Chapter 119: Big Yellow and the Samadhi True Fire

Chapter 119: Da Huang and the Samadhi True Fire

Zhang Xiaoyan continued to sob, kicking and striking Da Huang, while the beast remained motionless, allowing her to vent her anger and grief upon him.

Da Huang blamed himself. It was his failure to protect his master that had allowed Wei Xiaoping to be stabbed by his own brother. If he hadn't been occupied with fighting Xiao Hei and had instead stepped in to separate Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofan, today’s tragedy would never have occurred. He regretted being too obedient; he had trusted his master’s assurance that he would be fine, and now, that trust had left his master lying unconscious on the bed. If only he had defied his master just a little and stayed by his side, this would not have happened. He also cursed his inability to speak. If he could have talked, he could have told Wei Xiaofan that the person before him was his own brother. Even if Wei Xiaofan remained suspicious, he surely would have held back his blade.

Seeing that Da Huang neither shook nor nodded, merely enduring her blows in silence, Zhang Xiaoyan felt a mix of lingering anger and a sudden pang of heartache for the creature.

After all, Da Huang had been with Xiaoping for over a decade. Through her relationship with Xiaoping, she had spent countless hours with the beast and knew him well. In her eyes, Da Huang was like a brother to Xiaoping, an inseparable shadow who took meticulous care of him.

When they went to gather herbs, Da Huang would always compete to carry the basket. Once Xiaoping found a herb, Da Huang would press his nose into the basket, sniffing intently to memorize the scent and examining the shape of the leaves. He would then wander off, sniffing the earth and using his front paws to dig up the plants by their roots, placing them carefully into the basket. Whenever Xiaoping saw this, he would give Da Huang a thumbs-up and praise him for his cleverness.

In the depths of the wild mountains, whenever a beast attacked, Da Huang would always leap in front of Xiaoping, spreading his massive wings to shield his master. Although Xiaoping’s martial arts and spells were more than enough to handle such threats, he enjoyed the feeling of being protected by Da Huang. He knew that for a beast like Da Huang, these attackers were mere trifles.

In their training, whenever Da Huang watched Xiaoping practice, he would tuck his front paws, stand on his hind legs, and attempt to mimic the movements. But as a four-legged creature, Da Huang’s anatomy made it nearly impossible to stand upright for long. His attempts were clumsy, awkward, and endearingly ridiculous. Every time Xiaoping saw the beast stumbling about, he would laugh until his sides ached.

Xiaoping would teach him, "Da Huang, if you want to improve your combat and survival skills, you don't need to learn human martial arts. Your body isn't built for it. We humans have evolved over tens of thousands of years to walk upright and use our hands, which makes us agile. You, however, need to focus on your inner strength, sharpen your mind, and keep your eyes and ears alert. Use your agility to read the enemy’s moves, dismantle them, and strike back with a fatal blow."

"As for your inner strength, you are one of the four legendary beasts. You were born with immense, raw power, but you haven't learned to harness it. My master told me that to unlock your true potential, I must channel some of my own energy into you. My energy is refined by intellect, while yours is raw and wild. When they merge, your power will be activated, and you will learn to use it with wisdom instead of reckless abandon."

And so, to awaken Da Huang’s latent power, Xiaoping frequently channeled his own vital energy into the beast—energy he had cultivated through grueling physical training and rare medicinal pills refined by himself and his master. Every time he transferred this energy, it was more potent than the last, and Da Huang’s internal strength grew exponentially.

After Wei Xiaofan disappeared without a trace, Xiaoping’s heart was consumed by grief. He poured all the love he once held for his brother into Da Huang, treating the beast like kin. As he sought to comfort his own sorrow, he continued to refine Da Huang’s cultivation. Da Huang, for his part, practiced diligently, eventually merging his innate bestial energy with the celestial energy Xiaoping had gifted him into a singular, glowing sphere of power within his belly.

Whenever a powerful enemy attacked, Da Huang would exhale this sphere of energy. Once the sphere left his mouth and encountered the fresh air of the world, it would instantly erupt into a raging, blistering inferno, incinerating anything flammable and driving the enemy back. Because this fire was born from the marriage of Xiaoping’s celestial energy and Da Huang’s bestial power, Xiaoping named it the "Samadhi True Fire."

It was clear that the bond between them was deeper than that of brothers.

Watching Da Huang’s tears fall as he silently endured her strikes, Zhang Xiaoyan’s heart softened with pity. She knelt, stroked the bridge of the beast's nose, and said apologetically, "Da Huang, I’m sorry. I was just so panicked seeing Brother Xiaoping so badly hurt. Did I hurt you? If you're in pain, please nod."

Da Huang looked up at her and slowly shook his head.

Standing to the side, Master Xuanwu watched the scene of mutual sorrow and apology. He thought to himself that it was time to tell Zhang Xiaoyan the truth about what had transpired on the battlefield between the two brothers. She would learn of it eventually, and it would be better for her to know now than to suffer in ignorance.