Bang~
The shaking earth pulled Zhuo out of his train of thoughts. He turned to see Gu Santong crying hot tears as he gave his all in shaking the pillar.
With the shaking of the pillar, so too did the whole space. The bolts of purple lightning hammered the red curtain, wishing to punch through and turn all of this place into smoldering ashes.
Zhuo Fan cried out, "Young Sanzi, what are you doing? The red curtain of light that keeps us alive comes from this Soaring Qilin leg. If it falls, we'll die with it!"
"But… I can't stand it seeing it struck by the purple lightning. I just can't take the sorrow…" Gu Santong sniffed.
Startled, Zhuo Fan turned to the Qilin's leg in thought.
[They say blood is thicker than water.] And Gu Santong's every action proved to him that the kid wasn't ordinary. At this point in time, the kid was resonating with the Soaring Qilin leg and started crying.
[Is he perhaps related to one of the five ancient sacred beasts, the Soaring Qilin?]
Zhuo Fan sighed and ruffled the kid's hair, "If you do not wish for it to cry from Heaven, stop."
Gu Santong didn't understand.
Zhuo Fan smiled, "It is nothing if I die, but if you die, the pillar would also feel sad. No one wants to see his descendants die in vain!"
"You mean… he is my kin?" Gu Santong widened his teary eyes in shock.
Nodding, Zhuo Fan continued, "You feel unbearable sadness the moment you saw the Qilin leg being struck down by lightning. Don't you think the owner of this leg would feel even sadder it's leg couldn't protect you from the purple lightning? "
Gu Santong looked at him deeply and no longer attacked the pillar.
Pff!
Suddenly, Zhuo Fan spat blood that scorched the ground again. Gu Santong cried in panic.
Zhuo Fan waved his hand bitterly, "The purple lightning keeps ruining my body. I hoped to find the art to dispel it in Heavenly Emperor's remnant, but… "
Sighing, Zhuo Fan said, "It looks like I survived the entrance only to die inside!"
"Godfather, you'll be fine, We just became kin!" Gu Santong was anxious.
He finally found someone who cared for him, only to see him die. Gu Santong was so heartbroken, tears began to fall again.
Zhuo Fan shook his head in dismay. He was an evil man who rarely did anything good, yet even so, someone was crying on his deathbed. He felt gratified.
The irony here couldn't be more obvious. This godson of his who was crying was gained through tricks and ill intentions.
Squinting, Zhuo Fan sighed and put his storage ring on Gu Santong's finger, just like a legacy, "This ring has many ingredients. Take it! I hope you will grow up fast. With the natural power in your blood, you will one day get out of here!"
"Godfather…" Gu Santong's tears glimmered, touched to the core.
Zhuo Fan wiped his tears away and took out the Thunder Skylark's egg, "After my death, you will be lonely. Take this bird to help you brave the times… "
He didn't finish as chirping was heard.
Zhuo Fan was startled, "Are you kiddin' me? It's hatching now? How…"
Shriek~
With a loud crack the egg burst and revealed the head of a small chick, with lightning streaking it.
It looked different from any common Thunder Skylark, it was purple. And the shocking thing was that the flickering lightning was purple as well!
Gu Santong cowered to the side at its sight, while Zhuo Fan stood agape, "Un-frreaking-believable! It can use the 1st Heaven purple lightning at birth! This Thunder Skylark is a variant… "
Eek~
The chick blinked its beady eyes at Zhuo Fan, taking him for its mother. It cried out in joy and flapped its wings as it leaped at him.
It couldn't fly yet, having just been born, staggering its frail body over and rubbing its head on him.
Zhuo Fan was out of it looking at the blinking chick. Then he cursed, "You little poultry, you got the most out of this trip to Lightning Canyon! A normal Thunder Skylark can only reach the 6th level with common lightning. But you little cheeky thing got born with purple lightning. I am looking forward to seeing how high you can reach!"
"Godfather, grab it! Don't let it come near me!" Gu Santong was hiding behind the Qilin leg and shouting in fear.
Zhuo Fan laughed, "Young Sanzi, what are you afraid of? Its purple lightning is only in the 1st Heaven. It can't hurt even me, let alone you! Once I'm gone, you will only have each other to pass the long lonely days here! Don't be afraid, alright?
"Come here. Since I've cared for this cheeky thing so much, it can be called my son as well. As the big brother, you should come and greet your little brother!"
Zhuo Fan was being childish. He knew Gu Santong was scared of purple lightning, yet he was now teasing him by making this chick his kin.
Gu Santong shook while trembling.
Zhuo Fan laughed, [Ah, I'm not long for this world anyway. Teasing Tianyu's strongest, the Invincible Scamp, is such a joy.]
So he put the chick down and pointed it to Gu Santong.
The chick, gladly accepted his mother's instruction and wobbled with a chirp to Gu Santong. Like a little bro wanting to play with his big bro. But the crackling purple lightning all over its body drove fear straight into Gu Santong.
"Beat it, shoo, don't come any closer!"
Gu Santong threw rocks around the pillar at it. But the chick's gait was as wobbly as it was springy, dodging as it approached.
In fact, it thought big bro was playing with it and was skipping over in excitement.
Gu Santong's pitiful face was on the verge of tears. It kept throwing rocks at it but always missed. Zhuo Fan laughed from the sidelines. Like a grandpa amused by his grandson's antics!
Perhaps from being pushed into a corner seeing the rocks were of no help, Gu Santong looked around and noticed something white sticking out.
Gu Santong went for it but was shocked to find he couldn't lift it.
This was stranger than fiction. With his power, he couldn't lift a small rock? So he stabbed his hand into the dirt and strained into pulling this odd rock.
But what came out of the ground was a rock the size of a man, looking funny in the hand of a child like Gu Santong. What's more, the kid found it heavy even for his strength.
Zhuo Fan cried out in shock but Gu Santong was in the throes of fear as the chick got ever closer. So he threw it.
The chick cried out and flapped its wings. Fear was a powerful motivator and actually made it learn how to fly on the spot!
The large rock shook the earth and left a meter wide hole around it. The chick landed in fright on it, and this time looked at Gu Santong with palpitation.
[Big bro wasn't playing around with me, he truly hates me!]
Zhuo Fan shook his head at Gu Santong's fuming appearance. He was about to scold him when his eyes snapped to the large rock.
He inspected it in detail.
The large rock looked like a huge egg, smooth and shiny enough to see one's reflection. But on a closer look one could see light spilling from within, and could even make out the shape of a human.
"Imparting Stone!"
Zhuo Fan cried out in excitement, "This is an amazing treasure!"
The Imparting Stone was exceedingly rare in the Sacred Domain. It is used by Masters to pass down secret arts to their disciples or family members.
Usually, the Imparting Stone would be passed down from the previous clan leader to the next one. The new leader would smash the stone and thus gain the inheritance.
The inheriting process also destroys the Imparting Stone. When the leader reaches the end of his life, he would leave all his knowledge into another Imparting Stone for the next leader.
This way, the legacy of a clan would live on!
But never did he think this isolated world would house such a treasure.
[Who's memories did this Imparting Stone contain?] Was it the Qilin's or Heavenly Emperor's? If they were Heavenly Emperor's, he'd struck gold. It may even contain the way of removing the purple lightning from his body!
Zhuo Fan was eager to try it, "Young Sanzi, break that rock!"
Gu Santong thought Zhuo Fan was scolding in a roundabout way, "If you're going to scold me, do it to my face! I know I shouldn't use such a large rock on a chick. Since you took it as your son, he is my little brother, so I wouldn't cross the line. But don't use the rock as an excuse!"
Zhuo Fan laughed, "I am content knowing you own up to your mistakes, but I'm not scolding you here. I only want you to help me break that rock so that I may live!"
Gu Santong's eyes shined and was in glee knowing he could save Zhuo Fan!
So with a boom, the Imparting Stone was blown to pieces by Gu Santong's mighty fist. A multicolored mist drifted out of it!
Within it, a human shape appeared, around 20 years old but with a dignified expression. Purple flickered on his left eye while his right eye was as deep as the abyss.
Looking any longer, one would feel sucked in.
"The leader of the ten ancient emperors, the Heavenly Emperor!" Zhuo Fan gasped.
The person was tranquil, his gaze looked ahead but it gave the impression it overlooked all of creation, "Junior, as you were fortunate enough to open my Imparting Stone, you must be kin. I shall impart to you my ultimate magical art, Divine Eye of the Void. Pay close attention…"
"What, the Divine Eye of the Void? I struck the motherlode, ha-ha-ha…" Zhuo Fan shuddered from joy and couldn't hold back the laughter...