The grand spectacle of raising the flag awaited them ahead, but Ye Zhizhou had no appetite for food!
"Alright, we're done. Let's go quickly," he disdainfully pushed away the bottle, clumsily reaching out to entwine his fingers with Dongfang Shu's, raising his tail, "Let's go, let's go. What have you been up to? Why is the flag almost raised?"
Dongfang Shu shook the bottle and reached out to pat Ye Zhizhou's belly, wiping his mouth somewhat reluctantly. As they walked, he replied, "When I first arrived in this world, I didn't know who the soul flags were locked onto until Xuan Yuanhong showed up."
"And then?" Ye Zhizhou raised his head, wanting to nuzzle his lover's face. "And how did you arrive earlier than me? I clearly left the previous world before you."
Dongfang Shu paused for a moment, using his motion to conceal the pause. He replied gently, "The soul projection of Tongtian is much slower than mine; there might be a time difference."
Ye Zhizhou nodded as if he understood, burying his head in his lover's embrace. He tried to ignore the sudden dizziness caused by the elevation change in his field of vision and asked, "So, what have you done after locking onto Xuan Yuanhong?"
"I helped him become the Beast Emperor."
"Huh?"
"Your mission is to raise the flag. Before you arrived, I had to pave the way for you." Dongfang Shu tapped his head and continued as they sat on a feathered transport bird of the Yu clan. "You can't directly target the protagonist, and neither can I. So, I cultivated some opponents for him."
Ye Zhizhou buried his head further into Dongfang Shu's embrace, ignoring the dizziness from the sudden altitude change. He sighed contentedly, "Dongfang, you're really something... Now I can be lazy again... Awesome!"
Dongfang Shu pinched his exposed tail, his lips curled into a smile that quickly vanished. It wasn't enough. No matter how much he did, it felt insufficient. This person shouldn't have to go through these aimless days with an uncertain future.
The Beast Emperor resided in the Beast Clan's temple. After the various clans were disbanded and reorganized, the Beast Clan's temple gradually became the center of the Beast Clan. The beast people built villages and cities around the temple, living together. Dongfang Shu was now the protagonist's number one lackey on the surface but the leader of a rebellion in secret. Under Dongfang Shu's manipulation, the conflicts between the various clans and the protagonist became even deeper than what was written in the plot.
As for the protagonist's harem... all the beast people who caught the protagonist's eye were now under their control, playing a game of pretend affection with him. Moreover, because they didn't know how many soul flags existed in this world or who else had been targeted by them, Dongfang Shu had also provided the protagonist with several ambiguous candidates.
"The forced marriages did happen, but there weren't just ten as mentioned in the information. There were fifteen," Dongfang Shu received the memories Ye Zhizhou shared and, after checking the plot details, smirked. "Now, there are more than twenty."
Ye Zhizhou was shocked. More than twenty people were after the protagonist's kidneys... Realizing this, he shuddered and hurriedly asked, "Did you make those beast people pretend to have affairs with the protagonist? Did they...?"
Dongfang Shu lowered his head to look at him and pressed his head lightly, "Did they what?"
Asking even though he already knew!
Ye Zhizhou used his tail to flick him, "Stop teasing, you know!"
Dongfang Shu chuckled, then reached out to grab his tail, shaking it gently. He smiled and said, "Of course not. Don't forget, I'm also skilled in alchemy."
"...So, did you chemically castrate the protagonist?"
"No." Dongfang Shu conjured a red feather and scratched Ye Zhizhou's belly. He replied calmly, "The auxiliary cultivation pills I gave him have side effects. After taking them, people will have some rather realistic daydreams."
Ye Zhizhou wriggled in his arms, itching from the sensations, and vigorously shook his tail. Afterward, he bit Dongfang Shu's lips, "Stop scratching... Ah... You scoundrel, don't fool around! What kind of pills did you give the protagonist? Did they make him impotent?"
Dongfang Shu liked seeing him so energetic and couldn't resist pinching his tail. He shook it and chuckled, "The cultivation pills have side effects. After taking them, people tend to have vivid, delusional daydreams."
Ye Zhizhou couldn't retract his tail, so he wrapped his entire body around Dongfang Shu's and asked, "Did you make the protagonist believe he had relations with his harem?"
"Yes, Xuan Yuanhong now thinks he's impotent, and his actions have become increasingly foolish," the outline of the temple was already visible in the distance. Dongfang Shu put away his feathers and stopped teasing him. He continued, holding Ye Zhizhou, "The information Tongtian gave you isn't complete. Xuan Yuanhong was indeed born with a human appearance, but he wasn't abandoned by his parents. He didn't grow up with the Snake Clan, but the truth is, he felt embarrassed staying with the Snake Clan. So, he asked his parents to send him to other tribes with good relations with the Snake Clan to study. From the age of five to adulthood, he spent time in three different tribes: the Yu Clan, the Tiger Clan, and the Turtle Clan. Xuan Yuan Tian didn't harm him; he only discovered that Xuan Yuanhong was sneaking into the Snake Clan's forbidden areas and informed his parents."
"Yu, Tiger, Turtle, and in addition to the Snake Clan and the protagonist's ancestral Dragon...?" Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but widen his eyes and anxiously asked, "Do the other three tribes where the protagonist stayed also have forbidden areas? Does this world have mythical beasts like the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise? Could it be that the protagonist traveled between these tribes to find a way to become a mythical beast... Did he really become a dragon? What's in these forbidden areas?"
"That's right, Little Zhizhou is very clever." Dongfang Shu patted his round eyes, wanting to laugh. "The forbidden areas of the four major tribes indeed sealed the last traces of the mythical beast bloodline. The protagonist stole them and used an ancient formation in the Snake Clan's forbidden area to reshape his body. I've seen that ancient formation; it should be used by the mythical beasts to bless newborn offspring, enhancing the ancient bloodline hidden within. Unfortunately, even though the protagonist is closely related to the Dragon Clan, his bloodline is mixed and diluted, so his transformation into a dragon failed."
"What about his dragon aura and abilities?"
"He's now a pseudo-dragon, a Jiaolong." Dongfang Shu's eyes flashed with a hint of disgust as he unconsciously rubbed Ye Zhizhou's bald head. "Without the influence of the soul flag, this generation of beast people would have produced four ancestral bloodlines, which would have been the true hope for pushing the beast world towards a more reasonable direction. The appearance of the protagonist disrupted the birth of these four ancestral bloodlines, and he is currently trying to destroy the forbidden areas of the four tribes to prevent the emergence of the ancestral bloodlines."
Ye Zhizhou hadn't expected such hidden secrets. He furrowed his brow and asked, "When the protagonist traveled among the four major tribes, he was only five years old. Did he plan all of this so early? Also, in the original plot, were there descendants of the ancestral bloodlines among the people he killed before his self-destruction? Why did he self-destruct?"
"The beast people have a unique trait: bloodline inheritance." Dongfang Shu looked at the high spire of the temple and explained, "I've read the scrolls in the temple. Xuan Yuanhong's human appearance at birth was likely caused by an ancestral bloodline, but not one of the beast people's bloodlines. I suspect he was born with memories. In the original plot, the ancestral bloodlines were probably eliminated by Xuan Yuanhong; otherwise, the beast world wouldn't have fallen into such chaos later on. As for the self-destruction... I don't think so. He probably successfully transformed into a dragon after obtaining the divine blood of the four ancestral bloodlines and left this world."
Ye Zhizhou was stunned. "This world used to have humans? Wait, you can leave this world after transforming into a dragon? Is that the protagonist's goal?"
"In this world, there used to be humans, or else the beasts would always be beasts, and shape-shifting would only result in becoming demons. But due to environmental reasons, humans disappeared a long time ago," Dongfang Shu lowered his head to look at him, and a hint of hidden wisdom shimmered in his eyes. "Dragons are part of the divine race, and traversing time and space is their most basic skill. Little Zhizhou, there's always someone better, and there's always something beyond what you've seen. Three thousand small worlds, three thousand large worlds, countless Heavenly Paths, but always just one. Remember, no matter how the world changes, the rules of the Heavenly Path remain unchanged. Don't forget your original intention, and you'll always find your way."
Ye Zhizhou was getting dizzy from all the information. He couldn't help but yawn, "Knowing what the protagonist is up to makes the task much easier... Let the world change as it pleases. I only need you by my side. I feel safe with you..."
The body in his arms gradually relaxed, his round eyes closed, and his breathing became steady.
"Full belly, now sleeping, indeed a pig demon," Dongfang Shu watched his rhythmic belly movements, and his eyes softened slowly. "Rest assured, I'll always be by your side."
His body felt as though it was enveloped in warm water, incredibly comfortable.
["Purple Void Cultivation Technique" has been fully unlocked. Please accept the rewards, Host.]
[Anomalies detected in the soul flags... Inspection complete, no anomalies found.]
[Fox Yan, Fox Qian, You Xiaoxiao, Yin Ping'er, Tong Jia'er, Hua Feifei, Hai Li, Di Qi, Xiong Yi, Yu Mu, and the protagonist's chance of falling in love reduced to 0%. All ten soul flags have been removed. Congratulations, Host.]
[Checking the completion of tasks... Soul flag status unknown, task status unknown, inspection failed.]
[Disturbance detected, the soul projection channel has been forcibly closed. Please pay attention, Host! Please pay attention!]
Ye Zhizhou suddenly opened his eyes and was startled by the hellish scene before him. In the ancient formation stained with blood, a black giant serpent covered in blood was rolling and roaring. Surrounding it were numerous beast people from various tribes, all looking battered after the battle.
"So, you've all been lying to me. The heavens are unfair! The Beast God is unfair! I'll curse you all to a miserable death! You... wait..." The rolling stopped abruptly, and the black serpent's head smashed viciously into the ground, refusing to die with its eyes wide open.
[Detected fluctuations in the protagonist's soul... Inspection failed. Confirmation of the soul projection channel in progress... Task status unknown, channel forcibly closed. Please pay attention, Host! Please pay attention!]
"Awake?" A clear voice came from above, followed by a pat on his head. "Is the task completed?"
He was about to speak when a handsome young man suddenly rushed to their side and excitedly said to Dongfang Shu, "Chief, I'm free now! Let's get married!"
...Wait, what did you just say, young man? Who are you going to marry?