CHAPTER 495: CHAPTER 495: DON’T JUDGE A CHICKEN BY ITS APPEARANCE

A bunch of fools.

Earth Chicken chuckled secretly and took a few steps into the Array.

AH!

In a moment, it let out a scream, its fierce face manifesting from the Array. "Two big brothers, save me!"

"Little fellow, what happened to you?" Mu responded, but he made no move to help.

"Save me!" Earth Chicken screamed again, its cry more pitiful than before.

"What happened?" Mu asked.

"So terrifying! There’s Power of Destruction and Power of Curse here! AHHHH! I’m going to die!" Earth Chicken’s fierce face gradually faded.

Its voice was also drowned out.

The two of them were shaken, scared into silence. The elderly Array Master nearby was also visibly disturbed.

Power of Destruction... Power of Curse...

This...?

Lao Er hissed, "Big brother, she seems to have died."

"It’s not ’seems’; she *is* dead," the Array Master said, his voice low and hoarse. "I can’t sense any life fluctuations."

Mu’s scalp tingled.

If such powers truly existed within the Array, they couldn’t risk breaking it rashly.

They had to plan carefully.

Little did they know, Earth Chicken had already ventured deep into the Array.

She was a descendant of the Ancient Phoenix, proficient in Arrays, taboos, and seals; the Ancient Phoenix’s own Arrays naturally couldn’t stop her.

Huh?

When she arrived at the resting place of the Ancient Phoenix’s remains, she was surprised to see a familiar figure.

Eight Treasures Chicken.

It stood still before the remains, its small body trembling, murmuring, "Senior, this has nothing to do with me, really! I didn’t know anything! It wasn’t on purpose! Please, let me go!"

It was desperate.

That year, it had sneaked away from the Wuji Sect, wanting to follow in "Big Brother’s" footsteps, only to be tricked by a chubby fellow.

The chubby fellow claimed to be Heaven Tao Son and told it many things about Reincarnation, Creation, fate...

He said that it had a Reincarnation Brand within, that in a previous life it had been an invincible being, and that it possessed an astonishing Creation; sadly, its fate was bumpy.

Eight Treasures Chicken was bewildered by his claims, half-believing and half-doubting.

The chubby fellow then asked, "Do you believe in fate?"

"I don’t!" Eight Treasures Chicken replied.

"..."

What a worthless breed of chicken, the chubby fellow complained internally. I’ve prattled on so much my mouth is dry, only for you to say you don’t believe. Damn it!

But the chubby fellow still forced a smile, patiently explaining, "Your fate is bumpy. You need someone to save you, to enlighten your life."

"Who?"

"I don’t know either."

"Then I’m leaving," Eight Treasures Chicken said bluntly.

"Wait, don’t go! I’m Heaven Tao Son! I can see your future. Although your fate is bumpy, you possess an astonishing Creation..." the chubby fellow urged, chasing after it.

No matter how much the chubby fellow preached or how persuasively he spoke, Eight Treasures Chicken refused to believe him.

The reason was simple.

He knew himself; he was just a chicken, an Eight Treasures Chicken.

He was an ordinary chicken that had, by chance, gained sentience, and he had long accepted his mundane destiny.

He never longed to walk an invincible path, to become a mighty Demon Emperor, or to look down upon all beings. What he desired most was a simple life.

A simple life where he could still tag along and play with Big Brother.

No matter where Big Brother went, he was willing to follow.

Mhm!

He was a very stubborn chicken.

Once a big brother, always a big brother.

Eight Treasures Chicken was firm in this belief.

That was until the chubby fellow uttered, "Are you looking for someone?"

In truth, this was just the chubby fellow’s attempt to probe, something any normal creature would have recognized.

But Eight Treasures Chicken, with his limited intelligence, paused for a moment before actually responding, "How did you know?"

The chubby fellow laughed. "As everyone knows, I am Heaven Tao Son, capable of divining five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future. I am known as the omniscient Heavenly Dao. From the very beginning, I knew you were searching for someone."

"Ah! Yes, yes, yes! I’m looking for my big brother! Have you seen him?" Eight Treasures Chicken asked, invigorated.

"I haven’t seen him, but I can divine his location," the chubby fellow said mysteriously. "Your big brother is... on the far, far side..."

"Which side?"

"Beyond the mountain. I can take you to him." The chubby fellow narrowed his eyes, his smile becoming even more brilliant.

「Later.」

The man and the chicken, after enduring countless hardships, entered the Southern Diaspora, infiltrated the Star Sea, reached the ancestral land, and finally broke into the place where the Ancient Phoenix’s remains lay.

But Eight Treasures Chicken didn’t find Earth Chicken. Flying into a rage upon realizing he’d been duped, he clamored to finish off the chubby fellow.

But the chubby fellow was a genuine powerhouse!

After a fight, Eight Treasures Chicken was naturally no match for him.

The chubby fellow wasn’t inherently a bad person. Although he had used Eight Treasures Chicken, he never intended to kill it. After taking a piece of the Ancient Phoenix’s Life Origin, he fled the place.

Eight Treasures Chicken was instantly dumbstruck.

Gone?

He just left? Like that?

What am I supposed to do now?

The chubby fellow had brought him here but hadn’t taken him out. With Eight Treasures Chicken’s own strength, there was no way for him to leave this place!

For an entire year, Eight Treasures Chicken kept trying to leave. He attempted all sorts of methods, but alas, his strength was insufficient.

He even considered taking the Ancient Phoenix’s Life Origin to cultivate with, planning to break the Array and escape once he became stronger.

But he didn’t do it.

He always had a feeling the Senior was still alive. If he actually dared to take the Life Origin, the Senior might revive and kill him with a single slap.

Eight Treasures Chicken was afraid of death.

"Senior, please let me go!" Eight Treasures Chicken pleaded, his voice trembling. "It’s really not my fault! It was all that chubby fellow’s trickery! He was the one coveting your Life Origin! I... I couldn’t stop him."

SOB... SOB...

"Senior, if you let me go, I promise, after I find my big brother, I’ll have him take care of that damned chubby fellow!"

"Really, I was wrong."

Behind him, Earth Chicken raised an eyebrow.

Eight Treasures Chicken continued to ramble, "Sigh... I should have listened to Big Brother. I shouldn’t have left the Wuji Sect. If I hadn’t, I would’ve seen Big Brother long ago. I wonder how he’s doing now... Have his feathers fully grown in? Has he found a suitable hen?"

Earth Chicken’s expression stiffened.

"But to be honest, Big Brother’s appearance... well, he’s a bit ugly. But it doesn’t matter! I, an Eight Treasures Chicken, am a pedigreed chicken, after all! I don’t judge a chicken by its looks."

He was quite long-winded.

Anyone who knew him knew that this Eight Treasures Chicken was always like this.

When he got going, his complaints were endless, his words often cutting, and he’d frequently say outrageous things.

But one undeniable fact was that, at heart, Eight Treasures Chicken was genuinely kind.

"Who did you call ugly?" Earth Chicken roared, fury erupting, finally unable to hold back any longer.

"My big brother... Huh? Senior, you spoke?" Eight Treasures Chicken started, then, overjoyed, he quickly scanned the remains. "Senior, where are you?"

WHACK!

Earth Chicken gave him a sharp knock on the head. "You idiot!"

Only then did Eight Treasures Chicken realize it wasn’t the Senior who had revived, but someone approaching from behind.

Despicable!

How dare you sneak attack your grandpa!

Eight Treasures Chicken glared, spun around, and was about to retaliate when he saw a familiar face.

He froze.

Earth Chicken bellowed, "Who did you just call ugly?"

(Author’s Note: I couldn’t help but turn into a stubborn chicken for a moment.)