Yan Zhenluo had been retrieving life hearts for 1,000 years. During that time, he had never seen anyone who was capable of making a fierce beast voluntarily hand over its life heart. Di Jiang was the first. Therefore, he was shocked.
Lu Zhou put away the life heart before he observed Di Jiang with a hint of surprise in his eyes. It did not seem to have a high IQ, but it unexpectedly knew to hand its life heart over to protect itself.
"Di Jiang…"
Di Jiang let out a strange cry that seemed almost mournful and contained a hint of pleading.
Yan Zhenluo shook his head and said, "Brother Lu, you can't keep this beast. I'll get rid of it."
"Wait." Lu Zhou raised his hand to stop Yan Zhenluo.
Yan Zhenluo was perplexed. He could not figure out what Lu Zhou was trying to do.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Di Jiang flapped its wings. However, he remained in situ. Without its life heart, not only did it lose its speed, but it had also lost its strength.
Life hearts were energy sources of forced beasts after all. They contained powerful vitality energy and Primal Qi. Fierce beasts without life hearts were akin to cultivators losing their Dantian's seas of Qi. Naturally, in the eyes of cultivators, fierce beasts were still beasts. They could not compare to cultivators at all.
Lu Zhou stood in front of Di Jiang and stroked his beard as he asked, "Di Jiang, do you understand what I'm saying?"
Quack! Quack!
Di Jiang let out a duck-like quacking cry.
Yan Zhenluo was dumbfounded by this. Although he was experienced, the scene in front of him was rather difficult to understand.
Lu Zhou continued to stroke his beard and said, "It's good that you understand."
Yan Zhenluo. "???"
How did the old man understand Di Jiang?
Lu Zhou continued to say, "I don't care where you came from or why you came. Since you met me, I'll give you a chance." Then, he lowered his voice before he continued to say, "Are you willing to be my mount?"
Yan Zhenluo. "…"
Yan Zhenluo was about to object again, but he swallowed his words when he recalled Lu Zhou's style of doing things was different.
Di Jiang let out a pleading cry again.
Lu Zhou's expression was solemn as he said, "You're not willing?"
Di Jiang cried out in response.
"There are so many people who want to be my disciple, but they've no chance. Livestock, you really don't know what's good for you. How are you going to fly back without your life heart? Even if I let you go, you'll be slaughtered and burned to death. You'll suffer a fate worse than death. You can give it a try if that's what you want…" Lu Zhou said.
"…" Yan Zhenluo, a Six Chart expert, was rendered speechless. This method… could it really work?
Di Jiang began to flap its wings again, trying to fly. Soon enough, its four wings carried its chubby body up into the sky. There was no doubt that it was born to fly. It looked proud as it flew up half the height of a tree…
At this moment, Lu Zhou frowned as he said using the Heavenly Writing Power, "Watch out!"
Quack!
Di Jiang fell from the sky as it quacked. Although its body was the size of a cow, its posture when falling was not too ugly.
Boom!
Di Jiang landed in front of Yan Zhenluo.
The commotion caused the birds to take flight and the beasts on land scampered away, no longer searching for food. It was incredibly noisy in the forest and took a while before it was silent again.
The leaves fell like snow, making it seemed like it was autumn.
Di Jiang sprawled on the ground. Seemingly unresigned, it screeched.
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "You're going to insist on being stubborn?"
Di Jiang flapped its wings and looked yearningly at the sky where it could soar freely. Alas, its body trembled and it found that it could not move.
Upon seeing this, Yan Zhenluo cursed, "Livestock. Since you refuse this goodwill, you can only die. Now that you've lost your life heart, if you return to your nest, you won't have a good ending. Stay by Brother Lu's side and cultivate diligently. At that time, you can form another life heart…"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Di Jiang suddenly stopped flapping its wings and slowly looked at Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou said, "This is your last chance. Are you willing to be my mount?"
Quack! Quack! Quack!
Di Jiang lowered its wings and head before it quacked a few times at Lu Zhou.
"Ding! Obtained mount, Di Jiang. Master: Lu Zhou."
"Very good."
Di Jiang finally submitted.
Yan Zhenluo who had been watching said, "I really didn't expect it to agree to become a mount. Di Jiangs have always been arrogant and difficult to tame. This Di Jiang seems young…"
Lu Zhou nodded. "I'm just lucky."
"It can be tamed slowly if it stays by your side. When it forms its life heart again, it'll recover its speed. Once it matures, it'll be a big help to you in the future…" Yan Zhenluo said.
"How long does it take to form a life heart?" Lu Zhou asked.
"At least a hundred years. However, it ranges from 300 to 500 to 1,000 years. It takes a very long time for them to form life hearts…" Yan Zhenluo replied.
"That's too long." This meant that Di Jiang would not be able to help him for a long time. At least Qiong Qi and Dang Kang had their roles to play; if it was going to take so long for Di Jiang to form its life heart, was it not useless?
Yan Zhenluo seemed as though he could read Lu Zhou's thoughts as he continued to say, "However, there's a way to expedite its recovery."
"Oh?"
"To activate a Birth Chart, cultivators must place a life heart in the lotus seat's Birth Palace to create a Birth Chart zone. The process will absorb 1,500 years of life from the life heart. If Brother Lu is willing, you can substitute it with your own lifespan. After you successfully activate your Birth Chart, you'll gain 500 years of life. In other words, you can exchange Di Jiang's life heart with 1,000 years of your life," Yan Zhenluo explained.
"Is this method feasible?" Lu Zhou asked skeptically.
"Yes," Yan Zhenluo said, "In the black lotus domain, there are elders who sacrifice 1,000 years of their lives so that they reuse the life hearts and give them to the younger generation. However, you can only use this method twice with a life heart. One Birth Chart grants 500 years of life while eight Birth Charts grant 4,000 years of life. Therefore, 1,000 years is nothing. Naturally, this all depends on Brother Lu…"
Quack! Quack! Quack!
As though it understood Yan Zhenluo, Di Jiang suddenly ran to Lu Zhou's side, looking much more obedient and submissive.
"Nevertheless, this is the first time I've met someone who's considering reusing a life heart and giving up 1,000 years of life to return it to the beast," Yan Zhenluo said with a hint of mirth.
Lu Zhou nodded. After a moment, he looked at Yan Zhenluo and said, "You're a smart person. I admire smart people the most. Are you interested in joining my Evil Sky Pavilion?"
"Uh…" Yan Zhenluo was dumbfounded. He did not expect this at all.
"I'll definitely treat you well," Lu Zhou said.
A troubled expression appeared on Yan Zhenluo's face as he said with a sigh, "Alas, I'm a member of the Black Tower Council. Although I yearn for freedom, I can't easily leave the Black Tower Council. There are still many things I need to do at the council. However, I really appreciate your kindness, Brother Lu."
"Well, you don't have to decide immediately. Let me know if you change your mind," Lu Zhuo said.
"Thank you, Brother Lu." After thanking Lu Zhou, Yan Zhenluo brought a thick book out of the pocket near his chest and handed it to Lu Zhou with both hands. "This contains the basic principles of Birth Charts and the Thousand Realms Whirling. Please accept this, Brother Lu."
Lu Zhou nodded. After he accepted the book, he asked, "Since you gave Di Jiang to me, how are you planning to explain yourself if the Black Tower Council pursues the matter?"
