Beast

041 Beast

This Demon Fox is said to have been captured in the mountains south of Bashu and was to be presented to His Majesty the new Emperor in the Royal Capital.

Something went wrong just before arriving at the Royal Capital, and it managed to escape. It was then chased by the Demon Hunters all the way east.

This was secret information obtained by Chong Li from her fellow disciples at the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

In the past two days, more and more Demon Hunter squads have come from the south, passed by Baishi Village, briefly inspected the scene, and then continued their pursuit northward.

The atmosphere was quite grim, but it was actually useless.

Ming Shu sat alone on the arrow tower, continuing to tinker with the Fate Book. He wrote down his thoughts on demonic beasts and Demon Beast Spirits, but received no new feedback.

He even initiated a fortune-telling ritual, but only received a weather forecast for the next few days.

Cloudy turning to clear?

Ice and snow melting?

Spring warmth and flowers blooming?

Thanks a lot!

It wasn't until he drew the Demon Fox in the center of a hexagram, forming a new ritual, that he thought, What if I used the Demon Fox for a sacrifice? Would there be a significant response?

Unexpectedly, there was indeed a reaction—a Contract!

Following "Prediction" and "Sacrifice," a new ritual function emerged: "Contract."

The Demon Beast Spirits in the north are said to be selected from the Demon Locking Pagoda, and the more powerful the Demon Beast Spirit, the harder it is to tame.

For example, the Pirates on Qunwa Island have very weak frog-like Demon Beast Spirits.

They are weak in strength and physique, with low potential, but numerous and quick to mature. After being mass-bred by them, they are carried around from the tadpole stage.

After metamorphosing into frog-like Demon Beast Spirits, they can be quickly tamed and their power borrowed. However, the effect is very ordinary, and their strength is limited.

As for other Demon Beast Spirits, one must be strong enough to subdue and tame them directly. Only then can one forcibly extract the demonic beast's blood, mix it with their own blood, and create a slave blood seal.

Compared to this, the method used on Qunwa Island is considered relatively mild.

The ritual on the Fate Book, however, leans more towards equality and mutual benefit. Of course, this is only superficial equality; in reality, all authority and interpretation rights lie with the Fate Book.

Everything is in Ming Shu's hands. If he says it's an equal contract, then it's an equal contract.

For the Barbarians' slave blood seal, if forcibly removed, the Demon Beast Spirit would suffer more than half of its strength loss and become extremely weak, requiring a long time to recover.

The blood seal was designed from the beginning with no intention of ever being removed.

Ming Shu's contract, however, can be easily removed, provided he operates through the Fate Book to complete it.

After unexpectedly acquiring this ritual, Ming Shu's mindset changed. Before, he only wished to protect his existing property and prevent it from being destroyed by the Demon Fox.

Now, he couldn't wait to lure it to his home.

The next day, he had Zhao Siqi take over the town's affairs, while Old Zhao and Little Zhao led people to the northern valley to assist with production recovery and reconstruction.

Most of the Pirates who possessed Demon Beast Spirits were taken away. The remaining people were handed over to the patrol guards.

Ren Yuan, Zhao Dun, and Zhao Chuan, among others, led teams to expand the search and patrol scope.

Conversely, the core of Baishi Village became empty. Only he himself sat on the arrow tower.

This arrangement was still not enough. He asked Chong Li to help guide the other Demon Hunters further north into Langya Prefecture. He also instructed her to create some traces of the Demon Fox to increase the density of patrols and searches in the north.

After the ice and snow melted, it would be even harder for the white Demon Fox to hide outdoors.

Moreover, although the previous news did not explicitly state it, it was certain that the Demon Fox was heavily injured. Otherwise, Chong Li and Ren Yuan, who were third-tier Demon Hunters, would not have been dispatched.

The Demon Fox's strength must have been well beyond third-tier to escape all the way from the vicinity of the Royal Capital.

At the same time, he asked Old Zhao to catch a few wild rabbits from the mountains, claiming he wanted to eat roasted rabbit. He had them kept within the village for now.

Along the way, there were no rumors of the Demon Fox eating people, so there was no need to worry too much for the time being. It was a pity there were no Spirit Medicines; otherwise, the other party might have come over more willingly.

Waiting for the rabbit to come to the bait requires patience.

Ming Shu had already set up the ritual. He wondered if his current strength was enough to directly sign a contract with it.

A few more days passed, and new news came from the north. The Demon Fox had not been found, but a Barbarian Demon Beast Hunter squad had appeared.

The Demon Beast Hunter squad did not consist entirely of Barbarians; many were people who had migrated from the Central Plains.

Not only Langya Prefecture, but also the nearby Sishui Prefecture, Jimo Prefecture, Qi Prefecture, Beihai Prefecture, Donglai Prefecture, and others were thrown into chaos by the Demon Hunters and Demon Beast Hunters.

As expected, after waiting for a few days, Ming Shu saw a new prompt on the Fate Book.

Although he hadn't seen anything approaching, the information "Demon Beast Spirit: Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox" appeared on the Fate Book, indicating that the Fate Book had not failed.

And the origin of the other party far exceeded Ming Shu's expectations.

He intended to pick up some trash, but ended up encountering a big boss?

Should he still make a move?

The Fate Book should not deceive him.

There was no longer any opportunity to hesitate or regret.

Ming Shu leaped down from the arrow tower and landed in the courtyard. Not far from him were bamboo cages holding several rabbits. A flash of white light appeared.

A demon fox materialized before Ming Shu.

The demon fox glanced at Ming Shu, and Ming Shu felt as if he were frozen in place, unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as it devoured the wild rabbits in the cages.

What shocked Ming Shu even more was seeing a sentence in his Fate Book—

"What a hassle. How much suffering did I endure on the way just to play along with your act?"

The words were filled with disdain, mockery, and contempt.

Does it want to hypnotize me? Ming Shu felt his mind being constantly assaulted.

This demon fox's target is me? Why is it doing this? Going to all the trouble of coming all the way from the great mountains in the southwest to the East Sea?

The Fate Book continued to interpret—

"To become a guardian beast for your family, I had my three tails' power sealed by a great demon, and then by that old Director. Hmph, someday, I'll get it all back, all the suffering I've endured on this journey."

Is it here to help me? Is this how one helps? If such a big shot is here, my family can't afford to keep it.

How am I supposed to play along with its act?

After finishing the rabbits, the demon fox slowly walked over and circled Ming Shu once.

Ming Shu no longer hesitated. He silently circulated the spiritual energy within him, initiated the ritual, and forcibly formed a contract, sealing all its power in the end and taking control of the authority to release it into his own hands.

The ground beneath the demon fox suddenly lit up with a hexagram array. Light enveloped it, and it froze, just like Ming Shu, unable to move.

Thus, the man and the demon were locked in a stalemate.

Beast! Ming Shu desperately wanted to curse it in his heart to boost his own morale, but he couldn't make a sound.

However, at the same moment, a voice boomed in both his heart and the demon fox's body—Beast!

It was the Director's voice!!

The demon fox collapsed softly onto the ground, its body continuously shrinking.