Chapter 534 - 524: Xiaohai Reappears

Chapter 534: Chapter 524: Xiaohai Reappears

"Hahaha, you old bastard. Has a millennium really passed and you’re still so scared of those little critters?" the Golden-Winged Emperor Eagle cackled from ahead, its tone dripping with mockery.

Zhu Jiuqian scoffed irritably. "If I weren’t afraid of scorpions, I never would have formed a Contract with an old bird like you! Enough! Why are you backing away? I’ve been watching you for a while now, cowering over there. Hurry up and summon your Magical Beast!"

Suddenly, Zhu Jiuqian barked at someone next to Mu Chen. Mu Chen followed his gaze and was immediately speechless. At some point, Long Xiaotian had backed away from the group by nearly three meters. He had a strange expression, like someone caught in the middle of an affair.

"What are you doing?" Mu Chen asked, exasperated.

Long Xiaotian stammered, fidgeting for a long while before finally saying, "Can I... not summon it...?"

"Not summon it?"

All twelve of them were stunned for a moment, then Ye Shuangshuang burst out laughing. "Don’t tell me your Contracted Magical Beast is only Tier Three?"

Long Xiaotian’s face turned beet red from Ye Shuangshuang’s teasing. "Bullshit! You’re the one who’s Tier Three! Fine, I’ll summon it! But none of you are allowed to laugh! Whoever laughs... I’ll make sure not to beat them to death!"

Ye Shuangshuang immediately put on a serious expression. "Okay, I won’t laugh."

Seeing this, Long Xiaotian snorted, extended his right arm, and with beads of sweat forming on his forehead, whispered as if murmuring a secret, "Sprout forth... my little mushroom..."

"Pfft!"

None of the people present were ordinary. Long Xiaotian wasn’t far from them, so even though his summoning chant was quiet, it didn’t escape their ears. Mu Chen, in particular, was right next to Long Xiaotian and felt a sudden urge to burst out laughing when he heard it.

Desperately trying to control his expression, Long Xiaotian took a deep breath and focused his mind. A huge, red Summoning Array Map appeared in the air. Then, under Long Xiaotian’s solemn gaze, a blood-red Rune shot into the sky and embedded itself in the center of the Summoning Array Map. The Array Map began to spin, flaring with brilliant light. A massive figure—no, a massive *orb*—fell from the sky and landed with a BOOM right where Long Xiaotian was standing, carrying with it an incredibly scorching aura.

"Yoho! Little brother Xiao Tian, we only just parted and you’re missing your big bro already? You really can’t be left alone, can you! Go on, what’s the big idea calling me out? Don’t tell me you want big bro to give you another caress?"

The refined yet teasing voice rattled out like a machine gun from beside Mu Chen. When he focused his eyes, Mu Chen was suddenly startled!

"What is that thing?"

It wasn’t just Mu Chen; even Zhu Jiuqian couldn’t help but cry out in shock. The figure that had appeared before them was a giant mushroom, a full five meters tall. The mushroom was humanoid, with two arms but no legs, its base perfectly smooth. Its body was white and tender, and it was currently pinning Long Xiaotian to the ground! Under its cap, two large, shimmering green eyes and a small mouth chattered away nonstop. But the most eye-catching thing about it was its cap. The mushroom cap was a crystalline blue, and from it leaped Blue Flames that were two meters high.

A mushroom and Fire Flames?

This contradiction was truly baffling, completely outside of Mu Chen’s understanding. Even Zhu Jiuqian couldn’t identify what it was, which showed just how special it truly was.

"Hey, you over there, you nasty old man! What did you just say? Calling this bro ’that thing’? ’What thing’? Have you no manners? This bro is not a ’thing’! Do you know what respect is? Let me tell you! This bro has a name, and it’s awesome! A dead fatty like you could never comprehend it. This bro is called the Hell Mushroom! Uh-huh, cool, right?! Kids can’t even handle it when they hear it! If you find that hard to remember, you can call this bro by his nickname: Sprouting Little Mushroom! How cool is that?"

With another rapid-fire burst of words, the giant mushroom twisted its body, waving its blue-flamed cap around as it boasted, leaving everyone completely dumbfounded.

"’Nasty old man... dead fatty...’" Zhu Jiuqian’s mouth twitched violently, and fury began to smolder in his eyes.

"That’s enough! Get back in there!!"

But just then, Long Xiaotian, who had been pinned underneath it the whole time, finally couldn’t bear the giant mushroom’s weight any longer. With a loud roar, he summoned an Array Map and sent it back into the Summoning Space.

Before being sent back, the giant mushroom was still shouting loudly, calling Long Xiaotian a Tyrant who restricted the freedom of the people. Its nonsensical logic and motor-mouth speed left a deep and decisive impression on Mu Chen and the others.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Zhu Jiuqian took tiny, shuffling steps with his portly body over to Mu Chen’s side, his face full of confusion.

Mu Chen looked on, exasperated. "Never. It should be a plant-type Magical Beast, but aren’t plant-types supposed to be most afraid of the Fire Attribute? Why does it not only possess Fire Attribute Power, but has even reached the level of Blue Flame?"

"I’m afraid we’ll have to ask the person involved." With that, Zhu Jiuqian turned and hauled Long Xiaotian up from the ground. "Spill it. What exactly is that weird mushroom?"

Long Xiaotian helplessly straightened the wrinkles in his clothes and said with a wry smile, "It’s probably a Mutated Magical Beast. But plant-type Magical Beasts are rare on the Extreme Martial Continent to begin with, so I don’t know its bloodline or what species it’s descended from. I just know that it not only has Wood Attribute power, but also Fire Attribute Power, and neither is low-level. On top of that, its current Beast Realm has already reached Tier Seven, but that’s not even its limit. When I found it, I saw it soaking its entire body in lava, blissfully devouring the Fire Attribute Primordial Qi within. So I thought it was a Fire-attribute Magical Beast, and..."

"And so you went to communicate with it sincerely?" Zhu Jiuqian pinched his chin, his brow deeply furrowed. "Judging from this Magical Beast’s logic, while it’s not exactly sophisticated, it can understand a lot of what’s being said. Not only that, but it speaks in a way none of us can comprehend. Most importantly, it is indeed a plant-type Magical Beast, yet it possesses the power of its own natural enemy, the Fire Attribute. Do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?" Long Xiaotian asked.

"It means it will have no natural enemies, nothing that can counter it," Zhu Jiuqian said gravely. "It’s a good thing you succeeded in your Contract, otherwise who knows what it might have grown into. Never mind that. We still have time. In the future, if you’re free, I hope you can come to the Elder Space from time to time. I’d like to study it."

"Study it?" Long Xiaotian abruptly took several steps back, his eyes full of wariness.

Zhu Jiuqian was taken aback, realizing his words could be misinterpreted. He quickly explained, "Don’t worry. The ’studying’ will only be observational. I won’t harm it."

"Really?"

"Of course! Would I lie to you?" Zhu Jiuqian, already vexed by the Hell Mushroom, couldn’t help but roar. "There’s one person left. Little Muchen, although the worldly phenomenon allowed me to see your Magical Beast companion—no, perhaps it should be called an Illusory Spirit Companion—could you let this old man see its true form one more time?"

Mu Chen wanted to refuse. It wasn’t that he wanted to be secretive, but because Xiaohai was currently in a deep sleep, and he didn’t have the heart to wake him. However, he then remembered that everyone else had already shown their Magical Beast companions to the group.

’If it’s just summoning him, it shouldn’t be a big deal,’ Mu Chen muttered to himself before nodding. "Alright. But because Xiaohai just performed Illusion Spirit Fusion with me, he’s in a deep slumber right now. If I summon him, he probably won’t be able to greet everyone."

As he spoke, Mu Chen closed his eyes and slowly extended his right arm. With a thought, a wisp of Primordial Power traveled to his wrist. The indecipherable Illusion Contract Rune flashed abruptly. The sky instantly turned from dusk to day, and a massive red-and-white Array Map silently appeared, dyeing the daylight sky crimson.

There was no summoning chant. Mu Chen simply snapped his eyes open, a crimson glint flashing through them. The massive Array Map in the sky suddenly melted away, replaced by an eerie, pitch-black Summoning Array Map that resembled the vast, starry cosmos. The daylight vanished in an instant as night descended. A profound, four-colored Rune—glowing green, white, red, and black—transformed into a smaller Array Map, rising from the back of Mu Chen’s hand into the heavens and embedding itself in the center of the black Array Map.

In an instant, as if a power source had been ignited, the eerie, black Array Map began to spin rapidly. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, Fire Flames surged, and black light flared. A terrifying pressure descended, so immense that even the Golden-Winged Emperor Eagle let out a muffled grunt under the strain.

Following that, a black Giant Dragon, about four meters tall and covered in Sword Blades, descended from the sky. Its form-fitting black armor reflected a cold glint even in the dark night. A pair of enormous Steel Wings were folded against its back. Its long, narrow Steel Tail was studded with sharp Sword Blades that converged toward the tip, making it look like a giant drill. A ball of ethereal Blue Flame burst forth and danced at its very end.

Its cold head rested on its Steel Claws, its entire body lying prone. It was clearly in a deep slumber, its eyes shut tight. Even so, one could still feel an aura of absolute sovereignty radiating from it!

At the same time, all the Magical Beasts standing on the Golden-Winged Emperor Eagle’s back retreated, not stopping until they reached the very edge of its spine. They stared at Xiaohai, their eyes filled with not only fear, but also profound reverence!

"This... is your... Magical Beast companion?" Zhu Jiuqian was at a loss for words again, his voice trembling.

Logically, as an Elder of Holy Tomb Mountain, Zhu Jiuqian’s temperament should have been extremely steady. But during this return journey, he had witnessed far too many miracles. This year’s batch of students had the worst overall strength he had ever seen, yet their Martial Arts Talent and combat prowess were the strongest of any generation! This kid named Mu Chen, in particular, was freakishly powerful to the extreme.

From top to bottom, no matter how you looked at it, this Magical Beast was an absolute war machine! Just looking at it created a suffocating pressure that made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

However, just then, Xiaohai, who had been lying prone on the ground, suddenly opened its eyes. They were a pair of ice-cold, crimson pupils. The moment its crimson eyes opened, a ball of ethereal Blue Flame ignited between its brows, and the aura of sovereignty it had displayed before grew even more intense.

It lifted its head slightly and its Steel Wings unfurled with a snap. Blue Flame instantly spread along the contours of the Steel Wings, engulfing them completely. It stood on its two feet, its giant tail whipping through the air. Two white lines spread up from the soles of its feet, covering its body in the blink of an eye. Streaks of red light roamed along the white lines, adorning its pitch-black body with an even more bizarre and striking pattern!

Its torso stood erect, like a giant dragonoid. Its arms hung naturally at its sides as it coolly surveyed its surroundings. Its gaze then fell upon Mu Chen, and its indifferent eyes instantly softened.

"Master."

The call, which sounded like a synthesized electronic voice, made Mu Chen start. He then said apologetically, "Did I wake you?"

Xiaohai shook its head. "No. But where are we?"

"This is the back of the Golden-Winged Emperor Eagle," Zhu Jiuqian quickly interjected. He walked toward Xiaohai, looking it up and down. "What is your name?"

Hearing this, Xiaohai stared at Zhu Jiuqian for a moment, white light flashing in its eyes. It then looked at Zhu Jiuqian gravely and asked in a low voice, "A Kui Ox?"