Aside from Long Xiaoxuan, the three other beasts had no idea what the Amaranthine Clouddew Fruit could do. However, their eyes instantly brightened with great eagerness – the Astral White Tiger especially.
A treasure as precious as this was attractive even to them.
“Are the treasures of the heavenly planes truly so miraculous?” the Black Tortoise muttered, half in disbelief.
Long Xiaoxuan snorted. “Old Brother Black, I know you’re way older than us, but you aren’t half as wise as your years might suggest. There’s no way you haven’t inherited bloodline memories about the fruit. You must not have awakened enough to be so ignorant.”
The Black Tortoise chuckled, not particularly mindful of the dragon’s ridicule. It cared far more about tangible benefit than empty bickering. Its several hundred thousand years of life had ensured that this would be the case.
The Vermilion Bird took a deep breath. “We scions of the four sacred beasts already possess formidable bloodline potential. If the Amaranthine Clouddew Fruit can augment that, then…”
“You may even attain the same level of strength of your ancient forebears,” Jiang Chen laughed.
“That’s great! Gimme, young master Chen, gimme.” The Astral White Tiger stormed to the young man’s fore in an instant.
Jiang Chen grinned and gave one of the fruits to the tiger. Since all four beasts had a fruit, there was no need to argue over them.
Long Xiaoxuan caressed the fruit in his hand, running his fingers over it like he would a lover’s face.
The Vermilion Bird and the Black Tortoise played with their fruit like curios, immensely intrigued by its extraordinary properties.
The Astral White Tiger was the only one who gulped down the fruit in the same second that he got it.
“Oh no! Young master Chen, did I eat it wrong?” The tiger regretted it only afterwards. “It’ll still work, right?”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “Don’t worry. No matter how you eat it, it will have much the same effect on you – and an obvious one too. Since you’ve been so impatient, I recommend you find a place and get ready. You might break through to divine realm very soon.”
“That fast?” The bird and turtle were both taken aback.
“Why would it be considered a miracle of creation otherwise? Something worthy of being ranked in the heavenly planes always has a reason for its fame,” bragged Long Xiaoxuan.
The Vermilion Bird was elated. “I should make good use of this Amaranthine Clouddew Fruit then. I can fight demons better after I get stronger.”
The Black Tortoise nodded in agreement. It looked toward Jiang Chen with rather different eyes. “Young master Chen, you’ve earned my real respect today. Since you’ve kept your promise, I will surely keep mine.”
Rather than being flat-out unsociable, the tortoise had merely atrophied those skills from his seclusion near Sandplain.
Still, it was possible to earn the reptile’s recognition in some way, and Jiang Chen had pulled it off.
“All sacred beasts are proud,” the Vermilion Bird sighed, “but I have to admit that knowing you has changed my fate, young master Chen.”
For once, Long Xiaoxuan strangely didn’t disagree with the bird. He inclined his head somberly.
The Astral White Tiger, on the other hand, had transformed into a tiny cub who ferreted himself into Jiang Chen’s arms. He played cute. “I grew up under young master Chen’s eyes. He’s my dearest big brother.”
All three other beasts rolled their eyes.
The tiger wasn’t wrong, technically. Without Jiang Chen’s help, it wouldn’t have been able to awaken to its current level after perhaps several centuries. Thus, Little White did see Jiang Chen as a parent.
Jiang Chen smiled. He rather liked seeing this kind of interaction.
The beasts spoke to each other without pretense. Despite their nobility of blood, they were friends with each other. A relationship like this warmed the heart in the best possible way.
“My friends, aside from the Amaranthine Clouddew Fruits, I have another piece of good news for you.”
“What is it?”
“Old Brother Vermilion, you lived in the ancient era. You should know of the Veluriyam Palace, yes?” Jiang Chen smiled.
“Of course. The Veluriyam Palace was stronger than even the Primosanct Sect. It was the unquestioned leader in the ancient demon-sealing war, and its head, Great Divine Veluriyam, was the foremost of humanity.” The Vermilion Bird responded clearly and without hesitation.
“Very good, you’re quite familiar with it then.”
“Too bad that the current Veluriyam Capital has lost the ancient palace’s heritage. Why would the human domain be doing so poorly otherwise?” remarked the Vermilion Bird.
“Indeed. Veluriyam Capital is only a facade. The city as we know it received nothing from Veluriyam Palace. The true heritage, however, has now resurfaced.”
The Vermilion Bird’s eyes lit up. “Is that true, young master Chen?”
“Of course. All four of you are sacred beasts, so you won’t gain much by cultivating upon Sacred Peafowl Mountain. I will allow you to enter the ancient Veluriyam Palace to cultivate, but you must be ready to fight at any time. Is that alright?”
Jiang Chen looked at the sacred beasts with great sincerity.
The Vermilion Bird replied without hesitation. “Even ignoring the Veluriyam Palace, we would be ready to fight anytime. We’re all in this together, young master Chen. There’s no need to beat around the bush if there’s ever the need.”
“Yes, only in unity can we fight off the demons,” the Black Tortoise chimed in for the occasion – a rarity for the reptile.
“Alright, then. I’ll get straight to it. Before the spirit veins recover, you can cultivate in the ancient palace. Afterward, you can cultivate wherever you like,” Jiang Chen motioned joyfully.
“The spirit veins? Recover? Whatever do you mean?”
The human burst into laughter. He finally remembered that he hadn’t told the sacred beasts about that yet.
He explained everything he had heard in detail. The sacred beasts were once again overjoyed to hear the news.
The Vermilion Bird sounded wistful. “Great Divine Veluriyam was a real visionary. This is a wonderful thing! Am I to feel the air of that bygone era again? Hahaha!”
Its laughter was heartfelt.
The other three sacred beasts were exuberant as well. All three had thought that the human domain’s spirit veins had been destroyed, so it was amazing to hear that they were only sealed away.
This was more than enough to accommodate their future cultivation.
