The battle between Lu Yan and the Leopard King lasted for a little over half an hour, and Yu Su never intervened.
The third-order Leopard King's speed was extremely fast. Yu Su initially worried that Lu Yan wouldn't last much longer, but to his surprise, Lu Yan persisted and even injured the Leopard King.
The Leopard King lowered its body, and threatening growls continuously emanated from its throat. It had suffered a significant injury; Lu Yan's sword had cut a deep, bone-visible gash on its side, slowing down its movements.
Realizing that Lu Yan was not as easy to deal with as imagined and with Yu Su, who exuded an even more formidable aura, not making a move, the Leopard King halted.
From its eyes, Yu Su discerned a somewhat human-like plea, as if begging for mercy.
Yu Su was somewhat surprised; this Leopard King's intelligence was quite high?
[The intelligence of a third-order demonic beast is not considered low.] The Spirit Elf remarked.
After a moment of thought, Yu Su asked Lu Yan, "This third-order Leopard King is asking for mercy. Do you want to try taming it as your demonic pet?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yan looked at the Leopard King.
Whether the Leopard King understood the discussion between Yu Su and Lu Yan was unclear. When its gaze met Lu Yan's, it relaxed its previously tense body and walked slowly toward Lu Yan, then crouched down.
Given Lu Yan's current abilities, having a Leopard King as a demonic pet would indeed be a significant boost, much stronger than the savage beasts he had previously contracted.
After considering it, Lu Yan walked towards the Leopard King.
The Leopard King's eyes showed some nervousness, but after glancing back at its mate and cubs in the oasis, it remained still, waiting for Lu Yan to approach.
Lu Yan also glanced at the Leopard King's family. After a moment of eye contact, he extended his hand, bit the tip of his index finger, activated his spiritual energy, and drew a contract rune on the Leopard King's forehead.
The Leopard King accepted it without moving.
The contract quickly formed. After a tremor throughout its body, the Leopard King let out a low growl.
When Lu Yan looked at it again, submission and awe had appeared in its eyes.
It approached Lu Yan, circled around him, and rubbed against his feet.
Lu Yan sensed the consciousness of this Leopard King and nodded at it.
The Leopard King then walked towards its mate and cubs.
Yu Su descended and congratulated Lu Yan, then said, "First, let's deal with the wounds on your body."
Lu Yan also had quite a few injuries, with a deep, bone-visible wound on his arm similar to the one on the Leopard King.
Yu Su handed him a self-refined Return to Origin Pill, and after Lu Yan ingested it, Yu Su helped bandage the wound on his arm.
Lu Yan lowered his gaze slightly, watching Yu Su earnestly bandaging his wound. Suddenly, he used one hand to touch a strand of hair on Yu Su's cheek.
Yu Su looked up at him, "What's wrong?"
Lu Yan pushed the strand of hair behind Yu Su's ear, "Your hair has grown quite long. Let's cut it when we go back."
Yu Su tilted his head slightly, "Is it too long?"
Lu Yan felt a bit reluctant to let go of that strand of hair, saying that it looked good even without cutting it.
Yu Su didn't think too much about it, and after finishing the bandaging, he said, "Done."
Afterward, the two stood on the edge of the oasis, waiting for the Leopard King and its family to bid farewell.
Lu Yan gazed at the center of the oasis for a long time. When he saw the Leopard King and the mother leopard reluctant to part, his eyes inadvertently glanced at Yu Su beside him, and a fervent emotion appeared in his eyes.
He also wanted to be as close to Yu Su as they were.
Unaware of Lu Yan's gaze, Yu Su thought that the Leopard King intended to bid farewell to its family and follow them. However, to his surprise, he saw the Leopard King and the mother leopard each carrying a cub on their backs, walking towards them.
Yu Su was astonished, "Is it planning to bring its family along with us?"
Through the contract with the Leopard King, Lu Yan sensed its request and, after consulting Yu Su's opinion, agreed to the Leopard King's request.
Yu Su suggested, "Treat the Leopard King's wounds first; otherwise, I'm afraid it might collapse before reaching Yu Village."
Yu Su handed a Return to Origin Pill to Lu Yan, who fed it to the Leopard King.
He also bandaged the wound on the Leopard King's side.
Considering the condition of this leopard, Yu Su didn't immediately return to the Barbarian Tribe Forest. Instead, he and Lu Yan stayed in the oasis for three days.
After three days, with significant improvement in both Lu Yan and the Leopard King's conditions, they finally returned to the Barbarian Tribe Forest.
As the Leopard King and its mate couldn't run fast while carrying the cubs, Yu Su took the initiative to help.
Each of them carried a leopard cub while flying in the air.
The Leopard King and its mate swiftly ran on the ground, chasing after them.After entering the wilderness, those desert lizards sensed the presence of the sand leopards and scattered in all directions.
On the Barbarian Tribe side, sensing the restlessness of the desert lizards, they thought they intended to attack the earthen wall and hastily sounded the horns.
At this tense moment, someone with sharp eyes spotted Yu Su and the others in the sky.
"It's Lord Yu Su and Chief Lu!"
"They're back!"
Three days had passed since Yu Su and the others entered the wilderness, and everyone was worried about their safety. Now, seeing them return, excitement and cheers erupted.
Jian Yunchuan and the Five Elements warriors of Yu Village also ran out, relieved to see Yu Su and the others returning, waving at them.
Yu Su, with Lu Yan, landed on the ground and approached Jian Yunchuan and the others.
"Father, we're back."
"Why did it take so long... huh? What are you holding?"
Jian Yunchuan noticed the sand leopard cub that Yu Su was holding and asked about it.
"It's a sand leopard cub."
Yu Su briefly explained the situation—how they found the sand leopards occupying the desert lizards' nest, and Lu Yan tamed a sand leopard as a demonic pet.
Jian Yunchuan's eyes lit up, "Well done! A trip outside, and such a significant gain."
Others gathered around, learning that Lu Yan had tamed a third-order leopard king as a demonic pet, showing expressions of surprise and admiration.
"Wow, is that the sand leopard?" Someone pointed at the two rapidly moving sand leopards in the wilderness.
"So fast!" After looking over, the onlookers couldn't help but exclaim.
Before long, the two leopards ran from a distance to nearby.
Many Barbarian warriors became vigilant, and some looked at the leopards with shining eyes. These sand leopards were much faster than the tamed Barbarian leopards!
Even in terms of size and momentum, they surpassed the Barbarian leopards.
The tigers and leopards waiting in the forest, upon seeing the sand leopards, grumbled in their throats, subconsciously retreating, evidently afraid of the powerful aura from the sand leopards.
This scene intensified the envy of the Barbarian warriors.
"Wow, this is the sand leopard?" Jian Yunchuan looked at the approaching leopard king and said, "Such speed, such power, ten Barbarian leopards can't compare."
"Third-order leopard king, the strength is close to the Foundation Building stage," Yu Su explained.
Jian Yunchuan was surprised. Such a single leopard was more formidable than him?
The sand leopards, along with their mates, slowed down in front of the earthen wall. They walked toward Lu Yan and Yu Su, bowing their heads.
Everyone watched in amazement.
Yu Su placed the sand leopard cub back on the backs of the leopard king and its mate.
The mate of the leopard king lovingly glanced at its cub, gently rubbed Yu Su's leg to express gratitude, then walked back to the side of the leopard king, standing quietly behind Lu Yan and the others.
Silence fell in the forest as everyone watched the sand leopard family.
Breaking the quiet, Yu Su spoke, "The sand leopards have left the desert lizards' nest. The desert lizards in the wilderness will return to the oasis shortly, and there shouldn't be large-scale attacks anymore."
The Barbarian warriors were overjoyed. The desert lizards were leaving?!
Upon receiving the news of Yu Su's return, the Barbarian High Priest rushed over, and upon learning that the desert lizards would retreat to the desert, he breathed a long sigh of relief. With all the tribes' people, he sincerely thanked Yu Su and Lu Yan.
"Lord Yu Su, please allow me to express the highest gratitude on behalf of the various tribes of the Barbarian Tribe. Tonight, we will hold a celebration banquet. I invite you, Chief Lu, Chief Jian, and the warriors of Yu Village to attend our celebration banquet."
Yu Su didn't refuse and, with the people of Yu Village, walked back into the depths of the forest with the Barbarian High Priest.
That night, the various tribes of the Barbarian Tribe gathered in front of the Beast God Temple square.
They built a tall bonfire on the square, offering delicious food and drinks to entertain Yu Su and the others.
The Barbarians lacked the technology for brewing wine, so they used beast blood instead.
Yu Su didn't like drinking raw beast blood and refrained.
However, Lu Yan and the other indigenous people didn't mind, drinking several cups together with the Barbarians.
Barbarian maidens and young men performed various programs at the banquet.
Yu Su witnessed the unique Barbarian dances for the first time and watched with great interest.
The Barbarian High Priest presented Yu Su with a necklace made of beast fangs and a horn, explaining that the fang necklace could ward off evil, and the horn could summon the Barbarians. If Yu Su blew the horn in a Barbarian-inhabited area, he could gather Barbarians to fight for him.
Yu Su noticed a special gem embedded in the horn and examined it carefully.
"Great Priest, where did this gem come from?"
The Barbarian High Priest said, "It was brought out from the Death Valley to the west. The entire Barbarian Tribe only has a few of these."
Yu Su was somewhat surprised; did this mean the horn was quite rare?
The Barbarian High Priest gave him such a precious horn and explained its functions sincerely, indicating genuine gratitude.
Yu Su thanked him solemnly and accepted the gift.
Later, he inquired about the Death Valley from the Barbarian High Priest.
It seemed that the gems on it possessed spiritual energy, arousing Yu Su's interest.
The Barbarian High Priest said, "It's about seven or eight days away from the Barbarian Forest. It's very dangerous inside, with monsters more terrifying than desert lizards. Even our Barbarian warriors would find it challenging to come out alive."
Yu Su pondered; it seemed that the Death Valley was indeed quite dangerous, likely inhabited by many demonic beasts.