Chiyi, Hu Yan, and the nearly several hundred people present stared dumbfounded at Ye Jingyu, who was accompanied by a Taotie. Their mouths hung wide open, and apart from the occasional trickle of drool, they were utterly speechless, their minds wiped clean…
The Taotie, a monstrous beast from the Primordial Era, certainly ranked above Level Seven—a supreme existence renowned throughout the desolate expanse for its voracious appetite and savagery, almost synonymous with calamity itself. Even a juvenile Taotie was something the average person could barely contend with. Hadn’t they just seen it effortlessly evade Chiyi’s terrifying Cloud-Breaking Slash?
Such a terrifying monstrous beast was now nestled beside Ye Jingyu as if it were a mere pet…
What sort of situation was this?
They had toiled, fighting that Taotie tooth and nail, exhausting every possible method, and even losing dozens of their comrades, yet they hadn't gained any advantage. Now, it had been placated by a single Saintess Fruit (a tomato-like fruit; perhaps they should just name it something) offered by Ye Jingyu…
Chiyi, Chiyi Lightning, Chiyi Thunder, Chiyi Fire, Chiyi Rain—and even Chiyi Wind, who had rushed over—all felt their faces burn with shame. They were all Super Soul Masters who had reached the Soul Condensation Realm or higher, especially Chiyi, who was one of the most formidable figures in the entire Southern Desolation Tribe. Yet, after fighting for ages, they couldn't effectively handle a young Taotie, only for Ye Jingyu to resolve the issue so easily by himself…
This… this kind of event utterly overturned the common sense held in everyone’s minds…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Jingyu was continuously communicating with the Taotie via mental waves…
“A… Ah Yu… Wh-what is going on here?” After a long silence, Chiyi slowly regained his composure…
“What’s going on?” Ye Jingyu replied with feigned innocence…
“How… how did you calm it down…” Chiyi stammered out the question…
“Didn’t I just give it something to eat?” Ye Jingyu stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world…
“…” The crowd was once again rendered speechless. Just feeding it something? The dignified Taotie, one of the Great Primordial Beasts, was subdued by a mere snack? Then why had they risked their lives fighting so desperately?
“I recall a great sage once saying that even the noblest of men cannot resist the allure of golden-coated bullets. Furthermore, this little fellow is quite gluttonous, so it has now been conquered by my golden-coated bullets.” Through their prior mental exchange, Ye Jingyu had struck a bargain with the Taotie…
From now on, Ye Jingyu would provide the Taotie with food, and in return, the Taotie would obey everything Ye Jingyu commanded…
“Golden-coated bullets?” A wave of dizziness swept over the crowd. What in the world were those things…
“Uh… never mind that. The point is, from this day forward, it is my little subordinate, my Summoned Beast, so it will no longer harm anyone. You can all rest assured…” Ye Jingyu suddenly realized his terminology was too modern; these people wouldn't understand…
“A Summoned Beast? How… how is that possible? How can your soul power possibly suppress a Taotie into becoming your Summoned Beast? Not even I, or a Soul Immortal, or even a True Immortal could manage that. How can you?” Although Chiyi and the others didn't grasp the concept of 'golden-coated bullets,' they certainly understood the implication of 'Summoned Beast'…
“Why not? Little Peach Peach, come on, do a jump…” Ye Jingyu ignored the astonishment etched on everyone’s faces and spoke directly to the Taotie beside him…
Little Peach Peach…
Black lines visibly crawled across the foreheads of the crowd. This guy actually named the Taotie ‘Little Peach Peach’ and then told it to jump. This… this was incredibly audacious!
But what shocked the assembly was that the Taotie indeed acted like a small dog, leaping up gracefully and executing a perfect 360-degree rotation…
The exquisite performance technique made their already stunned faces even more astonished. In their entire lives, they hadn't experienced so many surprises as they had today…
Of course, the current surprise wasn't due to the Taotie's flawless display, but the fact that it genuinely obeyed Ye Jingyu’s commands, performing such maneuvers…
Many people’s minds instantly short-circuited; they genuinely didn't know how to process the situation…
It made sense. Even those who hadn't recognized the creature as a Taotie had witnessed its power firsthand—Level Five and Six Wild Beasts stood no chance against it. The beast that had been ferocious moments ago was now utterly compliant. It would be strange not to be surprised…
However, making these barbarians grasp the principle of subduing an enemy without fighting was clearly difficult. But regardless, they knew Ye Jingyu had tamed the Taotie, and they knew how many fewer losses they had suffered because of it…
As for the few dozen deaths, that counted as the minimal cost. If the creature here today hadn't been a juvenile Taotie, but an adult one, the entire Hu Yan tribe, perhaps even the Chiyi tribe, would have faced utter annihilation…
In an instant, Ye Jingyu became a hero. Especially the members of the Hu Yan tribe, who prostrated themselves, shouting words Ye Jingyu couldn't understand. Still, he knew it was the sincere praise of these simple people for him…
Ye Jingyu, who had never experienced such adoration, immediately felt lightheaded and euphoric, especially when a group of slender Hu Yan maidens, clad in minimal clothing that revealed swathes of skin, rushed toward him. Their unrestrained fervor threatened to drown him completely in this boundless beauty…
The crisis was thus resolved in the most dramatic fashion. The Hu Yan tribe did not formally merge with the Chiyi tribe, but they became an affiliated tribe under Chiyi’s banner. This was considered a kindness from Chiyi; after all, according to his original pact with Hu Yan, the Hu Yan tribe was supposed to be fully absorbed, everyone forced to change their surname, disappearing entirely into the long river of history. This arrangement allowed them to continue existing under the Hu Yan name…
Finally, to repay Ye Jingyu’s immense favor, Hu Yan personally gifted him the tribe’s two finest archers as his slaves. In the Southern Desolate Forest, slavery was usually the consequence of war between hostile tribes, where the defeated party was subjugated. Gifting one's own tribespeople into slavery was extremely rare. Ye Jingyu initially refused; he believed all humans should be born free, and as someone who cherished liberty and held lofty ideals, how could he become a depraved slave owner?
But when he learned that one of the archers was the icy Hu Yan Meng, he immediately tossed all thoughts of freedom and lofty ambition to the wind and readily accepted…
To have such a beautiful and cold woman as his slave—didn’t that mean he could make her do whatever he wished from now on?
The thought of Hu Yan Meng’s coolly beautiful face conjured up an entire scene of pink romance in Ye Jingyu’s mind…