Little White pressed his tender little hand against the barrier, sensing its internal structure. His initially casual golden eyes suddenly lit up. This barrier...
He seemed to know who it belonged to, and a wicked idea sprang to mind.
Little White smiled brightly. "Miss Tang, try channeling fire Spiritual Qi into this barrier."
He could sense the outside world from within Chu Song's Divine Sense, so he had naturally discerned Tang Yao's sex and her all spirit root, but he had told Chu Song none of this.
That breezy remark from Little White practically sent Tang Yao off to squat in a corner. He had nearly stripped her bare, leaving not even her underwear.
Interesting. This contracted beast of Chu Song's seemed to have quite a background. In the novel, the Chu Household's guardian divine beast through the generations was White Tiger. Supposedly, a Chu Household elder had saved him during the great war against the Devil Race back then, and he had guarded the Chu Household for nearly a thousand years in repayment.
That made his identity self-evident.
Suddenly, Tang Yao and Little White felt an intense gaze upon them. They turned to see Chu Song squatting in the corner, blinking his big eyes at them.
When their eyes met, Chu Song hastily turned away and continued drawing circles.
Little White watched, his face covered in black lines.
Tang Yao smiled just as brightly. "Don't be like that, White Tiger. Your master is quite adorable."
At the words "White Tiger," Little White shuddered. He had been grievously injured a thousand years ago, and thankfully the Chu Household had been helping him all this time. But his strength was currently limited, and he could only maintain a child's human form.
If word got out that he was White Tiger, it would truly be a disgrace to tigerkind.
Chu Song heard her call him White Tiger too, but he thought little of it, assuming Tang Yao called him that because he really was a little white tiger.
White Tiger folded his arms and sulked in silence. Seeing this, Tang Yao stopped teasing him and walked up to the barrier, pressing her palm against it. The purple qi within her transformed into fiery-red spiritual power and flowed out, only to be instantly absorbed by the barrier.
"Keep going." A young boy's tender voice sounded beside her, and a streak of golden light was injected into the barrier at the same time.
The barrier was like a bottomless pit, absorbing every bit of Spiritual Qi Tang Yao poured into it. Just as her spiritual power was about to run dry, the barrier's entrance finally opened, and her hand could pass straight through.
Seeing the barrier open, Little White's smile deepened. "Let's go. Head inside," he told Tang Yao. He did not forget to turn back and drag Chu Song out of the corner. Small as Little White's human form was, his strength was not to be underestimated.
The temperature inside the barrier was clearly several times higher than outside, if not more. Tang Yao switched to fire Spiritual Qi and adapted well enough, but Chu Song, with his lightning spirit root, had a harder time.
Tang Yao was just about to ask how Chu Song felt when Little White shot her an icy glare. "He's fine. He's got thick skin and tough flesh. This is the perfect place to temper his body!"
Chu Song: ? He hadn't even said anything yet! Okay?!
Give him back his adorable little kitty...
Seeing this, Tang Yao asked no further. Brother, temper away. It won't hurt your health!
The three reached the very end of the cavern, where a fiery-red egg on a raised platform was absorbing the power around it. Little White walked up to the egg and placed his little hand against its shell, carefully sensing the condition within. Then he smiled. "Miss Tang, come here. Keep channeling fire Spiritual Qi into it."
Yet Tang Yao kept feeling that Little White's smile looked rather sleazy. She wondered if she was imagining things.
She stepped forward and followed Little White's instructions, drawing on what little spiritual power remained within her and channeling it inside. Little White moved closer and took Tang Yao's hand.
His human hand suddenly transformed into sharp claws, making a cut between Tang Yao's fingers. Blood flowed down her fingers and seeped into the egg.
A long while passed, but the egg still showed little reaction. Little White sighed and said, "Vermilion Bird, stop playing dead."
"You've nearly sucked up all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here, but I'm afraid that's nowhere near enough for your injuries."
Seeing that the egg remained unmoved, Little White began transmitting his voice. Don't let her current Foundation Establishment cultivation fool you. This human has a chaos spirit root. That's incredibly rare. Sign an equal contract with her, and she should have no shortage of fortuitous opportunities in the future. Following her would let your injuries heal faster than staying in a secret realm that's about to run dry, wouldn't it?
At last, the fiery-red egg reacted, and cracks began to appear.
Crack-
As the egg broke open, a scarlet little bird emerged and instantly formed a mental link with Tang Yao.
If she had heard correctly just now, this was Vermilion Bird, wasn't he?
He had formed a contract with her?
In an instant, power spread from her Divine Sense throughout her entire body. Tang Yao advanced from Foundation Establishment middle stage to Foundation Establishment great perfection. Every meridian in her body was expanded by Vermilion Bird's innate Li Fire, and her physique strengthened along with them.
Tang Yao no longer found the place hot. Instead, a refreshing comfort spread throughout her body.
With a flash of golden light, the fiery-red bird transformed into a sulky little boy of five or six, with long red-and-black hair and a red mark between his brows. His golden eyes fixed on White Tiger before him.
Seeing that Vermilion Bird was even shorter than he was, Little White was delighted.
But to his surprise, Vermilion Bird stood on the platform and mocked him first.
"White Tiger, why do you look like that?"
"Oh?" Little White raised an eyebrow, leaped onto the platform, and leaned down to look at Vermilion Bird, who was half a head shorter than him.
Vermilion Bird: "...?"
Shouldn't he have taken the form of a youth? Why was he a child?
Little White saw Vermilion Bird's confusion and helpfully explained, "I can tell this is your first contract. The human you contracted with has low cultivation, so you've been suppressed!" Happy now, my good brother?
Vermilion Bird looked at his master with somewhat misplaced anger, his little eyes full of grievance.
Tang Yao swallowed and immediately said, "Stick with me, and you'll feast on the finest food and drink! I earned loads of points this time. I'll exchange them for heavenly treasures for you!" Once aboard a pirate ship, getting off won't be so easy!
After hearing this, Little White also looked expectantly at Chu Song, as if to say, You know what I mean, right? Whatever he gets, I want a share too.
Chu Song nodded at once and agreed. "Of course. I have the most points. You can have anything you want!"
At this point, if he still couldn't tell these two were divine beasts, he really would be a fool.
He also understood now that his adorable little white tiger wasn't an innocent little flower, but black-hearted beneath that white exterior!
If these two divine beasts learned that Azure Dragon at the Pill Sect had already been fed so lavishly by those wealthy pill cultivators that she could take the form of a graceful adult woman, they would probably cough up blood and run wild.
The Profound Heaven Sect likely hadn't detected Vermilion Bird's presence. Otherwise, they wouldn't have designated this place a beginner-level secret realm, but would have enshrined him properly and done everything they could to win him over as their sect's guardian divine beast.
Tang Yao giggled, came up beside Vermilion Bird, and pinched his plump little cheeks. They felt wonderful!
Vermilion Bird turned his little face away unhappily. Unable to say much, he could only glare murderously at the culprit-White Tiger.
Little White raised an eyebrow, utterly unafraid. "What? A thousand years apart, and your temper's still this explosive?"
No sooner had he spoken than a bang! rang out. Vermilion Bird flipped his little hand, circulated Li Fire, and swiftly struck the rock beside White Tiger with his palm, instantly turning it into a small, deep crater.
"Tsk." Little White clicked his tongue, wearing an I-told-you-so expression. Then he added fuel to the fire, looking at Tang Yao with a grin. "Miss Tang, give him a nickname. Do you think Little Red sounds nice?"
Vermilion Bird stamped his feet in fury. "Shut your mouth!"
"I-I don't think that's necessary, is it?" Tang Yao felt that if she didn't smooth his feathers now, the little bird before her really would explode.
At this, Vermilion Bird's eyes lit up, and his favorable impression of Tang Yao rose considerably. Then he mocked White Tiger. "Who's listening to you?"
Little White wore an expression of utter disappointment in a hopeless pupil. Not being able to drag his good brother into being Little Red alongside his Little White was truly unbearable!
"Why don't you call yourself Little White, then?! Making me go by Little Red! What are you plotting?" Vermilion Bird shot back indignantly.
At that moment, the two humans and one tiger fell unusually silent.
If Vermilion Bird learned that he had been named Little White, he would surely laugh at him for thousands of years.
Little White feigned composure. "I dare. Little White it is. Do you dare call yourself Little Red?"
Vermilion Bird did not believe him at all. White Tiger cared far too much about his pride. How could he possibly call himself Little White? So he agreed. "Fine! If you do, I will!"
Why did Tang Yao feel that this divine beast of hers was rather too simple-minded?!
Before Tang Yao could dwell on it, a young boy's delighted voice rang out.
"Little Red, welcome aboard!"