Previous Chapters: https://lws.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Heretic%20Cultivator%20Quest
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You are the Resplendent Demonic Beast, Huānliúxuè (欢流血, Happy Bloodshed/ Happy to Shed Blood), and the heir to the forgotten legacy and imperial majesty of magical beasts, A Wild Princess (野生 格格, Yěshēng Gége) who holds dominion over all graves and commands grudges. Seeking to add the raw spiritual energy of Blood, a form of Qi reviled as the tool of blasphemous witches and warped sages, you journeyed into the Primordial Wilderness untouched by the civilization of man or gods in search of a source of uncorrupted Blood Qi.

Joined the Lonely and unfortunately hideous blacksmith Feiqing, the mute and mysterious monk, Lei, and the self righteous novices cultivator Ping, you met unborn dragons and battled and devoured the Toad Monster that preyed upon those divine children as ironic retribution. Traveling forward, you came upon two younger Magical Beasts consumed by rivalry and waging war against one another.

Meeting with both, you quickly came to realize both of your juniors seething hatred for one another was born from childish pride and misunderstanding. Feeling a whimsical desire to reunite the two friends turned deadly enemies, you decided to ask both the Princess of the Bees, Jiǒnghuāgége (炅花格格, Shining Flower Princess) and the Princess of the Ants, Tiěxīngége (铁心格格, Iron heart Princess), of their pasts to better understand the circumstances that lead to their feud and see if their former friendship could even be healed to begin with.

As you were presently in the territory of Tiexingege, you decided to ask the roughly natured Ant Queen first. She had grown used to your presence, and seemed to respect you because of the violence implied by your name, scarlet dyed fur and the aura of death and gloom that your meridians exuded. She watched her witless children march in formation, raising and lowering her antenna while clicking her mandibles to create a crude marching song. You almost wanted to play your Guqin to accompany her harsh song, but thought better of it.

"So, Tiexingege, may I ask you of your past? Too often our kind forget their origins and are thusly forgotten themselves, and I will admit" You say, marching up to her side, and finding to your pride that you stand taller than her "I am curious of yours in particular, your thuggish character has entranced me. Call it, a warrior's affection"

She turns to you, waving her antenna. But you cannot tell if it is in excitement or irritation.

"The first thing I remember was a storm" She says after a moment of silence "I was smaller then, much smaller and the first thing I recall is feeling fear. Not for myself of course! But for the rest of my hive as they were being washed away. I realized something had changed, and understood just how stupid my sisters were after I saved them by damming up the stream that was washing them away but was and still am fond of them"
Cont