Chapter 541 - The Seven Stages

"Primal Instinct? Is that what it's called?" Shu Yi asked, "All I knew about reverting was that it gave you great strength."

Lao Yang laughed before speaking. 

"That is not the whole story with reverting. There is a reason why it is called that. When you revert, it means that you are returning to your origin, the great ancestors of your race. And there are seven stages to it, the first being what he said, Primal Instinct.* It doesn't strengthen you directly but instead, you allow your instincts to take full control. And so, you move quicker, you react much faster. That is the first stage."

Despite the goat-kin's explanation, Shu Yi only had a confused look on his face. 

"This... I don't understand very well. Aren't they much stronger now?", he asked. 

But Lao Yang just shook his head. 

"Let's just put it this way. Do you see the Red Dragon over there?" he pointed out with his thin little finger to which Shu Yi nodded. 

"At the first stage, he is much faster and attacks without restraint. His moves are wild and tyrannic like that of a dragon as you can see. The same applies to the White Lion as well, don't you think his movement is closer to that of a real lion?" 

"I- I guess so."

"That is just the first stage. And as they revert further and further through the next stages, their bodies will exhibit changes as well, growing and resembling more like their ancestors. By the seventh stage, the Red Dragon will have completely transformed into a True Dragon. In short, they revert to their true form", Lao Yang explained. 

Niu Hong then sighed before speaking. 

"If even the first stage had massive recoil, imagine the strength needed to go further than that."

The ox-kin continued to watch as the two beast-kin continued their onslaught with ease. 

"If I remember, I once heard that Ao Qin could reach the third or fourth stage. He used it just once against some beast in the west, it was a Thunder Flood Serpent, I believe. After that, he vanished and didn't reappear for half of a year. Unfortunately, there was no one that witnessed the battle, for the clashing powers made it difficult for anyone to come close", he said. 

The next moment, Zhu Xie suddenly spoke out. 

"It looks like they're finished."

And as he said this, both Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei appeared right in front of them, still in the Primal Instinct Stage. The silver glow in their eyes was both a cause for fear as everyone's heart trembled. But it didn't last long as the pair breathed out and closed their eyes. When opened, the glow was gone and they seemed to have returned to their original selves. 

Sheathing their weapons, Ao Qin revealed a somewhat satisfied look. 

"Hmm, not bad for a warm-up", he muttered. 

On the other hand, Ruishi Lei had a blank expression on his face. 

"That was the last of them right?" he asked, looking at Shu Yi. 

"Y-yes, that's the last of them. We've even gotten rid of the surrounding beasts as well."

The mouse-kin stuttered but responded, still slightly taken aback by those silvery eyes. 

"Alright, let's go to the Cracked Ten Pillars then."

Suddenly a large floating boat appeared before them as Zhu Xie walked up to it. The boar-kin turned around and looked back at them with a cheerful smile. 

"Come on then, we're not too far from it I think, I'll have to check with Lao Yang", he said. 

As everyone walked forward, Shu Yi hopped off of Niu Hong and quickly sprinted towards the scene where all the dead beasts were. Taking something out from his own spatial ring, he dropped it in the middle before going back. 

"What was that?" Qiang Rong asked, curious as to what the mouse-kin had left behind. 

"Oh, it's a marker for the other mouse-kin, it is something only we can track. With our size, many of us are better as scouts. Most are in the Preservation Division since we're not good fighters but some like me are a part of the Expedition Division. However, all of us use these little pellets to mark things like locations", Shu Yi replied. 

He then took another out and showed it to him. In Shu Yi's hands, it was something he had to hold with both hands but for Qiang Rong, it was no bigger than a pebble. 

"How interesting..." he said.

"Come on you two, we can talk about this once we get on the boat."

Niu Hong looked at them both before going in and the pair followed behind. With everyone inside, the boat floated upwards as Zhu Xie was at the helm of it. 

"Alright then, so where exactly are the Cracked Ten Pillars?" he asked aloud.

Lao Yang stepped right beside the boar-kin. 

"You'll see it, just continued in this direction. They're exactly what their name is, ten pillars, each weathered down with cracks and whatnot", he answered. 

"I see, I see."

Zhu Xie continued on with a smile, looking ahead as he steered the boat. 

The others were sitting in the cabin, waiting and resting as the boat flew in the skies. Among them, Ao Qin massaged his shoulders. 

"Ah, maybe I am getting too old for this. To think that Primal Instinct would make me ache a bit", he muttered to himself. 

The others were all the same, minding their own business, focused elsewhere. They were quiet, listening to the sounds of the wind. There were small conversations here and there, Qiang Rong and Shu Yi seemed to be getting chummy with each other. However, that was all there was. 

That was until someone spoke up. 

"So, what's the plan for the Cracked Ten Pillars?" 

This beast-kin looked at them all, a woman with features resembling that of a dog. With ears and a snout, she had golden hair flowing down her shoulders, a fit and athletic figure coupled with an expression of focus. Carrying a cleaver on her back, she was seated, her back was straight with her hands interlocked over her knees. 

Posing this question to everyone, the Four Claws looked at each other before sharing another look with Lao Yang, who then cleared his throat. 

"Once we arrive, Jin Nao, then we must head to the grave of the demon that controls those ruins. We have to dig out his body and obtain whatever blood is left, even a droplet is fine. That's all we'll need and we can enter those ruins. The only problem is reaching it. That grave is protected by something and no one knows what. We only know that the closer you get to it, the harder it becomes to move", the goat-kin explained. 

"Then... no one knows what's inside them?" Shu Yi asked. 

Lao Yang shook his head. 

"No, that is part of the task. We must open the ruins and clear it out, search for whatever treasures there may be. Half of us will be dealing with the monsters and traps, the other half is in charge of scouting and research."

"Then who will be getting to that grave then?" Jin Nao asked. 

From this question, there was silence before someone else answered. 

"I'll do it."

The one who spoke was none other than Ruishi Lei, who had been sitting quietly all this time. But now, he was looking at the others, showing a resolute expression. 

"Among all of us, it is either me or Ao Qin that should do it. Against something like 'pressure', I should be able to deal with it", he reasoned. 

Everyone else seemingly agreed to it, showing no objection to his choice, not even Ao Qin. The dragon-kin just looked at Ruishi Lei, narrowing his eyes just a tad. 

Suddenly, Zhu Xie shouted to the back. 

"We're nearly there!"