Chapter 153: Purple Pill
Boom!
A stream of light suddenly streaked across the desolate and lonely void.
Qu Yiqiu and the Taotie were suddenly plunged into darkness as the stream of light plummeted, instantly robbing them of their sight.
Bang—
A violent impact echoed from a floating island in the distance.
Qu Yiqiu turned her head in the darkness to look.
That lonely, floating island was now tightly enveloped in a ring of vibrant, luminous spiritual energy, forming an elliptical shield of light.
Across the entire endless void, only the island radiated a blinding brilliance.
"What is that?" Qu Yiqiu asked, looking in astonishment at the abruptly changing island.
Little Yan frowned deeply and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. It looks like something crashed down."
"Spare me! I am willing to serve the fairy as a beast of burden!" The Taotie's weak, low voice reached Qu Yiqiu's ears.
A bloody Dharma seal flew out from the Taotie's massive mouth. Before Qu Yiqiu could react, it instantly burrowed into the center of her brows.
Little Yan rushed over at top speed. Looking at the bloody Dharma seal that had merged into Qu Yiqiu's sea of consciousness, he said, "Master, this is the Taotie's primordial beast blood-command seal. With this seal in hand, the Taotie will not dare to make a move against you."
"Is there any problem with this seal?" Qu Yiqiu frowned, looking suspiciously at the dying Taotie.
"Fairy, I am an ancient fierce beast. If I perish in this realm, it will inevitably cause disorder in the world's order. If you take me away from here, I am willing to acknowledge you as my master and help you ascend to the upper realm!"
Even in the pitch-black void, the Taotie could see Qu Yiqiu's bright, burning eyes.
They carried a resolute killing intent that involuntarily filled him with a sense of dread, and even a faint trace of submission.
Taking advantage of the chaos on the island, he decisively offered the master-acknowledging seal, placing his very life in her hands.
"There is no problem at all." Little Yan carefully inspected the primordial beast blood-command seal and solemnly nodded his little head.
Qu Yiqiu's gaze was sharp, the killing intent in her eyes gradually diminishing slightly.
"What use is it for you to acknowledge me as master? I am merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator; I cannot save you at all!"
The Taotie's eyelids drooped powerlessly as he faintly squeezed out his final words: "Master, as long as you consume my vital essence and break through to the Golden Core realm here, I can seize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth during your breakthrough, transforming it into a miraculous medicine for healing. I will recover a fraction of my strength and avoid perishing."
His voice grew weaker and weaker. The several jade bottles hanging from Qu Yiqiu's waist could no longer catch a single drop of the Taotie's blood or tears.
A crystal-clear, glowing white pearl slowly floated out from the Taotie's giant mouth and hovered right before Qu Yiqiu's eyes.
"Master, what he says might be true. The Taotie is deeply favored by the Heavenly Dao, and his entire body is a treasure. If he dies in this minor world, the situation he described might actually occur." Little Yan's eyes flickered. While he was reluctant to see his master accept the beast, he was also worried that his death would bring an unstoppable shock to this unknown world.
"Viewed this way, accepting him is to my advantage." Qu Yiqiu fixed her gaze on the glowing pearl before her, her brows furrowed in hesitation.
"Yes," Little Yan nodded.
Qu Yiqiu curved her lips into a smile and swallowed the pearl in front of her in a single gulp.
"Since he has already acknowledged me as master, if he disobeys in the future, I'll skin him and strip his bones!"
Flaying skin and dismantling bones was never too late when dealing with an ancient fierce beast.
After all, his divine bones were treasures that would make even the immortals of the upper realm turn green with envy.
Little Yan had spent a long time with Qu Yiqiu. Seeing her expression, he immediately understood her meaning, and his heart felt much more at ease.
Master still trusts only me!
Little Yan secretly clenched his small fists, lowered his little head, and grinned from ear to ear.
The Taotie's vital essence entered her body, causing a burning sensation in her abdomen.
Qu Yiqiu immediately tossed down a futon onto the Taotie's back and sat cross-legged upon it. "Little Yan, help me keep an eye on the situation of the island."
"...Alright, alright!" Little Yan lifted his chin, struggling to suppress his beaming smile.
Hearing Little Yan's voice, Qu Yiqiu felt at ease and focused her awareness on her dantian, where her energy was gathering.
The bright light enveloping the island flickered for a full seven days, and it took Qu Yiqiu exactly seven days to digest the Taotie's vital essence.
An unmatched, torrential force abruptly surged toward Qu Yiqiu's direction.
A massive spiritual energy vortex centered around Qu Yiqiu whipped up monstrous waves.
Within the sea of consciousness, Little Yan, who was keeping watch on the island's direction, was repelled by a powerful force.
He tumbled clumsily in the air several times before barely managing to steady himself outside the spiritual energy vortex.
Little Yan rubbed his dizzy head and swayed like a drunkard, asking, "Why did Master chase me out?"
Qu Yiqiu's eyes were tightly shut, completely oblivious to the changes in the outside world.
In the distance, the desolate island suddenly erupted with boundless, infinite energy, violently shooting out a dazzling beam of light that struck straight toward Qu Yiqiu's face.
Little Yan was instantly frightened into widening his eyes, leaping forward desperately to block it.
However, the beam of light, as thick as a barrel, passed right through his small body, struck Qu Yiqiu squarely between the brows, and was instantly absorbed by her.
Little Yan stared in wide-eyed shock, standing frozen in place at a complete loss.
"Just how much energy can Master contain?"
Even though the beam of light had ignored him and passed straight through, he could still feel that the energy contained within it was incomparably vast and far beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
Yet Qu Yiqiu had absorbed it into her body with such effortless ease.
Little Yan scratched his head in bewilderment, somewhat doubting his own eyes.
"Is Master really breaking through to the Golden Core realm?"
At this moment, the torrential spiritual energy swirling around Qu Yiqiu was as sharp and fierce as wind blades.
Little Yan did not dare to approach her at all, staying far off to the side with wide, staring eyes.
"Could it be that, just like last time, Master has obtained someone else's power again?"
Little Yan's mind raced. Rolling his round eyes, he immediately scanned the surroundings several times.
"What on earth is happening to Master?"
Puzzled, he tapped his own head and shook it.
This was the strangest and most mysterious master he had ever encountered since his birth!
"What need is there for me to guard her?" Little Yan pouted, watching the fierce and mighty torrent of spiritual energy wrap layer upon layer around Qu Yiqiu, and carefully retreated several yards to prevent the spiritual energy from injuring him.
Inside Qu Yiqiu's body, two balls of spiritual light were locked in a fierce battle.
A purple ball of light containing a Taotie vital essence was frantically devouring the torrential spiritual energy surging in from the outside.
The vibrant, colorful spiritual energy entered her body and transformed into a series of flood dragons. Their scales flashed with a chilling luster, and their entire bodies were covered in hard, large and small scales—agile, flexible, and radiating a formidable aura that inspired awe.
Yet the purple spiritual mass felt no fear at all. Carrying the Taotie vital essence, it bit into the flood dragons one by one, digesting them into wisps of energy that nourished and strengthened its own spiritual body.
As time slowly ticked by, the purple spiritual mass grew stronger and stronger, eventually occupying Qu Yiqiu's entire dantian.