The 1-hour journey could be said to be short and long at the same time. In terms of the overall journey, it was definitely short, but considering his wariness of the Mogwai appearing again, the assassins, and the many monsters, each minute felt like an hour, and an hour felt like a day.

Fortunately, no enemies appeared, and he had finally arrived at the place where the Qilin was slumbering.

‘Thankfully, the Mogwai didn’t take my water away back then,’ Riyue thought as he downed the last water he had in his leather bottle. On the one-day journey before meeting the Mogwai, he had refilled his water bottle after encountering a lake. It was a lake he didn’t know was clean or not, but he would rather have a stomachache than die of thirst.

And since there were no such stomach pains even now, he concluded that the water must’ve been clean.

‘If the original Riyue had prepared for a long journey, I wouldn’t have struggled like this, damn it.’

Of course, Joshua understood that the Original Riyue couldn’t have prepared to flee a sudden ambush from the Jin Family. It probably took him all he could just to get away with the Divine Artifact. Joshua understood it, but he just couldn’t help but complain about his hardships.

‘But now, it will be all over. Dumplings, meat, xiaolongbao, here I come!’

Riyue’s mouth curled up as he thought about the delicious Chinese foods he knew of. As he walked through the foggy forest, the green trees became greener, and the tree trunks became bluer as he walked closer and closer to the middle of the mystical forest.

The green leaves glowed like luminescent light alongside the blue wooden trunks, creating a landscape that would only exist in fantasy. The fog grew thinner and thinner the more he walked until it ceased to exist when he reached a slumbering figure.

Its body was that of a majestic steed, covered with beautiful scales of dark green. The head was that of a dragon, with two horns flowing upward from above its head. Its tail was covered with fur like a blazing flame. Though it was asleep, Riyue could feel a great, divine power emanating from it—a power that a mere Mogwai wouldn't be able to match even if given centuries to live.

It was truly worthy of its title as a Divine Beast, the Qilin.

As Riyue approached, he kneeled with one knee and put his fist against his palm in front as he greeted the Qilin.

“I, Riyue, a member of the Zhang Family, greet the Divine Beast, the Great Qilin.”

The slumbering Qilin’s eyes opened as its figure rose while its eyes locked onto Riyue’s. It scrutinized Riyue’s body before smiling.

“Child, for how long have I been asleep?”

“If my memories have not forsaken me, then it would’ve been around 15 years since you last woke up, 50 years after you decided to sleep for a long time.”

“Fifteen years, a short time yet enough for a child like you to grow up well and healthy.”

“I am honored by your praise.”

The Qilin looked around, confusion etched on its face.

“Where are your kin?”

“They are dead, oh great Qilin. It is a part of the reason why I have come to wake you up.”

“Dead? All of them, except you?” The Qilin’s eyes widened before it frowned.

“Why?”

“It is a long story. Is that fine with you?”

“That is fine, do speak.”

Riyue recounted each and every experience he had gained from the Original Riyue’s memory: when the Jin Family had asked to meet with every single member of the Zhang Family, escaping with his father back to the Zhang Family’s territory, retrieving the Divine Artifact, and Riyue’s father’s sacrifice to ensure Riyue could get inside the forest, and then the journey toward waking the Qilin.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Those scoundrels of the Jin Family!” The Qilin’s anger shook the forest. The fear of the wolves could be sensed through their howls, the scattering birds, and even the trees swayed unnaturally. Riyue himself turned light-headed and almost collapsed due to the pressure.

“I apologize. Despite being old, it seems that I still lack control of my emotions,” the Qilin said.

“Not at all.”

The Qilin then looked Riyue in the eye silently. Riyue felt uncomfortable, but he didn’t move or speak. He didn’t tell a thing about the transmigration and the fact that the Original Riyue had died and he had replaced him. Not only was it unnecessary, but it was also risky to tell. What if the Qilin thought of him as an imposter and killed him?

That thought of his lasted only for three seconds.

“I sense that there is something more to the story than what you have described. Speak truthfully, child. I will not condemn you… Not because your soul is different than that of the child’s.”

Riyue flinched.

‘Damn, are Divine Beasts able to casually look at one’s soul? Guess I don’t have any privacy in front of him.’

Riyue decided not to lie due to being afraid of angering the Qilin and explained everything from start to finish again, even the thoughts of the Original Riyue. He even showed the Qilin the Divine Artifact.

“I see. It is a shame to hear what happened to that child.” The Qilin sighed. Seeing how the Qilin didn’t seem to be hostile toward him, Riyue breathed a sigh of relief. The Qilin then looked at the egg-shaped Divine Artifact placed in front of him.

“Boy, I thank you for informing me of these matters. I could tell just how hard it is for you judging from your wretched state. As a reward, I shall give you a part of my horn.”

‘...A Divine Beast’s horn!?’

Divine Beasts, just like what their names suggest, are creatures holding power akin to the divine. Though their numbers are extremely low, each and every one of them is at least Stage 8 at the weakest, with most being in Stage 9, the highest recorded Stage that a human could achieve.

‘As for this Qilin, though I do not know for sure, judging by the records of its strength in Riyue’s family, it seems like he is even beyond Stage 9. A horn from such a creature would undoubtedly be precious.’

Of course, it’s unlikely that Riyue could make use of it now. Still, it will help a lot in the future. The Qilin then used its tail to cut off a part of its own horn before giving it to Riyue. With his head bowed deeply in reverence, Riyue accepted the horn with a happy heart.

“I thank you for your generosity, oh great Qilin!”

As Riyue received the white horn from the Qilin’s tail into his hand, he could feel the horn resonating with Riyue’s own Qi Core, indicating that it now knew its owner. Riyue’s head tilted at the strange sensation of foreign Qi entering his body.

“Pay no mind to it. For now, the horn could only be used to increase the Qi inside your body and nothing else. For now, that is. The higher the stage you become, the more you will be able to do with that horn.”

‘Isn’t it like an artifact then? Despite only being a horn, that’s amazing.’ Riyue then sneakily checked using the status window.

Qi Amount: 258/822 (recovery 3/minute), (Qilin’s Horn +300 Qi) (Next Stage requires 2000).

‘A whopping 300, and it will grow even more in the future!’ Riyue suppressed his grin as he listened to the words of the Qilin.

“I do not mind whether you craft it into an artifact or if you just keep it as it is. However, I would advise you not to sell it, for it also serves as a way for me to know where you are at all times.”

“I shall not sell it and will keep it with me at all times!”

“Good.” The Qilin nodded before it sighed.

“Truthfully, as an apostle of the Sun and Moon God, I would’ve loved to help you more, but unfortunately, I cannot do that.”

“Why is that so?”

Riyue asked, half out of curiosity and half out of a desire to try and convince the Qilin otherwise. The Qilin looked up at the sky as he spoke.

“Before I went to sleep, I sensed that the changing of times would not be long. Demons have risen in numbers as they started to broaden their activities, causing chaos throughout the world. I also suspect that the purging of your family this time is also related to them.”

‘Demons…’

According to his memory, Demons are humans who have chosen to cultivate by absorbing the powers of monsters and following the Demonic Method. Unlike the Orthodox Method, which cultivates Qi to be as pure as possible to get closer to nature, Demonic Method users cultivate their Qi by absorbing anything and everything, including monsters. As a result of their Qi Corruption, their minds are affected as they become more and more like monsters, with aggression towards humanity, and are usually overcome by madness.

Unlike the first generation of demons, the current Demon practitioners have found a way to control their emotions so as not to succumb to madness. However, most of them are vile humans, finding great pleasure in destruction and committing various sins. This is a result of their Qi Corruption, which make them more and more like monsters due to absorbing Qi from the wrong sources.

‘Of course, it’s not like there aren’t good Demons, but such people are rare.’

Riyue then asked something he was curious about.

“Oh great Qilin, it might be presumptuous for me to ask this, but how could mere Demons trouble someone like you?”

The Qilin then laughed.

“Hahaha, you ask good questions, boy. Then, to answer your question, I shall ask you something.”

The Qilin grinned.

“Do you know why Divine Beasts seldom interfere with humans?”