After Bai Jie asked that question,
Even the forest fell silent. About four or five seconds passed before Yang Shining finally spoke, her tone turning a shade more solemn:
"I wish to establish a Demon-Taming Contract with you!"
"..."
"Do you even understand what you just said?" Bai Jie's voice abruptly turned cold, like ice against the ear.
Yang Shining's expression remained unchanged. She continued, "I hope you can become my contracted demonic beast—just like my Nine-Tails."
"Heh heh..."
The demonic spider laughed. His transmission reached the depths of Yang Shining's heart, amplifying the bewitching charm in his voice several times over, yet making it sound melodious and cold.
"Listen to yourself. Does that even sound human?"
The demonic spider mocked, "You? You think you can command me?"
Yang Shining raised her hand, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "Don't get angry so quickly. Won't you hear me out first?"
"..."
The demonic spider's displeasure inexplicably abated somewhat—blame it on that slightly coquettish plea.
"If you become my contracted demonic beast, you would enjoy the following benefits." Yang Shining looked toward where the demonic spider was hiding, speaking with conviction.
"First, I promise that you and I would enjoy equal status. I would not force you to do anything against your will."
Bai Jie scoffed inwardly: That's it? Your status was beneath mine to begin with. Why would I lower myself to share equal status with you?
"Second, if you became my contracted demonic beast, I would pour the maximum possible resources into helping you grow and cultivate..."
Bai Jie's heart stirred. He directly cut in, "What resources could you possibly have?"
The corner of Yang Shining's lips curved in a confident arc. She transmitted, "As the Saintess of the Jiuli Sect, I naturally hold resources that the vast majority of people in this world do not."
"The Jiuli Sect?"
Yang Shining explained, "It is a transcendent organization hidden beneath the surface of Federal society. It is filled with people who can tame demons and Gu—most of them are members of the Jiuli Tribe."
The Jiuli Tribe? Ridiculous!
Bai Jie was certain he'd heard of the Wu Gu Clan, but never some "Jiuli Tribe."
Still, he believed in the existence of this "Jiuli Sect" about seventy percent—having already witnessed Yang Shining's various supernatural methods.
"Third..."
"If you became my contracted demonic beast, I could use the Jiuli Sect's sacred artifact to help you break through the life barrier—even Transformation would not be out of the question."
Boom!
A silent explosion went off inside the demonic spider's mind. His very consciousness flickered.
"..."
He didn't transmit a reply, but that did not mean his heart wasn't shaken!
Transformation... Transformation, Transformation!
To regain a human body!
This had once been Bai Jie's ultimate, deepest wish. Even now, Bai Jie still yearned for it fiercely.
Simply by becoming Yang Shining's contracted demonic beast, he could Transform?!
Once he Transformed into human form, he would no longer need to skulk and hide the way he did now, living in constant fear and anxiety.
He could walk openly into human society, live and interact normally with his friends, return to campus, and even... go home.
Bai Jie's thoughts raced in a thousand directions, his heart brimming with hope.
Yang Shining continued piling on the temptation:
"Though you seem to possess the ability to Evolve on your own, you are alone, and the risk of straying down the wrong path is unavoidable. With my help, I can guide your growth toward the most perfect direction."
"Whether you wish to transform into human form, or to become the Spider Empress, I can assist you."
"In summary, you could grow to a degree beyond anything you can currently imagine—breaking through the limits of species and race, and becoming the ultimate transcendent lifeform."
"..."
Bai Jie had to admit: Yang Shining's "pie in the sky" had moved his heart.
But after a long, long silence, he still replied firmly:
"I refuse."
Instantly, on Yang Shining's fair cheeks, a trace of surprise appeared—along with a hint of disappointment and a touch of regret.
"Is that so? I... had actually anticipated this outcome, but it's still hard to accept."
"Bai Zhi, can you tell me your reason for refusing?"
The demonic spider transmitted coolly: "To me, you are, in the end, still too weak. And I do not like the experience of being shackled."
"I have always been the one who sets the rules. No one restricts me—not now, and even less so in the future."
"I will personally shatter the barriers of life and species. As for Transformation... it's not actually that important to me."
Though his words were firm, Bai Jie's deeper concern was his lack of trust in Yang Shining.
No matter how many bargaining chips and benefits Yang Shining promised, he could not possibly hand his freedom over to a stranger to control. That would be a disrespect to his own life—this was the fundamental reason for his refusal.
As for the claim that "Transformation is not that important"—that was merely a misleading statement to throw her off.
Yang Shining gradually bloomed a smile of understanding. In that instant, even the orioles would have been shamed and the swallows envious. She nodded slightly. "I understand."
Bai Jie watched Yang Shining's smile, convinced inwardly that she wouldn't give up so easily.
Of course, he had no intention of letting her off easily either!
"By the way."
Bai Jie suddenly said, "I actually have some questions for you."
"Why did you and your fox make those strange moves in the hallway last night?"
"Strange moves meaning...?"
"Setting up a barrier, digging through trash."
Though Yang Shining found it somewhat odd that Bai Zhi would care about such things, she still explained:
"I'm a student at this school, so I live in that building. But 'Nine-Tails' is way too disobedient. It always sneaks out when I'm not paying attention to scavenge for garbage."
"Scavenge... for... garbage?"
Bai Jie was dumbfounded.
He had assumed that the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was going through the trash because it was abused by its owner and went hungry.
"That's right. Regular demonic beasts, once they grow to a certain point, develop all kinds of strange obsessions that are hard to root out. 'Nine-Tails'' bad habit has been giving me a constant headache." Yang Shining spread her hands wide.
At this, a few threads of unease rose in Bai Jie's heart.
Demonic beast growth... developing strange obsessions?
Surely he hadn't reached that stage yet?
Yang Shining, unaware of the demonic spider's current worry, continued on her own:
"Over time, a rumor spread through the dorm building that a certain girl would sneak out at night to rummage through the trash and eat garbage. But in reality, that was just me dragging 'Nine-Tails' out of the trash can."
"Later, whenever I found 'Nine-Tails' sneaking out, I would deploy a barrier to shield ordinary people's senses before going to find it—so as to avoid being misunderstood again."
Bai Jie nodded inwardly: So that's how it was.
"Last night, in the sewer, why didn't you come find me directly on the spot?" Bai Jie asked again.
"Because I went chasing after that crocodile demon. By the time I doubled back, you had already left." Yang Shining replied.
"Did you catch it?"
"No. Although I could see the energy traces it left as it fled, it clearly ran much farther than I imagined. By the time I got out of the sewer's discharge outlet, its trail had completely vanished."
Yang Shining stuck out her tongue.
Bai Jie grumbled inwardly: And you want to be my master with just this much ability? This Jiuli Saintess isn't much to speak of, after all...
Yet he conveniently ignored the fact that he, too, had let that Sewer Crocodile escape...
After thinking for a moment, Bai Jie asked the question he had previously suppressed: "What connection does your Jiuli Sect have with the Wu Gu Clan?"
Yang Shining was astonished. "You actually know about the Wu Gu Clan?"
Bai Jie replied without a ripple in his tone: "Some lowlifes from the Wu Gu Clan tried to scheme against me earlier. I easily snuffed out their lives. I heard that name from their mouths."
Yang Shining suddenly understood. She slowly explained: "The Wu Gu Clan originated in the Miao Border Region. By mastering the taming of Gu, they gained supernatural abilities. They were among the very first—how should I put it—mutants, or transcendent humans."
"Many years ago, within the Wu Gu Clan, there emerged some individuals dissatisfied with the rigid clan and surname system—specifically, members of the outer branch. They broke away and reformed the Wu Gu Clan's cultivation incantations, thereby creating a method to establish equal contracts with living creatures."
"Those people became the original Jiuli Tribe—but they were also dubbed 'Traitors to the Clan' by the Wu Gu Clan."
"The Jiuli Tribe learned from the Wu Gu Clan's developmental missteps and believed that the family-clan system was not conducive to the tribe's long-term survival. So they transformed from a family-clan system into a religious organization. Different surnames—and even bloodlines outside the tribe—could join. Thus, the 'Jiuli Sect' was formally established."
"Historically, because the Wu Gu Clan relied on its thousand-year foundation and suppressed the Jiuli Sect in every way possible, the Jiuli Sect has always been an organization lurking in the shadows. Of course, the times have changed. The Jiuli Sect of today no longer fears the Wu Gu Clan at all."
"Because members of the Jiuli Sect don't need to tame Gu—they can gain transcendent abilities through the sect's secret arts alone. At the same time, unlike the Wu Gu Clan's combat style based primarily on Gu-taming, our sect can establish equal contracts with all living beings and has inherited some of the methods of ancient Daoism."
"Naturally, the rise of the Jiuli Sect could not have been achieved without this Saintess's unparalleled contributions."
Bai Jie now more or less understood. He hadn't expected such an organization to exist within Federal society.
Perhaps there were even more individuals and organizations that Bai Jie had no knowledge of.
After all, constrained by the boundaries of Yongan City and the limited perspective of an ordinary college student, Bai Jie's cognitive framework simply could not expand further.
"Have the authorities in power—the human government—simply allowed you to develop right under their noses?" Bai Jie probed.
He wanted to know the Federal government's attitude toward and measures against such mutants.
"With the Secret-Guarding Bureau and the military districts present, no matter how great our abilities, we still have to abide by the laws of human society," Yang Shining said.
"The Secret-Guarding Bureau? Don't tell me that place assembles the strongest mutants in the entire Federation?"
Regarding the Secret-Guarding Bureau, Bai Jie had once glimpsed fragmentary mentions while surfing the web. But he had assumed it was merely a product of the Federal populace's fantasies and bluster. He never expected it actually existed.
"Special agents of the Secret-Guarding Bureau are also called 'Secret Keepers.' They include not only the strongest mutants, but also 'New Humans' who have undergone genetic and mechanical modification."
"The technologies of gene editing and human mechanization can transform an ordinary person into a 'New Human' capable of containing spirit energy. The essence of this technology is to strengthen the human physique to the extreme, push Vitality to the limit, have the heart pump massive amounts of nutrients to the brain via blood, develop the brain's latent potential, and combine it with methods of spirit energy cultivation—thereby gaining abilities beyond the imagination of ordinary people."
"And 'New Humans' are not only far stronger than the mutants that have long existed among the population—they can also be mass-produced. It's just that, due to cost, the vast majority of citizens will never, in their lifetimes, come into contact with this technology or become 'New Humans.'"
At this moment, Bai Jie suddenly recalled his newly awakened fifth Talent—Mysterious Forbidden Domain—and its description:
The brain's latent potential, through special cultivation methods or spiritual essence stimulation, transforms into a mysterious Psychic Power.
It was thus apparent that among the Secret Keepers, there were likely those who used Psychic Power as their transcendent ability.
Bai Jie felt as though a strange and wondrous new world was opening its doors to him.
...
"By the way, I refused you today. You, as the dignified Saintess, wouldn't mobilize the entire sect's strength to hunt me down, would you?" Bai Jie asked with feigned nonchalance.
Yang Shining smiled. "Of course not. The Jiuli Sect is not an organization that resorts to extortion and plunder. And I don't have that much authority."
"I knew my visit today would be rather abrupt, so I prepared a gift to apologize."
Bai Jie responded with a lilting, "Oh?"
The next moment, Yang Shining saw
At the crown of the large tree before her, a cluster of blue-violet light abruptly erupted. As the electric arcs dispersed, an enormous spider draped in eerie blue-violet markings hung suspended, appearing right before her!
One human and one spider, separated by less than two meters!
"What gift?"
A bewitching yet eerie female voice, tinged with curiosity, echoed within her heart.
Cold sweat faintly seeped from Yang Shining's back, and she stiffened, though her face betrayed nothing unusual. She rummaged within the folds of her skirt.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, with a feline cry, the black crystal pendant on Yang Shining's chest radiated a dazzling brilliance, and the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox leaped out from thin air.
The moment it appeared, its fur bristled all over, and its gaze locked murderously onto Bai Jie.
"Nine-Tails, go ba—"
Before Yang Shining's urgent recall command could even land, an oppressive might—the pressure of a higher-order lifeform—abruptly descended!
Skill·High-Level Intimidation.
Yang Shining's heart clenched violently. She could barely breathe. It felt as though the ground's gravity had instantly multiplied several times over.
"Whim..."
The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox let out a whimper and also folded, prostrating itself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Its gaze fixed firmly on its own nose, not daring to so much as glance toward that spider radiating terrifying pressure.
The demonic spider's current Vitality was 499—the absolute limit of its current race—eclipsing the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox's Vitality by nearly 400 points!
Bai Jie hadn't even fully unleashed his Intimidation to the extreme. If he had, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox would likely have passed out immediately. As for Yang Shining, she was only bearing a mere two or three percent of what the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was shouldering.
But even that was enough to plunge Yang Shining into profound shock and terror.
In Yang Shining's eyes at this moment, the demonic spider was no different from the demonic fiends of legend.
Effortlessly shaking the heavens and moving the earth, wielding the forces of nature as it pleased.
Perhaps one or two breaths passed, or perhaps it was the time it took for a stick of incense to burn. Only then did the spider's aristocratic voice arrive:
"The gift?"
Yang Shining felt her breathing ease somewhat. She extended the object in her hand, panting slightly: "Here."
Bai Jie used spider silk to retrieve the item and examined it with his pedipalps.
"A bracelet?"