Crafty Granny.
"Can we have a chat?" – she asked after the meal when they were left alone.
"Do I have a choice?" – he asked calmly in return but inside was very alert.
"Naturally." – she smiled craftily. Well, that's starting to get nasty.
"Lead the way." – he finally sighed and they left for her study.
It was a small room with good lighting and many books all around.
"A seven years old Spirit Elder and at the 37th layer at that. You, child, a marvel I had never seen in my life, and I bet will never see." – Aiden sighed again. He screwed up big time today, but granny seems to find his behavior amusing and laughed. – "That would be a lesson for you not to underestimate spirit masters."
He frowned but suddenly realized that with Nexus and his rings, with theories and reincarnation, he indeed became arrogant and complacent. He thought granny won't be able to figure it out. Well, he fell for a trap of his own means and smartness.
"Good." – granny nodded, seeing my reaction. – "Now let's talk seriously. Do you know who I am?"
"No." – the lesser you talk in such situations, the better.
"Well, let's speak about who I am not." – she played with words, but now everything will be clear. – "I am not from Spirit Hall and I am not their ally or friend."
"And why should I believe you? I am yet to have any conflict with this organization."
"You can choose not to, but can you afford it?" – she leaned closer, ignoring his rattling and there in the depth of her eyes glinted a sharp light sending shivers down Aiden's spine.
"Fair enough." – he suddenly answered after a long silence and the atmosphere became more relaxed. With just his talent and knowledge, Spirit Hall will put him in front of their "to enslave or to kill" list without further ado. – So, what's the point of your strange introduction?
"I want you to do something for me." – direct approach. It's fine, he can work with that.
"And what's in it for me?"
"How about life?" – she smiled fiercely.
"That's not how it works, granny." – Aiden didn't even flinch under her threat. He felt no ill will or killing intent. – "You will never kill me. Let's leave out your desire to hide from unnecessary eyes, even if you destroy the body you won't be able to explain where I went to the kids out there, thus goes in smoke your ability to remain here. And look at me, do I look like a person without background? Do you think it is possible for an ordinary person to be like me? Even if I'm just a commoner and I said so, no one will believe it. You especially won't, thus not daring enough to touch me."
"You are good." – she nodded. – "But not that good." – she smiled mysteriously, but somehow there was never a threat of death in there. It's like she was amused and played with a junior out of interest. – "We were watching you."
That last part came out of nowhere and sounded very special.
"Since when?"
"You really know how to ask questions that matter. Well, no harm answering, you need to know at least this much. Since you killed the sealed demon." – that struck the chords of his heart. – "Humanity's memory might be short, but not ours."
And her eyes changed a bit into something bestial for a moment before reverting back.
Now that really sounds reasonable. With the lifespan of spirit beasts and the fact that their cultivation realm not necessary conforms to actual age plus the breeding intensity of wildlife, it was just unreasonable to think there were no societies within their race and that there were only so little titled douluo level spirit beasts as shown in a novel.
Nature and wildlife are not that weak, it's enough to look at the North Pole to know. And there still is an ocean covering over eighty percent of the planet surface, which is about two times larger than Earth. Even Douluo Dalu has more than half of its surface still untouched by humanity. Thinking that way Aiden suddenly thought spirit beast race to be devious schemers. It's not humanity that oppresses them, it is they who let us off for a very simple reason.
"Humanity is your shield in the upcoming invasion." – he said with a deep voice.
"Some might think that way, but most among us don't. We all just want to survive. You off all living people are one of the few who understands a bit about the real plight of this world. Spirit beasts and humans were never true enemies, especially before the first invasion where we coexisted. The problem lies there." – and she pointed at her own heart.
Whether she really meant feelings and goodness of inner self or indicated at the appearance of spirit rings is an open question, but it's true. Back then, during the cultivation era, there was no need for humans to absorb spirit rings to become stronger, they had extensive knowledge to create skills and arts, as for acquiring innate abilities of spirit beasts – that was a rare occasion because there was no need to.
The first demon invasion created a rift between two coexisting races. And the destruction of the knowledge of the cultivation era was the last nail in the coffin. Spirit beast clans went in hiding but never abandoned the world, still fighting for it, because unlike humans, spirit beasts somehow were more fragile in front of corruption demons brought with them. That was the brief story she told him, and it seemed believable because Nexus told something similar before.
Actually, among the spirit beast race there are geniuses like among humans, who can reach 100000 years of cultivation in mere decades.
All they need is proper training methods, most of which were lost, but somewhere out there still existed hidden clans where they trained properly and kept some knowledge.
'Could crucible be a congregation of spirit beast training methods or just a manifestation of one suitable for all of them, something like a general technique? No, I'm thinking about innate abilities, not really cultivation. Or are they connected for spirit beast case? What are rings anyway?'
= Master, ask her to show the ring! It would be a very substantial bonus for our research.
An excited voice exploded in his mind right away. That mad scientist really has no regard for survival.
'I want to live longer, buddy.'
"And here where my request comes in." – she slightly bowed. – "I know you might feel indignant and even come to hate my race, after all from your point of view you might think we are using humanity as a shield, but I can't control that." – she sighed sadly. - "I want you to take her away from here."
"Her?"
"Hu Liena. The girl you met. I will unseal her true appearance. As strange as it sounds that would be the best disguise. Liena is a spirit beast who transcended her core to the martial spirit and become a human." – that literally blew Aiden mind of. What chances does someone have while walking on the street to meet an ancient beast in human form begging for food? Well, he seems to inherit Tang San halo. Xiao Wu will like her for sure. – "Hu Liena is too beautiful and attractive to humans. She is the last descendant of Black Fox clan and a nine-tailed at that. She is two hundred thousand years old." – before Aiden can say anything granny continued. – "But she slept through her entire life in hibernation and never cultivated, aging and becoming powerful naturally. She is ignorant of anything, please regard her as you will a little child."
'Wait, Hu Liena? Wasn't she taken by Spirit Hall in the original plot and became very loyal to them to the point of blind belief? Hu Clan… Black Fox Clan. That explains a lot, but it was never revealed whether she was a human or beast in the original novel. Ah, well, to be frank, the actual world is way broader than I thought.'
"That's one hell of a way to spend a life." – to say that youth was amazed is just to play it down.
"She won't be recognized as spirit beast, Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline masked it well. The more she trains the more tails will appear and the more powerful overly she will become. I implore you to take her away from here as soon as possible, she interests Spirit Hall and we can never let them get any of six cornerstone bloodlines, even if they don't know who she is, a thorough check will reveal everything."
"What are you talking about?" – Aiden felt puzzled.
"Sorry, kid, that's not only mine secret to keep. Just beware of Spirit Hall, they are not what it seems on the surface." – she stood up and patted his shoulder. – "And no funny stuff until you grow up, got it, young man?"
He looked at the old woman and saw a dirty expression in her eyes, which made him exasperated.
"Lewd old woman, we are kids!" – he whispered under his nose. But how sharp would hear of spirit beast that can transform into a human?
"Repeat that young man." – she said while standing up and putting hands on her waist.
"Honorable senior is beautiful and kind." – he blurted out with no regard for his own face, making this ancient beast laugh.
"Aren't you an obedient boy." – granny stretched her hand and tried to ruffle is hair, but something strange happened. He backed off with repulsive feelings on the bolt of lightning. That was a quick move that made her memories of cultivators of old churn in resemblance.
"I… I didn't mean to offend… it's not because you are not a human or something."
"I am a spirit beast, remember? We have acute intuition and senses." – she sighed and felt bad inside. That kid has been through a lot. And now it is too early to think he is fine, even if he says so. – "Did your mother used to pat you?"
"Do we really need to talk about it?" – he shoots in return, feeling the continuation of their talk became unnecessary.
"Not really." – she conceded with the grace of an elder and benevolent smile, while Aiden just nodded. – "Go ahead. Little Na appeared here just a couple of weeks ago on her own. She is just a silly kid, ending up in Spirit Hall's orphanage." – granny sighed, but the mentioning of that organization made Aiden all fidgety. – "Is there anything you want to ask?"
"Why do you transform into humans?"
"A, that." – she somehow smirked craftily again, but soon her eyes became serious. – "Actually, we are more comfortable with our own bodies, so if humans think it is our best choice, well It is not. Even cultivation will go better in actual form than in human one and reaching higher layers of existence is not out of question at all."
"Then… isn't it harmful?" – Aiden felt perplexed. In the novel author really gave some very unrealistic explanation almost to the point of saying that spirit beasts are inferior creatures. It was contradictory, how on one hand he propagated the "heart over species" approach of Tang San and wrote that spirit beast practically cannot ascend godhood, when technically even in terms of body potential many spirit beasts are way stronger than humans. As for god seats, or god rings… well, were they in the cultivation era for humans? Obviously, no. Apparently here we have way more complicated matter in terms of godhood and if he thinks about what granny said – it has nothing to do with the limit of gods or their number.
"It was inadvisable before the appearance of demons and Fall of Gods. But now…" - granny sighed sorrowfully and Aiden committed to memory one very troubling thing mentioned. Fall of Gods. Sound like your everyday apocalypse on the run. – "Demons are besieging Douluo Dalu as we speak. They are not sealed away, it's we who are separated from the rest of the universe to protect ourselves."
"No way…" - Aiden sat there dumbly in shock. No, that lanky dude really, very pretty much really cheated on him! – "So… realm of gods and other places…"
"Hooo, how very amusing for an abandoned kid in the tender age of seven to know about all this." – granny looked at him deeply, but then, taking a very precise look into his eyes her very being trembled in astonishment. Deep inside Aiden's space of consciousness, a platinum dragon lazily lifted its head and looked back at intruding spirit aura. It wasn't mad, no, it was like an elder giving off a slight reproach to his beloved junior. Dragon shook his head ever so lightly and went to his own thought in sleep again. – "So that's how it is… who else can it be… so that's how it is." – she gripped his hand tightly. – "No wonder I felt a sense of trust. No wonder she brought you here. I leave little Na in your care, Platinum Divine." – and then she bowed deeply, giving Aiden scare of his life.
It was a tiring talk.