"Who exactly are you? How can you possibly control and possess a Cave Spirit?" A woman's voice emanated from the mouth of the cyan qilin. Though her words brimmed with fury, her voice still sounded extraordinarily pleasant to the ear.
It was none other than Xianxian.
Before this woman had even managed to find what she sought after entering the Spirit Cave, the man surnamed Gui had suddenly appeared. Then the Cave Spirit, which should have remained dormant, had undergone a bizarre transformation—it manifested and swallowed her whole in a single gulp.
Had she not come thoroughly prepared, swiftly swallowing a specially refined secret pill and then having the True Qilin immediately unleash a grand divine ability to possess her form, transforming her into the current shape of a qilin phantom, she would surely have been devoured by the Cave Spirit entirely.
"I don't care who you are or where you came from. I'm only asking—where is the Origin of the True Qilin within this Spirit Cave?" the man surnamed Gui asked coldly.
"Heh heh, who am I indeed? And who else do you think knows about this Spirit Cave?" A sinister, chilling laugh drifted from the enormous monstrous face. Though the voice sounded somewhat muffled, it was profoundly eerie, sending chills crawling down one's spine.
The portion of its body that had exploded moments ago had already been restored in the blink of an eye by a flash of black light, as though the previous damage had meant nothing at all.
The man surnamed Gui's expression shifted upon hearing these words.
The cyan qilin, meanwhile, revealed a look of shock.
"What? You're also...? That's right—aside from us, there truly shouldn't be any other being who knows about this Spirit Cave." The qilin phantom swept its gaze toward the man surnamed Gui, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Hmph, I'm nothing like this useless symbiotic companion of yours. A parasitic possession of a weak Crystal Clan member—and a failed one at that. I achieved a flawless, perfect parasitic bond with this Silver Flood Dragon." The man surnamed Gui rolled his eyes and said bluntly.
Hearing him speak this way, a flash of anger crossed the qilin phantom's eyes. Still, it replied evenly:
"A successful parasitic bond is nothing but luck. Back then, we were all fragments of the original body's divine sense—ten thousand portions of spiritual power. What difference could there be between us? I personally consider this symbiotic bond no worse than parasitism. As long as this Crystal Clan woman can cultivate to the Tribulation Transcendence stage and ascend, I too will be able to recover my true Qilin form and my boundless Magical Power."
"Ascend? Keep dreaming. A mere Crystal Clan member dares to entertain such thoughts?" The man surnamed Gui's lips twitched with derision.
"Why not? If she could obtain the Origin of the True Qilin from within this Spirit Cave, even a block of wood would have a sliver of hope of ascending to the True Immortal Realm." The cyan qilin, however, remained remarkably composed.
"The origin power that gives birth to a True Spirit—wasting it on a Crystal Clan member would be an absolute travesty. If I, who possess the body of a Silver Flood Dragon, were to consume it, then in merely ten thousand years I would certainly shed my flood dragon form and evolve into the body of a True Dragon." The man surnamed Gui did not deny the qilin phantom's words, yet his contempt remained plain.
"Are you suggesting I simply hand over the Origin of the True Qilin? Even if we were once part of the same existence, after all these years we have long since become independent entities, as estranged as strangers. And even if I were willing to step aside, the one below wouldn't show such courtesy. Just moments ago inside the Spirit Cave, it tried to devour us both outright." The cyan qilin's gaze turned dark as it swept a glance toward the enormous creature below, then spoke with a cold laugh.
"I don't care how you came to possess the Cave Spirit's body, or what your plans are. Hand over the Spirit Essence of the True Qilin right now, and I'll turn around and leave immediately. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless." Though the man surnamed Gui immediately recognized the attempt at sowing discord, his eye twitched almost imperceptibly, and his voice turned frigid as he addressed the being below.
"You want the Origin of the True Qilin? Of course—that can be arranged. All you two need to do is enter my belly again and merge with me, and you'll naturally obtain it." The giant face let out a burst of cackling laughter.
"What?! You've already devoured it? No—that can't be! Only a being with a physical body can absorb the Spirit Essence of a True Spirit. How could a mere Cave Spirit accomplish such a thing?" The man surnamed Gui refused to believe it.
"Who told you I was merely a Cave Spirit? Did you two really think you were the first to find this place?" This time, the giant face paused for a moment before replying in a sinister tone.
"What do you mean by that?" A ripple of cyan light flickered across the qilin phantom's surface, and even it grew somewhat apprehensive.
"I mean that beings like you—I've already devoured three or four of them. Now, once I devour the two of you along with all this True Spirit blood, I'll soon possess a true True Spirit body. As for the Origin of the True Qilin—it's already inside me. Well then, if you want to know anything else, let me devour you and make you part of me, and you'll know everything." The enormous creature seemed unwilling to say more. Black light flashed across its body, and amid a peal of thunder, two arcs of black lightning shot outward.
From a distance, they resembled two massive black lances, seemingly poised to pierce straight through the qilin phantom and the man surnamed Gui alike.
Hearing the monstrous face's words, the man surnamed Gui's expression turned exceedingly ugly. When he saw the creature actually attacking, his fury was beyond words. Without a syllable, his figure flickered and suddenly split into three identical beings.
One of them raised a hand, and a silver flying sword flashed out in a sweeping slash, transforming into a streak of silver sword-light over ten zhang long. With a single flash it cleaved the oncoming black lightning into nothing.
On the other side, the cyan qilin phantom opened its mouth wide, its head suddenly swelling to several times its original size. It then inhaled deeply, directly sucking the incoming black lightning arc into its maw.
Seeing this, one of the man surnamed Gui's clones narrowed its eyes and abruptly declared:
"The Great Devouring Art! It seems your abilities aren't half bad—you've earned the right to join forces with me this once. Let's work together to destroy this thing, and we'll split the Origin of the True Qilin evenly. That Spirit Origin is far too great a power—even if it's been swallowed, there's no way it could have been fully refined."
"Very well. We have a deal." The cyan qilin pondered for only a moment before agreeing decisively.
Though it was currently a fusion of Xianxian and that wisp of the True Qilin's divine sense, its longing for the Origin of the True Qilin was identical to her own. Despite its deep wariness toward the man surnamed Gui, the creature possessing the Cave Spirit below was an enemy that simply had to be destroyed.