Chapter 23: The Survival Dilemma of Demonic Beasts

All along the way, Mo Bufan became more and more certain that there were tails following behind him, and unease began to seep deeper into his heart. Yet, try as he might, he could not catch even a trace of the three pursuers. Occasionally, he would sense the faintest leakage of their presence, but never enough to pinpoint their location.

Several times, Mo Bufan even called out directly to the silence behind him, “Friends in the shadows, you’ve followed me far enough; why not reveal yourselves?” But each time, there was not the slightest rustle in the air. He began to feel almost embarrassed, as though talking to phantoms conjured by his own nerves.

What comforted him, if only a little, was that the three presences trailing him seemed to bear no ill will. They merely observed, making no move to harm him. Still, the unease would not leave his heart.

Fine, he thought to himself, if you insist on following me, then I will test just how formidable your powers of concealment truly are. While he did not alter his main course, he deliberately guided his steps toward ever more dangerous territory.

Dragonfall Abyss was perilous at the best of times, and Mo Bufan advanced with all the caution he could muster. He even drew upon methods for tracking wild beasts that he had learned in his previous life. The closer he drew to the domains of higher-ranked demonic beasts, the more treacherous the path became.

Despite all this, the three shadows behind him still did not reveal themselves. At one point, Mo Bufan even disturbed a peak ninth-level beast in the Void Refinement stage. It took three talismans of spiritual sword energy just to escape its furious assault.

Yet still, the three tails remained hidden. Mo Bufan could only sigh in resignation.

At last, he said aloud, “If you wish to follow, then by all means do so. If you care to come out and talk, so much the better. If not… suit yourselves.”

With that, he stopped concerning himself with his three silent shadows, and pressed onward into the depths of Dragonfall Abyss as planned.

…

At the same time, the three dragons trailing him found themselves at odds. Long Ao was adamant that they could not reveal themselves, convinced that Mo Bufan harbored designs against their dragon clan. He had even concocted a more alarming theory: that Mo Bufan had known of their presence all along, and was deliberately putting on a show to lure them out and ensnare them.

From the spiritual sword techniques Mo Bufan had displayed earlier, it was clear that his offensive power, though not enough to destroy the three dragons outright, would certainly render them unable to best him. What’s more, humans were notorious for hiding their true strength. The risks were simply too great.

Long Tian wholeheartedly agreed with his elder brother, and his own imagination conjured even darker possibilities, deepening their wariness of Mo Bufan.

Only Long Ling’er scoffed at her brothers’ suspicions, thinking they were overcomplicating things. Yet, considering this involved the ancestral dragon pearl, she dared not let her guard down. Out of caution, she raised no objections.

Thus, with Mo Bufan clearly aware of their pursuit, the three dragons continued to track him from the shadows. As Long Ao put it, their presence would force Mo Bufan to remain cautious, less likely to attempt any mischief. If he did, they would be ready to respond. And if he proved blameless, then at least they would have witnessed the prowess of a human cultivator.

…

Once Mo Bufan stopped paying attention to his three tails, he felt a certain lightness return. For five or six days, he crossed mountains, evaded countless dangers, and at last saw the heart of Dragonfall Abyss—the land where dragons fell.

Yet along his journey, his thoughts were increasingly drawn to the demonic beasts and the broken stele scattered throughout the abyss. Sympathy for the beasts of this place began to stir in him.

Most of the beasts here were once the spiritual companions of cultivators, or rare breeds raised in the celestial realm, or even the descendants of auspicious beasts. In truth, few were truly evil at heart. After all, the immortals of the celestial realm, revered as gods by mortals and bringers of fortune, would hardly have chosen brutal monsters as their companions.

The true cause of the beasts’ present state, Mo Bufan realized, was the ancient seal that bound this land.

In the war between immortals and demons long ago, these beasts fought side by side with their masters, expending their lives to confine the demons within Dragonfall Abyss. Many perished alongside their companions, showing no regret.

But when the war ended, their descendants remained trapped here, their cultivation suppressed to the Void Refinement stage for tens of thousands of years, unable to progress. Worse still, they endured periodic eruptions of demonic energy, fighting constantly against its corrupting influence.

Over time, some beasts succumbed, their natures twisted by the corruption, growing addicted to slaughter. The region sank ever deeper into savagery.

What truly sealed their fate, however, was the day the celestial realm’s fragments were unlocked by outsiders. The human cultivators who entered did not seek to free the beasts who had once fought at their side. Instead, they feared the spread of demonic energy and only strengthened the seal. Later, they used the beasts as mere challenges for their own training, hunting them for treasures and resources.

Hostility grew between human cultivators and the more unyielding beasts, and so arose those among the beasts who delighted in devouring humans.

Of course, there were beasts whose bloodlines, diluted over generations of hardship, produced countless lesser creatures who now struggled to survive in Dragonfall Abyss, training desperately for a future with no hope—an existence that was nothing short of tragic.

The fire lynx was among the most representative of these beasts.

On his way, Mo Bufan had seen many inscriptions on the ancient steles, recounting the stories of fallen cultivators from the celestial realm. Many of their final wishes were not for themselves, but for the beasts who had fought alongside them.

After the war, most cultivators perished, leaving behind only a handful of surviving beasts. The dying wished that future generations would lead these faithful companions out of this prison.

Mo Bufan’s heart gradually grew heavy.

He encountered other human cultivators along the way, but their focus remained entirely on treasure-seeking. Few paid any heed to the steles.

When Mo Bufan happened to chat with the less threatening among them, their answers were invariably the same. Such matters were for immortals to decide. They were here simply to train and survive.

Mo Bufan could only smile wryly. Clearly, these people had seen the steles as well.

His thoughts drifted back to his previous life on Earth, where humans reigned supreme, and other creatures struggled to survive amidst environmental destruction. The refrain was always the same: “Ecology is for the leaders to worry about. We just want to live well. If preserving nature brings us benefits, we’ll support it.”

Such people were not uncommon, though their numbers dwindled in his old world. But here…

Mo Bufan realized he was overthinking things. In truth, he lacked the power to help these pitiful beasts. The ones who could decide their fate had yet to speak. More importantly, he was still fighting for his own survival—any one of those beasts he pitied could devour him at any time.

He shook his head, dispelling these chaotic thoughts, and glanced at the small fire lynx beside him, whose bright eyes were fixed on him. Its mother, too, looked up at him with a pleading, almost smiling face. Mo Bufan reached out to stroke them gently. “Meeting me is your good fortune, perhaps. Don’t worry, I will see you both safely out of this troubled land.”

With no more idle thoughts, he continued on toward the heart of Dragonfall Abyss.