"Had enough?"
Jiang Beiran took a step forward and looked at the Bloodshadow Beast.
"Grrrrrr…"
The Bloodshadow Beast waved its front paws wildly, its mouth spewing what sounded like a string of curses. This image reminded Jiang Beiran of a husky—one with particularly pure bloodline at that.
By now, Wu Qingce had recovered enough to walk over to Jiang Beiran’s side and said, "It looks like it’s still not convinced, but it knows it can’t beat you, Senior Brother, so it’s just throwing a tantrum."
"So, do you want it? That red wild aura seems pretty unique. Feels like it has a lot of potential."
"I do… of course I do, but without you here, Senior Brother, how would I ever tame it?"
"A little training is all it needs."
Jiang Beiran stepped forward and reached out, but the Bloodshadow Beast immediately shrank back in fear.
"Don’t run, don’t run. I won’t hit you this time."
Trying his best to look friendly, Jiang Beiran slowly approached. But the Bloodshadow Beast clearly didn’t believe him and quickly hid behind a tree. Just as it peeked out to see if Jiang Beiran was still coming, a voice that sent shivers down its spine rang out from behind.
"Ah, I told you not to run. You can’t escape anyway, right?"
Gulp…
Swallowing hard, the Bloodshadow Beast trembled as it turned its head, its eyes filled with terror.
"From your earlier reaction, it seems you can understand human speech. Come, shake."
Jiang Beiran extended his right hand.
"Whimper…"
The Bloodshadow Beast blinked at the outstretched hand, hesitating. With a faint smile, Jiang Beiran suddenly slapped the spruce tree the beast was leaning against—splitting it cleanly in half. Then he extended his hand again.
"Come, shake."
Feeling the sheer power behind that slap, the Bloodshadow Beast trembled all over. Looking back at Jiang Beiran’s "friendly" smile, it finally stretched out a paw and placed it in his hand.
"Good, good."
Satisfied, Jiang Beiran nodded and patted the beast’s fluffy head. Then he turned to Wu Qingce and the Lightning-Striped Beast, who had been watching the whole time.
"What are you staring at? Keep fighting. The only outside interference is gone now—go all out."
"Oh…"
Wu Qingce nodded and walked toward the Lightning-Striped Beast, gesturing for them to continue. After one last glance at the Bloodshadow Beast being petted by Jiang Beiran, the Lightning-Striped Beast steadied itself and glared at Wu Qingce. This battle had to be won—or it would die.
By the time an incense stick’s worth of time had passed, Jiang Beiran returned with the obedient Bloodshadow Beast trailing behind him. Surveying the battlefield littered with fallen spruce trees, he nodded slightly.
"Not bad. You actually won."
Cough… cough…
Wu Qingce spat out two mouthfuls of blood, his chest nearly caved in.
"Winning in such a sorry state… I’ve disappointed you, Senior Brother."
"Disappointed? Not really. Beating a Lightning-Striped Beast above your level is impressive enough. But there were plenty of mistakes in the process—we’ll work on those later."
Jiang Beiran took out a small jade bottle from his Universe Ring, poured out a glowing green pill, and slipped it into Wu Qingce’s mouth.
"Lie down for a bit. Your injuries are serious—let the Essence Gathering Pill protect your meridians first."
Feeling the pill’s cooling energy flow down his throat and into his body, Wu Qingce relaxed slightly and nodded.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
After patting Wu Qingce’s shoulder, Jiang Beiran walked over to the Lightning-Striped Beast, which had lost all four tails and lacked the strength to regenerate them. He crouched beside it.
"You fought well. Good work."
Though it didn’t understand the words, the Lightning-Striped Beast sensed that this human didn’t intend to kill it, so it let out a series of pleading whimpers. Jiang Beiran took out a green jug from his Universe Ring, pried open the beast’s mouth, and poured in half a bottle of Ancient Spirit Wine.
"Rest up."
He patted the Lightning-Striped Beast’s face and stood, walking toward the Evil Laughing Beast. Throughout everything, the Evil Laughing Beast had remained frozen in place, not daring to move. Now, seeing Jiang Beiran approach, it immediately put on a fawning expression—having realized that this human didn’t seem intent on killing them… as long as they behaved.
Jiang Beiran rubbed the beast’s belly and sighed regretfully.
"The Mysterious Flame essence inside an Evil Laughing Beast is actually a pretty good material. But you’re too weak—probably haven’t even condensed it yet. What a shame."
The Evil Laughing Beast didn’t understand his words. After having its belly rubbed, it even rolled onto its back, fully exposing its underside. This made the Bloodshadow Beast, who could understand Jiang Beiran, break out in a cold sweat for its companion.
At the same time, it felt relieved that it was weak enough not to have formed an inner core—otherwise, it might not be alive right now.
"Good, good."
Jiang Beiran patted the Evil Laughing Beast’s fluffy belly a few times before turning to the Bloodshadow Beast.
"Has the Thunder Spirit Flower bloomed yet?"
The Bloodshadow Beast shook its head vigorously and pointed a claw deeper into the forest.
"Still not?"
Jiang Beiran was surprised. The Thunder Spirit Flower was the treasure he had divined for this trip. This flower naturally gathered the thunder energy of heaven and earth.
Consuming it directly would greatly increase one’s resistance to lightning while also imbuing attacks with thunderous power. But eating it raw was the most wasteful method. If refined into a pill, the Thunder Spirit Flower’s effects could be multiplied—and Jiang Beiran happened to know exactly how to refine it.
"Then we’ll wait a bit longer. Gives them time to recover."
Jiang Beiran pulled out another blue Universe Ring from his robes and took out several large slabs of meat.
"Hungry?" he asked the Bloodshadow Beast.
The beast had been about to shake its head, but the moment it caught the scent of the meat, it immediately nodded.
"Alright, then we’ll wait."
Taking out a few more tools, Jiang Beiran quickly assembled a simple roasting rack and skewered two pieces of meat—each about the size of a round table. Then came the charcoal, the fire, the seasoning… A mouthwatering aroma soon filled the air.
‘Senior Brother’s cooking!’
Wu Qingce’s eyes snapped open at the smell. Ignoring his still-serious injuries, he sat up and immediately began circulating the Heart Returning Technique to heal.
"Pant… pant… pant…"
The Bloodshadow Beast, standing right behind Jiang Beiran, was already drooling, tongue lolling out in anticipation. Sprinkling a final pinch of fennel powder, Jiang Beiran leaned in to sniff.
"Mmm~ Perfect. As expected of me."
He sliced off a piece with a small knife and took a bite.
"Damn, Soul Devouring Beast meat really is delicious."
The moment those words left his mouth, the Bloodshadow Beast, which had been happily drooling, suddenly froze. Its expression grew even more terrified as it stared at Jiang Beiran.
(End of Chapter)