Chapter 246 – Soul Searching Disposition
Qian Doudou didn’t say anything, but her face was tinted with sadness. No matter how powerful a person was, he wouldn’t be able to stand the test of time. Was the man who saved her already dead? She remembered that her grandfather had said that she only needed to try her best. It wouldn’t be a failure if she wasn’t able to find him. While having these thoughts run through her mind, she closely followed behind Xuanyuan. Looking at his back, a strange feeling rose in her heart.
Xuanyuan concentrated on searching for the correct route. Sometimes, a flash of inspiration would cross his mind, but he was still unable to put his finger on it.
After a while, he suddenly had a thought and told everyone to stop. He took out his Devouring Sword and struck the ground.
A few sparks sprang out when the sword hit, but not a mark had been left. This made Xuanyuan worried.
“What happened?” Qian Doudou asked. “You found something?”
“Yes. I just realized that the Black Dragon’s body had turned into hard stones. Then where will the Source Energy of a Dragon’s Heart hide? How can we find it?” Xuanyuan said as he looked at the pig. Since the pig was the one who had urged them to search for the Source Energy of a Dragon’s Heart, it should know how to find it.
“What are you looking at me for? I only know that the Source Energy is on the mountain. I don’t know where to find it,” the pig said nonchalantly.
“Are we going to climb to the top?” Xuanyuan said coldly, losing his patience.
“Of course! The medicine must be……” The pig realized its mistake and quickly shut up, but Xuanyuan had already heard it and became furious.
“You stupid pig! You come here just for the medicine of the Black Dragon, right? I’ll tell you, even if we found it, I won’t let you touch it. Wukong brought us here, and we promised him not to take it!”
The pig sneered. “You really have taken a liking to the monkey, haven’t you? It’s just a stupid monkey! You promised to give him instruments in exchange for his protection to the mountain. It’s all fair and square. Why do you care if the monkey dies afterward? The medicine is worth so much more!”
“I honor my promises. It’s important to me. I won’t do anything that contradicts my conscience!” Xuanyuan made up his mind.
“Xuanyuan’s right.” Qian Doudou stood next to Xuanyuan. “Piggy, if we do what you told us, then we’re in the wrong. Wukong has been nothing but kind to us. We can’t break the promise.”
The pig opened its mouth, wanting to say something, but it ultimately stayed silent.
“Xuanyuan, don’t blame Devour; it’s its personality. It would much rather antagonize every creature in the world than to have anyone hurt the Body of All Creations,” Greed said. “It does everything for your benefit. The only person you can trust fully is yourself; kindness to others might hurt you in the end.”
“I understand. But I’ll still decide what to do. Wukong is a straightforward creature. He wouldn’t hurt us,” Xuanyuan replied. He sat down and pulled out another block of pure source energy.
“You’re right. I don’t necessarily agree with every move you did, but you made some true friends along the way—something the Devouring Emperor had never done.” Greed returned to his silence. From Greed’s descriptions, Xuanyuan could feel that the Emperor was a lonely man.
“We need help from dispositions to find the Source Energy of a Dragon’s Heart.” Xuanyuan carefully observed the landscape on the mountain. He knew that the place couldn’t have nurtured any other kinds of source energy.
Energy Sources were divided into four types—source energy, spiritual source, xian source and the mythical divine source. The Dragon Heart was a xian source.
“Which disposition should I use?” Xuanyuan closed his eyes and thought hard. “The Soul-Searching Disposition!”
Everything under the sky had a soul, and the Source Energy of a Dragon’s Heart was no exception.
Xuanyuan immediately began to create the dispositions. Qian Doudou settled down nearby and looked at him, pondering what Xuanyuan had just said…“I won’t do anything that contradicts my conscience…”
“He must be a good person. Even if something benefited him, he still wouldn’t do anything that may hurt the people he cares about…” she thought.
“Greed! This kid is too soft. How can he become anyone great if he’s soft for a stupid monkey? The road of practice is difficult. And there’s going to be sacrifices! If he’s not willing to sacrifice, he’ll never become a great Emperor!” The pig was communicating privately with Greed, clearly unhappy with its exchange with Xuanyuan.
“Let it go. Everyone is different. Every Great Emperor has their own trajectories. The Devouring Emperor killed as he went, but in the end, he made the world his enemy. Xuanyuan is not him. Maybe he’ll change someday when he learns a lesson or two. Don’t be impatient,” Greed replied.
When he finished his disposition, Xuanyuan abruptly stood up. The block of pure source energy seemed to be pulled in a certain direction.
“Let’s go. With this, we should be able to find the Source Energy of a Dragon’s Heart,” Xuanyuan told the pig and Qian Doudou. Qian Doudou jumped up excitedly, while the pig only looked away in annoyance.
Xuanyuan ignored it. He followed the guidance of the disposition and climbed upwards. Nothing happened on the way as they climbed higher and higher. Slowly, the scenery became covered by thick clouds, and they could no longer see the battles happening below the mountain.
The Soul-Searching Disposition was shining brightly, lighting up their surroundings.
Suddenly, they heard a sound. It was a child crying.
Xuanyuan became alerted, and he frowned. Qian Doudou was looking left and right, trying to find the source of the crying. As they climbed higher, the cries became louder, before they could eventually see the origin of the sound. It was coming from a white furry creature, which was curled up and trembling in the corner. Its white fur was tainted blood-red.
“It’s a little beast! It got hurt!” Qian Doudou wanted to approach and save it but was stopped by Xuanyuan’s arm.
“Don’t! It’s too strange. It might be a trap,” he said.
“It’s not a trap! It looks so sad. It’s crying!” Qian Doudou pushed away, only to be held back by Xuanyuan again. “What happened, Xuanyuan? Didn’t you just say that one should never do anything against their conscience? Should we watch it die?”
“Listen to me. Don’t go there!” Xuanyuan felt very uneasy.
“Stupid Xuanyuan! I’m going to save it!” Qian Doudou ignored Xuanyuan and jumped towards the beast.
“Be careful!” Xuanyuan cried out.