Hongyan Mavis leaned in to stare at the Pridebeast. "Hey, do you remember me?"
The Pridebeast glared at her viciously. The ape looked like it might try to bite the woman at any moment.
"Senior, are you sure that this is the same Pridebeast that you fought in the past? Could it be a descendant?" Lu Yin asked.
"No. A Pridebeast isn’t a species. Even if the beast had offspring, there’s no guarantee that they’d inherit its strength. Its power isn’t something that’s cultivated, but rather developed instinctually. It’s the same as the Megalith," Hongyan Mavis replied.
As she spoke, the woman looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "Little Seven, you’ve actually managed to cultivate a power that can normally only be developed instinctually. Very impressive."
Lu Yin replied, "As long as you treat strength as a physical state, it’s possible. If you want to learn, Senior, I can teach you."
"Of course I want to learn. Thank you," Hongyan Mavis gratefully accepted.
Lu Yuan laughed. "Little Seven, teach your ancestor too."
Lu Yin smiled. "Of course."
Garan Zhiluo felt a bit envious and said, "Once you’ve learned it, your strength will noticeably increase. Do me a favor and make a note of wherever you’ve fought at full strength. That way, when I use my Eight-Star Garan, I’ll know where I can copy a powerful attack."
This reminded Lu Yin of something, and he turned to look at Garan Zhiluo. "There’s something that I forgot to ask you, Senior Garan. Why does Shao Yin have your Garan family’s innate gift?"
Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis both turned to look at Garan Zhiluo as well.
They had forgotten that Shao Yin had used the Eight-Star Garan before, despite it being impossible for him to be a member of the Garan family.
Garan Zhiluo’s expression chilled. "He must have received it from the Aeternals."
"What do you mean? Do the Aeternals have the power of your Garan family?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.
Garan Zhiluo answered calmly, "I only learned this while I was sealed within Tian Feng. Yong Heng, True God, has an innate gift known as 'Bone Grafting.'"
"Like bone grafters?" Lu Yin blurted.
Garan Zhiluo’s expression grew even colder. "Bone grafters did indeed appear in the past, but they did not last for very long. They didn’t care about flesh, only bones. They were able to absorb strength from bones and even acquire the innate gifts of the bone’s original owner. That’s why their race was wiped out.
"So, you actually know about bone grafters?"
Lu Yin’s expression turned serious. "What’s Yong Heng’s connection to bone grafters?"
Garan Zhiluo explained, "He created the bone grafters and left them in the Origin Universe.
"While I was sealed within Tian Feng, Tian Feng first wanted to simply kill me, but then Yong Heng showed up. He used his bone grafting innate gift to peel back my skin and muscles, disfiguring me while removing some of my bones. With that, it’s no surprise that there are Aeternals who have my Garan family's Eight-Star Garan."
Hongyan Mavis suddenly grabbed Garan Zhiluo’s arm, only for the woman to instinctively pull back.
"Is that why you won’t take off those bandages and why you can’t restore your appearance?" Hongyan Mavis's eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Lu Yuan’s expression also darkened ominously.
No matter what sort of internal conflicts had existed between the Three Realms and Six Daos, the bond between the disciples was real, and it had been forged while under the Origin Progenitor’s teachings. Garan Zhiluo’s tragic fate enraged both Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis. The two immediately wanted to go destroy the rest of the Aeternals and all the surviving Boundary Guardians.
Lu Yin’s expression also fell.
The suffering that Garan Zhiluo had endured was unimaginably vast, and at this moment, they all understood why it was impossible for her to heal herself.
For someone who had treasured her own beauty, being horribly disfigured must have been a devastating blow.
"Flora, how do you want to get revenge?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.
Garan Zhiluo calmly replied, "It’s been so long, so let’s leave things alone for now, but we need to be careful. If Yong Heng can allow someone like… who did you say? Shao Yin, right? If he can allow someone like Shao Yin to use the Eight-Star Garan, then there has to be more as well. Since we didn’t see them in the last battle, the Aeternals must have other plans."
Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered the Ossis Ark that was fighting against the Immemorial Citadel. While there, he had noticed that the Aeternals did not seem to care when their powerhouses died. He had even overheard conversations where people said that, even if someone died, they would reappear later. At the time, he had not understood, but he finally had a suspicion of what was going on.
It was possible that some of Garan Zhiluo’s bones were on the Ossis Ark and that Aeternus was using something like bone grafting to give corpse kings various abilities from the bones of powerful creatures. That was why experts would seem to keep reappearing. In other words, the Immemorial Citadel was fighting against those who were already dead. As long as Aeternus continued to gather bones, the Ossis Ark's power would continue to grow.
Garan Zhiluo’s bones might not have been given to Shao Yin alone, as some of them might have been taken to the Ossis Ark.
The Ossis Ark was the Aeternals’ greatest weapon against the Immemorial Citadel, and Lu Yin finally understood just what that weapon was.
Garan Zhiluo had learned a great deal while sealed within Tian Feng, though she had paid a horrifying price.
A thumb appeared in front of Lu Yin’s face before it pointed at Garan Zhiluo. It was the Pridebeast. The ape was giving Garan Zhiluo a thumbs-up.
Lu Yin smacked it on the head. "Get back."
The Pridebeast cradled its head as it retreated.
"Let’s go. It’s time to leave," Lu Yuan said.
…
Lu Yin soon returned to the Heavens Sect.
As soon as the group arrived, the Pridebeast and the Megalith both looked towards the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise, who were both outside the sect. It was always easy for beasts to sense the auras of similar creatures, though the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise were far from comparable to the two newcomers.
The jiao felt its head start tingling, and it reflexively bared its fangs and brandished its claws in an attempt to intimidate the unknown threat.
Ancestor Tortoise was more straightforward, and it simply retreated into its shell. Anything it could not see could be avoided.
The Pridebeast scoffed at the two other beasts.
The Megalith was currently wrapped around Lu Yin’s waist, as it did not like to stay by his feet.
Many people were curious about the Megalith and the Pridebeast, and Lu Yin released a public announcement that the Heavens Sect had gained two additional guardian beasts, which sparked a great deal of excitement. The stronger the Heavens Sect became, the more confident humanity as a whole became.
A few days later, Lu Yin started rolling his die.
He gave it a light tap and then watched as it slowly stopped spinning, landing on three pips: Enhance. Lu Yin sighed. Without money, there was nothing that he could Enhance. He rolled again and got Gift Copy. He casually slapped the Megalith, and a swirling energy pattern appeared on the die’s face. The Megalith’s ability to devour energy was not merely a law of the universe, but also an innate gift, which Lu Yin could use.