Bu Bian had entered into a unfathomable state called Illusion Meditation. His body was already made of Qi, and high-grade celestial goldmist Qi at that, an energy only less pure than the primal energy of the earth. Therefore, his innate ability at understanding Qi was very great indeed.

So when he absorbed the Milky Way Dragon-Leopards core of condensed Qi, he was also able to understand the intent contained within. This could be called the ‘will’ of the Qi. Will that manifested as illusions!

These illusionary images contained the truest essence of the intent imbued within the Qi, allowing the Goldmist Bat to grasp some of the Dragon-Leopard’s techniques and wisdom.

The beast core of the Milky Way Jaguar had given birth to a constellation of ten stars. These ten stars had given birth to an illusion containing the essence of the beast’s divine will.

An illusion of a drunken warrior. His reclining legs were formed by three stars, the cup in his outstretched arm by another three, his shoulders, head and the crest of his helm formed by a final three. A final star hung unconnected to the rest in the sky above, the warrior gazing up with an expression of pure rage on his face.

As the warrior fully materialized in the cloud of golden Qi it began to move, drawing the blade at its hip and rising drunkenly to its feet. With unsteady steps and a wild laugh on its lips, the warrior performed three strikes, each more sudden and unpredictable than the last.

With the third strike the warrior illusion faded. The constellation of ten stars now depicted the warrior in his final stance, with three stars for his feet and legs, three for his outstretched arm and sword, and the final three for the crest of his helmet and his two blazing eyes. And the tenth star? The final star had been split in two by the warrior’s strike!

It fell from the heavens in two halves, forming a broken green spirit jade. A real piece of jade had been born from a mere illusion.

This was the power of the Goldmist Bat’s second ability, the Illusionary Soul Scripture!

“A sword stance?” The cloud of golden mist that was Bu Bian swiftly collapsed back into the shape of a golden bat. “Ai, I need a Qi Refinement technique! How does a leopard even hold a sword?”

Of course, only a few breaths ago Bu Bian hadn’t realized he would be able to receive a transmitted technique at all. In the space of a single breath he had become completely ungrateful for this unexpected gift!

“How do you get shameless enough to complain about such a magnificent technique like that? That sword was flawless! I said, you’re completely shameless!”

“Shameless!”

These were the voices of Feng Yu and Xiu Tian! The rain of starry Qi had awoken them and healed the worst of their injuries. Although they were tied up with rattan vines Bu Bian had summoned from the boggy earth of the toad’s heartworld, they were still managing to make it very hard to meditate.

“Shameless, you say? Then why are the two of you still alive? Wouldn’t you have to say that a shameless Fiend would have devoured the both of you?” Bu Bian flew down and landed atop Feng Yu’s head. The Fiendhunter could only glare furiously at his sworn foe, who responded with a lazy yawn. “That said, I’m not an ashamed beast either.”

“Don’t you realize I could still decide to eat you two if you keep making so much noise? You really are risking life and limb interrupting my meditation.” Continuing to lecture them, Bu Bian began to pace around the top of Feng Yu’s head, speaking as much to himself as to the two hunters. “It’s absolutely essential that I can concentrate! If these beasts realize the truth they’ll tear me apart. I need some way to collect my tribute without revealing myself…”

“Huh! Caught in your own lies. If you flee now, you’ll at least survive until our brother Fiendhunters arrive!” Xiu Tian sneered. He was really astounded by this Bu Bian. Worse, with every one of Bu Bian’s cowardly acts he was reminded that he had lost a fight to this useless bat.

“Fiendhunters? Fiendhunters…” A thoughtful expression overtook Bu Bian’s face. In seconds his eyes had started to blaze like coals. His excitement caused him to squeak as he shot into the air and swooped about in joy. “I have a plan!”

It must be remembered that Bu Bian was quite young, and he still celebrated every success like a gleeful child!

“Xiu Tian is a genius, and I am too! Bu Bian is unfathomably wise and Xiu Tian is brilliantly simple!” He shouted, buzzing about his captive’s heads.

“Ai? Don’t say that, I didn’t mean to help you!” This was too much, really too much, and worst of all Feng Yu was giving him a baleful look as if he was a foul traitor. “Whatever it was, you did it on your own!”

“I must be a genius and wise too, then! Ah, the incredible Bu Bian, he has more cunning in the space of a breath than humans do in a whole season!” There was simply no bringing Bu Bian down once he worked himself up into a frenzy. His was a truly insatiable ego!

He only closed his mouth long enough to snap up the bugs flying through the swamp, filling the air with chatter as he went swooping after dragonflies and moths, and mercifully he soon became distracted by the chase for a particularly brilliant butterfly that managed to evade him and lead him away.

Both brothers let out long and terribly exhausted sighs.

“Idiots! You two fools need to seal your lips quickly, or he’ll be preening all day.” Zhao Ze cracked open an eye, his cultivation disturbed by the self-celebrations of Bu Bian. “Whatever you do, never give him anything to gloat about. That’s the first rule of survival here and the sooner you figure it out the sooner you’ll be able to relax.”

This was indeed precious advice, and Feng Yu felt a pang of gratitude towards this disgusting creature. He had actually opened his mouth to give a word of thanks when Zhao Ze continued to speak.

“I, of course, understood his character right away, being an ancient and cunning beast, but you humans can’t really expect to measure up to the incredible Zhao Ze. Let me tell you a little about myself! I was born in this very swamp and I quickly…”

Feng Yu’s mouth hung open in shock. They really were beasts! They were simply the most unrefined, boorish creatures he had ever met, and a person as self-absorbed as this could only be called a ‘beast!’

“Hey, come out, why don’t you come out! I’m giving you a glorious opportunity, I’m letting you share your mountain with me!” Did these words seem greedy? Were they shamelessly greedy? Actually, Bu Bian thought they were quite fair, totally fair!

At this moment, he stood outside the Ape-Faced Elk's cave on Yellowflower Mountain.

The Ape-Faced Elk was simply too sick and too weak to cling on to its title as Mountain Ruler now. There could be few better tributes than to gift the Fiend a spiritual spring, so it was only a matter of time before a storm of challengers descended upon the weakest of the Rulers, the Ape-Faced Elk of the Yellowflower Mountain.

But by gifting the spring to Zhao Ze, his favored toadie, all that unpleasantness could be avoided.

“Hey, haven’t you heard I’m not just a loud-mouth toad? I’m the servant of the Primordial Fiend! Oh, have you not heard about the Fiend? Well, his wings are as wide as the heavens, and his strength is so incomparable that I look like a puny human when I stand beside him!”

Bu Bian and Zhao Ze’s body stood outside a crack in the mountain’s face lined with crystalline formations like jagged blue teeth. This was Blue Giant’s Mouth, an immortal cave from which a dense aura of natural energy flowed out into the surrounding forest, causing a rich bounty of medicinal plants to spring up around the entrance and filling the air with a pure clean fragrance that spoke of crystal clear ponds hidden deep beneath the earth.

“Ai, loud-mouthed toad, leave me alone.” An ancient and rumbling voice echoed out of the cave’s entrance.

“I know you’re doing poorly senior, but please come out and impart some wisdom.” In case it helped to kowtow, Bu Bian kowtowed, abusing Zhao Ze’s pride to the utmost. “This junior has many questions regarding the nature of the soul.”

The rumor was that the Ape-Faced Elk had studied among the humans in disguise. This was of the utmost interest to Bu Bian, who so far was working on pure instinct. He could not have explained how he had infiltrated the toad’s heartworld, or strengthened his host by infusing his own Qi into Zhao Ze’s cultivation base.

He could not even have explained why Essence Students and Fiendheart Primalists were named so.

“The nature of the soul…” The dry, ancient voice repeated, chuckling to itself. “What could a stupid creature like you understand about that? You can’t eat a soul, so you may as well shut your fat mouth about it!”

Zhao Ze’s soul could no longer take it, and cried out within the swamp of his heartworld. “Young master please let’s destroy this fool! It’s one thing for you to abuse my pride, but isn’t this guy showing a little too much disrespect to your servant? Isn’t this a little much?”

As the starry rain of the Milky Way Dragon-Leopard’s dissolving core fed the Qi lake of Zhao Ze’s cultivation base, the strength of their shared body was constantly growing.

This had already propelled him to the peak of the Seven Seals Warrior stage! If he could sustain this rate, he would quickly be able to break through into a Void-Essence Student cultivation base, but the jaguar’s core had been eighty percent consumed already.

The Ape-Faced Elk was only a Void-Essence Student, and greatly weakened by his sickness! “Old man!” Bu Bian cried out. “If you can’t give me a little face, and show your famous self outside of that cave, my master won’t even have to get involved! I’ll give you a beating myself!”

“Step inside my cave and you’ll be beating your head against the ground, begging me to spare you, toad!” The ancient voice howled, full of mocking laughter.

If it was up to Bu Bian, he definitely would have given up here. But within the heartworld, Zhao Ze’s eyes went bloodshot with rage, and the rattan vines restraining him burst under a wave of vicious killing pressure born from humiliation. “AAAUGH! That’s it, that’s really it! I can’t take this anymore! I’ve got to get my face back!”

In that instant, Bu Bian had totally lost control! He was a spectator as Zhao Ze kicked off and shot into the Blue Giant’s Mouth!

Daggers of crystal gleamed on every wall, and the cavern was so tall and narrow that Zhao Ze barely had enough room to turn around. It was more a ravine than a cave, and it split off in two directions, a thin river running from each and joining into a small pool by the entrance.

This shallow, mirror-faced pool gave off an immense feeling of energy, the ancient and almighty energy of the underground seas where the rain hid between seasons. Zhao Ze began to drool just at the smell of it, an incomparable fragrance that seemed to evoke images of pale flowers that had never seen the sun. Even Bu Bian grew agitated, every inch of his misty body prickling with excitement at the sight of the immortal spring.

“Eee, I wonder how it tastes?” Unable to resist, Zhao Ze forgot all about the Ape-Faced Elk and let his tongue shoot out, reaching for the spring -

- and at that moment an ancient turtle shot its head out and bit him right on the tongue! Even the two Fiendhunters gasped in horror, and Bu Bian winced mightily as the screams of his toadie echoed through the heartworld.

“YEUGH!” Flinging himself from side to side, Zhao Ze crashed against the crystal fangs jutting from the cavern walls. He swung his tongue about and bashed the turtle against the floor, but the stubborn creature hung on by its beak, its beady dark eyes seeming to fill with laughter as the toad howled! “YHARGH!”

Drawing its tongue back, Zhao Ze planned to simply swallow the turtle whole! But no sooner did his mouth close than he had cause to scream again, letting out a mighty, “YEE-AAUGH!”

The damned turtle had let go of his tongue and was now hanging on by the poor toad’s uvula!