true god, no one is worthy of making us bow our heads."

The Titan Giant Ape nodded solemnly.

"Big Brother, he also said he wanted me to become his soul ring. He said he could preserve my consciousness and let me ascend to godhood in the future, granting me eternal life."

The Sky Azure Bull Python suddenly lifted its head from the lakeside and let out a deep roar. "What? He wants you to sacrifice yourself and become a soul ring? Idiot Second Brother, you must have been deceived by that cunning human. Sister Xiao Wu, you must have been deceived too."

Xiao Wu sat atop its bull head with her hands on her hips. "Hey, stop arguing. Da Ming, you'll understand once you meet him. He's completely different from everyone else."

The Sky Azure Bull Python snorted, blasting two streams of air from its nostrils. "Hmph, don't let me meet that guy. He wants to steal away Sister Xiao Wu and my Second Brother? What a hateful human monkey."

The moment it finished speaking, a faint ripple suddenly spread through the air nearby.

Bai Yi's figure slowly emerged from the void. He stood quietly on the grass by the lake, his hands clasped behind his back.

He raised his eyes toward the Sky Azure Bull Python and calmly asked, "Were you talking about me?"

Xiao Wu's eyes instantly lit up.

She leapt down from the Sky Azure Bull Python's head and rushed to Bai Yi in a few steps, throwing herself into his arms. "Bai Yi! Why are you here?"

Bai Yi raised a hand and stroked the top of her head.

Seeing this, the Sky Azure Bull Python snorted heavily through both nostrils, its bell-sized eyes filled with obvious displeasure.

It scrutinized Bai Yi from top to bottom and said disdainfully, "You human monkey, your aura is rather weak."

Yet inwardly, it was filled with alarm.

When had this guy approached? It had clearly sensed nothing just now. With the perception of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, that should have been impossible.

The Titan Giant Ape looked left and right, scratching its head without saying anything.

Bai Yi gently patted Xiao Wu's back, signaling for her to move aside.

Xiao Wu obediently stepped to the side, though she could not suppress the excitement in her eyes.

Bai Yi took two steps forward and faced the Sky Azure Bull Python directly.

Golden light burst from his entire body. His short black hair instantly grew wildly, transforming into a cascade of loose golden hair.

Golden fur emerged across his body. His eyes turned crimson gold, with blazing light reflected within his pupils.

Four golden soul rings slowly rose beneath his feet. Each one shone like a blazing sun, radiating an ancient and vast aura.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Titan Giant Ape's enormous body crashed to the ground, its head lowered all the way to the earth.

The Sky Azure Bull Python's body froze.

The instant that aura crashed over it, every drop of blood in its body began to tremble.

That was not the aura of a soul beast. It was not even something a divine beast could compare to.

It was a primordial power that completely transcended the laws of this plane, like the first spring at the source of a river that had flowed for hundreds of millions of years.

Its limbs began to weaken. Its huge snake tail drooped uncontrollably, and its massive body slowly lowered.

It heard its own voice become dry and trembling.

"You..."

Bai Yi looked at it calmly, the golden light in his eyes slowly shifting.

He used Communication with the Nether, sending a thought directly into the Sky Azure Bull Python's mind.

"Do you still think I'm a human monkey?"

The Sky Azure Bull Python's body shook violently.

That thought contained the most primal source aura of the Lingming Stone Monkey, like a blazing sun crashing directly into the depths of its consciousness.

The Sky Azure Bull Python's neck bent completely. Its enormous bull head pressed against the ground, and its voice carried utter submission as it said:

"Great Supreme Being, please forgive this... this lowly one's offense."

Xiao Wu stood to the side with her hands behind her back, chin raised as she watched the scene. She said proudly, "Hehe, Da Ming. Now you know how good my judgment is, right?"

The Sky Azure Bull Python lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise its head or speak.

Bai Yi slowly withdrew the golden light around him. The four golden soul rings faded away one after another, returning him to his black-haired, golden-eyed appearance.

He walked up to the Sky Azure Bull Python and said calmly, "I came here to make a deal with you. The choice is yours. I won't force you."

The Sky Azure Bull Python raised its head, its gaze filled with reverence and confusion.

Bai Yi continued, "I hope the Titan Giant Ape will become my fifth soul ring. I have a way to preserve all of its consciousness while absorbing the soul ring. I can even place its soul within a clone I create."

The Sky Azure Bull Python's pupils contracted slightly.

Bai Yi looked at it and said, "Once I become a god, I will allow you both to obtain godhood as well—to become true divine beasts and gain eternal life."

The Sky Azure Bull Python remained silent for a long time.

It recalled the aura from earlier, the one that had made its very soul tremble. It recalled the Titan Giant Ape's description of that aura.

It had lived for a hundred thousand years and witnessed countless powerful beings.

Yet it had never encountered such absolute suppression at the level of one's very origin.

For an existence like this, becoming a god was only a matter of time.

The Sky Azure Bull Python slowly lowered its head and said, "I believe you."

It turned to glance at the Titan Giant Ape.

The Titan Giant Ape was lying on the ground, grinning at Bai Yi with an expression that was simple and sincere.

The Sky Azure Bull Python withdrew its gaze, its voice low but resolute. "My brother and I are willing to follow you. From this day forth, we will obey only you."