Chapter 25: Seeking Mount (2)
After the powerful clash between them, both figures separated, their bodies halting at a distance. The disturbance settled between heaven and earth, and silence pressed down like a heavy curtain. For the first time, they looked at each other properly—not merely as enemies exchanging blows, but as beings measuring one another, testing the depths of their existence, gauging just how far each could go if this battle were to continue without restraint.
Wei Shiyan's sharp gaze flickered with thought, but his mind did not linger only on the beast before him. Something else gnawed at his heart.
How could he not think about those people who had robbed the auction hall previously? The scene of that massacre played clearly in his mind. At that time, when he had killed them, he had felt something stir deep within the mountain's core—as though something had awakened from a slumber that stretched across countless ages. He had dismissed it then, too occupied to care. Yet looking back, the sensation had not been an illusion.
That faint stirring… it had been the mark of the Nine Rotation Abyssal God Beast.
Unknowingly, he had brushed against its existence. But what startled him most was the realization that the beast had already set its eyes on the Misty Fog Mountain. From the very beginning, its intent was to devour it whole. Those robbers, those so-called cultivators he had slain, had merely been pawns upon which the beast had left its mark.
That day, Wei Shiyan had faintly felt the mark, but he dismissed it without much thought. Only later, when he discovered their secrets, did the truth astonish him. He had even entertained a wild thought—that perhaps he could capture this beast, make it his own mount, and push his path forward with such a terrifying companion by his side.
But never in his wildest dreams did he think he would encounter it here, in this place.
His steps slowed, his expression hardening as realization took root. Something was not right.
If this beast had resided in the Misty Fog Mountain for so long, if it had endured all this time within its depths… then what did that mean?
Wei Shiyan's breath caught. A chilling possibility stabbed at his mind.
"Don't tell me…" he muttered under his breath, his eyes widening in disbelief. "This beast… it actually survived the full anger of the Heavenly Dao while devouring the mountain essence? And now… now it dares to continue, consuming even what the Heavenly Dao has left behind?"
His heart trembled violently, caught between shock and a giddy, almost dangerous excitement.
Such courage! Such madness!
This was not merely a beast—it was the perfect companion he had dreamed of, the one existence that could walk beside him against the Heavens. A beast that dared to stand in defiance of the Heavenly Dao itself!
As his fiery thoughts blazed, Wei Shiyan's gaze scrutinized the creature in detail.
But he was not the only one doing so.
The Abyssal God Beast's eyes glowed with an ancient light, sharp and calculating, as it studied him in return. From its bloodline memories, from the vast legacies carved into its being, this human before it was an impossibility. Something in Wei Shiyan's existence was shrouded, obscured by a fog so thick that even the beast's supreme senses could not pierce it.
In its heart, it muttered, This human is far more dangerous than that man.
Even though the beast did not understand Wei Shiyan's depths, its instincts screamed at it. What it saw now was nothing more than the tip of a vast, unfathomable iceberg.
Yet, despite this recognition, disgust boiled in its chest.
The way this young human looked at it—the desire concealed in his eyes—made its blood burn with rage. It despised that look, hated it more than anything.
It was the same look that that other man had worn.
Always, humans wanted to tame it, to subdue it, to treat it as a mere mount, a tool, a pet. How utterly vile. Damn humans, it thought, its rage mounting, scumbags of nature!
Wei Shiyan's lips curved slightly. With a casual air, he opened his mouth and said, "Hey there… I'm handsome, strong, and only lacking one thing. Can you do me a favor?"
The beast's eyes narrowed, its gaze cold and dangerous, a silent warning.
But Wei Shiyan did not stop. His tone turned light, almost teasing.
"Be my mount. Follow me, and you can devour anything you desire—even the Heavenly Dao itself. Well… perhaps not the Heavenly Dao—it's a little difficult to chew, so I won't make promises. But how about it? Serve me as my mount."
The reply was instant and deafening.
ROAR!
An earth-shaking roar tore through the skies, carrying with it a thunderous voice dripping with fury and humiliation.
"You ignorant inferior being! Are you worthy?!"
The ground quaked beneath its anger, yet Wei Shiyan stood calm. His expression remained flat, his eyes steady.
"But," he said evenly, "you already have someone as your master. Do you mean to tell me that I am not as good as him?" His voice grew colder with every word, his tone slicing like a blade.
The beast's fury exploded at the insult.
"What master?! I have no master!" its voice thundered, shaking heaven and earth. "That human and I had only an agreement. He shattered the natural formation that bound me since birth, so I tolerated his presence. Until I fully recovered, I chose to remain. We would part ways once my strength returned."
Its tone grew sharper, burning with scorn.
"Yes, I know his thoughts. He wished to bind me by his so-called mysteries and profound techniques. He thought that if I lingered, I would witness his so-called might and eventually submit, unable to leave due to the future he offered. Fool! I was born gravely wounded, forced to devour energies without end to heal. And now, with this vast essence surrounding me, I am nearly recovered. Neither he, nor you, nor even the heavens themselves are worthy of me!"
Wei Shiyan's brows lifted, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.
So that was it. That man—how foolish. He truly was like those arrogant, so-called transmigrated geniuses: blind with confidence in their fleeting destinies, thinking they could influence even their enemies with mere illusions of potential. How pitifully laughable.
And yet, Wei Shiyan found amusement in this.
"So," he said softly, his words carrying like thunder, "that means you are clear of your agreement. In that case, you are free… free to serve me."
The words had barely left his mouth before the beast's killing intent surged like a tidal wave.
In that moment, heaven and earth froze. Space itself shuddered under the pressure. The beast's monstrous aura locked onto him, suffocating, razor-sharp.
And in the silence that followed, Wei Shiyan smiled.
The killing intent condensed into form, crushing toward him like the hand of an ancient god. Wei Shiyan did not retreat, nor did he flinch. Instead, he whispered a single sentence that made the beast's heart pause mid-roar—
"Then let me show you why
even the heavens themselves cannot chain me."