Chapter Sixteen: The Source of Calamity

Absolutely ridiculous!

Su Li smacked his face with a paw, the soft pad pushing hard against him. She thought to herself: Why is this person as foolish as his contracted beast? Doesn't he even worry about ingesting residual poison?

"I'm fine." Shen Luo, understanding her meaning, gave a comforting smile, blood still staining his lips.

But a cat paw held him back.

Su Li struggled a couple of times, then leaped onto his shoulder, tucking her injured leg beneath her. Her furious feline eyes glared at his profile. Once again, she thought this boy was hopelessly foolish, resolving to keep a close eye on him from now on so he wouldn't get tricked without realizing.

A faint smile curved Shen Luo's lips.

Twisting her neck at an awkward angle made Su Li's neck ache, so she turned her head, her gaze inadvertently landing on the crestfallen bluebird opposite. Disdain colored her tone: "Stupid bird, aren't you coming over here yet?"

The bluebird immediately fluttered its wings and cheerfully flew over, landing on Shen Luo's other shoulder with a sigh. "After a whole night of this, my wings are really sore."

Su Li glanced contemptuously at its rolls of fat, refusing to respond.

With two spirit beasts weighing down his shoulders, Shen Luo couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of completeness—until he suddenly heard footsteps.

He looked up and saw Shen Fan approach, pleading, "Shen Luo, could you help save the rest of our clan?"

Shen Luo's thoughts wavered; because he had witnessed the boy's arrogant demeanor countless times, seeing him so humble now made the moment all the more poignant and astonishing.

Shen Luo clenched his fist—so this is what it feels like to be powerful?

The bluebird, enjoying the show, chattered away: "Boss, should we help? They used to be really awful to our master."

Su Li thought: What do you know? This is the male lead's first little brother.

"Of course not," Tiger Soul interjected. "Humans are mostly ungrateful. Think about it: we just saved them, but they tried to kill Boss. They can't tell friend from foe!"

Su Li's beast body trembled at Tiger Soul’s unexpected "Boss" address, feeling a strange pride at suddenly acquiring a divine beast, aged ten thousand years, as a little brother.

"Not helping, not helping, they've gone too far," the bluebird huffed, flapping its wings. "Let them come—we'll beat them down, one by one."

Su Li ignored the two beasts, pricking up her ears as Shen Fan spoke. "Three days ago, a large-scale rampage of high-level vicious beasts broke out. Investigation revealed they escaped from the Qishan Secret Realm. You know, the Qishan Secret Realm only opens once every ten years—a most mysterious occurrence. The top sects and prominent families formed elite teams to investigate, but strangely, all of them disappeared."

The Qishan Secret Realm plotline—how could it be happening so soon?

Su Li's eyes narrowed slightly. Everyone believed there were only minor inheritances in the Qishan Secret Realm, but the true treasure was a single drop of ancient White Tiger divine beast blood.

She asked Tiger Soul, "Would the White Tiger's divine blood greatly benefit you?"

Tiger Soul excitedly flicked its tail. "It might help me gather my remaining soul."

Su Li was tempted. The death of her little furball had always troubled her. Besides growing stronger, she needed to find the culprit as soon as possible. If she could resurrect Tiger Soul, it would be another safeguard.

She didn't conceal her intentions. "I know the divine blood is hidden somewhere in the Qishan Secret Realm. Once the Shen family’s matter is settled, we'll retrieve it."

Tiger Soul, impatient, boasted, "Why don't I just take care of this rabble myself?"

"Agreed," the bluebird chimed in, raising a wing.

The two beasts launched into a heated discussion of how to make a dramatic entrance and defeat the enemy in one blow, but Su Li cut them off: "No. If you reveal yourselves now, you might bring catastrophe upon Shen Luo."

On this cultivation continent, stories of spirit beasts being seized were common. A youth only at the Heart-Moving stage, possessing such rare treasures, was practically inviting disaster.

Their enthusiasm faded instantly.

Meanwhile, Shen Fan reached a critical point in his explanation. "After our clan members vanished, my grandfather was so furious he led a team himself. But barely half a day after they left, a group of high-level assassins infiltrated Yuzhou City. The assassins were all extremely powerful, with even Out-of-Body stage cultivators among them. We were no match. After capturing everyone, they used an emerald-green bead to check us one by one, as if searching for something. If they couldn't find it, or if anyone resisted, they were killed on the spot..."

"Could they be looking for the Divine Tiger Stone Talisman?" Tiger Soul suddenly spoke up.

Su Li couldn't be sure. Even though she had the advantage of knowing the plot, everything was changing now. After a moment’s thought, she asked, "Besides you, who else knows about the Divine Beast Stone Talisman?"

Tiger Soul shook its head. "No one else on this continent. After the great catastrophe ten thousand years ago, nearly all the divine beasts were wiped out. I only know a bit from inherited memory—mortal cultivators couldn't possibly know."

Su Li caught the emphasis in its words. "You mean gods?"

"Impossible." Tiger Soul was certain. "If a god appeared in the mortal cultivation world, the Way of Heaven would ruthlessly suppress and punish them. To break the rules, a god would have to strip away their divine bones and shatter their three souls and six spirits." At this, its voice stopped abruptly.

Su Li fell silent, not pressing further.

"What are they looking for?" Shen Luo clearly thought of the stone on his chest.

Shen Fan shook his head, voice choked. "Our fifth uncle and the others held them off so we could escape. But we were pursued by assassins halfway, so only three of us survived out of more than twenty."

A surge of grief and rage filled Shen Luo’s heart. His pupils contracted, fists clenching tight.

All these innocents who died were his kin, bound by blood!

Suddenly, a fluffy tail curled around his neck. Turning sideways, he met Su Li’s worried gaze.

Shen Luo froze, then gathered her into his arms. As her soft tail swept gently across his arm, warmth seeped into his heart.

His little furball was always so thoughtful, unlike any ordinary beast.

"Thud!"

The three—one human, two beasts—were startled by the sudden noise.

Shen Fan had dropped to his knees, pleading earnestly, "The rest are imprisoned at the northern city’s Shangguan residence. Please, save them."

Shen Luo stepped aside, freeing a hand to pull Shen Fan up. "You don't need to beg me. It's my responsibility."

Moved yet deeply ashamed, Shen Fan sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, Shen Luo. I've wronged you in the past."

All past grievances faded away in that instant. Shen Luo pressed his lips together without a word, only giving Shen Fan’s shoulder a firm pat.

Shen Fan breathed easier, turning to introduce two others: "They're direct descendants of the Shangguan family—Shangguan Yuefang and Shangguan Rong."

Shen Luo’s gaze turned cold and sharp. At the mention of the Shangguan family, he remembered he still had an unsettled score with a certain young lady.

"If not for this brother and sister, we wouldn’t have escaped," Shen Fan explained, stepping aside to block his view. "Besides, we’ll need their help to infiltrate the Shangguan estate."

A faint, ambiguous sneer escaped Shen Luo, his bearing full of arrogance.

Su Li quickly pressed her paw to his arm.

The surge of anger in his chest dissipated in an instant. Helplessly, Shen Luo smiled, stroking her fur as he reassured, "Don’t worry, I won’t be reckless."

Su Li haughtily withdrew her paw.

Watching the youth soothed in a heartbeat by a cat-beast, Shen Fan was utterly astonished.

He couldn’t help but steal a glance at the white spirit beast.

Suddenly, Su Li turned, her dark red feline eyes fixing on him.

A look of terror washed over Shen Fan’s face. Pale, he tore his gaze away, filled with questions—just what kind of spirit beast was this?