Chapter 739 - 352: I Have One Friend (6k)_3

The immense body carried an irresistible momentum, yet it was powerless in the face of the rising You Su. You Su easily dodged, dissolving the attack.

And to avoid crashing into the Divine Radiance Stone behind You Su, it forcibly twisted its huge body, heavily falling to the ground, snow dust flying upwards. Bai Ze’s eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger, its small horns faintly glimmering as if ready for a desperate fight.

Chen Yi saw this and quickly stepped forward, standing between You Su and Bai Ze. He took a deep breath, striving to keep his voice calm and reverent:

"Lord Bai Ze, please calm down! We did not mean to offend; we are not evil! We just want to retrieve these Divine Radiance Stones..."

Bai Ze got up from the ground, shook its enormous head, and grumbled, "Retrieve the Divine Radiance Stones? Just by you mortals?"

It glanced disdainfully at Chen Yi and the clansmen behind him, eyes full of contempt.

"Just by us mortals...," Chen Yi hesitated, seemingly unwilling to reopen old wounds, but the situation had reached a point of no return and concealment was unnecessary anymore, "We took the Divine Radiance Stones away back then, and today we ought to bring them back."

"So you were the ones who moved the big stones here! These stones cannot be moved, don’t you know!"

Bai Ze’s somewhat childish complaint only added to Chen Yi and the others’ shame, prompting them to kneel alongside him, as Chen Yi spoke loudly:

"Back then we were deceived by others, driven by greed, causing us to commit such mistakes... We’ve been hibernating in the Far North of the snow plateau for thirty years, solely to make amends for our past wrongdoings!"

Finished speaking, he discreetly observed Bai Ze’s response. Bai Ze’s enormous body shuddered slightly, its crimson eyes squinting as if contemplating something.

Seeing this, Chen Yi felt a glimmer of hope, and hurriedly continued, "I understand that Lord Bai Ze guards the Divine Radiance Stones for a reason, to prevent them from falling into the hands of those with sinister motives, but we are not evil. Our sole intention is to return these Divine Radiance Stones to their rightful places!"

"Impossible! You are liars!" Bai Ze’s voice was sharp and youthful, starkly contrasting its gigantic body.

"Every word of mine is true, otherwise I could allow this Immortal Master here to forcibly seize the Divine Radiance Stones," Chen Yi explained.

Bai Ze followed the elder’s gaze toward the black-clothed youth, creating yet another tense stand-off between human and beast.

"They told me! Nobody but them can take away the big stones!"

Them?

Chen Yi saw Bai Ze’s defensive demeanor and felt his heart sink, realizing his suspicions were indeed correct. The conspiracy from thirty years ago was far more complex than he had imagined.

"Who are the ’they’ Lord Bai Ze refers to?"

"Good people!" Bai Ze replied without hesitation.

Chen Yi’s eyelids twitched before he asked, "Did Lord Bai Ze come here thirty years ago?"

"Thirty years... I can’t remember clearly..." Bai Ze shook its head.

Deep down, Chen Yi realized that Bai Ze, being a divine beast born through the Heavenly Dao, inherently possessed divinity that made mental control nearly impossible. Bai Ze’s voice sounds so youthful, it was probably exploited by those people back then.

"Was there also a tall person... with short hair, and a cut-off nose..."

"You know him too?"

You Su had been silently observing from the side; to him, Bai Ze’s intelligence was evidently not very high.

"It was by his order that we moved the Divine Radiance Stones... Later, we regretted it, and he sought to exterminate us, forcing us to flee to the Far North of the snow plateau," Chen Yi spoke softly.

"Impossible!" Bai Ze lowered its body, adopting a menacing stance.

"Little one, what did they say to you at that time?"

You Su weighed the Mo Song Sword in his hand, prompting Bai Ze to bare its teeth at him, though hesitant to approach due to the fear of the blade.

Nonetheless, the cold threat indeed calmed it down; its massive head drooped, seemingly recalling something.

Soon Bai Ze slowly raised its head, its crimson eyes becoming increasingly dim, a trace of confusion and pain flashing across its gaze, "They said it was for the safety of the Five Continents that I must guard these crucial Divine Radiance Stones... They also said..."

"Said what?" You Su abruptly pursued.

Bai Ze took a deep breath, appearing to struggle in suppressing its internal emotions,

"They also said, as long as I guard these stones well, I can... I can..."

Bai Ze’s voice grew smaller and smaller, eventually turning into a mumble. Chen Yi and others held their breath, not daring to disturb it.

After a long while, Bai Ze spoke again, its voice much lighter than before, seemingly unsure of its own recollection:

"They said, my family’s increasing decline was because I had not blessed everyone well... Thus, fewer people came to my family, since they no longer believed in me... But now I have a chance to make amends; if I guard these important stones well, I am blessing everyone. Once the task is completed, everyone will recognize my greatness, and my family will return to its former state..."

"Your family? Where is your family?" You Su asked.

Bai Ze looked up, surveying all around:

"Here, right here."

All around was silent, only Bai Ze’s low whimper echoed inside the cave. Chen Yi and his clansmen exchanged looks, realizing belatedly that the once Holy Mount Cangshan was Bai Ze’s place of birth. More unexpectedly, the Holy Mountain where people prayed for blessings actually prayed to the Divine Beast Bai Ze, which became the source of naive and kind Bai Ze being used.

"So..." You Su slowly spoke, breaking the silence in the cave, "You were deceived."

Bai Ze suddenly raised its head, the crimson eyes staring fiercely at You Su, eyes full of anger and resentment. Its massive body started shaking again, seeming ready to hurt anyone at any time.

"No! I was not deceived!" Bai Ze’s voice was sharp and piercing, "You are the liars!"

You Su looked at this obstinate divine beast before him, sighing inwardly with helplessness, akin to seeing a stubborn child. The most effective way to deal with such unruly children was to give them a slap and then a candy.

"People don’t come to Cangshan simply because of the increasingly fierce snowstorms. They couldn’t even traverse these storms, let alone reach Cangshan. Moreover, no one disbelieves you, because they aren’t aware you are on this mountain, thus there’s no talk of belief or disbelief," You Su stated the cold reality.

His directness even made Chen Yi uncomfortable, feeling it might be too cruel to such a childish-hearted divine beast. Chen Yi tried to mediate several times, but Bai Ze gave him no chance to explain.

"Shut up!" Bai Ze suddenly raised its head, roaring loudly, its crimson eyes once again blazing with fires of anger, "You are liars! You are liars!"

Its massive paw slammed the ground, a loud boom resounded in the cave, snow falling all around.

"I will go find them! I will go find them and ask them!" Bai Ze’s voice filled with anger and resolve.

You Su saw this and knew the moment had arrived. He walked to Bai Ze, and spoke calmly:

"I can help you."

Bai Ze sharply raised its head, the crimson eyes fixed on You Su, filled with suspicion and vigilance:

"You? You can take me to find them?"

"That is suicide, I am not as foolish as you."

You Su spoke calmly, yet his words provoked Bai Ze to almost wish to crush this annoying black-clothed youth to pieces.

"The Beiao Continent is vast, but justice can be found. Find those who truly uphold justice, and you’ll know who was deceived."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ze’s massive body trembled slightly, the red in its eyes had completely faded, turning into a deep black. Like remembering something, it excitedly stamped its front hoof:

"I know who to find! I have a friend! She claims she’s a figure admired by many here!"

"You have friends?"

You Su was incredulous; no doubt only a handful of people knew of Bai Ze’s existence, surely those people were highly capable. Whether they truly befriended a spirit beast was entirely questionable.

"Hopefully, she is not just a pretend friend using you." You Su shook his head.

"You! You must have no friends!"

Bai Ze retorted, then lifted its head confidently, "She definitely didn’t deceive me!"

"Then tell us, who is she?" You Su showed no reverence to the divine beast worshipped on the Beiao Continent.

Bai Ze’s eyes darted around, suddenly saying:

"The Palace Master of Jianlong Palace!"

As soon as Bai Ze uttered those words, Chen Yi and the others collapsed in fright, sitting on the ground.