Eternal Tale

"What’s the matter with you?"

"Esteemed Elders... such deep and profound power... I submit," the Flameglow Ancient Lion said, trembling. Tears welled in its eyes. "Elder, I have realized my mistake. Please, spare my life."

Its long tail was tightly tucked in—it was truly terrified now, too scared to entertain any other thoughts. It couldn’t even fathom the level of cultivation this man and his bull companion had reached.

"Moo~~~" The black bull gave a hearty, honest smile, extending its hoof to pat the lion.

"Alright, stop pretending," Chen Xun said calmly.

"Moo?!"

The black bull was stunned. *This spirit beast was pretending?* It had almost believed the lion was genuinely cowed by their beating.

"Elder!!!"

The Flameglow Ancient Lion cried out in terror, kneeling with tears streaming down its face. "Please, I beg you, spare me!"

"Moo?"

"Huh?"

The lion’s heart skipped a beat, its eyes darting around nervously. Based on the stories circulating in the Heaven’s End Plains, human cultivators were treacherous and not to be trusted. They likely wanted to use it as a mount, or perhaps for breeding, extracting its blood and bones—no good could come of it.

Many spirit beast bloodlines in the Heaven’s End Plains had been wiped out by humans. The lion had seen too much and had a deep-seated distrust of them.

"We were just passing through and saw you being chased by some Golden Core beasts. It seemed interesting," Chen Xun said, laughing as he sat down on the ground. "What’s the deal with you? How can a Nascent Soul beast be afraid of Golden Core ones?"

"Moo moo~" The black bull laughed along, squatting next to Chen Xun.

"Elder, what do you mean by this?"

"We just wanted to chat with you. It’s that simple."

"Moo!"

Chen Xun and the black bull both appeared completely sincere. They had no hidden agenda—just a desire for conversation.

"This..." The Flameglow Ancient Lion forced an awkward smile. "The Golden Core beasts here all belong to tribes. I don’t dare provoke them."

"But the Flameglow Ancient Lion tribe wasn’t weak. Why are you afraid?" Chen Xun asked curiously.

"Elder... I’ve been wandering alone ever since I was born. My entire lineage was wiped out," the lion explained with a forced grin, trying to seem unaffected. "Even if I tried to join other tribes, I’d likely be driven away." ⱤäNȏВΕŠ

After shrinking its body, the lion shuffled a little to the side, instinctively distancing itself from them. Though a small, subtle movement, Chen Xun noticed immediately.

"You’re a Nascent Soul cultivator now. What tribe wouldn’t welcome you?"

"Moo moo!"

"It’s not the same," the lion replied, slightly lifting its head in a show of pride. "They only care about my strength now, but I don’t feel any sense of belonging to those tribes."

The Flameglow Ancient Lion finished speaking and gave a small toss of its head. "I’ve been fine on my own. I’ve never harmed any humans or bulls..."

It chuckled awkwardly, its eyes reflecting a quiet determination. Many spirit beasts had mocked and ridiculed it, but it didn’t care. It wouldn’t engage with them.

"Alright, I understand. I won’t harm you," Chen Xun said, nodding.

"Haha, Elder, you are truly merciful," the lion said, once again putting on a flattering smile. "Elder, are you here in the Heaven’s End Plains for some specific purpose? I know this area quite well."

It carefully observed Chen Xun’s expression, hoping they weren’t here to harm it. It just wanted to live out its life in peace.

"We’re not here for anything like that," Chen Xun said dismissively, waving his hand. "You’re way too paranoid."

"No one’s ever just wanted to talk to you?"

"Moo?" The black bull looked equally puzzled. This was the first time they had met a Nascent Soul-level creature so bad at making conversation.

The Flameglow Ancient Lion was taken aback. Its mind couldn’t quite process what was happening. In this world, who would ever just chat without some ulterior motive? Especially Nascent Soul-level cultivators?

Chen Xun and the black bull lit a small fireball, illuminating the cave, which caused the lion to flinch yet again.

They began chatting, and gradually, the atmosphere relaxed.

As the conversation went on, Chen Xun and the black bull began to understand why the lion had grown so fearful. Its past had been filled with tragedy, and it had developed its cowardly nature through years of hardship. No wonder it was so cautious.

The lion’s mood darkened as it recalled how it had witnessed its tribe being slaughtered. After enduring the mental tribulations of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, the memories had only grown sharper.

Many cultivators would become obsessed with such tragedies, but the Flameglow Ancient Lion had turned its despair into a simple, unwavering belief: to survive.

An hour passed.

"To tell you the truth, back when Old Bull and I lived in a small village, we nearly starved to death! All our food was stolen. Haha!" Chen Xun laughed heartily.

"Moo moo moo~~~"

"Huh? I never expected the Elder to have gone through such hardships," the lion said, genuinely surprised.

"Oh, definitely. We tried to reason with the thieves and got beaten up. Old Bull even had one of his horns broken off. We ended up living on wild vegetables—we didn’t even have grass to eat."

"Moo moo!" The black bull snorted angrily, its eyes flashing with resentment. The memory still filled it with indignation.

The Flameglow Ancient Lion’s eyes lit up as it listened. It could relate entirely—it had gone through similarly miserable experiences in its youth.

"Have you been living in the Heaven’s End Plains the entire time?"

"Yes, Elder. The outside world is too dangerous. Making it to the Nascent Soul stage was already a miracle—I don’t dare hope for anything beyond that," the lion admitted, shrinking slightly as fear crept into its voice. "Many spirit beasts who leave here never return. I’ve heard they become someone’s mount."

"What do you plan to do now?" Chen Xun asked thoughtfully.

"I plan to live out my natural lifespan, of course!" The lion’s voice rose in excitement, clearly passionate about this subject. "Elder, not many spirit beasts get to die of old age!"

As it spoke, the lion’s words began to flow uncontrollably. It launched into a long monologue, detailing the origins of spirit beasts, the destruction of its tribe, and the dangers of the cultivation world. It poured everything out.

Chen Xun and the black bull listened with amusement, thoroughly entertained by the lion’s animated storytelling.

By the time the lion finished, another hour had passed. It had been talking to itself for quite some time, as if it had not had a real conversation in ages, with no other spirit beasts willing to listen.

"Elders, I apologize if I talked too much. Please don’t be offended," the lion said nervously, fearing that it had overstepped and irritated its powerful companions.

"No need to apologize. We enjoyed it," Chen Xun replied calmly, his demeanor serene. "We’re not in any rush."

"Moo~~" The black bull nodded in agreement, clearly just as absorbed by the conversation.

The Flameglow Ancient Lion blinked in surprise. These two truly weren’t pretending. They had been listening intently the whole time.

This was a strange feeling. The lion couldn’t imagine what level of cultivation these two had reached, but they were clearly no ordinary beings.

"Lion."

"Elder?"

"Don’t you want to see the world outside?"

"Elder, the outside world is nothing compared to the Heaven’s End Plains! It’s full of danger at every turn," the lion replied, shaking its head rapidly, as if the thought terrified it. "Da Li is home to so many high-level cultivators. To them, I’m just a valuable resource."

"That’s not entirely true, Lion. You’ve just been wandering alone for too long," Chen Xun said with a knowing smile, reclining with his hands behind him. "We’re more alike than you realize. I understand you."

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