Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Blood Contract
It seemed to fear that Ye Xuan would strike, for it actually bowed, looking utterly timid. Its small purple eyes held a look of surrender.
Hmm?
Ye Xuan was surprised. Given the Little Purple Mink’s defiant nature, it shouldn’t have submitted so quickly.
’After all, I haven’t even made a move yet, have I?’
His intuition told him that the Little Purple Mink seemed to be terrified of his Devouring Martial Soul.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink stared intently at Ye Xuan’s Devouring Martial Soul. Its purple, gemstone-like eyes darted up, down, left, and right, constantly observing. The fear on its face gradually faded, replaced by a fawning expression.
Ye Xuan’s expression was odd as he withdrew his Devouring Martial Soul.
With a leap, the Little Purple Mink voluntarily landed on Ye Xuan’s shoulder. It held up half a Soul Crystal, its small eyes squinted as it tried to curry favor, offering the Soul Crystal to him.
"This is mine, you know,"
Ye Xuan snapped.
The Little Purple Mink nodded repeatedly, its eyes glinting. Though it didn’t speak, its expression was remarkably human-like and pitiable.
Ye Xuan was speechless. The Little Purple Mink’s intelligence was astounding. It could fully understand him and express its own thoughts through actions and expressions.
Even some Tier Four or Tier Five Profound Beasts might not possess such an ability.
The Little Purple Mink’s origins struck Ye Xuan as deeply mysterious.
This gave Ye Xuan the idea of taming it.
"You’re too cunning, little guy. To keep you in line, I have to form a Spirit Pet Contract with you,"
Ye Xuan said.
Both Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts could form a Spirit Pet Contract with humans. Once the contract was made, their souls would be linked, making communication between them much easier.
On the Celestial Profound Continent, there was a profession known as Beast Tamers, who relied on commanding Demon Beasts to gain extra combat strength.
Since Beast Tamers and Soul Refiners had something in common—both relied on powerful Soul Power to communicate with Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts—Ye Xuan was also very knowledgeable about forming a Spirit Pet Contract.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink put on a long face, looking completely unwilling. It shook its head repeatedly, but it was also afraid of Ye Xuan, so it just looked pitiful.
"Don’t play the victim. I’m not falling for that act."
Ye Xuan didn’t dare underestimate the Little Purple Mink. The little creature was incredibly clever and mischievous.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink waved its little paws in protest. A look of grim determination appeared in its eyes, clearly telling Ye Xuan that if he insisted on a Spirit Pet Contract, it would take him down with it.
Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed. He could tell the Little Purple Mink wasn’t joking.
The Little Purple Mink’s resistance was far stronger than he had imagined.
Ye Xuan shook his head. Forming a Spirit Pet Contract required both parties to be willing, otherwise, it would most likely fail.
With an ordinary Profound Beast, Ye Xuan could have used his Soul Power to calm it and then employed beast taming techniques to establish a connection.
But this Little Purple Mink was too intelligent. Ye Xuan knew without even trying that his method wouldn’t work unless his Soul Power was several tiers higher than the mink’s, allowing him to suppress it by force.
"If you don’t want to, then forget it. But if you dare steal my things again, we’ll see if I don’t stew you for dinner."
Seeing the Little Purple Mink’s strong opposition, Ye Xuan could only drop the idea.
He was merely curious about the Little Purple Mink; he didn’t feel it was absolutely necessary to form a Spirit Pet Contract with it.
Most importantly, Ye Xuan believed that if the Little Purple Mink left right away, that would be that. But if it stuck around, he had plenty of ways to make it dependent on him.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
Seeing that Ye Xuan wasn’t going to force it, the Little Purple Mink scampered back onto his shoulder and sat down. It was palm-sized, fluffy, and utterly adorable.
Ye Xuan paid it no mind and activated the Life Martial Soul within his Heavenly Gate. Instantly, several green vines swayed in his mind, and a phantom of the Life Martial Soul appeared above his head. A dense stream of life force flowed to the spot on his right hand that the Little Purple Mink had scorched earlier.
In just a few moments, the minor injury on Ye Xuan’s right hand was completely healed.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink, which had been lounging lazily on Ye Xuan’s shoulder, suddenly saw the Life Martial Soul above his head, and its two sparkling little eyes lit up.
WHOOSH! It leaped onto the top of Ye Xuan’s head, basking in the aura of the Life Martial Soul. It looked utterly intoxicated, and its satin-like purple fur began to glow faintly, like a brilliant purple diamond.
It absorbed wisps of the life aura into its body, swaying back and forth as if drunk.
WHOOSH!
His hand now healed, Ye Xuan withdrew his Life Martial Soul.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink was instantly displeased. It bared its fangs and waved its claws, as if demanding that Ye Xuan release the Life Martial Soul again.
’The aura of my Life Martial Soul seems to have a powerful nourishing effect on this Little Purple Mink.’
He smiled to himself and deliberately shook his head.
Seeing Ye Xuan’s refusal, the Little Purple Mink grew anxious and began to gesture frantically.
But no matter how it gestured, Ye Xuan just kept shaking his head.
The Little Purple Mink lowered its head, deep in thought. After a long moment, it suddenly bit its own fur, drawing a single drop of blood.
It then waved its little paws, and an invisible ripple radiated from its body, enveloping the blood. With a light flick of its paw...
...the drop of blood didn’t fall. Instead, it floated forward and formed a strange pattern in the air, emitting a hazy soul fluctuation.
Ye Xuan watched all of this quietly, but the moment the pattern formed, he was suddenly shocked.
’This... is a Spirit Pet Blood Contract.’
The Little Purple Mink, which had just been so unwilling to become his pet, had proactively initiated a Spirit Pet Blood Contract.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink gestured wildly, urging Ye Xuan to sign the Blood Contract.
Ye Xuan was truly shocked.
He wasn’t shocked by the mink’s change in attitude, but by its actions. ’How can a purple mink that was probably born only a few days ago actively draw a Spirit Pet Blood Contract?’
After all, while the intelligence of Profound Beasts could be high, drawing a Blood Contract required more than just intelligence. It demanded an extraordinary ability.
Furthermore, by observing the Blood Contract the Little Purple Mink had drawn, Ye Xuan realized it was a contract of equals.
In other words, if Ye Xuan signed this Blood Contract, the Little Purple Mink would be his pet, but their relationship would be one of equals, not master and slave.
This was fundamentally different from a typical Spirit Pet relationship.
The Spirit Pets tamed by most Beast Tamers were bound by slave contracts. If the Beast Tamer ordered the pet to die, it had to obey. That wasn’t the case with an equal Blood Contract.
’To be able to draw a Spirit Pet Blood Contract... it seems this Little Purple Mink’s origins are truly extraordinary. It’s very likely the descendant of some sacred beast from the Ancient Era, possessing a powerful bloodline.’
It was the only explanation Ye Xuan could come up with.
Unlike the Martial Soul inheritance in humans, the inheritance of Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts was passed down through their bloodline.
Some Demon Beasts and Profound Beasts with powerful bloodlines were known as sacred beasts in the Ancient Era. The clans of True Dragons, phoenixes, and qilin were all sacred beasts. They could leave an inheritance within the souls of their offspring, allowing them to obtain great power even without their parents’ guidance.
For the Little Purple Mink to be able to draw a Blood Contract so soon after birth, there was only one possibility: it possessed some kind of inherited knowledge. That would explain why it was as clever as an old fox.
Seeing the Spirit Pet Blood Contract the Little Purple Mink had drawn, Ye Xuan still shook his head.
The Little Purple Mink instantly grew frantic. It gestured wildly, its little paws flailing, as if asking Ye Xuan why.
Ye Xuan didn’t answer. Instead, he extended his right hand, and with a flow of Soul Power, he added a few strokes to the Blood Contract.
The original pattern of the Blood Contract changed instantly.
It transformed from a contract of equals into a master-servant contract.
In other words, once this Blood Contract was signed, the relationship between Ye Xuan and the Little Purple Mink would be that of master and servant. While more restrictive than an equal partnership, it was still much better than a master-slave relationship.
The Little Purple Mink stared at Ye Xuan, its purple, gemstone-like eyes wide with surprise. It clearly hadn’t expected him to be able to alter the Blood Contract it had drawn.
It seemed to understand that altering an existing Blood Contract was not something an ordinary person could do.
After thinking for a few seconds, the Little Purple Mink stared at the Blood Contract and finally nodded.
Only then did Ye Xuan let a drop of his own blood seep from his finger and merge into the master-servant Blood Contract.
The two drops of blood merged and gradually vanished into thin air. At the same time, a mysterious ripple extended from the spot where the Blood Contract had disappeared, entering both of their bodies.
Soon, Ye Xuan and the Little Purple Mink felt a mysterious sense of connection form between them.
This connection was established at the soul level; it would never disappear, no matter how far apart they were.
’This Little Purple Mink seems so cunning, but in the end, it still obediently signed a Blood Contract with me.’
With the master-servant contract, Ye Xuan was the master. The Little Purple Mink officially became Ye Xuan’s Spirit Pet, bound by his will.
Seeing the smile on Ye Xuan’s lips, the Little Purple Mink also revealed a shrewd, cryptic smile of its own.
"Wow, what an adorable purple mink! Ye Xuan, when did you get a pet like this?"
After leaving the Cultivation Tower and returning to his courtyard, Ye Xuan ran into Feng Rouyi and Leng Yingying. The two girls stared excitedly at the purple mink on his shoulder, their hearts practically melting.
The Little Purple Mink’s fur was as smooth as satin, and its appearance was adorable. For girls, it possessed a lethality of divine-weapon proportions.
Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi were smitten at first sight. Both of them wanted to touch the Little Purple Mink’s fur.
But it scurried over to Ye Xuan’s other shoulder with a whoosh, its little eyes darting around unwillingly. It was also clearly displeased that they had called it Ye Xuan’s pet.
"This little guy is so cute!"
Seeing the Little Purple Mink refuse to cooperate, Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi weren’t annoyed at all. In fact, they found it even more adorable.
"By the way, Ye Xuan, what’s the purple mink’s name?"
"Its name is Little Purple."
Ye Xuan had simply come up with the name on the spot.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
The Little Purple Mink became indignant, baring its fangs and waving its claws as if to say the name wasn’t imposing enough and sounded bad.
"Hee hee, how cute,"
Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi giggled.
