"A man betrayed by the world, surviving solely for the purpose of revenge. Not for himself. Neither for his greed. But for the dead soul of his son." The Beast snake continued as it slowly moved its eyes up and down, scanning Taixuan from head to toe.
"However, to think someone from the upper realm fell into this world... What a delightful coincidence! Even the heavens can't resist their little jokes." The snake then burst out into laughter, letting the whole place shake under his cackles.
Its eyes slowly rolled towards Taixuan's face. For a second, it slightly widened its eyes upon seeing his firm, stern eyes that glared at him as though he were looking at some inferior creature, causing its cackles to come to an abrupt end.
It was humiliating, however, at the same time, the snake found it amusing.
"Void Amalgamation, was it? What an impressive title… in a pond this shallow." Its presence intensified, and the aura that restrained Taixuan's movements doubled instantly, causing his body to falter, although his eyes remained the same.
"Do you really think that someone as weak as you deserves to glare at me like that?" The snake's voice that was calm like still water suddenly became thunderous, hammering into Taixuan's mind like a chisel, causing him to grit his teeth in pain while blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, streaking down his silver-white beard like ink on snow.
"THREE HUNDRED YEARS!" Taixuan's voice reverberated throughout the entire cave like a weakened ruler's roar—weak yet containing the hint of its glorious past.
"I SERVED THOSE PEOPLE LIKE A DOG FOR MORE THAN 300 YEARS!!! AND HOW DID THEY REPAY ME!?" Just thinking about his past, Taixuan's grief that he had barely managed to bury under the weight of exacting his son's revenge began to resurface, reflecting in his very voice that trembled as he spoke.
Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes and threatened to fall any second.
The beast, on the other hand, could sense the purity of Taixuan's emotions as it could sense the warmth of his soul.
"They killed my son... THEY KILLED HIM! And, here I am... powerless..."
"I'm afraid to face my wife and son's souls in death... How... How would I ever be able to answer their questions..."
For a split second, even the beast's mind wavered causing him to question the very flow of fate.
'If all were truly equal under the reign of the heavens, then why was this kid's life filled with nothing but grief and sorrow?'
However, the beast chose silence and did not interrupt Taixuan, giving him the very first chance to break down and face the emotions he had been forcibly suppressing.
Even to the beast, the situation was eerie.
No doubt, Taixuan had broken down and was crying like a child—a sight that no grown man would ever wanna reveal—and yet, his facial expressions remained stagnant.
A face that lacked expressions and eyes that lacked emotions—he looked lifeless and yet, alive enough that tears could flow out of his eyes like a river.
It could see it all. The grief, the sorrow and a feeling slowly grasping onto the very essence of his soul—Anger.
For a moment, the beast hesitated but summoned enough courage to speak-
"Taixuan, I will let you have my core," its voice softly echoed in his mind as his eyes gained their focus once again, staring at the beast with eyes that had 'Wait, What' written clearly onto them.
The beast, although it was feeling sympathetic, wasn't feeling benevolent enough to sacrifice its own power for the sake of someone else.
On the contrary, it could feel his sincerity. The sincerity towards people, family, and even strangers.
Thus, it decided to offer him what he initially wanted, as a part of a deal, of course.
"But on one condition," it continued as its glare softened. "Just like how you took care of your son and protected him with a pure heart, I hope you would protect my child similarly as well."
The beast snake's body began to dissipate as it continued its words, while Tianxun simply looked at the beast's fading image in complete shock.
Within seconds, its body completely disintegrated into particles of energy and gathered into a single cloud, hovering in the air right in front of him.
Then, with a sudden flash, the energy expanded into an eye-blinding light and dissipated completely just as quickly.
Taixuan frantically closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, only to find out that his vision had changed completely.