Chapter 1: The Dying White Snake

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Dying White Snake

"Watch out, Ye Xuan!"

A lightning orb shot out from the Blue Thunder Toad toward the young man standing in front of it. He gasped and summoned a qi shield to block the attack.

The orb crashed into the shield, and the longer he held it off, the more overwhelmed he felt. One hand rose to form another seal.

"Bind!" he shouted.

Five magic runes appeared around the Blue Thunder Toad, releasing strong blue chains that clamped down on the spiritual beast’s body.

Its mouth snapped shut and it collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up. The power of the lightning orb dropped sharply, giving him a chance to dodge.

BLAST!

The lightning exploded, and he was thrown far backward. He landed on his knees beside a woman holding a brush, her long black hair and elegant bearing unmistakable.

"Good work."

"Let me finish it," the woman said.

The man got to his feet and looked ahead. The woman swung her arm, tracing a rune in the air and sending it toward the Blue Thunder Toad.

Ten runes clung to the toad’s body. A boom of spiritual qi spread outward and startled everyone. But to him and the woman, it was a sign of something.

"This toad put up quite a fight for a mere spirit-rank beast," the woman said.

"Yeah... it almost killed me," Ye Xuan admitted.

Ye Xuan was an ordinary young man, not a sect genius and not a son of heaven. He was an inner disciple of the Sky Cloud Sect, and he had joined the Spiritual Beast Hall because of his limited abilities.

Realizing he was nobody special, Ye Xuan devoted himself to studying fields that some people called useless. To him, they were a treasure field full of knowledge.

His control over qi threads was a mess, so the Sword Hall turned him away. His qi capacity was too low, so the Technique Hall ignored him. His spiritual qi flow was unstable, so the Pill Refining Hall looked down on him.

Only the Spiritual Beast Hall accepted him, because the work was simple: raising, caring for, and training spiritual beasts. Even people with no ability could do it.

From then on, he gave himself to the hall, mixing medicine for the beasts, tending their wounds, and training alongside them.

Ye Xuan looked ahead again and watched the toad, a spirit-rank beast, finally being subdued.

"Of all my students, you’re the only one who doesn’t have a spiritual beast yet," the woman said. Ye Xuan knew her as Elder Ming. "Are you interested in having one?"

The man fell silent for a moment, then turned and clasped his hands in a salute. "Forgive my rudeness, Elder Ming. I’m afraid my cultivation base isn’t strong enough to control a beast like that."

"Are you sure? It’s only a spirit beast, and I’ve already placed a beast seal on it," Elder Ming replied.

"I’m sure, Elder. It would be much better to give it to someone more capable."

Elder Ming sighed softly, then reached out and put the toad into her bag of holding.

She turned to him and gave Ye Xuan’s shoulder a gentle pat. He gathered his courage and looked straight at her.

"I appreciate your hard work and persistence. When it comes to diligence, you’re the best of all my students," Elder Ming said. "But what is a Spiritual Beast Hall disciple without a beast?"

"In three months, the sect elders will hold an evaluation of the hall. I’m asking you to cultivate harder and find your beast, Ye Xuan."

"I’ve heard that a disciple of this hall must have at least one beast of the spirit rank."

"If you can’t do it within three months, I won’t be able to protect you anymore."

"You understand what I mean, right?"

Ye Xuan nodded and clasped his hands again. To him, what she said was true. If he wanted to stay in the Spiritual Beast Hall, he had to have a beast.

But one worry weighed on him: his cultivation base. Controlling a spirit-level beast required strength on par with the Foundation Establishment realm, while he was still stuck at the 9th layer of Qi Gathering.

That was the root of his fear. He worried his strength wasn’t enough to control a spirit beast, and that he might end up hurting it.

"This disciple understands completely, Elder Ming."

The woman tapped her bag of holding and took out a blue plate. She explained that she had gotten a map from an auction, one that showed the location of Mortal Stage beasts.

She handed it to Ye Xuan, who accepted it right away.

"Go there and perform the beast seal yourself. Learn to control them well while you keep cultivating," Elder Ming said.

"I’ll allow you to leave the mountain as long as you don’t cause any trouble."

Hearing this made Ye Xuan happy. He knew he had to go down the mountain to improve his skills with spiritual beasts.

"This disciple is grateful for the opportunity. I promise to always remember your advice, Elder Ming."

Not wanting to waste any time, he said goodbye and started down the mountain.

Since he was still at the Qi Gathering stage, he couldn’t control a flying sword well, so the journey would be long and tiring.

He left the sect and followed the route on the plate’s map. He would have to rely on a horse-drawn carriage, and it would take about three days by land.

His steps stopped as he looked ahead. The map had brought him to the ruins of an ancient city on a sandy plain, surrounded by steep rocky hills.

This should be the place.

Ye Xuan gathered his courage and stepped into the ruins, drawing his sword and staying fully alert. According to Elder Ming, Mortal Stage beasts should be roaming here.

But as far as the eye could see, there was nothing except rocks, ruins, and sand.

As he walked, a strange sound startled him from behind. He spun around.

A rattlesnake rose from a mound of sand and aimed its body at him. In all, there were three fairly large rattlesnakes.

Those are... Fanged Rattlesnakes?

They were mortal-rank beasts, but they couldn’t be sealed because their monster cores were too weak. In other words, they were the kind of monster that had to be killed, not tamed.

They leaped at him. He swung his sword, already wrapped in qi, and slammed it into their bodies.

The monsters were cut clean in two. All three died to the slash of his qi sword.

The threat was over. He reached out and took their monster cores, valuable food for the spiritual beasts at the sect.

He kept walking until he reached an ancient circular altar. He stood on top of it, scanning the surroundings, but no other monsters were approaching.

Is the map wrong? There’s nothing here except ruins.

Then Ye Xuan faintly heard a mysterious cracking sound. When he looked down, the altar beneath his feet suddenly cracked and shattered.

Oh no!

He fell before he could dodge. He panicked, because he had no idea what to do. He hadn’t mastered flying swords because of his limited cultivation.

What do I do?

He tied a rope to his sword and to his hand, then threw the sword hard at the wall of the chasm.

The sword stuck in for the moment and Ye Xuan was saved, but he was left hanging against the rock wall.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up and saw that the hole was already very far above him. He had no idea how to get back up quickly.

Am I going to die in this place?

Think of something, Ye Xuan. There has to be something I can do.

He heard an echo of something familiar. He looked down and faintly saw waves at the bottom of the chasm.

Water? That’s better than dirt or rocks.

He decided to use the same method. He pulled his sword free and fell again, and when he felt his speed getting too high, he threw the sword at the wall once more.

"AAAGH!"

The strain twisted his wrist, leaving it red and injured. But it was worth it compared to dying.

He could see the pool more clearly now. With one last jump, he plunged into the water, which was dark at the bottom.

He swam up to the surface and saw a tunnel near the pool. He swam over and pulled himself to safety.

He was gasping for breath and his heart was pounding. He sank down against the tunnel wall, untied the rope from his hand, and felt the pain in his wrist grow worse.

At least I’m alive. I have to think of another way out of here.

He looked around and saw a light at the end of the tunnel. He stood up and followed it until he arrived at a chamber with a high ceiling and a circular altar floor in the middle.

What... is this place?

A small white snake lay coiled in the center of the altar. There was a wound on its body, and its movements were weak.

Is it hurt?

As he was about to approach, a red formation dome suddenly appeared and sent him flying backward.

The noise woke the white snake. It looked up and saw Ye Xuan.

He winced in pain and coughed up blood. He hadn’t expected a formation to keep him from getting close.

A formation dome? Why would anyone use a formation on a snake this small?

Or maybe that little snake is a dangerous spiritual beast, and they locked it up while it was injured?

He gathered his courage and stepped toward the red formation. He didn’t have the ability to break a formation with runes that complex.

But the snake was looking back at him. It might be dangerous, but right now it needed help.

"I can’t get you out... my abilities are limited," Ye Xuan said.

"But do you know the way out of here?"

The snake nodded, which surprised him. In an instant, it flew up and spat red fire at the formation wall and at the altar.

A powerful qi blast went off, and Ye Xuan was knocked backward again.

But he clearly saw that the snake was trying with all its strength to destroy the formation.

It knows the way out... I’ll help it.

He used the last of his strength to attack the formation wall.

The snake’s surge of power made the wall crack and collapse, creating a huge explosion.

The dome was destroyed, but the white snake fell weakly and closed its eyes. Ye Xuan rushed over.

What he had learned at the Spiritual Beast Hall made it easy to know what to do.

He began treating the snake, because if it died, his chance of getting out of this place would be gone.

As he focused on spreading ointment over its body, a mysterious panel suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Target has accepted your care.]

Ye Xuan froze.

[Infinite Return System Activated.]

[Give anything to the target, and the system will return it in unlimited amounts.]

He stared at the messages floating before his eyes, barely daring to believe them.

For years, he had struggled to cultivate. The sect considered him mediocre, and even obtaining a suitable spiritual beast had seemed impossible.

Yet now, a single monster core had earned him a hundred in return.

Ye Xuan slowly turned toward the unconscious white snake.

Just what had he saved?