Chapter 3: Chapter 191: Purple Qi Comes from the East

“With dual fins, plus the abundance of fish here, could it be the one known as the 'King of Aquatic Magic Beasts'!” Jiu Ge almost shouted in surprise. It seemed she had to go and witness for herself just how powerful this rumored King of Aquatic Magic Beasts truly was; catching a glimpse of such glory would make the trip worthwhile!

“Jiu Ge is quite clever. To be able to guess correctly through such a connection—that's right, he is the Fish Beast King of the Flame Dragon Empire, and also one of the Fish Beast Kings of the Cloud Map Continent, the Purple Perch Fish Beast. His status and abilities among the fish beasts are among the foremost.” Shi Ye clapped his hands in praise.

“What is the deep water area like? What is he doing down there? And does he know how you would react on his territory?”

“When I first fell in front of a palace named 'Purple Qi from the East' that emitted a purple glow, I was stunned for a full ten minutes. Constructing such a palace is a massive undertaking that an ordinary person could not complete. While that thing was on its way back to its palace through the shallow waters, I took the opportunity to sneak into the palace.”

“Upon entering 'Purple Qi from the East,' I clearly felt that the inside was filled with spiritual energy, brimming with spirituality. It was a place to relax the body and mind, a great place for health preservation. However, this kind of spirituality did not suit me; it was more suitable for aquatic creatures.”

“What do you mean? Could it be that this spirituality is divided by race?” Feng Jiu Ge couldn't figure it out; she had never heard of such a thing.

“Not exactly, it's just that the spirituality at the bottom of the water has been transformed into an environment suitable only for the survival of their fish beasts. This is also their method of suppressing the growth of other creatures. Furthermore, this type of fish beast has a very strong ability to absorb spiritual energy.”

“An hour had passed since I took the Breath-Holding Pill. I used an illusion to evade the fish guards at the entrance and successfully entered the core of 'Purple Qi from the East,' which is the main hall of the Purple Fish Beast.”

“There were very few things inside; aside from basic decorations, there was almost nothing else. I walked back and forth inside, attempting to see if I could discover anything unusual, or if there were secret rooms of some kind.”

“However, I did not have enough time, because by then, the Purple Fish Beast had already smelled the scent of an outsider and knew I was hiding in 'Purple Qi from the East,' so he rushed back immediately.”

“Then where could you have hidden? Can't that fish smell your scent?” Feng Jiu Ge was very puzzled. Did Shi Ye possess some special skill?

“You guessed correctly. Considering what kind of magic beast I, Shi Ye, am, how could I not have a way to hide myself? Just as the Purple Fish Beast was about to enter, I suddenly discovered a vase. Guess what its function was, Jiu Ge.”

“Is there even a need to guess? The answer is staring us in the face, isn't it? It masked your scent,” Feng Jiu Ge answered without hesitation.

“That's not it. This vase is actually the key to opening the secret room. By gently turning the vase, the wall instantly split apart, revealing another world inside.”

“Moreover, after entering this secret room, due to its excellent sealing and the fact that the Purple Fish Beast had done it intentionally, I was not discovered.”

“How could that be? What do you mean by the Purple Fish Beast doing it intentionally?” Feng Jiu Ge was very confused.

“Because I discovered three cages inside, and there were people imprisoned in them. No, to be more accurate, they were three different types of magic beasts. Although they had transformed into human forms, it wasn't hard to see that they were respectively the Bamboo Beast, the Bird Beast, and the Peach Blossom Beast.”

“So, I greeted them and asked: 'Why are you imprisoned here? Who are you?'”

It was said that they had not seen anyone other than fish beasts for a long time. They were originally magic beasts living near a small river, but ever since an aquatic-type magic beast arrived in the river, their lives had changed completely.

As it turned out, the aquatic magic beast was a great beauty and the first love of the Purple Perch Fish Beast. Previously, the two had truly loved each other. When the aquatic magic beast came to the small river to find the Purple Perch Fish Beast, the Purple Fish Beast was still very young and was not yet the leader of the Purple Fish Beast clan.

However, due to the opposition of the Purple Fish Beast's kin, the aquatic magic beast was led into a misunderstanding created by the clan members. Heartbroken, she left the Purple Fish Beast. At the time, the Purple Fish Beast did not realize it was his own kin who had caused it; he believed it was the aquatic magic beast's own reason, unable to endure a romance between different races.

Four years later, the Purple Perch Fish Beast became the leader of the Purple Fish Beast clan. When he was no longer constrained by others, he possessed supreme power and felt a great sense of achievement. Thinking back to his innocent feelings for the aquatic beast back then, it was truly beautiful. It was a pity the aquatic beast did not persevere and gave up too easily, resulting in no conclusion for the two.

Half a month later, the Purple Perch Fish Beast went to the place where the two had met, but unexpectedly encountered the Divination Master who had facilitated their meeting years ago at Kuning Temple. The Master called out to the Purple Perch Fish Beast and handed him a letter.

The Purple Perch Fish Beast was very puzzled; he had only met the Master once, so how could the Master remember him?

When the Purple Perch Fish Beast opened the letter handed to him by the Master, he understood. The letter read

“Xiao Zi, I believe you will surely see this letter. I can see your potential; you must have become the leader of the Purple Fish Beast clan by now.”

“Then why did you still leave me?” the Purple Perch Fish Beast muttered to himself, then continued reading the letter.

“Do not blame me; I had no choice. I had to leave you. Because they all say that we are not of the same race and cannot be together. Moreover, I would affect your rise to the leadership of the Purple Fish Beast clan. I know that compared to making you lose your position as leader, leaving you seems more cruel, but I must do this. Because I cannot hinder your future.”

“Why didn't you ask for my thoughts? I didn't have to rely on my family; I could have established my own path, couldn't I?” The Purple Fish Beast spoke with some helplessness, then added, “After all, saying these things now is useless. It's too late, isn't it?”

“I believe by the time you see this letter, I will no longer be in this world. Please do not mourn me; seek another lady!”

Seeing this, the Purple Perch Fish Beast felt as if his heart were being cut by a knife. He did not know what had happened to the aquatic beast, or why the two of them were separated by life and death, unable to be together as lovers.

“So, did the Purple Fish Beast find the aquatic beast later, or is the aquatic beast still alive?” Feng Jiu Ge was very curious. Since she was currently in a romantic phase, she was quite interested in other people's romances.

“Later, the Purple Perch Fish Beast asked that Divination Master. The Master had actually calculated back then that the two could not be together, but he had not revealed the secret of heaven.”

“The Master said: 'Their fates are mutually clashing. The karma from their past lives destined them to meet in this life, but Heaven has not granted them the branch to join together. Even if the two were to forcibly change the arrangement of fate, they would ultimately separate due to constant misunderstandings caused by defying destiny. Even if it is not a separation by life, it will be a separation by death!'”

“When that girl came to find me, she was already very weak, without even the strength to speak. I wanted to call a doctor for her, but she said the doctor had already told her she wouldn't live past three days.” Pausing, the Divination Master choked up slightly.

“So I could not help. She asked me to keep this letter and give it to him when he encountered Xiao Zi, because she said: 'In the future, a man dressed in purple will surely return here; that person will be Xiao Zi.'” The Divination Master said regretfully.

“The Purple Perch Fish Beast searched around Kuning Temple day and night, aiming to find any trace of where the aquatic beast had lived. But it was always in vain.” Shi Ye also appeared slightly sad, greatly admiring the Purple Fish Beast's determination.

“Then, on an afternoon five days later, by a freshwater stream filled with willow trees, the Purple Perch Fish Beast saw the grave of the aquatic beast. The Purple Perch Fish Beast guarded the grave for a full seven days before leaving. He decided to avenge the aquatic beast.”

“But he doesn't even know who the enemy is, so how can he take revenge?” Jiu Ge was puzzled. Long Zi Jie was also not quite clear on this part and looked at Shi Ye with a questioning gaze.

“The Purple Perch Fish Beast understood that if it weren't for his own clansmen's thousandfold obstructions back then, the aquatic beast would not have left him. Living alone, she was lonely and had no one to care for her; who could she turn to? Therefore, he concluded it was the fault of his own clansmen that led to this outcome.”

“How is this their fault? It's clearly just an excuse the Purple Perch Fish Beast made for himself because he lacked the ability to take care of the aquatic beast, isn't it?” Feng Jiu Ge looked down upon the Purple Fish Beast's way of doing things; it was not the behavior of a real man at all.

“So, the Purple Fish Beast was blinded by romantic sentiment and could not see the truth,” Shi Ye sighed slightly. “Consequently, the Purple Perch Fish Beast came to his deep water territory and killed all the fish beasts who had once obstructed him and the aquatic beast, leaving only some fish that followed him, which were also younger fish beasts. Those are the various kinds of fish you see now.”

“And later, even the magic beasts living nearby could not escape this misfortune. Because the Purple Fish Beast had become addicted to blood and turned into a demon; he lost his previous refinement and became very brutal.”

As he spoke to this point, the surrounding aura suddenly changed. It turned out that the magic beasts living here had come out, nodding to Shi Ye as a form of greeting.

“You know them?” Feng Jiu Ge did not understand and did not know where these magic beasts came from. Because she hadn't smelled any blood and felt they had no hostility, she hadn't attacked.

“Jiu Ge, let me introduce them to you. These three are the magic beasts living in this area. This one standing so straight with some fine leaves is Uncle Bamboo Beast. This one with the pointed mouth and the wings behind him is Uncle Bird Beast. And the remaining one wearing a peach blossom hairpin is our beautiful and generous Sister Peach Blossom Beast.”

“Little Dragon, this is your...” Bamboo Beast gestured for Long Zi Jie to introduce her.

“Is there even a need to say it? Looking so lovely, she must be Little Dragon's sweetheart; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought her here.” With her womanly sixth sense, the Peach Blossom Beast clearly felt there was something between them.