I woke up suspended in mid-air, in the middle of nothing. Everywhere was dark. I could sense that this place felt familiar, despite not ever remembering witnessing such a scene.
"Hello!" I voiced out, causing my voice to echo every which way.
Everywhere remained silent.
"Hello!" I called out again.
A tiny spot of green light short forward from the infinite distance. It gradually expanded, giving me the feeling as though I was going closer to the source of light. It continued expanding before it completely covered and overwhelmed me, causing me to involuntarily shade my eyes from the blinding sight.
I counted to five, before slowly squinting my eyes open to gradually adapt to the brightness. Taking in a breath, I was surprised to take in the smell of flowers! I looked around me and realised that I was in a form of a garden. It was only when I attempted to pluck a peculiar looking flower, did I realise just what kind of garden this was. Until now, I hadn't realised that butterflies of all kinds were all perched on each flower. My attempt to pluck that flower drew a swarm of them to me, making me giggle hysterically. I concentrated my mind on them and sensed their joy, causing me to smile even merrier.
"I see you've already made friends in the Butterfly Garden."
I turned around, impulsively, in fright, frightening the butterflies that'd clung onto my dress.
Those words were spoken by an old man with a bent back, and a walking stick. His facial hair were all dyed gray, as well as the flowing hair on his scalp. He looked as old as the hills. On his face was a warm smile that, surprisingly, put me at ease.
I swallowed my saliva and hurriedly spoke. "I'm sorry for touching the flowers."
He waved it off with an arm, smiling even broader. "Nature belongs to all."
I smiled then... furrowed my brows in thoughts.
"Come on, ask me what you want to ask," the old man prodded.
"Umm... what is this place? How was I suspended in mid-air earlier, and how did I get here?" My eyes wondered here and there as I took in the scene. There was an old cabin just a stone throw behind me that I hadn't noticed earlier. He gestured for us to go in.
The cabin wasn't eye-catching, and was completely made up of wood. It had a desk with a jug and two cups. I noticed there was a little kitchen in the adjoining room.
I took a seat opposite the old man. He was about to pour us both a drink when I stood up to do it instead. He didn't resist my aid, and sat there with the never changing smile. Through my peripheral vision, as we sipped the tea silently, I could not help but be startled as to how much of a resemblance this man's face took in comparison to my father.
Right after the tea, a butterfly flew over and perched on his ear, as if whispering something to him. He nodded ecstatically and declared, "Ho-ho! This is truly amazing! Right in time. Have them come in!"
I stared blankly. Weren't butterflies silent animals? How could he communicate with them? If he could do that, then didn't that mean his ability was even far stronger than mine? Does he also have the Animal Connectivity?
"Master!"
In my muddled thought, I was suddenly jerked to the present as two familiar voices saluted the old man in the beast tongue. It was none other than the leader Blazing Overload Lion, and on its back was the Scorpion Tail Chameleon!
"Hmm," the old man replied with a much warmer smile. The lion began to fawn over him like a pet dog, rubbing its head on his robe. "I've missed you too. I didn't expect I'd be seeing you this soon!"
"This..." I was speechless. Not just speechless, but speechless and confused.
He looked at me and mouthed a "thank you" while I nodded without my knowing it.
Just then, a thought crossed my mind...
"Am I dead?!" I screamed out in fear.
The old man gave off an old cackle.
"Of course not. Now back to your questions."
Hearing that their master was about to speak, the lion quickly reined in his heatless blazing fur and laid on the floor while the chameleon simply got itself to sit on my shoulder. The old man was pleased by this action, then continued his words.
"This is your spiritual world. Every cultivator has one, but next to none have a connection with theirs. The reason you were able to break into this path of your consciousness is because you'd been struck by an epiphany after the absorption of these two. This here, is my second tamed beast, The Blazing Overload Lion. While this one here is the Emperor Scorpion Tail Chameleon, my first tamed beast."
Emperor Scorpion Tail Chameleon? Was I hearing things or was he pulling my legs. I remember on the 687th page of "Ancient Beasts", the fifth paragraph mentioned this Emperor Scorpion Tail Chameleon as a one-in-a-lifetime beast. It was so scarce that in the history of cultivators, it had only appeared five times! Just five times! Not much was mentioned concerning the beast more than: "it is a huge variation to the regular Scorpion Tail Chameleon, and has the ability to disguise itself and aura into fooling others to believe it's an ordinary kind of Scorpion Tail Chameleon. It is said that, if tamed, the master of this beast could gain the ability of Perfect Disguise..."
The old man continued. "Back in my younger days in the Phantom Dynasty, I was able to tame these two beasts on the same day due to my Animal Connectivity bloodline. They were the best companions I had, and earned me several victories in the war against the Demon tribe.
"After entering the Divine realm, and achieving the age limit of a thousand year, I had to sacrifice my remaining life force into my first and second tamed beasts, to prepare the way for the final generation of the Royal Spirit Bloodline carrier. As you must have learnt, probably, the Royal Spirit Bloodline appears once in two millennia, which means that at that time, I still had a thousand year before my bloodline would be stimulated in one of my descendants Gift. The reason I made that sacrifice is so that I could lay a fine foundation for my descendant. Right now, I'm only a mere fragment of my spiritual will."
After speaking thus far, he raised the jug and poured us both another round, letting the words he'd just spoken to sink down.
"You're my... ancestor?"
He laughed.
"You can put it that way. From when my Dormant Royal Spirit Bloodline awoken, I acquired the Emperor Butterflies Royal Bloodline which empowered me with the dominative bloodline to suppress all sorts of beasts... except divine beasts—" he let out a sigh, then raised his eyes to me in curiosity. "So what's the prefix to your Butterflies Royal Bloodline?"
"Huhn? I... umm... don't know?" I said shyly.
"How can you not know, are you not up to the Spirit realm?" he asked, observing me behind his cup.
I shook my head.
"How then did you absorb my tamed beasts with a lower cultivation realm?"
I explained everything that happened from the moment I stepped into the Ethereal Hall till the moment I blanked out. I also told him about MBI and how I'd gotten it when Dorothy created her first crystal.
"This is amazing! It's more amazing than I thought! Hahaha! You absorbed a Mystical Beast of Illusion that gave you the ability to absorb beasts in illusions! How come I didn't think of this when I was much younger! Brilliant! So your Arerat symbol not only absorb spiritual efforts from willing beasts, it even absorbs those from illusions!
"See, I'll tell you something. Every mystical beast was once a real beast that attained the Divine realm. The thaumaturgists, in my days, found a way to revive these beasts' will to empower themselves in their profession! Who'd ever think that you'd trap one with your Arerat claw prints! That animal you have must be an All-knowledge beast, in its early days."
I was a beast tamer, so I naturally understood what an All-knowledge beast was. Even Lian'er whom I met during the entrance examination had one. Hers was an owl.
"Is that why it understands everything so well, despite not remembering much about the current world?" I asked, interested in learning more about the Mystical Beast of Illusion.
The old man nodded.
"After taking form, they suffer from amnesia, only awaking their memories in particular moments."
I nodded.
"You still have questions, I know. I sense a possession of mine with you. Is that—" he sniffed the air "my knowledge on 'The Way of Disguise'? Haha! Wonders shall never end! To think you also have that! Good! You'll be with us for the next few days, and I shall teach you how to disguise yourself, your aura, and even shape shifting!"
And that was how my learning in the my spiritual world began. I soon lost track of time learning diligently. Since this was my spiritual world, it also definitely meant that I wasn't with my storage or recluse ring. He sensed the book that senior gave me, from my main body! Wasn't that an awesome ability?