Don't Discriminate Against Species

Chapter 98 - Nine Hearts’ Tribulation

Ancient yao beasts had been emerging one after the other. Because of resentment, Gong Fu had nearly fallen to the ranks of the fiends while the Feiyi who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years had actually perished during the Ice Age due to the cold. This was simply absurd.

“Isn’t this lie a bit too much? The Feiyi don’t look like they have much destructive power, but whatever the case, they still lived past the era of the ancient great yao. How could they die because of this sort of natural calamity?” Chu Yu found this matter rather strange. It was similar to hearing about penguins from the south pole running over to their country and eventually freezing to death.

It didn’t make sense at all.

Nevertheless, Zhuang Qing felt that this Feiyi wasn’t lying. Although this Feiyi appeared sturdy, there were many scars caused by frostbite on its body. He couldn’t speak the language of the modern yao world, and even the few words Chu Yu had spoken was enough to leave him trembling. All this not only indicated that the Feiyi had very little courage, but also his complete lack of interaction with the outside world. The only life-preserving skill he had learnt was probably the barrier to conceal his figure.

It was fortunate that he knew how to erect barriers. If he had been discovered by the humans, only a bullet would be needed to dispose of him.

“So you’re the sole survivor of the Feiyi race?”

“I am indeed the only Feiyi on Hunxi Mountain,” The Feiyi’s two bare tails drooped, not daring to look at Zhuang Qing and the rest. He was the picture of a cowardly person who had been bullied.

“The Feiyi on Taihua Mountain have long been eradicated. Some places have already been developed into natural scenic spots for humans to appreciate,” Zhuang Qing stated. “According to the management bureau’s rules, you should have been given a prison sentence. But due to the special characteristics of your species, I will discuss with the other relevant departments before making a decision.”

The Feiyi wasn’t afraid of being imprisoned or whatnot. He had never been fond of walking around recklessly, so there was no difference no matter where he stayed.

Speaking of this, it was quite strange – their Feiyi race wouldn’t bring about huge droughts if they stayed at Taihua and Hunxi Mountain, but the moment they left these places, not even a blade of grass would grow wherever they went.

Zhuang Qing discussed the matter regarding the Feiyi with the relevant departments. Every party had their own opinions. Some felt that there was meaning behind the existence of all life forms, and that there was only one Feiyi in the world, so they ought to treat it as a special type of breed and raise it. Others felt that the Feiyi’s natural ability was too dangerous, and that they couldn’t risk human lives and assets. There were also those who felt that the Feiyi should first be locked up and observed for a period of time so they could deal with any after-effects.

As the various parties were arguing ceaselessly on video, Zhuang Qing cut in. “The most important thing now isn’t to decide how the Feiyi should be dealt with, but to investigate who brought him out of Hunxi Mountain.”

“Why not place the Feiyi back on Hunxi Mountain?”

“No, I just went to take a look at Hunxi Mountain. The feng shui of the landscape there has been damaged by someone, so it can no longer seal the Feiyi’s innate abilities,” Zhuang Qing took out a photo of Taihua Mountain. “There are many mountain tops on Taihua Mountain that haven’t been opened up for development, I think it’ll be more suitable to seal him there.”

“There are too many travelers at Taihuai Mountain, I’m afraid it isn’t very suitable,” The people from the security department were hesitant.

“Naturally, we won’t let him roam freely. We’ll seal him at a mountain top that people don’t visit,” Zhuang Qing put down the photo. “What does everything think about that?”

Everyone nodded. They could feel at ease with Zhuang Qing handling the matter.

Only after a long while had gone by did they react. Weren’t they discussing whether or not they would keep the Feiyi? How did it turn into a discussion on where he should be kept? Despite having understood Zhuang Qing’s thoughts, the few of them didn’t mind and instead started ruminating over the unknown creature that had brought the Feiyi to the human world.

Anything cultivation-related was all Greek to them, but none of them were weak when it came to scheming.

The boss of the security department: “According to previous behavior in the yao world, it’s possible that yao cultivators are vying for territory. Now that you, the Dragon Lord, is around, these yao cultivators probably won’t ruthlessly deal a killing blow, so they threw the Feiyi at Zhongshan Province, intending to get someone else to do the dirty work for them? Zhongshan Province can’t be considered a major agricultural province, and the Feiyi just happened to appear during the later stage of the harvest season, so the economic losses were limited to a certain degree.”

The boss of the environmental department: “This sort of thing can’t be said with certainty, it’s possible that the timing was just a coincidence. Whatever the case, the unknown creature who did this definitely doesn’t harbor kind intentions.”

The boss of the education department: “Perhaps he’s giving you a warning? Or provoking you?”

The boss of the education department had studied psychology in the past and had taken an optional course in criminal psychology. In the field of psychology, he was an outstanding individual renowned across the globe. This statement of his attracted everyone’s attention.

“Not taking into account the unknown creature’s identity and looking solely at the behavior, his actions resemble the way children cozy up to others,” The outstanding individual had a solemn expression on his face. “Perhaps he is dissatisfied with the cultivation world’s neat and orderly way of living, and wants to return to the past.”

The land they lived on was too mysterious, and it was unknown how many mystical life forms it had produced. To the human world, a chaotic cultivation world was definitely not a good thing.

Zhuang Qing furrowed his brows. After growing accustomed to a comfortable life, who would still be willing to go around killing?

“No matter what it is, we should take precautions. Preparation averts peril after all,” The boss of the education department said. “For the blissful lives of the common people, there is no such thing as doing too much.”

Hearing these few people speaking in academic language again, Zhuang Qing said, “Please take your time to discuss, I’ll make the arrangements for the Feiyi.”

“Ai, youngsters have such strong ability to take action. It’s already so late, and he still wants to work overtime,” The boss of the environmental department yawned. “I’m too old and can’t compare to them.”

“What compare, do you have more zeroes in your age than him?” The boss of the security department cut the power for the video-conference, leaving the boss of the environmental department to direct his anger at the black screen. Compare their real ages? It was only right to look at their physical condition!

Fu Li was dreaming again. He dreamed about playing the ‘fork in the road’ game. On a huge path made of starlight, a fork would appear after walking a short while. At the first fork, a stunning woman stood at the left while an empty path was on the right. Without even thinking, Fu Li walked to the right, too embarrassed to even raise his head.

Sister Pheasant told him that as a male, he must not look around randomly when human girls were dressed particularly scantily.

At the second fork, a mountain of treasures were piled up on the left. Even the road was made out of gems. In contrast, there was only an ordinary tiny path on the right side, with tiny flowers growing sporadically along the path.

Only a nutcase would go to the left. Those gems were uneven; stepping on it would be quite painful to the feet.

At the third fork, a sword radiating holy light was displayed on the left.

Fu Li continued walking towards the right. These weapons weren’t fun to play with at all, they couldn’t even compare to a single five-colored holy light sword in his Qiankun pouch.

At the fourth fork, there was a luxurious imperial palace on the left with countless servants kneeling on the ground in worship.

It was already the current era, yet here they were still engaging in feudalism and all that same old stuff. He was a yao with the resolve to become a civil servant, this sort of corrupted thinking was unacceptable.

At the fifth, sixth, and seventh forks, Fu Li chose the empty path. Cultivation methods, spiritual pills, ancient inheritances or whatnot had no allure to him at all.

When he reached the eighth fork, he saw Reflecting Mist Mountain’s yao cultivators on the left. Fu Li’s nose nearly turned askew. What rotten dream was this? There was completely no sense of realism. The sparrow who lived at the entrance of his cave was very pompous. To it, its claws landing on the ground was akin to suffering a gargantuan grievance, how could it possibly jump about on the ground pecking at grains? That was something only chicks would do.

At the ninth fork, Fu Li saw two huge doors. The one on the left was made of crystal, the two words ‘Immortal Palace’ written on the signboard in the middle. Heavenly music was aflutter. The one on the right was made of black wood, with a signboard stating ‘Underworld’ hanging in the middle. There was even a black jade plaque erected at the side of the door, on which were the words ‘If I don’t enter the underworld, who will?’.

Fu Li pushed open the door on the left without hesitation. He had already visited the underworld, but he hadn’t yet seen what the Immortal Palace looked like.

But when he pushed open the gorgeous door, the space behind it was vacant with nothing in sight. He glanced behind. Just as expected, there was an expanse of darkness behind him. All roads had vanished in the darkness.

“As a cultivator, you should possess the determination to face the suffering of Heaven and Earth. Why did you give up on the underworld to enter this place?”

A genderless and ageless voice entered Fu Li’s ears. He sat cross-legged on the floor and replied with a question of his own, “Many life forms in the world yearn for the light; even moths throw themselves at fire, let alone me.”

“The lives of moths are brief, they do not know suffering. You have cultivated for many years, yet you are unable to grasp this?”

Fu Li felt that this dream was a bit odd. He was living his life perfectly fine, what did he need to understand?

“Isn’t fulfilling one’s desire the emphasis of all things? If I wanted to push open this door but persisted in pushing open the other, how would that be considered ‘understanding’?” Fu Li asked in reply. “Following one’s heart and being in harmony with heavenly law – is that not the best Heart of Dao?”

The voice was silent for a while. “Why were you unwilling to go to the underworld?”

“I’ve been to the underworld, but not the immortal palace. The lifespan of a yao cultivator is long; maintaining the occasional harmless curiosity will make my life more interesting.” Fu Li asked a question in return, “Who are you? Why did you appear in my dream?”

“I am your Heart of Dao.”

“Don’t lie to this yao. How can my Heart of Dao be so bothersome?” Fu Li raised a brow. “Although I don’t know what you are, I don’t sense malicious intentions from you, so I won’t bicker with you. You had better leave quickly.”

There was clearly potential for this to develop into a conversation of profound morals, yet Fu Li had talked it to death.

The voice that professed to be Fu Li’s Heart of Dao was silent for a long time, to the point that Fu Li assumed that it had already left. Only then did the voice once again sound.

“Nine is the Greatest Number. On this day, the power of your Dao has advanced greatly. Now wake up!”

Fu Li woke from the dream with a start and discovered that all the decorative objects in the room had shattered. The glass on the windows had long disappeared, leaving only two tattered window curtains fluttering in the wind.

He lowered his head and saw the spotless, snow-white fur on his front claws.

When had his fur been this white?

Zhuang Qing had just walked out of the video-conferencing room when he felt a powerful wave of yao qi dispersing in all directions from the staff dormitory. Explosions of all kinds sounded all over the entire building. He watched with his own eyes as window after window of glass turned into fragments.

That was special reinforced glass that had just been installed this year!

Gong Fu suddenly opened his eyes in the midst of meditation. He walked to the window in disbelief and felt the intense yao qi in the air. It had been too long, a near eight thousand years since he last met a spiritual yao who passed the Test of Nine Hearts.

‘Nine is the Greatest Number’ included the things that had the most allure to yao cultivators. Yao cultivators with Heaven and Earth’s spiritual qi or who were formed from objects had to pass the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation if they wanted to become true great yao.

During the ancient times, the number of yao who took on form due to Heaven and Earth’s qi was not small, yet very few of them truly became great yao. The Kunpeng could be considered one of them.

All the yao in the building were alarmed. Most yao didn’t know what had happened and only wondered blankly which yao had broken through in the middle of night and whether this individual had any civility. Didn’t they know to find someplace deep within the mountains to do this sort of thing?

Also, the windows that had been shattered by the shock. Would they be able to apply to have it reimbursed at public expense?

“Fu Li!” Zhuang Qing burst through the door to Fu Li’s room. “Are you okay?’

He went mute the next second.

This fluffy creature whose body had increased in size by two folds, was so white that it bordered on holy, had a complex red mark on its forehead, and looked like a cross between a dog and rabbit, was Fu Li?

Fu Li climbed out of a pile of rubbish. He shook the fragments on his body and raised his front claws. He was extremely satisfied with his increasingly ‘imposing’ body, though he didn’t know why his body had turned bigger. However, at this point in time, all his meridians were clear, and his entire body brimmed with spiritual qi. The feeling of fatigue from before had vanished without a trace. His entire yao body couldn’t have felt better.

“Aiyo, my god,” The Kunpeng rushed over. Upon seeing Fu Li’s original form, he nearly couldn’t resist rubbing his eyes. Wasn’t the color of his fur too good? Why didn’t he have such powerful beautification abilities when he passed the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation?

“Why did Fu Li... become like this?” Zhuang Qing felt that Fu Li’s fur would definitely be very nice to touch. But when he looked at the fur that was untainted by even a speck of dust, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.

“A yao cultivator born to the Heavens and nurtured by the Earth starts absorbing Heaven and Earth’s spiritual qi before their birth. Those with good luck can condense a physical body, while those with bad luck will dissipate into spiritual qi as repayment to the earth,” Gong Fu rubbed his hands in preparation to stroke Fu Li’s fur. But the dragon beside him actually moved even faster than him and pulled Fu Li into his arms in the blink of an eye.

“With a physical body, the yao cultivator would have passed the first hurdle. The second hurdle is to transform into human form. In the yao world, yao who are unable to take on human form can only be considered inferior yao. The third hurdle is to go through the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation. Only after experiencing the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation can they be considered a true yao,” The Kunpeng explained. “During ancient times, countless yao who took form from spiritual qi perished because they were unable to pass the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation. Fu little Li, congratulations on becoming a true adult.”

The hand that Zhuang Qing cradled around Fu Li couldn’t help tensing. Fu Li had actually experienced such a thrilling matter, if he hadn’t made it through...

The taste of blood welled up in his throat. Zhuang Qing stroked Fu Li’s white fur, swallowing the blood. “You’ve become heavier.”

“Kunpeng daren, what are you saying? What’s the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation?” Fu Li rested his furry head on Zhuang Qing’s shoulder as he looked at the Kunpeng in confusion. If that dream was the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation, that would really be too easy.

“Didn’t the yao who took you in and cared for you tell you about it?” The Kunpeng found this strange. On certain occasions, Fu Li seemed to understand the ancient times like it was the back of his hand. But on other occasions, he was as ignorant as a child. What were the yao cultivators who educated him doing? Even if they overemphasized certain topics, there was no need to do it to such an extent. “You don’t know what the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation experience is like?” Fu Li’s cultivation had advanced abruptly not too long ago, and now he suddenly had to experience the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation. If Fu Li weren’t standing here all good and well, he would really suspect heavenly law of wanting Fu Li to die.

“All I had was a dream. It was just some naked beauty, a rabbit with very glossy fur, gems, divine weapons, spiritual weapons, cultivation techniques, and so on. It’s not like I lack gems, divine weapons, and cultivation techniques. It’s not good to get too close to beautiful people and rabbits too, that would be too discourteous.” Fu Li knit his brows. “Most unreasonable of all was that there were even people pretending to be my close friends in the dream, and their pretense wasn’t even good enough. I remember all the appearances and likes of my close friends. The Shen lied to me previously using this method, and now this same method was used again. What an overused method.”

The Kunpeng stared blankly. To Fu Li, the things that many yao cultivators longed for day and night had completely no allure. As for the illusion of his close friends, Fu Li was well acquainted with their habits and properties, and had even been lied to once, so he naturally wouldn’t be duped again. He had thought wrong. Heavenly law didn’t want Fu Li to die; it had opened the backdoor for him.

“What about the last hurdle?” The Kunpeng thought about how he had spent a hundred years before breaking through the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation, and was so jealous that he nearly turned into a fat fish.

“There were two doors. I chose the pretty one.”

The Kunpeng nearly couldn’t catch his breath. That pretty door was a trap. The world’s most beautiful fantasyland lay beyond that door. During the ancient times, many yao cultivators had failed at this point.

“In the end, there was nothing behind that door but a black space. I argued with a voice pretending to be my Heart of Dao for a while and then woke up,” Fu Li lifted his white claws with immense happiness. “And then I realized that my original form became mighty and majestic.”

He was a shaggy round lump. Mighty and majestic his ass.

The Kunpeng was at a loss. This doesn’t seem quite right. He had discussed this with the yao cultivators who had successfully passed the tribulation, and all of them had opened the door to the underworld, experienced being separated from what was dear to them, the bitterness of life and death, and the cruelty of illness and poverty. Only then were they considered to have passed the tribulation. What was this that Fu Li had experienced?

“Because he has no desires or yearnings in his heart,” Gong Fu’s voice sounded in the Kunpeng’s heart. The Kunpeng looked back. Gong Fu had appeared behind him at some time.

“He possesses everything that others long for even in their dreams. He even has what others don’t have,” Gong Fu appeared at Fu Li’s door with a somewhat complex expression. “In some sense, a yao cultivator who possesses innumerable treasures and is easily satisfied has the strongest heart.”

The Kunpeng furrowed his brows. “We’re so close, what are you using the sound transmission skill for? Exactly what kind of abilities did the yao cultivators who raised Fu Li have? They actually gave him so many precious things, so much so that he even looks down on the things that appeared in the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation?” Remembering how the red bird claiming to be Fu Li’s elder had easily put the Taowu in its place, the Kunpeng had a spell of heart palpitations.

Fortunately, he hadn’t really injured Fu Li when he first left the seal at the bottom of the ocean. Otherwise, if the elder one came for him after he beat up the little one, half of him might really end up barbecued while the other half would be made into soup to drink.

Gong Fu didn’t answer his question. “So, Fu Li is the true darling of heavenly law, not Zhuang Qing. One grew up pampered and spoiled to the heavens, while the other received the acknowledgement of the nation’s fate only after experiencing hardship. It’s clear that the former led a better life.”

The yao cultivators who raised Fu Li had perhaps thought of all the temptations that Fu Li could face when undergoing the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation, which was why they had given Fu Li countless treasures, taught him how to be a yao, and showered him with boundless love.

Only a yao who possessed all that was beautiful and had been loved and doted on would see a blank space when opening the door of their wishes.

“But generally speaking, in Xianxia stories, people like Fu Li will still end up beaten to death by Zhuang Qing.”

“Don’t read stories carelessly!”

The Kunpeng felt that the novel he had borrowed from the sword yao called Ning Xuan was quite interesting. Humans really were mysterious creatures; they could come up with any story.

Seeing that the Kunpeng and Gong Fu were locked in a silent staredown, Fu Li suddenly slapped his shoulder and said in excitement, “So I’m really not an ordinary rabbit but a great yao who took form from Heaven and Earth’s spiritual qi?”