Unidentified bloodstains, shattered feathers, and the aura of demonic cultivators…
The Player suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, as if she had spotted a sudden quest she could accept. As an experienced player, she decisively chose to call her teammates first.
Li Yin quickly pulled out the messaging mirror and sent her location to Senior Sister Xia.
She bent down again, slipping a little rat from her sleeve. At its master’s command, Silver Gray darted off like a streak toward the direction of the bloodstains. Being so light, it didn’t even leave footprints in the snow.
Its spirit beast aura was faint and hard to detect. As a copper coin rat, it belonged to the earth element and could blend seamlessly with earth qi, making it an expert at stealthy reconnaissance.
After a moment’s thought, she drew out a few talisman papers and held them ready in her hand.
Before long, her beast companion sent her a transmission. It had indeed discovered something unusual.
The little animal chattered like a baby, unable to explain clearly. Li Yin simply tapped into its vision—
In the distance, on the snowy ground, lay a peacock with azure-green-blue feathers.
Its layered tail feathers shimmered with flowing light, but the roughly broken plumes were scattered in fragments across the ground, like a torn yet gorgeously alluring skirt draped over the pale crimson-tinted snow.
Looking upward, the azure-blue-feathered peacock hung its head limply, its gorgeous crest drooping as well. A vivid streak of blood stained the corner of its beak, dying the snow beneath it red.
This was a severely injured demon beast, but judging by its size, it wasn’t fully mature.
Someone was guarding nearby. Two high-rank cultivators treaded the snow without a trace as they approached the trapped beast that could no longer flee.
The shorter one bent down to grab it, but the Little Peacock suddenly moved. Its sharp claws kicked up a spray of snow water, splashing onto the man’s face.
The shorter one spat out the snow water. “This kid still has the strength to struggle.”
His face then twisted into a sinister grin, full of malicious intent. “Heh heh, we’re killing it anyway. Why not pluck all its feathers first? We can trade them for some spirit stones…”
The taller companion immediately cut him off. “Did you forget what the boss said? Who said we have to kill it? Let’s see if any blind Dao Sect disciples show up first. We can slap a slave contract on this kid instead.”
He corrected him, and since the shorter one’s cultivation was lower, he could only rub his hands and agree repeatedly.
The taller one snorted coldly, then lifted his foot to pin down the peacock’s tail feathers. He coldly eyed the demon beast’s stubborn struggles. “If he’s out of luck and no disciples pass by here, then he deserves to die. We can pluck its feathers after that and let the Feather Clan and Myriad Beasts Sect fight to the death…”
“Big Brother’s right…” The shorter one echoed him, then turned to set up the formation as instructed.
While they spoke, Li Yin focused and listened intently.
In the instant the Little Peacock lashed out, she compared it mentally and sensed that this peacock’s cultivation wasn’t low either—nearly matching that body integration stage fish from the Celestial Pool.
Looking again at the peacock’s shimmering, radiant form, Li Yin hesitated once more.
Within the Demon Race, distinctions were made by clan, bloodline purity, and nobility. Birds fell under the Feather Clan, and this Little Peacock had an extraordinary appearance. Its status within the Feather Clan was likely very high.
The Player had once played a Feather Clan character, but true to her consistently rotten luck, her identity card had been a lowly “pheasant” with inferior bloodline and low status.
In the save file, the Player had been an attendant to the Feather Clan Young Lord, her daily duties involving caring for the Young Lord’s daily life.
The Feather Clan Young Lord at that time had been an extremely beautiful and noble white peacock… who was also her ex.
By seniority, this azure-blue-feathered Little Peacock was probably a junior of the white peacock.
Remembering what she had done back then, Li Yin grew even more conflicted.
The bad end with the white peacock had been due to the Player manually giving up and restarting.
The Demon Race placed extreme emphasis on bloodlines, especially the Feather Clan. For a Player with a pheasant identity card to try combining with the Feather Clan Young Lord was pure fantasy.
Amid opposition from all sides, even the target of her pursuit had remained silent, tacitly accepting the elders’ proposed marriage alliance and rejecting her own proposal—
During the pursuit process, the Player could proactively request “marriage” or “dual cultivation” from the target. Each target’s background and personality differed, as did the conditions for accepting such requests.
The aloof and noble white peacock, who transformed into a cold and elegant young nobleman, had a favorability of 99 with her, but he only agreed to “dual cultivation” with her later. He even promised that any offspring he had with his marriage alliance partner would be handed to her for incubation and care.
Li Yin vaguely remembered how furious she had been at the time.
The reason was simple: Considering bloodline issues, the Player had long ago spent money on a high-pedigree egg, planning to use it as a surprise.
But she had been rejected first, and her pursuit target even planned to marry someone else…
In a fit of anger, the Player had restarted, and that egg should have become a dead egg, impossible to hatch…
Thinking of this, Li Yin breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Good news—this Little Peacock couldn’t possibly be the one the Player had left behind. In other words, she could supplement from him.
Since that was the case, she could consider risking a rescue.
Li Yin calmed down as her beast companion transmitted a new vision.
The shorter cultivator had just finished setting up the formation. With a slap of his magic art, the formation pattern slowly sank into the ground.
Before he fully concealed it, Li Yin vaguely recognized it as a contract formation.
However, unlike the equal contracts promoted by Myriad Beasts Sect, the formation these two had buried seemed to be a slave contract. Once formed, the beast companion’s life would be entirely at the master’s whim.
Myriad Beasts Sect was located at the border of the Demon Realm and had close dealings with the Demon Race. The foundation of this peaceful exchange was Myriad Beasts Sect’s rejection of slave contracts—they never forcibly enslaved spirit beasts or demon beasts.
With the formation set up successfully, the shorter one said, “All good,” then kicked the Little Peacock. “A mere beast on the verge of death still dares to put on airs. You better get lucky and pray some Myriad Beasts Sect disciple picks you up.”
“When your family’s demon venerable finds out you died on Myriad Beasts Sect territory—or worse, became their slave pet—there’ll be a good show. It won’t be a waste of our brothers’ hard work…”
He squatted down with malicious intent. The Little Peacock mustered a bit of strength and viciously pecked at him.
The shorter one dodged with a laugh, then casually plucked a few of his tail feathers as revenge and abuse. Amid the Little Peacock’s successive cries of blood, he greedily stuffed the beautiful feathers into his bosom.
With the formation set, the two concealed their figures. It wasn’t clear if they had left or were hiding somewhere.
Li Yin’s messaging mirror kept flashing—her teammates were almost there.
She pulled out the talisman papers and pills she would use soon, gripping them tightly in her palm. She summoned her flying magic artifact and charged ahead first, scooping up the rat pup into the spirit beast box along the way.
A streak of light flashed across the vast white snowfield—it was actually a small boat, kicking up a spray of snowy waves as it rushed straight toward the peacock.
The radiant tail feathers trembled. The weak, dying Little Peacock moved slightly, his pupils reflecting the figure approaching him.
Her intent was too obvious. The taller cultivator noticed first, revealing himself and launching a water blade.
Strangely, the air-rending water blade veered toward the girl at the bow of the boat. Just as it seemed about to splatter her with blood, it dissolved into thin air.
An attack from his cultivation level hadn’t hindered her in the slightest.
The water blade swept past. The girl on the snow-skimming boat seemed to curve her eyes, hooking up the corners of her mouth in a smile.
Only she could see her game panel unfolding—
【Directed Random used successfully】
【You decide to rescue immediately. Though the cultivation gap is huge, your luck is great—the probability of dodging all enemy attacks is 100%】
【Guaranteed success】
The Player had played with cheat props too excessively, so the game panel popped up a new message to maintain balance.
【But the cultivation gap is huge; you’re not completely safe. Your luck can only protect you…】
【5 minutes.】
The small boat sped forward. The tall and short pair attacked repeatedly to block her, but all their strikes inexplicably missed, only kicking up roadside snow. They watched helplessly as she sped into the formation’s range, even forgetting to grab the peacock.
“What’s up with this woman?” The shorter one stared in shock.
Before he could finish complaining, the buried formation lit up—but it was just a slave contract formation with no other effects.
【Obtained new beast companion: Phoenix Blood Peacock】
【Achievement Reward: Directed Random (1)】
The girl at the bow suddenly parted her lips in a light chuckle.
The missed attacks stirred up waves of snow, sending a flurry of cold flakes brushing across her face. She merely tilted her head slightly to avoid them, her clear eyes bright.
Close enough now. Li Yin reached out and scooped up the Little Peacock from the ground.
The azure-blue feathers carried a damp chill. When he touched the human girl’s warm body, he trembled lightly.
Death no longer loomed. The cold suddenly melted away, and the Little Peacock gradually relaxed, allowing himself to be held in the girl’s arms without struggle.
Li Yin stuffed a Returning Spring Pill from her palm into his mouth.
Forcibly fed a pill, the Little Peacock let out an extremely faint, weak cry.
The small boat didn’t slow. The Player grabbed the peacock and fled.
The two cultivators reacted and gave chase relentlessly. The Player tossed a handful of talismans over her shoulder in response.
The talisman papers exploded mid-air, the shockwaves echoing through the valley. This both obstructed her pursuers and pointed the way for her teammates.
Arriving with Xia Erruo was also Mountain Lord. Mountain Lord struck first, releasing white mist that condensed into a tiger shape, charging straight at the tall and short cultivators.
In the clash, the pair’s demonic qi was fully exposed—one at orifice exit stage, the other at soul formation stage.
Xia Erruo was only at nascent soul stage and didn’t join the fray to avoid getting in the way. She first found Little Junior Sister to check the situation.
Li Yin gave a quick rundown of what happened. She noticed Senior Sister Xia gradually furrowing her brows, her expression turning grave.
Compared to the Player’s mindset of picking up a bargain with a little peacock spirit, the locals of the Cultivation World understood the severity far better.
Myriad Beasts Sect had always feared this exact scenario: disciples enslaving Demon Race members, especially a pampered junior. Those demon venerable ancestors would inevitably come knocking for an explanation.
She didn’t want to voice it and scare Little Junior Sister further, so she reassured her. “Anyway, you’re fine, that’s what matters. As for this demon beast… we’ll see what the sect elders say. The fault isn’t yours—it’s those demonic cultivators stirring trouble.”
Even so, Xia Erruo’s mood remained heavy.
After all, those demon venerable ancestors cared more about face than the truth. Enslaving one clan junior was enough for them to force Myriad Beasts Sect to hand over the disciple for the Demon Race to deal with.
The Player was far more optimistic. Holding the Little Peacock steady, she only reached out to gently stroke his broken but still brilliant tail feathers.
Come to think of it, the white peacock had always been too proud and noble to ever fan his tail for her in courtship. Her money really had been wasted.
Still depressed, the Player stroked the peacock’s tail again.
The Little Peacock was absorbing the pill to regulate his breathing and heal. His condition stabilized in short order.
Sensing that this human kept touching his tail feathers, he shook them slightly—then stiffened abruptly, remembering how his beautiful feathers were now in tatters, his most gorgeous tail feathers especially ruined.
The Little Peacock curled up in the human girl’s arms, going still. His blue-green pupils flickered, as if welling with tears.
Li Yin didn’t notice his change. While talking with Senior Sister Xia, she saw the two demonic cultivators successively chomped at the waist by the white tiger, their dantians shattered in one bite.
After two screams, with the pair incapacitated, Mountain Lord finally called off the white tiger and pinned them down. “What scheme are you plotting on Myriad Beasts Sect territory? Confess truthfully…”
She was about to interrogate them when Xia Erruo’s attention also turned fully to the two demonic cultivators.
Only Li Yin had sharp eyes and spotted a rift tearing open high in the sky. In the next instant, a tall figure stepped out.
Before she could warn them, the newcomer swung a fierce gale toward Mountain Lord’s back.
Mountain Lord was instantly scattered, reforming from white mist.
The newcomer parted his lips, his voice icy. “A bunch of trash. This Lord has to handle it personally.”
His demonic qi was deeply concealed, and he hid his features while blurring his face with magic, making his true appearance hard to discern. But his self-proclamation alone was enough to expose him.
Unlike the Dao cultivators’ honorifics, the Demon Domain had only one Demon Venerable. Below that, they were discussed as demon lords, and only a great demon at minimum tribulation transcendence stage could call himself demon lord.
His gaze shifted again.
He ignored the half-dead demonic cultivators pleading for help on the ground and instead looked toward the Dao Sect disciple on the small boat.
Li Yin’s heart chilled as she instinctively felt his cold gaze land on the Little Peacock in her arms, then lift to meet her eyes.
In nearly an instant, a vortex of wind materialized before the boat, whisking away the girl and her peacock.
Xia Erruo only felt Little Junior Sister push her, tumbling her out of the vortex’s range.
By the time she looked up again, Little Junior Sister, the green peacock, and the sudden demon lord had all vanished.
This is bad!
That demon had abducted her Little Junior Sister!