'Master?' Shen Haoran was dumbfounded. 'A moment ago, you looked like you were about to eat me. Now you're in front of me calling me master? Does getting eaten by a Taotie automatically make you its master?'
"That's right. You are my master now!" the Gluttonous Little Beast said through gritted teeth.
Seeing the little beast's expression, Shen Haoran had a general idea of what was going on but still said uncertainly, "Just because you say so? For all I know, this is another one of your tricks! Unless... you call me 'master' again for me to hear..."
"You brat, don't push your luck!" Hearing this, flames of fury practically shot out of the Gluttonous Little Beast's eyes.
"Are you going to say it or not?"
"Hmph, I won't!"
"Say it or not?"
"I won't!"
"So you were lying to me?"
"You..." The Gluttonous Little Beast was speechless. It could only curse silently in its heart, 'It's just my bad luck to get such a shameless master!' Then, closing its eyes, it reluctantly called out, "Master."
Hearing the Gluttonous Little Beast actually call him master, Shen Haoran finally believed that the Taotie had truly acknowledged him. Otherwise, given how he had just provoked it, he would have been eaten long ago. After all, even Shen Haoran thought his own behavior was pretty shameless.
Now that he knew the Gluttonous Little Beast had acknowledged him as its master, Shen Haoran carefully sensed their connection. He discovered that there was indeed an indescribable bond between them, but it felt a little different from what he expected.
"Our contract seems a bit... different, doesn't it?" Shen Haoran asked, puzzled.
At the mention of the contract, the Gluttonous Little Beast said resentfully, "Of course it's different! How could a one-sided Blood Covenant be the same!"
"A one-sided Blood Covenant? What do you mean?" Shen Haoran asked, not understanding.
Seeing Shen Haoran's blank expression, the Gluttonous Little Beast said, "Don't you remember anything that happened before?"
"I do! I'll never forget that you were about to eat me! But I have no idea what happened after you ate me..." Shen Haoran said.
When Shen Haoran brought up the fact that it had tried to eat him, the Gluttonous Little Beast felt a wave of bitterness. If it had known that Shen Haoran was that person's successor, it wouldn't have dared, not even if it had ten times the courage! Not only did it fail to get a meal, but it ended up getting tied down itself. It was a complete and utter loss.
But luckily, Shen Haoran didn't know what happened afterward. Otherwise, if he started asking questions, it would be really difficult to answer.
'It's good that he doesn't know. It's good.' The Gluttonous Little Beast let out a breath and then began trying to shoo him away. "Alright, since I've already acknowledged you as my master, this sword will now be your Lifebound Spiritual Artifact. Hurry up and leave. The sight of you is just annoying me right now!"
Hearing the Gluttonous Little Beast try to kick him out, Shen Haoran acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. With a PLOP, he sat down on the ground and said, "You haven't answered my question yet. If you don't tell me, I'm not leaving!"
Seeing such a shameless Shen Haoran, the Gluttonous Little Beast really wanted to go up and swallow him in one bite. But the moment it thought of that figure, it immediately deflated and could only say, "What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything I can, alright?!"
Hearing the Gluttonous Little Beast surrender, Shen Haoran said, "Just tell me about this contract of ours."
"A Blood Covenant connects the master's life to the life of the Contracted Beast! If either party dies, the other will die as well!
"As for a one-sided Blood Covenant, all the benefits go to the master. If the master dies, the Contracted Beast will certainly die too. But if the Contracted Beast dies, the master will at most suffer some damage to their Spiritual Thought Origin, with no danger to their life! Moreover, the Contracted Beast's strength is directly linked to the master's. If the master is strong, the Contracted Beast is strong. If the master is weak, the Contracted Beast is weak! In short, the master is everything!" the Gluttonous Little Beast said, disgruntled.
"Oh~ So you're really weak right now, then?" Shen Haoran said, staring at the Gluttonous Little Beast with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"You... What are you trying to do?" the Gluttonous Little Beast stammered, looking at Shen Haoran's creepy gaze.
"What do you think?" Shen Haoran said, then grabbed the Gluttonous Little Beast and held it in his hands. He began to torment it, saying viciously, "You little bastard! So you were acting all high and mighty before, huh? Trying to eat me? Now you're in my hands! I'll beat you into submission or my name's not Shen Haoran!"
"ARGH!" And so, a pitiful scream echoed throughout the Sword Spirit Space...
Shen Haoran finally stopped tormenting the Gluttonous Little Beast after a while. Panting, he sat on the ground and said, "That's enough for today. We'll settle the rest of our grudge later. Since we've formed a Blood Covenant, it's not like you can run away."
The thought of being tormented by Shen Haoran in the future made the Gluttonous Little Beast want to die! To think that it, the infamous Taotie of the Divine Beast Realm, was now being humiliated by a mere kid at the Spirit Tempering Stage. If word of this got out, what would become of its reputation!
"Oh, right. Since we've signed the contract, does that mean this Sacred Artifact is mine now?" Shen Haoran suddenly asked. He had come here specifically for this Sacred Artifact.
Shen Haoran's sudden question startled the Gluttonous Little Beast. It breathed a sigh of relief after seeing he wasn't making any sudden moves; it was truly terrified of this psycho Shen Haoran. It then said, "That's right, you are its master now. But it's not a Sacred Artifact anymore. After I fused with the Sword Spirit, it has become a peerless Divine Artifact that can grow infinitely!"
"A Divine Artifact!" Hearing those two words, Shen Haoran's eyes lit up! This was a Divine Artifact! It was debatable whether a single one even existed in the entire Starfall Continent, and now he had one in his hands. How could he not be excited?
"However, because I've signed a contract with you, my strength is affected by yours. Right now, its power is at most equivalent to a High Level Spiritual Artifact!" the Gluttonous Little Beast said with a pout, simultaneously hinting at how terribly low Shen Haoran's strength was.
"Don't worry, it will definitely grow into a Divine Artifact in my hands!" Shen Haoran said confidently. He then had the Gluttonous Little Beast send him out of the Sword Spirit Space, as he couldn't wait to tell Elder Yan the good news.
Outside, Elder Yan was anxiously pacing back and forth in the room. More than half a day had passed. Shen Haoran had been enveloped in golden light the entire time, and Elder Yan couldn't probe the situation inside. He was like an ant on a hot pan.
Just as the Gluttonous Little Beast and Shen Haoran disappeared from the Sword Spirit Space, the golden light enveloping Shen Haoran and the Broken Sword outside began to slowly dissipate. Elder Yan stared intently at Shen Haoran within the light, ready to rescue him at a moment's notice.
However, Elder Yan's worries were unnecessary. After the golden light faded, Shen Haoran's tightly closed eyes slowly opened. He looked at the tense Elder Yan before him and gave a faint smile.
Seeing that Shen Haoran was alright, Elder Yan let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to step forward and ask what happened, he suddenly noticed a small, furry beast coiled on Shen Haoran's shoulder. A sense of crisis made the hair on Elder Yan's arms stand on end, and he rapidly retreated.
"A Taotie!" Elder Yan recognized the little beast's origin. At the same time, his mind raced. 'Could Haoran have been possessed by the Taotie?'
At the same time, the Gluttonous Little Beast also saw Elder Yan. Drool dripped from the corner of its mouth as it leaped toward him, rejoicing in its heart. 'Is this heaven's compensation for me? I didn't get to eat Shen Haoran's Spiritual Thought, and now an even more powerful one has appeared!'
However, before it could get far, the Gluttonous Little Beast suddenly felt a tug from behind. Losing its balance, it fell straight to the ground.
"What are you doing?" the Gluttonous Little Beast said angrily, turning to look at Shen Haoran.
"I should be asking you that! He's my master. How dare you try to attack him!" Shen Haoran said, yanking it up in front of his face.
"You already have me, what do you need another master for? I know everything there is to know, from the heavens above to the earth below. It would be better to just let me..."
"You dare!" Before the little beast could finish, Shen Haoran's aura suddenly erupted, and two golden glints flashed in his eyes. The moment the Gluttonous Little Beast saw those golden glints, it instantly deflated. It crawled up Shen Haoran's arm onto his shoulder, shot a brief glance at Elder Yan, then closed its eyes and pretended to sleep.
In the distance, Elder Yan was dumbstruck seeing Shen Haoran actually dare to scold a Taotie, and he remained frozen until Shen Haoran called out to him.
"Haoran, you and the Taotie..." Elder Yan said, pointing at the Gluttonous Little Beast on Shen Haoran's shoulder.
"Oh, him? We just signed a Blood Covenant. A one-sided one, at that," Shen Haoran said nonchalantly.
"What? Haoran, you've been possessed by it?" Elder Yan exclaimed in alarm.
"No, it was forced into a one-sided Blood Covenant by me!" Shen Haoran explained.
"What..." Elder Yan said, shocked.
"Ah, well, the point is, it has acknowledged me as its master. Let's not worry about that for now. Come take a look at this Divine Artifact!" Shen Haoran didn't want to elaborate on the details of his contract with the Gluttonous Little Beast. After all, the Taotie was a Divine Beast and had its own dignity. Even though Shen Haoran found the little beast annoying, he still understood the principle of not burning one's bridges.
Seeing that Shen Haoran wasn't oversharing the details of the contract, the Gluttonous Little Beast knew he was trying to preserve its dignity. Its resentment toward Shen Haoran lessened slightly.
Since Shen Haoran didn't want to say more, Elder Yan didn't press the issue. He just shot a brief glance at the Gluttonous Little Beast before turning his attention to the Broken Sword.
At this point, it could no longer be called the Broken Sword. The place where it was once fractured had now been perfectly restored, and the sword's complete form was finally revealed before Shen Haoran!
The rust and dust on the Treasure Sword were long gone. The Spirit Beast patterns on its body had become vivid and lifelike, and a faint, ethereal Divine Charm swirled around the blade, captivating Shen Haoran. He finally couldn't resist holding it.
The moment Shen Haoran gripped the hilt, a joyful emotion traveled from the sword into his mind. The feeling was like that of a long-lost child being reunited with its mother! At the same time, a piece of information also entered his mind.
"Your name is Soul Devourer?" Shen Haoran murmured, looking at the sword.
Hearing Shen Haoran call its name, the Soul-devouring Sword let out a series of hums, as if in response.
"Truly magical!" Elder Yan exclaimed.
After admiring the Soul-devouring Sword for a while, Shen Haoran had the Gluttonous Little Beast retract it into its body. Then he looked at Elder Yan and asked, "Elder Yan, where is my Sealing Spirit Pearl?"
"Alas..." Elder Yan sighed softly before saying, "Speaking of the Sealing Spirit Pearl, I truly don't know whether to be happy or worried!"
"What happened to the Sealing Spirit Pearl?" Shen Haoran's expression changed, and he asked anxiously. The Sealing Spirit Pearl was a memento from his mother; he absolutely could not lose it.
Seeing how nervous Shen Haoran was, Elder Yan quickly said, "Don't worry, the Sealing Spirit Pearl is fine. It just... went inside your body!"
"Inside my body?" Shen Haoran was puzzled. He immediately checked and found that there was indeed a golden pearl inside his Dantian. It was the Sealing Spirit Pearl.
The Gluttonous Little Beast also discreetly glanced toward Shen Haoran's Dantian. Upon seeing the golden pearl, its body couldn't help but tremble, and it quickly averted its gaze, not daring to look again.
The little beast's movement did not escape Elder Yan's eyes, which only made him more confused. That golden pearl was definitely not the Sealing Spirit Pearl. An item capable of erupting with such immense Energy—one that even an Ancient Divine Beast like the Taotie feared—could not possibly be a mere Sealing Spirit Pearl. But Elder Yan had never heard any news about such a golden pearl.
Glancing between the Gluttonous Little Beast and Shen Haoran, Elder Yan could only give up on the matter. As long as it didn't endanger Shen Haoran's safety, it was fine.
Shen Haoran was relieved to find that the Sealing Spirit Pearl from his mother was still there. He then asked, "Elder Yan, since it's still here, what is there to worry about?"
Hearing Shen Haoran's question, Elder Yan recounted everything that had happened earlier.
"The entire town must have seen the golden light that erupted from the Sealing Spirit Pearl. A large crowd of Martial Artists has gathered outside the inn. They probably think some treasure has been born here. The moment you step outside, you will absolutely become a public target!" Elder Yan said, his brows furrowed tightly.