A burst of flame instantly enveloped the beast crystal. Yet, after only a moment, countless wisps of smoke seeped out. When they coalesced, a towering bear, sixty feet high, materialized before Zong Shou. It was fortunate his room was spacious enough, built of massive timbers with eight-foot-high beams, preventing the roof from being shattered.

Its entire body was silver, its twin pupils blood-red. After glancing at Zong Shou, it let out a sudden, furious roar and lunged toward him. Whether it was an illusion or not, despite being merely an incorporeal spirit, every footfall seemed to make the very ground tremble.

“Retreat!”

Zong Shou remained unmoved, flinging two talisman papers from his hands. They transformed into two plumes of azure and blue flames, striking the giant bear’s arms.

The silver great bear reacted as if electrocuted, its torso arching back, instantly retracting its forelimbs.

Zong Shou then formed hand seals and chanted an incantation. Just as the silver great bear prepared to lunge again, a sharp cold shout cut through the air.

“Chains of Talismans, Enmesh!”

Dozens of silver talisman chains sprang up from the formation, wrapping tightly around the bear’s massive body.

However, the bear’s form ceaselessly struggled, attempting to stand upright. Its colossal brute strength actually caused the chains to snap violently.

Zong Shou was unhurried; he retrieved another Taoist talisman, activated it directly, and launched it skyward as a streak of yellow light.

“Stone Gathering Talisman, Suppress!”

In an instant, wisps of earth-element spiritual energy began to converge from all directions. Gradually, they outlined a faint, colossal stone pressing down upon the great bear.

The stone grew increasingly massive, and while the silver bear could resist at first, it slowly began to buckle under the weight. With a forceful tug from the talisman chains, its entire figure was driven prone onto the ground.

The crimson glow within its eyes intensified. With a sudden flash of light, a red mark appeared precisely in the center of its forehead. A silver beam erupted from within, shooting directly toward the nearby altar.

Zong Shou’s eyes were quick; with a mental command, the Black Wave Sword shot forward instantly. With a light clank, the hilt-less spirit sword was repelled backward. The silver light flickered but, losing none of its momentum, continued its assault.

It was only when it reached the incense table that it was halted by an invisible wave of energy, suspended in mid-air.

Affixed to the front of the altar was a yellow paper talisman—the one that had ignited without fire. The silver light finally revealed its source: a small, silver cone, its tip gleaming with icy cold light.

“This Earth-Severing Bear has indeed mutated. I have used this spirit array to prevent it from touching the underlying ley lines, cutting off its access to terrestrial energy. I bound it with talisman chains and suppressed it with the Stone Talisman, yet it still possesses the strength to counterattack! The Ancestor claimed this creature, along with the two Human Apex Pills, was comparable in value to that broken blade—he was perhaps too modest.”

Zong Shou dared not slacken. Watching the colossal bear mere feet away roar again, baring a mouth full of fangs, while the silver cone’s thrust grew more forceful, causing ripples to form before it, he hastily formed a sword seal with his hands, flicking his wrist to direct the Black Wave Sword. It plunged down once more, driving forcefully into the bloody scar on the silver bear’s brow.

The next instant brought a furious howl that seemed to shake the entire house.

The silver bear refused to be subdued, as if realizing at last that it was but a primal spirit. Its entire form dissolved back into a plume of blue smoke, attempting to scatter in all directions, breaking free from the chains and the great stone overhead.

Seeing this, Zong Shou merely smiled, his eyes full of cold disdain.

“Vicious beast! If I intended to subdue you, how could I not guard against this trick? Strong you may be, but fatally foolish. This suits my purpose well enough!”

He stomped his foot suddenly, and another talisman on the incense table ignited, generating a burst of lightning out of thin air.

Perhaps due to the imprint of the Thunder Luan within Zong Shou’s own primordial spirit, the silver lightning carried a subtle hint of purple. It spread along the talisman chains, causing the blue smoke within the array to writhe ceaselessly. In an instant, it was forced to reform.

It was significantly weakened, and its body seemed somewhat shrunken—like a trapped beast unable to escape, fixing its gaze upon the altar with boundless resentment.

Zong Shou paid it no mind. He leaped forward, arriving before the silver bear. Unafraid of a backlash, he extended a single finger and pressed it precisely onto the center of the bear’s brow, just below the point where the Wave-Breaking Sword was embedded.

Among his accompanying guardians, both Little Gold and the Shadow-Shifting Lion were physical entities.

Subduing a spirit beast in this manner was, after all, unprecedented for him.

Fortunately, he had witnessed such things countless times in his previous life—not just observing in reality, but attempting it himself within the Divine Emperor Game.

He sliced open a vein on his wrist with the Thunder Fang Sword, and bright red blood immediately gushed out. However, this was only one component. Zong Shou took out a small vial and opened it; countless azure-green, intensely chilling liquid poured out.

The latter was refined by directly smelting countless Soul Beast Stones, extracting their essence and blending it with specific medicinal herbs to create Soul Liquid.

Zong Shou naturally lacked the leisure to refine it himself, but this substance was exceedingly common, available in any major city.

What Zong Shou was using now was Fourth-Grade Soul Liquid, the highest level available in Cloud Saint City.

When mixed with Zong Shou’s blood, the resulting color was even stranger—blue tinged with red. Yet, constrained by an inexplicable force, it seeped into the silver bear’s brow.

In mere moments, a small talisman array was drawn, similar to the one used when subduing Little Gold. Only the final few strokes stubbornly refused to complete.

Sweat began to bead on Zong Shou’s face. He felt the beast’s will raging violently, crashing against him like monstrous waves, fiercely resisting, intent on shattering the Soul Control Talisman Array completely.

With a cold snort, Zong Shou used his free left hand to snatch a Fourth-Grade Soul Stone from his sleeve.

“Essence Devour!”

The crystal shattered instantly, exploding into fine powder in Zong Shou’s palm. The fingertip of his right hand, still pressed against the silver bear’s brow, suddenly flared with a scarlet brilliance.

As the final rune was inscribed, the red in the Earth-Severing Silver Bear’s eyes immediately faded slightly, and even its demeanor seemed to soften somewhat.

For an ordinary spirit beast, this stage would mean subjugation, becoming his guardian, bound to the Spirit Master through life and death.

Zong Shou, however, could still sense a will to resist within the great bear’s core, its violent hatred still unquenched.

And as the blood-red array was completed, it continued to expand, spreading across the creature’s entire body.

The Earth-Severing Silver Bear was slowly stained with a faint layer of red across its form.

A full four hours later, Zong Shou finally collapsed onto a nearby chair, breathless.

Subduing this guardian had indeed been perilous. Other aspects were manageable; with thorough preparation, he hadn't worried about what this Fifth-Grade spirit beast could do to him.

What was taxing was maintaining absolute concentration for so many hours. A moment’s lapse would have caused the array being drawn to collapse.

The mental energy expended surpassed that of three days prior by several times. That day’s pain was painful, but it did not compare to today's utter exhaustion, his spirit utterly depleted, as if his lamp was burning down to its final dregs.

But now, before his eyes, the giant bear that was once sixty feet tall had shrunk to just over twenty feet. Even standing upright, it no longer touched the ceiling.

Though it lacked its former imposing might, its expression had become placid; it no longer resisted Zong Shou’s commands.

However, the power required to sustain this beast was immense. Even though he had forcibly suppressed it to Fourth-Grade via the array, its consumption equaled that of the Shadow-Shifting Lion and Little Gold combined.

Including the other two, whose connection could not be severed as they were physical entities, these three guardians were straining his limits.

Even with the Essence Devour technique constantly drawing in the ambient spiritual energy to replenish the drain, he was still overburdened.

“This Earth-Severing Bear possesses a unique Silver Eye, and although it cannot truly open yet, it can already pierce metal and shatter stone. From now on, I shall call it Little Demon.”

After casually naming the silver bear, Zong Shou recalled that the Shadow-Shifting Lion, currently obeying his command hidden outside the city, remained unnamed.

Although Shadow-Shifting Lions were rare, they were not unique in the world, making it unsuitable to use the general species name for his own guardian.

Spirit beasts of the Sixth Grade possessed their own unique true names, vital to their existence. The name Shadow-Shifting Lion was completely inappropriate.

“That Shadow-Shifting Lion has good comprehension and considerable intelligence. Its future achievements will likely surpass this; I shall call it Little Wisdom!”

Completely unaware that his naming style resembled that of a small child, Zong Shou felt immensely pleased, believing the names were perfectly fitting.

Just as he finished naming it, he suddenly felt his primordial spirit and thoughts traverse more than twenty li, connecting with the Shadow-Shifting Lion outside the city.

This was the innate connection between a Spirit Master and his soul-linked beast, normally limited to about ten li given his current Soul Ejection realm.

This limit could only be surpassed if one party held an exceptionally strong intent, and the other cooperated fully.

“Hmm? Found a treasure outside the city, something similar to the Seven Spirit Rings. And two women, seemingly quite fierce; Little Wisdom, you are no match. You want me to leave the city and take a look?”

Zong Shou closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled mockingly. “A mere spirit beast newly arrived at Fourth Grade, never having seen a true spirit artifact, what would it know of treasure? This world is filled with strong practitioners, and Cloud Saint City was once the birthplace of a Martial Saint; countless martialists visit the ruins annually. It is normal to encounter two slightly stronger women outside the city.”

Yet, a spark of curiosity ignited within him—just the similarity to the Seven Spirit Rings made it worth investigating.

It was just a pity that he was utterly exhausted now, struggling even to stand, making it impossible to leave the city.

Speaking of women, Zong Shou was reminded of Xuanyuan Yiren and Li Yuniang.

He couldn’t fathom why, but these two women had not been seen since they left three days ago.

Could it be that they suddenly regretted their decision and had already departed? If so, that would be best.

His mind heavy and muddled, Zong Shou waved a hand, ordering the Demon-Eyed Silver Bear to transform into a plume of smoke and merge into his sleeve. Then, consciousness completely fled, and he sank into a deep, heavy sleep.