Twenty miles from Qinghe County, to the north of the official road about thirty to forty meters away, there lies a dried-up ditch.
At this moment, on the south side of the ditch, amidst the withered grass, lies a hunched-over young girl.
The waist-length white hair is covered in dust, turning into a mix of gray and white.
The white silk robe is patched with black and gray, revealing pale skin where it's severely damaged.
It's the same white-clad girl who appeared on the top floor of the flower boat at Qinxin Tianzhu.
The slightly heaving chest signifies that this is not a lifeless corpse.
A slightly disheveled voice comes from a distance, and the girl slowly opens her eyes, followed by intense coughing.
Blood flows from the corner of her mouth, and the red blood, under the sunlight, faintly turns green.
Last night, she first used her cultivation technique, a charm that encompassed the charm of thousands with her own power, causing damage to her origin.
After the failure, she forcibly broke through the pure Yang aura left by the Demon Suppression Bureau at the entrance of Yanzhi River.
At this point, she can't perform any mysterious techniques.
If it weren't for her unique bloodline sustaining her human form, she would have revealed her true form long ago. Hearing the approaching hoofbeats, the girl forcefully props herself up, sitting halfway.
She needs blood to quickly restore her strength so she can escape Kyoto and reach the Dacheng Mountains to find her Grandpa Huang.
However, upon seeing the black-robed figures of the Demon Suppression Bureau, the hopeful eyes dimmed, and she lay down again.
"Why is the Demon Suppression Bureau's black uniform everywhere!"
When the girl looked at Li Gou's group from the Demon Suppression Bureau, Chen Xuanze happened to catch sight of her white figure.
"Snake demon, a century of cultivation, heavily injured. Possessing the feathered serpent bloodline, an unlimited future. Capture!"
This was the first time Chen Xuanze had seen a suggestion outside the Demon Suppression Chart, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Feathered serpent bloodline—this wasn't something commonly seen.
"What to use to capture? Why capture, not suppress?"
In the Sea of Consciousness, just like when he obtained the Soul Extinguishing Scripture, the most needed thing appeared around the Demon Suppression Chart in Chen Xuanze's Sea of Consciousness.
"Nine Binding Techniques."
After a quick read, nine scorching golden characters, some bright and some dim, swirled around the Demon Suppression Chart in Chen Xuanze's Sea of Consciousness. The trajectory of their flight was extremely mysterious.
"The Nine Binding Techniques: Bind, Shock, Seal, Thunder, Pardon, Weapon, Covenant, Blood, Array. It is the supreme ability of the human race, creating nine methods specifically for dealing with demons."
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"Bind: Transforming magical power, binding demons in place."
"Shock: Using magical power to shock, intimidating the demon's soul, making it lose focus."
"Seal: Method for making demon-sealing talismans, capable of suppressing demons above one level."
"Thunder: Palm Thunder, extreme yang thunder technique."
"Pardon: Daoist nine-word true mantra, capable of pardoning and unsealing demons."
"Weapon: Creating weapons specifically for demons."
"Covenant: Making a covenant with demons, using them for oneself."
"Blood, the technique of drawing blood, causing the blood of the demon to boil."
"Formation, the formation for suppressing demons."
Only the words 'Thunder' and 'Pact' lingered in his mind, while the other seven slowly disappeared. Without time to delve into it further, his consciousness delved into the word 'Pact,' and only one piece of information appeared.
"Ancient Covenant Art, using blood as the covenant, known as Blood Pact. Establishing a covenant with demons, mutually dependent."
Chen Xuanze hesitated. This covenant art seemed ominous, and he now had some reservations about the Demon Suppression Record. What was the difference between suppressing demons and capturing them?
Moreover, did 'mutually dependent' mean that if one died, the other would follow?
As if sensing his thoughts, a row of small words appeared: "Judging good and evil based on whether there is loss of life. The covenantor is the master, and the demon is the assistant. If the person dies, the demon perishes; if the demon dies, the person falls in cultivation."
"That's right. There has to be a standard for judgment. If demons are treated equally, why call it demon suppression?" Chen Xuanze thought, but the origin of the Demon Suppression Record remained unknown. At this moment, it seemed to be a conscious entity, and Chen Xuanze couldn't help but be on guard against the Demon Suppression Record.
"Boss, you guys go ahead. I have a bit of a stomachache; I'll catch up with you later." Chen Xuanze found a lame excuse, greeted Li Gou with his characteristic simplicity, and waved him off. Li Gou didn't think much about it and gestured for him to go ahead.
As the group moved away, Chen Xuanze, using the guise of his stomachache, approached the white figure he had seen earlier. Soon, he reached the vicinity of the white-haired girl.
The figure in front of Chen Xuanze was no different from Beggar Zhang.
Wearing a tattered white robe and disheveled hair, lying on the riverbank motionless, it appeared to be breathing in but not exhaling.
"Don't pretend. If you're really close to death, you won't be able to maintain your human form." Chen Xuanze was cautious; a century of cultivation, about twenty years of inner energy, and his cultivation at the 9th rank Foundation Building stage, coupled with the 9th rank Dao
Foundation stage, wouldn't match the opponent. With a century of cultivation and at the 7th rank Nascent Soul stage, if it weren't for the fact that the opponent was already injured, Chen Xuanze wouldn't have dared to approach.
The white figure lay there motionless, seemingly weaker in its breath.
"Do you want mercy?" Chen Xuanze didn't waste time. Two words: 'One' and 'Two,' lingered in the air. "Three..."
"A covenant, or death. Three counts." A smile appeared on Chen Xuanze's face, but the content was far from negotiable. It was Chen Xuanze's habit; a smiling face makes things easier.
Talk first, don't delay the job. When exterminating the rat demon, it was the same strategy.
When using the Exorcism Talisman, he tested its power. Once it proved effective, while the rat demon listened to him talking, he swiftly killed it.
Now, it depended on the white-robed girl's choice.
"One." The silver arcs of lightning on his fingertips danced faster, like mischievous spirits.
"Two." The arcs multiplied, intertwining into a dense network of thunder.
"Three..."
"A covenant, but aren't you afraid of backlash from a 9th rank Foundation Building cultivator?"
The white-robed girl finally compromised.
The menacing silver lightning was too frightening, and without injuries, it was no big problem to kill the person before him.
At this moment, with an empty body, she had no confidence to resist the silver lightning.
Moreover, the strange bloodline in her body was continuously roaring, as if reminding her of the terror of the person in front of her.
Chen Xuanze didn't give her room for hesitation.
While her attention was entirely focused on the covenant, the three strands of lightning, so fine that they were almost invisible, flew out from the silver net in his right hand and quickly struck the girl's forehead.
The hesitant girl fainted. The covenant floated towards her, gradually expanding and wrapping her entire body.
In a moment, a silver-white giant snake, over five meters long and with a child's arm's thickness, appeared in the river where the girl had just been.
This was her true form. Different from other snake demons, her scales were covered with fine fur.