Capítulo 2: Falling Off the Cliff
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Wutian had entirely forgotten about the strange glow on his forehead as he stared at the creature before his eyes, utterly astonished.
The Gobbler's strength was apparent, and it offered some appealing gains. He could use it to unlock his physique and enhance his strength. Once that happened, he could leave the village in search of his parents.
Wutian scratched his head as he tried to think of a way to tame the nasty thing.
A buzzing sound interrupted his deep thoughts, and he looked up to see the milky glow split into countless tadpole-like streams of light. The lights danced in the air for a while before they converged to form a fist-sized pentagram that released faint energy.
The pentagram glinted while it flew toward the Gobbler like a falling star.
The Gobbler kept fighting back, its narrow eyes filled with fear. Bound by the light, the Gobbler could not do a thing. As the pentagram entered the Gobbler's body, it glowed and stopped fighting. Its eyes turned lifeless, and it shriveled as if life had been sucked out of it.
When everything was over, the milky glow went out like candlelight.
At that moment, Wutian sensed something in his mind. It was as though he held the Gobbler's life in his hands and he could kill the Gobbler instantly with his willpower. The feeling was amazing and real.
The Gobbler cawed and fought back in a frenzy as Wutian willed the scene with his mind. Soon, its body started to convulse violently followed by its pupils dilating and saliva dripping down uncontrollably. Those were signs of its impending death.
Shocked, Wutian quickly got rid of the thought. The Gobbler stopped struggling and cautiously glanced at Wutian with a grateful look in its eyes instead of anger. It then hopped onto Wutian's head and twiddled his hair with its tongue as if it was trying to please him.
"You've surrendered, haven't you?"
For a moment, Wutian was struck dumb. He was delighted and puzzled at the same time, wondering what the milky glow was and why it had appeared on his forehead all of a sudden. That had never happened during the past sixteen years. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and found nothing unusual.
"Caw!" Right then, the Gobbler jumped down from his head onto a piece of broken rock. Its body shone as it opened its mouth wide, and a pea-sized, blood-red elixir appeared.
Seeing the strange scene, Wutian's doubts were finally cleared. "You're giving it to me?"
"Caw, caw!" The Gobbler nodded, its eyes gemstone-like eyes twinkling spiritedly.
Wutian took the elixir in his hand and instantly felt a stream of pure Essence energy flow up his arm. The energy that spread throughout his body warmed him up as it drove away the cold.
"The Essence…"
The blood elixir was the Essence derived from the blood and qi of the Louse after the Gobbler ate it. It was precious, pure, and concentrated, containing all of the Louse's marrow. If consumed, it might aid in unlocking his physique or at least strengthening his body for a solid physical foundation.
Without being pretentious, Wutian thanked the Gobbler and tucked the elixir under his arms.
Facing the rising sun and inhaling its vitality was a sure way to boost cultivation effectiveness. Wutian kept the elixir. He planned on waiting for the sun to come out and then consuming the elixir.
Bending down, Wutian put the Gobbler in his hand. The thing felt cold and sticky to the touch. He took a closer look and discovered that its body was covered in a disgusting layer of black fluid.
"You're beginning to look more and more like a Demon Toad!" said Wutian with a smile. "You're going to follow me from now on, little thing. Let me give you a name. How about I call you Little Demon Toad?"
Disdain filled the Gobbler's narrow eyes as it cawed, seemingly not too happy about being equated to a Demon Toad.
"What about Blackie?"
"Caw, caw!"
"You're cawing all the time. Should I name you "Crow", then?"
"Caw, caw!"
"Okay, I'll stop making fun of you. My name is Wutian. I'll call you Little Tian from now on."
The Gobbler hopped onto Wutian's head and toyed with his hair, apparently happy with the name. However, Wutian's hair was now wet and sticky.
Wutian did not mind it, though. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes locked on to the Black Panther, which had been reduced to a skeleton. There, he caught a glimpse of a faint glimmer.
He lifted the carcass and saw a palm-sized, black emblem. It had a mirror finish without any patterns. Feeling puzzled, Wutian inched closer and picked it up. An icy current hit him as soon as he laid hands on it.
It felt like permafrost, so cold that it could freeze his soul. A layer of frost covered Wutian's skin at once as the ice quickly condensed. Shocked, Wutian wanted to discard the emblem, but he could not move his hand because his muscles were frozen.
"Caw, Caw!" At that point, the Gobbler jumped down, opened its mouth, and bit Wutian in the arm. Blood oozed out of his wound.
Wutian immediately felt the chilly current leave, and warmth returned to his body. As soon as he sensed a restriction to his movement, he quickly tossed the emblem. Only then did the cold current disappear.
After a while, the Gobbler had completely absorbed the cold from his body. Wutian exercised his muscles and joints, then looked at the emblem in fear. If the Gobbler had not taken away the freezing current from his body, he would have turned into an ice sculpture and died.
"Caw, caw!"
The Gobbler opened its mouth and called out to Wutian. He wondered if the emblem possessed some kind of energy.
Sure enough, as the Gobbler's body shone, a pea-sized, crystal-clear Essence materialized. It emanated a crisp air and faint luminescence, which gave it the appearance of an icy star.
Wutian carefully touched it with his hand and sensed some chilly air surging within, but it was not as deadly as before. Breathing a sigh of relief, he placed the item in his hand. As he carefully studied it, he discovered a high concentration of Essence in it. He was just not sure if he could absorb and refine it for his own use.
The Samsara Continent had many super-powerful beings, which naturally possessed the Essence. One example would be the fire beings, who could only absorb the Elemental Essence of fire. Meanwhile, another instance would be the Wood Elemental Essence, which fed the fire. Both were complementary to each other.
However, this particular Essence was cold, and it belonged to the water element. Only water and metal beings could absorb it. On the other hand, the Louse's Essence, which was refined from flesh and blood, was ordinary, so it did not contain any Elemental Essence and could be consumed by anyone.
"Can you absorb the emblem cold energy, Little Tian?" asked Wutian.
The Gobbler shook its head in reply.
"Ahh! So the record on the parchment is real. An infant Gobbler can only absorb the Essence of flesh and blood." Wutian furrowed his brows as he mumbled to himself.
"Can I use my body as a medium and absorb it, Little Tian?"
The Gobbler nodded excitedly, its eyes brightening up.
Wutian noticed it and did not hesitate any longer. Once he grabbed the emblem, the icy sensation hit him again, and his body stiffened up like steel. The Gobbler immediately bit his arm. As its teeth sank into his skin, the chill left his wound and flew into its body.
"Little Tian, if you can consume this cold air and enhance your cultivation, there is no need to form the Essence. I don't need it for now."
"Caw!"
The Gobbler nodded enthusiastically and increased the power of its suction, drawing streams of cold energy to itself. Little Tian's black body radiated cold light as a blanket of mist spread in all directions.
Wutian could not help but chortle when he saw how much the Gobbler enjoyed what was happening. As he gazed up at the sky, the image he had divined earlier came to mind.
A massive peak… temple… giant hand… What were those about? Where are my parents, and why have they never visited me?
Wutian dwelled on those things and gradually slipped into slumber. The glow on his forehead appeared again to absorb the lunar energy.
...
At first light, a figure appeared at the mountainside.
Damn it! I've been out here for an hour but I've found nothing that I can hunt. Looks like I have to go to the peak and see if there's anything up there.
The figure was eight-feet tall and bare-chested. His muscles moved like dragons that were filled with explosive power as he breathed.
I, Longhe, am at the very least, a Reborn Alpha cultivator. Yet, I have to hunt for those mortals, feed them, and take care of them for life. I wonder why I should work so hard when I'm not even their father.
The man was Longhe, the sole cultivator in Dragon Village. He had risen at dawn to hunt for food but found no suitable prey. They were either too powerful for him or inedible. His mood could not have been worse at that moment, especially when everything he did was only for a bunch of weaklings.
Wutian?
Longhe stood under a tree on the peak and stared at Wutian in disdain.
Trash will always be trash; I wonder how he survived all night sleeping in this place without being eaten by the monster beasts. How I wish that would happen. Then there would be one less burden off my shoulder... What's that?
Longhe's eyes landed on the emblem in Wutian's hand. As if something had occurred to him, he appeared puzzled. Shortly after, his body shivered uncontrollably, and his face was filled with excitement.
It's THE item. I can't believe that a piece of trash got his hands on this legendary item. I'll become rich with the item in my hands and nab that job as a censor elder in either the Fire Cloud Clan or Yan Clan. When that happens, I won't need to work for those goddamn villagers again.
He remained straight-faced as the thought came to mind. Longhe was cool, calm, and collected, putting his hands behind him while striding out.
"Caw, caw!"
His footsteps alerted the Gobbler and Wutian, who looked back instinctively and spotted Longhe coming his way.
"Wutian, why did you sleep here? Don't you know that the monster beasts roam this place at night? What will I tell Longshan if anything untoward happens to you?" Longhe chided.
Wutian brushed his hair back. "Uncle Longhe, it must be very tiring for you to come out hunting early in the morning. Without you, those villagers would have starved to death."
"Think nothing of it. Dragon Village is my home, and the villagers are my family. I don't mind the hard work as long as everyone is free from worrying about food." Longhe seemed magnanimous and sounded upright. "What's that in your hand, Wutian? That thing looks familiar to me."
"Oh, this? I have no idea what it is. It looks like an emblem. I found it last night by chance." Right then, Wutian discovered that overnight, after the Gobbler absorbed the coldness, the emblem did not feel as cold as before.
Longhe had a confused expression. "I think I've seen this thing before. Can I take a look?"
"Sure."
Wutian got to his feet, and suspecting nothing, he handed the emblem to Longhe.
The second Longhe got his mitts on the emblem, he swung his left hand from behind his back and struck Wutian on the chest.
"How could you, Uncle Longhe…" Wutian spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide open as he gaped at Longhe in disbelief.
He could not believe that a kind person like Longhe, who had been taking care of everything in the village, would suddenly harm him.
"It's nothing personal, Wutian. This emblem is too important for anyone else to know about its existence, so you have to die." Longhe broke into a heinous smile as he shot powerful, glimmering energy out of his hand, hitting Wutian again. Wutian's face turned pale, while blood spurted out of his mouth as he was sent flying off and down the cliff.
Wutian lost his consciousness as he fell.
"After I've worked so hard for the first half of my life, someone up there has finally answered my prayers and gifted me with such a precious thing." Longhe guffawed in an almost manic manner as he held the emblem in his hand.
However, he became too excited that he did not notice the presence of a horrifying creature. It was glowering at him with utmost hatred and anger.
"Caw!"
A shadowy figure leaped into the air and targeted the emblem in Longhe's hand. It opened its mouth and revealed its shiny, white, steel teeth.
Blood splattered on the scene followed by the sound of cracking bones. The shadowy figure held the emblem in its mouth and dived down the cliff at once.
"My-My hand!"
A painful howl pierced through the air on the mountain peak, sending birds and various monster beasts fleeing all over.
-- Presente
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