The First Summoner - Chapter 48

“Ninefold.”

Shen Yan called softly.

The small black pagoda materialized above her palm.

Her expression eased.

She fed spiritual power into it and tried to lift it.

Slowly, the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda floated into the air.

Then it transformed into a delicate little boy.

Ninefold used his hands to make a grotesque face at Shen Yan, apparently trying to frighten her.

Shen Yan said nothing.

Human and artifact spirit stared at each other.

An awkward silence descended.

Ninefold lowered his hands.

After a moment, he folded his arms and assumed a lofty expression.

“That was merely an instinctive reaction. I wasn’t trying to scare you, so don’t misunderstand.”

“Mm.”

“Good. As long as you understand.”

Ninefold coughed uncomfortably.

Shen Yan’s response seemed perfunctory, but his own guilty conscience discouraged any complaint.

“You said the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda can suppress all demons and monsters,” Shen Yan said. “Can it suppress people?”

Ninefold’s small face twisted with uncertainty.

“It has very little effect on humans.”

Curiosity quickly replaced his uncertainty.

“Master, do you want to use the pagoda against bad people?”

“Mm.”

Ninefold confidently thumped his chest.

“Don’t worry, Master. I can suppress a bad person’s contracted beasts or summoned beasts.”

Then his tone turned deeply earnest.

“But I am only as strong as you are. You must never fight above your realm. It will exhaust me to death.”

“I make no promises.”

Shen Yan pulled Ninefold closer and cupped his little face between her palms.

Her expression became solemn.

“Ninefold, I believe you can do it.”

A small burst of happiness filled the artifact spirit.

No one had ever praised him with such sincerity.

His face turned red.

“I can!”

Ninefold’s answer rang with conviction.

Shen Yan patted his head.

“You absolutely can.”

The praise left Ninefold giddy with pride.

Confidence shone across his smiling face.

Then he demonstrated an entire set of boxing techniques.

“Ha! Hey! Boom! Ha! Hey!”

Tiny fists punched the air, each movement accompanied by an enthusiastic shout.

Inside the spatial domain, Feng Xingyao was speechless.

So was Shen Yan.

Ninefold finished and looked at her with shining expectation.

“Well? How was it?”

“Quite good.”

Ninefold smiled brilliantly.

Shen Yan spoke without warning.

“Feng Xingyao, one of our earlier agreements required you to teach me how to control and use the Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. Do you remember?”

“I do.”

His voice sounded from inside the spatial domain.

“Press the top of the pagoda.”

Shen Yan accepted the artifact from Ninefold and pressed the pointed corner at its peak.

The black pagoda turned crimson in an instant.

Her expression sharpened.

What had happened?

Feng Xingyao’s voice sounded in her sea of consciousness.

“The Ninefold Demon-Suppressing Pagoda hides many secrets. Its changing color is one of them. The black pagoda suppresses the beast race. The red pagoda suppresses the demon race.”

His tone remained indifferent.

“With your current meager strength, you can activate only those two abilities.”

“If I had enough strength to awaken other colors, what would they do?”

“Suppress other races.”

Shen Yan wondered how many races existed in this world.

“For now, you need only learn to suppress the beast and demon races,” Feng Xingyao said.

“Mm. Teach me.”

“Very well.”

He explained how to control the pagoda with spiritual power and taught her a mnemonic incantation.

He concealed nothing.

Shen Yan wanted to test it in battle.

Her injuries made training in an open area impossible.

Then she remembered something.

Ninefold sat on a chair, swinging his feet and eating a pastry.

Shen Yan extended a hand.

“Ninefold, where are the beast crystals?”

The artifact spirit jolted.

His eyes darted wildly.

He tried to flee into the spatial domain, but Shen Yan caught him.

“Why are you panicking?”

“I didn’t eat them,” Ninefold whispered in terror. “I really didn’t!”

Shen Yan laughed from sheer anger.

“You ate every beast crystal?”

“H-how did you know?”

Ninefold stared at her in shock.

“I’m not angry, Ninefold. Truly.”

Shen Yan smiled as she lifted the artifact spirit, pressed him facedown against the table, and smacked his bottom.

“I’m not angry at all.”

Ninefold struggled and pleaded through the pain.

“Master, I was wrong! I’ll never sneak food again. Please don’t be angry!”

Tears gathered in his eyes.

He looked utterly pitiful.

“From now on, I’ll ask before I eat anything,” Ninefold promised with a sob.

After twenty smacks, Shen Yan released him.

Her face was stern.

“Do not steal food again.”

Ninefold nodded, sniffling.

Shen Yan’s expression suddenly changed.

The covert guards outside must have heard the commotion. Their auras were drawing closer.

She grabbed Ninefold and sent him back into the spatial domain.

Then she sat calmly at the table, poured a cup of tea, and took a sip.

The covert guards observed for a few moments before returning to their original positions.

Shen Yan set down the cup.

She rose, intending to return to the bed and cultivate, when her reflection in the bronze mirror caught her attention.

Her steps stopped.

The bite Feng Xingyao had left on her neck the previous night was gone.

She touched the spot.

The skin was perfectly smooth, without even a scar.

What was he?

Or perhaps—

Was he human at all?

Feng Xingyao appeared to sense her thoughts.

After a moment’s silence, he spoke.

“Do not concern yourself with my identity. Knowing it would bring you great disaster.”

His voice was calm.

“Once I recover ten or twenty percent of my strength, I will leave.”

“I know.”

Shen Yan wanted no part in another person’s affairs.

Yet at the thought of him leaving, her expression faltered slightly.

Perhaps these past few days had created the illusion that he naturally belonged inside her spatial domain.

Feng Xingyao closed his eyes as though falling asleep and said no more.

Shen Yan pressed her lips together.

She returned to the bed and resumed cultivating.

…

By evening, Shen Yan crossed another minor level.

She had reached the fifth level of the Yellow-rank realm.

Now she could pursue something she had not forgotten.

Becoming a Summoner.

Summoners had to meet one basic requirement: cultivation at the fifth level of the Yellow-rank realm.

Only then could they contact, communicate with, and summon otherworldly beasts from other realms.

Shen Yan had reached that threshold.

Following the method recorded in the books, she used blood from her fingertip as a guide and clumsily formed a hand seal.

“Gate to the Otherworld, heed my summons—”

“Guide forth a beast beyond this realm and place it at my command!”