CBGC - ch164

Chapter 164: Beast Realm

Big Bai has swallowed all the fruits in an instant. Her body, normally white and tender like jelly, is now entirely red, likely because her stomach is stuffed with red fruits. She wobbles and spins a few times, making gurgling sounds.

Su Tingyun is startled. Big Bai is very sensitive to poison and isn't usually afraid of it. Back in the Sealed Heaven, Gu Hao, who had looked like a poison spirit, used poison on Big Bai daily without any reaction. Only a tiny bit of leaf got affected, which was ultimately harmless.

If Big Bai were poisoned, her color would turn black. Now, instead of turning black, she's become redder, shrinking to the size of a basketball and rolling around on the ground. Even Little Bai's leaves have turned red, and it's making laughing sounds, occasionally hiccupping.

"Big Bai, are you okay?"

"So many stars." Big Bai rolls a few more times and then lies still at Su Tingyun's feet, looking drunk.

"Hey, where are we? Have you been here before? Is Big Bai just drunk?" All the fruits are gone, and Su Tingyun can't find a single one to test. She has no way to confirm if Big Bai is simply intoxicated.

The Boundary Lake is just a small pond with no stone tablets nearby, making it impossible to identify the realm. Xuanyuan Wentian, this ancient monster who's been roaming the Three Thousand Realms, might know something.

"I've never been here," Xuanyuan Wentian answers directly. "You walked at the bottom of the Boundary Lake for so long, branching off many times. There are many strange and unusual worlds in the Three Thousand Realms. I haven't been here."

Su Tingyun picks up Big Bai and infuses her with spiritual energy. If Big Bai is drunk, this should expel the juice. But surprisingly, the spiritual energy vanishes without a trace, creating no reaction. Big Bai would usually hum in response. But now she feels scorching hot, even burning through Su Tingyun's spiritual barrier.

Little Bai's leaves have also turned red, as if about to bleed. In a moment, red liquid indeed oozes out, sap dripping from the leaves.

Big Bai and Little Bai's souls remain stable, as if they're just asleep, with no visible injuries. However, their bodies are red and hot, like being boiled. Su Tingyun places them in her ring's internal space, noticing that the mist envelops them. Their temperature drops slightly, but they remain frighteningly red.

"Oh, it has such a wonderful use other than escaping the rules of the Heavenly Dao," Xuanyuan Wentian remarks suddenly. "If poisoned in the outside world with no antidote, you die—that's the rule. But bringing them inside your world nullifies that rule, allowing them to survive. Of course, they would still die once you bring them outside, unless your world is stronger than the outside."

He walks to Big Bai, then forms a claw with black energy and pokes Big Bai. He feels that the Word Spirit is still hot. He's been walking around with the Springwater Sword stuck in his body, and now he removes it and taps Big Bai with it.

Worried, Su Tingyun returns to the ring's world to watch over Big Bai while her consciousness searches outside. Isn't it said that plants grow according to mutual reinforcement and restraint? She wonders if there's something to counteract the red fruits' effects…

If only Big Bai had left a few fruits for her to examine! But alas, she ate them all!

The mountain isn't high, and the surroundings are mostly barren, with few weeds. On the other side, Su Tingyun notices pits and red magma, resembling a volcano. Despite this, she feels a cool breeze, quite refreshing.

Could the high temperature and Big Bai's red, heated body be due to the fruits growing in the volcano?

Using her divine sense, Su Tingyun searches the entire mountain but finds no valuable clues. Big Bai remains fiery red, showing no signs of waking up.

She extends her divine sense outward but finds she can't go further, as if a barrier is blocking her.

Su Tingyun immediately returns to the Boundary Lake and finds that the water is very shallow. She can stand on the lake and the water only reaches her calves. How can such shallow water lead to other realms?

It's no wonder there hasn't been the unique gale of a Boundary Lake. Maybe this isn't a Boundary Lake at all. So, why is she in this realm? She can't leave the mountain, nor go deeper into the lake, meaning she's trapped here. She has her ring's space and feels no immediate danger, but Big Bai and Little Bai have remained unconscious for a while now, clearly affected by the strange fruit. She senses their primordial spirits changing, becoming stronger but also more violent. If not for the spiritual energy enveloping them, the changes might be more drastic.

She needs to find a way out, understand where she is, and what the fruit does. She must find someone in this realm to ask, rather than staying here blindly.

"Xuanyuan Wentian, let's discuss something." Su Tingyun knows her strength and realizes the barrier on the mountain is too strong for her to break. Currently, her only hope is the Demon Lord.

"I'm a demon, and you want my help?" Xuanyuan Wentian laughs as if hearing the world's greatest joke. Black energy swirls around him, forming a broken sword before Su Tingyun. The sword's sharp edge glows coldly, emanating a chilling killing intent that makes Su Tingyun stiffen.

She closes her eyes. "I thought we agreed to protect the White Cloud Realm, the person you like, the people I care about."

"If anything happens to Big Bai, you know I can't do much else but accompany her in death."

It's frustrating negotiating with Xuanyuan Wentian with no leverage. She doesn't know his weaknesses, or if she can threaten him.

Xuanyuan Wentian snorts. "I can break the sealing barrier, but to do so, I must go outside. Even for a moment, the laws of the Heavenly rules would weaken my soul power. Why should I do it?"

"Can't you use my body?"

"With your cultivation? Without revealing my soul power, can you break it?"

Xuanyuan Wentian needs his powerful soul to control Su Tingyun's body for an attack. But once he attacks, the Dao would weaken him. Why would he do that?

Black mist approaches Big Bai and Little Bai. Xuanyuan Wentian observes them and says, "They're fine for now. Let's wait."

After a pause, he adds, "This shouldn't be a Boundary Lake. The one you saw was artificial. Either the person who made it is, by the classification of True Immortals, at the Nine Heavens Supreme level, or they have a celestial artifact."

Artifacts from the ancient gods could be considered celestial. Some have survived and scattered across the Three Thousand Realms.

"They likely created the seal for the fruit," Xuanyuan Wentian muses. "This mountain is peculiar. You, with your celestial bone body, wouldn’t feel it, but others would struggle here." Then he suddenly chuckles. "Those fruits were just ready for harvest. Soon, someone will come, and then you'll see what happens after eating the fruit."

He lies down and adds, "Stop threatening me with death."

Turning over, he continues, "Actually, Zhan Yu is promising. If he learns the truth of the Obliteration Sword Tower's seal, it might shock him. With a bit of manipulation, he could fall into madness. Even if he's weak, borrowing your celestial bone body, he could help me."

Su Tingyun remains silent. She needs strategies to outwit Xuanyuan Wentian. She frowns slightly and says, "Thanks for the reminder."

Her face is calm, but her mind is heavy. Her thanks could be for the information about the fruit or for her Master.

The next night, the Boundary Lake that has almost completely turned into a mud pond starts to ripple slightly.

Su Tingyun hides in the ring's space, keeping her divine sense locked onto the Boundary Lake. The moment something stirs, she notices. Butterflies begin to fly out from the lake, their wings glittering as if dusted with phosphorescent powder, shimmering under the moonlight.

A large swarm of butterflies flies toward the mountain. When they see the bare tree at the peak, they erupt in human-like screams. Some butterflies land and transform into human figures. These figures retain their wings and wear no clothes, but their bodies are covered with various patterns and shimmering powder that glows under the moonlight.

The sharp screams make Xuanyuan Wentian, who was resting with his eyes closed, sit up lazily and say, "So, it's the Beast Realm."

"The Beast Realm is the opposite of the Human Realm. There are humans here, but their roles are reversed. Here, humans are equivalent to spirit beasts in the cultivation world." He chuckles darkly. "Quite funny..."

Cultivators in the cultivation world hunt spirit beasts for spirit stones, and no one finds it wrong. Su Tingyun herself has done it before. She recalls the time she killed so many low-level earth snakes to gather enough spirit stones that she almost got sick. Now, in this place, she, as a human, has become the prey for the beast race. This makes it much harder to gather information.

Seeing Xuanyuan Wentian's clearly gloating black mist, Su Tingyun nods and coldly smiles, "Then I'll have a good time."

Not wanting to lose in terms of demeanor, she resolves not to show weakness. Hmph!