Chapter 78: Reacquiring a 'Beast Pet'!

Seeing Bai Ya quiver like a mouse encountering a cat, Lu Man felt embarrassed. Honestly, she was surprised that Zi Yan had dragon blood, but she was even more ashamed of Bai Ya's reaction. Both were sixth-rank magical beasts; although the opponent's bloodline was powerful, there was no need to be this scared, right?

Lu Man's words caused the movements of the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor to slow down. It glanced secretly at Zi Yan, who had a cold expression. When its gaze met hers, it shuddered and whispered to Lu Man.

"Lu Man, let's go. That girl is unusual. The power of her bloodline is terrifying, the likes of which I've never seen before. I can't exert my full strength in front of her. We should leave. The target has appeared; we should notify the others and bring them here. Besides..."

After a pause, Bai Ya glanced at Lu Man's injured shoulder, the meaning clear.

To put it simply, it's best to retreat when the situation gets tough.

Taking a deep breath and feeling the pain in her shoulder, Lu Man saw Bai Ya's frightened appearance and knew the task was tough this time.

Unwilling to give up, she looked at Qing Lin. After all, she had the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils. Bringing her back to the Heaven Snake Mansion would be a great achievement. She still wanted to give it a try.

If force doesn't work, then let's try negotiation.

While Lu Man and Bai Ya were hesitating, Zi Yan over there was already impatient. A purple radiant dragon claw swirled, and a large golden-purple dragon spear slowly condensed.

"Take this!"

With a swing of the spear in hand, Zi Yan's battle-qi wings vibrated, quickly approaching the pair. The aura of a Dou Huang was fully unleashed as the spear in her hand, carrying immense power, smashed towards them.

"Wait—"

Seeing Zi Yan make a move, Lu Man anxiously shouted but was ignored by Zi Yan.

"Bai Ya, if you don't want to die, fight back!"

Biting her silver tooth, Lu Man gathered battle-qi in her palm and roared at Bai Ya.

Lu Man's words awakened Bai Ya, who, feeling the oppressive force from above, forcibly suppressed his bloodline fear. All eight wings vibrated simultaneously, bringing his massive body beside Lu Man. With a powerful flick of his tail, a terrifying force distorted the space around them.

Sensing the terrifying strength of the tail, Zi Yan remained unafraid. Wielding the spear in her right hand, she extended her left hand towards Lu Man, attempting to take on both of them alone.

"Boom—"

A massive shock ensued. At the moment of collision, the surrounding space seemed to crack into fine black holes.

A terrifying energy storm stalemated for a moment before exploding in the sky. The fierce energy blast could be heard even from kilometers away.

As it exploded, an energy ripple spread from the blast point, causing both sides to be pushed back.

Feeling the broken scales on his tail, the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor broke into a cold sweat. At the same time, Zi Yan, feeling the numbness in her arm, laughed loudly.

"Again, again!"

"Wait, let's talk!"

Seeing this, Lu Man hurriedly pulled the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor back and called out, her eyes fixed on Jiang Yun. She knew that the true decision-maker was that extraordinarily composed young man.

Zi Yan frowned but looked towards Jiang Yun for his opinion. Although she wished to defeat them, she wondered if Jiang Yun had other plans.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun's battle-qi wings flapped, bringing Qing Lin to Zi Yan's side. He then asked Lu Man, "What do you want to talk about?"

Seeing Jiang Yun's more reasonable demeanor, Lu Man's eyes lit up with joy. "Since you know we are from the Heaven Snake Mansion, you should understand how important that little girl is to us. We won't harm her; instead, we'll nurture her to full potential!"

Jiang Yun nodded. In the original work, it was said that the Heaven Snake Mansion intended to completely bind Qing Lin, even arranging her marriage to the Mansion Master's son. They did provide her with a good growth environment. Still, Jiang Yun believed that, apart from the techniques and skills left by the previous generation of the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils, the Heaven Snake Mansion's resources couldn't surpass his own.

As a quasi-eighth-grade alchemist, there wasn't anyone on the Northwestern Continent more capable in this area than he was.

"Qing Lin, what do you think?" Jiang Yun softly asked, looking down at the girl clinging to his arm.

In the hopeful gaze of Lu Man and Bai Ya, Qing Lin didn't even glance at them. She giggled, "I want to stay with Brother Jiang Yun forever, and Sister Zi Yan!"

Hearing this, Zi Yan withdrew her sidelong glance, satisfied.

Seeing Qing Lin's resolute answer, Lu Man panicked and urgently said, "Young girl, only in the Heaven Snake Mansion can your potential be fully developed. When you come with us, you will be named the Saintess directly, inheriting the position of the next Mansion Master."

"Heaven Snake Mansion is one of the top forces in the Northwestern Continent..."

Despite Lu Man's words, Qing Lin remained unmoved and even buried her head in Jiang Yun's embrace, showing no interest.

Seeing Qing Lin's stubbornness, Lu Man grew disheartened. Glancing at Jiang Yun and Zi Yan, her eyes lit up as she continued her persuasion, "Qing Lin, both of your partners are extraordinary talents with extremely rapid cultivation speeds. Without a good heritage, you might not be able to keep up with them. You don't want to be unable to help them, do you?"

Hearing Lu Man's words, Qing Lin's expression shifted, reflecting a rare hesitation. Indeed, Brother Jiang Yun and Sister Zi Yan were already Dou Huang at a young age. Could Qing Lin keep pace with them?

"Don't scare Qing Lin. Xiao Yun is a seventh-grade alchemist, soon to be eighth-grade. Does your Heaven Snake Mansion have an eighth-grade alchemist?"

Seeing Qing Lin waver, Zi Yan became displeased, mockingly sneering with a touch of pride.

"Eighth...grade alchemist?!"

Lu Man looked at Jiang Yun in shock. A seventh-grade alchemist was enough to make the Heaven Snake Mansion treat him with utmost respect, not to mention eighth-grade; an alchemist of this level could easily crush the Heaven Snake Mansion with a mere gesture.

Seeing Jiang Yun's confirmatory nod, Lu Man gasped. An eighth-grade alchemist!!!

Even if not, a seventh-grade alchemist would already warrant great respect from the Heaven Snake Mansion. At that moment, Lu Man truly realized the esteemed position of an alchemist.

In contrast, Bai Ya, more aware of an alchemist's worth in the magical beast world, knew how rare such talents were among humans. Mid-rank magical beasts aside, high-rank ones valued alchemists. A single pill could outweigh years of laborious cultivation.

Even though Bai Ya was a sixth-rank magical beast, comparable to a human Dou Huang, he still couldn't transform due to his bloodline.

Qing Lin, nestled in Jiang Yun's arms, looked at him in awe. She never knew Brother Jiang Yun was this incredible.

"Now you can be assured, right? Your Sister Zi Yan eats a lot, but I can still afford her, let alone you!" Jiang Yun gently patted Qing Lin's head, speaking softly.

"Mm!" Blushing, Qing Lin buried her face in Jiang Yun's chest under his gaze.

"Hmph—" Jiang Yun's words naturally displeased Zi Yan. Who ate a lot?

Alright, maybe a little, but she also worked hard to gather herbs!

"In that case, we shall take our leave first. Forgive us for any offenses, Master."

Seeing no room for negotiation, Lu Man gave up and bowed respectfully to Jiang Yun with Bai Ya in tow.

Despite taking losses, they were no match for the stronger party.

"You can leave; it stays."

As the pair was about to leave, Jiang Yun spoke, eyeing Bai Ya.

"This..."

"Master, you mean..."

Seeing the situation, Lu Man was shocked, realizing a possible scenario. Bai Ya was even more terrified.

Without a word, Jiang Yun stared at Bai Ya as if looking at a prey.

Thinking of the Heaven Snake Mansion's records on the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils, capable of forming a unilateral bond with serpent-type magical beasts and absorbing their battle-qi, Bai Ya felt a chill.

"You want to enslave me!!!"

Facing life and death, Bai Ya roared, disregarding Jiang Yun's status.

"You won't succeed!"

"Forcing won't work!"

Zi Yan, disliking Lu Man's coquettish attitude towards Jiang Yun, struck first. She always had a dislike for her. How dare this woman flirt with Xiao Yun!

"Roar—"

With a roar, black flame erupted from Bai Ya, forming a massive black energy serpent with eight wings above him.

"I don't care if you're an alchemist. If you want to enslave me, you must die!"

With a fierce flick of his tail, the eight-winged serpent composed of black flame lunged at Jiang Yun and Qing Lin with terrifying momentum.

Seeing the violent serpent shadow, Jiang Yun remained calm, quickly forming a series of complex hand seals. As his hand movements changed, the surrounding temperature soared!

"Five Wheels of Fire!"

Having thoroughly learned this signature Dou Technique from the Heavenly Flame Venerable, Jiang Yun was using it publicly for the first time.

As a noble alchemist, why need to act personally when subordinates could handle it? (Zi Yan: Subordinate?)

As his hand seals took shape, pure white flames rose from his palm.

The Undying Sacred Flame emerged, rapidly expanding and writhing, forming a massive white dragon about ten meters long.

The original technique required combining five types of flames into Spirit beasts: wolf, leopard, lion, tiger, and flood dragon. Together, they created a potent Five Wheels Fire Formation.

But with Jiang Yun's improvements, even a single flame could form more spirits, creating an equally formidable formation.

With the emergence of these fire spirits, the ambient temperature soared, and space began to ripple violently. The previously calm energies of the world now seemed to be pulled into chaos.

"This is an exotic fire..."

"You have an exotic fire—"

Sensing the world's shift and the dragon's terrifying aura, Bai Ya screamed, staring at Jiang Yun in horror. Who would have thought that a youth with Dou Huang strength also possessed such a rare treasure?

"Roar!"

The white dragon lunged at the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor. The white flames formed a massive line, tearing through the sky.

"Don't dream of success!"

Feeling the white dragon's terrifying power, Bai Ya gritted his teeth, as if preparing for a desperate struggle. Shockingly, he turned and fled, wings vibrating at their limits.

"Think you can run?"

Seeing this, Jiang Yun sneered. In the distance, lines of light appeared, drawing complex patterns in the air. Shortly, a dazzling and intricate array formed in the sky.

"Bang—"

Bai Ya slammed into the array, his head throbbing, but the array remained undisturbed.

"Roar!"

Before Bai Ya could recover, the dragon roared, carrying a sea of flames, launching a vigorous assault on him.

"Bang—"

Seeing Bai Ya collapsed, covered in burn marks and smelling of charred flesh, Jiang Yun shook his head. Only a resilient sixth-rank magical beast could survive unlike a fifth-rank one, who would have died already.

Turning to Lu Man, barely hanging on under Zi Yan's attacks, Jiang Yun observed her precarious state. Had it not been for her agility, Zi Yan would have finished her long ago.

Seeing Jiang Yun's gaze, Lu Man's spirits sank, distracted for a moment.

"Dare to get distracted!"

Seizing the opportunity, Zi Yan shouted, relentlessly striking Lu Man's chest with her spear.

"Bang—"

The immense force shattered her organs. Coughing blood, Lu Man hastily consumed several pills, regardless of their grades.

Summoning her strength, her battle-qi wings beat rapidly, fleeing without a backward glance.

"Trying to flee!" Zi Yan, seeing her attempt to escape, was instantly displeased. With victory in sight, letting her go was unacceptable.

Her battle-qi wings shone brightly as she chased after Lu Man effortlessly.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun relaxed. With Zi Yan's strength, there was no worry of her encountering any misfortune.

(The end of the chapter)