CBGC - ch165

Chapter 165: The Sacred Fruit

Su Tingyun doesn't understand the language of the Beast Realm. She doesn't know what the butterfly beasts are saying, but she can read their expressions and hear their cries, understanding the terror and unease in those sobs.

Initially, Su Tingyun worries about Big Bai being poisoned, but now she thinks Big Bai might have eaten something extraordinary. The disappearance of the fruit seems to bring significant loss to these butterfly beasts. Big Bai, being the mouthpiece of the Heavenly Dao and a Spirit Beast, chose this path and ate the fruits as fast as she could, indicating she knew the fruit was valuable.

The butterfly beasts kneel under the big tree, transitioning from loud wailing to suppressed sobbing, filling the air with a sense of despair. Su Tingyun notices the glowing powder on their bodies begins to drift into the air. As the powder falls from their bodies and wings, the high temperature scorch them, creating a faint burnt smell across the mountain. One butterfly beast shouts loudly and flies back to the Boundary Lake on the mountainside, but none of the others follow; they remain kneeling under the tree, unmoved by the severe injuries forming on their bodies.

"What are they saying?" Su Tingyun asks anxiously. "Is that fruit very important to them?"

Xuanyuan Wentian spreads his hands, "So what if it's important? Would you hand over Big Bai?" He lifts Big Bai with one hand. "Why not throw it out and let those beasts deal with it? It could save their entire clan!"

"You do understand beast language," Su Tingyun confirms. Xuanyuan Wentian, formed from the world's turbid and vile air, likely understands the beast language due to his connection with worldly spiritual beings. Her suspicion is confirmed by his response.

"That tree is called the Tihu Tree, and the fruit it bears grants intelligence to the beasts of the Beast Realm. It blooms and fruits once every hundred years, revered as the Sacred Fruit by the beasts. The Butterfly Beast Clan is weak, and if not for their ability to enter this mountain, they would have been wiped out long ago. Now that the Sacred Fruit is gone, they will be the enemies of all beasts, dying a thousand times over won't be enough."

In the Beast Realm, the inhabitants, like spirit beasts in other realms, start with little intelligence. As they grow stronger, they gain wisdom and become intelligent and powerful, not inferior to humans. The Sacred Fruit from the Tihu Tree allows even newborn beasts to gain intelligence, enabling them to learn and think from a young age. This accelerates their progress, making them stronger than humans and leading to the Beast Realm being dominated by beasts.

The butterfly beast who returned earlier now flutters in the air, shouting angrily. She is a female beast, and as she flaps her wings, the powder falls off more rapidly, worsening her burns. Soon, holes appear in her wings, and dark red blood oozes out, a ghastly sight.

Su Tingyun feels a pang of guilt and unease.

Xuanyuan Wentian senses her wavering mind and chuckles, "The Mirror Lake's time is almost up. The butterfly beast urges her people to leave, but they all believe they will die anyway. They prefer to die on Guanding Mountain, under the Sacred Tree."

Only these butterfly beasts can enter Guanding Mountain. Other beasts can't steal the Sacred Fruit. If they leave, they might be gutted in search of the Sacred Fruit, or simply eaten.

Xuanyuan Wentian's tone is light, but his words are piercing. "Your Big Bai is impressive, wiping out an entire clan in one go."

Guanding Mountain fills with colorful powder, while the butterfly beasts below are injured and bloody. These beasts are weak; Su Tingyun doesn't feel any pressure from them, confirming Xuanyuan Wentian's claim. At the mountainside's small pond, ripples form on the water, splitting the reflected full moon in two, like a door slowly opening.

"That's the exit!" Xuanyuan Wentian says.

Despite the exit appearing, the butterfly beasts refuse to leave. They dance around the Sacred Tree, occasionally falling to the ground and struggling to fly again. Su Tingyun takes out a red dress, appears in the darkness, waves the dress twice, and runs towards the mountainside's Mirror Lake.

Her appearance catches the attention of the butterfly beast urging her kin. With a shrill cry, all the butterflies turn and rush towards Su Tingyun. She dives into the Mirror Lake and, as she exits, hides in her ring's inner world.

The new place is a closed valley surrounded by mountains. Scanning with her divine sense, Su Tingyun sees no gaps, making the sky the only possible exit. The mountains form a true celestial well.

Under the full moon, the valley's circular altar perfectly aligns with the moonlight. The moonlight converges into a beam, illuminating an almost-bonelessly soft woman sitting in the middle of the altar, wearing a flowing silver gown shimmering like water ripples.

"Hm?" The woman holds a green porcelain mirror with butterflies dancing on it, fluttering as if they're real. The mirror reflects the moonlight, creating a shimmering pool on the altar's floor.

Su Tingyun realizes she came through this pool. She sneaks a glance at the mirror, thinking it might be the divine artifact Xuanyuan Wentian mentioned, capable of forming Mirror Lakes anywhere in the Three Thousand Realms.

Because the mirror holder is powerful, Su Tingyun doesn't dare look longer. She hides in her ring's inner world, still nervous.

"Will she discover me?" Su Tingyun asks.

"Heh," Xuanyuan Wentian sneers, then replies, "No, she won't."

"Is she a butterfly beast?" The woman on the altar shows no beast traits, leaving Su Tingyun unsure if she's a beast or a human.

At this moment, the woman on the altar stands up. Her robes flutter in the wind, and the surrounding vegetation instantly loses its vitality, as if scorched by intense fire.

She must have sensed something unusual and is now using her pressure and secret arts to locate the issue. However, Su Tingyun’s ring is too powerful, hiding her completely, making it impossible for the woman to detect her.

Moments later, the first butterfly beast rolls out of the light lake reflected from the mirror.

The woman on the altar's expression changes, "What happened?"

"Priestess, the Sacred Fruit has been stolen." The butterfly beast kneels and kowtows, lying flat on the ground, not daring to rise.

Su Tingyun still can't understand, but Xuanyuan Wentian translates willingly. He didn't expect Su Tingyun to be so affected by the thought of harming the beast clan. Seeing her so easily swayed, he doesn't mind planting a seed of inner demons in her heart, which may grow into a towering tree in the future.

"Oh? How much was stolen?" The beast priestess, Jiu Yue, loosens her grip on the mirror and points a finger. Su Tingyun notices that her nails are at least a foot long, sharp, and cold, rivaling her own Spring Water Sword.

Sure enough, she's a beast!

The kneeling butterfly beast trembles, "All of it."

The priestess lightly taps the round mirror with her finger, scratching a butterfly on the back of the mirror. The butterfly on the mirror splits in two, but the mirror soon returns to its original state.

"All of the Sacred Fruit are gone?" She chuckles, "Then your Yingdie Clan is doomed." She traces the mirror with her finger, producing a sharp sound, "It would be better to die here. Once this news spreads, you will be enemies to all beasts."

"We chased the thief who stole the Sacred Fruit here. There's a barrier in the valley; they can't escape. Please, priestess, save us." With their limited strength, the butterfly beasts can't catch the thief. Only the priestess's intervention can capture them.

More butterfly beasts emerge from the mirror lake, kneeling in a dark mass below the altar.

Because of the need to harvest the Sacred Fruit, the entire valley is sealed, not even an ant could crawl in. Thus, everyone believes the thief is hiding here and can't escape. They must catch the thief; otherwise, their clan will have no place in the Beast Realm.

With Xuanyuan Wentian's translation, Su Tingyun understands the butterfly beasts' dire situation. However, Big Bai ate all the fruit and remains unconscious. Unsure of what to do, she paces anxiously, hands in her sleeves, brows furrowed, and a deep crease on her forehead.

"The Beast Kings of all tribes are waiting to take the Sacred Fruit back to awaken their newborns. Now you say it's all gone."

At this time, the moon has shifted eastward, causing the beam of moonlight on the priestess to disappear, and the mirror lake on the ground to vanish.

Jiu Yue puts away the mirror and gracefully steps down from the altar. She walks with an elegant sway, her nine long tails trailing behind her. Despite dragging on the ground, the tails remain spotless, as white as snow.

She walks straight to the leading butterfly beast, tapping her sword-sharp nail on its head, seemingly ready to pierce it. Su Tingyun's heart clenches, her fists tighten, and her palms sweat.

The butterfly beast remains motionless, even as blood flows from its forehead, not daring to move an inch.

After a moment of silence, the priestess speaks, "I did sense something unusual, but it disappeared quickly. I can't find anything now."

She withdraws her hand and stands with her arms behind her back. Her nine tails rise into the air, swaying in the wind, creating a fierce gust that echoes through the enclosed valley like wailing ghosts.

"They're looking for you," Xuanyuan Wentian says cheerfully. "This fox spirit has good cultivation, but she still lacks the skill to catch you."

Hearing that she won't be discovered, Su Tingyun doesn't relax. Her steps become more frantic, pacing in place, making Xuanyuan Wentian dizzy. He promptly freezes her in place.

Just then, Xuanyuan Wentian exclaims, "That mirror she's holding turns out to be the Bodhi Mirror of Reality."

He has many gaps in his memory and didn't recognize it at first. Now, as the green porcelain of the mirror cracks open to reveal the Bodhi tree inside, Xuanyuan Wentian remembers that this mirror is one of the top ten divine artifacts of the ancient celestials, the Bodhi Mirror of Reality.

Most ancient artifacts have suffered significant damage and lost much of their power, but this Bodhi Mirror is intact. Its current owner’s strength far surpasses Su Tingyun's, making it very likely that she can pull Su Tingyun out.

After all, Su Tingyun's soul is too weak, and her ring's inner world is newly formed, rendering its abilities quite limited. Under the scrutiny of the Bodhi Mirror of Reality, the ring's concealment is highly likely to fail.

Priestess Jiu Yue has already raised the mirror above her head. It floats in the air, the Bodhi tree behind it glowing silver, and the mirror's surface begins to emit light, slowly illuminating the valley.

"Under my Bodhi Mirror, do you think you can still hide?" Jiu Yue shouts sternly. "Come out! If you hand over the Sacred Fruit honestly, I will spare your life!"