Chapter 45: Blood Covenant (Please vote for monthly tickets! Please follow the subscription!)

Shaohing had endured many twists and turns, and fatigue was inevitable.

But even with no immediate pursuit behind her, she dared not relax for a moment. As soon as her spiritual power was replenished, she would activate [Three Thousand Miles of Moonlight] to escape, and once her energy was exhausted, she would swallow a Recovery Pill and continue running on foot.

Through this cycle, after only about two hours, Shaohing had successfully made it back to the mountain gate.

"Whew."

Shaohing deactivated her Disguise Technique, restoring her original appearance, and then cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell on herself.

After presenting her disciple token and being verified by the gatekeeper disciples to confirm her identity for entry, Shaohing initially intended to return to her quarters to rest and recover, while also tending to the injuries caused by Yin Liu's pressure.

However, her expression suddenly changed drastically, and she pivoted, heading toward the spiritual fields instead.

"Since I could easily recognize Jiang Yunjiang, then even with a disguise, Jiang Yunjiang would likely have realized I was interfering with her plans while we were in the white mist. Not to mention that filthy thing on her—it certainly possesses divine sense; the Disguise Technique won't fool her."

"I also used the Thousand-Strike Bow at the time. Given Jiang Yunjiang's sharpness and caution, I'm afraid that as soon as she returns to the sect, she will investigate the source of my spirit stones..."

Thinking of this, Shaohing quickened her pace.

When she finally reached the spiritual fields and entered the white mist of the barrier.

The golden-haired little monkey immediately looked at her with joy, leaping into Shaohing's arms and whimpering affectionately.

"So many treasures, tell me. Since I last replenished the spiritual liquid, has anyone come to this plot of land?"

"Ying ying." The golden-haired monkey nodded, while simultaneously scratching its head with a paw, somewhat puzzled as to why its master would ask such a question.

Shaohing felt a sense of relief as she looked out over the field of green crops.

Duobao had been trained by her into a very hardworking little monkey. Every day at sunrise, it would fetch well water and mix it with [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid to irrigate the rice seedlings. At least during the times she performed unannounced inspections, it had never been lazy.

It was now afternoon, and the growth state of the White Jade rice seedlings in this field should have undergone the second round of irrigation; a third round would be needed for them to reach full maturity.

Since Shaohing had accepted this third-grade mission, about four months had passed. White Jade spiritual rice naturally matures every four months, so the current growth stage—approaching heading and grain formation—was within reason and did not require uprooting and replanting.

However, Shaohing's left hand formed a seal, using the fine control of a Wind-Blowing Spell to sweep away the thick dust of Earth-Consolidating Pills mixed in the field, followed by a Spirit-Rain Spell to clear any remaining traces before she felt somewhat at ease.

"Duobao, come back to the disciple courtyard with me. You don't need to tend to the spiritual fields for a while. I will provide you with Beast Spirit Pills. Just stay in seclusion and cultivate diligently to try and break through to the middle stage of the First Realm, alright?"

Shaohing showed a rare amount of patience toward the well-behaved little monkey.

Since Duobao's intelligence had awakened and it had become increasingly clever after consuming the [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid, it naturally nodded without any objection.

Shaohing threw on a large yellow robe, intending to hide the little monkey beneath her clothes, when she suddenly felt a sharp sting on her left forearm. Pulling back her sleeve, she saw that the little dragon was actually biting it.

"Two hours without a beating and you're getting itchy again, aren't you?"

Shaohing immediately activated Death Qi, frantically extracting life force from within the dragon's body, ravaging it everywhere. The pain caused the dragon to instinctively let go.

"Ying ying?"

The little monkey in Shaohing's arms let out a fearful cry, shrinking further into her embrace.

Even if an Ancient Heavenly Demon's cultivation was shallow, it was still an extraordinary existence to ordinary demon beasts. Without sufficient cultivation, one could not resist the pressure of their bloodline; Duobao was naturally terrified.

Shaohing's left hand moved like a crane, seizing the dragon's head on her forearm, while her right hand swung, delivering two slaps to shatter its "Dragon King Dream."

"In my territory, you still dare to act wild?"

Even if this little dragon possessed extraordinary intelligence, it had only been out of its shell for a few days. While it had a way to contact that White Dragon, it was unlikely to be able to contact the True Dragon clan directly to send dragons to its rescue.

The Northern Region was a place where myriad demons resided, and the True Dragon clan lived within it, separated from the Eastern Region where the human immortal sects were located by tens of millions of miles. Furthermore, if any Great Demon entered a region, it would surely alert the powerful experts of the human race, preventing any reckless movements.

And yet, this little dragon still dared to bite her forearm!

"You really have grown quite bold."

"Wuu wuu, I'm hungry." Even after being dazed by the two slaps, the little dragon couldn't help but let out a low growl.

"I know, stay hungry."

Shaohing didn't care at all. No matter how fragile a cub was, it was a True Dragon after all; it wouldn't starve to death just because of two missed meals, would it?

"You're not afraid I'll roar everywhere... I, I'll make sure you never get my body!"

"Oh."

Shaohing held the little monkey in her arms, hiding it under her yellow robe, and replied nonchalantly.

"You know better than anyone that falling into my hands is much better than falling into the hands of a high-level cultivator."

Even if both parties wanted to extract benefits from it, Shaohing's cultivation was low and her seniority shallow, meaning she lacked "effective methods." If a young dragon fell into the hands of cultivators who had practiced for hundreds of years, they would possess all sorts of bizarre techniques and could, at the very least, scrape this dragon ten times a day.

The little dragon stopped speaking, but cursed indignantly in its heart: *You're not a good thing either.*

"Slap!" Shaohing gave it another stinging slap.

"I know you're cursing me in your head."

The little dragon lowered its head fiercely, two tears welling up in its eyes. Shaohing did not let them go to waste, quickly catching them with a bottle.

Once everything in the spiritual field was arranged, Shaohing returned to the disciple courtyard and into her own room.

After activating her formation, she immediately collapsed onto her prayer mat, her entire body relaxing.

Recent events had been too turbulent: the True Dragon cub, the filthy thing on Jiang Yunjiang, the Flying Immortal Token, Baiyujing, Yin Liu...

Shaohing took a deep breath, pulled the little white dragon from her forearm, and carefully observed the six Willow-Entwining Bracelets bound around its five claws and neck.

But at that very moment, a sudden change occurred. The six bracelets unraveled one after another, finally transforming into six silver willow branches that intertwined like a silver cone, suddenly stabbing toward Shaohing's forehead.

She was startled at first and instinctively tried to dodge, but she quickly realized the truth.

"No, that Yin Liu was clearly a Seventh Realm Great Cultivator. She could kill me at will and manipulate me however she pleased. Since she let me go then, why bother setting a trap to harm me now?"

Moreover, with Yin Liu's methods, even if she tried to flee, she wouldn't be able to.

Finally, the silver willow branch pierced Shaohing's brow, extracting a single drop of blood from between her eyebrows.

The Niwan Palace is hidden between the brows, containing one's essence, qi, and soul. The importance of this blood to a human cultivator is second only to heart's blood; Shaohing's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Ying ying!"

Duobao's small monkey face was full of worry. It summoned its courage, attempting to pounce on the willow branch to protect its master, but Shaohing reached out and pressed it down.

"Hee hee, hehe." It was the little dragon snickering.

"Still laughing? I'm coming for you!"

Shaohing snorted.

The silver willow, having touched the blood, suddenly grew at high speed, directly entangling the young dragon. Finally, amidst its unbelievable roars, the branches all burrowed into its forehead, forcibly binding its dragon soul.

The willow branches vanished, and the blood contract was formed.

The hierarchy was clear; Shaohing could easily perceive that she could now see through everything regarding this dragon. As long as she wished, she could instantly annihilate its dragon soul.

"Yin Liu?"

"Why did she..."

This blood contract was a gift, but it was also a shackle.

The silver willow branches had become her tool to suppress the young dragon, but once they were detonated by its true master, "Yin Liu," she would also be immediately heavily injured. This was undoubtedly a sword hanging over her head, whose descent was unknown.

"A chance encounter... to her, a mere Qi-Refining practitioner like me is like an ant, yet Yin Liu..."

"What kind of place is Baiyujing, anyway? To think it could make a Seventh Realm Great Expert spend such effort on me."

Shaohing felt no joy from controlling the young dragon, only a wave of nausea.

She loathed this sense of being out of control, which made her feel like a chess piece being toyed with at someone's whim.

"Baiyujing... whether it is a land of opportunity or a death trap, that is for me to decide!"

(End of Chapter)