005 Strange Spirit Beast Traits Have Increased
“Pikachu what?” Qin Ren cleaned out his ear.
“It’s Pixiu!”
Luo Yao didn’t know what a Pikachu was, but she felt that Qin Ren was deliberately humiliating her. In a fit of anger, she stole a bite of noodles from his bowl.
“Pixiu, huh…”
Qin Ren had heard of Pixiu before.
The Pixiu: body of a tiger or leopard, head and tail like a dragon’s, color of gold and jade, with feathered wings on its shoulders that cannot spread, and a horn on its head. The male is called Pi, the female Xiu.
It was a divine beast from ancient Chinese mythology, majestic and fierce. Legend said it was responsible for patrolling the heavens, preventing demons, monsters, plagues, and diseases from disturbing the celestial court.
If that was its image, then it was indeed fitting for it to be a Guardian Spirit Beast…
Qin Ren looked up at Luo Yao. The little girl’s long, soft eyelashes fluttered. Having eaten her fill, she was already getting a little sleepy. As she leaned lazily against the chair, she looked like a doll used by its owner to play house, a far cry from “majestic and fierce.”
Could it be… her true form is actually super fierce?
Qin Ren had seen some Demonic Scions before and knew well not to judge a book by its cover.
“Luo Yao.”
“Hm?”
“Transform.”
“No…”
Luo Yao explained that the spiritual energy of this world was different from that of the Myriad Demon Continent. The true form of an adult Pixiu was very large, and the depleted spiritual energy here couldn’t support the activity of her true form.
“How big?”
“As big as three or four buses.”
Luo Yao drew a circle in the air with her arm. Feeling it wasn’t big enough, she stood on the chair and drew another one.
“Very, very big. That’s why this eminence lost my supreme golden body and is wrapped in this stinking human skin.”
She touched the top of her head with some disgust. Humans were so ugly; her two beautiful little horns were gone.
Qin Ren felt a slight sense of regret.
Although he had seen many strange creatures during his years of exorcism, few had a truly impressive appearance. Now that he had the chance to encounter the legendary Pixiu, he naturally wanted to broaden his horizons.
But even if Luo Yao could transform, given the size of “three or four buses,” he wouldn’t know where to take her to do it.
Since he couldn’t broaden his horizons, Qin Ren prepared to ask about some other details while washing the dishes.
“You wash with me.”
“Huh? How dare a mere mortal make this eminence wash… Ow, ow, ow—!”
“You’re the mere one, you’re a whole family of them. I know you’re helpless and being hunted right now, so you plan to leech off me. I can allow it, but you have to be useful. You can’t just eat and drink for free, understand?”
Luo Yao didn’t want to understand.
But just as that Lu-something had said, she was under his roof, so she had to understand even if she didn’t want to. So she obediently brought a small stool from the living room, stood on it, and washed the dishes with Qin Ren.
Fortunately, the white bubbles in the sink were fun to play with, and Luo Yao was soon washing dishes with great enthusiasm.
It was only after she stood on the stool that Qin Ren realized how truly petite she was. Without it, her head would barely reach above the sink.
Hmm…
It’s really hard to imagine this kid is actually hundreds of years old…
“Luo Yao, what did you mean earlier when you said there was spiritual energy in my apartment?”
“Literally what I said. The spiritual energy in your world is supposed to be depleted, but I could detect a trace of it when I got near here. That’s why I thought your place was a Grotto-Heaven.”
Qin Ren had already explained that his place was no Grotto-Heaven, which had greatly disappointed Luo Yao. But she could still feel the presence of that wisp of spiritual energy, she just couldn’t pinpoint its exact location since she was “in the mountain,” so to speak.
Spiritual energy in my home…
Qin Ren wasn’t too surprised. Demonic Scions originated from other worlds to begin with. After years of exorcism, it was perfectly normal for him to have picked up some so-called spiritual energy from somewhere at some point and brought it home.
“Tell me about the worldview of your Myriad Demon Continent, will you?”
“What’s a worldview?”
Luo Yao felt it didn’t sound very tasty, otherwise she would have eaten it long ago on the Myriad Demon Continent.
Qin Ren explained the meaning of worldview to her. He then learned that the Myriad Demon Continent was not as he had previously guessed. Instead, it was a place where only the demon race could cultivate, seek the Dao, and establish sects. They held a high position and enjoyed the offerings of the human race.
As a gift and a blessing, the demon race would occasionally bestow “miracles” upon humans, such as timely rain after a long drought or auspicious snow in a year of good harvest, as well as providing immortal pills to extend the lives of mortal emperors.
And the most important point was that the demon race was the only power on the Myriad Demon Continent capable of resisting the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons.
“Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons?”
Otherworld vs. otherworld?
Qin Ren found this interesting. Earth had planar barriers, but other planes might not. It wasn’t impossible for something like this to happen.
It might sound a bit impolite, but to Qin Ren, an earthling, the occasional invasion of the Myriad Demon Continent by Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons sounded at most like a fantasy blockbuster. Without witnessing the bloody tragedy firsthand, it was really hard to empathize.
However, it was important to note that Spirit Beasts were Spirit Beasts, and the demon race was the demon race.
Spirit Beasts could not cultivate; the demon race could.
This was the prerequisite for Luo Yao becoming the Guardian Spirit Beast of that Flowing Cloud Sect.
“Hey, Luo Yao, your Sect Master was already undergoing her tribulation. Is she super powerful, the kind that can move mountains and fill seas?”
“Hmph…”
“?”
“She’s average, I guess…”
Luo Yao seemed to have some unspeakable feelings about her Sect Master. However, when she mentioned the head disciple who was undergoing the tribulation at the same time, she didn’t hold back her praise.
“She is the Sect Master’s most proud and valued disciple. She’s very talented. She hasn’t been with the Sect Master for long, yet she’s already reached the tribulation stage. In the entire Myriad Demon Continent…”
“She’s as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn, I get it.”
As an old web novel reader, Qin Ren could recite such phrases by heart.
“By the way, the person who was chasing you is probably a colleague of mine. They must have mistaken you for a Demonic Scion. You don’t have to worry as long as I’m here.”
“Konjac?” (Konjac / Demonic Scion (魔芋 / 魔裔): Homophone misunderstanding. Luo Yao hears “móyì” (魔裔, Demonic Scion) as “móyù” (魔芋), which is konjac, a type of edible plant)
“It’s Demonic Scion! It’s…”
Qin Ren also began to introduce some of his side’s worldview to her.
Of course, the worldview on Earth was very complex and couldn’t be explained in a short time. Qin Ren only briefly explained the parts that were directly related to himself.
——————————
Five minutes later, the pots, pans, and dishes were all washed.
Qin Ren rested on the sofa while Luo Yao touched and poked things around the room, her eyes constantly sparkling with novelty at everything she saw.
Especially the refrigerator.
Open the door, then slowly close it.
Open it again, then slowly close it again.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to see if the light is still on when it’s closed.”
It seemed that kids from every plane were into this. Qin Ren stopped her, then prepared a change of clothes, adjusted the water heater, and told her to go take a shower first.
“Especially your feet. You’ve been walking outside for hours… Oh right, you didn’t step on any glass or sharp stones and get cut, did you?”
This question suddenly occurred to Qin Ren, but Luo Yao gave a surprising answer.
“This eminence is a divine-walking Spirit Beast. My feet never get dirty when I walk.”
“Huh?”
A strange trait of the Pixiu has been added.
