"Fellow Immortal, are you worried that if I go up there, it will be detrimental to you?"
"Nonsense," Xiao Wenbing said coldly, determined not to agree to anything the giant snake said.
"I swear that once I am free, I will absolutely not make things difficult for you, and will instead do my best to repay your kindness," the snake immortal said with utmost sincerity.
"Really? Okay, I promise. I'll go out first and come back for you after I'm settled, okay?" Xiao Wenbing was utterly disdainful. A promise? Who are you going to promise that to? You can't lie like that.
Sure enough, the snake immortal hesitated for a moment. Just by looking at Xiao Wenbing's expression, one could tell that his intentions were not sincere.
After a moment, the snake immortal gritted his teeth and said, "Actually, I have a method that can dispel all your doubts, fellow immortal."
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, unable to understand what good suggestion this giant snake could have made, and said, "Go ahead."
"Yes, as long as this humble immortal is willing to acknowledge you as my master, then can you rest assured, fellow immortal?"
"You acknowledge me as your master?" Xiao Wenbing was immediately moved.
"Indeed, as long as you can help me escape this predicament, I am willing to acknowledge you as my master."
Xiao Wenbing stared blankly at the snake immortal. To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie. This was a Great Immortal of the Ten Tribulations Realm, a Refining Spirit Immortal! According to him, within Huangzhou, besides Big Ears, this snake immortal possessed the greatest abilities. If he had this fellow as a servant, his strength would increase by a significant margin…
However, Xiao Wenbing had a vague feeling that things weren't so simple. For some reason, he felt that there was definitely some conspiracy behind the snake's words.
"Fellow immortal, as long as I acknowledge you as my master, my life and death are entirely in your hands. Are you still going to hesitate?" the great immortal said, tears streaming down his face.
Seeing that the snake fairy's words were becoming increasingly tragic, Xiao Wenbing felt a surge of courage and was about to agree.
Suddenly, the voice of the Mirror God echoed in my mind: "Idiot, don't agree!"
Volume 19, Chapter 4: Invoking the Gods
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Xiao Wen was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes flashed with a sharp light. He realized that the snake spirit had definitely deceived him. Although he hadn't seen through it, he couldn't hide it from the spirit of the divine artifact, the Mirror God.
"Mirror God, why, you said..."
"That giant snake is up to no good."
"I understand, what does it want to do?"
"It wants to acknowledge you as its master."
Xiao Wenbing frowned. Nonsense…
"What's wrong with it recognizing me as its master?"
"Of course, don't forget, this is the Immortal Realm, a super expert at the Refining Spirit Realm, while you are just a newly arrived Nascent Soul Immortal."
“I know.” Xiao Wenbing certainly understood the difference, but so what?
"This snake spirit is no good. If it acknowledges you as its master, then when its thousand-year tribulation arrives, you will have to share half of the heavenly tribulation with it..."
"Half?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise, "Half of the Heavenly Tribulation shouldn't be a problem for me, right? Not to mention I have tens of thousands of immortals forming an Earth Shield Formation under my command, I might not even be afraid of it on my own."
"Bah..." The Mirror God roared, "With your meager cultivation, how could you possibly withstand the Heavenly Tribulation of the Refining Spirit Realm? I'm afraid a single bolt of heavenly lightning would obliterate your soul. If you die in the Heavenly Tribulation, this master-servant contract will naturally be dissolved."
Xiao Wenbing was startled and asked, "Are you saying that the difference in cultivation level will affect the strength of the Heavenly Tribulation?"
"Of course, and this giant serpent has cultivated for millions of years and is already at the Ten Tribulations stage. I think its final tribulation of refining the spirit is coming soon. Hehe... It probably knows your identity as a divine messenger, so it wants to use you to take the fall. Once it safely passes through its final tribulation of refining the spirit, while you die under the heavenly tribulation, then it can not only immediately become a god, but also get rid of you, its sucker."
Xiao Wenbing nodded slowly. He finally understood. This giant snake was indeed cunning and treacherous. It seemed to be willing to acknowledge him as its master at all costs in order to leave the Immortal Imprisonment Cave, but in fact, it had already planned several steps ahead. One step led to another, and it was unclear who was using whom.
Turning to look at the giant snake, I realized that it was indeed true, for they were all vicious and cruel.
"This insidious creature, I'm going to kill it."
“No, no,” the Mirror God suddenly laughed. “It’s a Refining God Immortal with a Ten Tribulations Body. It would be such a pity if it died. Besides…” the Mirror God said with a half-smile, “Besides, do you have the ability to kill it?”
With a slight hum, Xiao Wenbing asked, "Then what should we do?"
"Since it wants to recognize a master, then let it do so."
"Nonsense." Xiao Wenbing frowned. "To be its master and not even know how you died is absolutely unacceptable."
"You may not be able to, but there is someone who can..."
"who?"
"Hehe, of course..."
A moment later, a slight smile appeared on Xiao Wenbing's lips. This method was indeed killing two birds with one stone. However, if the giant snake were to successfully recognize him as its master so easily, it would be too lenient.
At this moment, seeing Xiao Wenbing's eyes flicker, the giant snake assumed he was already tempted and immediately used its silver tongue to continue persuading him: "Once I acknowledge you as my master, my life and death will be entirely in your hands. In the future, if you wish to deal with someone, simply give the order, and I will handle it perfectly. Furthermore, I will also offer you the peerless treasure beneath Huangzhou City."
Xiao Wenbing gave it a cold look, and the snake shuddered. Although it was a cold-blooded animal, it still felt a chill run down its spine when it met Xiao Wenbing's gaze, and couldn't help but think that something was wrong.
"Do you truly wish to acknowledge me as your master?"
"Of course it's true."
"Alright." Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly and asked, "Do you know what kind of place this is?"
"This humble fairy does not know."
"Let me tell you. This is the Immortal Imprisonment Cave. It's a place used by the gods to imprison immortals. That's why your earthly immortal energy has failed."
The snake immortal was greatly surprised and asked, "How did you know, fellow immortal?" Then, seeing Xiao Wenbing's impatient expression, he immediately realized and said, "Fellow immortal is a divine messenger. Since you can use divine power, it is only natural that you would know."
Xiao Wenbing nodded and smiled, "Brother Snake, if you truly wish to acknowledge someone as your master, then please swear an oath here, and I will grant your wish."
The snake immortal was overjoyed, thinking to himself that this person must be a fool.
The master-servant contract is a very solemn matter. Once signed, it cannot be dissolved unless the master is willing. The reason it valued Xiao Wenbing was, of course, to escape this situation, but more importantly, it was because of the other party's status as a divine messenger.
In fact, the Mirror God was only half right. This giant serpent had cultivated for far too long and had already reached the peak of the Immortal realm. It no longer cared about tribulations like the Thousand-Year Tribulation and the Ten-Thousand-Year Tribulation. Therefore, even though it had recognized Xiao Wenbing as its master, it would not want this rare divine messenger to die a violent death at this time.
When the heavenly tribulation comes, it will actually help Xiao Wenbing and allow him to survive the calamity.
However, precisely because this snake's cultivation is too high, in at most ten thousand years, the final tribulation of refining the spirit will arrive. At that time, its true purpose will be revealed. If someone can withstand half of the heavenly tribulation for it, the possibility of becoming a god will greatly increase.
Besides, Xiao Wenbing is merely a divine messenger. Even with its full assistance, he could withstand the tribulations of a thousand or ten thousand years, but he would absolutely not be able to resist the final tribulation of refining the god. At that time, it would become a god, while Xiao Wenbing would be reduced to nothingness under the blow of the final tribulation, which would be its ultimate goal.
Therefore, although its desire to recognize Xiao Wenbing as its master was somewhat forced by formalities, it was actually sincere and without any false intentions.
At that moment, the Snake Immortal knelt down heavily and said, "I hereby swear that I will serve you as my master, my heart is sincere and without falsehood. Please..." He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and asked, "May I ask, fellow Daoist, whose cave is this?"
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. He thought to himself, "How would I know which bored deity created this Immortal Imprisonment Cave here?" But since the Snake Immortal had asked, his eyes darted around, and he immediately smiled and said, "This was done by the Great God Xianyun using his great magic. You should swear an oath in his name."
"Yes..." The Snake Immortal silently repeated the name of the Great God Xianyun twice in his heart, memorizing it, and then said, "I swear this oath, Great God Xianyun, please bear witness. If not, may I be struck by heavenly lightning and never become a god again."
Seeing Xiao Wenbing nod in satisfaction, the Snake Immortal was also extremely pleased, but he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. He asked, "May I ask, fellow immortal, who is this Great God Xianyun?"
"Well, the Great God Xianyun is unique in the heavens..." Xiao Wenbing made up a story off the cuff, leaving the snake immortal speechless. However, judging from its eyes, it was almost certainly unconvinced.
As for Xiao Wenbing, he praised his master to the skies without thinking. However, seeing the Snake Immortal's behavior, his pride diminished considerably.
With a frown and a cold snort, Xiao Wenbing said, "What, Brother Snake, don't you believe me?"
"I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare." The Snake Immortal hurriedly denied it. However, after all, she was a great immortal at the Refining God level, and she still had some dignity and knowledge. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "But, does such a god who can combine creation, order, and destruction really exist?"
Achoo...
In the world of cultivation, the old Daoist Xianyun was instructing several disciples when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps inexplicably rose on his skin. Then, he involuntarily let out a loud sneeze.
The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment. Could it be that the old Taoist priest, with his top-level cultivation in the Tribulation Transcending stage, would fall ill?
"Nonsense, of course there are! They're just the three supreme gods. Let me tell you the truth, that old man is my master. From now on, when I have nothing to do, I'll create a world for fun. Since I can create a world, he must be omnipotent."
The snake spirit gaped, speechless. He'd heard of people who could boast, but he'd never seen anyone boast like this. Wasn't he afraid of blowing his own horn out of proportion?
"Alright, you stay here. I'm leaving. I'll take you as my servant when I come back." Xiao Wenbing picked up Die Xian and turned to leave.
"Yes, yes... Huh!" The snake fairy responded twice, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, it finally grabbed Xiao Wenbing's thighs firmly just as he was about to take off.
It's so hard to have someone to look forward to, but if that person suddenly leaves, how many years and months will they have to wait?
"Hey, what are you doing now? Let go!"
"Master, please accept me!" the snake spirit cried out in anguish, as if her heart was breaking and her voice was piercing to the core.
Are you afraid I'll run away?
"This, I dare not."
"Hmph, I really don't have time right now. But, seeing how pitiful you are, fine, I'll take pity on you and reserve some company for you."
Snake Fairy paused, then turned her gaze to Butterfly Fairy, pondering in her heart that given Xiao Wenbing's concern for Butterfly Fairy, he probably wouldn't abandon her. If Butterfly Fairy stayed, should she still insist?
Butterfly Fairy was also taken aback. She held Xiao Wenbing's hand, pouted her little mouth in a wronged manner, and her eyes were full of tears. She was truly on the verge of tears, but she refused to speak or beg for mercy.
Xiao Wenbing felt a pang of pain in his heart. He quickly patted Diexian's small hand and said gently, "Don't worry, little Diexian, you are my precious darling. Of course I won't abandon you."
The butterfly fairy was overjoyed, her tears turning to laughter. She hugged Xiao Wenbing and exclaimed, "Master is so good!"
However, she was curious: if Xiao Wenbing wasn't going to keep her, then who was he going to keep?
As the master's earliest servant, she knew far more than Quini and the others. Her gaze involuntarily fell on the ring in Xiao Wenbing's hand. Could it be that he was going to leave the Mirror God behind?
Sure enough, Xiao Wenbing slowly moved his right hand toward the ring on his left hand.
Volume 19, Chapter 5: The Arrival of the Treasure God
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"What's wrong?"
"Or..." Butterfly Fairy's expression shifted several times before finally hardening: "I'll stay."
"You? Absolutely not." Xiao Wenbing rejected the idea without even thinking.
Butterfly Fairy was greatly relieved. She was already being held in Xiao Wenbing's arms, and now she stretched her neck and brought her lips close to Xiao Wenbing's ear, whispering, "Master, the Mirror God is too important to you, you can't stay here no matter what! Little Butterfly Fairy's cultivation is now too shallow to be of much use. You can take the Star Dou Illusionary Realm, I'll stay."