Chapter 118: The Evergreen Covenant

Lu Han looked down at the Evil Wind Beast on the ground with a strange expression.

"You... are you the one talking?" Lu Han asked, gazing curiously at the creature.

"Of course. I am communicating with you through our consciousness. Had you not signed the Evergreen Covenant with me, you would not be able to hear my voice," the Evil Wind Beast’s voice echoed in Lu Han’s mind once more.

"The Evergreen Covenant? Is that what you mean?" Lu Han was momentarily stunned before he realized what the beast was referring to, gesturing toward the serpent-shaped mark on his arm.

"Yes, this is the unique Evergreen Covenant of the Starry Evergreen Python clan. I possess half the bloodline of that lineage, so I am capable of invoking it," the beast explained.

After listening to the explanation, Lu Han finally understood the nature of the covenant. The Starry Evergreen Python clan lived far longer than any other demon beast because of their unique "Ten-Thousand-Year Evergreen Blood." However, this gift came with a fatal flaw: the blood required a price. Once the power of the blood was activated, the creature would slowly fall into a deep, eternal slumber. During this sleep, their cultivation would steadily decline until they reached the Acquired Realm, at which point death would follow.

The Evil Wind Beast had originally served the Great Sage Ming Wu. With the blood of both an ancient Xiangliu and a Starry Evergreen Python in its veins, it had reached a formidable level of cultivation. Later, when the Great Sage Ming Wu was wounded in a battle against the Great Sage Qiong Qi, the beast retreated into this small pocket dimension to sleep. Its strength had been fading ever since, leaving it at the mere Innate Realm today. According to the Great Sage Ming Wu, the beast was an anomaly—no Starry Evergreen Python had ever lived this long. Yet, most of its life had been spent in slumber, and within another decade, its strength would have dropped to the Acquired Realm, marking the end of its existence.

The Evergreen Covenant was the key to survival. It offered the python a chance to live another life. If the blood was powerful, the covenant was truly heaven-defying. Once a Starry Evergreen Python’s strength fell to a certain point, it could enter a covenant with a human of equal strength. The python’s power would reset to the Acquired Realm, allowing it to start anew. However, the python would then be bound to obey that human’s commands, and if the human died, the python would perish as well. Crucially, the pact had to be entered into voluntarily.

The Starry Evergreen Python clan, which considered itself the noblest of all serpent-kind, was incredibly proud. Asking them to submit to a human was worse than death. Furthermore, because humans had once hunted them ruthlessly to harvest their blood, they harbored deep resentment toward humanity. Consequently, such pacts were extremely rare.

The Evil Wind Beast, however, was different. It had no emotional ties to the clan, having been raised by Lu Han’s master, the Great Sage Ming Tian. Since Lu Han was Ming Tian’s disciple, and at his master’s behest, the beast had agreed to the covenant.

The creature had essentially been granted a fresh start, though, in its current state, it was likely weaker than Lu Han himself. The once massive, terrifying beast was now only a meter long, hopping about with its body held upright. For some reason, Lu Han found the sight inexplicably amusing.

"Pfft." A laugh escaped his lips.

"Lu Han, how dare you mock your Lord Evil Wind? I’ll eat you!"

"Whoosh!" The meter-long creature tensed its body and lunged straight at Lu Han.

Lu Han reached out and pinched the beast’s head. "You are no match for me now," he chuckled.

"Let me go! Once your Lord Evil Wind breaks through the Innate Realm, you’ll be the first one I beat into the ground!" the beast’s vicious voice rang in his mind.

"Uh..." Lu Han wondered how his master, the seemingly gentle and refined Great Sage Ming Tian, had ended up with such an eccentric creature. He couldn't wrap his head around it. In truth, Ming Tian had kept the beast in the pocket dimension most of the time, busy with his own cultivation and only occasionally offering guidance.

"Hey, let me go, or I’ll bite my tongue and end it all!" the beast threatened. Lu Han, feeling a headache coming on, set it down.

"What sin did I commit to sign a contract with this thing?" Lu Han thought to himself. He ignored the beast and touched the deep blue ring in his robes. Old Man Ling was currently in closed-door cultivation and would not wake for some time. He had encountered a fortuitous opportunity, and there was a chance he might emerge with even greater strength or perhaps even a restored physical body. Lu Han was genuinely happy for him; the two had faced life and death together too many times to count. Had the Great Sage Ming Tian not pointed it out, Lu Han would never have known the true extent of Ling’s condition. He had assumed the old man was merely weak. If anything had truly happened to him, Lu Han wouldn't know how to live with himself.

There was no day or night in this gray space, and Lu Han had no idea how much time had passed. "Evil Wind Beast, how long have I been in here?"

"Now you remember your Lord Evil Wind?" the beast retorted.

Lu Han felt another headache. Weren’t humans supposed to be the beneficiaries of this covenant? He felt as if he had signed a contract with a spoiled master instead.

The beast flicked its tail, slithered quickly to Lu Han’s feet, and wrapped itself around his waist like a cyan belt. "Lu Han, that storage ring of yours cannot hold living things. I’ll just stay coiled around your waist," it declared.

Lu Han was speechless.

"Twenty days have passed since the inheritance began," the beast added.

"Twenty days? That long?" Lu Han had thought only two or three days had passed, but it made sense; if the inheritance of the Great Sage Ming Wu had ended in an instant, that would have been the real surprise.

"How do we get out?" Lu Han asked. He was eager to return to Maple Leaf City with the blood of the Soul-Stealing Sable.

"Hey, send us out!" the beast shouted toward the throne.

The throne of the Great Sage Ming Wu gave a sudden tremor. A gray light surged toward Lu Han; caught off guard, he collapsed and lost consciousness. His aura began to rise steadily—from the mid-stage of the ninth level of the Acquired Realm to the late stage... then, it broke through to the first level of the Innate Realm.

"The Throne of Ming Wu actually has this power?" the beast widened its eyes. "Come, come, hurry and boost your Lord Evil Wind to the Earth King realm..."

A circle of dark light appeared before the throne, emitting a massive surge of energy. Lu Han and the strange figure began to float, drifting slowly toward the dark light.

"Hey, hey, hey! Boosting me to the Profound Lord realm would be fine too!" the beast yelled.

"I’ll be damned..." The beast ranted and raved, but it was teleported out regardless. As the dark light faded, the throne of the Great Sage Ming Wu shattered, finally following its master, the Great Sage Ming Tian, into the void. Had it not been for the sake of preserving the inheritance, the throne would have followed him long ago.