Chapter 82: The Saintess of Celestial Moon Sanctuary

“This is a Qilin!” Night Endless was struck with an unimaginable shock. He had only ever seen descriptions of Qilin in ancient texts. Never did he expect that Qilin truly existed!

The Qilin, also known as the “Chilin,” with the male called Qi and the female Lin—often simply called “Lin”—is an animal recorded in ancient Chinese books. It is counted among the “Four Divine Creatures” alongside the Phoenix, the Tortoise, and the Dragon, and is regarded as a mount of the gods. In ancient times, people revered the Qilin as a beast of benevolence and auspiciousness.

Its outward appearance is a combination of a dragon’s head, deer’s antlers, lion’s eyes, tiger’s back, bear’s waist, snake’s scales, horse’s hooves, and an ox’s tail, making it a treasure of good fortune.

According to ancient descriptions, its body resembles—sometimes written as “jun,” meaning deer; its tail is like an ox’s; its hooves like a horse’s; its rounded crown bears a pair of horns. It was seen as a divine and benevolent beast. The Qilin has impressive longevity, living up to two thousand years. It can breathe fire, and its voice is as thunderous as the heavens. “Among the 360 creatures with fur, the Qilin reigns supreme.”

“Oh? You recognize the Qilin?” The chubby monk looked at Night Endless in surprise.

“Yes, I know a bit,” Night Endless nodded, saying no more.

The chubby monk also nodded, continuing, “This isn’t a true Qilin, just a beast with Qilin blood. The ancient clans use them to pull their carriages. A true Qilin, as a supreme divine beast of the archaic era, stood alongside the Dragon and Phoenix Clans as a god-beast. It would never be harnessed to a carriage for humans! The real ones vanished long ago in the archaic age and have not appeared for over a hundred thousand years.”

When Night Endless heard the monk mention the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, his expression remained unchanged, and he was not at all surprised.

He had been in this world for nearly half a year now. Imagine, if you met someone who had lived for thousands of years—who was also your wife! Even if she was gone now.

He had seen cultivators who could summon giant pythons a hundred meters long, flying ships, crimson moons, corpses resurrected after countless years, mighty figures wielding arcane arts with a gesture, and enormous demons that could transform into human form…

After all these world-shattering encounters, Night Endless had long since ceased to be astonished by anything.

At this point, if someone told Night Endless he could return to Earth, he would believe it—he just didn’t know how.

“You seemed very shocked by the person arriving in that carriage earlier?” Night Endless glanced toward the direction of the carriage drawn by eighteen Qilin-blooded beasts.

“Sigh.” The chubby monk let out a soft sigh and whispered, “It’s said that in the Divine Realm of Proud Plumes, when a great figure travels, they use nine flood dragons to draw their carriage. By comparison, anyone who can travel with a team of eighteen Qilin-blooded beasts is surely of equal status.

Dozens of divine rainbows led the way, followed by the eighteen Qilin-like archaic beasts, thundering forward and coming to a halt before the ancient demon palace.

The carriage itself gleamed with crystalline brilliance, radiating auspicious light and shrouded in divine mist—truly extraordinary.

A strong cultivator from the Divine Realm of Proud Plumes smiled bitterly, “One of our imperial uncles travels in a carriage drawn by nine flood dragons! For someone to make such a grand show with eighteen Qilin-blooded beasts—even if not the patriarch of an ancient clan, they must be close.”

The cultivators from the Divine Realm of Proud Plumes, the Sacred Land of Purple Gold, and the Sacred Land of Immortal Moon all felt a sense of awe and dared not approach rashly to pay their respects. They were all subdued by this mysterious figure, uncertain of his true identity.

The dozen or so women from the Sacred Land of Immortal Moon whispered among themselves. The jade carriage bore no insignia, and none of the fairy maidens could guess which eminent personage had arrived.

After the nine Qilin-demon beasts halted, there was no sound from within the jade carriage; the figure inside did not emerge but seemed to be waiting quietly for something.

On the other side, the immense divine ark, forged from sacred jade, emerged from the void and hovered in the sky, keeping its distance as if wary of the one inside the jade carriage.

Yet all this was just the beginning!

From the horizon, more divine rainbows streaked across the sky, and more cultivators arrived, each riding a different fantastic beast. More and more sects and factions gathered; it was clear that by dawn, a thousand people would have assembled.

And after dawn, who could say what would happen?

Once the news of the Demon Empress’s legacy re-emerging spread, these ruins would be thrown into utter turmoil.

The Demon Empress’s inheritance would draw the gaze of every cultivator in the Eastern Wilderness.

“The appearance of the Demon Empress’s legacy is of immense significance. Should the great sects, ancient families from the archaic era, or divine dynasties learn of this, they’ll undoubtedly set up ‘teleportation arrays’ and open ‘spatial passages’ to descend rapidly upon the Yan Kingdom.”

At this moment, the ancient palace of the Demon Empress radiated demonic brilliance, and the swelling crowd murmured in hushed tones.

Even those who knew they stood no chance of seizing the great treasure came, hoping to witness an event that would shake the entire Eastern Wilderness.

“Let’s go,” the chubby monk said dispiritedly, rising and heading outside.

“Hm? Where to?” Night Endless also stood, asking.

“Each to his own home, each to his own mother,” the monk replied dejectedly, without pausing.

“You’re not going anymore?” Night Endless asked. This fat monk had just claimed to have a way inside, but now he was leaving.

“If you want to die, be my guest! I’ll not accompany you, benefactor. If it were only cultivators at the Golden Core stage, perhaps I’d take the risk. But now, there are at least two here who have surpassed the Golden Core realm! Things are already in chaos, and soon, even the demon clans will descend. Then it won’t just be a struggle between humans.”

The chubby monk soared away on a streak of golden divine light, departing the ruins without a backward glance. No one tried to stop him.

The situation here was delicate, as though a strange balance had formed: no one dared make a move, for fear of triggering an all-out conflict.

Night Endless looked back at the ancient palace of the Demon Empress and sighed. He had come in search of an opportunity, but with so many great powers present, there was no point in staying.

With nothing to keep him here, Night Endless released a hint of sword intent. His blue longsword hummed and danced, carrying him swiftly away from the ruins.

“Hm?” In the midst of the fairy maidens of the Sacred Land of Immortal Moon, a veiled young woman gave a soft sound of surprise.

“Saintess, what is it?” A fairy with a transcendent aura beside her asked.

“That person carries the aura of the Nine Sacred Lords. Let’s go and catch up,” the young woman said.

“But what about the Demon Empress’s legacy?” the fairy hesitated, glancing at the ancient palace.

“We’re outnumbered and outmatched—let’s go!” The young woman didn’t linger, leaving at once in pursuit of Night Endless.

“Why is the Saintess leaving?” The people of the Divine Realm of Proud Plumes and the Sacred Land of Purple Gold asked in confusion. Opportunities like the Demon Empress’s inheritance were not to be missed.

“We’re just passing through and won’t be participating. Farewell!” The fairy replied with a bow to the assembled factions, then led the others of her sect after their Saintess.