"Fellow Daoist, look over there, there are some jujubes. Let me get you a couple to eat! Ptooey, ptooey, theyāre not tasty!"
"Fellow Daoist, look over there, thereās a rabbit. Iāll catch it and split it with you! Didnāt catch it though..."
"Fellow Daoist, look, there are lots of jades here. Do you want them? Here you go, you can use them!"
"Fellow Daoist, fellow Daoist, fellow Daoist! Oh oh oh!"
"Oh oh oh, itās driving me crazy! Shut up!"
"Oh... Fellow Daoist, are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?"
Tie Dan was really getting annoyed. They had only been traveling together for half a day before he figured it out.
Donāt be fooled by Ling Biao, this guy, tall and big for a dog, with an impressive demeanor. But honestly, heās just a blockhead...
Well, itās not an act; heās just a silly dog, with not even a trace of suspicion towards others. Always happily bumbling around, wandering east and west, fluttering here and there.
Alright, after all, heās just a spirit dog that has only recently turned sentient. Naturally, he has no human heart. But he truly has no ill intentions either. And honestly, this silly dog seems to have some silly fortune, always finding some random little trinkets while wandering around. Normally, who cares if itās a Mystic Sectās Dog Immortal Palaceās dog, a silly dog like this would be directly killed and eaten.
However, Tie Dan did realize that this Ling Biao had indeed been around the Immortal Lord for a long time and had quite a bit of Immortal Fate. Whether it was due to his natural talent or some Mystic Sectās Secret Technique, this dog possessed an Upper Wind Escape transformation. It could ride the clouds and rush through the spiritual wind, actually able to break through the barrier of Spiritual Qi around Tie Dan at this time, freely traversing between heaven and earth, truly a top-grade Divine Beast.
Itās just that Tie Dan was refining the Wind, Thunder, and Fire Three Flowers Sword. Now that he had Yang Thunder and Yin Fire, he still lacked a flavor of spiritual wind. They say that in a group of three, one can always learn. Indeed, he could stealthily learn a trick from this dog. Perhaps their Immortal Lord also foresaw this, thus specially guiding his beloved dog to find protection from such people, possibly hoping to exchange this bit of fate and help this idiot survive a life-threatening calamity.
Helping the Immortal Lord walk his dog, exchanging for a Wind Escape secret manual and forming an Immortal Fate... could work, since Tie Dan is also a professional dog trainer after all...
"Sit, give me your paw."
"Oh, a Power Pill! Yummy, yummy!"
"Shut up, hold on for one incense stick longer, and Iāll give you another one!"
"Oh oh oh!"
Tie Dan started training Ling Biao like a dog, because after all, he was a real dog. Asking him to stand up and act like a person might be too much for him...
"Hey, Ling Biao."
"Oh?"
Tie Dan glared at him,
"If you canāt help but speak human words or turn back into your original form, Iām not your owner."
Ling Biao chuckled foolishly,
"I can hold it, I can hold it. I promised Immortal Lord I would be a person, not a dog anymore."
"Is that so..."
Tie Dan gave him a once-over, seeing that while this guy was trying hard to keep his back straight and chest out, he couldnāt repress his nature and had to move a bit. This guy was naturally a spirit seed, zooming away in a flash with Wind Escape, rushing far away.
Though, with this skill, even a fool could slip away easily.
"How long have you been transformed into human form?"
Ling Biao thought for a moment,
"Itās been ten years now."
Tie Dan was simply speechless,
"Ten years and you still canāt quit saying āoh ohā?"
Ling Biao looked a bit aggrieved,
"But Iāve been a dog for twelve hundred years..."
Your twelve hundred years limit must have been up, huh! No wonder your Immortal Lord has despaired!!
Tie Dan was at a loss for words,
"Then why transform at all? Isnāt being an Immortalās dog for a lifetime appealing? At least as the Guardian Mountain Beast of the Righteous Path, the Old Ancestorās beloved pet, who in the Mountain Gate could treat you unfairly even if youāre a fool?"
Ling Biao didnāt deny that he was indeed a waste, but just sighed,
"I was raised by the Immortal Lord since I was little, but the Immortal Lord is too old now and about to Feather Transform ascend. He said Iām too silly, and he always worries, fearing people might bully me.
I donāt want to make him worry, so I thought about Cultivating to become human. Then no one will bully me, and he could leave without worry."
Your Immortal Lord must have amazing patience for you not to have driven him mad...
Tie Dan sneered,
"You think becoming human means you wonāt get bullied? Underestimating humanity a bit, arenāt you."
Ling Biao was earnest,
"Oh? Would Fellow Daoist teach me? How to be a person?"
Tie Dan looked away,
"This isnāt something that can be expressed in one sentence. Even I donāt fully understand, so how could I teach you? Go figure it out yourself...
By the way, have you ever killed anything? Besides Escape Skill, do you have any self-defense skills?"
Ling Biao beat his chest soundly,
"Fellow Daoist, rest assured, Iāve got this. Even the chickens in the mountain canāt beat me."
Tie Dan sighed deeply, just feeling exhausted...
"Fellow Daoist, youāve gone the wrong way. This is north; earlier we were avoiding someoneās restricted area."
Uh, alright, traveling with Ling Biao had one advantage: he could navigate.
This guy not only knew the direction of Yin Mountain, he also knew the locations of every peak, every sect, every secret realm, and each cave mansion throughout Qianzhou. Thus, he could lead Tie Dan left and right, avoiding many sect restricted areas, sparing them from having to brazenly tread atop sect territories, which could cause a lethal conflict.
"Oh oh oh!"
"Stop with the āoh oh oh,ā I see it."
Flicking a Power Pill for Ling Biao to catch, Tie Dan landed gracefully and entered a Taoist temple.
This was a Mystic Sect Temple. It was said to be a hall of all ten directions, meaning it was open to all Mystic Sect Disciples. Every cultivator following Mystic Sect teachings had the right to stay there, and naturally, everyone also had the obligation to safeguard the temple and uphold the Way. Conversely, the descendant temples refer to sects like the Sword Sect of Nine Yin Mountain and Guangxia Mountain Swallow Cave, which follow a master-disciple lineage, passed down in a single line.
Here, letās briefly explain the Mystic Sectās system. All Qi Refiners who venerate Xuan Nu self-identify as the Mystic Sect, thus there are millions of descendant temples united together. Through discussions based on the Heavenly Book, the strongest nine sect leaders by cultivation are selected to serve as leaders of the nine major sects, working together to confront the Demon Path.