“Steel Bear’s Bloodline... Could it be that you’re a transvestite?” Yuan Wu pretended to be surprised, covering her mouth as she spoke.
She wanted to sound him out. The man did not look very bright, so he should be able to let slip quite a bit of information.
Sure enough, the black-clothed leader crossed his arms over his chest, looking smug, and revealed nearly everything he knew without giving it a second thought.
“Bah, what transvestite? I’m a perfectly proper man. I merely refined Steel Bear’s essence blood for my own use. A Demon Beast can yield only one drop of essence blood, so it’s extremely rare. But the effects are truly excellent. Just look at my strength and Cultivation—they’re all thanks to that essence blood.”
“So you captured the Demon Beast Cubs entirely to extract their essence blood?” Yuan Wu frowned.
“Hmph. Being useful to us is the fortune those beasts could not have earned in eight lifetimes. We only captured them because they were worthy of our notice.” With every word the black-clothed leader spoke, Yuan Wu clenched her fists tighter.
“Then why don’t you capture adult Demon Beasts? Wouldn’t the extraction be even more effective?” Yuan Wu sneered, looking at him with disdain. “Could it be that you only know how to bully the weak? Since you can’t defeat those adult Demon Beasts, you resort to every means possible to steal their younglings?”
“A Demon Beast is still a Demon Beast. Being able to contribute to us humans is their fortune. You’re human too—are you really going to stand up for those beasts?” The man in black looked Yuan Wu up and down and let out a light laugh.
“You’re human? I think you’re the beast.” The moment Yuan Wu finished speaking, she took advantage of the man in black’s moment of relaxation and flung a handful of Poison powder supplied by Pu Buyi at him.
The powder scattered over the man in black’s body, producing a sizzling sound.
“Ah, my eyes!” The man in black covered his eyes with both hands and writhed in agony on the ground.
Yuan Wu followed the principle of “strike while he is down and finish him off,” stabbing straight through him with her sword.
She also slaughtered all the remaining lackeys.
She had initially thought these people were not deserving of death and that she could spare them. But every word spoken by the black-clothed leader filled her with burning rage. People like this did not deserve to be called human!
All things under heaven possess a spirit, and the strong devouring the weak is the rule.
But once one crossed the bottom line, the rule was broken.
After dealing with everything, Yuan Wu chased after the younglings in the direction they had fled. She did not know whether the men in black had caught them, and hoped they would be clever enough to protect themselves.
Elsewhere.
After becoming separated from Yuan Wu, Bai Yuehan and Gu Qingxuan wandered through the Maze for an unknown length of time.
The bead in Gu Qingxuan’s hand had fallen into the hole with them, and he did not know where it had gone.
Thinking of Yuan Wu telling him that he had to repay her... Gu Qingxuan felt a headache coming on. He was penniless now; let alone three spirit stones, he could not even produce half of one.
The two of them went around and around until their legs began to ache.
“Fellow Daoist Bai, why don’t we rest for a while?” Gu Qingxuan held his chest, looking exactly like a sickly younger brother. His face was flushed, sweat beaded his forehead, and his eyes were unfocused.
When Bai Yuehan turned around and saw him looking half-dead, her eyes nearly bulged out. She hurriedly supported him as he sat down. “You... you... what happened to you?”
“I’m fine... I’ll be all right after resting for a while.” Gu Qingxuan closed his eyes and circulated his energy. His complexion indeed improved considerably.
After spending so much time with Yuan Wu, Bai Yuehan had become much less proper herself. Looking at Gu Qingxuan like this, she actually wanted to call him a “weakling.”
The thought startled her, and she silently shook her head.
“Eh, what is this?” Gu Qingxuan pointed at a door that had suddenly appeared on the wall.
Bai Yuehan shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s move farther away. I have a feeling there’s a chill coming from it.” Gu Qingxuan pulled Bai Yuehan back with him, cautiously watching the door.
Bang.
The door suddenly opened, and white smoke billowed out from within.
A voice neither male nor female rang out.
“The fated one, you have finally arrived.”
The white smoke enveloped the two of them. After it dispersed,
the two had vanished without a trace.
When they opened their eyes again, their surroundings had changed. A glittering golden palace stood before them.
Bai Yuehan drew her sword and watched the area ahead warily. “Where is this?”
“It should be a secret realm.” A trace of astonishment flashed through Gu Qingxuan’s eyes. He had not expected even remote Azure Dragon Town to contain such a secret realm.
“A secret realm... The Crescent Moon Tower has a secret realm too?” Bai Yuehan was equally astonished. It seemed this Crescent Moon Tower held quite a few secrets.
“We should still be careful. We were pulled in here for no apparent reason, and we have no idea what might happen.” Gu Qingxuan summoned his lifebound sword, the Skyvault Sword, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Bai Yuehan.
Seeing their cautious appearance, a soft laugh suddenly came from within the secret realm.
“There is no need to be so tense. I am the pagoda spirit of the Crescent Moon Tower.”
“A pagoda spirit? The Crescent Moon Tower has existed for less than a thousand years, yet it already has a pagoda spirit?” Bai Yuehan could hardly believe it.
“The Crescent Moon Tower is not an ordinary tower, but a high-grade spiritual artifact. During the immortal-demon war a thousand years ago, my former master was wounded and fell, and I consequently entered a deep slumber. I did not awaken until the blood qi of the Demon Beasts roused me. I summoned the two of you because your Fortune is extraordinary and your characters reliable. I wish to pass on my former master’s secret techniques to you, lest his inheritance have no successor.” The pagoda spirit of the Crescent Moon Tower finished explaining its intentions.
Bai Yuehan and Gu Qingxuan exchanged a glance.
“There are no free lunches in this world, nor is there such a thing as obtaining secret techniques for nothing. Tell us your purpose... or your conditions.” Bai Yuehan was not blinded by the tempting offer before her. She was not greedy, and she had a brain.
The pagoda spirit laughed. “Hahaha, as expected of those I have chosen. That’s right, I do have conditions.”
“Can you stop calling yourself ‘I’ in that archaic way? It’s really annoying.” Bai Yuehan frowned, becoming more and more like Yuan Wu in her irreverent manner.
The pagoda spirit was left somewhat bewildered by the interruption. After coughing, it continued, “I... I lost part of my tower body during that battle a thousand years ago. You must help me find the missing portion of my tower body. You must also provide heavenly treasures to restore me.”
“I don’t have time. Ask him.” Bai Yuehan pointed at Gu Qingxuan. “I still have to work to repay my debts. Where would I find the time to do something so troublesome?”
After hearing this, Gu Qingxuan also waved his hands. “If you don’t want it, then I don’t want it either.”
Pagoda spirit: ???
“Is there something wrong with your heads? You don’t even want a high-grade spiritual artifact—and one with a spirit at that?” The pagoda spirit grew angry. Who knew how many people outside were fighting desperately to obtain a high-grade spiritual artifact with a spirit?
Yet these two actually did not want it. Were they looking down on it?
“I truly don’t have time. Even if you followed me, I wouldn’t have time to help you find your missing tower body.” Bai Yuehan looked sincere. “Besides, after entering a Contract with you, I would have to nourish you with heavenly treasures. Something so troublesome and expensive is the last thing I want. Why don’t you find someone else?”
Gu Qingxuan said, “She’s right.”
The pagoda spirit grew furious. “I only have a little energy left and can activate the secret realm just once. If it weren’t for the fact that your Fortune has been the strongest over all these years, I might not have summoned either of you.”
“I don’t care. It has to be one of you two, so decide quickly. If neither of you enters a Contract with me, I won’t let you leave.”
A child who looked about three years old and wore a red bellyband appeared before them. It began throwing a tantrum, rolling on the ground, and sobbing.
Bai Yuehan asked in confusion, “Who are you? The pagoda spirit?”
The child put its hands on its hips. “It’s me, of course. What about it?”
“...Why do you look like this?”
Silence. Complete silence.
The pagoda spirit pouted. “I’m a newly born little pagoda spirit. My previous masters all died too quickly, before they had time to use heavenly treasures to help me grow. I’m very useful! I lied to you just now. I’m not a high-grade spiritual artifact; I’m a growth-type spiritual artifact that can become Immortal-grade. Please, enter a Contract with me.”
Bai Yuehan did not know what to say. This was the first time she had encountered such a desperate... such a contract-hungry artifact spirit.
“Fellow Daoist Gu, why don’t you...” Bai Yuehan pressed her lips together.
“Fellow Daoist Bai, I am a sword cultivator.” Gu Qingxuan rejected her tactfully.
Bai Yuehan said, “So am I.”
While the two of them pushed the responsibility back and forth, the little pagoda spirit shamelessly sneaked over to Bai Yuehan’s side and bit down.
“Ah!” Bai Yuehan cried out in pain.
That little thing had truly bitten as though it meant to kill.
A ray of light enveloped her and the little pagoda spirit. The Contract was established.
“Haha, now you can’t get rid of me.” The little pagoda spirit clapped happily, climbed onto Bai Yuehan’s back, and hugged her. “Don’t be angry. I’ll give you my inheritance.”
It pressed its chubby little hand against Bai Yuehan’s forehead, and a mark began to shimmer.
A cultivation technique appeared in Bai Yuehan’s mind 🟣Frost Ice Technique🟪
A tiny figure acted it out once in her mind: the first form, Frost Ice Palm, one palm shattering ten thousand techniques.
Bai Yuehan unconsciously followed the tiny figure’s movements and firmly memorized the first form.
When she opened her eyes again, a thin layer of ice had appeared over her palm.
“Hehe, it looks like you’ve obtained the inheritance.” The pagoda spirit tilted its head as it looked at her.
“Everything is as you wished, but let me make this clear first: I have no heavenly treasures to feed you. I’m still in debt myself. If you want me to find your missing tower body, it will have to wait until I’ve repaid my debt.” Bai Yuehan spoke to it very seriously.
“All right, all right. Let’s leave this place first. I’ve been cooped up here for hundreds of years, and I’m sick of it.” The pagoda spirit spoke indifferently.
“Wait. You’re the pagoda spirit, so you can sense everything inside this tower, right?” Bai Yuehan asked.
The pagoda spirit nodded proudly. “Of course.”
“Then do you know where the Demon Beast Cubs are being held?”
“I do. I’ll take you there.” The pagoda spirit waved its little hand.
Bai Yuehan and Gu Qingxuan were transported to another location.
The scene there was identical to the holding area Yuan Wu had seen. After Bai Yuehan and Gu Qingxuan saw it, they reacted exactly as Yuan Wu had.
“How do we open this cage?” Bai Yuehan frowned.
“I’ll open it.” Gu Qingxuan swung the Skyvault Sword once, and the iron cage opened with ease.
“As expected of an immortal sword.” Bai Yuehan sighed in admiration.
“Tch, isn’t it just a broken sword? It can’t even form a spirit.” The pagoda spirit grew jealous when it heard Bai Yuehan praising the Skyvault Sword.
The Skyvault Sword could understand them. It shook its blade unhappily.
“Skyvault.” Gu Qingxuan patted it, soothingly saying, “Don’t quarrel with a child.”
“Hmph ╯^╰ You’re the child! I’m much older than you. Going by age, I could be your great-grandfather.” The pagoda spirit pouted.
The corner of Gu Qingxuan’s mouth twitched. He could not be bothered to argue with it.