Lin Qi was quickly establishing a reputation within the Whispering Willow Sect, though it was a reputation built entirely on misunderstandings. The disciples, terrified of his "Unseen Shattering Grade" talent and his "Intangible Pressure," avoided him, ensuring he was left alone to be his usual, distractible self.
Sect Master Wu, meanwhile, decided that Lin Qi needed a secluded, yet important, task. A major sect expedition was planned to the Cracked Heart Valley, rumored to contain an ancient treasury, and Wu desperately needed Lin Qi's Absolutely Indestructible and Blind Luck (AII&BL) to rub off on the mission.
"Disciple Lin Qi," Wu announced one morning, his face tight with forced solemnity. "Your mission is vital. You shall be the Advance Scout and Guardian of the Rear. You must lag behind, ensuring no peril follows our main party. This demands extraordinary caution and speed!"
This was, of course, a lie. Wu just wanted Lin Qi to stay far enough away that his luck would clear the path without him accidentally destroying the treasures they sought.
The Sect entered the valley, a labyrinth of poisonous miasma and deadly illusions. Everyone was on high alert, navigating traps and dodging aggressive low-tier spirit beasts.
Lin Qi, following a full hour behind the main group, was lagging not out of caution, but because he'd found a particularly interesting patch of cloud-shaped moss.
Suddenly, a low, menacing growl echoed from a shallow cave entrance.
The sound belonged to a Three-Headed Stone Basilisk, a Tier-5 spirit beast whose gaze could turn a Core Formation cultivator to pebbles. It had been guarding the secret entrance to the valley's inner sanctum for centuries and was known for its foul temper and lethal venom.
Lin Qi, hearing the growl, paused. He peered into the cave.
The Basilisk, seeing a lone, scrawny youth, unleashed a silent, killing intent. Its three heads, crowned with razor-sharp spines, slowly emerged from the gloom, their six eyes glowing with murderous malice.
Lin Qi did not feel the killing intent. He did not recognize the danger. He simply saw a trio of small, rough-looking puppies clustered together.
"Oh, look at you!" Lin Qi cooed, dropping his small sack of supplies and walking right into the Basilisk's lair. "You look so lonely! And you're all pressed together! Are you cold?"
The Basilisk was stunned. Its killing gaze, which should have triggered an instinctual fear response, bounced harmlessly off Lin Qi's AII&BL. Its ancient, evil mind simply could not process the fact that a mortal was approaching it without screaming.
Lin Qi knelt down. He gently placed a hand on the Basilisk's central head, which was about the size of a large boulder.
"You're a rough fellow, aren't you?" Lin Qi said, giving the rough, venom-coated scales a gentle scratch behind the spine. "I bet no one ever gives you a good scratch. It's alright, I'll scratch you. You can be my Fluffikins."
Lin Qi started scratching in the exact spot that Basilisk spines meet nerve clusters—a spot that, if handled roughly, would trigger instant death, but when scratched gently, released a thousand years of accumulated tension in the beast's nervous system.
The Three-Headed Basilisk, the terror of the Cracked Heart Valley, let out a deep, shuddering sigh of pure, unanticipated relief. Its six lethal eyes closed. The poisonous energy surrounding its lair dissipated instantly. The beast began to purr—a sound like tectonic plates shifting.
It lowered its three heads, nudging Lin Qi's hand affectionately, claiming the bewildered boy as its master and eternal source of belly rubs.
Meanwhile, a mile ahead, Sect Master Wu and the Inner Disciples were suffering through a thick fog.
"Master!" cried Disciple Supervisor Feng. "The air! It feels lighter! The ominous pressure around us has completely vanished! Did Lin Qi—"
"Yes! He must have!" Wu interrupted, his eyes shining with awe. "He used the legendary 'Intimate Spirit Taming Technique'! He has tamed the beast that guards the way without a word, merely by projecting an overwhelming aura of harmlessness and supreme confidence!"
Wu quickly scribbled a note: "The easiest way through the wall of danger is to assume it is a friendly door, and then walk through it."
Lin Qi, entirely unaware he had just adopted a mythical Tier-5 beast, tied his newly loyal "Fluffikins" to a nearby root and continued his walk. He had, however, forgotten his sack of supplies. His new pet, sensing its master's need, immediately and efficiently used its venom to melt through a sealed spatial barrier and retrieve the sack, placing it gently at Lin Qi's feet.
Lin Qi frowned. "How did that get here, Fluffikins? Oh well. You're a helpful boy!"
The Basilisk gave a happy, rumbling purr. Lin Qi had conquered the valley's guardian, not with power, but with accidental affection.