Chapter 114: The Guardian Beast of Destiny

“A proud Demon King?” The Demon King curled the corner of his mouth into a wry smile, shook his head lightly, and pointed a finger to his chest, speaking deliberately, word by word, “At the root, I am nothing more than a lowly demon beast!”

The words "demon beast" were spat out through clenched teeth, weighted as if bearing a thousand pounds.

“Miss Feng, you surely know that in the cultivation world, there is never a place for us demon beasts!” He gestured toward the ceiling, his voice dropping to a low, furious roar. “Ascend to immortality? Hmph! Even if one day a demon beast truly becomes a demon immortal, so what? One is either slaughtered at others’ whims or chosen by high immortals to become a slave beast! If that’s the case, why not plan ahead? Better to be prepared than to be helpless someday.”

Feng Ke’er’s tongue seemed tied; she opened her mouth but could not utter a single word. In the lower realm, demon beasts held the lowest status—she understood this well—but she had never imagined that even if a demon beast succeeded in ascending and became a demon immortal in the spirit realm, it would still be trapped in a state of baseness.

Then what was the point of cultivation? Cultivation is meaningless if it leads to such a fate.

Yet, on second thought: How many of the fox’s words were truly trustworthy? How could he possibly know the affairs of the spirit realm?

The Demon King saw through her doubts and rubbed his face irritably, snorting, “Demon immortals must also descend to the lower realms for tribulation and experience. I was fortunate to receive guidance from a senior demon immortal. All this, I was told by that senior.”

Finally unable to hold back, Feng Ke’er blurted out: “If that’s the case, then why bother cultivating at all?” Alas, such a tragic creature. She might as well accept fate. The sooner one dies, the sooner one transcends and can hope for a better rebirth next time. Well, that’s ahead of its time—this era has no reincarnation or rebirth. No matter who dies, their primordial energy disperses, vanishing into the world.

The Demon King lifted his face with a cold sneer: “Because I refuse to accept it! Why must we demon beasts be born inferior? In the cultivation world, we demons work the hardest, strive the most, and long for the Great Way more than anyone else. It’s unfair!”

Why? Because you are at the bottom of the pyramid! The cultivation world belongs to the strong. There is no fairness! Feng Ke’er sighed deeply, then spoke solemnly, “So that’s why you want to become an immortal or a deity?”

To climb to the top of the pyramid and overturn the fate of the oppressed?

Moreover, acknowledging her as master served a clear purpose: an immediate need—as a lightning rod during the ascension—and a long-term benefit—as a shield in the immortal realm.

A surge of irritation arose within Feng Ke’er: Damn, a fox is just a fox, always scheming so cunningly.

No wonder cultivators say demon beasts are the most disloyal. When masters are strong, they are obedient and docile; but if the master’s cultivation cannot suppress them, these creatures will not hesitate to turn on them.

Thinking of this, Feng Ke’er’s heart grew colder.

The Demon King sighed helplessly, emphasizing again, “Miss Feng, you worry too much. I willingly become your bonded guardian beast, sharing fate with you—there’s no chance of betrayal. Those who betray their masters are mere slave beasts. Besides, with your lineage, once it becomes known, countless divine beasts would line up to become your bonded guardian beast. If a humble lower realm silver fox like me could climb to your high branch, I’d wake laughing from dreams, never harboring any second thoughts.” Of course, he swore this, and until the time was right, he would not reveal a word.

“Slave beasts? Aren’t those all servants bound by contracts?” Feng Ke’er felt embarrassed: she was self-taught in cultivation halfway through her journey! She had never formally studied, so how could she know such intricate details?

The Demon King paused. If he weren’t able to read minds, he might have thought she was doing it on purpose—already perfected in core formation, yet such a narrow knowledge scope? Could she be the legendary one?

“Contracts may be similar, but the methods differ, and so do the results.”

The Demon King’s usual stance was indifferent: whatever he didn’t understand, he simply ignored. He wasn’t anyone’s master. Yet, he thought to himself: if she made a mistake during the contract, turning him from a bonded guardian beast into a slave beast, wouldn’t all his efforts be for nothing?

So, the Demon King proceeded to explain in detail, gesturing as he spoke.

Only then did Feng Ke’er understand that even among contracted beasts, there were various distinctions (no wonder she didn’t know—her knowledge came mainly from two sources: mostly from Feng Jiu’s teachings, and a small part from self-study of Qingyun Sect’s materials. One source was extremely high-end, the other very low-end, missing the vast middle ground. So, what she didn’t know far exceeded what she did).

First major classification: Based on contract level, contracted beasts are divided into bonded guardian beasts and servant beasts. The former sign an equal contract with human cultivators, which can be dissolved at any time, like Feng Jiu previously. Generally, only divine beasts and high-level spirit beasts qualify.

Servant beasts, however, sign servant contracts with human cultivators. They belong to their contracted cultivator, and the contract cannot be dissolved.

Secondly, based on contract method, servant beasts are further divided into bonded guardian beasts and slave beasts.

Bonded Guardian Beast: The master draws a talisman with their own blood on the forehead of the potential contracted beast to form a contract.

Once contracted, the master and bonded guardian beast share one life—no one can sever the bond midway. This contract is unique and one-to-one for both parties.

Generally, spirit beasts make the best bonded guardian beasts. Divine beasts live far longer than human cultivators of the same level, and, considering their noble and sacred bloodlines, they stand equal with human cultivators. Unless special circumstances arise, they won’t accept such a disadvantageous contract. Meanwhile, demon beasts have extremely lowly bloodlines—like dirt in the cultivation world. Which cultivator would lower themselves to choose a demon beast as bonded guardian? Walking it out would bring shame, making it hard to greet others.

Slave Beast: Also called guardian beast. The master injects a strand of divine consciousness into the contract talisman, then imprints it on the potential contracted beast’s brow, sealing it with a binding formation.

A slave beast serves only one master at a time, but a master can have many slave beasts simultaneously. If either side dies, it does not affect the other’s lifespan. Also, upon death of either side, the contract becomes void. So, if the master is dissatisfied with the guardian beast and wants to discard it, a single strike can destroy it; and if the guardian beast is strong, it can bite and kill its master. Upon the master’s death, the divine consciousness in the talisman disappears, and the contract on the beast’s brow fails. This phenomenon is called backlash in the cultivation world.

In the lower realm, spirit beasts are expensive and costly to feed, so only sect or noble family disciples dare to handle them. Therefore, demon beasts are often used as slave beasts. Though there is a risk of backlash, as long as one keeps an eye on the demon beast’s cultivation level, making sure it doesn’t surpass their own, it is manageable.

In the spirit realm, demon beasts do not exist. However, middle and lower-grade spirit beasts are plentiful and cheap, making them cost-effective as slave beasts. But the great powers of cultivation in the spirit realm love to show off their status by taking unconventional paths. Because demon immortals who ascend are rare, these unlucky ones without roots in the spirit realm become hotly contested objects—imagine, while others keep spirit beasts as slaves, they keep demon immortals; the scene alone is impressive.

Also, fearing backlash, once the demon immortal slave beast reaches the tribulation period’s completion, they cruelly destroy the demon immortal’s foundation. Thus, the demon immortal’s cultivation path ends, no further progress is possible, and when their lifespan is exhausted, they perish.

In the spirit realm, no one chooses demon immortals as bonded guardian beasts or equal contract beasts.

First, demon immortals are still beasts at heart, the lowest of demon beasts, so how could they be equal and share life and death with human cultivators?

Second, demon cultivators of the same level average only two-thirds the cultivation strength of human cultivators; their combat power is too weak and they could die at any moment.

Feng Ke’er sighed deeply upon hearing this. Demon beasts’ fate was truly tragic. Were she in their shoes, she would also plan ahead.

While explaining, the Demon King carefully used various methods to secretly probe Feng Ke’er to determine if she was the person he sought. What embarrassed him was that, despite his cultivation being several ranks higher on the surface, he could not sense her Dantian or Spirit Sea.

What did this mean? Though her realm was lower, her cultivation was higher than his!

Combined with the intelligence gathered and previous tests, a voice roared excitedly in his heart: That’s right! It’s her, absolutely her!

The Demon King licked his lips nervously and weakly asked, “Miss Feng, let me be your bonded guardian beast… what do you think?”

Feng Ke’er stretched out both hands and said solemnly, “Do you know how many demon beasts have died by my hand? The Demon King must have already investigated my background. You should know that my cultivation method involves slaughtering demon beasts and absorbing their spirit energy. Aren’t you afraid? Or, as the Demon King, aren’t you angry about my slaughter?”

“Afraid? Angry?” The Demon King burst into laughter and spread out his hands. “How long have you been cultivating? How long have I? Over thirty thousand years! The demon beast blood on these hands is probably no less than yours. The cultivation world is survival of the fittest, the strong survive. What is there to fear or be angry about?”

Feng Ke’er’s gaze swept over his hands, raising an eyebrow: No wonder no one likes demon beasts. These guys have no sense of servitude. On one hand, you claim to be a servant beast, yet you call “I” and “Miss” and behave arrogantly! What kind of servant acts like this? You haven’t even become one yet, but you already think of yourself as the people’s servant!

Seeing this, the Demon King’s eyes flashed, and he withdrew his hands, chuckling awkwardly, “I… am but a…” Having ruled the seas and skies for over ten thousand years, he simply could not bring himself to say “little one.”

Forget it! Since it’s a mutual benefit, why argue with a demon beast? Feng Ke’er rolled her eyes. She realized she still deeply rejected the mindset of slavery.

Pointing outside, she said seriously, “Three high immortals are chasing me right now. I don’t know when I’ll be done for. So, the matter of contracting can wait until I deal with this.”

(To be continued)

The Celestial Scripture 114_ Chapter 114: Bonded Guardian Beast – Update Complete!