Chapter 389 - Dirty Water
Bai was a Three-Eyed Silver Snake and a rare monstrous beast with the cultivation of a seven-star Foundation Establishment.
When he lived in his territory, he had been a local overlord, almost a King of Snakes. He never went hungry, and since he was a hibernating creature, he never had to fight humans during the winter either.
Everything had been perfect.
With his bloodline, there had even been a chance to break through to Core Formation, the highest stage most monstrous beasts could hope to reach. No Nascent Soul beasts lived in the region he used to hunt in, and even if they did, how rare were creatures like that?
Bai had been destined for greatness.
Of course, that all changed one miserable day.
He remembered it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. There was a woman with long dark hair and haunting blue eyes.
But she had not been the true danger in that encounter, no matter how loudly Bai’s instincts had screamed at him to flee from that fiend who smelled like freshly spilled blood. At worst, she would have simply killed him.
The real devil had been the man standing beside her.
Dark hair. Dark eyes. Average looking, but maybe not, since Bai had a hard time telling something like that. But even as a beast, there was something in that distant gaze, as though he barely noticed the world around him.
He was the true devil. Because with a single touch, Bai became a slave.
Everything changed in that instant, and it no longer mattered how much potential Bai possessed. Now all he could be was a servant.
…A servant to the man called Liu Feng.
Just as Bai was reminiscing about the past and what could have been, a tug pulled at his consciousness. It was a strange feeling, it was almost like forgetting something and holding it in the back of the mind, but not quite recalling. Except this feeling was constant and rather strong, which couldn't be pushed aside.
This was the feeling that his master was summoning him.
Within Liu Feng’s roster of mind-controlled beasts, Bai was not special. The human deliberately chose creatures with rare bloodlines, monsters that most cultivators would never encounter in their lifetimes.
Even Bai had never seen beasts like some of the others.
Bai uncoiled his long serpent body and looked around. The vertical third eye on his forehead twitched, pulsing with a crimson glare as it scanned the surroundings.
He wanted to delay Liu Feng’s summons and would rather not meet him. But he knew better.
As a snake whose cultivation had granted him humanlike intelligence, Bai understood the nature of others. He was certain Liu Feng would never torture him, whip him, or humiliate him.
No.
The man would simply decide Bai was defective and kill him with a thought.
Bai floated off the ground as his body slithered through the air toward the direction of the summons.
A part of him wished that Liu Feng would treat him horribly, so he could then gather the courage needed to stand up against him and die.
When Bai reached the destination, he found himself on the outskirts of a small town near the Blazing Sun Sect. This town did not have any walls.
Bai had no idea why a human settlement lacked visible protection. Despite Liy Feng's insistence on learning certain things, Bai would rather not learn about human behaviors. It was rather boring.
Liu Feng was already there, waiting.
There was a smile on the man’s face: a smile was something humans did to show they were pleased. At least that was what Liu Feng had taught him. Though he had also said that sometimes humans smiled to hide their true intentions.
As a beast, Bai struggled to distinguish the meaning behind human expressions.
But the enslavement technique connecting their minds bridged that gap. Through that connection, Bai understood Liu Feng’s will and intentions.
He would rather not have...
“I think you probably have the best bloodline to act as my spy,” Liu Feng said, rubbing his chin as he looked over Bai’s white body like a predator examining its prey. “It’s a shame this technique restricts your growth. But hopefully one day I’ll become strong enough not to need it.”
Bai did not believe this human for a second.
The technique Liu Feng used did not erase their thoughts or turn them into mindless puppets. They could still think and reason normally. But there was a compulsion like an invisible command woven into their very being, to obey.
Bai knew he was being controlled.
And yet he did not resist it.
The only time he had been able to fight the technique was when it was first used on him. After that, it was as if something fundamental inside him had been rewritten.
“Alright, now listen carefully,” Liu Feng continued.
What followed was a long explanation that ultimately boiled down to a simple task.
Bai was to act as a spy.
A new Beast Sect had appeared, and Liu Feng wanted information about it.
Bai was skeptical. The idea that beasts of different races had gathered together to oppose humans sounded absurd. Some unusual incident must have occurred for something like that to happen.
In Bai’s eyes, humans were nothing special.
Just another kind of prey and another species of beast.
Yes, they were born with intelligence, while most beasts only gained it after reaching Foundation Establishment. But so what? There were royal bloodline beasts that possessed wisdom from birth and far greater strength besides.
Humans were fragile creatures.
Their only advantages were their numbers and the softness of their flesh.
…
After receiving his orders, Bai left the territory of the Blazing Sun Sect. After two weeks of deliberate detours and erratic travel patterns, he finally arrived in the region Liu Feng had identified as the territory of the Beast Sect.
It had once belonged to the Titanic Sword Sect.
As Bai flew across the land, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the territory.
Except for the ruined human settlements scattered throughout it.
He spread his senses, feeling the presence of beastly Qi throughout the region. But he was not searching for ordinary Qi Gathering beasts without intelligence.
He was looking for someone higher in the hierarchy.
As he continued flying, Bai sensed several beasts at the Core Formation stage scattered across the territory. But he deliberately avoided them.
Even if he had been sent here as a spy, Bai had no intention of becoming someone’s subordinate.
Liu Feng had not placed many restrictions on what he could or could not do. And Bai had no desire to spend his time taking orders from another beast.
Eventually, he sensed a creature at the seven-star Foundation Establishment stage.
Immediately, he changed direction and flew toward it.
The hot summer wind brushed pleasantly against his cold-blooded scales as he sped forward at full speed.
When Bai finally reached the location, he saw a bear standing beside a muddy pond, its snout buried deep in the water as it drank noisily.
Even when some beasts gained intelligence, they still behaved like animals.
Bai looked down on such creatures with disgust.
The bear finally sensed him as Bai coiled himself around a warm tree bathed in direct sunlight.
The creature groaned at him, as if trying to speak. But not all beasts shared the same language until they reached Core Formation, the stage where they could even communicate with humans.
Despite gaining sentience, it was clear this creature was a bit dull.
Bai was already planning to make it his next meal.
Normally, he avoided eating beasts with fur. Their meat had a strange texture and an unpleasant taste, especially disghustingly filthy creatures like this one that drank from muddy puddles. But Liu Feng had been feeding him very well lately, and sometimes Bai developed a craving for something… trashy.
Then the bear released a pulse of Qi, as though calling someone.
Bai was immediately displeased.
His meal had been interrupted, and he was almost tempted to take out his anger on everything around him. Everything about having someone as a master that pissed him off, he wanted to take it out on others since he couldn't harm Liu Feng.
But Bai held himself back because the technique would count this as betrayal in his subconscious, and it would kill him.
He had no interest in negotiating with nearby Core Formation beasts. In fact, he despised meeting creatures higher in the hierarchy than himself. So he dreaded meeting another creature stronger than himself.
But contrary to his expectations, the only response was the faint sound of something slithering through the grass.
A small green snake poked its head out and slowly approached the muddy puddle where the bear stood.
It looked like an ordinary snake.
“Hello, fellow serpent,” the little snake said.
Bai froze in surprise.
The creature had not only spoken in the language of snakes, but also in human speech.
Was this tiny thing a Core Formation beast?
It certainly didn’t feel like one. Perhaps it possessed a technique that concealed its cultivation.
Even so, the small body looked weak.
“I am a normal snake, granted sentience by the great one, known as the Honored Snake King, a mighty Core Formation snake-type beast,” the small green serpent explained in a strangely human manner of speaking.
Bai felt a spark of curiosity. This was likely due to Liu Feng affecting his state of mind, and he knew it.
Bai understood the vast difference between instinctive cultivation and active cultivation. That difference alone explained why humans produced so many cultivators despite their relatively small population.
Using human estimates, there were perhaps two hundred million humans on this continent.
But there were trillions of snakes.
If a technique like this truly existed, the number of snake-type monstrous beasts would skyrocket in the future.
Still, in Bai’s opinion, any Core Technique capable of doing this was inherently weak.
But as Liu Feng liked to say…
It had tactical advantages.
“We don’t have time for you to become acquainted with all our comrades,” the little vermin continued. “The great ones are planning to launch a large attack soon. I hope the great white one will not be offended by this.”
If it weren’t for Liu Feng’s orders, Bai would have had no interest in meeting these creatures at all, and even less so after meeting this little green one. After all, he would likely have to address this Snake King as "lord" or something equally humiliating.
As for harmony with other beats that were of a similar kind? Screw that! Why did they get to be free while he had to be enslaved like this? He would rather have them enslaved too!
“No problem. We are all a big family here,” Bai said.
The words tasted disgusting in his mouth, like biting into mud.
They came straight from a script Liu Feng had given him about how he should behave.
Through the mental link between them, Bai immediately sent Liu Feng the new information about the upcoming attack.
“And I want to help our great cause and save as many of my brethren as I can, so where should I go?” Bai inquired.
The little snake paused, as if surprised that someone would show it such respect instead of looking down on it.
In truth, Bai considered the little green snake nothing more than vermin. But he had to follow the script. Otherwise, who knew what that crazy human would do to him?
Seeing a snake pause, much like a human would when caught by surprise, really annoyed Bai.
They were serpents and snakes! Why were they acting so human-like? It was horrid.
“I understand, but right now we also need people to keep watch and defend our border with the Blazing Sun Sect,” the little snake replied, its voice sounding noticeably more energetic.
Bai felt revolted just thinking about how his fake respect had made the creature so happy.
“Why? Aren’t we going to attack the Blazing Sun Sect?” Bai asked.
“I am not privy to the intentions of the great ones,” the snake admitted.
Then what use are you to me, you little vermin, Bai thought.
The little snake seemed hesitant before it continued, “But since so few of our comrades are stationed here, it is more likely we are going after another human sect.”
Bai tightened his coils around the tree he was resting on and slowly began to doze off. The little snake noticed and quietly slithered away.
With nothing else to do, Bai sent Liu Feng the information about the upcoming attack through their mental link and settled in to enjoy the summer sun.
His master had once explained that cold-blooded creatures like him naturally enjoyed sunlight, since they could not generate their own body heat.
He was right, and just for that, Bai wanted to kill... a human who looked like Liu Feng.
He had to be careful with these thoughts. So he quickly reasoned in his mind why he would presume something like that.
Killing a human who looked like Liu Feng was so that they wouldn't impersonate his master.
Yeah, that was it.
…
Many miserable days passed for Bai, as the only good thing in his miserable life was the warm sun.
Everything else was terrible.
The food was disgusting, as he spent his time hunting ordinary Qi Gathering bear beasts in the surrounding territory.
It made him miss being pampered by Liu Feng.
Sure, sometimes he had to participate in strange experiments, but they were rarely tedious and never lasted long. It was a small price to pay for the excellent food and whatever else Bai desired.
Liu Feng had even modified several human techniques so that beasts with serpent bodies could use them. Bai had not yet mastered them, but he appreciated the effort.
Trying new things was enjoyable.
Life in the wilderness, on the other hand, was simply irritating.
Before becoming Liu Feng’s slave, Bai had been proud of being a wild beast and an apex predator who had survived countless dangers and grown powerful enough that very few creatures could challenge him.
But that pride had only existed because he had to be wild.
Sure, he was not happy about being enslaved. But at least he no longer had to drink muddy puddle water like ordinary beasts.
Imagine being born with a special bloodline, working hard to grow stronger, becoming a powerful beast, and still drinking from the same filthy puddles as some shaggy furball.
As Bai was silently looking down on the wild beasts around him, the ground suddenly trembled.
The little green snake he had met on the first day slithered toward the tree where Bai was resting.
This was not the same tree from before. This one was larger and caught the sunlight far better.
Little Green looked agitated.
It stopped beneath the tree and stared up at Bai, its tail flicking nervously from side to side.
As expected of inferior snakes. Even if they were granted sentience and the ability to speak, they were still inferior.
“Lord Bai, there is some urgent news! We lost a Core Formation beast that got too close to the Misty Mountains, which, as the name suggests, are a mountain range covered in everlasting mist. We have been forbidden from going near them,” said Little Green.
“Oh…” Bai replied, trying to fake some reaction before giving up halfway through.
This whole spying business and becoming a so-called traitor to his species was rather boring. Most of the time, nothing happened.
But Little Green either didn’t notice or didn’t care about his lack of emotion.
“When other Core Formation beasts went to deal with the culprit, they approached the Misty Mountains but decided not to enter,” Little Green continued. “They felt an inexplicable sense of danger. In the end, the army changed its route.”
Misty Mountains…
Bai didn’t know much about them, but he immediately sent the information to Liu Feng through their mental link.
“So make sure you never get close to the Misty Mountains. This is an order from above,” Little Green added, sounding slightly meek as if it realized it was speaking as though it were the one giving commands.
“I understand,” Bai said with a lazy yawn.
Little Green didn’t linger. It soon slithered away, likely to inform the other snake-type creatures stationed in the area.
The entire beast sect was surprisingly well organized. Everyone knew their place, their objectives, and what they were supposed to do.
Which meant a spy like Bai could cause significant trouble without ever getting close to the upper leadership, something Liu Feng had originally assumed Bai would have to do.
Bai started cultivating without much ceremony and put such thoughts in the back of his head.
His element was cold, so cultivation during summer was less effective. Winter was his best season, when he typically hibernated and cultivated without interruption.
Still, if he kept this routine, he might break through another star within five to ten years, even during the summer.
At least, that was Liu Feng’s estimation.
And that human was many things, but he was rarely wrong or incompetent.
Well, he was sometimes. But it was hard to tell whether he was incompetent or just didn't care enough about the subject to put any effort into it.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Bai improved his cultivation, Liu Feng could suppress it with a single thought.
That was rather demotivating.
Still, Bai could only hope Liu Feng would one day keep his promise and release him.
Only him.
He didn’t particularly care about the other enslaved beasts. As for things like beast wars and grand conflicts, Bai had no interest in them either.
He had eaten humans before, but they were never to his taste. The things they wore, called "clothes" as Liu Feng had taught him, ruined the texture of the meat.
Undressing them before eating was far too tedious.
About a century ago, Bai had even partnered with a slug that secreted mucus capable of dissolving clothing. Unfortunately, the slime burned Bai’s mouth and ruined the flavor of the meat even further.
Back then, Bai had thought that at least spying would give him something interesting to do instead of hiding away somewhere.
But now he simply wanted to return.
The food had been incredible when he lived inside that strange mirror dimension Liu Feng kept him in.
So, despite everything…
There were still a few benefits to being Liu Feng’s slave.
He was pretty sure it was the technique used to control him that made him see the positive even in a situation like this. But there was nothing he could do about it.