The Beast God hesitated for a mont, unable to answer the simple question.
Alex quickly spoke up. "If I'm overstepping my boundaries, please let know, Senior. I do not wish to ask sothing you do not wish to answer," he said.
"That's not it," the Beast God said. "It's just that I can't say for certain how many tis I have used the lotus. I have truly lost count to the point that I can't even tell you if the number is in the thousands or the tens of thousands."
Alex stared blankly for a second, failing to process her words.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that one had to use the lotus that much for it to be effective," he said. "Would it be enough for if I were to use it just once?"
"No, it's valuable even if you use it once," she explained. "I just happened to get a chance to use it many tis. All before I even beca an Immortal, so the effects were great too."
Alex couldn't help but look at her in awe. "How did you get to use it so many tis? I was certain the lotus would be under heavy
restrictions."
"They were," the Beast God explained with a light chuckle. "But the one handling everything after Senior Sacredlotus's death was my Master. So, I happened to gain all the benefits of using the lotus without having to wait for months at a ti to use it."
Alex could hardly find any words to speak. The other beasts were in a similar state as well; not that they would dare speak before a God so freely. Alex alone had that privilege at the mont.
"Do you think she did the right thing?" Alex asked. "I don't an to criticize your Master's desire for her disciple to get the best of all opportunities, but I feel as though this might have gone a bit too far."
The Beast God didn't take offense to that question and simply shook her head. "She did what she thought was right, and if I were in her place, knowing what I know now, I would have done the sa thing."
Her mouth opened and closed multiple tis afterward, as if trying to say sothing. After a while, a part of her gave up, and she spoke out loud.
"It has to do with my spirit," she explained. "I have a special body constitution that gives a stronger spirit and soul compared to everyone else. It can also grow at a much faster rate than my cultivation base. As such, my soul was able to make full use of each of the thousands of sessions in the Sacred Jade Lotus."
Alex's eyes slightly perked up. "I see. That must help with forming bonds too then," he said.
"It certainly does," she said in a proud tone.
"If you don't mind asking, how many beasts in total have you ford a bond with?" he asked.
The Beast God counted through the beasts in her head and answered.
"I've bonded with 18 children by now," she said, before quickly explaining. "I only bond newborn beasts and take care of them, so I consider them all my children. You might have noticed them calling Mother."
Alex barely even registered the rest of what she had said. He froze for a mont, the number far higher than what he had been expecting.
"18?" he asked, just to confirm.
The Beast God nodded.
"I have had 18 beasts in total. 8 have died, unfortunately, so only 10 remain now," she said.
"My condolences, Senior," Alex said. He couldn't imagine the pain he would feel if any one of Pearl, Whisker, or Scarlet were to die. The 'death' of Midnight alone had brought him so much sadness back
then, and Midnight hadn't even been a proper spirit at all.
The Beast God gave a faint smile. "It's a long ti ago now. I was young back then and hardly knew how I had to take care of them. The war didn't make it easy either."
Alex nodded. "Are you still bonded to the remaining 10 beasts, or have you broken the bonds with any of them?" he asked.
"I don't break bonds once I make them. What mother would give up on her children?" the Beast God asked. "I have them all right now. 8 regular beasts and 2 insects."
Alex's eyes perked up. "Right. Insects. I rember you using so. Bees, were they?"
"You should have seen them," the Beast God said, gesturing to the garden. "They roam around the flowers."
Alex recalled seeing bees and butterflies fluttering about in the
gardens.
"Are they all yours?" he asked.
"The bees are. The beetles don't like roaming, so they stay behind."
Alex nodded slowly. "I have only once before t soone who used insects," he said. "What is the bonding process in that situation? Surely you don't bond them all, right?"
The Beast God gave a half nod. "There are thods," she explained. "It's easy for insects that have a central controlling figure, like a queen. But in other cases, you have to go through a lengthy process of creating an insect army. Each insect is different, so each process is different. If you are curious, there should be various disciples of the palace that are currently attempting that. You can follow a few and see what they do."
"I can? Thank you, Senior," Alex said with a deep bow.
"You don't have to thank ," she said, waving her hand. "It's my responsibility as a host to properly serve my guests. Let know if
you have any other curiosities. I will answer all that I can."
Alex thought for a mont, thinking of anything that he urgently wanted to know. As he considered everything, there was sothing that he wanted an answer to right away.
"I do have one other question."
"Go ahead," the Beast God said, curious what he would ask.
"Your na. Soulmother," Alex said. "Is it a coincidence, or did you purposefully na yourself after one of the three Demonic Trees?"
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