Chapter 411 - 392: Mr. Wa, Look at the New Wife I’m Rewarding You With

Chapter 411: Chapter 392: Mr. Wa, Look at the New Wife I’m Rewarding You With

The three hundred or so new recruits instantly erupted in chaos as panic spread wildly through the crowd.

"Oh my god! What the hell is that thing!"

"Don’t push me! Don’t push me! The fairy can definitely handle it!"

A few mortals who had just been dreaming of their future were now so terrified their legs trembled uncontrollably. One of them even lost control of his bladder on the spot, collapsing to the ground and making unintelligible noises.

More people just screamed in terror, scrambling over each other in a desperate attempt to hide behind Su Ling’er, in what seemed like the only safe place.

Many who were just beginning their journey on the path of cultivation felt a fear that stemmed from the very depths of their souls.

The monster’s roar and its body, built purely for slaughter, left their minds blank. Their legs grew weak, and even the strength to flee seemed to have been drained away.

As for the spies from both the righteous and demonic sects, the sight made their skin crawl, and a storm raged in their hearts.

’Wait! This form... I think I’ve seen it in a fragmented ancient text! This isn’t an ordinary demon beast, but an extremely rare offshoot—an Aberration!’

’The ancient texts say that the Aberration branch has no intelligence. They are driven mostly by the pure instincts of slaughter and procreation. They are bloodthirsty by nature, unable to even take human form, and are considered symbols of misfortune! They’re ten thousand times more terrifying than demon beasts!’

’How... How did the Guixi Sect manage to tame something like this?! Aren’t they afraid of it turning on them? If this thing loses control, won’t our group... be torn to shreds on the spot?!’

Just as everyone was paralyzed with terror, certain they were about to be devoured, another cry—this one also filled with panic—came from the monster’s... back.

"AHHHHH—!!"

"Get out of the way! Watch out, don’t get hit!!"

Only then did the crowd realize, to their horror, that someone was hanging onto the terrifying monster’s back!

’Wait, you can’t control this beast?! Are we really about to have an accident?!’

The person was desperately clutching a thick rein with both hands, their entire body being dragged along like a leaf in the wind, bouncing wildly on the monster’s back. Their face was white with fright.

That person was none other than Wang Xiedi.

He was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The nightmarish scene from before flashed uncontrollably through his mind.

That day, he had just gotten Mu Ling settled and hadn’t even had a chance to catch his breath when Senior Brother Lin Qingfeng enthusiastically summoned him to his cave residence.

"Ah, Mr. Wa," Lin Qingfeng said, clapping him on the shoulder with a particularly kind and friendly smile. "Seeing how well you’ve performed, showing both courage and strategy, as well as a sense of responsibility, I’ve decided to reward you with something good!"

Wang Xiedi’s heart leaped with joy. ’Something good? Could it be a magic treasure? A medicinal pill? Or... an unparalleled Cultivation Technique?’

He looked at his Senior Brother, full of anticipation.

’Wait!’ A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. ’Before Senior Brother left Anhe City, I think he said something to me...’

Lin Qingfeng gave a mysterious smile and pulled something out of his storage pouch... a jet-black... egg? It was covered in mucus and was even pulsating slightly.

Wang Xiedi froze. ’Could it really be...’

Then, Lin Qingfeng said, "Here, drip a drop of your blood essence onto it, then follow the Technique I taught you and place a Dharma Seal on it."

Though thoroughly confused, Wang Xiedi did as he was told.

As his blood essence merged with it and the Dharma Seal was set, the egg cracked open with a sound, and a slimy, face-hugging creature that looked like a cross between a scorpion and a spider leaped onto his face... (Ten thousand words of mental scarring omitted here)...

Lin Qingfeng: "..."

’Seriously, how do you have no resistance at all? What have you even been cultivating? Are you really this fragile? Looks like you got off easy, kid!’

In the end, this monster "hatched" from his chest. Then, his Senior Brother tossed him a medicinal pill, which he swallowed.

As the saying goes, "A Golden Core I swallow, my fate is mine, not heaven’s to decide." Wang Xiedi was healed in an instant. But as he watched the [Alien Queen], dripping with slime, burst from his body, he was completely dumbfounded.

"S-Senior Brother... What is this thing? D-Did I almost just die?"

"No, why did you get so close? I hadn’t even brought out the Spirit Beast Chicken I was going to use for incubation, and you’ve already been parasitized? You really have no resistance whatsoever, do you?" Lin Qingfeng said, kicking aside a nearby Spirit Beast Chicken with a helpless look on his face. "But what do you think? Doesn’t it make your heart pound? After all, it burst from your very own chest! And it’s so cool, so handsome. Don’t you think it has a unique biological aesthetic?"

Then, he said to Wang Xiedi, "Mr. Wa, this is the... new wife I have bestowed upon you! Though, since it burst from your chest, rounding up, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this Alien your child bride. Ah, you’re so lucky!"

Wang Xiedi: "???"

’N-New wife?! Child bride? Wait, your wives look like this?! Those fangs filling its mouth, that drooling inner jaw, and that scorpion-like tail... How is this thing remotely related to being a wife?! At least Gaye, the one I was keeping back in my room, was humanoid! Have I fallen so far that I can’t even get a humanoid partner anymore?!’

He looked it left and right, up and down, but he really couldn’t find any aesthetic appeal in this jet-black monster that even reeked of sulfur.

’Why do I always feel like Senior Brother’s sense of beauty... is a little different from ours?’

He mustered his courage and asked shakily, "S-Senior Brother, this thing... it won’t bite me, will it? It looks... so terrifying."

Hearing this, Lin Qingfeng actually walked over and scratched the Alien’s smooth chin. "Look at this little guy, so cute. If you keep saying it’s terrifying, what if it gets its feelings hurt?"

Wang Xiedi watched the little Alien open its inner jaw and let out a threatening "HISS," his eye twitching uncontrollably.

’Cute?! What part of it is cute?! The way it looked at me just now, it was clearly sizing me up as its next meal! And it can get its feelings hurt? Does it even have that function?!’

He couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, "This... This has nothing to do with cute..."

"Hmm?" Lin Qingfeng’s gaze drifted over.

A jolt went through Wang Xiedi. His survival instinct kicked into overdrive, and he immediately changed his tune. "This beast! Such exquisite bone structure! Such smooth lines! Its entire body is jet black, exuding the air of a conqueror! Truly... as beautiful as a celestial fairy!"

The [Alien Queen] seemed to understand the praise. Its tail whipped back and forth excitedly, and with a "CRACK," it smashed a nearby rock to pieces.

Lin Qingfeng nodded in satisfaction. "See? It’s happy too."

Wang Xiedi stared at the shattered rock, swallowed hard, and felt like crying but had no tears.

He asked timidly, "So... Senior Brother, how... how do I raise this thing?"

How would Lin Qingfeng know how to raise it? He just threw his own [Alien Queen] into a pile of demon beasts and let it hunt for itself. So, he casually pulled up the "How to Raise a Large Dog" guide from his system’s knowledge base and sent it to Wang Xiedi.

"Here, just raise it according to this. Just treat it like a dog."

Wang Xiedi looked at the instructions—"Brush its coat daily," "Bathe it regularly," "Train with a frisbee"—then looked at the monster drooling acidic saliva in front of him. He felt his worldview collapse all over again.

’A dog?! The difference between this thing and a dog is bigger than the difference between a human and a dog, okay?! Brush its coat? Does it even have a coat? I’m afraid my hand would be gone the second I reached out! Bathe it? I’m afraid the bathtub would be gone after the bath! And a frisbee? I’m afraid if I throw the frisbee, it’ll bring my head back instead!’

"S-Senior Brother... can you... can you really raise this like a dog?"

Hearing this, Lin Qingfeng turned around, his gaze profound and mysterious as he looked toward a distant mountain peak. He began to speak slowly. "Wang Xiedi, you are too attached to appearances."

"Behold the barking of dogs in the mountains, listen to the howling of wolves in the forest. Their forms differ, their sounds are not the same, yet their essence is the fundamental nature of all living beings."

"Mortals raise dogs for their obedience and loyalty. This is the way of the mundane world, a pursuit of harmony and peace between master and servant."

He paused, then pointed to the [Alien Queen] that was hissing at Wang Xiedi.

"But when I ask you to raise it, it is not for you to imitate the common folk. This beast is a strange progeny of heaven and earth, born without a name, growing without intelligence, yet within its heart lies the way of slaughter. To raise it is to cultivate this way."

"What you must nurture is not its obedience, but its defiance. What you must command is not its loyalty, but its ferocity. This is the way of transcendence, a pursuit of ending slaughter with slaughter, of honing your own heart with its ferocity, and of glimpsing life within destruction."

"What is control?" Lin Qingfeng looked directly at Wang Xiedi. "It is not a rope on its body, nor a spiritual contract binding its soul. True control is when your heart becomes its will, and its ferocity becomes your blade’s edge!"

"Go," he said, giving a light flick of his sleeve, his tone returning to normal. "When you can communicate with it mind-to-mind and wield its ferocity as your own, only then will you have truly begun to walk your path."

’I just spouted so much bull! As expected, all those pretentious quotes I learned weren’t for nothing! Heheheheheh!’

"Oh, right," Lin Qingfeng added as a final note. "Take it out for walks often to stretch its legs. I think... the Hundred Herbs Garden would be a good spot. It’s spacious, and you can help Junior Brother Shen Nong loosen the soil while you’re at it."

And so, Wang Xiedi began his new life of dog-walking through an abyss of suffering.

Meanwhile, when Su Ling’er saw the terrifying Alien and Wang Xiedi hanging off it, a wave of ecstasy washed over her!

’Good Junior Brother! What great teamwork! Your timing is perfect! Yes, yes, yes! This is it! This is the kind of pure terror I needed!’

She gave it a quick scan and assessed the [Alien Queen]’s Cultivation fluctuations. Its power was enough to inflict overwhelming terror on the new recruits, yet it was also perfectly within her ability to control.

Her goal was never to actually harm these "tricked" new recruits. She wanted to use the most direct form of terror to shatter the unrealistic fantasies in their hearts.

Seeing the [Alien Queen] charge to within ten meters of the crowd, the terrifying pressure and foul stench had already caused the recruits at the front to collapse, their legs giving out, with nothing but endless despair in their eyes.

The time was ripe.

The Spiritual Power in Su Ling’er’s body was like a bursting dam, about to erupt at any moment—

However!

Just at this moment of mass panic, as Su Ling’er was about to make her "grand entrance."

Wang Xiedi, who was being tossed about and nauseated on the Alien’s back, suddenly roared at the beast beneath him, "HEY HEY HEY! YOU’RE GOING TO HIT PEOPLE! YOU—STOP—RIGHT—NOW—!!!"

"SKREEE—GRAW!!!"

The [Alien Queen], which had been charging furiously, actually... stopped upon hearing his command!

Su Ling’er: "!!!"

’Junior Brother, I just finished praising you and you drop the ball like this! Are you deliberately trying to sabotage my performance?!’