Once the brilliance had dissipated, a giant python more than ten meters long appeared in front of Li Changsheng and Li Haoqiong. It was covered in fine scales, and its body was as thick as a bucket. However, the most eye-catching thing was that it had a pair of two-toed claws beneath its torso.
Even though its body was massive, the python was deep within the bamboo forest, so naturally, it would not be easily noticed by others.
As soon as it was summoned, the double-clawed giant python curled up its enormous body. It raised its massive head and stared at the two humans with its imposing golden eyes.
"Is…is this a Chi dragon?" Li Changsheng's eyes widened, his expression one of disbelief. Subconsciously, he wanted to release his omniscience to check the creature's information. However, because he had over-exerted his omniscience, he could not use it at the moment.
"No, it's not a Chi dragon yet. It's just a dragon serpent!"
Li Haoqiong shook his head, but his heart was full of pride. This dragon serpent was his Cardinal Demonic Pet. It was also the small Superior Grade snake that he had accidentally stepped on and achieved a binding contract with, back when he had first made his debut as a demon tamer. After so many years, the small snake had transformed into a dragon serpent. Even though it had not yet developed into a real dragon, it certainly could not be compared with ordinary demon pets by far.
"Alright, let's settle the main issue here first, so we don't invite complications!"
Li Haoqiong's expression was solemn and serene, long gown fluttering even in the absence of a breeze, as he began gathering his extraordinary omniscience. He started to perform a series of mudras at an incredible speed, his hands seemingly transformed into fleeting shadows.
At the same time, a faint golden glow appeared on the dragon serpent's body, and it began to achieve resonance with Li Haoqiong's omniscience.
With the dragon serpent's assistance, Li Haoqiong seemed to be in harmony with both earth and heaven. He had not moved at all, but to Li Changsheng's senses, it was if his second uncle had disappeared with no trace of his presence at all.
'Heaven and earth coexist with me; I and everything become one!'
"Gather!"
In the time it took for two breaths, Li Haoqiong gave a soft shout. His dense omniscience merged with the dragon serpent's golden light, turning into a translucent barrier that wrapped around the entirety of the green bamboo.
Regardless of the impact of the Nature Faerie's energy waves, the barrier did not move. Not even ripples appeared.
"Changsheng, what happens after this is up to you now!"
"Thank you, Second Uncle!" Li Changsheng expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart. Without Li Haoqiong's help, there was a high possibility that he might have lost this Nature Faerie.
Li Haoqiong nodded. After recalling the dragon serpent, he disappeared again as suddenly as he had arrived.
Once Li Haoqiong had left, Li Changsheng flopped right onto the ground. While asking Ai Xi to stand guard, he closed his eyes and tried his hardest to regain his omniscience.
After about a quarter of an hour, changes started taking place on the ground nearby. Like spring bamboo shoots after rain, countless tender shoots began sprouting from the earth. Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, in just the span of a few breaths, they had grown into a grassland.
Howl~
Ai Xi called out, tugging at the corner of Li Changsheng's shirt with its claws.
Rip~
There was a sound of fabric tearing. Ai Xi lifted its paw, looking dumbfounded at Li Changsheng.
Without hesitation, Ai Xi flipped over, revealing its belly.
Li Changsheng opened his eyes, ignoring both his torn shirt and Ai Xi. Instead, he focused his attention on the green bamboo which was incubating the Nature Faerie.
In such a short amount of time, naturally, he had yet to fully recover his omniscience, but he had managed to recover a small amount. At the very least, his head was not hurting anymore.
Crunch~ Crunch~
At this moment, there came a crisp sound, similar to that of frying green beans. The green bamboo had broken in half lengthwise and slowly fell to the ground on either side.
At the place where the bamboo had broken off, a patch of dark green light appeared, dimming quickly to reveal the petite silhouette of the Nature Faerie.
When he saw the Nature Faerie's form, Li Changsheng's jaw dropped. He was momentarily stunned.
Beautiful—it was so beautiful!
What sort of beautiful was it, one might ask?
What first caught the eye was the Nature Faerie's delicate, pale skin, like that of a newborn baby. It seemed as if it could be broken by the slightest touch or even a breath, and radiated a faint glow.
This amazing skin overwhelmed Li Changsheng with the urge to caress it. He shook his head vigorously and quickly dispelled the thought. Then, he returned his gaze to the Nature Faerie's exquisite, perfect countenance.
The Nature Faerie's appearance was similar to that of a human. She had natural, delicate facial features, and pointed ears, as well as big dark-green eyes and green waist-length hair. Most peculiar of all was a small green bamboo growing from the top of her tiny head, signifying that she was a Nature Faerie born from green bamboo.
The only flaw was that there were no protrusions on her chest, so she was flat as a board. From her lower body down, she had a slim waist and a pair of long, straight legs, all covered by clothing woven from bamboo leaves. This gave her a very otherworldly air.
Other than that, growing from her back was a pair of wings as thin as those of a cicada. There were tiny wings on the side of her calves as well, significantly smaller than the ones on her back.
As a Faerie of heaven and earth, the Nature Faerie was born with wit and wisdom, blessed with practically perfect features. The only regrettable thing was that her body was very small, and was only the size of an adult human's palm.
"So lovely!"
Li Changsheng exclaimed, marveling at the Nature Faerie's beauty without harboring a trace of ill intent.
Beauty like this was difficult to defile!
Most importantly, the Nature Faerie was only slightly larger than pocket-size, so he was completely unable to entertain thoughts of bedding her.
At that moment, the Nature Faerie fluttered her wings. Unexpectedly, she did not flee; in fact, she took the initiative instead to fly toward Li Changsheng, landing on his shoulder.
During the gestation stage, the Nature Faerie had already developed consciousness. Moreover, she was even able to 'see' the scene outside the green bamboo. The vision of Li Changsheng's hard labor on her behalf, and how he had buried a large number of Wood demon cores for her were still fresh in her mind.
She was very much aware that if Li Changsheng had not replenished the Plant Essence for her, she might have died halfway through. In the worst-case scenario, she would have been born with congenital deficiencies. Naturally, her heart was filled with gratitude toward Li Changsheng.
"Hello there, little thing!" Right as Li Changsheng let out a sigh of relief, he mustered his most charismatic smile and greeted her.
Unfortunately, what met him was the confused expression of the Nature Faerie. After all, she had only just been born. No matter how smart she was, she still had yet to master the human language.
Trill~
The Nature Faerie tilted her head and looked at Li Changsheng with a puzzled expression, before making a clear, sweet sound like a lark's cry.
Her voice pierced straight into the soul, causing Li Changsheng to feel as if he were intoxicated.
"Little thing, would you be willing to sign a binding contract with me? If you shake your head, that means you don't want to. But if you don't shake your head, that means that you agree!"
There were three types of binding contracts—the cardinal binding contract, the blood binding contract, and the temporary binding contract.
Due to the rules that governed this world, the first time a demon tamer signed an agreement with a demonic pet, it had to be a cardinal binding contract. There were many advantages to this—the demon tamer and the demonic pet would be completely bonded, and they would have the strongest connection. This demonic pet would also channel the greatest returns to its demon tamer. However, the disadvantage was also very evident. Once the Cardinal Demonic Pet died, there would be very serious repercussions for the demon tamer.
Other than that, there was no way to change the Cardinal Demonic Pet's binding contract later on. Even if both the demon tamer and the demonic pet agreed, there would still be no way to abolish the binding contract.
The blood binding contract was also known as an official binding contract. Depending on the demon tamer's level, they would be able to have varying quotas for binding contracts. The blood binding contract would also bring definite returns to the demon tamer, but the strength of the returns could not be compared to that of the Cardinal Demonic Pet. If the blood-bound demonic pet died, the demon tamer would suffer definite repercussions as well, though not as serious as what would happen with a Cardinal Demonic Pet.
The difference between a blood-bound demonic pet and a Cardinal Demonic Pet was that as long as both parties agreed, the blood binding contract could be abolished. However, the demon tamer's ocean of consciousness would suffer a shake-up; this was commonly known as Mental Shock. From that point on, the demon tamer would not be able to make any binding contracts, unleash their secret techniques, or cultivate their omniscience for a certain amount of time.
At Li Changsheng's level, he could only make three blood binding contracts for now. Only by leveling up or obtaining special treasures could he increase the quota of his blood binding contracts.
Because of this, unless they had no other choice, demon tamers were always doubly cautious about choosing their demonic pets and would try to achieve binding contracts with superior grade demonic pets as much as possible.
The last of the binding contracts was the temporary binding contract. By its name alone, one could already tell that it was a temporary contract. The advantage of this sort of binding contract was that there were no quota limits. Even if all temporary-bound demonic pets died, there would be no repercussions for the demon tamer.
However, the disadvantages were also evident. Temporary-bound demonic pets were unable to build a Mental Connection with their demon tamers, and they were unable to bring the demon tamer any returns. It was also difficult to command them as one wished; there was even the possibility of these demonic pets 'rebelling'.
Before he made a binding contract, Li Changsheng began releasing his omniscience to check on the Nature Faerie's information.