Chapter 79 - Taming Demonic Beasts
He deactivated his Essence Sight, his gaze focusing on Lin Yao’s clash. The two disciples had successfully isolated their targets, drawing them away from the main area.
Lin Yao moved smoothly across the wet dirt, her Cold Abyss Sword drawn and coated in a thin sheath of dark Nether flames that cast long, eerie shadows. The long Frost Serpent hissed, its dark blue eyes locked onto her as it raised its head, releasing a wave of freezing mist that turned the mud around it into frost.
Lin Yao did not hesitate. She swept forward, her movement silent as her blade traced a dark flame arc, cutting through the icy wind. The serpent lashed out with its tail, a massive whip of ice that clashed with her sword, sending sparks and shards of ice flying. As the serpent recoiled, it opened its jaws to spray a jet of dark-blue frost poison. The toxic mist hissed as it froze the very air. Lin Yao parried with a circular sweep, flaring her Nether flames along the blade to burn the incoming poison into harmless white vapor.
The serpent hissed in fury, its scales bristling as it summoned a wall of sharp icicles and lunged at her. Leaping into the air, Lin Yao channeled her sword qi and Nether flames, the blade of her Cold Abyss Sword glowing with a dark, violet light.
"Nether Dragon Ascension!" Lin Yao shouted.
She slashed upward, executing her special move. A rising dragon of dark Nether fire erupted from her blade, shattering the icicles and slamming into the serpent’s side. The impact cracked its icy scales, throwing the serpent hard into the mud.
Bruised and defeated, the serpent lay panting, the fight draining from its dark blue eyes. Lin Yao landed lightly beside it, her sword tip pointing down. She placed her hand on its snout. The serpent shivered under the cold resonance of her Qi, then lowered its head to accept her aura. Biting her finger, she pressed a drop of blood essence to its forehead, sealing the pact.
The serpent hissed softly, accepting the name Shuang. As the contract settled, a bright flash of cold light enveloped the colossal beast. Its long body rapidly contracted, shrinking until it was about the size of her forearm. Slithering up her robes, it wrapped itself tightly around Lin Yao’s left forearm, covering it like a delicate silver-blue runic bracelet, its cold scales resting safely against her skin.
Unlike the standard blood pact that Su Ming had formed with Yunxiao, this was a symbiotic companion bond. The Frost Serpent began to feed on Lin Yao’s cold Nether Qi slowly, and in return, it circulated its pure frost energy back into her meridians. This constant flow of dual cold energies would eventually grant Lin Yao an excellent frost element affinity to complement her cold flames.
A hundred paces away, Qing Luan was in a fiercer struggle.
The Jade Leopard blurred between Han Chen’s stone spikes. Qing Luan lashed her green whip to bind its legs, but the beast snarled, its claws tearing through her summoned vines with green wood-Qi.
*CRACK!*
Qing Luan’s whip struck the leopard’s shoulder, binding it. But the beast roared, its silver horn flashing to release a pulse of wood energy that shattered the grip, lunging at her throat. Qing Luan retreated, her face pale as she channeled a defensive leaf shield.
From mid-air above, Su Ming watched the leopard’s desperate resistance. The beast’s ancient bloodline made it stubborn, refusing to submit to a human cultivator.
Su Ming focused his gaze on the Jade Leopard. He did not move, but he let a tiny fraction of his Dragon Will leak through his eyes, directing it solely at the beast.
The Jade Leopard froze mid-leap. Its pupils dilated as it felt the sudden, terrifying weight of a supreme ancient predator pressing down on its soul. It fell to the ground, its front claws digging into the dirt as it trembled violently, its silver horn dimming as it whimpered under Su Ming’s cold gaze.
Taking advantage of the opening, Qing Luan swept forward. She bit her finger, drawing a drop of blood essence and pressing it directly between the leopard’s eyes, right on the pulsing ancient pattern.
The blood essence dissolved. The Jade Leopard growled softly, but the struggle was gone from its eyes as the wood-element companion pact settled into its soul. It slowly stood up, rubbing its head against Qing Luan’s hand. Looking at its sleek green plates and sensing its quiet Qi, Qing Luan smiled. "From now on, your name shall be Qing Ying." The leopard let out a low, purring rumble of acceptance.
Qing Luan breathed a sigh of relief, looking up. "Thank you, Elder Su."
Su Ming nodded. He thought of it simply as returning a small favor to Elder Qingya, a quiet smile touching his lips.
As the two disciples returned to the wall with their newly tamed companion beasts, Su Ming drifted closer to Han Chen in the air, his expression turning serious.
"Elder Han, the battle here is stable," Su Ming said. "I must ask you to guard the disciples and coordinate with General Lu. I am leaving the valley to investigate the wilderness."
Han Chen frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Investigate? The stampede is almost controlled, Elder Su. If you go deep into the southern wilderness alone, it is highly dangerous. The Mutated Abyss Earth Tyrant is still out there. If you need to search the deep ridges, we can gather a team of combat elders and go together."
Su Ming shook his head. "If you leave this front, the balance of the defense lines will completely collapse. The Tyrant is intelligent; it withdrew because it lost its vanguard. But if it coordinates an attack on another front, or if another demon lord emerges while the defense here is empty, this front will fall. I can move faster and more quietly alone."
Han Chen looked at Su Ming, remembering the terrifying power of those golden flames he had witnessed earlier. He realized Su Ming was right; a large group would only draw the attention of the beasts, and Su Ming’s combat capabilities were far beyond what his cultivation stage suggested.
"Very well," Han Chen said, his tone respectful. "But you must promise to send a request for help if you encounter any danger. We will keep a recovery force ready to reinforce you at a moment’s notice."
"I will," Su Ming replied.
With a step, Su Ming rose. Relying on his control to fly silently, his white robes vanished into the dark, mist-covered pine forest of the southern wilderness.