Chapter 269 : Primordial Dao Beast

Chapter 269: Primordial Dao Beast

Chen Beiwu rubbed the linen-gray cloth in his hand with his fingertip, a slight frown on his face.

The texture was coarse, devoid of spiritual charm, unable to be infused with mana, nor could it be refined to recognize a master.

All signs indicated that what he held was nothing more than an ordinary piece of cloth, certainly not a magical artifact. If it were discarded by the roadside, cultivators might not even spare it a glance.

Yet, there was no way his Nine-Breath Chaos Divine Ability could be mistaken.

With focused concentration, he could clearly see crimson Fortune swirling around the cloth like a coiled dragon—clearly extraordinary.

‘What exactly is this thing?’ Chen Beiwu pondered repeatedly in his heart.

“Gulu?”

Golden Egg tilted his head, following Chen Beiwu’s gaze, staring curiously at the cloth.

It was just a rag, wasn’t it? Why such a fuss?

‘A rag? Then why don’t you try tearing it?’

Chen Beiwu lifted his eyes slightly and handed the linen-gray cloth to Golden Egg.

Golden Egg swished his tail to pin the cloth down, then bit into it and tugged hard.

“Gulu!”

Golden Egg’s eyes widened as he stared at the untouched cloth.

His strength might not yet be enough to move mountains and fill seas, but it was still sufficient to flatten a mountain peak.

Yet he couldn’t even tear a piece of cloth?

No, if this was truly just a cloth, then what was he?

Golden Egg suddenly realized.

‘Now you understand.’

Seeing Golden Egg's expression, Chen Beiwu smiled faintly.

Plans often changed with circumstances.

Compared to a Third-Tier offensive magical artifact, he valued the crimson dragon-like Fortune woven into the cloth even more.

After all, a Third-Tier artifact could be bought or crafted at any time—but once lost, Fortune could not be regained.

If this crimson dragon Fortune was used properly, it might even grant Chen Beiwu a True Monarch-level opportunity—or even transform his own Fate.

Without hesitation, Chen Beiwu tucked the cloth into his robes.

Seeing this, Yu Zhaohua grew interested.

“I have a question—could you help me answer it?”

Yu Zhaohua stepped away from where the Sun-and-Moon Devourer Wheel was located, walking slowly toward Chen Beiwu, her voice like icy spring striking jade.

Chen Beiwu’s expression was calm as he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “What is it?”

“There are thousands of magical artifacts within the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall. Why did you choose that gray cloth in particular?”

Yu Zhaohua’s eyes flickered slightly as she voiced her curiosity.

The unexpected often meant the unusual.

That piece of gray cloth might seem normal no matter where it was placed—but within the ninth floor of the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall, where Heaven-Penetrating Mystic Treasures were stored, it appeared wholly out of place.

Truth be told, Chen Beiwu was not the first cultivator to notice something strange about the cloth.

Every Immortal Sect cultivator who had entered the ninth floor of the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall had noticed the rag and examined it out of curiosity, hoping to uncover its secrets. But none had succeeded—Yu Zhaohua included.

Although she had entered the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall to subdue the Heaven-Penetrating Mystic Treasure Sun-and-Moon Devourer Wheel, she had also noticed the cloth’s existence, having examined it more than once, suspecting it might hold hidden mysteries.

But after some time, Yu Zhaohua had ultimately abandoned her research and chosen the Sun-and-Moon Devourer Wheel instead.

There was a simple reason: a magical artifact with no known use was as good as useless.

And something useless didn’t deserve to waste a precious artifact slot.

That was why, despite every Golden Core True Person who entered the ninth floor recognizing something unusual about the cloth, not a single one had taken it.

Yu Zhaohua posed the question without any intent to seize the treasure.

She merely wanted to know—was Chen Beiwu gambling, or did he truly understand the cloth’s purpose?

“Something priceless cannot buy what I like. This item may seem ordinary, but I simply find it pleasing.”

Chen Beiwu dodged the question, then probed in return, “But Fairy Yu, you seem particularly interested in this gray cloth?”

Yu Zhaohua nodded calmly. “I’m familiar with every Golden Core artifact and Heaven-Penetrating Mystic Treasure on this floor. This cloth, however, is one of the few exceptions.”

With that, Yu Zhaohua turned and walked away.

Knowing there wasn’t a word of truth in Chen Beiwu’s answer, she naturally didn’t waste her time further.

As he watched Yu Zhaohua’s figure gradually fade into the distance, Chen Beiwu moved with a thought and pulled out the Treasure-Claiming Token from his storage ring.

‘Hmm? What’s going on?’

The Treasure-Claiming Token shimmered with treasure-light between Chen Beiwu’s fingers and shone upon the cloth—but like a stone sinking into the sea, there was no reaction at all.

According to reason, any artifact within the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall struck by the Treasure-Claiming Token should display corresponding restriction runes, followed by automatic unlocking.

But this piece of cloth acted like a mundane object, showing no response whatsoever.

‘Could it be that this cloth isn’t within the claiming range of the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall?’

That possibility made Chen Beiwu’s heart tighten.

“Junior Chen Beiwu requests an audience with Senior Idle Cloud.”

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Beiwu clasped his fists and bowed toward the empty space of the treasure hall.

“Buzz—”

As soon as the words fell, the space three feet before him rippled, and a crack appeared in it like shattered glass.

“What’s the matter with you looking for me?”

True Monarch Idle Cloud held a wine gourd in one hand, yawning.

A drunken red cloud leaned lazily on his shoulder, its form swaying unsteadily.

As the guardian of the treasure hall, everything within the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall was within his awareness—but sometimes, he preferred to turn a blind eye.

“I have a question, Senior.”

Chen Beiwu’s gaze briefly swept over the red cloud and respectfully spoke.

His guess had been right. The one guarding the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall, Senior Idle Cloud, was a Nascent Soul True Monarch of unfathomable strength.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it. No need for all the formalities.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud glanced at Chen Beiwu. Tilting the wine gourd, a stream of amber spirit liquor arced through the air, continuously pouring into the red cloud.

“I wanted to use the Treasure-Claiming Token to take this item, but I couldn’t break its restriction.” Chen Beiwu pulled out the cloth from his robes.

“This cloth has no restriction to begin with. If you want to take it, just leave the Treasure-Claiming Token behind,” True Monarch Idle Cloud replied casually.

Chen Beiwu’s eyes lit up, just as he was about to put down the Treasure-Claiming Token, True Monarch Idle Cloud suddenly changed his tone:

“But before that, you have to answer me one question.”

“What question?”

Chen Beiwu paused, lifted his gaze toward True Monarch Idle Cloud, and instantly realized—this gray cloth wouldn’t be taken so easily.

“Do you know the true use of this cloth?”

True Monarch Idle Cloud looked intrigued as he spoke concisely:

“Answer correctly, and you may take the cloth. Fail to answer, leave it, and pick another item.”

Over the years, many Immortal Sect cultivators had entered the ninth floor of the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall, just like Chen Beiwu, and had set their eyes on the gray cloth.

Among them were Golden Core True Persons willing to risk their treasure selection slot for it.

Yet the cloth remained in the ninth floor to this day.

There was only one reason: to take it away, one had to correctly identify its true effect. Otherwise, no one could claim it.

Hearing this question, Chen Beiwu’s heart sank, and a troubled expression appeared on his face.

Fate was unpredictable and elusive—he couldn’t just say he could see Fortune.

Noticing Chen Beiwu’s gaze, the slight hope in True Monarch Idle Cloud’s heart slowly faded.

‘Another one trying their luck.’

He had seen far too many eyes like this over the years.

Greedy, hopeful, overconfident Golden Core cultivators—all of them had been defeated by this single simple question.

“If you don’t have the answer, just put it down. This cloth… may not be fated for you.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud waved dismissively, clearly losing interest. Hanging the wine gourd on his waist, he turned to leave.

Just then, Chen Beiwu suddenly spoke.

“This cloth is not a magical artifact, but rather a piece of ordinary fabric.”

Hearing this, True Monarch Idle Cloud halted his step and looked back at Chen Beiwu with a surprised expression.

Not far away, Yu Zhaohua, who was attempting to subdue the Sun-and-Moon Devourer Wheel, raised her eyebrows slightly.

She hadn’t been intentionally eavesdropping on their conversation—her divine sense was simply far too powerful. Nothing that happened on this floor could escape her perception.

‘That’s a bizarre answer.’

Yu Zhaohua inwardly remarked, surprised by Chen Beiwu’s response.

How could ordinary fabric be stored on the ninth floor of the Jade Clarity Treasure Hall? It defied all logic.

Was Chen Beiwu trying to use feigned ignorance to claim the cloth? That was far too naive.

“Little fellow, don’t try to play smart.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud put away his wine gourd and said seriously, “What I asked was the effect of the gray cloth, not its nature.”

Chen Beiwu’s answer wasn’t wrong.

Strictly speaking, the cloth was just ordinary fabric—but his answer missed the point of the question.

“My intuition tells me this cloth might grant a Companion Beast the opportunity for a bloodline transformation.”

After some thought, Chen Beiwu gave a vague, broad-scoped answer that could go either way.

In terms of results, by using his Nine-Breath Chaos Divine Ability to extract the crimson dragon Fortune from the cloth and bestow it upon Golden Egg, it had indeed enabled the Companion Beast’s bloodline to evolve.

But in doing so, he had avoided mentioning Fortune entirely, making it nearly impossible for others to deduce he possessed the Nine-Breath Chaos ability.

After all, based on the reactions of Yu Zhaohua and True Monarch Idle Cloud, many other cultivators had noticed the cloth’s anomaly.

What’s more, ordinary cultivators couldn’t perceive Fortune at all, and “intuition” was mysterious and ambiguous enough to perfectly conceal his abnormality.

What Chen Beiwu truly cared about, however, was whether his answer was correct.

Besides the Fortune hidden within it, did the cloth really possess the power to evolve Companion Beast bloodlines?

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud’s drunkenness vanished as he looked at Chen Beiwu with a serious gaze.

“After several hundred years, this Sky-Draping Cloak has finally found its destined owner.”

Chen Beiwu’s heart eased.

He hadn’t wanted to expose the existence of Fortune, so his answer had been a gamble.

And now it seemed he had guessed right—this piece of gray cloth did have the power to evolve a Companion Beast’s bloodline.

“Senior Idle Cloud, what exactly is the origin of this Sky-Draping Cloak?” Chen Beiwu braved a question.

From Senior Idle Cloud’s response, it seemed that now that Chen Beiwu had successfully claimed the cloth—no, the Sky-Draping Cloak—there were fewer taboos about discussing its details.

“You’ve got quite the luck. This item has a remarkable origin.”

Midway through his sentence, True Monarch Idle Cloud suddenly traced two fingers through the void, slicing open space and retrieving a gourd of aged wine, tossing it to Chen Beiwu.

“Catch.”

Chen Beiwu quickly caught the wine gourd with both hands. His palm sank under its weight, and he looked at True Monarch Idle Cloud with surprise.

“This is my own brew—the Purple Mansion Form-Congealing Wine. Drinking it can greatly enhance comprehension and aid Golden Core cultivators in understanding the mysteries of the Immortal Dharma Body.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud explained,

“Your cultivation is still shallow. Drink one drop a month, and you can permanently increase your comprehension. As for how much it helps—that depends on your innate aptitude.”

Chen Beiwu looked at the gourd, his expression shifting slightly.

Back when he was still at the Qi Refining stage, he hadn’t understood why the upper echelons of the Immortal Alliance didn’t prioritize geniuses with exceptional comprehension, but instead valued the bloodline of Companion Beasts. He’d thought it was just a difference between cultivation approaches in the Two Realms.

It wasn’t until he entered the Yuqing Immortal Sect and read extensively that he understood—the Immortal Alliance had countless spiritual pills and miraculous elixirs capable of enhancing comprehension. The only issue was their astronomical price, far beyond what ordinary cultivators could afford.

Powerful True Venerable clans and Dao Venerable Immortal Families could, if they wished, spend enormous resources to elevate their elite scions’ comprehension to heights unimaginable to common cultivators.

However, such medicines could only raise comprehension to a certain point.

An average cultivator could take these pills to reach the level of a cultivation genius.

Similarly, a genius could use them to reach the level of an Immortal Alliance prodigy.

But external help had its limits.

No matter how many pills they consumed, no Immortal Alliance prodigy could surpass the barrier and reach the level of a peerless genius.

By contrast, the bloodline evolution of a Companion Beast had virtually no limit.

This was why the upper echelons of the Immortal Alliance downplayed the importance of cultivator comprehension and emphasized the value of Companion Beasts.

Compared to the cost of enhancing a cultivator’s comprehension, using cultivation resources to evolve a Companion Beast’s bloodline was clearly more cost-effective.

“Many thanks for the generous gift, Senior.” Chen Beiwu clasped his fists in solemn gratitude.

“Enough with the courtesy. I’m only in a good mood today and happened to find you pleasing.”

True Monarch Idle Cloud waved it off with a hiccup, drunkenly burping without the slightest decorum of a True Monarch, then got to the point:

“As for the origin of the Sky-Draping Cloak, you should know an old proverb.

‘Earthly Fiends form the base, Heavenly-Gang lays the steps—Creation itself is rare across ten thousand years.’

Now, do you know what lies beyond the Fortune-Origin Beast?”

“Void-Refining Dao Beast,” Chen Beiwu answered immediately.

“Wrong.” True Monarch Idle Cloud shook his head.

“To be precise, it’s the Tai-Su Dao Beast, or the Primordial Dao Beast.”

Seeing Chen Beiwu’s puzzled expression, he explained,

“What is Tai-Su? It refers to the beginning of matter, before form is complete—also known as Primordial.”

“Each Tai-Su Dao Beast is a mighty existence that can govern the birth and destruction of worlds. Born of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, they possess power equivalent to a Void-Refining Dao Venerable from the moment they emerge.”

“And that Sky-Draping Cloak in your hand—though merely a small piece of coarse cloth—originated from a Primordial Dao Beast named Sun-Swallowing Sovereign. After countless years of companionship, it absorbed a trace of his Dao's rhythm and became something miraculous.”

Hearing this, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but tremble slightly and examined the cloak carefully.

Unbelievable.

This coarse, dull gray scrap of fabric had such a terrifying origin.

Seeing Chen Beiwu’s surprised expression, True Monarch Idle Cloud cleared his throat and said seriously:

“If you sensed this item’s effect, you must’ve contracted a canine-type Companion Beast.”

“Drape the Sky-Draping Cloak on that beast and let it wear it long-term. With time, it can awaken its bloodline and become a leader among Earthly-Sha Treasure Beasts.”

“If its bloodline is compatible and fortune smiles, it might even, within a hundred years, evolve into a Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast.”

“Gulu!”

Upon hearing this, Golden Egg couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

Disaster! That traitorous Iron Egg was already favored by the emperor.

If the Sky-Draping Cloak was so powerful, wouldn’t Iron Egg catch up—or worse, surpass him?