Chapter 339 339 – Life-Binding Formation

Chapter 339 Chapter 339 – Life-Binding Formation

?In a moment of resignation, Atum closed his eyes and accepted his fate, sitting down on the hard cold ground.

"That's the right call. Here, take this."

Ken handed over a grey pill that the seventh-rank alchemist had no trouble recognizing. With a bitter smile, Atum swallowed the Qi Disrupting Pill. The pill rendered him unable to channel Qi inside his body, and it was the base of the Qi Disrupting Smoke Pill he had invented.

As soon as the pill's medicinal effects mixed with his blood, his hardened body relaxed, and only the natural firmness achieved by endless strengthening remained. Although it was impressive, Ken could slice through that.

"Are you going to kill me?" Atum asked in a lifeless voice. It seemed that he accepted the battle's outcome. He simply was unsure of Ken's plans regarding him.

"And give up a seventh-stage servant? With your skills as a seventh-rank alchemist, you could easily fund my cultivation, and my cultivation is costly."

"Huh?" Atum grimaced at the implications of Ken's words. "Do you think you can keep ME on a leash? Do you think you can replicate today's results whenever you want?" Although it would be smarter to keep his mouth shut and scheme silently, he lost his self-restraint momentarily at the weight of the insult.

If Ken was so stupid that he thought he could control a peak seventh-stage cultivator, then Atum's loss would feel even more humiliating than it already did. After all, his only source of comfort was believing Ken was extraordinary.

Meanwhile, Vivi nervously tip-toed to Ken's side, giving him a whiff of her scent. She did not wear perfume, but she kept her body odor pleasant with her Elemental Qi, mainly accentuating her Wood Qi.

"Team Leader, isn't it wrong? I don't want to fight against him again," she whispered.

"Let's discuss it in the cave. We have plenty of time until the pill's effect wears off."

With the inability to control Qi, Atum would die within seconds from his accumulated wounds. Ken had been maintaining the man's life himself as he lifted him from the ground and made him float before them on their way to the main cave.

Most of the other caves were destroyed during their fight, specifically when the demonic cultivator destroyed the Reflecting Formation. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Navigating between the traps that still remained, they made it back to the cave where the beasts and the subordinates waited for them.

Atum grunted in pain, but overall kept his lips sealed. The path of demonic cultivation was far more painful than having an intrusive surgery without anesthetic. He closed his eyes and waited for the procedure to be over, occasionally checking whether he could channel his Qi.

'Laying a seventh-rank formation will take him a whole day. There's no way his pill will last enough time. I only need a split second to attack, and once I do, it will be the end of the road for him.'

As though he could read his new subordinate's mind, Ken raised his head for a moment and placed a grey pill he produced from his storage ring on Atum's lips.

"You can have it as a snack while you are waiting."

Atum gritted his teeth and took the second Qi Disrupting Pill. He hoped Ken wouldn't account for his Alchemy skills and feed him the pill in long gaps, but apparently, his new master didn't make rookie mistakes.

The operation lasted twenty-four hours until it was finally complete, during which Atum was forced to eat four Qi Disrupting Pills. A black and red tattoo could be seen on Atum's skin for a short while before it sank into his body and disappeared. As for Ken, his Qi was depleted and his mind was exhausted. He had to take a long break to replenish his stamina.

"Vivi, come help him heal faster," Ken brought out a token and called for the lazy gal. "As for you, feel free to use your stash of healing pills to stabilize your condition. Remember, I can kill you now any time I want. Don't worry; working for me comes with many benefits and opportunities. I'm sure the day will come that you fear being free."

Atum only snorted in response. He has been an independent cultivator for nearly 200 years now, and he didn't plan on stopping aspiring to be free any time soon.

"How should I refer to you?" Atum asked. He knew that the nickname "Devil's Heir" was no longer appropriate.

"Young Master. That's what all my subordinates call me. For your first merits, I will teach you the recipe for my Impurities Discharging Pill. It's far more effective than what's circulating in the market."

Atum didn't understand it at the time, but it was a verdict. No matter how much he contributes, he will never be part of Ken's core team. His foundation was too deep; Ken would never be able to strengthen him to his team's level. Since that was the case, Ken did not plan to strengthen him at all except for occasional rewards.

Ken left the cave and found another empty one to rest. He played with a wooden token in his hand before placing it in his storage ring.

'That contains a Supremacy-Phase cultivator's life, huh?'

It was linked to the formation in Atum's body. When one breaks, so will the other. If Ken broke the token, Atum would die instantly, and if Atum died, the token would break, informing Ken of his subordinate's death.

It was called the Life Binding Formation due to the binding of life to the token. He did not let Atum know the mechanics behind the formation despite not seeing a disadvantage in that. After all, the less Atum knew, the harder it'd be to plan an escape.

'Well, let's rest.'

Ken fell asleep, ignoring the puppy eyes of the elephant-size fluffy wolf that wanted some attention.