15: You guessed right, the reward... is death.

"You... you are actually that Wasted Snake?!"

Ye Tian's voice, filled with endless absurdity and horror, echoed in the silent mountain forest, yet it sounded so powerless and pale.

Shocking! Unbelievable!

He felt his worldview being completely overturned and crushed to pieces at this moment!

A small black snake with an Innate deficiency, viewed by the entire Family as a laughingstock, predicted not to live past three months, and which even the lowliest Disciple couldn't be bothered to glance at...

…had actually transformed in just a few short days into a terrifying existence capable of crushing a Second Order Demon Beast and possessing Heaven-Defying combat power comparable to the Foundation Establishment Realm?!

Could there be anything more absurd or bizarre in this world?!

He suddenly thought of something, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stared fixedly at Mysterious Ink, asking in a trembling voice: "Steward Ye Ming... was his failure also because of you?!"

The response he received was Mysterious Ink's cold, ruthless Divine Thought, devoid of any playfulness.

"Guessed right, reward... death!"

The moment the words fell, the shadow of death had already arrived!

Ye Tian only saw an uncatchable black afterimage, which appeared before him as if teleporting.

He didn't even have time for a thought of fear to arise before he felt a chill on his neck.

"Snap."

A crisp sound of breaking bones rang out, Ye Tian's head hung down at a strange angle, and all the luster in his eyes instantly dissipated.

Grand Elder's only son, Ye Tian, fallen!

After dealing with Ye Tian, Mysterious Ink's cold snake eyes slowly turned toward the Crimson Flame Tiger, which had long been scared out of its wits and was collapsing on the ground.

Feeling that tangible killing intent, the Crimson Flame Tiger let out a desperate whimper.

It knew that it could not escape its fate today!

In the last moment before death arrived, it gathered all its life essence and Soul Power into a message containing endless fear and warning, transmitting it through the mysterious contractual connection to its master far away!

— "Snake..."

However, just as that word "Snake" was transmitted, Mysterious Ink's giant tail, like a divine blade, descended from the sky!

Bang!!!

The Crimson Flame Tiger's head exploded like a watermelon, and red and white matter splattered everywhere.

The hastily transmitted dying message was thus abruptly cut off.

After doing all this, Mysterious Ink seemed as if it had just casually swatted two annoying flies to death.

Its massive python body moved quietly, dragging the two corpses deep into the dense forest to dispose of them, then, without the slightest hesitation, it turned and returned quietly in the direction of Ye Feiyan.

Meanwhile, inside the main residence council hall of the Ye Family.

The Grand Elder, who had been sitting upright and "discussing" Family affairs with the Ye Family Patriarch, suddenly turned pale!

"Pfft—!"

A spray of bright red blood gushed wildly from his mouth without warning, staining the pear wood long table in front of him.

"Grand Elder?!" The Ye Family Patriarch nearby saw this, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately stood up.

However, the Grand Elder seemed not to hear him.

His eyes were wide open, filled with endless shock, fury, and disbelief!

"Crimson Flame... my Crimson Flame... is dead?!"

A heart-wrenching, agonizing pain came from the depths of his Soul!

That was the most direct and overbearing Soul backlash against a master after a contracted Spirit Beast dies!

Under the impact of this severe pain, he only felt his vision go black, all his consciousness was swallowed by endless darkness, and he fell straight backward, actually fainting on the spot!

On the other side, Mysterious Ink had already returned quietly to Ye Feiyan's side.

At this moment, that Late First Tier Steel-bristled Wild Boar had long since turned into a cold corpse, lying in a pool of blood.

Seeing Mysterious Ink slither out of the forest unharmed, Ye Feiyan, who had been worried, finally let out a long sigh of relief.

She stepped forward quickly, with a trace of lingering fear and reproach, and instructed: "Don't run around by yourself again in the future! It's too dangerous!"

She paused, her expression becoming extremely solemn: "Just now, I felt an extremely powerful Second Order Demon Beast aura flash past nearby! This mountain range is even more dangerous than we imagined; we must be extremely careful in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Mysterious Ink nodded "obediently" on the surface, but inwardly, it found it hilarious.

— That aura, wasn't it just me.

Just then, Ye Feiyan's brows suddenly furrowed tightly. She circled Mysterious Ink twice, her deep, beautiful eyes filled with thick confusion.

"Strange... Mysterious Ink, why do I... actually cannot see through your cultivation at all?"

Previously, she could roughly perceive Mysterious Ink's strength level.

But now, the Mysterious Ink before her seemed to be shrouded in a thick mist in her eyes, unfathomable, leaving her with no way to explore.

Mysterious Ink's heart stirred, and it immediately reacted.

This should be the System's merit!

It is worthy of being the "Gou Shen System"!

It actually comes with a function to block detection! As long as it doesn't actively leak its aura, it fears that even a powerhouse in the Foundation Establishment Realm face-to-face might not be able to see through its true Realm!

This is simply a divine skill for pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger and backstabbing people!

Facing Ye Feiyan's inquisitive gaze, Mysterious Ink knew it must give her a reasonable explanation.

It thought for a moment, its mind moved, and it restrained 99% of its terrifying Early Second-Rank aura, only cautiously releasing a wisp of energy fluctuation equivalent to a First-Rank Mid-stage.

This aura was more than a grade weaker than the "Peak" of the First Rank when it left, but compared to its initial dying appearance, it was countless times stronger.

After doing all this, it raised its head and looked at Ye Feiyan with those clear snake eyes.

— My "Innate deficiency" was cured by your nine revolutions origin returning liquid, my Bloodline power recovered, and restoring to this Realm is quite reasonable, right?

Feeling the stable and pure First-Rank Mid-stage aura on Mysterious Ink, Ye Feiyan was stunned at first, and then, on that cold, beautiful face, a heartfelt, incredibly brilliant smile bloomed!

"First-Rank Mid-stage! That's great! Mysterious Ink, your potential is far more astonishing than I imagined!"

The last trace of doubt in her heart also completely vanished.

In her view, Mysterious Ink was originally a descendant of an ancient exotic species, only hindered in cultivation due to an Innate deficiency.

Now, with the help of her "nine revolutions origin returning liquid", the Foundation problem was solved, the Bloodline recovered, and restoring to First-Rank Mid-stage cultivation in one go was completely reasonable!

At this moment, the way she looked at Mysterious Ink became incredibly solemn.

She slowly squatted down, stretched out her jade hand, and gently placed it on Mysterious Ink's massive head, making a promise, word by word, with extreme solemnity.

"Mysterious Ink, rest assured, you have saved my loved ones several times and protected me; I, Ye Feiyan, will keep this kindness in my heart. From now on, I will exhaust everything to help you grow! When I return to the Nine Heavens, there will definitely be a position for you as an supreme Yao Beast Emperor!"

This was the most solemn promise made by a Reborn Empress to her first and only partner in this life!

After speaking, she stood up, skillfully butchered the Steel-bristled Wild Boar's corpse, and shared half of the meat, which contained the most spiritual power and was most beneficial to Yao Beasts, with Mysterious Ink.

"Eat quickly, so you can grow up fast."

After doing all this, Ye Feiyan found a clean rock, sat cross-legged, and began to absorb the essence of the other half of the meat to stabilize her cultivation.

And Mysterious Ink coiled quietly beside her, devouring the food while vigilantly observing the surroundings, acting as her Protector.