Chapter Twenty-Six: Lightning and Whirling Winds

As evening fell, Wu You felt an itch crawling over his entire body and couldn’t help but sit up. Beside him, Garuru immediately let out a low growl. Wu You paused, glanced around at the furnishings, and suddenly remembered he had returned.

“Wu boy, you’re awake?” Bai Yanxi had just entered and saw Wu You sitting up.

“How long did I sleep?”

“You should ask how long you were unconscious. Not too long, not too short—exactly four hours.”

“How do you feel? Any soreness in your bones and muscles?”

Wu You knew well Bai Yanxi’s medical prowess. He twisted his body, trying to sense any discomfort.

“Other than a bit of itchiness, I don’t feel anything wrong.”

Bai Yanxi nodded. “It’s all thanks to the miraculous effects of the Rejuvenation Balm. Otherwise, with the injuries you sustained, you’d have needed emergency treatment at the hospital.”

Wu You’s eyes lit up at this. “Elder Bai, the Rejuvenation Balm is finished?”

“Yes, it’s completed. Otherwise, how do you think your wounds healed so swiftly? Those two Mountain King Fowls healed their fractures in just three hours.”

Bai Yanxi was deeply gratified as he spoke of the balm, but soon shifted topics.

“Wu boy, just who are you? What happened to cause those injuries? The claw marks were so deep they nearly reached the bone, and the countless bite wounds—did you feed yourself to piranhas? And your bodyguard Garuru—why did he roar like a tiger?”

Wu You reined in his excitement, his gaze steady as he looked at Bai Yanxi for over ten seconds. The elder met his eyes without flinching.

“Elder Bai, by now you surely don’t believe I’m just an ordinary person.”

“Truth be told, I don’t even know what I count as. I can traverse realms inaccessible to others, and I can tame beasts no ordinary person could imagine.” Wu You altered his wording, refraining from saying ‘create.’

Bai Yanxi was visibly unsettled by this confession. He wanted to accuse Wu You of lying, but the words stuck in his throat.

“You must be curious about the attitude Xiang Biao and Wang Dong have towards me?”

Without waiting for a reply, Wu You continued, “Because they have seen it.” He turned towards the lion-faced colossus. “Correction: what you heard was not a tiger’s roar, but a lion’s roar. Garuru, revert to your original form.”

Seated on a chair by the bedside, Bai Yanxi heard the creaking sound of muscles and bones grinding behind him. Instinctively, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright.

He glanced at Wu You for confirmation, who nodded in return. Bai Yanxi slowly turned his head. Though mentally prepared, when he finally saw the lion-faced colossus’s bizarre and monstrous visage, and stared into its amber vertical pupils, his breath caught as though gripped by an invisible hand.

This terror is unimaginable to those who haven’t experienced it firsthand. Picture yourself locked in a cage with a fully grown male lion—then multiply that fear tenfold, and you’ll approach the state Bai Yanxi and Xiang Biao found themselves in upon seeing Garuru.

Wu You clearly saw the back of the elder’s Tai Chi robe swiftly dampen with sweat and knew not to further stimulate him.

“Garuru, take human form.”

After a moment, the lion-faced colossus reverted to the fierce bodyguard’s appearance. The transformation, however, left his bespoke suit nearly ruined.

Bai Yanxi inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and repeated this three times before speaking.

“Wu boy, I survived prison and the garbage dumps, but you nearly scared me to death.”

Wu You waited for him to regain composure before smiling, “How do you think the herbs for the Rejuvenation Balm were acquired? But I hope you’ll keep this a secret, Elder Bai. I trust you’re not one to gossip.”

Bai Yanxi immediately understood. These things truly were not of the human world, and his eyes changed as he looked at Wu You.

…

After resting a while, Wu You got out of bed and went upstairs. He stripped off his clothes and examined himself front and back in the large wardrobe mirror.

The Rejuvenation Balm’s effects were astonishing. Though intended mainly for bone and mental injuries, its healing on physical wounds was equally miraculous.

His body was covered in scabs, large and small. The smaller ones fell away with a gentle touch, revealing tender, pink new skin beneath.

Only a few hours had passed, and he believed that by dawn, save for some scars from the worst wounds, his body would be as good as new.

Night had just fallen. After surviving several life-and-death trials in the Mountain of Beasts, Wu You’s stomach was so empty it felt as if his chest was pressed against his back. The only one in the house with decent culinary skills was Wu You himself, so the task of cooking fell to the invalid.

He devoured twice his usual portion of food in a whirlwind and sat comfortably in his chair, the dangers of the Mountain of Beasts gradually settling in his heart.

But he would never forget that wounded left eye.

…

Old men usually sleep early, and Bai Yanxi was no exception. Before nine o’clock, he retired to his room to rest.

Wu You, meanwhile, stepped outside and walked to the nearby Azure Dragon River.

He chose to summon: Aurora Thunder Azure Jiao, Ao Guang.

A three-dimensional black sand-like radiance swept over, and the shadow of a massive serpentine creature appeared on the river’s surface.

The moment the Azure Jiao emerged, the river’s waters trembled, sending up brief waves.

It did not submerge entirely but remained mostly above the water. Its body, as thick as a car tire, revealed its immense size. The dragon claws stepping on the water signaled its identity, and its whiskers danced as its raised head slowly lowered.

Just like Garuru’s first appearance, it calmly gazed at Wu You.

But Wu You felt no fear.

This was the Azure Jiao, this was the creature he had created!

Yet before Wu You could give an order, Ao Guang suddenly raised his dragon head and looked skyward.

Thunder rumbled violently overhead.

Heavy leaden clouds had, at some unknown point, gathered in the once-clear night sky, bolts of lightning flickering among them.

The wind intensified, making it hard for Wu You to stand steady, and the river surged as if slapped by invisible hands.

Prompt: Critical Beast—Aurora Thunder Azure Jiao, Ao Guang—is about to transcend the mundane, drawing natural energy for refinement.

Wu You suddenly understood. No wonder Ao Guang had no cultivation options, only the word ‘critical’ displayed.

Could it be that directly creating a critical beast didn’t require mundane transcendence energy materials?

Yet the thunderclouds pressed lower, and the wind grew so strong that Wu You needed Garuru’s support to keep upright. He even heard the sound of glass shattering in the village.

It seemed the transcendence, once begun, was irreversible.

“Ao Guang, follow the Azure Dragon River deep into Shiniu Mountain for your transformation.”

Arcs of electricity danced over the Azure Jiao’s massive body. Moments later, it seemed to lose all weight, floating above the river, then writhing and swimming toward the depths of the mountain.

Its body, over twenty meters long, and its enormous tail, struck the water, sending up waves seven or eight meters high.

Watching the Azure Jiao vanish swiftly from sight, Wu You longed to witness this transformation—so reminiscent of the mythic tribulations. But the raging thunder and the tornado winds forced him to stop.

Ink-black rain poured down in sheets.

Crackling lightning began to strike downward, forming chains of electric light that advanced ever deeper into the mountains before Wu You’s eyes.