Spirit Beasts

"G-Gu Sheng, did you get rid of that snake? Ah!"

Liu Daimei’s timid voice drifted over. She cautiously opened her eyes and looked around, but the moment she saw the Jade Azure Serpent coiled around Gu Sheng’s right hand, she leaped away, her pretty face turning deathly pale.

"You…"

Liu Daimei pointed at the Jade Azure Serpent in Gu Sheng’s hand, unable to say a word. She feared nothing in life, but whenever it came to cold, slippery snakes, even one glance made her shudder.

"Sister Mei, it looks like we aren’t very compatible!"

Gu Sheng turned with a grin and waved the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling in his hand as he gestured. "I forgot to tell you—Qing Ling is my pet, the kind I keep with me at all times. It’s usually right beside me when I sleep! Since you’re afraid of snakes, I don’t think we’re suitable for each other!"

"What are you trying to do?"

Liu Daimei’s pretty face flushed alternately red and white, looking especially adorable. After fuming silently for a while, she regained her composure. When she saw Gu Sheng tapping and knocking on the glass fish tank, she developed an ominous premonition.

"Can’t you tell? I’m dismantling the fish tank!"

Gu Sheng turned and rolled his eyes at the brainless woman. Couldn’t she see that he was working? Since she coveted his… she should at least lend a hand with some actual action.

"Are you crazy? This is a hotel, and this belongs to someone else!"

Qing Ling had completely muddled Liu Daimei’s thoughts, causing her clever brain to lose wisdom at an alarming rate. She actually couldn’t figure out Gu Sheng’s purpose, and the tacit understanding she had previously shared with the intelligent young lady was gone.

"I’m saying, did you forget something?"

Gu Sheng turned his head and glanced at her. "The thing inside should be one of the first batch of evolved beasts. It can already shake the fish tank by ramming it. Who knows how powerful it’ll be in a few days! You said you rented the hotel for several months. Leaving a time bomb like this here—are you planning to be attacked by a flying fish at night?"

Liu Daimei’s pretty face reddened, and she retorted stubbornly, "I never said I wanted to keep it. It’s just that you can’t simply dismantle the fish tank like this. We can call the hotel staff over!"

"Snap! Fine! You can call them over right now and tell them the fish inside has gone crazy and rammed cracks into the glass."

Gu Sheng snapped his fingers and pointed at the section of glass repeatedly struck by the tropical fish with his left hand.

"Bang~"

The instant Gu Sheng’s finger pointed over, the tropical fish inside shot backward as if it had been in a horrific car accident, slamming heavily into the opposite pane of glass.

"Crack~"

Several cracks appeared on the opposite pane, yet the tank as a whole was not greatly affected. Not a single drop of water leaked out, and the damage to the glass’s overall strength was minimal.

"You’re seriously…"

Liu Daimei was speechless. Gu Sheng was being far too unreasonable.

"Just the art of striking an ox across a mountain! Basic practice for an inner-force expert!"

Gu Sheng’s skin had long since been toughened, so he wasn’t afraid of her laser-like glare at all.

Three hours later, inside Liu Daimei’s suite, several workers worked together to replace the left panel of the fish tank, which had already been drained. They fitted a new piece and stopped only after applying the glass sealant.

"Miss Liu, we’re very sorry. This was our negligence…"

Beside Liu Daimei, a hotel manager kept apologizing, his attitude sincere and his manner respectful.

"Enough. Let’s forget about this matter!"

Gu Sheng stood beside Liu Daimei, one hand resting on her delicate shoulder in an extremely intimate gesture. "Now that the fish tank has been replaced, you can leave. Just leave that crazy fish behind!"

"Th-this gentleman, this fish—we’ll leave it behind."

The hotel manager was about to say a few more words, but the moment Liu Daimei glanced over, he immediately lost his nerve. A VIP who had rented the hotel for several months was not someone a lowly manager like him could afford to offend.

"Go! Go! Go! Hurry up!"

After the workers cleaned up the scene, the manager hurriedly urged them to leave. Once all the workers had gone, he walked to the door and carefully closed it behind him.

"You really went all out just to dismantle a fish tank!"

Liu Daimei rolled her eyes at Gu Sheng and reached up to remove his hand from her shoulder.

"Heh! I was just passing the time!"

Gu Sheng shook his head with a laugh and walked into the bathroom. The sound of splashing water continued to come from the bathtub, where the tropical fish repeatedly rammed about in a frenzy.

"Roar~"

A flash of azure light burst from Gu Sheng. In an instant, all movement inside ceased.

"The flesh and blood of this exotic beast contains Spiritual Qi and can increase cultivation!"

Gu Sheng dipped a finger into some fish blood. A cool, comfortable sensation immediately spread through him, making his body feel better as well. The system in his mind instantly analyzed its effects.

"Although this exotic beast resembles a Demon Beast, there’s a difference in its essence. A Demon Beast’s flesh is also rich in energy, but it’s difficult to absorb. How could it be absorbed so easily, with an immediate effect? This exotic beast is better called a Spirit Beast."

Looking at the tropical fish, now reduced to only a few remains, Gu Sheng’s eyes reddened slightly. "I was worried that excessive consumption in the present world would affect my cultivation, but as long as there are enough of these things, and I consume sufficient amounts three times a day, not only will my cultivation not be affected, it’ll actually help me advance further."

"What is that? It smells so good!"

Liu Daimei twitched her nose and ran in like a little dog. Following the scent, she came to Jiang Shaofeng’s side. When she saw the Bloodline Limit on his finger, she opened her mouth and tasted it without hesitation.

"Um, that’s what Qing Ling just left behind after eating!"

Liu Daimei had been happily tasting it like a lollipop when Gu Sheng suddenly said that. She instantly spat out what was in her mouth, repeatedly spitting and crying, "Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!"

"You did that on purpose, didn’t you?"

Liu Daimei angrily tried to find trouble with Gu Sheng, but she stopped when she noticed the bloody scene in the bathtub. "That’s the blood of the tropical fish. You actually fed it to a snake? What a waste! Bad little brother, you don’t know how to take care of your big sister when you have good things! What’s so great about that snake?"

Liu Daimei acted as though she were jealous of Qing Ling, clinging to Gu Sheng and complaining incessantly.

"Correction: Qing Ling isn’t a snake anymore. Look at the little horns on its head. It’s a Jade Azure Serpent, a dragon, a Golden Core Beast King, and a peak Fourth Star Level existence. It’s worth far more than you—roughly a hundred of you. A hundred of you probably wouldn’t compare to a single drop of its venom!"

Gu Sheng estimated the respective values of Liu Daimei and Qing Ling. Setting aside the fact that Liu Daimei was a beauty, a hundred Second Star Level Second-Rate Experts could not compare to ten First-Rate Experts. Ten First-Rate Experts would definitely not equal one Xiantian Void Core. Yet even a Xiantian Demon Beast stronger than a Xiantian Void Core would be nothing more than something Qing Ling could eliminate with a single drop of venom.

"Peak Fourth Star Level, Jade Azure Serpent, dragon, dragon blood!"

Looking at the silver horn atop Qing Ling’s head, Liu Daimei began making strange associations. By now, she had completely lost her fear of snakes. Her limpid eyes stared fixedly at Qing Ling as it ate, while her small mouth hung slightly open and she continuously licked her red lips. Great, this woman had her eyes on Qing Ling’s dragon blood again.