Longzang

Chapter 1235 Making the Most of a Lion's Talent
As the images faded, a space appeared within the immortal ring. Wei Yuan moved his divine sense and appeared inside the ring.

Inside the ring, a hazy gray mist permeated the space, and Wei Yuan's divine sense could only penetrate a dozen miles into it. Within his field of vision, he could see undulating terrain, but the original rivers were now just dried-up riverbeds, and the mountain peaks were rounded, without any sharp edges, as if all the corners had been eroded away.

It was vaguely visible that this space was divided into several areas, each with different terrain. In the center was a small hill with a flat top, from which a faint light shimmered.

Wei Yuan immediately flew over. At the top of the mountain was a platform with a thin light screen in the center, protecting a small area. Under the light screen, a small, snow-white beast, resembling a lion cub, was curled up asleep. Scattered around it were several jade tablets, each emitting a different light.

That's all.

As soon as Wei Yuan approached, the snow-white lion cub woke up and bared its fangs at him. Even with Wei Yuan's current cultivation level, he could faintly sense a threat.

Wei Yuan did not rush to attack, but instead asked, "What are you?"

The little lion remained on guard, while a fragmented thought transmitted through it, not forming coherent sentences. However, with the help of the prosperity of the various realms, Wei Yuan finally understood its meaning.

This little lion is the spiritual embodiment of this celestial ring. It was severely injured in the final battle alongside its original owner and was then sealed away and buried underground. Thousands of years of erosion nearly destroyed it completely. In order to survive longer, it had to discard all its memories and slumber in a state of minimal exertion, which is how it has managed to hold on until now.

"Master...where is he..." it transmitted another thought.

The little lion didn't speak, but instead communicated with Wei Yuan directly through the transmission of true meaning.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then showed it the enormous hand bone that stretched for tens of miles outside. Although the little lion had lost all its memories and was like a blank slate, it was still the spirit of the immortal ring and its spiritual foundation was extremely high. It understood that its master had indeed perished.

Seeing that the little lion understood the situation, Wei Yuan said in a gentle tone, "Now that this ring belongs to me, are you willing to submit to me?"

The little lion transmitted a thought: "Get lost!"

Wei Yuan's smile froze on his face instantly, then vanished, and he said coldly, "I just don't want to go through the extra trouble of refining a Ring Spirit, but it's not that I can't do without you! If you still don't know what's good for you, I'll just kill you and refining this Ring!"

The little lion roared, the gist of which was: I am not to be driven by mortals, you can go as far away as possible and die!

Wei Yuan was furious and said coldly, "You think you're something just because you've latched onto an immortal? I have countless spiritual objects stronger than you. One more or one less makes no difference to me!"

Little Lion: Keep blowing!

Without a word, Wei Yuan immediately summoned the Seventh Cave Heaven, and a blue-backed dragon roamed through the space. The blue dragon was a hundred miles long, and it couldn't move freely in this space, so it could only coil and fly.

This dragon is of extremely high status; Wei Yuan estimates it is not much inferior to the true form of the Azure Dragon of the East. It is more than capable of suppressing ordinary immortal beasts.

However, upon seeing the blue-backed dragon, the little lion suddenly bristled and let out a roar that shook the entire space! It was determined to fight this dragon to the death!

Wei Yuan had no idea what grudge these two had held against each other before, so why they were acting like this the moment they met. The little lion roared incessantly, scratching the ground with its claws, its size completely disproportionate, yet it still adopted a fighting stance.

Despite its constant roars and challenges, the azure dragon in the sky continued to swim on its own, completely ignoring the little creature below. This wasn't because it had a good temper, but because the azure dragon now lacked any intelligence and acted entirely on instinct.

Wei Yuan noticed two small bulges on the lion cub's back, which kept wriggling with its movements, and he couldn't tell what they were for a moment.

However, it was clear that the appearance of the Azure Dragon did not subdue it, but instead aroused its fighting spirit.

Wei Yuan seemed thoughtful and put away the Azure-Backed Dragon. Judging from its performance, this little lion's rank, even if not as high as the Azure-Backed Dragon, wasn't far off. Seeing this, Wei Yuan was reluctant to kill it.

With another thought, Wei Yuan unleashed a sword aura from between his brows, and the girl Xi He appeared. She looked around and asked, "Where is this place?"

Upon seeing Xihe, the little lion immediately became somewhat timid, retreating and baring its fangs, while continuously letting out low growls.

Xihe noticed it too, and her eyes lit up immediately: "This little thing looks really fun! Leave it to me, I'm the best at taming beasts!"

Wei Yuan asked in surprise, "You can do this too?" Xi He replied, "Of course! When I was still alive, I always wanted to find a suitable mount. I traveled all over the world and encountered countless sacred beasts and ferocious birds."

Wei Yuan was even more puzzled. Generally speaking, the lifespan of sacred beasts and celestial birds far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators, often reaching thousands or even tens of thousands of years. If the fourth palace master had once had a sacred beast as a mount, it should still be alive and well by now. However, while there were many unclaimed immortal artifacts left behind by previous generations in the Taichu Palace, there wasn't a single sacred beast among them.

Wei Yuan asked, "But there are no sacred beasts or celestial birds in the palace. They are not mentioned in your records either. Did they perish along with you back then?"

Xihe rolled her eyes at him and said, "What's so incredible about that? It's simple. I tried to tame it, but failed."

Wei Yuan nearly choked; it turned out she was incredibly 'skilled' at taming beasts. It seemed Xi He was out of the question. But if she could subdue this little lion, things would be easier; Wei Yuan could slowly devise a plan.

Xihe glanced at the lion cub again and asked curiously, "Why does it seem to hate and fear me so much? Why? Did I kill its parents or something?"

Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What sacred beasts did you kill back then?"

Xihe thought for a moment and said, "I didn't kill many. It was just that once I encountered a Qiongqi that was wreaking havoc in the area and eating people. I decided to act on behalf of Heaven and subdue it to make it my mount. But it not only refused, it also spoke rudely!"
So I slaughtered it, made its meat into rations, and ate it for many years. The skin and tendons were used to make the hilt of the immortal sword—oh, the one I'm currently using.

Wei Yuan looked at the little white lion again and sighed inwardly.

Xihe took another look at the little lion, and this time she finally understood: "Is this a Qiongqi? Is it a descendant or a member of the same kind of creature I encountered back then? Why are its wings gone? Who cut them off?"

Wei Yuan asked a few more questions and finally became certain that it wasn't Xi He who had cut it.

With Xihe present, Xiao Qiongqi was filled with fear and dread, so Wei Yuan had no choice but to send her back before he could think things through. Of the seven great grotto-heavens and six true spirits, the true spirit of the central spirit palace was still unknown. The Pure Land and the Yellow Springs were unsuitable, the full moon couldn't move, and the half-moon's wooden tablet seemed inferior to the Azure Dragon and Xihe.

For a moment, Wei Yuan couldn't find anything that could subdue it.

However, Wei Yuan observed the surrounding environment and determined that this place belonged to the Earth element. He then tried sending over the aura of the central Earth element, but to his surprise, the little Qiongqi immediately became excited and hesitantly approached Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan's heart stirred, and he threw out two more mirage demons. The little white lion roared and pounced, swallowing the mirage demons whole, one after another!
Wei Yuan felt a wave of embarrassment; he had almost thrown out the three-headed Imperial Mirage Demon just now.

After swallowing two mirage demons, the little white lion became noticeably more affectionate. Wei Yuan then coaxed and deceived the little white lion, exaggerating the value of the mirage demons to the point of being equivalent to dragon liver and phoenix marrow. This completely fooled the little white lion, who had lost his memory and all experience and knowledge, and before he knew it, the little white lion had accepted him as its master.

After recognizing it as its master, Wei Yuan searched its limited fragmented memories and finally pieced together a rough outline of its past experiences. It was likely that it was killed by the original owner of the Immortal Ring, and then its true soul was refined into a spirit and sealed within the Immortal Ring.

The space inside the Immortal Ring is roughly a hundred miles in circumference and was originally divided into seven areas, each corresponding to a different living environment for one of the seven races. The edges of this space are extremely fragile, but beyond those edges lie void gales capable of tearing everything apart. Once someone steps outside, unless they are an immortal or possess a monstrous body like Ji Liuli or Wei Yuan, everyone else will be torn to shreds.

The true entrance and exit of space is located in the very center of the sky, so Qiongqi, having had its wings cut off, is unable to fly across the void or escape from the dome.

As a rare and ferocious beast, even if Qiongqi were refined into a weapon spirit, it would still be restless. The original owner of the Immortal Ring must have been deeply troubled by this, which is why it cut off its wings.

I learned from the little white lion that this ring is called the "Spirit Shepherd Ring". Its original function is to put a large number of living beings into the ring. When necessary, they can be refined on the spot, and their blood, qi and soul can be transformed into a fierce and unparalleled attack. Even ordinary immortals would have to give way!
This purpose is extremely bloody and evil, using all living beings as raw materials for magical arts, which is even worse than the Myriad Spirits Banner.

Previously, the space inside the ring was set up to suit the seven races, and each race was used to raise its own creatures, which at its peak numbered as many as a million! The most powerful attack of the original owner of the Immortal Ring consumed more than 900,000 creatures in one go!

However, due to the passage of time, the original grand formation within the ring had been destroyed, leaving only space. This space was also eroded by the void, and the spiritual energy was depleted, gradually becoming uninhabitable. The little white lion could only use its last bit of spiritual energy to set up a formation, hiding inside to sleep. Its body, which was originally a thousand feet long, had shrunk to just over a foot in size over the years.

As for those jade tablets, they belonged to the original owner of the Immortal Ring, recording his cultivation path and techniques. This was a complete path leading directly to immortality!
Wei Yuan immediately and carefully put it away, thus further enhancing Qingming's foundation. Unlike the path of the Taichu Palace, this path was in Wei Yuan's own hands and could be freely passed on.

Apart from these few jade tablets, there was nothing else in the space. All the surviving creatures had been eaten by the little white lion, and even the remaining magical artifacts had been devoured by it.

However, Wei Yuan's joy was not diminished in the slightest. He looked around and only then did he truly understand the meaning of "this thing is destined for me".

Such a divine object was completely wasted in the hands of its original owner; only in Wei Yuan's hands does it possess true power.

(End of this chapter)