"You want me to submit? Dream on!"
Amid the raging Thunderclap, the Fierce Beast bared its fangs and brandished its claws, but before it could fully stretch out, it vanished.
Soon it appeared again. After a roar, it lunged at Chen Cuo once more, only to dissipate midway.
After this repeated more than a dozen times, the Fierce Beast finally settled down somewhat.
Instead of lunging at Chen Cuo the moment it appeared, it crouched with a dark expression and glared at him. Low growls rumbled in its throat, Thunderclap cracked between its fangs, and Black Smoke billowed from its nostrils.
"You've finally been reborn. You don't want to keep going through Reincarnation like this..." Seeing this, Chen Cuo tried to reason with it.
Before he could finish, the Fierce Beast opened its jaws and blasted out a ball of lightning. Then it vanished entirely.
"Can't communicate with it for now, but there's no need to rush."
Chen Cuo was not discouraged. This had been an unexpected gain, like planting a willow without meaning to; there was no need to cling to it. Besides, pursuing the Dao and Longevity was what mattered. If he attained Longevity, he would have no shortage of time to "negotiate" with the beast again and again.
"I've spent the whole night on this. I wonder what's happening outside. The Ink Crane wasn't disturbed, though, so Master probably hasn't come by..."
A little earlier, he had taken a moment to wake and sort through his belongings.
Chen Cuo had left Green Willow Garden without hesitation, departing with a sweep of his sleeve. Apart from the Pig-Turtle, he had taken nothing else, though he did keep several things on his person. Chief among them were Little Gourd, the Five-Zhu Coin, the Ink Crane, and the annotated copy