Chapter 1981: Taming the Gourd

"Don't move!"

Seeing the gourd about to rush over and swallow the pill, Zhang Xuan's face fell. He was terrified of this rascal, who was always snatching things. Whenever there was something good, it would appear instantly, its nose sharper than a dog's. "A pill I just bought for two hundred Sword Pavilion coins—if you swallow it, how am I supposed to improve my cultivation?"

"Give it to me..." The gourd wiggled. "Didn't I tell you? The gourd is just my appearance. I am, in fact, a supreme divine beast that roams the heavens and earth, commanding wind and clouds. Once I recover my power, I can take you anywhere, unchallenged... Give it to me; it'll be far better than you gaining a little cultivation."

"Get lost!" Seeing the gourd trying so hard to persuade him, Zhang Xuan's veins throbbed on his forehead. He kicked it away and swallowed the pill in his palm in one gulp. "Dream on if you think you can trick me into giving you my medicine!" Gulp!

The pill melted as it went down his throat, and a powerful energy spread throughout his body. His previously stagnant power began to progress again. Late stage Void Shattering realm! Peak Void Shattering realm! After consuming two mid-grade Immortal Essence Pills, his cultivation reached the peak of Ancient Saint Fourth Realm, just one step away from the Void Immortal realm. Feeling the abundant power within him, Zhang Xuan let out a sigh of relief. While this level of strength was nothing special in the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, it was definitely top-tier among the inner disciples.

He still had three Immortal Essence Pills left. He gave two to his clone, allowing it to successfully break through, and one to the ruthless man. Both successfully advanced to the peak of the Void Shattering realm. These two were his trump cards; in times of danger, they would effectively double his strength, making them indispensable.

"Where's mine...?" Seeing the five pills quickly distributed, the gourd was filled with resentment.

"All you do is eat, you're completely useless, and there are no pills left..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"You drank my bathwater!" said the gourd.

"I don't need trash! What have you done all day besides eat? When I'm in danger, you don't even come out to help. Why should I give you pills?" Zhang Xuan retorted angrily.

"You drank my bathwater!" said the gourd.

"You hide in my dantian every day, secretly absorbing my Heavenly Dao True Qi! Don't think I don't know! You're practically a parasite, and now you're acting self-righteous? I'm being generous by not kicking you out..." Zhang Xuan gnashed his teeth.

"You drank my bathwater!" said the gourd.

"..." Zhang Xuan shivered. "Can we please not talk about the bathwater?"

"My bathwater healed your injuries! You even sold it to others and made money!" the gourd continued.

Zhang Xuan's head ached. "Alright, you claim to be a divine beast that roams the heavens and earth. How about this: if you acknowledge me as your master and obey me from now on, I'll buy you mid-grade Immortal Essence Pills, or even better medicines, to help you recover as quickly as possible!"

"Acknowledge you as master?" The gourd wiggled.

"Exactly. There's no such thing as a free lunch. As long as you become my beast pet, you can absorb my True Qi freely, and I'll work hard to earn money to get you enough pills to recover quickly!" Zhang Xuan said.

Though he didn't know the gourd's specific grade or what it truly was, the soup made from boiling it could heal injuries, and its effect was even stronger than Heavenly Dao True Qi. Its grade was definitely not low! Even if it wasn't exactly the divine beast that roamed the heavens and earth as it claimed, it couldn't be too bad! Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to snatch things and hide in his dantian, a situation even he was powerless against now. Therefore, it was best to first take such a powerful item as a pet and sign a contract. Otherwise, once it truly recovered, it would certainly become uncontrollable.

"I am a supreme divine beast that roams the heavens and earth, commanding wind and clouds! It's already good enough that you don't bow down to me; you actually want to tame me? You must be dreaming..." The gourd snorted. Before it had finished speaking, Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment, then moved his palm, revealing a mid-grade Immortal Essence Pill in his hand.

"Hmph, I am a supreme divine beast that roams the heavens and earth, commanding wind and clouds! Do you think I'd yield for a single pill?" Saliva streamed from the gourd's mouth as it tried hard to resist.

Without speaking further, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and another mid-grade Immortal Essence Pill appeared in his palm. He still had four hundred Sword Pavilion coins left, so he bought two more.

"Two pills aren't enough either! At least... at least... I need twenty, no, a hundred pills!" The gourd turned with an arrogant huff.

"A hundred? Fine, you play by yourself, I'll rest for a bit..." Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched. He couldn't be bothered to argue further, so he flipped his hand and put the pills back into his storage ring. A single mid-grade Immortal Essence Pill cost two hundred Sword Pavilion coins, so a hundred would be a whopping twenty thousand... Even if he worked himself to death on the arena stage, he couldn't earn that much! Given that, he decided to drop the matter.

"Uh, actually, the pill matter is negotiable..." Still drooling, the gourd quickly turned, its voice no longer firm, but rather fawning: "How about this, you give me these two first... and then get me ten or eight more, and I'll consider acknowledging you as my master..." Although the current cultivation of the person before it wasn't high for it, the True Qi within him gave it a comfortable feeling, combined with a subtle power that transcended nature. To be honest, acknowledging him as master wouldn't be impossible... However, if it agreed immediately, wouldn't that make the gourd seem cheap?

"Here!" Seeing it relent, Zhang Xuan said no more. He flicked his finger, and two pills reappeared at his fingertips, flying straight towards it.

Swallowing them, the gourd burped, still wanting more: "These medicines are good, but their grade is still too low. For me, the higher the grade, the better..."

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched wildly. He had swallowed two pills and easily progressed from the late Void Shattering realm to its peak, yet this fellow hadn't changed at all... It was too gluttonous! Could it be that he really needed to get it a hundred pills, or even higher-grade ones?

"Being able to effortlessly swallow mid-grade Immortal Essence Pills with no apparent change, this fellow's grade must be higher than I imagined... I need to tame it first!" Knowing that this creature was different from the spirit beasts and sacred beasts he had tamed before, and that the beating method of beast taming was useless, Zhang Xuan paused, sent the gourd back into his dantian, and with a thought, returned to the Spirit Ascension Hall.

He had initially thought that the more than 1,400 Sword Pavilion coins he'd just won from the bet would be enough to last him a while and let him live a comfortable life. He never dreamed that less than two hours after leaving, he would be completely broke again. All things considered, he only had 32 Sword Pavilion coins, not even enough to buy one-fifth of a single pill. "Still need to make money..." Rubbing his temples helplessly, he once more walked towards the martial arts arena in the Spirit Ascension Hall.

At the very top of the inner disciples' mountain peak. In a courtyard perched on the edge of a cliff, a young man sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed. The abundant spiritual energy in the sky slowly converged around him, forming a massive vortex. With all his acupoints open, he absorbed this spiritual energy, like a pond gathering streams. After an unknown period, he suddenly opened his mouth. A stream of sword qi shot straight out, striking a nearby rock and creating a crack. If one looked closely, this sword qi was precisely the spiritual energy he had just absorbed, without any loss. He absorbed the spiritual energy not to condense it into True Qi, but to project it in a different way. After doing this, he slowly opened his eyes and saw another young man approaching, a faint smile on his face.

"What's wrong? Still not breaking through? How long do you plan to suppress your cultivation?"

"I want to continue refining and honing my sword intent. As for breaking through, that can wait!" The first young man stood up.

"You've been refining it for three full years now!" the second young man said.

"Three years is still too short. The Ten-Mile Sword God, who once appeared in the Sword Pavilion, honed his sword intent for a full decade before breaking through to the Void Immortal realm! Only then could his sword strike shatter mountains and astound the heavens! Although I can't match his talent, I also want to go further!" The first young man responded, then looked at the young man before him and asked, "What brings you here? Do you want to have a spar?"

"No need to spar, I can't beat you anyway... Zhu Yanzhi and Wei Suifeng just came to find me! They told me something quite interesting; would you like to hear about it?" The second young man smiled.

"Those two are always trying to cut corners and are unwilling to cultivate diligently. What could they possibly have to say? I still need to cultivate, so I won't see them..." The first young man shook his head, seemingly not fond of the other two.

"Don't be so quick to refuse; let me finish..." As if he had anticipated this reaction, the second young man said, "They said that in the inner disciples' Spirit Ascension Hall, they encountered a master swordsman. The two of them, fighting in turns, couldn't even force out their opponent's ultimate move!"

"A continuous battle, and they couldn't force out their opponent's ultimate move?" Stunned for a moment, the first young man frowned: "Though Zhu Yanzhi and Wei Suifeng have many tricks up their sleeves, they joined the sect very early, and their true strength has reached the peak of the Void Shattering realm. Their understanding of swordsmanship is quite good among the inner disciples... For an opponent to defeat them both, fighting in turns at the same cultivation level, without even using an ultimate move? This... that's impossible!"

"I saw it; it's true. They even brought a recording. Would you like to see it?" Seeing his curiosity piqued, the second young man asked.

"Let them in!" Without further words, the first young man waved his hand.

"Okay!" The second young man replied. A moment later, two figures entered. They were none other than Zhu Yanzhi and "Nightfall," with whom Zhang Xuan had previously sparred in the Spirit Ascension Hall. "Nightfall" was merely a nickname; his real name was Wei Suifeng.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Liu!" Approaching, the two bowed. The two individuals before them were Liu Lujie, ranked first among the inner disciples, and Wang Jiandong, ranked third!

"You mentioned a master appeared in the Spirit Ascension Hall?" The first young man, Liu Lujie, looked over with a calm expression.

"Yes!" Zhu Yanzhi nodded, flipped his wrist, and took out a recording jade slip, handing it over: "This is the footage of our battle with him. Please take a look, Senior Brother!"

He glanced at Wang Jiandong, and seeing that Wang said nothing, Liu Lujie tapped the jade slip with his finger, sending a stream of True Qi into it. The recording activated, and the footage of their battle appeared before them. "Seeing through the flaws in your ultimate move at a glance... and withholding his own?" His eyes fixed on the footage. A moment later, Liu Lujie's eyebrows suddenly shot up.