"Damn it! Just stay still and let me kill you."

  Ling Yun groaned as he missed again. Loud croaking noises resounded in the background. Being familiar with the Grey Mountain from his childhood, it was easy for him to find the ingredients. Of course, the Third Eye was a great help in searching all over the mountain. His search was going pretty well and now only two ingredients were left.

  He had arrived at a secluded pond in the forest. Calling it a pond would be generous, it was just a small shallow depression on the ground filled with rainwater. And inhabiting it was a group of toads. Most of them were normal but the one Ling Yun had his eye on had golden spots on its back.

  The gallbladder of the Golden Spotted Toad is a vital ingredient in making the Hundred Poisons Cleansing pill. Ling Yun found one roaming outside the water. Seizing the opportunity, Ling Yun shot Feel Pain arrows at it but the toad sensing danger leaped and dodged it.

  It was trying to run back inside the pond with Ling Yun giving chase. Due to its small size, he had a hard time hitting it. Missing one arrow after another, Ling Yun saw that the toad was one leap way from the pond. The moment it jumped, Ling Yun shot three arrows in succession hoping at least one would find its mark. But all of them missed and toad dove inside the water with a splash, gone from his sight.

  Ling Yun looked at the pond with disappointment. He wasn't an archer so hoping to shoot at a small moving toad from a distance was delusional.

  "Sigh I wanted to avoid it but it's the only choice. Come, Eternal Mourning Raven."

  The rustle of leaves stopped, the night breeze stilled, even the croaking of the toads got quiet as a phantom black lamp emerged from his chest. Without disturbing the silence, the door opened noiselessly and the dark raven made its entrance. With blood dripping from its face, a shrill cry resounded in the area.

  All the toad swimming in the pond stopped and their lifeless bodies fell down to the bottom. Ling Yun shuddered at the destruction and quickly called back the Eternal Mourning Raven. It was his second time using it but this power still gave him a eerie feeling. Maybe because it showed him a glimpse of what Brahma was pushing him to be, a ruthless man who can kill the masses in a single move.

  There is no time for these kinds of thoughts now. Focus on saving father.

  Ling Yun waded inside the water to get the Golden Spotted Toad. Since he kept on sensing it with his Third Eye till its death, finding it in the water wasn't difficult. He picked it up and tossed it inside the spatial bracelet.

  "Don't eat this, little Bai. It isn't food."

  No response came from the snake. Fir the past few days, the lively little Bai has gone completely quiet. He didn't even come out for meals. Lacking any knowledge of beast taming, he didn't know what to make of it. Ling Yun was busy right now so he decided to look at it when he goes back to Mu Feixue.

  "Now only the Nine-Petaled Yin orchid flower is needed."

  This flower must be in a deep cave as it only blooms in the absence of sunlight.

  Ling Yun opened his Third Eye and found only one in the whole mountain. It's location was on the other side of the mountain. It was a long walk which left Ling Yun breathing heavily.

  "Huff.. huff ... If not for this crippled physique, I could've learned a movement skill to get here easily."

  "Stop complaining. You aren't a close-combat warrior so learning movement skills would be waste of time." He was simply thinking out loud but Brahma took it as him whining at her.

  "You can easily buy a spiritual artifact, no it would be better for you to use a demonic beast as a mount."

  "Why? What's wrong with using an artifact?" Ling Yun wondered, as he believed that an artifact sounds much better than a demonic beast which can catch you off guard and attack.

  "Learning to use a spiritual artifact may be easier than riding on a demonic beast but you have to pour in your Qi to use it. High speeds and large accelerations may require huge flow of Qi in an instant which you can't do. This could be fatal if you are fleeing from danger. In case of demonic beasts, you simply have to command them."

  "So I will have to tame another beast in the future. I can't ride on little Bai, can I?"

  While conversing, Ling Yun finally reached a cave where the flower should be. Here he encountered the first obstacle in his search. The entrance was sealed by debris shattered boulders. A cave-in must have happened recently.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Ling Yun looked around and found a small opening that led inside. But the gap was too small, not even a little child could fit inside. With his Third Eye, he could sense that flower was inside the cave but he had no way of reaching.

  He wasn't physically strong not did he practice martial arts that he could simply punch his way in. His soul arts won't work on inanimate objects like rocks. He can produce flames but not strong enough to melt all the rubble and clear the way.

  "Damn it!" He punched at the rubble in frustration.

  So close yet so far. Is this some kind of prank by the heavens? To laugh at my helplessness. No there has to be a way. Don't give up now.

  While he was thinking, he heard a hiss as little Bai came out from the spatial bracelet. "Little Bai, what are you.." The snake ignored his words and crawled around till it reached the small opening. It shook its head at it as if pointing at the gap.

  His eyes widened as the realisation finally dawned on Ling Yun. The gap was wide enough for little Bai to go inside.

  "Little Bai, are you saying that you're going to retrieve the flower?"

  The snake simply nodded surprising him. Ling Yun knew that the snake was intelligent but he never would have guessed that little Bai could understand his words. Little Bai gave him a long stare. Ling Yun met its red eyes and saw it was filled with conviction, as if saying 'leave it to me'. But Ling Yun shook his head in negative.

  "No, you should get back inside. There is a demonic beast inside the cave. I cannot send you to die."

  Although he was happy that little Bai offered to help, he wasn't going to send it on a suicide mission. He had gotten attached to little Bai and cared for it very much. He gestured for it to come back but the snake hissed loudly and dove inside the opening.

  "Little Bai. You don't need to do this! Come back!"

  Little Bai paid no heed to his words and kept going deeper inside. Ling Yun quickly took out the beast taming token. He has never used it on little Bai because the token causes intense pain to force the pet to follow the commands. He never wanted to hurt little Bai but he can't allow it to sacrifice his life in vain for him.

  "I'm sorry little Bai. You can be angry at me later."

  He was about to give the command when he heard footsteps behind him in the distance. He quickly used his Third Eye and found it was someone he knew.

  Don't tell me it's like that.

  "Big brother Jihua, what are you doing here?"

  Hearing him call him out, Jihua stepped out in the open. It had taken him a long time to find Ling Yun in the forest but now it was finally time.

  "I saw you entering the forest so I followed you. I just wanted to talk to you alone."

  With him brandishing a spear and killing intent coming from him, it was obvious to anyone that he had other intentions in mind.

  "What a coincidence. I also have some questions that need answering."

  ***

  Little Bai heard his master calling it back but it didn't return. It knew that this was the time to step up. Its master needed help and this time it won't disappoint him.

  Ever since its birth, little Bai has been different from other demonic beasts. Ling Yun had left a soul imprint on little Bai when it was just born. But since its soul was not fully formed, the imprint dissolved and merged with its soul causing it to transform into something unique.

  Ling Yun's soul was a special existence so merging it made its intelligence to be much higher than other beasts. After spending time among humans, it had started to grasp the human language and quickly little Bai understood its role as a pet.

  Its intelligence was not limited to rationality but also extended to emotions though not as complex as humans. The first thing it saw in this world were ocean blue eyes looking at him. Ever since it saw them in the moonlit night, a single emotion ruled its heart. It was pure devotion towards its master.

  Even little Bai didn't know why it felt that way. But after living with master for so long, it had long accepted it and even welcomed it. Its master gave it with good food and let it play to its heart content. Little Bai knew that the amulet around its neck can be used to forcefully command it but its master never did that. He always treated little Bai kindly.

  But what little Bai took pride in the most was that master treated it the most special. Ling Yun was always guarded with Mu Feixue and others. Only in the presence of little Bai, would he act freely and show his true emotions. His genuine smiles, it only belonged to little Bai.

  Whenever it sensed that its master was sad, little Bai tried to help Ling Yun in its own small ways like comforting him when he failed the Heart of Flame excercise. Things were going well but recently things took a different turn.

  When Ling Yun was confronting the man eating tiger, instead of standing beside its master, it cowardly hid inside the spatial bracelet. Ling Yun never blamed it but guilt and shame wracked its heart. In the face of life threatening danger, it abandoned its master to die.

  When little Bai heard the roar of the tiger, it got overwhelmed by fear. The problem was its lack of strength. Even just before his master had to rely on that girl to guard his father. If it was stronger, it could have helped master.

  Little Bai knew what it had to do to get stronger but for the past few days it was stuck in hesitation to make a decision.

  Little Bai was aware of its nature. It was a demonic beast. To get stronger it would have grow. Being daily fed the essence of a second rank snake type demonic beast, it had enough accumulation for a breakthrough.

  Right now it was a small, soft, cuddly infant snake which can was frequently petted by its master. But if it breaks through to the next stage, it will transform into something sinister looking. No longer it could wrap around its master's neck and stay on his shoulders. The affection shown by his master will be gone forever.

  It wished to remain an infant always, to see the same look of fondness in those ocean blue eyes. But going on this journey, it understood that its master wasn't an ordinary man living an ordinary life. He was walking a perilous path and a weak infant snake cannot be his companion. And now it had finally come to a decision.

  Master needs my strength. To help my master, to walk by his side, I will become stronger. For the sake of my master, I will transform into a demon.

  Little Bai found a quite corner and began the transformation. As it began to grow rapidly, its skin started tearing apart in different places. Little Bai hissed in discomfort and agony. Shedding its skin and transforming was a strenuous and painful process but its blood red eyes kept shining with conviction.

  The transformation only lasted a few minutes and what emerged was a rank 1 demonic beast, a loyal servant ready to show its devotion.