Just before the sun had rose to the peak of the blue sky, the carriages had been loaded to the brim with the resources the Crystal Coral Sect members had obtained from the beast tide as they dismantled their camp, restoring the area to the way it was before they arrived.
And then soon after, the convoy of carriages set off without much delay, the majority of the carriages were being pulled by sect members whereas a singular carriage was at the head of the convoy, it was simply decorated to show off some importance, but it wasn't gaudy or luxurious.
It was being pulsed by two odd cow-like creatures that had long horns, yet instead of fur they had hardened scales that gleamed under the bright sun.
"It's my first time seeing Seabulls, they're certainly interesting… they look like they'd be aquatic creatures except they're really amphibians!" Shu He looked outside of the window ahead of the carriage they're in, admiring the animals pulling the carriage.
"They're great, right? The sect leader let us borrow them this time to show off! Each of them is comparable to a fifth level cultivator in strength!" Ren Hai explained and bragged.
'They create a slime like projective film on their scales that also keeps them hydrated when on land… such a unique ability, as expected of a bred spirit animal' Shu He's eyes flashed with interest, yes, the two Seabulls were spirit animals and were completely tamed, it was the first time he had seen tamed spirit animals outside of the sect.
"By the way, out of curiosity; How does your sect tame them?" He asked Ren Hai, not expecting to be given an answer, yet Ren Hai happily pulled out a seal from his robe and showed it to him.
"We use a Mental Seal, it makes anyone carrying the Master Seal be recognised as its parent, so they're completely tamed!" Ren Hai's smiled expecting a gasp or an amazed response-
"Oh, I see" Was all Shu He said as his eyes narrowed, glancing at the Master Seal before looking away. "How long has your sect been raising them?" he then asked.
"Hmm… I'm not really sure, it was the sect master that started it and that was before even the sect was founded, so it must be decades at least".
Shu He leaned on his hand as he looked out the window silently, cutting off the conversation, Ren Hai sensed his mood and went ahead, hopping out the carriage to check up on the others.
'Mental Seal huh… I've heard about it, but it really is cruel…' he then scoffed at himself "Not that keeping them in captivity isn't cruel in the first place…" he muttered under his breath.
In the end, the Inner Heart Linking technique he had been exposed to first is a gentle type of taming technique, it relies on mutual trust between animal and human and isn't cruel in the slightest.
However, that isn't to say the Beast Taming Division is completely 'kind', after all many of the animals there were taken from their environments for the sake of study or resources, while some were rescued they are the minority.
That's why, while Shu He felt innate disgust for a technique like Mental Seal, he understands that's just how the world goes, it's accepted as the norm in many places, beast taming is a lesser path, it's better to strengthen oneself.
That's why, instead of working on something as time intensive as the Inner Heart Linking technique, it's much easier to use a Mental Seal-
The Mental Seal technique was simple, you take a spirit animal that is young, just having been born, and brand a seal on their mind, instantly letting the owner of the Master Seal gain recognition as their parent.
'Well, there's crueller techniques out there, at least in this case they live semi-normally… in the first place, the reason our division sees so little fresh members is because we use such a hard to use technique'
He sighed as he felt a weight shift on his lap, Shu Xue who was sleeping once more twisted slightly as he let out a gentle smile. 'I can't imagine using such a technique on her, at least'.
A recent memory flashed inside his mind, the picture of her flames healing him, his eyebrows furrowed.
'What was that? Did she gain another innate ability? She's already an unusual subject because of our odd pact, but it feels different…' he already knew that Shu Xue wasn't a normal spirit beast, having a unique constitution, but he had yet to truly discover the extents of how 'special' she was.
'We'll need to do some testing when we're in a safe place' he closed his eyes and leaned back in the carriage chair. Of course, he wasn't the only one left in the carriage, Na Xue was sitting opposite him with her eyes closed in a state of meditation, he had just given her some more of his blood, so she was probably processing it.
Bai Lian was next to her, equally quiet, they hadn't exchanged many words since they woke up, she witnesses the two leaving the same room and sent them an odd glance, but other than they she just apologised for leaving the beast tide earlier and made some small talk.
'She'll talk when she's ready' Shu He decided to let sleeping dogs lie, something was up, but she clearly wanted to brood alone for now. On the other hand, Shu He pulled out an object from his bag, it was a bottle filled with shining black powder and fragments, a slight frown was on his face as he stared at it.
'I wonder how much this would even sell for…'
It was part of the serpent's spirit heart, Shu He's blow had blown it to bits, so much so that just picking up a piece would turn it to powder and so the few that fought the snake decided to split it up between them, powder from a spirit heart could be used for talismans and such so it wasn't worthless, but it was incomparable to complete spirit heart.
'I'll see if I can find a use for it later…' he stored the bottle away as he reached for a large pouch and unclasped it, yet he then paused as his expression froze.
"Huh?" he couldn't help but speak out loud, the two sitting opposite him opened their eyes, confused.
"What is it?" Na Xue asked, leaning over to look.
"No, it's just…" He closed the pouch and opened it again, his expression filled with disbelief.
"It's an empty pouch?" Na Xue said, confused.
"No, I mean yes, it's certainly empty… but it wasn't empty last night!" Shu He said with a hint of panic as he opened his bags, looking through them one by one "I definitely put it there… not here… not here.. where is it?!".
"What are you looking for?" Bai Lian murmured, sounding slightly tired.
"That eye I got yesterday!" Shu He replied, confusion plastered all over his face "I know I kept watch at least most of the night, did someone come in and steal it?".
"Eye? Oh, from the serpent… I was awake all night, so I don't think anyone came in… oh, wait…" An awkward expression appeared on Na Xue's face as she averted her eyes.
"What? Did you do something?".
"What? No! It wasn't me!" Na Xue yelled.
"Then who?!"
"I mean… there was only one other person in the room last night" She shrugged her shoulders with a half-hearted laugh "Or rather, animal".
Shu He's eyes slowly drifted to Shu Xue who was happily sleeping on his lap like she was having the most wonderful of dreams.
"Oi, wake up" He shook her gently, when that didn't work he pulled out some of the 'treats' from his robe and in an instant her eyes shot open as she sat up rubbing her eyes.
"Is it lunchtime?" She asked, yawning.
"That depends" Shu He's eyebrow twitched as he spoke.
"Depends?" She tilted her head cutely which only irritated Shu He even more.
"Inside this bag, there was a big, orange coloured stone like item, do you happen to know where it is?" He said, shaking the empty pouch in front of her, she stared at it, narrowing her eyes in thought.
After a few seconds her eyes widened as she clapped her hands together.
"Ah! It was tasty!"
The three sitting in the carriage looked at the little girl in abject horror, that was the most valuable part of the serpent, so much so that Shu He gave up on all the other parts for it, it was one of the eyes that had an innate technique inscribed on it! A rarity!
"Ok. No food for two days".
"No----------------!"
The cries of the young girl echoed out of the carriage, yet no one dared to ask what was happening inside.