The spatial spells of celestial beasts worked the same way, leaving the celestial beast completely dumbfounded on the spot!
It had been just a hair's breadth away from making a clean escape.
It was all thanks to that warning just now.
At that moment, the celestial beast's hatred for Jing Mingxuan maxed out completely.
Under normal circumstances, it would have already started thrashing him wildly while hurling angry curses.
Yet, the moment it remembered that the person standing behind this human possessed strength even greater than its own, it dared not provoke him and could only ask in helpless frustration:
"What do you people want with me?"
Hearing this, the Taiqing Jade Hare realized its opportunity to step in and explain had arrived. Just as Jing Mingxuan opened his mouth, it blurted out first, "Lord Celestial Beast! This human youth is your beast tamer."
"Beast tamer?" the celestial beast egg muttered. Soon realizing what had happened, it roared indignantly, "Xiao Qing! Did you bring them here?"
The Taiqing Jade Hare trembled with fear. Ever since it had sworn allegiance to Lord Celestial Beast, it had never heard the beast roar at it like this.
"Don't blame Xiao Qing. It only led the way because we threatened it."
Jing Mingxuan's timely shoulder of the blame left the Taiqing Jade Hare slightly stunned.
This youth didn't seem quite as bad as it had imagined.
For a moment, the celestial beast egg was at a loss for words—not because it literally couldn't speak, but because it didn't know how to express itself with any tact or gentleness.
Suddenly, a terrifyingly powerful suction force swept around its entire body.
It immediately resisted, but not a single ounce of power could be released, as if it had been completely bound and paralyzed.
With a loud, resounding thump, a smooth, clean, oval-shaped egg that emitted an alluring, refreshing fragrance flew out and landed gently on the ground.
Without a second thought, this egg was none-hardly the celestial beast egg itself.
No wonder Master had let go of the hand she had been holding all this time; she had actually located the exact hidden position of the celestial beast egg.
Jing Mingxuan expanded his divine sense to observe the celestial beast egg once more.
Compared to the front, the back now featured ten patterns resembling tails.
Although he couldn't yet guess the specific connection between these and the beast inside the egg, he was certain a connection existed, and those patterns were definitely not painted on.
Catching sight of Jing Mingxuan and Su Muchan, and remembering the Taiqing Jade Hare's words from earlier, the celestial beast egg no longer dared to put on its previous arrogant airs. In a remarkably gentle tone, it asked, "Human youth! Are you trying to tame me and become my beast tamer?"
"Pretty much," Jing Mingxuan nodded slightly.
The celestial beast egg let out a helpless sigh. "I'm just an egg right now. I won't be of much help to you."
"That's fine! I came here precisely to hatch you," Jing Mingxuan said with a full smile.
Feeling as though it had run into a demon, the celestial beast egg cried out in terror, "No! If you hatch me, I'll die! The spiritual energy here—even the spiritual energy of the attached Xuantian Realm—isn't enough to keep me alive."
Jing Mingxuan couldn't be bothered to waste his breath explaining.
Naturally, he also figured that even if he explained, the celestial beast egg would remain half-skeptical, so it was better to be direct.
"Master! Restrain it."
Su Muchan immediately uttered an "Understood." In an instant, the celestial beast egg felt terrifying forces pressing down from all directions, rendering it completely unable to move.
Left with no choice, it shrieked, "Xiao Qing! Save me!"
"Lord Celestial Beast, I'd love to save you, but my strength is too weak. I'd be subdued by that woman before I could even make a move."
The Taiqing Jade Hare's reasoning was entirely sound, plunging the celestial beast egg into total despair.
At that moment, the Taiqing Jade Hare shifted its tone and added, "Besides, since he is your beast tamer, he certainly won't harm you."
"......"
Jing Mingxuan and the celestial beast egg fell simultaneously speechless.
Jing Mingxuan in particular felt that the Taiqing Jade Hare could sometimes rival his master in sheer innocence.
Fortunately, the Taiqing Jade Hare never even appeared in the original book—it must have stayed by the celestial beast egg's side the entire time.
Otherwise, it would have been so easily swindled by the female protagonist, or even that whole harem of male leads, that it wouldn't even know which way was north.
The sound of footsteps grew increasingly distinct.
The celestial beast egg shifted from its initial panic and helplessness to sheer, unfiltered resignation.
It had used this brief window of time to sort things out!
Even without these two people, trying to hatch in the future without dying would be practically impossible.
Living a little longer was all it amounted to.
The footsteps came to an abrupt halt. Jing Mingxuan squatted down and placed his large hand right on the top of the celestial beast egg.
Divine Beast Taming Method!
In an instant, centered around the celestial beast egg, a massive array radiating an otherworldly light of pale blue materialized. The circular array was covered entirely in inscrutable runes.
Su Muchan, the celestial beast egg, and the Taiqing Jade Hare could all sense the terrifying power concealed within each and every one of those runes.
What was most frightening was that aside from its sheer might, this power possessed a quality beyond any of their comprehension.
A moment later, the array formed by the Divine Beast Taming Method vanished.
Jing Mingxuan said softly, "I have already completed the master-pet contract with you."
"Ah?" The celestial beast egg and the Taiqing Jade Hare were both dumbfounded!
Had Su Muchan not learned about the Divine Beast Taming Method from Jing Mingxuan beforehand, she certainly would have reacted just like them.
The celestial beast egg wanted to cry but had no tears left!
While falling under a contract was inevitable, not even being given a chance to resist was completely unreasonable!
At the same time, it dimly realized that hatching might not actually mean death after all.
After all, the human youth's methods completely defied its imagination.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
With its sharp eyes, the Taiqing Jade Hare noticed that the previously indestructible celestial beast egg was beginning to fracture, the split lines starkly clear.
Crack!
Crack!
In the blink of an eye, the eggshell developed even more fissures, and the topmost section shattered entirely, collapsing inward into the egg.
"I'm dying! Waaah!"
"You big villain, the moment you finish contracting me, you demand my death!"
"If I really die, all my curses against you will take full effect! I curse you to cultivate at a snail's pace from now on, I curse you never to contract another spirit beast..."
Driven by the fear of death, the beast inside the egg completely lost its sanity, unleashing an uninhibited stream of cursing at Jing Mingxuan.
Yet the vocabulary consisted entirely of remarkably civilized words, bringing a sense of amusement to Jing Mingxuan's heart.
This little thing didn't even know how to curse properly; it was inexplicably endearing.
After quite a while, the beast's voice grew fainter and fainter until it stopped altogether.
Panicking instantly, the Taiqing Jade Hare hurriedly asked, "Young master, is Lord Celestial Beast dead?"
"I'm not dead?"
The celestial beast cried out, its voice full of astonishment.
Naturally, this remark wasn't a reply to the Taiqing Jade Hare, but an expression of genuine, heartfelt surprise.
Instead of passively absorbing the surrounding worldly spiritual energy, the celestial beast found the energy being continuously refined—much like when Jing Mingxuan and Su Muchan practiced the Divine Cultivation Method in the past—ultimately transforming into spiritual energy radiating five-colored prismatic glows before flowing back into the celestial beast egg.
Divine Beast Taming Method!
It was simultaneously a contractual spell, a technique that granted contracted beast abilities akin to the Divine Cultivation Method, and an enchantment that ensured absolute loyalty from the pet—at least in physical terms.
After another moment passed.
Through the continuous absorption of the five-colored spiritual energy, the celestial beast finally realized that it was not going to die!
Yet, unable to comprehend why, it murmured, "Why didn't I die? Why has all the spiritual energy I absorbed transformed into the highest tier of lower-realm spiritual energy?"
Just as Jing Mingxuan was about to explain, he heard the celestial beast's next statement.
"Could this be my innate ability, and I just never knew it?"
The corner of Jing Mingxuan's mouth twitched. Rolling his eyes, he retorted irritably, "Of course not."
"Then you tell me what it is!" the celestial beast demanded. In truth, it knew perfectly well in its heart and had long realized that this was likely a benefit brought by the youth before it.
Yet if it didn't phrase it that way, it figured the youth wouldn't spill the truth.
Chapter 18: From Now On, I Am Your Pet Beast
"Remember the array that just formed?"
As soon as Jing Mingxuan dropped these words, the celestial beast and the Taiqing Jade Hare froze simultaneously, then chimed in unison, "So it really was because of that array!"
"That's right! Not only can it complete a master-pet contract without your consent, but it also allows you to absorb the highest-tier spiritual energy in this realm." The corners of Jing Mingxuan's mouth curved upward as he offered a more detailed explanation.
Though not the whole story, it was more than enough!
Doubt sprouted in Su Muchan's heart.
Logically speaking, her disciple should have explained the Divine Beast Taming Method, just as he had done with her back then—after all, the celestial beast would be one of their own from now on!
Yet in reality, he hadn't done so. Why was that?
Soon enough, Su Muchan realized there were two layers of reasons behind this.
First, she held a very special place in her disciple's heart, which was why he was willing to be completely honest with her.
As for the second layer of reasons, given her current life experience, she still couldn't figure it out. It seemed she would have to ask her disciple about it in private later.
Meanwhile, the celestial beast let out a long "Oh," looking as though a sudden wave of enlightenment had washed over it.
The next second, a series of snapping and cracking sounds echoed continuously.
The celestial beast egg began to break apart piece by piece.
Soon, the celestial beast's small head emerged.
Its fur was snow-white, resembling that of a canine, though noticeably sharper.
With long eyelashes and large, watery eyes, it looked utterly bewitching and soul-stirringly charming.
In an instant, Jing Mingxuan concluded that the celestial beast was most likely a white-furred fox.
Another sharp snap rang out as the front of the shell shattered completely into fragments, revealing the celestial beast's slender front limbs.
Looking further back, there was a lithe body and hind legs, followed by a massive, snow-white tail that appeared longer than its entire body.
Except it wasn't just one tail, but ten—matching the patterns seen earlier on the back of the celestial beast egg.
It even had one more large tail than the legendary imperial beast, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox.
Since it was a celestial beast, having an extra tail was normal enough.
Closing his eyes to sense it carefully, he soon discovered that compared to beings in the Human Dao Realm, the celestial beast before him possessed a distinct aura.
This aura was much weaker than the one emitted by the Divine Book.
It seemed the Divine Book's grade was above that of the celestial beast—by a very wide margin, in fact.
Thank goodness he had managed to secure it for himself. If it had fallen to the protagonist group, even with his past-life experiences and Su Muchan's all-out support, he probably would have ended up killed by them in the end.
Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.
At the same time, this further reinforced Jing Mingxuan's realization that he was a villain, and he shouldn't bother trying to make friends with the protagonist group.
Of course, he wasn't a tyrannical brute; as long as they didn't provoke him, they could all live in peace.
Conversely, if anyone in the protagonist group crossed him, he would scheme against them whenever possible and kill them without the slightest hesitation.
"My species is the Ten-Tail Celestial Fox. You can call me Xiaoxian from now on."
Xiaoxian's voice was crisp and sweet, sounding like heavenly music.
Feeling refreshed and relaxed, the Taiqing Jade Hare praised, "Lord Celestial Beast's voice sounds much better than before!"
Su Muchan nodded slightly as well, while Jing Mingxuan alone wore a grave expression.
Because Xiaoxian was facing Jing Mingxuan directly, she saw his reaction with absolute clarity and felt utterly puzzled.
"Young master, do you not like the name Xiaoxian?"
Jing Mingxuan shook his head slightly, his expression returning to normal.
He wasn't bothered by the name at all; rather, judging by the voice Xiaoxian had just emitted, she was female, just like the Taiqing Jade Hare.
When it came to the Taiqing Jade Hare, he hadn't cared because he wasn't taking it as a pet.
This time, however, things were different—Xiaoxian had already been subdued by him.
Of course, he didn't have a bias against female pet beasts, but a pet like Xiaoxian would eventually take human form. Once transformed, she would inevitably become a great beauty, perhaps even surpassing Su Muchan in both looks and temperament.
He might be able to maintain a detached attitude, but could Su Muchan do the same indefinitely?
Jing Mingxuan thought it impossible; sooner or later, it would spark friction.
Furthermore, he believed in the vow of a single lifetime with a single partner, meaning he would only ever be with Su Muchan and had no interest in other women.
If Xiaoxian were to take human form in the future, it would inevitably shatter that peace.
All sorts of complications could arise then, and just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Since he had already taken Xiaoxian as a pet, the only thing he could do now was lay down some ground rules and forbid Xiaoxian from ever taking human form.
"Master, from now on I am your pet beast."
Xiaoxian's tone was brimful of joy, her ten large tails swaying gently behind her.
For no other reason than that following such a master meant her future was bound to be boundless.
"Xiaoxian, since you are my pet beast, it's only right for me to make a few requests of you, isn't it?" Jing Mingxuan's gaze burned like a torch as he stared intently at Xiaoxian.
Taking this as a sign of favor, and figuring that since he was already her master, making requests was entirely natural, Xiaoxian smiled and answered with an "Mn."
Seeing this, joy lit up Jing Mingxuan's face, and he immediately spoke up, "As the ruler of the Myriad Beasts Minor World, I want all the spirit beasts within it. Is that alright?"
"Yes!" Xiaoxian agreed without the slightest hesitation.
She didn't know what Jing Mingxuan planned to do in the future, but everything she owned belonged to her master, so handing over the spirit beasts of the Myriad Beasts Minor World posed no problem at all.
At the same time, it would help cement her presence in her master's heart.
Jing Mingxuan's eyes flickered in slight surprise; it was only then that he realized Xiaoxian truly regarded him as her master.
Originally, he hadn't intended to explain much regarding his second request. After all, once Xiaoxian had been imprinted with the Divine Beast Taming Method, she wouldn't have been able to refuse anyway.
But things were different now. Since Xiaoxian treated him like a master, he would treat her like his most cherished pet.
"The spirit beasts I just mentioned—I'll be transferring all of them to the main world. That will leave the Myriad Beasts Minor World abandoned. Furthermore, my upcoming cultivation breakthrough requires the World Heart of a minor world, so I'll be using the World Heart of the Myriad Beasts Minor World. Is that alright?"
Xiaoxian blinked, momentarily startled.
Without its World Heart, the Myriad Beasts Minor World would cease to exist.
Yet since her master had already said he would transfer the spirit beasts to the main world, whether the Myriad Beasts Minor World survived or not didn't matter.
It just so happened that it could serve its remaining purpose for her master's cultivation breakthrough. Besides, the World Heart had been nurtured by her energy, which would surely make her master even happier.
"Yes!"
Jing Mingxuan nodded in deep satisfaction.
Xiaoxian had hesitated briefly, but that was a normal reaction, and the hesitation hadn't lasted long.
"Are there any other requests?" Xiaoxian asked curiously, opening her big, watery eyes and letting her long eyelashes flutter slightly.
Jing Mingxuan slowly opened his mouth, a slight frown creasing his brow. "My final request is that I hope you never take human form."
Xiaoxian blinked, finally understanding that he was entirely serious after taking in his solemn and heavy expression.
Fox beasts taking human form had always resulted in handsome men and beautiful women.
The higher the bloodline grade, the more striking the fox beast's appearance and the more exceptional its temperament would be.
Thus, the moment she confirmed that Jing Mingxuan could be her master, she had imagined that taking human form would surely stun him.
Yet now he was forbidding her from doing so, and the restriction was permanent. She found this extremely difficult to understand.
"Why?" Xiaoxian asked, her gaze burning with intense confusion.
Instead of keeping silent, Jing Mingxuan smiled faintly and explained, "I don't want your transformation into human form to ruin the sincere bond between my master and me."
At that moment, both Xiaoxian and Su Muchan were struck by a wave of deep emotional impact.
Xiaoxian hadn't expected in the slightest that the person her master yearned for was his own master.
As for Su Muchan, she was overcome with emotion.
Earlier, she had even felt that Jing Mingxuan's demand forbidding Xiaoxian from transforming was excessive; now she understood it was all done for her sake.
This disciple of hers was truly worth the trouble!
Xiaoxian glanced at Su Muchan, who looked like a celestial immortal with pearlescent tears welling in her eyes, and knew she could never win against this woman.
Moreover, she suspected that if she refused, her master would likely dissolve the master-pet contract on the spot.
Her master was a man of deep affection!
Precisely because of this, she felt that such a master was truly worthy of her following.
"Alright, I promise you! Unless you tell me to transform, I will never take human form."
Jing Mingxuan raised his hand and gently placed it upon Xiaoxian's furry forehead, stroking it as he said, "Thank you for understanding!"
Though no grand promises were spoken, Xiaoxian knew that the gentle touch upon her forehead surpassed a thousand words.
A moment later, another hand landed on her forehead.
Compared to her master's large hand, this one was soft and delicate, bringing her a great deal of comfort.
Squinting her eyes to look, she saw it belonged precisely to her master's master—her future mistress.
Having won the approval of both of these figures in one fell swoop, her position as the master's favored pet was now completely secure!
After quite a while, an urgent and weak voice erupted over the clearing.
"Lord Celestial Beast! I'm not going to make it! That human cultivator is too strong, you must protect yourself, don't get—ah—"
The miserable cry echoed loud and clear.
"That's the imperial beast Azure Heaven Emperor Bull; with hide as tough as thick leather, even it has met such a fate," the Taiqing Jade Hare murmured with wide eyes. Then, looking at Xiaoxian, it cried out excitedly, "Lord Celestial Beast, please save it! Even if it hasn't made major contributions, it has worked hard for you!"
"Of course I'm going to save it!" Xiaoxian declared with an air of absolute dominance.
The might emanating from her entire body was no longer the soft, gentle aura of before; instead, it was fiercely overbearing, yet it failed to cause Jing Mingxuan even the slightest trace of discomfort.
In a flash, Xiaoxian vanished.
Jing Mingxuan wore an anxious look as he said, "Master! Let's go too."
"There's no need! She possesses the strength of the Peak Ninth Layer of Supreme Realm; there are fewer than ten cultivators within the Xuantian Realm capable of suppressing her."
Su Muchan's explanation left both Jing Mingxuan and the Taiqing Jade Hare stunned.
Peak Ninth Layer of Supreme Realm strength right after birth?
Wasn't that a bit too absurd?
Jing Mingxuan felt his worldview starting to collapse!
The Taiqing Jade Hare said in utter astonishment, "No wonder Lord Celestial Beast was able to suppress the eight of us imperial beasts at the Origin Sage Realm when she was still just an egg."
Chapter 19: Asserting Ownership
Deep within a range of towering mountains in the Myriad Beasts Minor World.
A pitch-black bull lay on its side upon the ground, its four limbs twitching incessantly as painful wails escaped its mouth, its large eyes rolled completely back.
The sound of footsteps echoed by its ear, growing louder and clearer.
The Azure Heaven Emperor Bull snapped its eyes open, its gaze turning fiercely sharp as if the pain that had previously wracked its entire body had vanished into thin air.
"Heh! As expected of an imperial beast, you really do have some backbone."
The woman's laughter was filled with triumph.
The next instant, two red laser beams burst forth from the Azure Heaven Emperor Bull's eyes.
Death Stare!
The woman's expression shifted slightly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes suddenly exposed.