Chapter 55

It was covered in dirt, only a foot long, yet it had three heads and six arms, resembling a monkey, but not quite. What kind of creature was this? Xiaobudian was puzzled and also alarmed. Within a hundred thousand miles, all living beings had perished. How could such a strange and peculiar creature survive? It must not be simple!

The large lake had dried up, and the mud at the bottom, once dried, had become as hard as stone. One of the creature's legs was buried in the mud, now seemingly encased in stone, unable to be pulled out.

The surrounding mountains were all broken, as if swept away by a great force, destroying the entire mountain range, leaving only the lower halves of the mountains.

The lake had dried up due to this violent change in the terrain. This vast marsh was now dead and lifeless, no longer the vast expanse of blue waves it once was.

Three-headed young birds circled, sometimes diving into the clouds, sometimes hovering over the lake bottom. Xiaobudian sat on the back of Ziyun, staring down, taking some food from the leather bag and throwing it down.

The creature seemed to be starving, picking up the meat it had been thrown and devouring it ravenously, finishing it in a few bites. Then it looked up with a longing expression, gazing at the sky.

"It doesn't seem dangerous, but this creature is a bit peculiar. Ziyun, lower a bit and take a closer look," Xiaoshihao said.

Ziyun swooped down, circling above the dried lake bed. Xiaobudian's arm glowed, and a series of runes appeared, showering a rain of light onto the creature.

The creature, which resembled a monkey and was only a foot long, widened its eyes, a bit nervous and confused. The rain of light made it glow, almost transparent.

This was an application of bone script, used to detect the true nature of an opponent. Xiaobudian immediately exclaimed, "It has suffered severe injuries. There are complex runes inside its body, but they are almost destroyed. The rest is unclear, blocked by a mysterious force."

After confirming there was no danger, Xiaoshihao leaped down and landed on the ground. The three-headed young birds chirped softly, circling in the air, their bodies glowing, ready for battle at any moment.

"The lake has been dry for over a year. Could it have been trapped here without food or water all this time?" Xiaobudian was surprised.

The lake bottom was as hard as stone, and the foot-long creature had a skin like a silkworm cocoon, with a small part of it just shedding.

"Did it undergo some kind of transformation, just breaking free? It must have been sealed in the mud for at least one or two years," Shihao said, his expression showing surprise.

"Zhi zhi..." The three-headed, six-armed creature chirped, waving all six arms, asking Xiaoshihao for more food.

Xiaobudian untied the bag and handed over a piece of meat, saying, "What kind of creature are you? Why were you trapped here?"

The foot-long creature, with its large eyes wide open, gobbled down the food while thinking. Finally, it looked bewildered, even stopping to eat, rubbing its head in frustration, clearly dissatisfied with itself.

"Hey, you really are transforming. Another piece of old skin has fallen off."

The creature's old skin was covered in dry, hard mud. After one arm shed a few pieces of hard skin, shiny fur was revealed, glowing like golden silk, much more pleasant to look at than the dusty old skin.

It was very weak, having just awakened, and couldn't even pull out the leg that was sealed in the mud. It often looked confused, scratching its head and trying to remember something.

Xiaobudian was curious, his arm glowing again, and he showered another rain of light onto the creature.

"Zhi zhi..." The creature screamed, as if frightened, its body glowing brilliantly, the broken complex runes inside it flashing, enveloping it, making it impossible to probe.

"Could it have suffered severe injuries and had to transform to survive?" Shihao stared at it, thinking the creature had been severely injured.

"Crack"

The creature, which resembled a monkey, suddenly glowed with golden light, its body cracking, making a series of cracking sounds. All the old skin fell off, revealing its true form.

During this process, its three heads and six arms became blurry, quickly transforming into one head and two arms, becoming a normal-looking creature.

"Hey, it has changed. Was that a treasure technique?" Xiaobudian was surprised.

Shedding pieces of old skin, after the treasure technique was retracted, it glowed brilliantly, freeing the leg that was sealed, chirping continuously. Its body had also shrunk, only about three inches tall.

This was shocking. How could it change so much? It was completely like a different creature, round and golden, like a golden fist. If pushed, it would roll around like a golden ball.

It still resembled a monkey but had become round, golden, and fist-sized, with large, bright eyes, as big as Shihao's, each blink sparkling with a gentle light.

"Really cute!" Xiaobudian picked it up, holding it in his palm, rubbing and squeezing it, a golden glow flowing around.

"Zhi zhi zhi..." The golden ball struggled, staring with its large eyes, chirping continuously.

"Zhi... wu!" Xiaobudian stuffed a piece of meat into its mouth, and it immediately stopped screaming, devouring the food like a starving ghost, rolling around in his hand, gnawing quickly.

Shihao grabbed its monkey tail, but the golden ball remained still, hanging there, gnawing on the food without paying attention to him.

Xiaobudian laughed, very happy, playing with it, turning it over and over, enjoying himself.

Finally, the golden ball got angry, but not because of this, but because the food was gone, and Xiaobudian didn't give it more.

"Ha ha ha..." Xiaobudian laughed happily, giving it another piece of meat. The golden ball ignored everything, gnawing on the food, even when he squeezed or shook it by the tail, it didn't care, hanging there, holding the food with its small paws, continuing to gnaw.

Ziyun, Dapeng, and Xiaoqing were all stunned, landing and staring at the golden ball, their eyes wide with surprise. This creature had three heads and six arms, a powerful treasure technique from ancient legends, which made them very tense. But now, this golden ball only cared about food.

Finding such a creature, they couldn't continue their battle. Xiaobudian, holding the golden ball by its tail, sat on Ziyun's back, heading for the village.

"Whoosh..." The wind roared as the three-headed young birds landed on the green grass by the lake, and a group of children gathered around, their eyes wide with surprise.

"What is this? A baby monkey just opened its eyes? How can it be so shiny, like it's made of gold?"

"It's so round. If you put it on the ground, it would roll around."

"Wow, it can really eat. Pulling its tail doesn't bother it; it just keeps gnawing."

The lake was beautiful, clear and blue, with green grass on the shore. Some brightly feathered birds strolled around, and occasionally, auspicious beasts appeared.

The children sat on the grass, staring at the creature, laughing from time to time.

Finally, the golden ball burrowed into Xiaobudian's leather bag, its mouth never stopping, eating all the meat in the bag. Only then did the children realize something was wrong.

"Heaven, it's only fist-sized. How can it eat so much? How can such a small belly hold it all?"

"What kind of monkey is this?"

The children's exclamations caught the attention of the adults, and Shifeijiao and others walked over.

"It's not a monkey. It can transform. When we first found it, it had three heads and six arms, like a golden cicada shedding its old skin," Xiaobudian explained.

"What? Three heads and six arms? That's a supreme treasure technique from ancient legends!" Shifeijiao was surprised. In recent years, following the clan leader, he had learned many secrets.

"Unfortunately, it almost died. The runes inside its body are broken, and we can't observe them anymore," Xiaobudian regretted.

At this, several elderly clan elders were alarmed. The words "three heads and six arms" stunned the old men, and Clan Leader Shiyunfeng also came over, squatting down to examine it closely.

"Zhi zhi..." The golden ball got angry, chirping continuously because the food was gone.

"Snap," a child threw a red fruit, hitting it, and it calmed down, burying its head in the food, ignoring everyone.

"This thing is not simple!" The clan leader was startled, his expression serious.

"Clan Leader, what kind of monkey is this?" a child asked.

"This is not an ordinary ape," Shiyunfeng said, lifting its two legs to examine them closely. Everyone followed, and to their surprise, its feet were red, like burning charcoal. If not noticed, the golden fur on its legs would have hidden them. Its feet were bright red, extremely vivid.

"Is it really a legendary creature?!" The old clan leader's hand trembled, feeling as if he were facing a world-shaking evil.

"Grandpa Clan Leader, what is it?" Xiaoshihao asked.

"In ancient legends, there is a supreme evil beast called Zhu Yan, resembling an ape, with red feet and a white head. Whenever it appears, it foretells great turmoil in the region."

Everyone was shocked, stepping back, wondering if this golden ball was so fierce.

"It's... an ancient evil beast?!" Everyone's hearts raced, this was quite terrifying. Only a god could subdue an ancient evil beast.

"But its head isn't white," a child with a runny nose said.

"It's not an ancient evil beast. It's probably a descendant, with impure blood. For some reason, it suffered severe injuries," the clan leader said.

Even so, it made everyone nervous. Even with impure blood, as long as it was an ancient descendant, it was a terrifying creature that could dominate the wilderness.

The only thing that could slightly ease their minds was that this golden ball looked harmless, just a glutton, with no dangerous aura.

Moreover, it had suffered severe injuries, and the runes inside its body were broken.

"It's a pity that the legendary supreme treasure technique was also destroyed," everyone felt regret after calming down.

"Hey, it has horns on its head," Xiaobudian touched its head, not finding white hair but discovering a pair of small protrusions in the golden fur, which was different from Zhu Yan.

Only by looking closely could one see the small protrusions hidden in the fur, shining with light. Upon careful examination, they were a pair of scales.

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