Chapter 162: The Self-Mutilating Demonic Beast

Hu Li opened his eyes and offered a lazy, smiling salutation: "Fellow Daoist Zeng."

Then, with an air of profound composure, he pressed his lips together and closed his eyes once more. He presented the absolute picture of an unbothered, arrogant demeanor.

Seeing this, the female cultivator surnamed Zeng could only curse "damn beast" inwardly. By now, she had firmly concluded that the person before her was a Pill-Devouring Beast belonging to some scion of an elite alchemy family. In the Spirit Realm, alchemists held immense status, and the Pill-Devouring Beasts in their company were likewise notorious for their foul tempers.

Poor thing, little did she know that Hu Li was actually currently as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.

"Master..." Hu Li had no choice but to lay out his entire plan. Prior to this, he had merely given his master a brief preliminary report and asked for her cooperation.

That was more like it. Feng Ke'er hummed softly, "From now on, regardless of what the plan is, you must obtain my consent first. If I do not agree, then no matter how perfect the plan might be, you can just put it out of your mind." If she did not assert herself a little now, her servant would grow too big for his britches and start lording it over his master!

So her master had been waiting right here for him. Hu Li was torn between laughter and tears, and replied with absolute earnestness: "Understood, Ah Li will strictly obey Master's commands."

"That was a Nine-Turn Essence-Condensing Immortal Pill, with primary ingredients including Nine-Leaf Soul-Condensing Grass, Millennium Spirit Fruit, Millennium Blood Ginseng, and Nine-Grade Pure-Heart Lotus. It is a supreme treasure for condensing the primordial spirit." Whether it was due to his sudden, uncharacteristic obedience or simply being called "Ah Li," the young woman shuddered, goosebumps breaking out all over her skin.

Hu Li was overjoyed, yet he mimicked the tone of the male beast-servants at the Myriad Directions Tower, speaking in a soft, ingratiating voice: "Ah Li thanks Master."

Feng Ke'er shuddered violently once again, waving her hands repeatedly: "Enough, enough. Such empty courtesies can be dispensed with from now on." It was too cloying; she had no blessings to enjoy such treatment.

"Oh, I understand." Hu Li's face was plastered with a smug expression.

Yet, this look of his, in the eyes of the female cultivator surnamed Zeng, appeared as absolute confidence and poise.

"Young Master Hu?" She could not help but speak up once more. To her, a Pill-Devouring Beast was, after all, merely a beast. Furthermore, the one before her was still a fierce monster.

Hu Li opened his eyes once again and said with a calm smile: "This pill is indeed an extraordinary item."

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng raised an eyebrow, a brilliant glint flashing in her eyes.

However, Hu Li clapped his hands lightly with a smile, abruptly returning to the previous topic: "Fellow Daoist Zeng, where is Feiyi?"

"Pfft," Feng Ke'er burst out laughing. What did they call this? Tit for tat! Oh, you fox, you fox. Beneath that handsome and lofty exterior of yours, what truly wraps your heart is the petty soul of someone who holds grudges and repays every slight. Tsk, you mustn't learn to be too wicked.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng was momentarily stunned, but quickly caught on and smiled awkwardly: "Oh, look at my memory. I will call her out right now." With that, she clapped her hands three times in rapid succession: "Clap, clap, clap."

A treasure cabinet on the left rumbled as it pushed aside, revealing a hidden door.

"Feiyi the servant, awaiting Master's command," a soft voice drifted from the inner room. It was precisely Feiyi's voice.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng nodded slightly: "Come in."

Feiyi crawled out of the hidden door on her hands and knees, keeping her head bowed. The beast tooth tied with a red silk thread around her neck slipped out from the front of her collar, dangling and swinging back and forth.

The corner of Hu Li's twitching eye twitched.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng pointed at the figure in red and smiled: "Young Master Hu, this is Feiyi, a seventh-rank Illusion Beast with an extraordinary memory. I am now presenting this beast to you, and I hope Young Master will not disdain her lowliness and will graciously accept her."

Hu Li scoffed inwardly: This wretch is trying to take advantage of his recent ascension from the lower realm and his lack of experience, assuming he knows nothing. Little did she know, his predecessors had told him quite a bit about the affairs of the Spirit Realm. Thus, he had long been aware that the most prominent skill of the Illusion Beast clan was certainly not an "extraordinary memory." They excelled at disguise and could turn invisible, making them born spies.

He gritted his teeth and looked awkwardly at Feiyi, who was prostrated on the ground: "I, I... Sigh, I won't conceal it from Sister Zeng, this younger brother's cultivation is inferior to hers." The implication was that if he were to become Feiyi's master, there was a high probability he would suffer a backlash. It was simply too dangerous.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng was so angry she nearly flipped backward. Yet, on the surface, she still had to maintain a smiling expression of "deep sisterly affection." And wasn't it deep sisterly affection? After all, the other party had just called her "Sister Zeng."

Secretly pinching her own thigh hard, she gave a very magnanimous wave of her hand: "It's fine, I happen to have a Slave-Subduing Pill on hand. If I bestow one pill upon this beast, Sister guarantees you will have no worries whatsoever."

As soon as her voice fell, Feiyi, prostrate on the ground, began to tremble uncontrollably like a chaff-sifting sieve.

"That must never happen," Hu Li objected in a sharp voice. "Feiyi is the daughter of this younger brother's old friend. My old friend showed kindness to me, and this younger brother truly cannot bear to ruin her."

"Then what should we do?" The female cultivator surnamed Zeng frowned. This fellow was far too difficult to deal with.

Hu Li pondered for a brief moment and negotiated: "Sister Zeng, what do you think of this arrangement? Let Feiyi stay with you for the time being. I ask Sister Zeng to take good care of her on my behalf. Once my cultivation level rises, I will definitely come to repay Sister's great kindness and virtue."

"This..." The ball had been kicked right back to her, and the female cultivator surnamed Zeng was so angry she was left speechless.

At this moment, Feiyi, who had been prostrate on the ground, raised her head: "Since Young Master Hu does not disdain me, Feiyi is endlessly grateful." Then, she kowtowed three resounding knocks to the female cultivator surnamed Zeng: "Master's righteousness is high, and Feiyi is willing to voluntarily lower her cultivation by half a rank." With that, she straightened her upper body and her hands danced through the air. Amidst a flash of red light, she tapped several of her own vital acupuncture points in rapid succession. Following closely, she lifted her wax-white little face, spat out a mouthful of blood foam with a soft "pfft," and collapsed limply onto the ground.

Her movements were crisp and clean, the entire process taking less than three breaths of time.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng was the first to recover her wits. Visibly moved, she reached out a hand toward her: "Feiyi!"

Feng Ke'er's eyebrows twitched, and she sighed: "Fox, this Feiyi can be so ruthless even to herself; she is a formidable one. You must be careful—watch out that you don't play with fire and get burned."

Hu Li took a deep breath, strode quickly to Feiyi's side, helped her up, and channeled his energy to seal her heart meridians, where the vital qi was violently churning. In the blink of an eye, Feiyi's cultivation plummeted to the great perfection of the sixth rank. If he hadn't sealed her meridians and allowed the unruly spiritual energy to continue wreaking havoc, even her sixth-rank cultivation would have been difficult to preserve within half an hour.

His cultivation level was several tiers lower than the female cultivator surnamed Zeng's. If he could see this, the female cultivator surnamed Zeng certainly could too. Yet, she had merely made a pretense of reaching out a hand.

"Why put yourself through this!" Hu Li shook his head and sighed repeatedly. For the sake of such a master, was it worth abusing yourself like this?

"Thank you... Master." Feiyi opened her eyes weakly, her head swayed, and she fainted dead away.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng sighed and took the initiative to dissolve the master-servant contract with her.

Matters having reached this point, Hu Li had no choice but to accept the good intentions of the female cultivator surnamed Zeng and take in Feiyi. In return, he recounted the results of the pill appraisal from beginning to end.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng became even more convinced of his identity as a Pill-Devouring Beast. She treated him with even greater attentiveness, practically carving the words "befriend him" onto her forehead.

Feiyi was not lightly injured. Hu Li had to take her back to his immortal cave immediately to treat her injuries. However, within three days, he could not spare the time to go to the Alliance to rewrite his identity jade token.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng simply paid out of her own pocket and ran this errand for him. In any case, rewriting the identity jade token did not strictly require the new master to go in person; as long as the new master's identity jade token was presented, it was sufficient.

According to the rules, monsters had no right to keep slaves. Therefore, the female cultivator surnamed Zeng brought up Hu Li's master.

Feng Ke'er was an unregistered person; how could she have any identity jade token? Furthermore, even if she did have one, Hu Li would never consent to show it. Humph, did they take him for a fool? Wasn't the female cultivator surnamed Zeng simply trying to find out the background of his master?

Fortunately, a natal guardian beast could also keep slaves on behalf of its master without exceeding its authority. Thus, using the excuse that his master was currently in closed-door seclusion, Hu Li temporarily registered Feiyi under his own name.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng did not press the matter further. Taking his identity jade token, she went and settled the rewriting procedures that very day.

Hu Li brought Feiyi back to his immortal cave in the eastern district. He carved out a small stone cavern outside the immortal cave, set up barriers and restrictions, and settled her inside—his reasoning being that taking in Feiyi as a slave beast was a private action of his own and had not yet been formally approved by his master. Therefore, until it was officially brought to light with his master, Feiyi would simply have to suffer a little grievance and temporarily reside outside the cave.

Feiyi was unconscious and unable to plead on her own behalf.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng, as her former master, had no right to interfere in another person's domestic affairs.

Thus, Feiyi dwelling in the small stone cavern outside the immortal cave became a settled fact.

Hu Li only possessed the medicinal pills he had brought from the lower realm, which naturally could not compare to the spiritual pills of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, even if he did have superior spiritual pills and medicines, he would never be willing to waste them on Feiyi.

After taking the medicine, Feiyi slept for ten days and recuperated for forty-nine days, her cultivation finally stabilizing at the ninth level of the sixth rank. Her calculations had been precise; she had lost precisely half a rank of cultivation.

"Many thanks to Master for saving my life." As soon as she stepped out of the stone cavern, she knelt and prostrated herself outside Hu Li's immortal cave.

Hu Li walked out of the cave, raised her up with both hands, and smiled: "Fellow Daoist Feiyi is too polite. Ah Li is also a servant under Master's seat, so I am unworthy of such a grand kowtow from you." What he said was entirely correct. Strictly speaking, a natal guardian beast was also a servant. Because their lives and fortunes were bound together with their masters and deeply intertwined, they were merely treated everywhere on par with human cultivators.

Since Feiyi had also sworn allegiance to Feng Ke'er, she and Hu Li naturally addressed each other as fellow disciples.

However, Hu Li had entered the sect earlier than her, and his cultivation was currently higher than hers, so she was hardly qualified to call him "Senior Sister."

An illusion fox was still a fox, after all. Feiyi smiled and bowed deeply to the end: "Since you do not disdain me, Senior Brother's great kindness and immense virtue will be engraved in Feiyi's heart, never to be forgotten in this lifetime. Feiyi is unrefined and hopes Senior Brother will offer much guidance."

Hu Li laughed heartily. Only after she finished the full ritual did he help her up again, nodding along smoothly: "Your foolish elder brother has idly spent over thirty thousand years, so I shall presume upon my age just this once."

"Many thanks, Senior Brother." Feiyi raised her head, her brows and eyes curving into smiles.

Thus, the formal relationship of senior brother and junior sister was established.

Under the pretext of cultivation, Hu Li went straight back into his immortal cave.

Feng Ke'er, listening to this entire exchange from within the spatial sphere, cupped her cheeks: "Fox, are you certain you want to speak with them like this from now on?" So flowery, so acidic. Alas, my teeth!

The enchanting fox-like eyes flickered as Hu Li lowered his gaze, the sharp glint in the depths of his eyes flashing away in an instant. He communicated with her via divine sense: "Master, rest assured. Her fox tail won't stay hidden for long."

This phrase was actually something he had learned from Feng Ke'er. Before ascending, he had thoroughly disliked this saying. However, after advancing to the seventh rank—though he had not undergone tribulation lightning—all nine of his fox tails had nevertheless fully manifested in an ethereal form. Hence, he no longer held any aversion to the phrase.

Someone hummed: "You'd better focus on keeping your own fox tail hidden tightly first."

Hu Li smugly retorted: "Master, at this point, where would I even have a fox tail left?"

Feng Ke'er only felt her teeth itch. This fellow was growing increasingly lawless and unruly!

At that moment, Feiyi's respectful report came from outside the immortal cave: "Senior Brother, Immortal Zeng has arrived."

Hu Li smiled: "Master, look, the fox tail is about to show itself!"

Feng Ke'er mentally scoffed at him. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast recommendation votes or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation!)
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