49 Black Devil Maiden Xiao Yue (2/2)
”Is that really the same Blood Wolf ??!”
The beast that was looking at her had at least tripled in size! It's fur that was once black with red streaks now also showed hints of silver linings.
The claws that had been like daggers were now short swords that gleamed with a greenish glow.
Upon watching Shin Sumi get up, the wolf shot back a couple meters. It had lost its bloodthirsty air and its eyes didn't show even an ounce of the madness they once contained.
The wolf howled softly, scratching the ground at the same time.
Somehow Shin Sumi saw profound intelligence in the black pupils in front of her. Slowly she lowered her sword and stepped sideways.
Assured that they were not going to attack each other, the wolf sat down and nuzzled its snout between its hind legs, closing its eyes.
”So I'm not the only one who benefitted from the Vein of Hell Fire, eh?”
A light probing answered her question. The wolf radiated strength in much the same way as herself. It had gone from a red core beast, a low level Shinsoo Gathering creature to a late stage green core!
For a second Shin Sumi wondered if its core could be updated to a blue core through the refinement process of the little nut, but a worried stare from the Blood Wolf at the same moment made her forget the idea.
”The Blood Wolf won't attack me now” she knew, ”wait, this isn't right, it should be a Silver Blood Wolf now!”
In fact the grey streaks didn't lie, Shin Sumi recognized the mutated species from one of the books Xiao Yue had shown her once.
The powerful beast twice as big as herself suddenly looked up, sniffing the air. With lightning speed, the hunter ran to a wall of the large cavern before coming back to the same spot carrying a big rat in its jaws.
Shin Sumi watched the Silver Blood Wolf eat with a mix of disgust and interest.
”It seems like even its smell has been enhanced...”
As if it was understanding her human words perfectly, the wolf growled affirmatively.
Stretching its legs, the wolf roamed about in the cave for a couple of hours while Shin Sumi stabilized her new powers and made sure her cultivation base was firm. The whole time she kept an eye on the wolf from afar.
It soon looked pretty evident that the wolf had finished its absorption a long time before Shin Sumi. The way it knew the cave system was an indication to that.
”Could it be that you've stayed all this time around here for me?” she asked the wolf.
Although it was a ferocious beast in nature, the Silver Blood Wolf nodded proudly like a pet dog.
”You have toured the cave a lot haven't you?”
Another intelligent nod.
”Do you know the way out of here? Some path to reach one of the tunnels?”
The wolf looked confused for a moment before it understood what Shin Sumi meant.
With the sheer size of the wolf, it was evident that it could not fit through the passage they had both used to arrive to the Vein of Hell Fire anymore.
The wolf seemed genuinely happy to see Shin Sumi follow as it lead her to a small but large enough passage carved into the walls. Contrary to the caverns in this part of the maze that seemed to have come about naturally, this one tunnel was obviously man made.
Runes and strange characters covered the walls in patterns that Shin Sumi could not understand. She slowed down enough to imprint on her memory the stone writings, the Silver Blood Wolf patiently waiting for her.
Shin Sumi felt that the magical runes served as a way to prevent the aura of the Vein of Hell Fire to spread from the cave it was in because as soon as she and her companion wolf passed the tunnel she could no longer feel it.
The Silver Blood Wolf looked disoriented for a moment but stuck close to Shin Sumi. Having absorbed most of the Vein of Hell Fire, she now beared it's aura slightly.
”Maybe that is why the wolf is now friendly” she thought with no way to confirm or infirm her theory.
The path was now in a slight upwards slope, probably leading to the main levels of the maze and Shin Sumi took advantage of the calm and solemn atmosphere to observe her sword before going back to the chaos and danger of the Rising Star Tournament.
The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had gone through unprecedented changes once again. When Shin Sumi remembered the appearance of the sword when she obtained it at first, she would barely admit that they were one and the same.
The golden sword was a marvel of beauty and grace, nothing like its name indicated. The blade was so thin that it looks able to cut the wing of a fly by the width! Besides retaining its golden color, the sword was almost translucent.
Even the handle that Shin Sumi had carved clumsily out of the spine of a Stone Leaf Tortoise had benefited from the refining process of the veins.
Elegant designs ran from the pommel to the hilt of the sword and the whole fit Shin Sumi's hand perfectly.
The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was different from other cultivator weapons in that for each of its owners, the sword almost reverted completely back to its blank state.
Fen Wudao's sword had obviously been refined by himself and was on a whole other level, but when he had passed it down to her, the thing could not even be called a sword anymore.
It was a heap of dark yellow metal, too dull to cut down anything. And now that Shin Sumi was gradually enhancing it, the sword didn't look like it would revert to the state it had when Fen Wudao held it.
The sword was adapting to its master. Shin Sumi was a girl, her natural aura brimmed with gentle Yin type Shinsoo, whereas Fen Wudao's Shinsoo was of the fierce Yang type. Hence his version of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had been mighty and imposing.
”I bet I am the first woman to hold mastership of this sword. This is far from tyranny but more like a slick and thin feather.”
She remembered the multiple times the sword had acted on its own, too interested by the proximity of a Vein of Hell Fire to hear her mental orders.
She squinted suspiciously ”or is the sword the tyrant after all...”
For now though, the sword seemed to behave as Shin Sumi arrived close to the end of the tunnel.
Next to her, the Silver Blood Wolf was now unwilling to go much further.
Shin Sumi stopped and called the beast, kind of wishing she could take it with her. Imagine her returning to the battlefield on a ferocious silver mount!
But she of course had to give up the idea.
”You want to return to the Vein, don't you? And maybe go back to your family after, hmn? I don't blame you. Family is important, don't escape like I did never to return. But at least I kind of have a different family now... Yue, Lan Hui, Bai Xuengen... I guess they are the closest I have to a family.”
Sensing her mixed feelings but unable to fully comprehend it, the Silver Blood Wolf nuzzled against Shin Sumi for a few moments.
Shin Sumi even felt a tug at her divine sense, as if the wolf wanted to wrap its spirit against hers. At a loss, Shin Sumi allowed it to intertwine their divine senses.
”This... are you bonding with me?”
The link was similar in a way to what had formed between Shin Sumi and the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword, or the Copper Bell, although different.
Like sharing identification jade imprints between disciples, the wolf was forming a link between the two.
When the process finished, the beast stood proudly in front of Shin Sumi, yapping one last time before running off in the distance back towards the green Vein of Hell Fire. The silver streak died in the darkness, leaving Shin Sumi with an unexpected sadness.
”Thank you for the good time, little wolf. I'm going back to where I'm supposed to be now. If one day I can, I'll take you with me to the Dark Sky Starry Sect!”
The effects of the last Confusion Pill had dissipated while she had been absorbing pure Shinsoo, so she popped a new one into her mouth.
Her face turned into Bai Fulong's again as she went exploring once more in hope to find the exit of the maze.
She only stopped fully two hours later when the corridor in front of her exuded a dangerous feeling. A dark mass of smoke denser than any shadows obscured her vision, even with the Copper Bell at her side.
But what made her stop was not the darkness rather than the presence she could feel through it.
”Yue-Erm... Xiao Yue?”