Chapter 628: Chapter 601: The Little One-Horned Snake
 

A thunderous sound echoed throughout Hidden Spirit Island.

Everyone saw a flash of lightning flying towards the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye on the horizon.

“His speed has improved a lot since I first met him,” Xu Fan joked.

“Well, he’s eager to see his wife and child,” Zhan Ling laughed.

Zhan Ling had arrived when Xu Fan was making his Heavenly Dao Oath.

“You see, once you have a family, whether human or demon, you can’t help yourself,” Xu Fan sighed.

“So that’s your reason for fooling them into coming here,” Zhan Ling burst into laughter.

“It’s for their own good. Without me, they’d be pitiful as a widow and orphan,” Xu Fan laughed.

“Isn’t it inappropriate to use the term ‘widow and orphan’ on a Demon Venerable?”

“Although the Bluebird Clan isn’t considered a top-tier clan, their clan leader is very strong, almost a half-step Invincible Demon Venerable.”

“With that power, bullying a fellow clan member who is carrying an unusual species would be as easy as catching a fish with your hand.”

Xu Fan waved his hand, calling up information about the Bluebird Clan.

“Great Master, I didn’t expect your reach to extend that far,”

Zhan Ling noticed the date on the information; the latest entry was just half a month ago.

“I’m not that powerful. This is just information I got from Brother Ning Dao. They now have direct access to the Elder Council Headquarters,” Xu Fan replied, pointing at a message in the light curtain.

“Bluebird Clan’s Third Elder carries an unusual species, causing internal strife.”

“This message alone has probably sped up the Flash Thunder Demon Lord’s speed by 30%.”

Upon hearing Xu Fan’s words, Zhan Ling began to calculate.

“Jade Light Monster Sovereign, Jie Yu Demon Venerable, Rain Goose Demon Sovereign, Flash Thunder Demon Lord, Wind and Thunder Demon Lord, plus me and that Mahayana Puppet, our Hidden Spirit Sect has the combat power equivalent to seven Venerables,” Zhan Ling said, even shocking himself.

“Did you know that in addition to the three Grand Elders, the Thousand Spirit Sect also has three Mahayana Elders who were promoted within the last thousand years?”

“Their combat power is equivalent to three of you fighting one of them.”

“Even though our Hidden Spirit Sect has many Demon Venerables, besides those two thunderbirds, the rest are just for show and can at most control a starship.”

“In a real fight, they would just be cannon fodder,” Xu Fan explained.

“Except for those two thunderbirds?” Zhan Ling looked at Xu Fan in disbelief.

Sensing something off in Zhan Ling’s tone, Xu Fan responded with a “?”

“Except for those two thunderbirds!” Zhan Ling emphasized once again.

Xu Fan finally understood what he meant.

“I was talking about Demon Venerables, what are you getting excited about?”

“With Immortal Tools, wouldn’t you be more powerful than those two Thunderbird Demon Venerables?” Xu Fan blurted out the truth without even thinking.

“With Immortal Tools!”

A thorn pierced deeply into Zhan Ling’s heart.

“Er, my assessment of combat power is quite accurate. If you don’t use Immortal Tools, the best outcome would be a draw,” Xu Fan tactfully explained.

“Great Master, is my combat power really that terrible in your eyes?” Zhan Ling asked.

“Let me give you an analogy.”

Xu Fan waved his hand, drawing a long line. One end represented ordinary cultivators who had just advanced to the Mahayana stage, and the other end represented the Invincible Venerable.

Zhan Ling understood the line.

“Great Master, are you trying to show me where my strength stands on that scale?” Zhan Ling asked.

Xu Fan nodded and pointed towards the 2/5 mark between the ordinary Venerable and the Invincible Venerable.

After thinking a bit, he moved his finger a tiny bit towards the Invincible Venerable.

“Great Elder, is my strength just up to here?”

Zhan Ling looked at the direction of Xu Fan’s finger, feeling a tinge of sadness in his tone.

“If you take the Immortal Tools, your strength will be here.” Xu Fan moved his finger about 1/2 towards the middle.

Zhan Ling stared at Xu Fan’s finger, which was not even hitting the midpoint, and he had only one thought in his heart.

This is a waste; better start over.

“Great Elder, I’m going back to practice Divine Abilities for my Cultivation.” After Zhan Ling finished speaking, he turned into a blood light and flew towards the direction of his cave mansion.

“Not everyone can accept harsh reality.” Xu Fan looked at the direction where the blood light disappeared and remarked.

As Xu Fan was sighing, the Cloud Flower Deer hopped and skipped over to him.

“Why didn’t you stay in the Origin World? What are you doing here?” Xu Fan looked at the Cloud Flower Deer and laughed.

“Ying Ying~” (I found a poor little beast with no home; can we adopt it?)

Cloud Flower Deer looked at Xu Fan with watery eyes, as if it would burst into tears if Xu Fan didn’t agree.

At this moment, Xu Fan became alert as unusual events often signal a hidden danger.

In the past, when Cloud Flower Deer brought small companions home, it never talked to Xu Fan about it.

“You didn’t just abduct an Auspicious Beast from a Holy Land again, did you? That’s not good.” Xu Fan patiently advised.

At this moment, Cloud Flower Deer turned its head and fetched a bizarre-looking one-horned Little Snake from the void. It was about four inches long, gray-yellow, and adorably ugly.

Suddenly transferred from one environment to another, the Little Snake was a bit dazed. When it saw the Cloud Flower Deer, it immediately hissed and then leaped onto the Deer’s head.

“Ying Ying~” (It’s just a beast, stuck in a small world with nothing to eat or drink. Let’s take it in.)

Xu Fan did not pay attention to Cloud Flower Deer’s words, his face looked strange as he stared at the ugly little snake.

“Pu Tao, check the database; what kind is this? How come I can’t tell?” Xu Fan asked.

“This beast’s information could not be found.” Pu Tao replied.

“Is it a new breed?” Xu Fan stroked his chin as he spoke.

“Little Deer, tell me the truth; does this little creature really have no owner or parents?” Xu Fan asked seriously.

Cloud Flower Deer also nodded solemnly.

“Then let’s take it in. Hidden Spirit Sect can afford the extra mouth to feed.”

As Xu Fan spoke, a High-Quality Spirit Feeding Pill appeared in his hand and handed it to the one-horned Little Snake.

Although he was not sure what kind of snake it was, he could sense that the Little Snake was not simple.

The one-horned Little Snake swallowed the Spirit Feeding Pill in one gulp and affectionately rubbed Xu Fan’s fingers afterward.

“Alright, from now on, you can play with Little Snake.”

“But if its owner or parents come looking for it, you must not hide it away.” Xu Fan warned.

Cloud Flower Deer happily nodded, running into the distance with the Little Snake on top of its head.

Xu Fan looked at the Little Snake on Cloud Flower Deer’s head, and the more he looked, the more uneasy he felt.

“Why do I feel something’s off?” Xu Fan wondered aloud.

“Never mind, forget it. When the Little Snake grows up, we’ll know what kind it is.”

Xu Fan said before heading back to his small courtyard, continuing to lounge around.

The next early morning, just as Xu Fan completed his daily cultivation, Pu Tao reported bad news.

“Yesterday, the one-horned Little Snake brought back by Cloud Flower Deer consumed one-thousandth of the Spiritual Qi of the Hidden Spirit Sect!”