Wind Dragon looked at Lu Chen's grinning face and, without warning, swung his tail directly at Lu Chen's head, sending him stumbling a few steps. "What are you thinking about? Their core essence is a treasure to them. You may have the Beast King's inheritance, but getting it won't be that easy."
Wind Dragon's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing Lu Chen's joy. "Ugh... my hundred-thousand-fold happiness is gone.
"No way. Even a passing goose drops a feather. I want my happiness back."[1]
Feeling indignant, Lu Chen began rummaging through everything on this floor. "I'll trade it back for other treasures. I want my lost hundred-thousand-fold happiness."
However, after searching for a long ti, he couldn't find anything remotely valuable.
It was as if this entire floor of the Tower of Ti existed solely to house the stone monunt and the small floating planet.
"How could there be nothing? My hundred-thousand-fold happiness! Co out now!"
Just then, Lu Chen noticed the small floating planet in mid-air. From the outside, it looked hazy, but sothing inside seed to be taking shape. "Huh? Wind Dragon, that reminds . Isn't it said that one can enter the small planet inside the Tower of Ti to temper the mind? How do I do that?"
He stopped searching and looked seriously at Wind Dragon. "Do I need to gather enough core essence, or is there sothing else I need to do to enter the small planet?"
"Well... emmmm... to be honest, I'm not entirely sure." Wind Dragon sounded hesitant. "Oh right, I rember the Beast King once ntioned that you just need to touch the stone monunt."
"Hm? The stone monunt? Are you serious?"
"Yes, that's what he said."
Lu Chen imdiately caught the flaw in his words and mocked him, "Wind Dragon, I'm starting to think you're the dumb one. You just said the stone monunt was damaged, and now you want to touch it?"
Wind Dragon looked a little embarrassed and tried to defend himself. "Well, I do have mory lapses now and then..."
"Why don't you try using that move—Slot and Strike? Maybe you'll be able to link with it through the Hunyuan Greatsword? Who knows? You might even enter the planet that way."
"That one? Alright, I'll give it a shot. Slot and Strike."
With a soft shout, Lu Chen placed his hand on the hilt of the Hunyuan Greatsword. Spirit qi surged through his body.
Gradually, Lu Chen's will aligned with that of the stone monunt and the Hunyuan Greatsword.
The sword and monunt beca a bridge, linking Lu Chen to the floating planet. Through that connection, his consciousness could finally reach out toward the planet itself.
He couldn't tell if the planet was reacting to his consciousness or if sothing else was at play, but a faint sense of affection seed to reach out from it. Lu Chen said softly, "It's working. Wind Dragon, let's go."
With that, Lu Chen brought Wind Dragon along, preparing to enter the small planet via the bridge ford through the stone monunt.
Before they could step in, Lu Chen suddenly sensed a wave of rejection from the planet. A puzzled look crossed his face. "Wait, we're not allowed in?"
Before he could react, a gentle force kicked him straight off the bridge, causing Lu Chen to curse. "@&...!* Wind Dragon, what's going on? It kicked out!"
Thrown off the bridge along with Wind Dragon, Lu Chen couldn't help feeling irritated. "It was just acting all friendly a mont ago. Why's it suddenly so grumpy?"
"Probably because we didn't offer enough energy. The planet's will must have sensed danger and instinctively rejected us."
Lu Chen scratched his head, puzzled by the explanation. "Will? Can a planet have a will? That reaction was truly odd, though. I thought so creature inside the planet was replying to . But now that you said that, I agree it was probably the planet's own will."
Wind Dragon recalled what the Beast King had said about the evolution of beastkind. "Exactly. I rember the Beast King once said that all things can develop consciousness. Anything with consciousness becos a beast and can cultivate.
"If a planet develops a will and cultivates successfully, then its will becos the Heavenly Dao of that planet. It controls everything that happens on the planet and protects all living beings within it."
"Then what now? Should we try communicating with it and see what it wants?"
Lu Chen reached out again, attempting to touch the planet. Earlier, he had left a bad impression when he tried to force his way in. Now, the planet flinched and backed away in fear as he approached.
Seeing the small planet retreat again, Lu Chen wasn't ready to give up. "Oh co on! Wind Dragon, have you ever heard of the 'drooling lapdog' experint?"
Wind Dragon looked genuinely confused. "Drooling... lapdog? I don't think I've ever heard of that."
Lu Chen recalled how the storytellers had explained it. "It's sothing I heard when I was a kid. It's a training thod for dog-type beasts, ant to build familiarity and trust between humans and beasts."
He circulated his spirit qi and ford dozens of concentrated spirit qi orbs in front of him.
He grabbed one, then used his movent art to chase after the small planet. While keeping his consciousness linked to it, he used the orb to show goodwill.
Each ti he caught up, he would reach out and touch the planet, slipping a spirit qi orb into it at the sa ti.
All of Lu Chen's spirit qi originated from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. All of the orbs were made of primordial spirit qi.
For the little planet, these orbs were incredibly nourishing. After a few rounds of this, the planet began to soften. Gradually, it stopped running away and approached him on its own.
Lu Chen continued to feed it orbs while stroking its smooth surface. Then, he turned toward Wind Dragon and said with a smug smile. "So, Wind Dragon, what do you think of my little experint? Not bad, right?"
From Lu Chen's actions, Wind Dragon had more or less figured out the principle behind the experint. He replied, clearly exasperated, "I never should've expected anything worthwhile from your so-called experint. This is just tossing a at bun to lure a dog."
"So what if it is?" Lu Chen said, not bothered in the slightest by Wind Dragon's words. "It worked, didn't it?"
He looked down at the little planet and teasingly waved a spirit qi orb in front of it.
The little planet let out a cheerful sound and swallowed the orb whole. It rubbed against Lu Chen's arm affectionately with its round, plump body. "Squeak..."
Lu Chen's grin widened. "See? It even agrees."
Wind Dragon covered his eyes with his tail. Unable to watch any longer, he quickly changed the subject. "Why don't you try going in again?"
"Alright, I'll give it another shot."
Seeing that the planet no longer avoided him, Lu Chen tossed over another orb and grabbed Wind Dragon, preparing to charge in.
The mont he moved, the little planet caught on to his intent. It swallowed the spirit qi orb and bolted.
Just like before, Lu Chen was thrown right back out.
"Ugh! What a waste of my spirit qi," he muttered, annoyed. "Looks like I still need to figure out how to please this egghead."
Hearing Lu Chen call it an "egghead," the planet seed intrigued and slowly floated back over.
"Huh? Did it just react to calling it egghead?"
Lu Chen tried again, "Egghead?"
Sounds of delight ca out of the small planet. "Jee, jee."
"Egghead, co here."
To Lu Chen's surprise, the planet seed to like the na quite a lot. It let out another happy chirp and rushed toward him.
Lu Chen seized the opportunity and scooped the little planet into his arms.
"Egghead, how about I call you that from now on?"
"Jee."
This ti, the little planet didn't resist at all. Its movents clearly expressed delight.
"So cute. Wan'er would like it for sure."
Lu Chen grew fond of the little planet. For now, he gave up the idea of forcing his way in and just kept gently petting it with both hands.
Wind Dragon watched Lu Chen's actions with growing displeasure. He muttered, "Hmph... calling it 'Egghead'? What a joke. After all this ti, you've never treated that nicely."
The little planet seed to enjoy the attention. It let out joyful noises as Lu Chen stroked it. "Jee, jee, jee..."
Hearing Wind Dragon's sour tone, Lu Chen laughed heartily. "Co on, Wind Dragon, you're way too old to be jealous over sothing like this. Fine, if you want, I'll pet you too! Hahaha!"
Wind Dragon's voice dripped with jealousy, "Who wants you to pet ? Go pet your Egghead."
Seeing how salty Wind Dragon had beco, Lu Chen said, "Wind Dragon, I'm serious. With our relationship, I'd never play favorites. Once I find a real treasure, I won't forget about you."
"A treasure? You really an that?"
Lu Chen raised his hand in a solemn vow. "I swear on it. No joke."
Wind Dragon's tone softened, "Hahaha, good... Ahem, it's not like I'm saying this for myself, obviously. I'm just thinking about Wan'er."
Of course, he still had to put on a front, dragging Nantian Wan'er into it as a cover.
Seeing that Wind Dragon had finally cald down, Lu Chen piled on the flattery, laying the groundwork to set him up. "Oh, right, Wind Dragon, I've got another question for you. With how wise and mighty you are, you must know all kinds of things!"
"Obviously. I've seen a lot. Ask away."
With Wind Dragon already playing the expert, Lu Chen asked his question, "So here's the thing. Do you know if every planet develops a will of its own?"
Wind Dragon's expression stiffened, and cold sweat began to form on his brow. "Emmm... that I'm not too sure about. I'm not strong enough to make contact with a planet's will."
Then, he turned around and caught sight of Lu Chen's contorted expression, face already red from trying to hold in laughter. He quickly said, "Ahem. Well, I might not know about that... but I do know a secret legend."
Now that he'd already taken on the role of the expert, Wind Dragon had no choice but to follow through. He cleared his throat and prepared to share a hidden piece of lore he had kept to himself.
1. Often used to an soone should leave a benefit, paynt, or favor when they've taken sothing, or that no encounter cos without so kind of gain or cost. In this context, Lu Chen is treating his lost "hundred-thousand-fold happiness" as sothing that should be compensated. Since he feels he lost it unfairly, he insists on reclaiming it by finding other treasures or getting so kind of emotional or material compensation. ☜
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