Chapter 412 - Chapter 412: Chapter 404: Fierce as Fire_1

Chapter 412: Chapter 404: Fierce as Fire_1

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The Advanced Contract Talismans of the dark runes cost an extra twenty Silver Money each, and I had thought the quirky old shopkeeper was overcharging.

Only after using them did I realize the true high quality of his talismans.

What exists is reasonable.

The dark rune shopkeeper was quirky and indifferent to customers, but the fact that he hadn’t closed shop meant he must have had something outstanding to offer.

After purchasing from him once, Qin Niu couldn’t help but look forward even more to the Earth Escape Talisman that was priced at a thousand Silver Money.

If the quality of the Advanced Contract Talismans was so impressive, then that Earth Escape Talisman surely couldn’t be far behind.

The Fiery Bird in the midst of cultivation lost its Fire Lotus and was already seething with anger.

Seeing a flash of golden light, it instinctively sensed danger.

It turned its head to look.

Upon spotting the despicable human who had stolen the Fire Lotus, it immediately let out an angry screech.

Qin Niu, however, didn’t give it a chance to attack.

He directly controlled the golden light to shoot towards it.

The speed of light goes without saying, the golden light instantly hit the Fiery Bird’s body, wrapping it tightly.

A red demon power lit up on its body as it struggled desperately to resist.

It was evident that the bird was in a very weak state. The demon power on its body surface flickered uncertainly, extremely thin.

“I know you’ve been cultivating for many years and have already opened your spirit intelligence. The Fire Lotus you lost is now mine, but if you submit to me, you can use the Fire Lotus to help you break through the current bottleneck.”

Qin Niu spoke directly to it.

Using words to dissolve its will to resist was the best strategy.

In a battle between two armies, conquering the heart is paramount.

“Screech!”

The Fiery Bird let out a screech of extreme anger, its eyes shooting flames.

Even more flames burst forth from its mouth.

It then showed a personified expression of pain and panic.

Qin Niu’s interference at a critical moment of its cultivation had a significant impact on it.

“You have only one fate if you don’t submit to me: a dead end. Without showing you some color, you’re unlikely to submit,” Qin Niu said, gesturing to the Green Ox behind him.

“Lazy Ox, deal with it.”

Upon receiving its master’s order, the Green Ox immediately shot a golden light from its horns, striking the Fiery Bird hard.

The potency of its golden light needs no explanation.

The bird, already at a critical moment in its cultivation and struggling to cope with the invasion of golden light from the Contractual Talisman, was now violently trembling as more flames surged from its mouth due to the Green Ox’s attack.

The flames weren’t emitted by the bird intentionally.

They burst forth on their own.

The flames enveloped the Fiery Bird, burning incessantly.

The Fiery Bird let out a mournful cry of pain.

Qin Niu showed no mercy, aiming to take advantage of its vulnerable state and crucial moment of cultivation to subdue it today.

If he waited for it to successfully advance, it would not only be impossible to subdue it later, but even being discovered by it could be extremely dangerous.

Even as the flames consumed it, the Fiery Bird showed no intention of submitting.

Unwilling to submit, its temper was as fiery as its nature.

“Then I shall slaughter you and take your inner core to make Elixirs! The benefits will be just as great,” Qin Niu told it.

The Fiery Bird, infuriated, trembled even more violently.

Neither side backed down.

Time was slipping away, and the volanic cavern continually spewed out lava, forcing Qin Niu to keep retreating.

He couldn’t stay in the scorching lava.

Dragging out the time was not in his favor.

Because when he subjugates pets, there’s a limitation to the distance he can be from them.

This was now because his cultivation had reached the Innate Realm, and his spiritual power was more than a hundred times stronger than before. Otherwise, whether subduing insects or beasts, he could only do so from a very close distance.

His current limit would not exceed two hundred meters.

And that was because he had reached the Dual Innate Realm level of cultivation.

Previously, before cultivating the Medicine King Sutra to the Innate Realm, the reach was at most about one hundred and twenty meters.

“`

This weakness couldn’t be discovered by the Phoenix, or, with its intelligence, it would definitely find a way to keep its distance from Qin Niu.

At that time, Qin Niu could only helplessly watch as the Phoenix cultivated.

Once it successfully advanced and its demon feathers grew back, Qin Niu would have to immediately flee. There wouldn’t be the slightest chance left.

At the moment, he was about one hundred and fifty meters away from the Phoenix, with fifty meters to retreat.

But the further away he was, the more strenuous it would be for him to control the Contractual Talisman’s golden light.

This would lead to the consumption of spiritual power doubling in speed.

“I must seize it in one fell swoop. If this drags on, today’s taming battle will only end in vain.”

A chill flashed in Qin Niu’s eyes.

“Wart Toad, it’s your turn. Use your sonic attack on it.”

To tame this incredibly powerful Phoenix, he truly spared no effort.

The Grade Eight Red-eyed Golden Toad leaped out, squatting on Qin Niu’s shoulder.

“Croak!”

Its Frog Croak Skill activated.

Using a sonic attack against the Phoenix.

A Grade Eight pet, not yet reaching the level of a demon, could be considered half-demon. Should it reach Level Nine, it would essentially be a demon insect.

This Phoenix was definitely already a Demon Bird, its current realm unknown, but it was likely at least two or three levels higher than the Red-eyed Golden Toad.

Normally, the Red-eyed Golden Toad’s Frog Croak attack wouldn’t be much use against it.

But now it had become the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

More flames surged out of the Phoenix’s mouth, even white-hot flames.

Its body was consumed by the flames, continually burning.

Suddenly, the inner core in its mouth started to rotate in reverse. It stared at Qin Niu with a look of intense hatred.

The extremely dangerous aura made Qin Niu feel fearful.

From the Phoenix’s eyes, he saw a determination to fight to the death.

It wanted to perish together with Qin Niu.

From the reverse rotation of its inner core, one could roughly deduce that it was attempting to self-destruct.

“I didn’t expect you to be as fiery as your nature, preferring death over submission. I admire that, so I’ll back down. There’s no need for you to sign a servitude contract with me, we can just sign an equal contract.”

Qin Niu made a compromise and gave ground.

If he insisted on having his way, in the end, only mutual destruction awaited.

At this moment, he had to exhibit wisdom.

Compromise and concession were the only way to resolve this crisis.

An equal contract meant that both parties would be like friends. The Phoenix would need to follow Qin Niu but wouldn’t have to fully obey his commands. It retained a great deal of autonomy.

If Qin Niu died, it would be affected, but it wouldn’t necessarily die as well.

The Phoenix held his gaze for about four or five seconds.

Finally, the Contractual Talisman’s golden light easily entered its body.

It chose to live.

Qin Niu, seeing how quickly the Contractual Talisman’s golden light entered its body and how swiftly the soul bond was forged, couldn’t help but be stunned.

This Phoenix had just been ready to fight him to the death, perhaps only pretending, deliberately frightening him.

It had already reached a dead end—without submission, death was almost certain.

It would have been burnt alive by its own flames.

In order to gain greater benefits, it made a desperate move.

Even if it was only pretending to be desperate, Qin Niu wouldn’t dare take the risk, because he couldn’t afford to lose.

The brave fear the stout-hearted, and the stout-hearted fear those who are not afraid to die.

Nobody could be sure whether the Phoenix would actually self-destruct.

This Phoenix, with its fiery nature and extremely high intelligence, did indeed endear itself to Qin Niu.

The only regret he had was that he couldn’t sign a master-servant contract with it.

They had signed only an equal contract, making it likely to disobey orders.

He would have preferred to have complete control over this powerful Demon Bird.

“Can you return the Fire Lotus to me now?”

After signing the contract with Qin Niu, the Phoenix immediately spoke in human language, demanding the Fire Lotus.

“It’s not a matter of returning it to you, but lending it to you for cultivation. That Fire Lotus is of great use to me as well.” Qin Niu had the Ice Lotus, and now obtained the Fire Lotus too—a great opportunity.