Fortunately, the little snake did not attack him but instead affectionately rubbed against his arm. Lu An suppressed his shock and slowly extended his finger to gently touch its head.
The little snake not only did not recoil but also crawled up his finger and eventually coiled around his wrist.
Lu An's mind stirred, and he extended his divine sense towards his wrist but couldn't sense the little snake's presence.
He was amazed, thinking that the little snake's innate spatial magic was obstructing his detection.
The snake was entirely black, about the thickness of a small finger, with ancient dark patterns on its body. Newly hatched, it already possessed cultivation at the late stage of Qi Refining. He wondered where Young Master Zhuang had obtained it.
If Young Master Zhuang hadn't fallen, he would have asked about it.
After some thought, Lu An extended a finger and tapped the snake's head. A wisp of divine sense slowly entered, and a golden mark appeared in the little snake's sea of consciousness.
The snake seemed to notice nothing unusual and felt even closer to Lu An, as if he were a kindred spirit.
Once the mark was established, Lu An breathed a sigh of relief. Although the little snake's origins were unknown, having planted a soul mark meant it would become his spiritual beast.
He didn't know how to train spiritual beasts or how to cultivate the little snake, but that didn't diminish his affection for it.
Especially after planting the soul mark, there was a sense of telepathy between them; often, Lu An only needed a thought, and the snake would understand what to do.
Although the little snake was only at the Qi Refining late stage and couldn't be of much help in battle now, it might become a significant asset as it grew.
"Since you're completely black, you'll be called Little Black from now on."
Little Black tightened its body coiled around Lu An's wrist, seeming to really like the name.
Lu An smiled slightly and transformed into a streak of light, shooting off into the distance.
In the city of Wanren, at the residence of the immortals, a group of people anxiously waited at the entrance.
"Daoist Lu, why have you returned alone when you were supposed to leave with Lu An?" The Palace Master frowned and asked coldly.
"Yes, and the teleportation array is about to open. We need to hurry over. Who will take responsibility if we miss the Shui Tian Law Conference?" A person from the Beast Tamer's group in Yongning County also showed dissatisfaction and urged to depart quickly.
Lu Jinqiu's eyes flickered, and he spoke up:
"We were originally going to collect the power of Yin Sha there, but unexpectedly, a large array suddenly appeared and trapped Brother Lu inside."
"I tried various methods but couldn't rescue him. In the end, I had to return first."
"However, the array's power is not great, and Brother Lu is a person with fortune. He should be fine. Why don't we head to the capital first? He might catch up after escaping."
The others were moved by this. The Shui Tian Law Conference was imminent, and they could not afford to miss it because of Lu An.
Only Ye Xiaoqian coldly stared at Lu Jinqiu and the others, saying:
"If you all want to leave, then go ahead. I will wait here alone."
"But Lu Jinqiu, you cannot leave!"
She wanted to search for Lu An but feared missing him if he returned. She had sent several communications earlier, but there was no response. She had no better solution at the moment, so she needed to keep Lu Jinqiu here and confront him when Lu An returned.
Lu Jinqiu was unwilling and showed a hint of displeasure. "Daoist Ye, this seems a bit excessive. How could I…"
"Enough!"
Before he could finish, the Palace Master waved his hand and interrupted.
"We will wait for Lu An for the duration of one incense stick. If he does not return by then, we will proceed."
Lu Jinqiu's eyes showed a glimmer of joy, while Ye Xiaoqian became anxious and was about to argue when a voice came from the distance.
"No need to wait. We can depart now."
Lu An jumped off the post horse and saluted the crowd, then turned to look at Lu Jinqiu.
"Daoist Lu, why did you return first? I thought you were also trapped in that array."
His words were full of concern, as if nothing had happened before.
Lu Jinqiu's pupils contracted, and he awkwardly responded with a few words, but his heart was in turmoil.
Lu An had returned safely, so the outcome was self-evident. Young Master Zhuang must have fallen.
How could he dare?
Young Master Zhuang was a member of the current Grand Marshal's family. How could Lu An have dared to act against him?
Lu Jinqiu's face turned extremely pale, and he looked up slightly, only to see a mocking expression in Lu An's eyes.
He felt a jolt in his heart. Since Lu An dared to act against Young Master Zhuang, what was he to fear?
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a bit of fear.
However, fighting was prohibited in Wanren City, and the Palace Master would not allow them to harm each other, so there was no immediate danger.
But once they left the teleportation array, it would take another day to reach the capital, and then anything could happen.
Thinking of this, his expression grew even darker.
Lu An stepped forward, placing a hand on Lu Jinqiu's shoulder.
"Daoist Lu's safe return is good. It was worth my concern."
He patted Lu Jinqiu's shoulder, gave him a meaningful look, and then fell silent.
Seeing that the two seemed quite familiar, the others didn't say anything more.
Only a few people noticed that the atmosphere between them seemed a bit off, but it was not their concern, so they naturally did not intervene.
The Palace Master, seeing everyone had arrived, said loudly:
"Alright, since there is no issue, let's set off."
With that, she led the way towards the direction of the teleportation array.
Everyone followed, and Lu An quietly talked with Ye Xiaoqian.
Ye Xiaoqian's face turned cold upon hearing about Lu An's experience. She stared fiercely at Lu Jinqiu's back, as if she wanted to carve him into a thousand pieces.
Seeing this, Lu An was about to say something when he suddenly sensed something unusual behind him.
He turned abruptly and saw a young man in white, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
The young man had a white-furred ferret around his neck, which was now bristling and nervously looking at Lu An's wrist.
Lu An's mind stirred, and he slowed his pace, moving closer to the young man in white.
"I am Lu An. May I ask how you are addressed?"
"Kong Qing."
"So it is Daoist Kong. I have long heard of you."
Kong Qing did not respond immediately but showed a hint of hesitation.
After a moment, he asked Lu An:
"Brother Lu, my Bishi Ferret is usually very docile. I wonder why, today, it is acting out of character. Could you help me understand?"
Lu An was surprised and glanced at the Bishi Ferret, feeling a slight stir in his heart.
"I was collecting the Sha Qi. Perhaps the Qi was not properly contained and was sensed by this little ferret."
Kong Qing did not speak, but his expression clearly showed disbelief.
Lu An's mouth curled into a slight smile as he fixed his gaze on the Bishi Ferret. The Soul Cultivation Secret Technique was quietly activated, and at the same time, a dense aura of killing intent slowly emanated from him.
The Bishi Ferret, being only at the Qi Refining stage, suddenly felt as if it were surrounded by a sea of corpses and blood. Its fur stood on end, and it began to hiss and cry out in panic, quickly hiding behind Kong Qing.
Seeing this, Kong Qing shook his head with a wry smile.
"Brother Lu, please retract your killing intent; don't frighten my Bishi Ferret."
Only when Lu An withdrew the secret technique did Kong Qing continue speaking.
"I didn't expect the killing intent you collected to be so overwhelming. It seems that my Bishi Ferret must have sensed a trace of it by accident, hence the reaction."
Lu An nodded and added, "It seems so. However, Daoist Kong, your Bishi Ferret is quite peculiar. I thought I had hidden the killing intent well, yet it could still sense it?"
The Bishi Ferret was not sensing the killing intent but rather the small snake on Lu An's wrist. However, Lu An would not reveal this and saw it as an opportunity to gather some intelligence.