Chapter Fifteen: Six High-Ranked Celestial Beasts?

The little creature looked at the Heavenly Mechanism Stone held out before its eyes, letting out low, muffled cries, but unlike before, it didn’t snatch it up immediately. Li Chengzhu felt deeply gratified and laughed, saying, “You little beast, at least you still have some conscience. I still have quite a few pieces left—take this one as a reward for keeping watch for me.” The small creature protested with a couple of sharp squeaks before finally grabbing the stone and gnawing on it, the crunching sounds echoing through the air.

Li Chengzhu could never quite understand why this little thing was so fond of eating Heavenly Mechanism Stones or celestial cores, even the green, spiritual light brimming inside the Celestial Giant Tree had not escaped its appetite. He surmised that the creature’s rapid growth must be due to something it had unwittingly consumed, and whatever it was, its energy was surely immense. Otherwise, after feeding it celestial cores for so many days, it would not have only grown a little plumper.

Just then, the creature suddenly stopped its chewing, its eyes fixed anxiously on a certain direction, and it began to cry out with urgency. At the same moment, Li Chengzhu sensed a powerful spiritual pressure sweeping rapidly toward him. The sense of danger honed during his time training in the forest prompted him to dive forward in a swift roll. He had barely regained his footing when an intense wave of heat surged from behind him. Turning back, he saw that the spot where he’d been sitting was now engulfed in a sea of fire. Even the three Heavenly Mechanism Stones he hadn’t yet picked up were slowly melting in the intense flames, dissolving into spiritual energy that faded into the air.

“Five-element Celestial Fire?” Li Chengzhu exclaimed in horror. Only the Five-element Celestial Fire, superior even to True Samadhi Fire, could melt pure spiritual energy crystals like the Heavenly Mechanism Stones. His master, guided by the Celestial Emissary, had once told him such things—only immortals could wield Five-element Celestial Fire, and a celestial beast capable of producing it must have reached the sixth upper tier. That level was the equivalent of an ordinary immortal. Realizing this, cold sweat poured down Li Chengzhu’s back, a chill running along his spine.

No wonder this beast could track him down despite his long flight—it had already reached the level of an immortal. Looking around, he found the little creature had vanished without a trace, but with its speed, he needn’t worry. He himself, however, was in grave peril. For some unknown reason, this celestial beast was hell-bent on capturing him, even after such a long pursuit.

Having realized that the beast had reached the sixth upper tier, Li Chengzhu abandoned any thought of running; there was no way he could outrun it. In a flash, he transformed into an Armored Beast, grabbing a fallen leaf to cover himself, hoping to escape disaster.

From leaping away to transforming, it all happened in the blink of an eye. As soon as he concealed himself beneath the leaf, the celestial beast descended from the sky and landed right in front of him. Li Chengzhu suppressed his spiritual pressure with all his might, minimizing his exposure. Peeking through the leaf, he saw the beast before him looked exactly like the fabled Qilin—a dragon’s head, deer’s antlers, horse’s hooves, ox’s tail, wolf’s brow, and a body covered in fiery red scales, radiating intense fire spiritual energy. Its eyes exuded an aura of utter dominion.

Even from a short distance, Li Chengzhu felt the overwhelming heat, nearly betraying his true form. The beast was puzzled—a living person had vanished before its eyes. Lowering its head, it sniffed the ground. Li Chengzhu prayed fervently that its sense of smell was not as keen as the little creature’s, or he would surely be doomed.

His transformation spell, limited by the small form he’d chosen, would only last a few minutes. If the beast didn’t leave within that time, he’d be exposed regardless. Seconds dragged by, but the beast showed no sign of departing. Growing anxious, Li Chengzhu watched as the beast followed the scent, drawing closer until he could see its eyes staring down through the leaf.

A hint of mockery flashed across the beast’s face, and Li Chengzhu felt the fire spiritual energy above his head rapidly gathering. Alarmed, he looked up to see the Qilin with its jaws wide open, a fiery orb of spiritual energy forming, ready to strike.

Cursing his luck and lamenting the brevity of life, Li Chengzhu suddenly sensed a familiar earth energy surge from nearby. Just as it reached the beast’s feet, a sharp earthen spike burst from the ground, striking at the Qilin’s belly.

With a furious roar, the Qilin was enraged that anyone would dare ambush it under its very nose. Though unscathed, its pride as a celestial beast would not allow such insolence. It turned and fired a spiritual energy bomb in the direction the earth energy had come from.

A deafening explosion followed, and a blast of hot wind hurled Li Chengzhu backward. Before he hit the ground, his transformation spell faltered, and he reverted to his true form midair, hastily summoning his Cold Light sword to escape the searing surge. He knew without a doubt that it was the little creature who had saved him; without its earthen pillar distracting the Qilin, he would have reported to the underworld by now.

He could only hope the little creature had escaped the spiritual energy bomb’s wrath.

With the creature’s speed, nothing should be able to harm it—Li Chengzhu reassured himself but couldn’t help glancing back. In the distance, a gray figure flitted swiftly through the forest, the Qilin hot on its heels, spewing deadly fireballs from its mouth. The towering trees were battered and ablaze, flames everywhere.

Li Chengzhu’s heart leapt in his chest at the Qilin’s formidable assault. He didn’t know if the little creature could dodge every attack, his anxiety rising with each blast.

Without further hesitation, he changed direction and flew after the traces left by the Qilin. The thunderous crashes ahead made it easy to follow, though avoiding the omnipresent Five-element Celestial Fire proved troublesome. With his current strength, even the slightest contact would incinerate him entirely.

He tailed them for dozens of miles before the sounds abruptly ceased. Alarmed, Li Chengzhu feared the worst—that the little creature had already met its end.

Unwilling to entertain the thought, he urged his Cold Light sword forward, leaping several hundred meters in a flash. In the distance, he saw the Qilin had come to a halt, pacing forward step by step. Before it, a small gray figure lay curled on the ground, trembling—who else could it be but the little creature?

“Damn you!” Li Chengzhu cried out in grief and fury, sending his Cold Light sword hurtling toward the Qilin’s back.