“Of course not,” Fei Ling said in surprise. “How could you ask such a question?”
“Nothing, I’m just a little curious,” Jiang Ke’er shrugged.
“I’ve been researching xubeast classifications lately, and I was wondering if there are dragon-type xubeasts.”
“Oh.” Fei Ling didn’t think much of it.
But Qiao Xiaoxian seemed to understand something, looking thoughtful.
“You two chat. I’m leaving now.” Jiang Ke’er took the chance to slip away. “Take your time discussing it. It’s a major issue, so you’d better come up with a thorough plan. I support you in spirit… Bye!”
Jiang Ke’er flew into the sky after saying that.
“Wait until I recover my strength, then I’ll talk. I’m leaving too.” Qiao Xiaoxian decisively abandoned Fei Ling and chased after Jiang Ke’er.
Fei Ling could only watch the two women’s retreating backs speechlessly.
“What exactly is their relationship?” Even now, Fei Ling couldn’t figure it out.
He felt he might never understand in this lifetime.
The Xu God’s location was near the Ice Barrier.
Jiang Ke’er spent three days traveling day and night to reach the destination.
It was an ice valley.
The ice valley was bustling with activity.
Jiang Ke’er had never seen such a restless place—every beast of any kind was filled with murderous intent, frantically biting anything they encountered.
The Void Kings were engaged in large-scale chaotic battles, fighting over territory.
“This isn’t right,” Jiang Ke’er recalled the words from the Book of Life, which had emphasized, “The presence of a Xu God can stabilize the regional situation to a certain extent. On a Xu God’s territory, Void Kings would never fight, and no Void King would dare act wild on a Xu God’s domain… The Xu God often hunts nearby Void Kings for food.”
But this place was clearly different from what the book described.
Jiang Ke’er saw many flying lizard-type ruin beasts flying over from the other side of the mountain, carrying large chunks of bloodstained meat in their arms.
The meat was covered in ink-black fur.
“The Xu Lingshen must already be…”
Jiang Ke’er hurriedly flew over the mountain and soon saw a massive skeleton with its body hollowed out.
The Xu Lingshen’s corpse had been devoured clean by other ruin beasts, leaving only a faint white light of runes at the heart stubbornly flickering.
Only the area within a few meters around the white light remained unharmed. No ruin beast dared touch that light, as if driven by instinctive fear.
The Xu Lingshen’s death was peculiar.
In life, it had been a massive black wildcat, known for its speed and immense strength, listed by Jiang Ke’er as one of the most difficult Xu Gods to deal with.
But it seemed paralyzed, its head frozen alive in the Ice Barrier.
It appeared to have been frozen in mid-leap, its head stuck inside the massive ice wall.
From the side, its expression was somewhat terrified, as if it had sensed danger and was about to leap backward, but its retreat was a step too slow, leaving its head and two front claws frozen in the wall.
Even the Xu Lingshen’s speed was a step too slow… The speed at which this ice wall formed was terrifying.
“The climate really is abnormal this year.”
Fei Ling had said that this year, the cold places were especially cold and the hot places especially hot, but it seemed to be more than that.
“Woo—”
Eggy poked her head out from Jiang Ke’er’s chest, lifted her little chicken claw to rub her eye, and let out a big yawn.
She was no longer a poached egg with a bird beak and chicken feathers.
Now she finally had the shape a bird should have. Though she was still covered in golden fluff like a little chick, at least… she didn’t look so appetizing anymore.
“Why are you awake?”
Jiang Ke’er carefully extended her hand, letting Eggy climb out and stand on her palm.
Ever since she and Qiao Xiaoxian had worked together to loot the Kingdom of Dasi’s national treasury, Eggy had swallowed a large amount of heavenly treasures and materials over several days, quickly entering a dormant evolution state.
At that time, Eggy had said she might sleep for a year or two, but now less than a month had passed, and she was awake.
Standing on Jiang Ke’er’s palm, Eggy stared blankly at the sky—more precisely, at the sun.
“Third sister… is about to go out.”
Jiang Ke’er could feel Eggy’s sadness.
Unfortunately, the Jin Wu had no tear ducts. Even if they did, the tears would probably evaporate instantly.
“Can I help her?” Jiang Ke’er crouched down, holding Eggy close to her eyes, and asked softly.
“No.” Eggy shook her head. “Her lifespan is exhausted…”
“Do the Jin Wu clan have a lifespan limit as well?”
“We would normally be reborn from the flames, but… my sisters were injured and lost the ability to be reborn.”
“What about you?” Jiang Ke’er asked.
“I’m fine.” Eggy lowered her head, her chin resting on Jiang Ke’er’s thumb, seeming to smile.
“Originally, there were ten suns in the sky, but the Nine Provinces world only has nine provinces… I’m the tenth, the extra tail.”
“…”
“In that great war thousands of years ago, they wouldn’t let me participate. They said the Nine Provinces couldn’t have only day without night…”
Eggy stopped there.
“Mm, about past lives, I can’t remember much now…” Eggy lifted her little claw and scratched her head. “Mom, when will I grow up?”
How would I know…
Jiang Ke’er sighed softly. “Probably soon.”
“Mm—” Eggy seemed very happy.
She let out a big, sleepy yawn, wobbled back into the pocket on Jiang Ke’er’s chest, and seemed to fall into a dormant state again.
Jiang Ke’er gently patted her chest and looked at the Ice Barrier.
So, the climate anomaly was because the sun’s lifespan was ending.
The root of the problem had been found.
But no solution had been found.
This wasn’t something she could meddle in. The power at that level far exceeded that of an Immortal.
She could only focus on what was right in front of her.
Jiang Ke’er reached her hand into the white light at the Xu Lingshen’s heart, merging with the Xu Lingshen’s power.
As the Xu Lingshen’s power filled her body, she felt her agility and reaction speed greatly increase, like that of a feline.
Seeing the fleeting Xu God characteristics on Jiang Ke’er, Qiao Xiaoxian furrowed her brow.
“This power… is wrong!”
By now, Jiang Ke’er had finished absorbing the white light. Qiao Xiaoxian watched the changes in Jiang Ke’er’s body with concern.
She felt something was off.
Soon, she figured out the problem—this energy from an alien body had not completely become part of Jiang Ke’er’s power; it still retained its independence.
This was a dangerous power.
It had not firmly become Jiang Ke’er’s servant but always harbored ulterior motives, waiting for a chance to replace the main power source within Jiang Ke’er’s body and completely take over.
She had seen Jiang Ke’er fight several times and knew that the more Jiang Ke’er used this power, the harder it was to shed the Xu God traits.
This further proved her judgment.
“Stop,” Qiao Xiaoxian suddenly grabbed Jiang Ke’er’s arm, looking at her seriously.
Jiang Ke’er seemed to have expected this, calmly retorting, “If it were you, would you stop?”
Qiao Xiaoxian was stunned by the question.
“No.” She smiled bitterly and shook her head, knowing she could no longer stop Jiang Ke’er.
“Then don’t bring it up again. I know what I’m doing.” Jiang Ke’er snorted.
“Besides, you don’t need to meddle in my business.”