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Qin Zhou had just emerged from the bottom of the lake when he ran into Shen Yun, who was coming down the mountain.

Seeing that he was unharmed, Shen Yun thought to himself that he had indeed worried needlessly. “Senior, how is Senior Lu Yi?” 

“He’s fine. Why are you here?”

Shen Yun didn’t mention Yan Qi; he simply said, “I heard quite a commotion just now, so I came to check on the situation.”

“Nothing much is happening here.” Qin Zhou thought for a moment and asked, “Which sects have sent disciples to Qiling this time?”

Shen Yun didn’t quite understand the question, but answered truthfully, “The major powers—Zhu Mingshan, the Nine Imperial Courts, and Shanning Realm—have all sent disciples. There are also many from smaller sects. However, the disciples from the major powers have better talent, so the competition is fiercer.”

Speaking of which, Shen Yun couldn’t help but think of Yan Qi.

In a world where spirit beasts are commonplace, it was surprising that some cultivators chose not to undergo the Spirit Awakening. Indeed, aside from taming spirit beasts, cultivators had other paths to follow, but those paths weren’t necessarily as straightforward as this one—after all, the history of beast tamers was built upon the accumulated wisdom of countless predecessors.

“Let’s go take a look.” Judging by the timing, even if it wasn’t quite time for the protagonist to come to the Red Cloud Sea to awaken their spirit, it should already be the time for them to join a sect or faction.

Although the Spirit Mountain Realm is vast, there aren’t that many sects; the protagonist has only a handful of major factions to choose from. Of course, if this “protagonist” is a bit of a maverick… that’s another story.

“Shen Yun, aside from the news about the World Tree, there’s one more thing I need your help with.”

“Senior, please feel free to give me any instructions. As long as it doesn’t violate the principles of righteousness, the Red Cloud Sea will certainly assist you,” Shen Yun replied without hesitation. His willingness to help without a second thought greatly comforted Qin Zhou.

“I’m looking for someone. I don’t know their name, gender, appearance, or sect. I suspect you might be searching for them as well. They are the incarnation of the Golden Dragon Cauldron, one of the Ten Divine Artifacts.”

Shen Yun paused. The Golden Dragon Cauldron.

Indeed, in order to completely exterminate the sea monsters, the Red Cloud Sea had been secretly searching for the Ten Divine Artifacts. After thousands of years, they had finally found nine of them. But this last one had always eluded them.

Until a few decades ago, when someone witnessed a golden light shining in a certain village—a pillar of light reaching to the heavens, signaling the artifact’s emergence.

“Are you saying, Senior, that the Divine Artifact… is a person?” Shen Yun was confused. But from what Qin Zhou implied, could the Golden Dragon Cauldron have already taken human form?

“The spirit of the Golden Dragon Cauldron entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn some fifty years ago. It was born in Wanling Village and re-entered the world two years ago.”

Shen Yun paused. “Then can I send people to Wanling Village to look for him?”

Qin Zhou shook his head. “You can send people to try. But it’s highly likely he’s changed his appearance and name.”

“I see,” Shen Yun said solemnly. “Once we find the divine artifact, we can completely exterminate the demon beast and finally release Senior Lu Yi.”

Although Shen Yun served as the current Lord of the Red Cloud Sea, he had no idea that Senior Lu Yi hadn’t ascended and departed after all, but had remained at the bottom of the Red Cloud Sea all along.

It was likely that Senior Lu Yi had remained at the bottom of the lake all this time precisely to suppress that demon beast.

“However…” Shen Yun felt a burning sensation on his forehead. “Senior Lu Yi has been at the bottom of the lake for thousands of years, yet the Senior Lu Yi from the Zhutian Realm doesn’t seem to be the same person as this one…”

Last time, Senior Qin Zhou told him something about parallel… it was also hard to understand.

“So, is Senior Lu Yi the same person as the Senior Lu Yi from the Zhutian Realm?” Shen Yun was completely baffled and could only manage to ask this one question. “Yes.”

He simply wasn’t aware of everything that had happened here. Every aspect of the story—from the plot to the physical form—had been bestowed by him, the creator.

After all, even Qin Zhou hadn’t known at the time of creation that he would encounter a living, breathing Lu Yi in the Zhutian Realm.

With the Creator’s approval, Shen Yun stopped dwelling on it. “Then I’ll send someone to find the person who has taken the form of the Golden Dragon Cauldron.” 

“After the Spirit Awakening ceremony, I’ll also sound out those disciples.”

“Once the protagonist makes an appearance within the sect, he’s bound to exhibit some ‘extraordinary’ traits.”

“After all, that is the incarnation of a divine artifact; whether in cultivation or natural talent, he is bound to be a cut above the rest.” “Understood.”

“Very well, I’ll go with you,” said Qin Zhou. It wasn’t that he feared Shen Yun might overlook something, but since this concerned the Son of the World, he had to exercise the utmost caution.

Shortly after Qin Zhou and Shen Yun left, Yan Qi arrived at the lakeside with his little puppet. The clouds were already turning red, and the water’s reflection was gradually taking on a reddish hue as well.

Yan Qi introduced the scene to the little wooden puppet: “This is the Red Cloud Sea. The center of the Spirit Mountain Realm.” 

“Look, it really is very red.”

Lu San nodded and took a step forward.

“You can’t go over there. There’s a demon beast lurking at the bottom of this lake.” Yan Qi pulled Lu San back. “It’s very dangerous.”   

“What kind of demon beast?”

“They eat people’s hearts.” Yan Qi cast his gaze toward the lake. The calm surface, as if tinged with the hues of the sunset, was unfathomably deep.

“Are you afraid?” Lu San looked up and asked.

Yan Qi thought for a moment and said, “I shouldn’t be afraid. But I don’t seem to have a heart demon. The more heart demons a person has, the more they fear them. If it were to emerge, it would bring utter devastation. Even the Master Tamers want to set it free.”

“Then let’s kill it,” Lu San replied. Massive suffering—that’s no good.

Yan Qi nodded. “But I can’t kill it. Besides me, we’ll need nine divine artifacts.” Lu San said earnestly, “I can forge artifacts.”

Yan Qi: “You’re so skilled.”

Lu San shook his head. “If I can’t do it, there’s always the Village Chief.”  

“The Village Chief?”

Lu San described him: “He’s my master. He’s very powerful and skilled at forging artifacts—he can even forge divine artifacts.”

The little puppet suddenly spoke a lot. Yan Qi thought that his little puppet must really like this master of his. An image of an old man with white hair, resembling a little puppet, appeared in Yan Qi’s mind.

“Can you introduce him to me?”

Lu San looked up at him. Yan Qi had a kind heart and was very calm—a good kid. So Lu San said, “Sure.”

Getting back to the matter at hand, they had come here to investigate the strange activity of this magical beast. Yan Qi crouched by the lake, dipped his hand into the water, and stirred it gently.

The lake, tinged with the glow of the sunset, rippled gently as spiritual energy flowed from his hands, as if searching for the beast’s presence. Once, twice.

Twice, three times.

Yan Qi’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Lu San tugged at his pant leg and looked into the water.

“I don’t seem to sense any magical beasts,” Yan Qi asked blankly. “Did I get the wrong lake?” Could there be other lakes in the Red Cloud Sea? Lu San stepped out from behind him. Just as he was about to touch the water, he suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Yan Qi. “Can I touch the water?”

Yan Qi shook his head.

Lu San had no choice but to withdraw his little wooden finger.

Soon, Yan Qi saw a powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly burst forth from the body of his little wooden puppet, shooting straight into the lake. A massive wave of spiritual energy exploded within the lake.

“Who dares disturb my rest?!” A voice echoed from the water, piercing his eardrums. “If you don’t want to die, get out of here.”

Lu San froze in place.

Yan Qi was also taken aback and quickly retrieved his puppet. “We didn’t get the wrong lake.” Lu San was puzzled—why did the voice of the magical beast sound so much like his older brother’s?

“Can a demon beast speak like a human?”

Yan Qi: “If their cultivation is high enough, they can. But speaking like that… it probably isn’t a demon beast.” 

“Then who is it?”

Yan Qi: “The Creator God’s… wife?” 

Lu San:?

Yan Qi thought for a moment and replied, “Where I come from, we call our favorite characters ‘wife.’ The Creator placed a very powerful character in the water to suppress that monster. But he should be asleep right now.”

Maybe that blow from the little puppet disturbed the sleeper.

Lu San looked pensive. “My older brother gets angry too if he doesn’t get enough sleep.” 

“You have an older brother?” Yan Qi’s eyes lit up.

Lu San: “I have an older brother and a second older brother.”

Yan Qi ruffled his hair. “You’re the youngest, aren’t you? You must be the favorite.”

Lu San shook his head. “I also have younger brothers and sisters.” In their family, there were a hundred brothers and sisters.

But was he the favorite?

Probably… he was. The village chief was very kind to him. His eldest and second brothers would bring him plenty of cast-iron materials whenever they went out. Even back when the top ten families were still around, they never forgot to bring him gifts when they went out.

“I’ll take good care of you from now on,” Yan Qi promised softly. “Thank you.”

Now that the person in the water was alive, the demon beasts wouldn’t be causing trouble for a while. Yan Qi breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to take the little puppet back to Spirit Beast Mountain. Now that he’d truly decided to get involved in resolving the matter with the demon beast, he’d have to go find the Ruler of the Red Cloud Sea.

Just as Yan Qi was about to leave, he noticed the little wooden puppet had somehow made its way to the lakeshore. Its tiny wooden hand was already reaching into the water—

Yan Qi:!

“Lu Yi?”

“Third Brother?” Wen Jue’s voice was laced with disbelief.

Lu San pulled the little wooden hand back, hurriedly took a handkerchief from his Cosmos Bag to dry it off, then turned to Yan Qi and said, “Sorry.” He’d let his puppet get wet.

Yan Qi shook his head. “Do you know him?”

The little puppet’s face remained expressionless. “Yeah, he’s my older brother.” He knew it—he hadn’t heard wrong.

That arrogant, demonic voice. It was definitely Lu Yi. Yan Qi froze for a moment.

The one in the water is the little puppet’s older brother. But the one in the water should be that person’s “wife.” Yan Qi felt a bit confused.

Meanwhile, over at Qin Zhou’s end…

It wasn’t until he was completely surrounded by a pack of young spirit beasts that Qin Zhou suddenly realized: given his status, it was truly inappropriate for him to come to Spirit Beast Mountain. 

Spirit Beast Mountain, as the habitat of the spirit beasts in the Red Cloud Sea, was also the place with the highest concentration of spirit beasts.

And he was wearing a sign that read “+20 Affinity with All Spirit Beasts.” This was nothing short of “throwing oneself into the lion’s den.” As soon as Qin Zhou entered Spirit Beast Mountain, he found himself unable to move a step.

Shen Yun, standing beside him, was also pushed aside.

Watching Qin Zhou struggle to pull pills out of his Cosmos Bag to feed the little creatures, Shen Yun fell silent once again. Why did this scene feel so familiar?

It seemed as though he had witnessed a similar scene when he arrived that morning!

It was understandable that the Creator God would be drawn to the spirit beasts of the Spirit Mountain Realm; even he had felt a sense of kinship when he first met Senior Qin Zhou in the Zhutian Realm, let alone these innocent little creatures of Spirit Beast Mountain!

But the question was, what about that young man, Yan Qi?

“That talent for being loved by spirit beasts—it’s truly enviable,” Shen Yun sighed, covering her face. Qin Zhou, with his keen ears, asked, “Are you still envious of Shisi?”

To put it in the terms of the Mountain and River Map, it wasn’t impossible to tweak Shen Yun’s innate talent.

Shen Yun froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no—I’m not envious of Senior Shisi’s talent. It’s just that this scene before me really reminds me of a young junior who came to Spirit Beast Mountain for the Spirit Awakening ceremony.”

“Just like Senior Qin Zhou, he’s so beloved by the spirit beasts. He’s only been in the mountain for a moment, yet he’s already covered in baby spirit beasts…”

As he spoke, Shen Yun’s voice grew quieter and quieter. It seemed he had noticed something—

Wait a moment.

Being inexplicably favored by the spirit beasts—isn’t that a bit out of the ordinary?

Moreover, Yan Qi hails from another place and has not yet undergone the Spirit Awakening; he must have only recently entered the world.

Most importantly, Yan Qi had been urging him to visit the Red Cloud Sea, as if afraid something might happen—he’d even urged him twice in a row.

All these things…

Doesn’t this all seem a bit off? Shen Yun exchanged glances with Qin Zhou.

Sure enough, Qin Zhou’s gaze had already turned sharp.

“Interrogate this youngster thoroughly.”