Nine Astra Skies

So Little Tanuki’s a Celestial Beast? “What’s the difference between a Mystical Beast and a Celestial Beast?” Ye Chen asked Ye Changxuan as he caressed Little Tanuki’s glossy fur.

“Let’s put it this way. Legend has it that the Primordial God created three unique beings; mankind, Mystical Beasts, and Celestial Beasts. Given their strong physique, a Mystical Beast typically spends their time cultivating their body. By rank eight or so, they gain the ability to produce a Spirit Pill and upon reaching rank ten, these Spirit Pills possess unparalleled powers that can be utilized offensively. Mystical Beasts generally reside in the forest and prey on humans, believing in survival of the fittest. Meanwhile, Celestial Beasts draw in the essence of the sun and moon, honing their Psyche. With a strong Psyche, they can easily annihilate any Mystical Beasts rank ten or lower, they can even enslave their minds if they choose to do so. A strong Celestial Beast is commonly seen with a group of Mystical Beasts that protects it from harm. That said, they are extremely fearful of humans as humans are superior beings. In fact, a wise individual who hones their Celestial Chi has no need to fear a Celestial Beast whose rank is on par or slightly higher than theirs. Mankind is the bane of the Celestial Beasts. As such, Celestial Beasts prefer to remain hidden away deep in the woods, and it is only through shapeshifting that a Celestial Beast can roam freely within the human world.”

Ye Changxuan words took Ye Chen by surprise. Who would have thought something like the Celestial Beasts existed! It was as if his eyes had been opened to a new world.

Recalling his astral body, Ye Chen asked, “Can humans cultivate their Psyche like the Celestial Beasts do?”

Ye Changxuan shook his head. “Unfortunately, humans do not possess the ability to cultivate their Psyche. Some time ago upon acquiring the knowledge on how to do so, a group of contenders attempted to cultivate their Psyche and failed, instead it resulted in their demise. Ever since then, no one has dared to cultivate their Psyche.”

‘If humans are not able to cultivate their Psyche, what is my Astral Body?’ Ye Chen thought to himself curiously. Remembering what the sanguine wolf said, he broke into laughter. Could he be a Celestial Beast? Thinking about it, perhaps all of it had something to do with the Nine Astra Skies. It’s best if he spoke nothing of it, lest people start considering him a monster.

“Can Psyche enslave the mind of a Mystical Beast?” Ye Chen added, remembering that Ye Changxuan’s words about how a Celestial Beast who had cultivated its Psyche had the capability to do so.

“According to the Book of Knowledge, it is capable of doing so. Given that a Mystical Beast’s Psyche is extremely underdeveloped, a Celestial Beast can easily suppress and crush their Psyche, thereby stripping them of it. It is also for that same reason that Mystical Beasts tend to submit to Celestial Beasts of the same rank,” Ye Changxuan continued to explain. He did not understand the intentions behind Ye Chen’s questions, nevertheless, he answered them as well as he could.

“Ah.” Ye Chen nodded. Just then, an epiphany came to him. Did that mean he could also control the minds of a Mystical Beast using his Astral Body? The fact that the sanguine wolf ran for the hills at the sight of his Astral Projection could signify that it was a potent form of Psyche.

He had previously harnessed his Astral Body to battle a pack of rank seven wolves, but he had never considered enslaving their minds. There was only one way to find out if he had the ability.

“What about Astral Externalization then?” Ye Chen pressed on, having heard the sanguine wolf mention it.

“Astral Externalization? What’s that?” Ye Changxuan responded curiously as he looked at Ye Chen in the eye. “Has the Book of Knowledge ever mentioned such a thing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just making things up.” Ye Chen shook his head hastily. It looked like even the ex-patriarch knew nothing about Astral Externalization. He probed further once more albeit meekly. “What about the Daemon King? Is he considered the most powerful Celestial Beast?”

Ye Changxuan stopped in his tracks and looked over to Ye Chen blankly. Just where exactly did Little Chen read about these things? He contemplated slightly, “Celestial Beasts are just like humans, they have ranks spanning from one to ten. I’ve never heard of one above the ranks of ten, my take is the Daemon King must be some powerful being.”

Ye Chen was disappointed to learn that not even his grandpa held the answers to his questions. It seemed that he would have to search for the answers himself.

Looking down into his arms, he caught Little Tanuki staring back at him with those dewy eyes and in them, he saw guilt.

Ye Chen reached out to pat Little Tanuki on the head and gave it a reassuring smile, “It’s alright. Mystical or Celestial Beast, I’ll always be there for you if you ever need me.”

Hearing its owner’s words, tears streamed down the corner of Little Tanuki’s eyes as it lowered its head and shut its eyes. For some reason, it felt comfortable in its owner’s embrace.

While his physical body remained where it was to recuperate, Ye Chen continued to scout the area for signs of the demon wolves using his Astral Body. It looked like the wolves had been scared out of their wits and not one of them dared to return.

“Come on, Little Chen. Time to go,” urged Ye Changxuan. He looked over to the adjacent mountain. Yun Castle was usually filled with visitors. He wondered if the other sixteen houses had already arrived. Apart from the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun, he anticipated the arrival of various prominent figures from Donglin County too.

“Right,” Ye Chen replied. The two quickened their pace with Ye Chen following closely behind Ye Changxuan.

The walls of Yun Castle were clearly more magnificent and taller than Yun Castle’s with a watchtower on either side. Meanwhile, inside the castle stood a spectacular and beautifully painted palace behind the plaza with a rooftop covered in gold that gave it majestic splendor.

“Compared to Ye Castle, the Yun Castle sure is a sight to behold,” Changxuan admitted unwillingly.

Yun Castle’s business empire spans all of Donglin County. Considering the kingdom’s rapport with the king coupled with its recent monopolization of the Xuan-iron industry within the county, it’s easy to see why money continued to pour in endlessly.

“Don’t worry Grandpa, someday Ye Castle will be much more majestic than Yun Castle, you’ll see,” Ye Chen insisted. He raised his head and began cursing at Yun Castle. Yun Castle, they were the ones who had left him to cripple and rot away. Someday, he will have his revenge!

Hearing Ye Chen’s words, Ye Changxuan’s face lightened up. He was right. With a talented martial artist like Ye Chen in the clan as well as possession of the great Thunder Discourse Technique, it was only a matter of time before Ye Castle surpassed Yun Castle and become the most powerful clan of all time!

‘That was the dream of countless generations of the Ye Clan. Will it be fulfilled within my lifetime?’ Ye Changxuan wondered.

“Remember Little Chen, now that we’re in Yun Castle, try to keep a low profile!” Ye Changxuan looked over to Ye Chen, he was the only hope of the Ye Clan.

Ye Chen nodded, “I will, Grandpa.”

Together, the duo scaled the stone steps along the mountains. People were pouring in and out as they made their way up. Ye Chen could sense that a great number of them were rank seven or eight elite combatants, there were even a few rank nines.

“Salutations, Elder Chief Ye!” An elderly man in long robes called out. His footsteps were firm and powerful. Meanwhile, his face was all smiles.

“Elder Chief Mo.” Ye Changxuan smiled and saluted in response before looking over to Ye Chen, “This is Grandpa Mo, he’s the chief of Mo Castle.”

Ye Chen turned towards the elderly man in long robes and bowed, “Pleasure to meet you, Grandpa Mo.” This must be an old friend of grandpa’s he thought.

Mo Fong “Hah, how splendid. This must be Ye Zhantian’s boy. It’s been so long; he has grown a lot.” Said Mo Feng as he stroked his beard. “I too, have brought my grandson along. Mo Teng, this is Grandpa Ye.”

The boy who went by the name of Mo Teng seemed like he also around sixteen or seventeen. He glanced at Ye Chen with an air of haughtiness and frigidness but addressed Ye Changxuan as Mo Feng instructed him to do so, “Greetings, Grandpa Ye.”

Mo Feng smiled and continued, “We’ve aged. The last time we met was ten years back.”

“Indeed. Time waits for no man.” Ye Changxuan was beginning to feel sentimental.

“I heard Xuan Yi’s senior disciple; Master Li will show up today. I hope Mo Teng will be able to impress him.” Mo Feng looked over to his grandson hopefully, “If Master Li decides to take him in as his disciple, I’ll forever be indebted to him.”

Ye Changxuan returned the statement with a compliment, “The Mo Clan’s expertise in Blazing Internal Energy Cultivation and their natural mastery over fire makes them the best when it comes to fire cultivation, I’m sure all will be fine. How is your grandson’s training coming along?” Even when it came to friends, Ye Changxuan preferred to keep things discreet.

“Mo Teng’s training has far surpassed where I was when I was his age. At sixteen, he’s already at the top of rank six.” Mo Feng proudly exclaimed.

After hearing what his grandpa said, Mo Feng grew more arrogant and threw Ye Chen a sideways look.

In the past, Ye Changxuan would have expressed a sense of shock and marveled at the feat of a sixteen-year-old reaching the top of rank six. Now, it did not mean anything. He shot a brief look at Ye Chen. Ye Chen was seventeen and he was already at the top of rank seven. In terms of power, he far surpassed the rank eight warriors in the Ye Clan. Compared to what Ye Chen had achieved, all this talk about talents and aptitude did not matter. Ye Changxuan remained nonchalant and proceeded to congratulate Mo Feng on his achievement. Deep down, however, he found the brag rather amusing.

“What about your grandson?” Mo Feng shifted his gaze to Ye Chen, who stood beside Ye Changxuan.

Just as Ye Changxuan was about to speak, Ye Chen quickly seized the opportunity, “I only recently reached rank six, Grandpa Mo.”

“The start of rank six at the age of seventeen. Impressive.” Mo Feng responded ambivalently as he stroked his beard once more.

Ye Changxuan looked briefly at Ye Chen and let out a chuckle inside. This little punk can sure tell a lie.

After hearing what Ye Chen said, a small smirk appeared in the corner of Mo Teng’s mouth. He shifted his gaze from Ye Chen to the crowd, as if scanning for something.

…