"It's not done yet?"
Sect Master Wu had already briefed Du Heng on the situation during his journey.
Now is not the time to pursue the matter. Du Heng was most concerned about the Little Phoenix.
Forced hatching and contracting could severely harm a hatchling. He could only hope that, as a divine beast, the Phoenix was hardier than most.
Seeing the umbrella that protected Wen Liangyu, Du Heng became even angrier.
"The Tianji Tower truly spares no expense. To forcibly contract a Little Phoenix, you even brought out the Seven Treasures Exquisite Umbrella. It seems that you were well-prepared!"
Others might not recognize it, but he knew that this umbrella belonged to the Wen Family's Ancestor and could withstand a Divine Transformation cultivator's assault.
'To use such a treasure just to contract a Little Phoenix, it seems Tianji Tower was dead set on obtaining.'
'Had that old fox Wen divined something?'
Wen Jin didn't say anything.
Du Heng was older than even his father. If he provoked him, he might be killed on the spot with no one to mourn him.
Wen Jin could only hope that the Ancestor would hurry after receiving his message.
Originally, the Ancestor was waiting at the border of Zhenshan Sect, so he should arrive soon!
"Does it take so long to contract a Phoenix?" Venerable Zhiyuan of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect couldn't help but ask.
'Could it be that because it is a Phoenix, the contract is different from other demonic beasts?'
Just after he finished speaking, the golden contract rune soared in the air and split into two, half of which sank into Wen Liangyu's forehead, and the other half drilled into the small hole in the Phoenix egg.
"My son has done it!"
Wen Jin was so excited that he blurted out his true feelings.
Du Heng backhanded him, slamming him face-first into the ground with enough force to leave a human-shaped crater.
"Brother Du Heng, no need for such anger…" At this time, a kind voice came from the air.
The ancestor of Tianji Tower, Wen An, appeared before the crowd with a smile.
"It's just children being reckless. A little discipline is enough. Calm down!"
Wen An dismissed Wen Jin and Wen Liangyu's actions as mere childish mischief.
"A four-hundred-year-old 'child'… now that's something new."
Yu Bingqing, the Ancestor of Yuxian Sect, mocked.
"By that logic, Le Qing is only three hundred years old, younger than Wen Jin. Since this is just kids roughhousing, why interfere? We should just watch."
"Even if Le Qing beats Wen Jin to death, it just means he's weaker. He is stuck at Nascent Soul at such an old age, what an embarrassment!"
"Ahaha…" Wen An didn't feel embarrassed when Yu Bingqing provoked him, "Bingqing, I haven't seen you for a long time, and you are still as sharp-tongued as ever."
Seeing that his Ancestor is now here, Wen Liangyu finally put away the umbrella and stepped forward.
Otherwise, he was afraid of being beaten to death.
Le Qing had already nearly killed Wen Jin, disregarding their familial ties. Wen Liangyu wasn't willing to gamble with his life.
Especially with Du Heng, the man renowned for his mastery of beast taming. Where there were contracts, there were ways to break them.
Wen Liangyu was genuinely worried Du Heng might seize him and forcibly sever his bond with the Little Phoenix.
"Ancestor!"
Wen Liangyu hurried to Wen An's side.
"Success?" Wen An looked at the most outstanding child among the younger generation with a smile on his face, "Not bad! Come, show this Ancestor see this Phoenix you've contracted."
"Yes!"
Seeing that Wen Liangyu was about to summon the Phoenix, Le Qing's face darkened like storm clouds, and Du Heng's expression turned equally grim.
The two looked at each other and understood each other's thoughts.
Unless Wen Liangyu hides in Tianji Tower for his whole life, they would drag him back and sever that contract between him and the Little Phoenix.
Wen Liangyu waved his hand, and the contract runes materialized in his hand.
It turned out to be a master-servant contract!
"You bastard!"
Du Heng became even more angry.
"Little Phoenix, come forth!" With his own Ancestor beside him, Wen Liangyu was not afraid of Du Heng at all. He was full of confidence and his back was particularly straight.
As the Wen Family waited eagerly, a green light flashed, and a three-meter-tall carnivorous plant with gaping jaws appeared out of nowhere.
Crunch, crunch…
When the Bloodthirsty Vine caught the familiar scent of blood, it wasted no time and its vines lashed out and quickly wrapped Wen Liangyu up, wrapping him up like a dumpling. Then, the large mouth on its top leaf clamped down on his right arm.
"Ah! Ancestor, save me! Ancestor, save me..."
No matter how mature or scheming Wen Liangyu was, he had never encountered something like this.
The sudden suffocation terrified him, making him struggle wildly, but the more he struggled, the tighter the vines coiled around him.
Wen Liangyu could clearly feel the sharp teeth piercing his arm. The dense and numerous hooked fangs digging into his flesh, greedily sucking his blood.
"Bloodthirsty Vine?!"
Those who had been envious of Wen Liangyu were now stunned.
'Wasn't he supposed to have contracted a Little Phoenix? How did he end up with a Bloodthirsty Vine?'
'That thing fed on flesh and blood and was notoriously cruel. Was Wen Liangyu ignorant, or was he just fearless?'
The key issue was that Bloodthirsty Vines were among the hardest demonic plants to tame… and also the most ungrateful.
Want to contract one? Hah, if it didn't drain your entire family into dried-up husks, that would already be merciful.
"Liangyu!" Wen Jin was horrified. Ignoring his own injuries, he summoned his lifebound artifact, the Vajra Brush.
Wen An also sprang into action, battling the Bloodthirsty Vine.
'Not the Little Phoenix?'
Le Yanran's sadness stopped immediately. Wiping the tears from her face, she hurried to the Phoenix egg.
Le Qing, Du Heng, and Wu Hao also gathered around.
"Little Phoenix, are you okay?"
On the eggshell of the Phoenix egg, a small orange beak poked out from a tiny hole, only to find the opening too small. The little beak retreated back inside before resuming its pecking at the shell.
"Good, good, as long as it's unharmed." Du Heng let out a sigh of relief, 'Thankfully, it hadn't been contracted… what a close call.'
At this moment, no one cared whether Wen Liangyu lived or died. The crowd surged forward, all eager to catch a glimpse of the Little Phoenix.
It was said that newborn birds would imprint on the first creature they saw, treating them as their parent. This is phenomenon known as 'filial imprinting'. They didn't dare hope to contract the Phoenix, but just being seen by it would be enough.
If they couldn't form a contract, being its 'mother' would be just fine!
"Stop pushing! Who stepped on my foot?!"
"Bald donkey, step back! Your head's too shiny, you'll blind the Little Phoenix!"
"You bunch of stinky men, don't you know how to be polite?"