Wu Hen finally woke up.
The whole village breathed a sigh of relief.
If this Divine Beast Bai Ze wasn't dealt with soon, the whole village would have to move out!
Wu Hen was puzzled too. He thought the Divine Beast Bai Ze was too proud and regal to converse with mere mortals, let alone disdainfully reject human food with a sense of noble starvation.
Who knew that after not seeing Bai Ze for two days, it seemed even rounder.
It ate and drank everything without refusal.
It spoke so much that even the village's gossiping grannies couldn't keep up, and even wild dogs passing by were taunted by it, leaving the wild dogs questioning their existence, wondering why a divine beast was picking a fight with them.
"You've blended in with everyone, it seems you're quite sociable," Wu Hen said.
Sure enough, there's a thin line between goddess and a goofy goddess; between divine beast and neurotic beast, there was no difference. Bai Ze's tongue-lashing had stomped the intelligence and dignity of all the ancient clan people into the ground.
"Stop yapping. The spell you placed on me is shameless. Dare to have a real intellectual battle with me?" Divine Beast Bai Ze said angrily.
"Not interested. You first solve the riddle in the Wisdom Gourd," Wu Hen said calmly.
Divine Beast Bai Ze was so angry that its four white hooves stomped the ground.
It truly hated staying in this lousy village. It couldn't break the restriction in the Wisdom Gourd.
"Wu Hen, I can't stand this chatterbox of a divine beast anymore. Quickly get it to leave. The harmony that has lasted for thousands of years in the village is being ruined by it. Little Jiang likes Chong Xue, Chong Xue likes Da Hai, Da Hai likes Chong Hua, Chong Hua likes rap…" said the woman responsible for weaving.
"It's just nonsense. Don't pay it any mind," Wu Hen explained.
"What kind of riddle did you give it that it can't solve it?" someone curiously asked.
Wu Hen suddenly snickered, then peeled off a note stuck to the broken gourd. The note showed an unsolvable riddle.
"How to make the divine beast Bai Ze become Wu Hen's mount?" At this moment, Divine Beast Bai Ze coldly read the riddle.
Everyone was amazed by the wisdom!
Divine Beast Bai Ze got it wrong.
So, Divine Beast Bai Ze couldn't break the restriction, remaining trapped by the spirit chain in the gourd.
If Divine Beast Bai Ze answered correctly, it would have to provide a valid solution for becoming Wu Hen's mount, or it would be considered wrong.
Divine Beast Bai Ze couldn't fly away and didn't want to be a mount, so it just dragged on like that.
"Genius! Taming a divine beast actually requires wisdom!" Du Mao sincerely admired Wu Hen's thinking.
It was an unsolvable lock. Even though Divine Beast Bai Ze could see through people's hearts, it couldn't provide the final answer.
"So, Sister Bai Ze, do you give in?" Wu Hen laughed.
"How ridiculous. This is merely a boring human trick. Once I find the true essence of this broken gourd, I can easily break it open with my immortal power!" Divine Beast Bai Ze said angrily.
"Of course, you can forcefully break the gourd, but the problem is, you can never solve it. There's no limit to power in this world. Do you dare say there's no myth stronger than you? So using force isn't real prowess. But if you can solve such a difficult problem, is there anything in the world that can truly bind you?" Wu Hen began his sophistry.
Divine Beast Bai Ze pondered for a moment and finally spat a mouthful of immortal saliva at Wu Hen.
To stop it from causing more trouble in the village, Wu Hen collected it into the Water Gourd.
After all, Wu Hen had already grasped the true meaning of taming, and the rest could be slowly adapted.
Divine Beast Bai Ze couldn't immediately accept becoming a mount, which was normal. Didn't Fairy Gong Qin also cry on the second day of staying in the cowshed?
Sooner or later, they would be won over by his charisma!
"Boy, why do I feel a familiar aura from you?" Divine Beast Bai Ze suddenly asked from within the gourd.
Wu Hen also found it strange but answered earnestly, "Maybe we were destined in a past life. You were a cat I raised back then."
"Nonsense. I'm talking about Glazed Crystal Energy. What did you do to my Immortal Mansion, you little rascal?" Divine Beast Bai Ze asked viciously.
"You've already been tamed by me. Why do you still care about your old nest?" Wu Hen replied somewhat guiltily.
"Scoundrel! Scoundrel!! You actually took over my entire Immortal Mansion and fed it to that broken sword in your soul! I'll drag you down with me!!" Divine Beast Bai Ze began to frenzy inside the gourd.
"No, Bai Ze, look at it this way. When I tamed you, I didn't forget to move your nest here with me. You can still absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Splendor and feel the Glazed Crystal Energy. I'm like your mobile mansion. What are you unhappy about?" Wu Hen retorted, justifyingly.
"You took my nest and my body. How dare you be so shameless!"
"Do you think I wanted to? There's no seven-day return policy here. The Divine Beast Bai Ze I imagined was noble, aloof, and mighty—nothing like you, chattering nonstop and giving me a headache. Were you a human-faced duck in your past life?" Wu Hen snapped, unable to bear it any longer.
"Don't compare me to that lowly, dirty demon!" Divine Beast Bai Ze obviously knew what a human-faced duck was. It arched its back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, all bristled fur.
A human-faced duck at least insults you brainlessly, spewing curses with minimal harm but maximum insult.
The Divine Beast Bai Ze could see through hearts and even knew innermost thoughts. Its words were far more destructive, nearly tearing apart the peaceful and serene ancient clan's village.
In any case, the Divine Beast was wholly subdued.
But something still felt off…
Luckily, Fairy Gong Qin was the cold and aloof type. Otherwise, his ears would have suffered immensely from endless nagging, without enjoying the perks of an emperor's harem, enduring all the squabbles.
Suddenly, Wu Hen started to miss Mingyi.
Only Mingyi could probably handle the Divine Beast Bai Ze. After all, she was the supreme being who could curse a human-faced duck into silence!
"Strange, why can't my physique evolve?"
Logically, consuming the meat of mythical species should have caused his physique to upgrade quickly.
But why had he been stuck at a devolved First Rank?
On the other hand, his hearing, taste, Holy Infant, and Little Yi had all improved significantly, except his physique.
Now, Wu Hen felt like a bucket with a significant shortcoming, preventing the water level from rising, limiting his power below the Heavenly Light.
And the ancient clan couldn't provide him with an answer…
"Could it be that I'm possessing this body, which inherently restricts my evolution chain gate?" Wu Hen began pondering.
His physique devolved, never to be strengthened again.
It was like experiencing a rejection reaction.
With the skills Wu Hen had now, he could face some weaker mythical species, but pure strength was his shortfall…
After much thought, Wu Hen believed this was the only possible explanation.
This physique didn't originally belong to him and was still that of the Holy Sect disciple, Cai Ting.
No matter how high he cultivated his soul, his body became a burden as he advanced.
In other words, to reap all the benefits of his cultivation, he needed to return to Nuwa God End, back to his original body...
"Brother Wu Hen, don't lose heart either. You're like someone with a heavy shackle on their body now. Your power can't exhibit its superior might above Heavenly Light but doesn't mean you're weak." Du Mao consoled Wu Hen.
Du Mao, having humbly studied, also made significant progress. Especially after integrating the ancient clan's combat techniques, his strength surged, enabling him to independently hunt mythical species.
The understandably kidnapped Fairy Gong Qin also began cultivating, continuously eliminating distractions within her heart, gradually overcoming her inner demon. It was apparent she originally possessed more power than Du Mao, the mighty Zhenwu. She could single-handedly defeat a mountain demon god.
Wu Hen now could perceive most mythical creatures' methods, utilizing various ancient clan hunting techniques to capture them—though head-to-head strength was lacking a bit…
Summoning Little Yi, under Jian Lin, he could indeed confront some mythical species head-on. But without the Black Glass Sword and Thunder Transition Factor, fighting those mythical species was still tough.
Wu Hen felt like a male version of Wang Yuyan, knowing all the ways, moves, and transformations of his opponents, yet only slender and weak when fighting.
"Seems this lost host's life vitality truly exhausted." Wu Hen was quite helpless but had to accept the fact.
Moreover, whether his soul was lost was also an unknown.
After all, lost human souls in the Desert Dust would gradually lose their true selves.
"After this Cold Era, I'll cross Red Snow Mountain." Wu Hen thought to himself.
Though the Scroll Realm was good, Wu Hen ultimately didn't belong here.
Mastering the skills would still lead to the day of packing up and leaving...
Wu Hen had to return to his original place.
"Brother Hen, take me with you when the time comes. I feel my divine skills are also complete now." Du Mao remarked.
Nearby, Fairy Gong Qin furrowed her brows in thought.
After much hesitation, she also stated, "I think I've already broken my inner demon…"
"Alright, alright, both of you are invincible in the world now. It's just me foolishly feeling like a cripple," Wu Hen said.
"Brother Hen, you know who among the three of us is the most perceptive, who's the real leader. Don't we? Fairy Gong Qin was genuinely defeated by you on stage, and I can't last ten moves against her. I've learned a lot with the ancient clan. You can't judge a person by their current state but by their potential. I'm counting on you, Brother Hen, to lead me across the Desert Divine Realm and rally the Human Clan!" Du Mao said.
"I admit, you're more suitable for learning the ancient techniques here. But outside, you might not be my match," Fairy Gong Qin, with her usual stiff small mouth, replied.
"Don't even go there. Outside, you could crush me with a little finger," Wu Hen chuckled wryly.
Wu Hen now was like a Faraday engine with a tractor body. Full power, and the body would fall apart!
"No worries. When we reach Red Snow Mountain, I'll handle strategy and command. I'll handle close combat, and Fairy Gong Qin can control her sword from a distance. We'll definitely take down the Mountain Guardian King!" Du Mao sounded confident.