He Yuan gradually made his way out of the Spirit beast forest. Since all the beasts were still in hiding, it was more like a walk in the park. As soon as he stepped out, countless pairs of eyes turned to him and the space around him.
Gu Long must have used a jade slip to send word to the Duoluo sect master that Mo Jiu had been found so the search inside the forest had stopped and everyone had come to wait out here instead.
The beast satchel automatically lost its function whenever the division between the inside and outside of the spirit beast forest was crossed. Meaning that if one wanted to enter the forest with their spirit beast in a satchel, the beast would automatically be released once the division line is crossed and if one wanted to leave the Spirit beast forest with their beast in a satchel, the same thing happened.
The loss of function was only for about ten seconds and the satchel returned to normal soon after the crossing. This phenomenon started a ritual whereby the different sects who had first time contractors would come out here to wait.
Just so they would all see what kind of beast their disciple was able to contract. A disciple contracting a powerful beast brought joy and pride to their sect and they often used it to gloat to other sects present.
Currently, the sect with the most honoured disciple was Tianmo sect. Mu Qingqing had stunned everyone when she stepped out with a medium grade Azure snake. Since then the sect leader, Shen Hei, hadn't lowered his shoulder. It's been so long seen his sect received such envious gazes from other sects.
When Mo Jiu had been discovered missing by his followers, the cultivators following after them had been sent away so they could properly focus on searching for their leader. Even when other young cultivators had joined the search, they made sure to leave the forest first before returning. That meant that only Mo Jiu and his team hadn't performed the ritual.
The fact that Mo Sheng was also missing was naturally forgotten. Cultivators lost their lives all the time in the spirit beast forest. Mo Sheng was trash so it wasn't surprising if he lost his life too.
All of a sudden, the cultivator that they'd deemed as dead walked out of the spirit beast forest. They all looked around him but nothing could be found. This was the first time in history that a cultivator who managed to return alive from the beast forest did so without a spirit beast -or any beast at all.
All eyes turned to the sect master of the Duoluo sect in pity. Even if a lot of Duoluo sect disciples had come out with medium grade beasts, none of them were as good as Mu Qingqing's beast. Now there was even a Duoluo sect disciple that was too trashy, he didn't have a beast at all!
Shen Hei scoffed. The sect master of the Duoluo sect had been ignoring him since the broken engagement, not giving him face at all. Now who was the real loser? "Sect master Ru, aren't your disciples a little too shabby this year?"
Ru Lianfeng glared at Shen Hei before turning to Mo Sheng, one of the disciple of his most cherished elder, and sighing in disappointment. "No spirit beast? Not even a regular one about to enter low grade?"
He Yuan raised a brow. "Is there a law that says a cultivator must contract a spirit beast once they enter the Spirit beast forest? None of the spirit beasts caught my eye so instead of settling for less, I came right out."
Mu Qingqing's eyes widened. "Mo Sheng! How could you be so shameless?! You never tried to hunt a beast at all, you just spent all your time following after Jiu-gege!"
He Yuan eyed her. "Are you dumb? I said none of the beasts caught my eye so why would I waste my time hunting them?" He directly walked over to a tree and hopped on.
Since the disciples hadn't been dismissed yet, He Yuan couldn't leave. The eyes that followed him were skeptical but he did not care if they bought his bullshit or not as long as they shut their loose mouths and kept their opinions to themselves.
Mu Qingqing began to heave in anger. Before she could say another word, Ru Lianfeng waved. "Young lady, aren't you being a little too nosy? My Duoluo sect disciples are so picky it's hard to settle for less, other opportunities would come." He was also dissatisfied with Mo Sheng but his sect's reputation was more important to him.
Soon enough, Mo Jiu and his group arrived. Ba Duo, Mei Hua and Han Wei crossed the division first and their beasts appeared behind them.
"HIGH GRADE BEASTS!" A disciple shouted at the top of his lungs and everyone looked in interest. They were really high grade beasts. The eyes that were looking at Ru Lianfeng with pity quickly filled up with envy.
None of the other disciples had ever managed to contract a high grade beast on their first try.
Ru Lianfeng puffed his chest with pride but he managed to retain his composure. "Good, good."
Gu Long stepped out next, with a blade of grass on his palm. The youngster appeared absentminded, not caring about the strange looks he was receiving.
Everyone was a little stunned. The first three had come out with powerful beasts so they were expecting no less from Mo Jiu's second in command wasn't this a little too shabby?
The Alchemy peak master frowned. She had repeatedly told Gu Long not to let her lose face so what was this?! She was about to speak up when a voice said,
"Isn't that the immortal vine?" It was a really old cultivator from one of the faraway sects. Everyone was stunned once more and stared at the blade of grass in Gu Long's palm. That was the immortal vine?
The immortal vine was one of the rarest species of spirit beasts owning to the fact that it was plant based. It was so rare that there was very little recordings of it in the archives.
The Alchemy peak master raised a brow. "Gu Long." Gu Long was pulled out of his thoughts and stared at his master in confusion. She continued. "That is the immortal vine? Unleash it."
Gu Long was a little hesitant. Was there any need for all this fuss? Whether his beast was strong or not, what does it have to do with them? He was about to refuse when he took in his master's glare. He swallowed his protest and unleashed the vines.
The tiny blade of grass expanded and expanded until it covered the entrance of the forest. Each vine was so thick it was a magnificent sight. Ru Lianfeng lost his composure and said heatedly. "Good, Gu Long. Good!"
The envious eyes on the sect master turned red. They were still lamenting over Duoluo sect's good luck when,
"SCREECH!"
A cry of a bird was heard and a gigantic red beast flew out of the Spirit beast forest.
"P- PHOENIX!"
Some cultivators fell to the ground from fright. That was a phoenix! And from the looks of it, it was psuedo divine level. Ru Lianfeng's heart shook, the Alchemy peak master's heart shook, the heart of the elders shook, the hearts of every cultivator present shook... Except He Yuan's.
He Yuan was busy chuckling to himself from his position on the tree. The timing of Mo Jiu and his followers was too smooth. The entrance of the Spirit beast forest was so big, why didn't they all step out at once? He was imagining how they must have planned it.
[ Mo Jiu: "So here's how it would go, Mei Hua, Ba Duo and Han Wei, the three of you would step out first and wow the world with your talent."
The three mentioned: "Yes boss."
Mo Jiu: "Gu Long, you go next but make sure that you keep your plant small so they would look down on you first. After you show them your true might, they would be shocked.
-This event would build enough suspense for me to step out."
Gu Long: "Uhmm.. Okay?"
Mo Jiu: "Great. Let's go!" ]
Although He Yuan was certain that such a thing did not happen. He just couldn't help himself. He was still laughing his heart out when Mo Jiu came into full view with a tiny beast hopping behind him.
He Yuan's eyes widened and the smile was wiped from his face. No way! He recognized that beast. How was Mo Jiu able to contract two beasts at once?!
Not just any beast but another high grade beast that was so close to pseudo divine level? He was able to recognize the beast because it was one of the five spirit beasts Mo Jiu had ended up contracting in the storyline. It wasn't supposed to show up until three years later.
The fact that he'd prevented Mo Sheng from absorbing the core must have caused some sort of butterfly effect. He Yuan's heart shook but not for the same reason as the rest of the cultivators present.
Just what had this task turned into?
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