Blue-Tailed Poison Scorpion

The girl called Qing'er wore elegant pale-green robes. Her figure was tall and supple, her skin fragrant and jade-like, her brows lightly painted. Her pair of limpid eyes shimmered with life as they turned.

Though this girl was young, her body had developed exceptionally well. Beneath her green gown, her figure was exquisite and shapely, her curves graceful, her waist slender yet strong, brimming with wildness. In all the places that ought to be full, she was hardly inferior even to the stunning Liu Qing.

Standing together, the two girls were like an immortal maiden from a dream, untouched by mortal dust, and a princess of the mundane world, seven parts spoiled and overbearing, two parts adorable, and one part enchanting.

Jiang Feiling, whose skin held a glow like Yingguang, was naturally even more ethereal, but Qing'er, with her willful wildness and graceful figure, possessed an extraordinary beauty as well.

Li Tianming had never expected that the two girls he encountered in these desolate mountains would be so beautiful. Even Qing'er's appearance seemed not much inferior to Mu Qingqing's, and her temperament might even surpass hers.

Li Tianming had initially thought Qing'er was a maidservant, but one look made it clear that she was not.

Qing'er possessed an outstanding temperament, and every gesture carried a startling presence. There was an exceedingly terrifying aura around her, the aura and majesty of a supreme genius. A young person like her would surely hold a lofty position even in the Flame Capital.

"Qing'er, don't scare him. He isn't a bad person. I was chased down by a vicious beast just now, and he was the one who saved me." As Qing'er watched Li Tianming warily, Jiang Feiling hurriedly tugged on his arm.

"Is that so?" Qing'er finally lowered her guard. She looked Li Tianming over from head to toe and said, "You look decent enough. Don't get any ideas about Ling'er. Hurry up and leave."

This girl was truly unfriendly. Her status must have been very high, which was why she was used to looking down on others like this.

"You're quite pretty, but you don't have a shred of manners." Li Tianming had just begun to feel somewhat favorably toward Qing'er. After all, beauties naturally had an advantage.

But even after learning that Li Tianming bore no ill intent, she remained rude. Naturally, Li Tianming would not give her a pleasant face either.

"What did you say? Do you believe I'll slap you?" Qing'er glared.

When she became fierce, terrifying Beast Essence surged around her. This was clearly an aura beyond the Beast Pulse Realm, proving that she was likely a Spirit Source Realm expert. To attain the Spirit Source Realm at her age, she would certainly be a renowned figure in the Flame Capital.

"Qing'er, don't bully Brother. Ling'er has a surprise to tell you."

"Brother? Pah." Qing'er glared at Li Tianming again. Li Tianming did not know whether to laugh or cry. She had clearly taken him for the sort of scoundrel who lured innocent young girls.

"Do you want to hear it?" Jiang Feiling pouted.

"Fine, fine, tell me." Qing'er replied helplessly. It was obvious that they were extremely close.

"I just possessed Brother's body. Guess what level our Spirit Possession reached?" Jiang Feiling blinked.

"Spirit Possession? Didn't I tell you not to possess other people whenever you pleased?" Qing'er said with a headache.

"A vicious beast was chasing me, so I had no choice. Hurry and guess!"

"In this backwater place, with some stinking thing of a man like him, two levels at most. It can't be any higher." Qing'er cast Li Tianming a disdainful glance.

"Wrong. You definitely won't believe it—it reached the maximum level. If you don't believe me, look."

Right before Qing'er's eyes, Jiang Feiling once more possessed Li Tianming's body. That explosive sensation of power violently rising surged through him again!

"Fuck!" Qing'er stared at the possessed Li Tianming, her expression stunned. She could not hold back the curse, and her bright, beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Did you see? Maximum level! No one has ever reached the maximum level. And I feel as though Brother Tianming and I might have known each other before." Jiang Feiling smiled as she condensed her body, looking at Li Tianming in satisfaction, her eyes curving into crescents.

Seeing how close the two of them were, Qing'er recovered from her shock and nearly ground her teeth to dust. She hurriedly pulled Jiang Feiling to her side and said, "Ling'er, you're too naive. Don't always believe other people's honeyed words. When I wasn't around, this guy must have sweet-talked and deceived you."

"No, Brother is very polite," Jiang Feiling said.

"You're poisoned." Qing'er gritted her teeth. "Let me tell you, not a single man is any good. You're so pretty, of course he'll fawn over you. And so what if your Spirit Possession is at maximum level? A youth from such a remote place will never amount to anything. He's utterly useless."

"Big sister, how many men have hurt you for you to say something like that?" The more Li Tianming looked at her, the more displeased he became. Was there any need to belittle someone so badly? He had helped Jiang Feiling, after all.

"Are you seeking death?" Qing'er abruptly turned around, staring coldly and domineeringly at Li Tianming. The aura of someone in a lofty position burst forth completely.

"Qing'er!" Jiang Feiling became angry first. Li Tianming had thought this little fairy would not get angry, but even when she was mad, puffing out her cheeks, she still looked rather adorable...

He felt as if he had become bewitched. Her every smile and frown filled his mind.

"Enough. Let's ignore him. We've been out playing for too long this time. We need to hurry back to the Flame Capital," Qing'er said, softening her tone because she did not want Jiang Feiling to be angry.

"All right." Jiang Feiling seemed a little downcast. She apparently was not very willing to return to that place.

"Little thief, we're leaving. I'll thank you once for helping Ling'er just now, but give up any other thoughts. You and Ling'er are not people from the same world, so don't indulge in too many wild fantasies. Go back home and farm properly." Qing'er's eyes still carried a warning as she spoke.

"Is something wrong here?" Li Tianming pointed at his head.

"You lowborn wretch, I..." She was so furious that she ground her teeth, and the flesh on her body trembled with rage. How many people in the Flame Capital dared speak to her like that?

But there was no helping it. Whenever she bullied him, Ling'er became angry. She could only endure it.

"Ling'er, where are you in the Flame Capital? I'll come find you someday," Li Tianming said.

"I'm at..."

"Don't tell him." Qing'er covered her mouth, then said to Li Tianming, "Why would you go to the Flame Capital? With your background, stay home and farm in peace. Producing grain and contributing to the Vermilion Bird Kingdom is what you should be doing."

"Let's go!"

After saying that, she felt wonderfully satisfied and immediately dragged Jiang Feiling away. She was indeed incredibly fast, vanishing into the forest in the blink of an eye. Even if Li Tianming wanted to chase them, he could not catch up.

Yet he still smiled.

Those two girls were truly interesting.

Although one of them did not think much of him, she was actually only wary of Li Tianming. She surely feared that Jiang Feiling would be deceived and taken away by him.

After all, that fairy-like girl was so pure and snow-white that she could not tolerate even the slightest stain.

"We'll definitely have a chance to meet again." Li Tianming was not worried that he would be unable to find them. Given Qing'er's strength, she was surely an eminent figure in the Flame Capital—and the Flame Capital was precisely his next destination.

After they left, Li Tianming released the Little Yellow Chick.

"Li Tianming, did you hide me away so you could defile that girl? You beast! As your companion beast, it is the greatest disgrace of my life, Lord Yinghuo!" The Little Yellow Chick began chattering the instant it came out.

"Shut up. Am I really that shameless?"

"Yes. When you're shameless, you're not even human."

"Fuck! I'll strangle you!" Li Tianming reached out and caught it, venting the sense of loss he felt after the girls had left on its body.

"Fuck, I curse you to have no ass when you have children!"

"I curse you to be a bachelor chicken for life."

"I curse your little chick to break into seven or eight pieces!"

One man and one chicken leaped and scrambled about. Though they bickered noisily, they never stopped searching for Clear Spirit Grass. For now, he had only one stalk, and he needed more.

Another three days passed, and Li Tianming had ventured very deep into the Clear Spirit Grass.

The trees around him were ancient and vigorous, with countless shrubs below them. Thick, damp fallen leaves lay everywhere, making it impossible to tell where venomous insects and savage beasts might be lurking.

Over these three days, he had not found any Clear Spirit Grass, but he had obtained quite a few other spirit herbs.

These spirit herbs were vital resources within the territory of vicious beasts. Basically, wherever spirit herbs grew, savage beasts would occupy the area and venomous insects would spread throughout it, waiting for the herbs to mature.

Basically, any spirit herb born from absorbing the blazing sun's radiance and containing fire spiritual energy was fed directly to them. Cultivating within Fire Silk Mountain was actually faster than cultivating in Lihuo City.

It had once taken him several years to cultivate to the fifth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. Now, he had accomplished it in only around twenty days.

The companion beast of a Primordial Chaos Giant Beast was not defined by how powerful it was at birth, but by its talent, fortune, and other such aspects. Up to now, the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix's innate abilities had not even revealed one ten-thousandth of their potential.

"Clear Spirit Grass!" At dusk that day, Li Tianming crossed over a mountain peak and arrived at a flat expanse.

Vegetation flourished here, and weeds grew everywhere. But Clear Spirit Grass was a spirit herb. Though mixed among the weeds, it was still easy to spot.

There was a large patch of Clear Spirit Grass, more than a dozen stalks in all. To Li Tianming, this was simply a precious treasure, worth more than a sack of Jade. This amount was enough for him to take his mother to Yanhuang Academy without worry.

Heaven did not disappoint those who worked hard.

He could imagine that when he brought this Clear Spirit Grass back, his mother would surely be delighted. After all, she truly was not willing to let her life end like this.

After locking onto their target, one man and one chicken swiftly approached.

"There's danger!" As they neared it, Li Tianming sharply sensed the risk. The weeds nearby were too tall and densely packed everywhere; there was no way to know where a ferocious beast might be hiding.

Just as they approached, a streak of blue light suddenly struck at them. That blue light was likely some sort of venomous sting. Once hit, deadly poison would invade the body, something far more terrifying than a blade wound.

He and the Little Yellow Chick hurriedly dodged backward, avoiding the fatal blow.

When they steadied themselves, they suddenly saw a black scorpion beside that patch of Clear Spirit Grass.

The scorpion was enormous, like a table meant for eight people lying flat on the ground. Its pair of pincers resembled two great iron hammers.

Most awe-inspiring of all was the tail it held high. It was a blue tail covered in thick blue iron armor. Its tip was sharp as a needle, and the blue liquid staining it was clearly deadly poison.

The blue light that had attacked them just now must have been this blue tail.

"A vicious beast!" Li Tianming narrowed his eyes. He had already sensed that this venomous scorpion was unusual. But upon closer inspection, its eyes were not savage or cruel. Instead, they watched Li Tianming and the Little Yellow Chick with indifference, just like human eyes.

"Not a vicious beast—a companion beast!" Clear, human-like eyes were the mark of a companion beast.

"This is a Fifth-Order Companion Beast—the Blue-Tailed Poison Scorpion." Li Tianming remembered. He had read materials on companion beast species and recognized the Blue-Tailed Poison Scorpion.

The species and attributes of companion beasts formed an immense field of study. It was a required subject for every beastmaster.

Li Tianming had begun studying it as a child, but even now, it was difficult to identify every companion beast, because far too many varieties had appeared throughout history.

Companion beasts were categorized by "species" and "attribute."

The "species" of companion beasts could broadly be divided into several categories: birds, beasts, insects, and fish.

Under these four companion beast species were countless further varieties of companion beasts.

There were also certain "special-type" companion beasts, such as reptiles—like turtles and crocodiles; amphibians—like frogs and salamanders; mollusks—like shellfish and squid; annelids—like earthworms and leeches; cnidarians—like jellyfish and sea anemones; and so on.

Though these minor-category companion beasts might appear weak, that was not actually the case. Some companion beasts such as jellyfish and turtles could reach the **-order, and their destructive power was exceptionally terrifying.

There had once been a companion beast that, at its root, was merely an earthworm. Yet it was not called an earthworm, but the "Hellhorn Dragon." It was a Ninth-Order Companion Beast, and its beastmaster was equally terrifying, a super expert famed throughout the history of the Yanhuang Continent.

Together with the Hellhorn Dragon, he created the splendor of an era.

Besides differences in "species," companion beasts also had differences in "attributes."

There were many specific attributes. Among the companion beasts currently known, there were roughly these attributes: metal, flora, ice-water, fire, earth-soil, lightning, tempest, light, darkness, deadly poison, stars, nether yin, explosion, moonlight, **, sound, purification, life, transformation, berserk, control, iron armor, mother empress, and so on!

Attributes were also a fundamental characteristic of companion beasts. Metal, wood, water, fire, **, wind, and the like were collectively known as the "elemental types."

Elemental-type companion beasts were the most numerous, accounting for more than ninety percent of all companion beasts. But some less common types could sometimes be even more terrifying. For example, the rare "mother empress type" generally included ant queens and bee queens. Mother empress-type companion beasts could produce vast numbers of offspring and form battle legions.

Generally speaking, any companion beast could be classified according to "species plus attribute." For example, Li Xuejiao's Fire Plume Bird was a "fire-type bird companion beast."

Liu Qianyang's Lightning Leopard was a "lightning-type beast companion beast."

And the Blue-Tailed Poison Scorpion before them was a "deadly poison-type insect companion beast!"

The deadly poison type was one of the less common types. Though it possessed no power of wind, fire, or thunder, once its poison entered the body, it was unquestionably even more terrifying.

If there was a companion beast, then there had to be a beastmaster.

Sure enough, in the very next instant, a thin young man in a loose green robe raced over, landing before Li Tianming. He stepped directly onto that patch of Clear Spirit Grass.