Mo Tiange sat on the meditation cushion in the cultivation chamber. On the small tea table before her, two cups of clear tea steamed with faint, curling wisps of smoke.
Opposite her, Feifei rolled around on its own cushion while grooming its increasingly lustrous, golden fur. After smoothing out all its golden hair, it sat on the cushion in a rather elegant posture, then picked up a cup of tea with its paws, squinting its eyes contentedly as it took a sip.
Mo Tiange had already gotten over her initial shock. Now, watching Feifei's demeanor, she remained perfectly calm.
Xiaohuo was a Cang Dragon, possessing intelligence surpassing that of spirit beasts of the same rank—this Mo Tiange had long known. But she never expected that Feifei, upon its Advancement, would also display such remarkable intellect. Its current appearance—where did it resemble a mere spirit beast? Even among humans, few had such expressive faces. By this reasoning, perhaps it truly was a descendant of the ancient Divine Beast Feifei.
After finishing its tea, Feifei lifted its head. Its round, bright eyes stared at Mo Tiange for a good while before it spoke: "If not for you, I wouldn't have been able to Advance to Fifth-Rank so quickly. Hmm, I'll acknowledge you as my master, then."
"..." Acknowledge? So, it hadn't truly accepted the concept of a master before? Mo Tiange was speechless for a moment before she remembered to ask: "Don't we already have a spirit beast contract between us?"
Feifei pursed its lips, scratching the golden fur on its forehead with a paw. "That's one aspect, sure. But if I really didn't want to acknowledge you, it's not like there's no way around it." It glanced up at Mo Tiange before continuing, "Most importantly, we Feifei are creatures of gratitude. Without you, I'd probably have lived out my lifespan without ever reaching Fifth-Rank. So, I'll grudgingly accept you as my master."
"..." Since Feifei started talking, Mo Tiange had been rendered speechless many times. This Feifei was absolutely not the same playful, mischievous, coquettish little spirit beast it had been before. Just what kind of creature was it now? She had no idea...
"Master, what's that expression on your face?" Feifei lifted its head, asking in its delicate, childlike voice.
Wordlessly, Mo Tiange reached out, picked up the teacup from the table, and took a large gulp—only to immediately spit it out from the scalding heat, splashing tea all over the table and Feifei's beautiful golden fur.
Feifei scrambled up, hopping about frantically. "You, you, you... my fur! You got my fur all wet!"
Mo Tiange wiped the corner of her mouth, rubbed her temples, and cast a simple spell. The moisture on Feifei's body vanished without a trace.
Seeing its golden fur restored to its bright luster, Feifei squatted back down contentedly and resumed smoothing its fur strand by strand.
Mo Tiange watched for a long moment, feeling utterly drained. "Are you the same Feifei as before?"
"Of course." Feifei didn't even look up, licking its golden fur as it spoke. "Well, actually, you could say the previous me was only half of who I am."
"Half?"
"That's right!" Feifei played with its fur. "Didn't you notice my Advancement process was rather abnormal?"
"...Yes." Mo Tiange said. "There was something inside your body, absorbing all your Spiritual Qi... I was puzzled. If we hadn't returned then, if Xiaohuo hadn't noticed you were in trouble, wouldn't you have died right there?"
"Pretty much." Mentioning this topic, Feifei's expression was surprisingly nonchalant. "If you hadn't returned in time, my Advancement would have failed, and I would have died."
"Why?" Mo Tiange blurted out. "Do Feifei normally have elders watching over them when they Advance to Fifth-Rank?"
"Elders?" Feifei wagged its tail, its gaze turning wistful, its delicate voice tinged with melancholy. "What elders do we Feifei have left to watch over us? It's a miracle we're not completely extinct already."
"..." Mo Tiange's brows furrowed. What did that mean? Was the Feifei race on the verge of extinction?
Noticing her confusion, Feifei coughed, sat up straight with a serious posture, and said: "Since I've acknowledged you as my master, you have the right to know these things. And to tell you these things, I must first let you know what kind of race we Feifei truly are."
After a long silence, Feifei began: "Cultivators by the sea all think we're just a race close to the ancient Divine Beast Feifei. But in truth, we are the direct descendants of the Feifei." Seeing Mo Tiange's puzzled look, it preempted her question: "Are you wondering how I know all this?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Before your Advancement to Fifth-Rank, your intelligence wasn't particularly high. And when I first obtained you, you were just a juvenile beast. Given that, where could you have possibly heard such things?"
Feifei said: "That's precisely what I need to tell you—what kind of race we Feifei are." It paused, then continued, "Since the ancient times, we have lived in the Mortal Realm. We were called 'Spirits' because we were born with immense power, hence also known as Divine Beasts. Among the so-called Divine Beasts, the Four Symbols and the Qilin reign supreme. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise guard the four directions, while the Qilin presides over the central palace. The Azure Dragon represents wood, the White Tiger metal, the Vermilion Bird fire, the Black Tortoise water, and the Qilin earth. Beneath these Four Symbols and Five Primordial Spirits exist spirit races like us, born with divine essence. Although we are not as powerful as the Five Primordial Spirits, each Divine Beast race possesses its own unique characteristics. Our Feifei characteristic is innate affinity and the inheritance of divine power."
"Inheritance?" Mo Tiange was startled, a thought flashing through her mind. "Could it be that even your memories are inheritable?"
"Correct." Feifei waved a paw, offering a compliment. "As expected of my master."
It paused for a moment before continuing, "We Feifei do not possess powerful spells, but we can befriend all spirit beasts—even ferocious beasts are no exception. Besides that, every Feifei born has the collective racial memories innately sealed within them."
Mo Tiange pondered this. "So, you've always carried your race's memories within you, but your cultivation was too low to inherit them?"
"Exactly." Feifei extended a paw, examining it closely. "Every Feifei is like this. Upon Advancing to Fifth-Rank, the memories within merge with one's own consciousness. However, ever since the split between the Demon and Spirit Realms, we Feifei who remained in the Mortal Realm, lacking the guidance of elders, have been unable to Advance to Fifth-Rank."
"The Demon and Spirit Realms..." Mo Tiange suddenly realized this topic seemed to touch upon the transformations of the Mortal Realm since ancient times. "Since you are Divine Beasts, why didn't you go to the Spirit Realm?"
"Naturally, because something went wrong." Feifei rested its paws on the tea table, lying down. "Back when the Demon and Spirit Realms split, most of our ancestors went to the Spirit Realm, but some of the weaker ones were left behind in the Mortal Realm—don't ask me why. I can't possibly know everything. Memory inheritance isn't omnipotent."
"..."
"Master, you saw my Advancement process. Without the guidance of a powerful elder, it's simply impossible to complete the Advancement on one's own. This is why our Feifei have grown progressively weaker, why even adults live and die stuck at Second or Third-Rank."
Mo Tiange deeply felt this. Given the situation back then, if she had returned to the Void Heaven Realm any later, Feifei would have been drained of all its Spiritual Qi by that dust-like entity within and perished.
She thought for a while before asking: "What exactly was that thing inside you? When Xiaohuo Advanced, it was quite similar to a human cultivator forming their Core. But yours was completely different. Is this the distinction between ancient Divine Beasts and modern spirit beasts?"
"Not exactly." Feifei said. "The thing inside me was actually our innate Inner Core. We spirit beasts are different from you cultivators. Even at First-Rank, we have a chance to form an Inner Core, though the chance is very small. But for us Feifei, the Inner Core is innate."
"Oh..." Mo Tiange understood. "So, for you to Advance to Fifth-Rank, as long as your Inner Core absorbs enough Spiritual Qi, you succeed?"
"Right. However, before our cultivation reaches a sufficient level, our Inner Core is extremely faint, unable to exert any influence on our bodies. Only when our cultivation is adequate is the Inner Core stimulated, beginning to absorb Spiritual Qi. As long as it absorbs enough, we can smoothly Advance."
"So that's how it is." Mo Tiange nodded, indicating she understood. Feifei and its kind were descendants of Divine Beasts left behind in the Mortal Realm after the split between the Demon and Spirit Realms. Given their racial characteristics, without elder guidance, they could only grow progressively weaker, reduced to ordinary spirit beasts. Thus, the previous Feifei had been truly innocent and naive, while the current Feifei, having inherited its race's memories, had become a true Feifei.
"Alright, that's all." Feifei's previously proper kneeling posture reverted to lying down. It blinked, looking at Mo Tiange, its voice suddenly turning ingratiating. "Master, your Azure Cloud Pills are really delicious. Could you give me two?"
Mo Tiange's hand stilled, her eyebrow twitching. "How do you know Azure Cloud Pills are delicious? Did you steal some?" The pills she gave her three spirit beasts were always specially refined for them. Azure Cloud Pills were for human Core Formation cultivators; she had never given Feifei any.
"Hehe..." Feifei chuckled twice, burying its face in its paws. "I got curious while you were alchemizing, so I secretly hid two..."
Mo Tiange snapped the teacup lid shut, crossed her arms, and glared at it. "Don't tell me your sudden Advancement was because you ate Azure Cloud Pills?"
A Fifth-Rank spirit beast was equivalent to a human Core Formation cultivator. Logically, only spirit beasts of Fifth-Rank or above could consume Azure Cloud Pills. Feifei had just Advanced. What rank had it been when it stole and ate them?
"Master, don't be angry!" Seeing Mo Tiange's eyebrows shoot up, Feifei subtly shrank its body lower, only its head peeking out. "It's a Divine Beast's intuition. When my cultivation reached a certain point, I really wanted to eat something to replenish my Spiritual Qi..."
"I've always let you all eat whatever you want from the herb garden!" Mo Tiange snorted coldly. "When I first got you, you wanted to eat the Flowerless Golden Fruit. Now you even steal Azure Cloud Pills!"
"Yes, yes!" Feifei nodded its head hurriedly. "Back then I was only First-Rank, and eating the Flowerless Golden Fruit was fine. Now eating Azure Cloud Pills is naturally no problem. I'm a Divine Beast, of course I'm different from ordinary spirit beasts... Hey, hey, Master, don't pinch me! I'm a Divine Beast now, not that Feifei you could push around however you wanted before..."