After a lively round of chatter, Gong Zixing finally got to the main topic.
The coast of the Eastern Sea was divided into three territories.
To the south was the small fishing village—technically under the jurisdiction of the Zixiao Sect. The villagers were all ordinary people. Although they knew a bit more about the cultivation world than common folk elsewhere, their knowledge was mostly limited to legends.
To the north was Longan Port, where a mid-sized cultivation family, the Beast-Taming Manor, held dominion. Almost all cultivators in the cultivation world who specialized in controlling or fighting alongside spirit beasts came from this manor.
Their main practices involved hunting, researching, and utilizing spirit beasts, as well as helping others tame or form contracts with them. If there was ever an outbreak of beasts causing trouble, they were the ones called to handle it.
Their reputation was quite respectable. After all, many cultivators had their own contract beasts, and to strengthen their bond or improve combat coordination, they often needed techniques provided by the Beast-Taming Manor. So even though it was only a mid-tier family, it was highly regarded and maintained friendly ties with many sects. During the war against the demon clans, they had even played a key role—since the demons also had their own beast-tamers.
Between the north and south lay a vast forest—the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts, home to countless spirit beasts. It stretched from the peninsula cliffs jutting eastward to the vast wilderness to the west.
The western region was mostly uninhabited and of no concern—but the triangular area on the eastern side was troublesome.
To protect ordinary people, the southern edge was long sealed by a Zixiao Sect barrier, preventing beasts from escaping and attacking human settlements.
Because the southern side bordered sheer cliffs, ordinary mortals couldn’t climb up, so the fishing village remained safe.
However, the barrier had a time limit—and with beasts often ramming against it, trying to break through for prey, it needed to be repaired periodically.
That was the reason Mo Xuanli had come this time: to restore the barrier.
The Zixiao Sect only managed the southern boundary—not because they were stingy about maintaining the entire thing, but because the north belonged to the Beast-Taming Manor’s territory, and they couldn’t act without permission.
The barrier on the Longan Port side was maintained by the Beast-Taming Manor, mainly to regulate entry and exit.
After all, the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts served as their main training ground—it couldn’t be completely sealed. Thus, those living in Longan Port were mostly cultivators, associated personnel, or independent practitioners. Many were disciples from various sects coming to train, hoping to capture a spirit beast to form a contract. If they couldn’t manage it themselves, they could pay the Beast-Taming Manor for assistance.
Over time, the forest had practically become the manor’s private property—entering required payment, and even help with beast-related incidents came at a price.
However, some people didn’t follow the rules and entered from the southern cliff, which caused Beast-Taming Manor to be quite dissatisfied with how Zixiao Sect managed things.
At times, after repairing the barrier, disciples of Zixiao Sect would also go in to patrol according to the situation—to see whether the demonic beasts near the southern area had been too bloodthirsty or showed signs of demonization. Such beasts would break through the barrier and devour humans, so if encountered, they had to be eliminated.
In this regard, there was some conflict between the two sects.
“Sometimes I even suspect that they deliberately drive powerful beasts southward to crash into the barrier just to cause us trouble. Otherwise, why has the barrier been breaking faster and faster in recent years? What’s more, they often send people to fly over the barrier to patrol around our small fishing village, as if this place were under their jurisdiction. Senior Brother Mo, if possible, it’d be best for you to show your face in front of the Beast-Taming Manor—let them know that this area is still under our Zixiao Sect’s management. The Ten-Thousand Beasts Forest isn’t their private property.”
When Gong Zixing said this, he was clearly indignant. As Zixiao Sect’s stationed guard here, he had likely endured quite a bit of frustration. After all, Gong Zixing had stopped cultivating; in terms of strength, he was easily suppressed by others.
After hearing Gong Zixing’s account, Mo Xuanli looked at Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing then said, “Don’t worry, little brother. Since Zixiao Sect sent a direct disciple, it’s certainly to make an appearance, not to come and go unnoticed.”
Understanding his master’s meaning, Mo Xuanli nodded. “Once I finish repairing the barrier, I’ll pay a visit to the Beast-Taming Manor. At the very least, they must not be allowed to disturb the normal lives of the people here.”
Gong Zixing immediately expressed his gratitude with joy.
“Oh right, will Senior Brother Mo be working alone? The barrier’s quite long,” Gong Zixing asked. “If you don’t mind, I can help a bit, though I’ve only learned a little about barrier techniques—at best, I can lend a hand.”
“No problem,” Mo Xuanli said calmly. “It’ll be good practice for me. Besides, I have my elder brother with me.”
Gu Baiqing nodded.
“It’s convenient for you two brothers to work together,” Gong Zixing said cheerfully. “By the way, I live here with my wife—we’ve split from my parents’ household. My wife’s expecting, so she rarely goes out. If you don’t mind, you can stay here. The rooms are all ready; pick whichever you like. There’s no inn in the small fishing village—if you don’t stay here, you’ll have to go to Longan Port across the way.”
Naturally, they couldn’t go directly to the other side’s territory, so the master and disciple continued to pose as brothers and temporarily stayed at Gong Zixing’s home.
This time, they were given separate rooms, and Gu Baiqing finally felt relieved.
They planned to rest for half a day before going out.
Gu Baiqing entered his temporary room. It was simple and clean, with some tasteful decorations—clearly a woman’s touch. There was a wind chime made of seashells and conches, and on the cabinet stood a large, colorful shell used as a container filled with pearls of various colors and sizes—but none of them were white.
Gu Baiqing was surprised—there wasn’t a single white pearl. It was said that white pearls were the tears of merfolk. Off the coast of the Eastern Sea, there were coral reefs where merfolk lived, so white pearls were quite common and sometimes even washed ashore.
Those coral reefs were filled with pearls. At that thought, Gu Baiqing’s expression stiffened slightly. In the original story, that wicked disciple had used pearls to do something utterly depraved, making it impossible for Gu Baiqing to look at pearls the same way ever again.
Remembering that, Gu Baiqing quickly put down the pearl he had been playing with, as if it burned his hand.
Just as he was about to rest, a familiar system prompt sounded.
[Second Mission Quest, Task 3: Subdue the Black Dragon as a contract beast, form an alliance with the Merfolk, and advance smoothly to late-stage Golden Core. Hint: The Black Dragon is a divine beast—difficult to tame, exercise caution. Forming the alliance will prevent the Merfolk from submitting to the demonic race.]
So it came again. Gu Baiqing couldn’t help but feel a little excited—the Black Dragon! A true dragon—one of the few divine beasts that survived from ancient times. It couldn’t even be compared to ordinary demonic beasts. Its presence alone could greatly boost Mo Xuanli’s strength. With a true dragon backing him, who would dare suppress him merely with cultivation power?
It was precisely because of the Black Dragon that Mo Xuanli was able to escape the siege of the cultivation world after his identity was exposed. Without that contract beast, even as a dual cultivator of both immortal and demonic paths, he wouldn’t have survived the joint pursuit of the entire realm.
However, this mission hint was a bit strange. The Black Dragon was formidable—but that was for others. For their protagonist, it was the one that came knocking of its own accord, practically begging to form the contract.
Mo Xuanli hadn’t even done anything before the Black Dragon willingly became his contract beast, helping him overcome the crisis here—and ultimately enabling him to destroy the Beast-Taming Manor. In the original story, this was one of the clear black marks against him: an undeniable, deliberate massacre, not a false accusation.
This tragedy was directly tied to the mission’s second requirement. But since Gu Baiqing was here now, that tragedy would definitely not happen. In fact, he felt that even without his interference, Mo Xuanli wouldn’t commit such acts anymore—their path had already diverged completely from the original plot.
As for the second part of the mission—to form an alliance with the Merfolk—honestly, if not for the system’s demand, Gu Baiqing would rather not have Mo Xuanli do it.
In the original story, it was indeed one of Mo Xuanli’s “cheat powers.”
Once the Merfolk alliance was formed, he effectively became the master of all Merfolk. Though it wasn’t quite the same as a beast contract, it still meant subservience and obedience to his commands.
And the Merfolk had a special gift: they were born able to control demonic beasts—they were natural beast tamers.
So, by forming the alliance, Mo Xuanli essentially gained control over half the demonic beast forces. Add a true dragon to that, and his power was unimaginable.
A young man with such might, proud and untamed, indifferent to everyone, acting as he pleased—how could the rest of the cultivation world endure that?
When reading the novel, Gu Baiqing had once wondered—did Mo Xuanli’s downfall, after his mixed bloodline was exposed, happen so swiftly not only because of prejudice, but also because his brilliance was too blinding, his power too great—a case of the crime of holding a treasure?
The Merfolk Alliance—what sect wouldn’t want to possess it? But no one dared to rashly cooperate with the Merfolk, fearing the imbalance of power it would bring.
Of course, the Merfolk must never be allowed to submit to the demonic race either. Fortunately, the Merfolk’s mentality leaned closer to that of humans, so they had remained neutral all along.
Only… their position in the cultivation world was an awkward one. The Merfolk could not become contracted beasts, yet were also not recognized as the same kind as cultivators. As a result, they existed merely as a troublesome faction—ignored and left to themselves.
It was precisely because of this that future troubles arose.
Now that the mission required him to help Mo Xuanli form a contract to prevent the demons from recruiting the Merfolk, it seemed that Gu Baiqing could only adapt as the situation unfolded and come up with another way.
After sorting out his thoughts, Gu Baiqing realized the entire morning had already passed.
By noon, when he went out, he saw Mo Xuanli busy in the kitchen, while Gong Zixing looked on nervously—apparently surprised that a personal disciple would actually cook for himself.
The seafood feast that followed left both Gu Baiqing and Three Bean unable to stop eating. Who would have thought Mo Xuanli’s first attempt at cooking seafood would be so varied and so delicious?
Gong Zixing, on the other hand, could only watch with longing; it wasn’t that Mo Xuanli was stingy, but rather that Gong Zixing needed to eat with his pregnant wife—and he even cooked her special meals himself, clearly doting on her dearly.
After eating, the two men and one cat finally set out to work.
They followed the coastline north toward the cliffs. The scenery along the shore was breathtaking. For Gu Baiqing, who had always lived inland, it was rare to see the sea—especially such a pristine, unpolluted sea of ancient times, so clear and beautiful.
Walking here in shoes was a punishment, so he simply took them off, letting his bare feet sink into the soft sand. Seeing this, Mo Xuanli followed suit.
Sunshine, beach, and ocean—everything that could lift a person’s mood was right there.
Suddenly, Gu Baiqing felt something underfoot. Looking down, he saw a beautiful shell. He couldn’t resist his mortal impulses, joyfully picking it up to admire it.
Mo Xuanli couldn’t help but smile faintly. “If Master likes them, you can pick more. Later, I can string them into a wind chime for you to hang at Luofeng Pavilion—like the one in Senior Brother Gong’s house.”
“Really? You can make one?” Gu Baiqing asked in surprise.
“The room I’m staying in has one too. I took a closer look—it’s simple to make,” Mo Xuanli replied.
As expected of the protagonist—there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Gu Baiqing was delighted and nodded in agreement.
Mo Xuanli added, “It’d be even better if we could find pearls. They’d look beautiful strung together.”
“Uh… let’s skip the pearls.”
“Master doesn’t like pearls?”
“No, I don’t!”
By the time they reached the northern cliffs, Gu Baiqing had collected enough shells for one wind chime. At this rate, after a few more trips, he could probably bring back several completed ones to Zixiao Sect.
Standing at the base of the cliff, he looked up—it was almost vertical. Even a skilled martial artist couldn’t climb it; only cultivators could.
The two exchanged a glance. Mo Xuanli knew that, spirit power or not, his master rarely used it lightly. He was just about to reach out and lift his master to fly up when Gu Baiqing asked, “Can God Nine Transformations take me up?”
Mo Xuanli froze, embarrassed at his instinctive urge to hold his master, and quickly transformed God Nine Transformations into its parasol form. The two of them gripped the handle together and flew up the cliff.
At the top was the barrier—they had entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest and would repair it from within.
Gu Baiqing was just about to put his shoes back on when Mo Xuanli said, “Master, please sit first.”
Gu Baiqing paused, thinking he was about to make some preparations or set up a formation, so he cooperated and sat down. But just as he settled onto a nearby boulder, Mo Xuanli suddenly knelt on one knee before him.
Gu Baiqing was startled—then saw Mo Xuanli take out a handkerchief, gently lift one of his feet, and begin wiping it clean.
Since they’d been walking barefoot on the beach, occasionally stepping into the waves, his feet were wet and covered with fine sand.
“I’ll do it myself,” Gu Baiqing said quickly.
“Your disciple is here—this kind of rough work…”
“You never did such rough work before either!” Gu Baiqing said in flustered protest.
At that point, Mo Xuanli should have let go—but whether it was the lingering warmth from their walk on the beach, or the sudden sight of his master’s snow-white, jade-like foot, something strange stirred in his heart. Perhaps it was the lingering regret of not holding him earlier, but the moment he grasped that delicate ankle, his heart trembled slightly. Even as his master spoke, he found himself reluctant to release it, even tempted to trace his fingers along the skin.
Yet before he could act, something else moved faster—God Nine Transformations, reacting to its master’s emotions, suddenly grew mischievous. A red cord extended from it, wrapping around Gu Baiqing’s ankle and gently tickling the sole of his foot.
“Ah—hah…”
His weak spot—his absolute weak spot. Gu Baiqing’s little secret was that he was extremely ticklish on the soles of his feet. God Nine Transformations’s playful teasing instantly sent a shiver through him, leaving him limp and collapsing backward.
“Master!” Mo Xuanli exclaimed, quickly grabbing his master’s hand to keep him from hitting the rocks.
But when Gu Baiqing lifted his head with effort, the sight made Mo Xuanli’s entire body tense.
Gu Baiqing’s breathing was shallow, his eyes misted with tears, his expression soft and helpless—as though he’d just been bullied.
And God Nine Transformations, unaware it had done wrong, continued playing, thinking it was all fun.
Gu Baiqing, gasping and tear-eyed, tried to pull away, but his ankle was caught both by the red cord and Mo Xuanli’s grip. Unable to use his strength, all he could do was wriggle helplessly.
“Stop… stop, God Nine Transformations!” Gu Baiqing cried out in disarray. But God Nine Transformations, hearing the laughter laced in his voice, only took it as encouragement and didn’t stop.
“Xuanli…” Gu Baiqing could only humbly turn to his disciple for help, even tightening his grip on Mo Xuanli’s sleeve, as if trying to pull the man closer.
But through the tears of laughter blurring his eyes, he couldn’t even see Mo Xuanli’s expression clearly.
Mo Xuanli was completely frozen—body taut, pupils trembling. Then, when Gu Baiqing softly called his name in that spoiled tone, Mo Xuanli’s Adam’s apple rolled; it felt as though something in his nerves exploded, and flashes of chaotic images rushed through his mind.
An impulse surged up, driving him.
His hand suddenly tightened around the ankle, and in the next instant he rose sharply, leaning in as though he’d lost control.
“Master!” Mo Xuanli’s voice was low and hoarse, trembling with restraint.
Gu Baiqing felt his leg being lifted—he was still laughing uncontrollably, yet puzzled inside and about to ask—
When a trembling, stammering voice drifted over from the nearby bushes: “Is… is anyone there? Someone’s there, right? Can you… can you help me?”
