There are no free lunches in this world.
Even though the Furious Rooster now nominally belonged to Zhong Bai, once it swallowed the demon core of this Six-winged Centipede, there was a strong chance it would achieve the status of a demon soldier.
By that time, in the unlikely event that the Furious Rooster developed ulterior motives and chose to flee directly while Zhong Bai was away, given the vastness of the world, what could anyone possibly do to it?
Therefore, a master-servant contract was absolutely necessary!
Speaking of which, both the Taoist Sects and Buddhist Sects had Dharma Protector Divine Beasts, and these Dharma Protector Divine Beasts were essentially demons that had entered into a contract.
Moreover, forming a contract was quite simple; Zhong Bai only needed to plant a mark deep within the Furious Rooster's soul.
The Furious Rooster looked at the Six-winged Centipede demon core that was right in front of it, and no matter how much it craved it, with its wings restrained by Zhong Bai, it exhausted every ounce of effort yet still could not break free.
It had no choice but to obediently comply and wait for Zhong Bai to plant the soul mark.
Since it was already close to the realm of a demon soldier, its intelligence was far from low, and it understood what awaited it next.
Seeing that the Furious Rooster had become well-behaved, Zhong Bai immediately proceeded to cast a minor technique recorded in the Beast Taming Chapter of the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Art.
The Divine Firmament Five Thunder Art was far more than just a thunder technique divine ability; what it contained was practically the entire essence of the heritage passed down by the Divine Firmament Sect back in the day.
The seal used to contract Dharma Protector Divine Beasts was called the Purple Firmament Beast Binding Seal, and once this seal was planted, if the beast ever dared to betray its master, Zhong Bai could activate the seal at any moment to summon heavenly lightning and punish it!
Compared to the contract seals of other sects, this one was indeed somewhat more overbearing.
Having had the Purple Firmament Beast Binding Seal planted within it, the Furious Rooster clearly sensed that its dread toward Zhong Bai had grown even deeper, yet despite this, it was willing.
What was wrong with becoming someone else's spirit beast or even servant?
As long as there was an opportunity to climb higher, the Furious Rooster felt it was well worth it.
Besides, it had originally been raised and fed by old folks, so it harbored zero psychological resistance to acknowledging a master.
When Zhong Bai released the Furious Rooster, it wasted no time and eagerly swallowed the Six-winged Centipede's demon core in a single gulp, then hurried over to the centipede's abdomen to dig out its internal organs and consume them.
Zhong Bai was not worried about this; although the Six-winged Centipede was utterly riddled with poison from its demon core to its internal organs, if it were an ordinary human, just smelling it would likely have been enough to cause fatal poisoning.
Of course, protagonists like Partridge Whistle did not fall into this category... protagonists were simply too heaven-defying.
It was hilarious—mere pill poison could not possibly kill them.
Ahem, returning to the matter at hand, the Furious Rooster was originally raised on the Five Poisons, and as long as the Six-winged Centipede's poison did not enter its bloodstream, it could virtually achieve complete immunity.
Once it finished consuming the feast, the Furious Rooster grew listless, though Zhong Bai was not concerned.
The demon core contained an abundance of demonic Qi, and coupled with the toxins that still needed to be digested, it was entirely normal for the Furious Rooster to feel listless.
"Um... Taoist Qianhe, there shouldn't be any danger left in this Pill Palace now, right?"
Partridge Whistle asked at the opportune moment, for he had not forgotten that the primary reason the three senior and junior martial siblings had come to Bottle Mountain was for the Muchen Pearl.
Helping Zhong Bai slay the Six-winged Centipede was merely meant to make their search safer, which was why Partridge Whistle asked this question.
Understanding, Zhong Bai smiled faintly and said, "Within this Pill Palace, the only thing capable of posing a threat was this Six-winged Centipede.
As for everything else, it is at most just some residual poison, which should be as easy as taking candy from a baby for Brother Partridge.
However... whether the Muchen Pearl can actually be found is still genuinely hard to say."
Zhong Bai did not directly tell Partridge Whistle that there was no Muchen Pearl to be found in this Bottle Mountain; after all, the three of them had traveled a great distance to get here, and for him to say such a thing outright would be somewhat hurtful...
At the same time, it lacked credibility, for he, Zhong Bai, hadn't even searched yet—how could he know for sure that it wasn't there?
Partridge Whistle might even suspect that he had found it, hidden it away for himself, and was now lying to them.
Never test human nature, because people are simply not worth trusting...
"In that case, I shall search around first and see."
Partridge Whistle also understood that there was a high probability the Muchen Pearl was not in Bottle Mountain. The Muchen Pearl was an item of extreme rigidity and extreme Yang, and even if it were placed within a massive tomb, it would be very difficult to conceal that blazing Yang energy.
Yet ever since entering the Pill Palace, Partridge Whistle had only been able to sense endless yin Qi and poisonous miasma permeating the hall.
Perhaps it was simply unwillingness to give up hope...
Soon Partridge Whistle searched the entire Pill Palace once, during which he even discovered the corpse of the Ming dynasty Mountain Guardian Imperial Guard.
Of course, it was not as though they left completely empty-handed, for there were some Taoist scriptures in the main hall.
Although they did not record cultivation methods, they still counted as treasures, and after packing up a portion of them, Partridge Whistle and Zhong Bai left the Pill Palace.
On the cliff face.
Hua Ling and Old Foreigner had been waiting for a long time.
Watching Hua Ling, who wore an expression full of anxiety, Old Foreigner felt rather unsettled inside.
"Junior Sister, Senior Brother and Taoist Qianhe should be fine, so you can set your mind at ease.
Besides, you've witnessed Taoist Qianhe's divine ability arts yourself; this is just a centipede that has gained sentience, and Senior Brother and Taoist Qianhe should be able to resolve it and return very soon."
Old Foreigner would have been better off saying nothing, for the moment he spoke, Hua Ling grew even more anxious.
"Second Senior Brother, but Big Brother Zhong said he didn't have absolute confidence either, and he's never dealt with this Six-winged Centipede before, so we don't even know how strong it is. What if it's terrifyingly powerful...
I really can't control myself, Second Senior Brother."
As she said this, Hua Ling's voice trembled slightly, filled with anxiety, panic, and deep, lingering worry.
Seeing this, Old Foreigner's gaze grew a fraction dimmer once more.
"Junior Sister Hua Ling, rest assured..."
A thousand words, when they finally came out of Old Foreigner's mouth, boiled down to nothing more than this simple sentence.
He was afraid that if he continued to speak, his heart would only ache more...
After waiting for another half an hour, down below the cliff, Zhong Bai's figure moved like a ghost, effortlessly using momentum to ascend the cliff face.
Landing steadily, Zhong Bai saw Hua Ling walking toward him with tears sparkling in her eyes.
Ah, a young maiden in tears—Zhong Bai was completely stunned, and Old Foreigner beside him was likewise frozen.
With a metaphorical snap, Old Foreigner felt as though he heard the sound of his own heart shattering...
"Big Brother Zhong, you've finally come up! You didn't run into any danger, did you?"
Speaking as she moved, Hua Ling meticulously looked Zhong Bai over from head to toe, and only after failing to find a single trace of injury did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, good, it looks like Big Brother Zhong had a very smooth time slaying the Six-winged Centipede this time."
Down at the base of the cliff, Partridge Whistle happened to be carrying the Furious Rooster on his back and was about to reach the summit. His speed was not slow, and even with the Furious Rooster on his back, he was only slightly slower than Zhong Bai.
Yet at this moment, even though Partridge Whistle only held senior and junior fraternal affection toward Hua Ling, he still felt his heart breaking into pieces.
Well, his beloved junior sister of over a dozen years was only concerned about checking on a Zhong Bai she had known for just a few days, without even mentioning whether she cared if her own senior brother was safe.
Partridge Whistle truly had no words...
"Oh right, Big Brother Zhong, is my eldest senior brother uninjured as well?"
Fortunately, Hua Ling had only asked about Zhong Bai first out of sheer panic, and had not truly forgotten her own eldest senior brother.
Hearing her inquire about his condition, Partridge Whistle abruptly exerted force, propelling his entire body straight up the cliff face to land steadily, his eyes filled with quiet composure.
Ah, he was exceptionally good at putting on a facade...
Zhong Bai did not expose him, for didn't they all see the heartbroken expression on Old Foreigner's face right next to them?
Partridge Whistle was their eldest senior brother, after all; he simply had to find a way to mask his wretched mood!
Before you continue