The immortal bone was destroyed, the Devil Beasts were dead, the spiritual resonance was severed, and the tower stood empty.
It was the only Devil Beast left alive in the Xuanqiong Immortal Tower!
And it was only a two-thousand-year-old child...
Where could it go?
Mist welled in the little beast's pitch-black pupils.
Those jutting ribs, those dull scales, that wilted little body...
Who could look at it without heartache and tears?
Changying declared, "I have the makings of an immortal. If needed, I can help you deal with trouble."
The little beast declared, "I-I'm strong."
Xie Feng accepted them both without reservation.
First, he wanted to meet the master of Guixu. Having Changying lead the way would work well.
Second, the Xuanji Sect consisted of only himself and Sushang, and would have to expand sooner or later. This little beast belonged to the Earth Qilin lineage and possessed immense strength. It could guard the gate, carry water, and such.
Thus, he treated Changying as a guest and took the qilin in as a servant.
"From now on, call him Master, just like I do!" Sushang pointed at Xie Feng and said in a clear, bright voice.
The little beast instantly burst into tears.
It was so excited!
The wandering child finally had a home...
Only Master was good in this world; a child with a master was treasured like gold.
On its skinny little legs, it slowly approached Xie Feng, clumsily clasped its two paws together, and, after saying, "Greetings, Master," gave him a deep bow.
Then...
It bowed again.
And bowed once more.
After exactly three bows, no more and no less, it raised its solemn face, crystalline tears shimmering in its eyes.
Xie Feng nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. Those were excellent bows. Never do that again.
"What's your name?"
"I don't have a name. I'm just called Earth Qilin."
The little beast shook its head as it spoke.
Xie Feng furrowed his brows. After a little thought, he said, "From now on, you'll be called Anping. Be content in pursuing the Dao, and live safe and sound."
Wow, what a rustic name.
I really have no talent for naming things...
It'll have to do.
Xie Feng's thoughts wandered all over the place.
Anping!
What a simple, heartfelt wish!
What profound hopes!
Master really put so much thought into me!
The little beast was moved to tears.
Changying bent her slender willow waist slightly. With a jade-like finger, she nudged Anping's head, sending the little fellow, whose height was already pitiful, staggering two steps.
Master, she's pushing me around!
Boo-hoo...
Changying carried a pleasant scent of flowers mingled with wine. When she came close, that scent grew especially rich and intoxicating.
She stared unblinkingly at Anping and suddenly said, "Oh~ The longer I look, the more ugly-cute this little fellow seems! Keeping one would certainly relieve boredom."
As though some strange soft spot had been awakened, she fondled and prodded the little beast, unable to keep her hands off it.
"What's this?"
Changying touched two little furry things.
Anping's green beast body instantly turned red, like a steamed lobster of some bizarre shape.
"Pfft~"
Unable to hold it in, Sushang covered her mouth and snickered.
The corner of Xie Feng's mouth twitched.
"You!"
Anping practically steamed with fury.
It hurriedly tucked in all four limbs and flattened itself against the ground, leaving not the slightest opening.
What is wrong with this woman?!
Why does she get to do whatever she wants, hey?!
I'm no longer pure...
It felt so wronged that tears threatened to fall.
With a stir of its mind, a pale purple radiance burst forth and enveloped its entire body. Its form rapidly grew, and within moments, it had transformed from a ferocious Devil Beast into a youthful boy!
He had a tall, slender figure and a lean frame. Long black hair hung loose over his shoulders, its strands somewhat dry and frizzy.
With thick brows, round eyes, and lips pressed into a sharp line, he could not be called a beautiful youth, but his green-gold eyes were mysterious, otherworldly, and deeply captivating.
His cultivation was at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm Ninth Stage!
He could take human form!
Light swirled around him, clinging to his body and becoming a pale purple robe.
Anping stood up. At a full 1.8 meters, he was half a head taller than Changying. His face was filled with vigilance, his defenses tightly secured for fear of having his "chastity violated" again.
"Men and women should keep their distance. Now you can't go touching me!"
He warned her indignantly.
Changying's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Anping.
Suddenly...
Two blushes flashed across her delicate, ethereally elegant face. She hurriedly darted a hundred meters away, untied her immortal gourd, and hastily began drinking.
She...
Had spent so many years in the immortal paradise of Guixu...
That she had developed a condition called "blushing at the sight of young men whenever she ventured into the world"...
It flared up from time to time...
She needed a drink to calm down.
"Master."
Anping cupped his hands in greeting to Xie Feng.
Xie Feng suddenly recalled how Anping had been kicked out of the crowd of Devil Beasts on the thirtieth floor. It had been a very puzzling act.
There had been plenty of enormous beasts then, while it had been the scrawniest of them all!
When facing an enemy, the strongest should lead!
"Well..."
The light in Anping's eyes dimmed.
He told Xie Feng about his origins and what he had endured in the immortal tower.
Anping's parents had been among the first generation of divine beasts buried as sacrifices with Xuanqiong!
Over the long years, they had evolved into immortal beasts, becoming two of the immortal tower's foremost guardians and acquiring higher thought.
They had realized that the immortal tower was a prison and resolved to escape.
The immortal's will guarded the tower's top floor, making it difficult to break through. To escape, they could only go down and leave through the first-floor entrance!
The two immortal beasts had fought their way down from the thirty-fifth floor. Back then, the tower had held many immortal beasts, most of which had innate intellectual deficiencies in their evolution and were not as intelligent as qilins!
The immortal beasts were blindly loyal!
Ten immortal beasts had besieged them, and in the end, both sides had perished together!
Anping had been a thousand years old then!
Among Devil Beasts with endless lifespans, that was merely a child!
Over the next thousand years, he had become the son of traitors, meeting cold looks and bullying wherever he went.
He had scurried like a rat through the thirty-six floors.
Other Devil Beasts occupied fixed floors. Because the blood of the primordial sacred beast, the Earth Qilin, flowed in him, he could ignore the intimidating presence on any floor and roam freely-or wander homeless, one might say.
That was why, when Xie Feng and the others had broken in, he had been kicked out and forced to his death!
Anping lowered his head. That dark experience had shaped his sensitive, easily frightened disposition.
Suddenly...
A small hand patted his shoulder.
Anping looked down. Blinking her almond-shaped eyes, Sushang stood on tiptoe and earnestly offered comfort. "Don't be sad. With Master, you have a home now! Master is the very, very, very, very-a hundred times very-best person in the whole world!"
Sushang smiled, her plump, apple-round face so lovely that it made one want to pinch it.
Anping's lips puckered, his nostrils quivered, and he let out stifled sounds of "Mm-hmm," tears about to spill from his eyes.
He was so touched!
"All right!
"We've found the Ten-Thousand-Year Immortal Bone. Next, we return to the Xuanji Sect and refine pills!"
Xie Feng delivered the final conclusion.
On the way out of the immortal tower, Sushang and Anping whispered to each other.
"What's the Xuanji Sect?"
"It's Master's territory. It's super awesome!"
"Can I eat it? I'm so hungry I could eat ten tigers!"
"Don't you dare!"
"Uh... Haha, sorry, I forgot you're a tiger..."
"It's really amazing in there. There's a technique tower, a pill chamber, Mung Bean..."
"Can I eat the technique tower?"
"If you dare, Master will beat your butt off!"
"..."