Chapter 306: Following (Third Update)

Chu Liuyue was startled.

"You are... the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle!?"

Rumor had it that this divine beast was born in the extreme northern deserts and possessed powers that could connect heaven and earth.

She had not encountered a true divine beast in either of her two lifetimes; the only reason she knew of the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle was because she had once happened to see it in the secret historical biographies of the Tianling Empire.

She could never have imagined that she would actually encounter such a divine beast!

Even though it was merely a soul, it was already enough to leave one shaken.

The Three-Eyed Divine Eagle nodded.

After a moment, as if worried that Chu Liuyue would not believe it, it closed its eyes.

Following a brief silence, a vertical pupil suddenly appeared in the position between its two eyes!

There was no iris within that vertical pupil, only a circular, crimson eyeball, looking extremely eerie.

Chu Liuyue frowned and asked with some suspicion

"Isn't the third eye of the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle silver-white? Why is yours red?"

This time, it was the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle that was caught off guard.

"You have seen my kin?"

Chu Liuyue pondered for a moment: "...My ancestors once saw them."

The Three-Eyed Divine Eagle gave Chu Liuyue a meaningful look and said slowly

"My divine eye was indeed silver-white before, but... that battle a thousand years ago... destroyed it completely. And it is precisely because of that, that I have been trapped here for a millennium!"

Chu Liuyue understood instantly.

"So that's how it is."

No wonder someone had gone to such great lengths to construct the Nine Nether Tower; it was because what they were suppressing was a divine beast!

Previously, when she first learned that the Tianyuan Blessed Cave beneath this place was suppressing a demonic beast, she had been quite shocked.

But if it was the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle, everything made sense.

Aside from an existence of this level, no other demonic beast could possibly survive in the Tianyuan Blessed Cave for a thousand years!

Chu Liuyue fell into thought for a moment.

"Actually, this Tianfang Sacred Cauldron is what was truly used to suppress you, isn't it?"

A sharp, piercing light flashed in the depths of the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle's eyes!

Chu Liuyue gave a half-smile.

After a brief confrontation, the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle finally spoke

"I almost forgot, the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron is already within your body..."

In other words, it had already recognized Chu Liuyue as its master; regarding everything about it, Chu Liuyue naturally knew better than anyone.

"Correct."

Although there were restrictions upon the Nine Nether Tower, they actually posed no threat to it at all.

Even with the Heaven-Sealing Array in existence, it could not truly confine it.

If there had only been the Nine Nether Tower, it would have escaped long ago!

Unfortunately, there was also the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron!

That was the true key to its thousand-year imprisonment!

Chu Liuyue looked around but saw no skeletal remains.

"Then your bones—"

"The Karmic Fire within the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron is enough to burn everything to ashes," the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle said coldly.

Chu Liuyue was somewhat puzzled

"Since this thing is so powerful, how is it that your soul hasn't dissipated despite being scorched for so long?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Chu Liuyue felt a surge of overwhelming hatred erupt from the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle's eyes!

"On purpose! He did it on purpose!"

Its voice suddenly became shrill, causing a sharp pain in Chu Liuyue's ears!

*He?*

*Who is this "he"!?*

The person who suppressed the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle here in the first place?

"What do you mean, 'on purpose'?" Chu Liuyue asked instinctively.

These words seemed to have stirred up a painful past that the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle could not bear to look back upon.

It let out a shrill, mournful cry, filled with endless resentment and grief!

"He suppressed me within this Nine Nether Tower, burning me with the Karmic Fire of the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron, while nourishing me with the primal force of the Tianyuan Blessed Cave! Forcing me to suffer between life and death! Generation after generation! Never to be reincarnated!"

Chu Liuyue's heart trembled slightly.

So that was it!

So that was the truth!

In this way, he could both force the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle to endure this terrible punishment day and night, and ensure it could never escape through death.

Death would be an end to it all; the most terrifying thing was to live a life worse than death!

She did not know what kind of grudge existed between that person and this Three-Eyed Divine Eagle.

But judging from the methods of this punishment, he was indeed a ruthless character.

Chu Liuyue couldn't help but begin to recall all the rumors regarding the Tianlu Academy in her mind, but after searching, she realized she knew very little about the original founder of the Tianlu Academy—the first principal.

She didn't even know that person's name.

In fact, it wasn't just her; others didn't seem to be familiar with it either.

Tianlu Academy was an extremely unique existence in the Kingdom of Yaochen; everyone knew it was a top-tier academy for cultivators, but very few people knew about the earliest days of the Tianlu Academy.

"So... for all this time, you have been trying to get out of here?" Chu Liuyue asked softly.

The Three-Eyed Divine Eagle sneered.

"Correct! He thought himself clever, finding a balance between the two that would allow me to suffer eternal agony! But he failed to foresee that constant dripping wears away the stone!"

A thousand years was truly too long.

Even it did not know how it had endured day after day.

During the initial period of suppression, it had been in immense pain, wishing it could simply die.

But for it, even death was a luxury.

Later, it discovered that it could devour the primal force within the Tianyuan Blessed Cave.

The force contained violent and ferocious impurities; for an ordinary demonic beast, it might have caused their bodies to explode long ago.

But it was a divine beast, and the Karmic Fire of the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron happened to burn and temper it.

Over time, it was able to silently absorb strength from it, gradually becoming stronger.

Until today, it could finally make its move!

It had seen that Heaven-Sealing Array a thousand years ago; it knew exactly how to break it!

Chu Liuyue suddenly asked

"Then why were you so hostile toward me when I first entered the Nine Nether Tower?"

The Three-Eyed Divine Eagle fell silent. After a long while, it spoke in a somber voice

"Because... within your body, there is an extremely powerful force! I wanted to obtain that force, which is why I targeted you!"

Chu Liuyue narrowed her eyes.

Did this mean... the water droplet within her dantian!?

"You are indeed different from ordinary people, are you not? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to reach the seventh floor at all."

Chu Liuyue glanced at Tuanzi.

She was different from ordinary people, and Tuanzi was also very different from ordinary demonic beasts.

"Now, since you are already the master of the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron, I will not be your enemy."

Chu Liuyue remained noncommittal.

"At this moment, the outside must already be on full alert; the academy's elders and teachers will want to suppress you again. If I let you go, how am I supposed to deal with those situations?"

The Three-Eyed Divine Eagle fell into silence.

"Besides, you are currently in a soul state. Even if I let you go, how far could you run? Without the primal force of the Tianyuan Blessed Cave, how long could you even exist?" Chu Liuyue asked calmly.

A flash of struggle crossed the Three-Eyed Divine Eagle's eyes.

After a long time.

It suddenly raised its head and looked at Chu Liuyue.

"As long as you promise to extinguish the Karmic Fire within the Tianfang Sacred Cauldron, I am willing to follow you!"