The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear; and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
Above flesh and blood, a thick, deep red mist surged. Qin Zheng gritted his teeth, his brow etched with deep fatigue as he protected a shred of his pure Soul.
Four Holy Swords circled around him, radiating four-colored halos, resisting the erosion of the deep red will.
Fallen Dragon, a weapon-type Pet Beast, King-level!!
Weapon-type Pet Beasts are extremely special and incredibly rare.
Unlike the Mechanical type, they awaken only when Spiritual energy is born within a cold weapon.
Generally speaking, only Divine Weapons renowned in history, upon igniting the flame of will, can give birth to Extraordinary Life.
However, the Fallen Dragon’s defenses were now tainted with a hint of crimson, no longer as solid as before. Countless red mists surged, transforming into an extremely viscous sea that engulfed all vision.
And he, in this crimson deep sea, was slowly sinking, his sanity eroding, his Soul distorting!
His Soul began to twist and elongate, growing tumors, tendrils, and fleshy organs, sprouting countless pustules.
Even the Fallen Dragon was engulfed by the deep red. Its spiritually stable Extraordinary Life was torn asunder, chaos, distortion, and malice pouring into it, turning it into a lackey of the Evil Gods.
"In the end... I can’t hold on..."
Qin Zheng murmured, the last vestige of his will about to be consumed by the deep red.
All his strength was lost, his Spiritual energy collapsing.
In this vast crimson sea, the only thing he could do was lift his head—his face riddled with rot and distortion, even sprouting fish scales—and stare at a writhing shadow within the deep red.
Elder Qin felt no fear. Tormented by this deep red will for over a month, he faced death with human courage.
The Fallen Dragon let out a weak, sorrowful cry.
"It’s truly... I’m so unreconciled..."
Qin Zheng smiled bitterly, his last shred of consciousness about to disintegrate.
As the stabilizing force of the Qin Family, he had many lingering concerns. He didn’t know if the younger generation could maintain the Qin Family’s prosperity after his departure.
What worried him most was that with his fall, the person in the Imperial Capital would surely take Qiuyun away.
Without him, the Qin Family might suffer a disastrous decline.
The deep red shattered. A Twilight Light poured in, and the countless deep red mists sizzled and smoked like snow under the spring sun.
The shadow in the deep red was pierced by a flying blade. This attack penetrated the corruption, its entire body becoming disordered—like chaotic graffiti on a sketch—before it fell into the ancient River of Time, all traces of it erased.
At this moment, the suffocating sensation dissipated. Qin Zheng’s eyes widened.
As a Beast Tamer who had dabbled in time-related domains, he sharply sensed a pure Power of Time. This power had unexpectedly entered the deep red world and slain this deep red will!
"Twilight... ancient time... Who? No, wait, what just happened...?"
His consciousness blurred; the scene of the Time Blade he had just witnessed gradually faded from his memory. When he came to his senses again, the deep red could no longer pollute him.
Qin Zheng, whose brow had been pierced by a flying blade while he slept, moved his fingers slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
After a moment of haze, sanity returned. Only then did he see a refined young man before him, beside whom lay a Little Fox wreathed in blazing fire.
Its six wild, dragon-like fox tails waved aggressively, their fierce flames illuminating everything around. Qin Zheng, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized it as a King Pet Beast.
"Senior, are you alright?"
Chu Yi then spoke with concern, "I am Sister Qiuyun’s teammate. We can discuss the details later. I will get you out of here immediately, Senior."
The Qin Zheng he had been speaking to earlier had already been replaced by the King of Deep Red.
Both body and Soul had been devoured entirely by the deep red, which had usurped his Life Chart.
And by using the Time Blade, moving in Reverse Flow through ancient time and revisiting the past, the King of Deep Red’s influence on Qin Zheng had been severed.
Bika swung its six tails, its wild, dragon-like tails spewing Crown Flame, incinerating the amalgamated heart of flesh and blood.
Having been useless in the previous battle, Bika also wanted to show off. It conjured a roaring fire that burned brightly, feeling wonderfully warm.
Qin Zheng was momentarily dazed. Though puzzled, he immediately took out a Treasure: a tortoise shell containing the Power of Time, its patterns clear but slightly fragmented.
He activated it, his eyes gleaming. Staring at Chu Yi for a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh, "Young man, you’re not yet married, are you?"
Chu Yi paused, surprised, and said, "Yes, Senior, but this junior already has his heart set on someone."
Why is he concerned about my marriage at a time ?
"What do you think of my granddaughter, Qiuyun, then?"
While secretly taking medicine to restore his spirituality, Qin Zheng broached the topic to distract Chu Yi.
Such small maneuvers naturally couldn’t fool Chu Yi’s second-stage Clock Eye.
"Sister Jiang is virtuous, kind, gentle, and considerate. As the esteemed young lady of the Qin Family, I have always respected her as an elder sister," Chu Yi stated frankly.
After all, his relationship with Jiang Qiuyun was merely an act for public appearances, a way to gain the overt protection of the influential Qin Family.
But in his heart, he had always loved Lias, from beginning to end. If she found out about this, she’d probably shove ice cream right into my mouth!
Qin Zheng was rescued. His Soul, though damaged, was recoverable.
He learned that this young man had cleverly dealt with the scarlet Old God. First, he had seized the King’s Spear, and then he had used special means to slay the entity.
Even an old fox like Qin Zheng, who had weathered many storms, now looked at this young man with newfound respect.
What shocked Qin Zheng the most was Chu Yi’s sharp insight; he had discovered in advance that the imposter was the scarlet Old God in disguise.
Furthermore, possessing a King’s Cub, his future was limitless.
In Chu Yi, Qin Zheng saw a shadow of his younger self. Combined with the young man’s ambiguous relationship with Qiuyun, he found himself growing increasingly fond of him.
My grandson-in-law, it’s settled!
"Too formal. Call me Grandpa," Qin Zheng stroked his beard, smiling as he corrected Chu Yi.
"This... Won’t Sister Jiang..." Chu Yi hesitated.
"A life saved is a debt that’s hard to repay. My only presentable asset is my granddaughter. Let her repay you with her hand in marriage." The old fox squinted, determined to secure this grandson-in-law.
He paused, then added, "The Qin Family’s resources will be yours to use. How about that for a dowry?"
Beast Taming prodigies were as numerous as carp crossing a river.
But those who finally stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid were only a select few, collectively called Demons!
In Qin Zheng’s sharp eyes, Chu Yi was one of them!
"Uh... alright, Grandpa."
The little fox blinked his eyes, reluctantly calling out, "Grandpa."
The two foxes, each with their own calculations, both felt they had struck a grand bargain.