The First Summoner - Chapter 10

“Yanyan, you’ve lost too much blood. You need plenty of rest.” Physician Huang packed her medical case as she spoke, her voice full of concern.

“I will.” Shen Yan returned from her thoughts and nodded.

Physician Huang slipped the case into her storage ring. The sight reminded Shen Yan of her own spatial domain.

Soon, the physician left and closed the door behind her.

Shen Yan was alone.

Her eyes darkened.

The entire Shen family protected Shen Xue. Avenging the original owner would not be easy.

For now, she needed to make herself stronger.

She had once been one of the leaders of the apocalypse. She refused to become meat on someone else’s chopping block. If she had been dealt a losing hand, she would play it into a victory.

Remembering something, she used her ability to enter the spatial domain.

The bewitchingly handsome man lay on the chaise before her. Ink-black hair spilled across it like silk, while heavy iron chains still pierced all four of his limbs. Dried blood stained his red robes.

As if sensing her arrival, he opened his wickedly beautiful eyes and looked at her with languid weariness. Beneath that indolence, his gaze was as still as an ancient well. Its coldness alone could inspire fear.

Shen Yan had to admit that Feng Xingyao was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

No one else came close.

She held out a hand toward him.

“The Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.”

Before Feng Xingyao could answer, the ancient black pagoda appeared in midair and shot straight into her palm.

Cold metal met her skin.

Shen Yan glanced at Feng Xingyao. His entire bearing warned strangers away, so she wisely said nothing more.

Following the original owner’s memories of contracting a spirit treasure, she bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

The pagoda lit up.

An intricate contract formation began revolving between them.

The next instant, Shen Yan’s expression changed.

The contract had triggered a backlash. She was not strong enough to bind the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

Her blood felt as though it had caught fire. Her meridians were being ripped apart again and again. Waves of agony crashed through her, and cold sweat broke across her brow.

Bright blood soon appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Foolish.”

Feng Xingyao raised his head, his tone careless.

“Your Core Spirit Bone has not awakened, and you haven’t even begun cultivating. Yet you dared contract a divine artifact? Even cultivators with some strength wouldn’t dare rush into it so recklessly.”

Shen Yan’s face darkened.

Nothing in the original owner’s memories had warned her of this. She truly had been too reckless.

The contract formation continued to turn.

The tearing agony only intensified. More blood ran from her mouth, and she collapsed to the ground, curling in on herself with a muffled groan.

Feng Xingyao watched her with cold indifference.

He had no intention of helping.

This was also the pagoda’s test.

If she endured, she was qualified to become its master. If she failed, then whatever fate connected them would end here.

He simply did not understand why the pagoda had been so strangely fixated on her from the beginning.

Under the contract’s backlash, Shen Yan’s consciousness began to blur. She seemed to return to the brutal world of the apocalypse, where death came every day.

She had survived that nightmare.

She would not give up here.

She would live.

Her eyes snapped open.

A dark and deadly storm gathered in their cold depths.

Grinding her teeth against the pain, Shen Yan reached out and seized the body of the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

Her fire ability erupted from her palm.

Boom!

Blazing flame swallowed the pagoda in an instant.

“Submit to me!”

Her voice was vicious.

Firelight washed across her pale face, lending it a fierce, unearthly beauty.

The contract formation gradually calmed.

Feng Xingyao raised a brow. The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

Suddenly, Shen Yan coughed up a mouthful of blood, soaking the clean clothes she had just changed into. Flames still coiled around both hands as she locked them around the pagoda, refusing to give it another chance to strike back.

What she did not know was that Feng Xingyao saw more than fire-aspected spiritual power erupting from her.

He also saw the mental power invisible to ordinary cultivators.

Her mental power was formidable.

His gaze turned thoughtful.

That power had suppressed and subdued the pagoda. The contract was almost complete.

A short while later, Shen Yan staggered to her feet with the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in hand.

The contract was sealed.

She could now faintly sense the bond between them.

Then an unfamiliar little boy’s voice sounded in her mind.

“Hello, new master! I’m the tower spirit of the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. My name is Ninefold.” The voice was young and slightly mischievous.

Shen Yan went straight to the point. “What can you do?”

Ninefold fell silent.

He coughed heavily several times. “I can do all kinds of things! I can suppress every demon, monster, ghost, and evil spirit in existence. Of course, however strong you are, Master… ah… that’s how strong I am.”

“So right now, you’re useless too?”

Ninefold froze.

“…Yes,” he admitted miserably.

Shen Yan continued, “Why did you cling to me in Lingyan Forest?”

Feng Xingyao lifted his eyes slightly. He seemed interested in the answer as well.

Ninefold was silent for a moment as he chose his words.

“You smell wonderful. But weren’t you the one clinging to me?”

Shen Yan stared at him.

What?

The pagoda had been the one stuck to her hand.

She immediately looked up at the only witness.

“You saw what happened, didn’t you?”

“Mm.”

“It clung to me. Correct?”

“I suppose.”

Feng Xingyao’s perfunctory tone killed her desire to pursue the matter.

Shen Yan examined the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. It was astonishingly sturdy. Even her flames had left no mark on it.

An idea took shape.

For now, it would make a decent weapon.

Ninefold sensed her thoughts.

He immediately materialized from the pagoda, dignity forgotten.

“Hey! Is that any way to treat a magnificent divine artifact like me?”

Shen Yan looked at the little boy who had appeared before her.

He seemed five or six years old and wore an exquisitely embroidered black robe. His round face was as delicate as carved jade, and his eyes were a rare, vivid blue.

Now those cheeks were puffed with anger as he glared at her.

He planted both hands on his hips.

“You are not allowed to use the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda as a convenient blunt weapon!”

“I’ll consider it.”

Ninefold nearly exploded.

Then his eyes darted slyly. He immediately pretended to cry, rubbing his eyes with small fists.

“You heartless master! You abducted me, and now you’re abusing me too! Boo-hoo, I’m so pitiful—”

His wailing stopped abruptly.

Shen Yan had clapped a hand over his mouth with ruthless efficiency.

“Mmph! Mmm—”

Ninefold’s eyes widened in vehement accusation.

Then his expression changed.

He jerked his head toward Feng Xingyao.

The incomparably noble man seemed to have lost consciousness.

“My lo—”

Realizing something, Ninefold cut himself off. He grabbed Shen Yan’s arm instead.

“Master, hurry! Save him!”