Golden Cudgel Spell

Deep in Blazing Flame Valley, the flames had yet to die out, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Chu Ning swung himself onto the back of the Crimson Flame Tiger, gripping its blazing-red mane tightly, his face alight with excitement.

"Woohoo!"

The Crimson Flame Tiger charged forward, darting, leaping, and rolling through the cavern like a burning meteor. Its powerful limbs trampled the molten rocks, sending sparks flying in every direction.

Chu Ning laughed loudly, letting the gale whip across his cheeks as he felt the Crimson Flame Tiger's terrifying speed.

"Awesome!"

He could not help exclaiming, "With a mount like you, who would dare stop me!"

The moment he finished speaking, the Crimson Flame Tiger suddenly slammed to a stop. Its body jolted, flinging Chu Ning straight off its back.

"Hey—!"

Chu Ning tumbled through the air several times before landing awkwardly on a boulder. He rose with a grimace, dusted off his clothes, and cast a resentful look at the Crimson Flame Tiger.

The Crimson Flame Tiger raised its head. Two streams of white vapor burst from its nostrils, and its golden vertical pupils gleamed with deep disdain, as if saying,

"I am the dignified king of demonic beasts. How could I lower myself to be your mount?"

Chu Ning rubbed his aching waist, shrugged, and said with a smile, "All right. Since you're unwilling, forget it."

He paused, patted the Crimson Flame Tiger's head, and said seriously, "But you have to cultivate properly. If you run into any trouble, come find me at the foot of the mountain."

The Crimson Flame Tiger tilted its head, seemingly lost in thought.

Chu Ning continued, "If you can take human form someday, we'll become brothers. How about it?"

The Crimson Flame Tiger's Golden Eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly moved. In the end, it let out a low growl, which counted as an agreement.

The remaining flames of Blazing Flame Valley had yet to die out. The blood-red glow illuminated the mountain rocks, while the air was permeated with the smell of sulfur and scorched earth.

Chu Ning stood beside the Crimson Flame Tiger, looking down at the dying Azure-Eyed Snow Fox.

Its body trembled faintly. Its azure fur had lost its luster, bloodstains clung to it in patches, and its eyes were dim and lifeless. All its former arrogance had vanished.

Chu Ning frowned and said, "It's barely hanging on. Can you give it a Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit to save its life?"

The Crimson Flame Tiger's gaze instantly turned cold. It bared its teeth and growled low, clearly extremely displeased.

This was a heavenly treasure, a sacred fruit every demonic beast dreamed of. How could it be willing to hand it over?

Chu Ning sighed helplessly.

The Crimson Flame Tiger already had three more Mysterious Sun Fruits than he did. Last time, he had even tricked one unripe fruit away from it. Taking two fully ripened ones this time was already his limit.

No matter how generous it was, it would not hand over its own resources.

He could have simply walked away, or even delivered a final blow and eliminated the trouble for good.

But in the end, he still sighed.

"Forget it. I'll save your life."

He reached out and took out a Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit, but just as his hand stopped in midair, he suddenly froze.

This snow fox was no good-natured creature.

Save it? What if it recovered and came back to bite him?

He glanced at the Crimson Flame Tiger beside him. Though it was a demonic beast, it possessed intelligence and understood repaying kindness. The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox, on the other hand, was cunning and clever, with a proud and haughty nature. Looks like if I want to save it, I have to make it obey first.

With that thought, he closed his eyes. His mind sank into his sea of consciousness as he called out to the Chaos Divine Order.

Chaos Divine Order, advance the Beast Taming Technique!

In an instant, golden runes appeared, and the divine order flashed with light.

Emergency advance detected. Matching basic beast-taming methods...

Matching complete. Advancing "Golden Cudgel Spell"

Repayment cost: one year of lifespan and one hundred taels of gold

"What?"

Chu Ning's pupils contracted. He immediately felt that he had been cheated—that he had been careless.

A Beast Taming Technique actually required one hundred taels of gold in repayment? And it also consumed one year of his lifespan?

This wasn't taming beasts. This was plainly a scam!

He could not help giving a bitter laugh, thinking inwardly, I showed a little kindness, and it costs this much?

But things had already come to this, and he could only grit his teeth and accept it.

"Since I've already started saving it, I can't give up halfway."

"The Golden Cudgel Spell?"

He quickly browsed through the technique's contents, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

This spell was not a beast-taming method in the true sense, but a form of mental restraint.

Once applied, it could activate the power of chains through the incantation, making the one afflicted with the spell suffer unbearable pain.

"Good stuff!"

Chu Ning raised his hand, spreading his five fingers as the true qi within him began to circulate slowly.

With a thought, he raised his hand and pointed at the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's forehead.

"Vmmm—"

A wisp of pale golden rune-light emerged from his fingertip, then transformed into a ring of spiritual radiance that slowly sank into the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's left forepaw.

"Clang!"

A Golden Cudgel suddenly took shape. Runes were engraved upon it, making it resemble shackles forged by heaven itself as it bound the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's paw tightly.

Only then did Chu Ning let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Chu Ning could clearly sense that a subtle mental connection had been established between him and the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox.

The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox abruptly opened its eyes. Realizing that it had been restrained, it instantly revealed an expression of fury and tried to struggle. But the moment it moved, the Golden Cudgel tightened slightly.

"Whimper—!"

The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox let out a pained growl, its eyes filled with shock and humiliation.

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, the corners of his lips curling into a faint smile.

"All right. You'll listen now, won't you?"

The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox glared at him, its eyes full of venom, but it no longer dared to act rashly.

Chu Ning nodded in satisfaction and took a Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit from his robes, slowly extending it toward the fox.

"All right, time to take your medicine."

He slowly brought the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit to the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's mouth.

"Eat it. This is for you."

The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox trembled faintly and opened its eyes, wariness filling them.

However, the aura of the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit was simply too alluring.

After hesitating for a moment, it finally extended its tongue, curled the fruit into its mouth, and slowly chewed.

"Vmmm—"

A surging essence of life exploded within its body.

The medicinal power of the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit erupted instantly, and a vast essence of life poured into every limb and bone.

Its fur regained its luster. Its wounds healed at a visible speed, its fractured bones quickly rejoined, and the Demonic Energy within its body began to condense anew.

In the space of a few breaths, its aura had already recovered by seventy percent!

Seeing this, Chu Ning nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. The Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit truly is miraculous."

Its injuries recovered at a visible speed. Its fur once again shone with a lustrous glow, and brilliance rekindled in its eyes.

"All right. You owe me your life now."

Yet in the instant he relaxed his guard—

"Whoosh—!"

The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox suddenly erupted!

A gust of azure demonic wind swept up. Its fangs gleamed with cold light as it lunged straight for Chu Ning's throat!

"Damn it!"

Chu Ning's heart tightened. Thunderous Force burst beneath his feet, and his body instantly shot backward.

But the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox was too fast!

Its eyes were deep and profound, resembling two vortexes, carrying a thick resentment and killing intent.

It had already recovered its Demonic Power. Not only did it have no intention of thanking Chu Ning for saving it, it had instead chosen to launch a lethal attack at the first opportunity!

"Talk about biting the hand that fed you!"

Chu Ning's gaze turned cold. He formed a hand seal with his fingers and shouted in a low voice, "Golden Cudgel Seals the Divine, as urgently commanded by the statute!"