Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 582: Chapter 353: Master, is the Palace Still Far?

Under the command of Chenlong, Fu Tiance, Snake and a soldier from the Cyan Mountain Army returned to the Third Wall with their surprise acquisition—the Snow Devourer—to report on their mission.

Judging by the importance Fu Tiance placed on the Snow Devourer, Rong Taotao realized he had still greatly underestimated its value.

Apparently, Rong Taotao had only seen the Snow Devourer as a good helper for disposing of household waste, but for the Snow Burning Army, there was far, far too much tricky “trash” it could handle.

Of course, none of this was within Rong Taotao’s purview for now. Listening to Fu Tiance giving out orders, Rong Taotao knew that reinforcements would be arriving soon.

Fu Tiance placed a hand to his ear, pressing his invisible headphones, and said, “Yin Hu, my team is back online and on the designated route to Bailing Village. Just catch up with us along the way.”

“Roger that.” Yin Hu’s resonant voice came through the earpiece.

With technical support from Miss Mao Rabbit, Yin Hu’s squad had joined the “group chat.”

Ahead and to the sides were two members of the Cyan Mountain Army, Cheng Border and Xu Yiyu, their figures a blur as they galloped onward, brandishing two large, blood-red banners.

With Fu Tiance bringing up the rear, on a pitch-black, snowy night in the treacherous lands beyond the Third Wall, Rong Taotao was surprised to find himself feeling… a sense of security?

Feeling quite pleased with himself, he summoned his Soul Pet: Nightmare Snow Owl, lifting it from his lap and smoothing its snow-white feathers with one hand.

‘It’s so beautiful…’

Golden eyes, a golden beak, broad wings, and snow-white feathers.

‘I didn’t get a good look at it earlier. Estimating its body length… it must be over 70 centimeters, right?’

‘What a noble-looking, imposing bird of prey!’

‘Its wings are a little injured, but that’s okay. As long as we smooth out the feathers, you can’t see the wounds…’

The Nightmare Snow Owl must have been swallowed alive by the Snow Devourer. That big-mouthed monster hadn’t even chewed, which saved a lot of trouble.

‘In a little while, I’ll just have the Nightmare Snow Owl return to its Soul Slot to rest up.’

Unfortunately, although Rong Taotao’s Huilian had powerful healing effects—so strong it could supposedly reattach a severed head—the effects of the Lotus Petals only worked on Rong Taotao himself.

‘I wonder if I’ll be able to use Huilian to heal others in the future, once I get more skilled at controlling the Lotus Petals.’

‘Once I reach that stage, that’s when I can call it true “great mercy and compassion,” right?’

Moreover, the level of Medical Soul Skills in the Soul Martial World wasn’t very high. If Rong Taotao could really use Huilian to heal people, he would be transformed into a special talent of “strategic value”!

‘Even though I can’t control Huilian to heal everything right now, after I absorb a Soul Beast into my body, the Huilian that’s already inside me should help heal its injuries a bit, right?’

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Rong Taotao was also secretly admiring his new partner. However, the Nightmare Snow Owl, perched on his arm, simply twisted its head to look elsewhere, showing Rong Taotao nothing but the back of its head.

“Oho? A bit standoffish, are we?” Rong Taotao moved his arm in front of him and leaned forward to look at the Nightmare Snow Owl.

But the Nightmare Snow Owl just twisted its head again, looking like it was sulking, and continued to show Rong Taotao the back of its head.

‘No matter how I turn, I can’t out-turn a Nightmare Snow Owl’s head, can I?’

‘This thing is based on an owl. Doesn’t that mean it can turn its head wherever it wants?’

“Hey, look at me. Don’t be mad…” Rong Taotao said, but then a thought struck him. “Is it because my warthog mask is too scary?”

As he spoke, Rong Taotao took off the menacing warthog mask. He leaned his head forward and, holding one of the Nightmare Snow Owl’s wings, used it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

‘The wing felt so fluffy and soft. It’s great for wiping away sweat~’

“COO COO!” Suddenly, the Nightmare Snow Owl was not happy!

It whipped around, its broad wings flaring out, and its golden eyes suddenly lit up. It looked completely ruffled.

“Grrrr…” Atop Gao Lingwei’s head, the Snowball Cat suddenly let out an extremely dangerous, predatory sound.

You have to understand, Rong Taotao was sitting right behind Gao Lingwei, so for the Nightmare Snow Owl to get ruffled here was clearly just asking for trouble in the Snowball Cat’s territory.

If it had been a Cloud Dog throwing a tantrum, the Snowball Cat definitely wouldn’t have gotten angry; it might even have tried to comfort it.

‘But you, a newcomer, a fat-faced, round chicken… what are you trying to prove, acting all tough here?’

The Snowball Cat was intimidating the new Soul Beast, but this Nightmare Snow Owl surprisingly wasn’t backing down?

It snapped its head around, looking up at the Snowball Cat on Gao Lingwei’s head. “Coo… coo…”

Gao Lingwei, of course, noticed the situation behind her. She turned slightly, glancing back over her shoulder.

In that single instant, the Nightmare Snow Owl’s beautiful wings snapped shut!

Not only did the Nightmare Snow Owl pull its wings back, it even shuffled its talons on Rong Taotao’s arm, scooting closer to him until its head was pressed against his chest.

The noble and mighty creature had suddenly turned into a timid, well-behaved baby…

‘The Nightmare Snow Owl would never forget how this woman had nearly crushed it to death with one hand just moments ago.’

Then again, in the world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, Rong Taotao had fought using the form of a Nightmare Snow Owl.

If Rong Taotao had been using his own form back then, would the Nightmare Snow Owl have been this docile upon seeing him?

“Hmph.” Gao Lingwei snorted coldly, sat up straight, and looked back down at her map. She then reached up and patted the Snowball Cat on her head, signaling it to resume its watch over their surroundings and the road ahead.