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Chapter 228: The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s Freedom

Translator: Minotauruz

Jun Xiaomo had always been pretty fond of furry and fluffy little things, including things such as her little packrat and this Scarlet Heavenly Wolf.

Even though the little packrat couldn’t really be considered a pet, while the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf couldn’t really be considered small either, it did not change the fact that Jun Xiaomo’s had a soft spot for them as soon as she saw their soft, luscious fur.

After laying on the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s back for a while, Jun Xiaomo began to grow restless and bored. Thus, she got up, walked over to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s side, and began to touch its ears and pat its head. She particularly loved the soft, tactile feeling of their smooth fur.

The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf lazily opened its eyes once more and glanced back at Jun Xiaomo. It was as though its eyes were filled with an exclamation – Silly humans.

That said, it did not have any intentions to attack Jun Xiaomo at all.

Jun Xiaomo smiled. After tousling the fur on its head for some time, she decided to lean on its head and rest there.

If anyone else noticed this, they would most certainly sigh in their hearts and exclaim that Jun Xiaomo truly had immense gall to do so. After all, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s rows of razor-sharp teeth were just beside Jun Xiaomo, and the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf could at any time open its mouth widely and swallow up Jun Xiaomo’s petite figure in one gulp.

Jun Xiaomo was practically placing her life on the line and tangoing with a wolf.

That said, Jun Xiaomo could hardly care less about what others thought. To her mind, the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was not only obedient and obsequious, it was even incredibly spiritually aware.

The truth of the matter was that Jun Xiaomo had encountered other Scarlet Heavenly Wolves in her previous life, some of which had even attained the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation. That said, none of them could hold a candle to this Scarlet Heavenly Wolf in terms of their spiritual awareness and human-like personality.

How great would it be if I could tame this Scarlet Heavenly Wolf and make it my pet! Jun Xiaomo thought hopefully in her heart.

Taming a spirit beast was different from refining a spirit beast on a fundamental level. The process of taming a spirit beast was a two-way street – both cultivator and spirit beast must equally be willing to accept the transaction. On the other hand, refining a spirit beast only required the cultivator’s unilateral desire, while the refined spirit beast would be unable to resist the destruction of its spiritual awareness and its subsequent subservience to the cultivator.

Just as Jun Xiaomo was letting her mind wander, the Transmittance Talisman in her Interspatial Ring shone brightly, causing her Interspatial Ring to grow warm to the touch as well.

Jun Xiaomo promptly retrieved the Transmittance Talisman, and an anxious voice immediately called out to her, “Mo-Mo, where have you gone to? Why have the referees all returned without you?”

This was Liu Qingmei’s voice. She had evidently grown worried seeing that her daughter had not returned yet.

A wave of guilt washed over Jun Xiaomo’s heart. She should had informed her mother about her decision earlier so that she would not be so worried.

“Mum, I’m still at the Heavenly Crane Mountain, and I’m resting in the enclosure together with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. The referees mentioned that as long as I can spend a night with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf without any issues, they’ll agree to return it its freedom.”

“Impudence!” This time, it was Jun Linxuan’s voice that resounded from the Transmittance Talisman as he chided her, “That Scarlet Heavenly Wolf has already undergone the process of refinement, and we don’t even know who the culprit is. If you remain by its side, there’s a possibility that it can at any time attack you without notice. Do you think you’ll be able to avoid such a surprise attack?!”

“Dad, don’t worry. Trust me, there’s no danger to this – haven’t I already proven this during the competition?” Jun Xiaomo did her best to cajole Jun Linxuan and convince him of her safety.

“How do you know that it had not simply been instructed to appear to be harmless during the competition?” Jun Linxuan refuted indignantly.

“Father, do you think I really won’t be able to tell if that were the case? The talismans I’d used earlier have the effect of calming it down and appeasing it!” Jun Xiaomo grew exasperated as she continued to explain herself.

“Sophistry! How old are you right now? Do you think that you’re on top of the world just because you know a thing or two about talismans? Do you know just how long it takes for a person to become a full-fledged talisman master, huh?!” Jun Linxuan was now evidently so infuriated that he was almost ready to recall Jun Xiaomo for a good beating.

“Alright, alright, father. Don’t worry, okay? If I’m truly in any danger, do you think the referees would allow me to remain behind alone while they return to the competition grounds? You know my character, don’t you? If I truly listen to you right now and was thus unable to rescue the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf, I’ll have to live with the guilt of my actions all my life because I did not rescue it despite knowing that I had the power to do so.”

As soon as Jun Xiaomo explained it from this perspective, Jun Linxuan immediately grew taciturn.

A father knows his daughter best after all. Having brought up Jun Xiaomo over the years, how could Jun Linxuan not be aware of Jun Xiaomo’s stubbornness?

In fact, he knew that this incident might very well become a stumbling block in Jun Xiaomo’s heart if they forcibly brought Jun Xiaomo back from the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s enclosure right now. At that time, such a stumbling block that weighed heavily on Jun Xiaomo’s heart might well even burgeon into a deadweight that would affect her cultivation progress.

Thus, with their daughter’s best interests in their hearts, Jun Linxuan finally agreed to let go and trust Jun Xiaomo’s abilities and judgment this one last time.

Having thought things through, Jun Linxuan sighed. He knew full well what decision rationality favored, but as Jun Xiaomo’s father, how could he not have a lingering worry for her safety?

“Let’s do it this way. If you encounter any danger, take out your Teleportation Scroll immediately. I don’t want you to force the issue anymore when that time comes, understand?” Jun Linxuan instructed Jun Xiaomo of his compromise.

“Alright! Thanks, dad~” Jun Xiaomo immediately gave her word, and her eyes curled up with delight.

“Hmph.” There was still a lingering weight on his heart given how quickly his daughter had answered.

“Linxuan...” Liu Qingmei wanted to continue to attempt to talk Jun Xiaomo out of it, but Jun Linxuan held her back, “Our daughter’s already growing up, so I believe that we should trust in her ability to make judgments for herself.”

“But...”

“Qingmei, if we don’t let go, this sparrow is never going to fly.” Jun Linxuan spoke earnestly to his wife.

“Sigh, alright. Mo-Mo, your safety is the top priority, understand? Don’t let you mother worry.” Liu Qingmei left Jun Xiaomo with some parting words to show her worry and concern for her.

The rims of Jun Xiaomo’s eyes reddened slightly. She knew that her mother was making a huge compromise for her right now, “I understand, mum. Don’t worry, it’s only going to be for a night. I won’t let myself get hurt.”

“That’s good.”

After she finished conversing with her parents, Jun Xiaomo clutched tightly at the Transmittance Talisman in her hand, and her heart grew heavy and sullen. She had time and again made her resolve that she would never let her parents worry again, yet she would invariably end up doing something that worried her parents from time to time.

She did not want to be this willful and headstrong either, but she had her own sets of principles and rules as well. When it came to certain issues, she knew that there was no room for her to back down.

Thus, she could only time and again verbally ascertain her parents that she would not let herself get hurt.

The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf could vaguely guess the burdens weighing on Jun Xiaomo’s heart at this moment, and it swished its tail over and wrapped its long, bushy tail around Jun Xiaomo, before pulling her closely into the furriest part of its body.

Just like that, Jun Xiaomo was pulled into a warm embrace with the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf, and she could even feel the comfortable strands of fine fur sweeping across her face and tickling her face slightly. It was extremely comfortable and pleasant.

“Thank you. You’re too considerate.” Jun Xiaomo hugged the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf and rubbed her cheeks against its fur as though it were a massive pillow, “I don’t regret my decision to rescue you at all. Truly. It would be too much of a pity if you’d perished here.”

The Scarlet Heavenly Wolf growled slightly, as though it were echoing Jun Xiaomo’s thoughts.

Jun Xiaomo chuckled. Then, she retrieved a Subsistence Pill from her Interspatial Ring and fed it straight to the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf. This time, it no longer resisted what Jun Xiaomo fed to it at all. Its tongue curled around the pill, and it swallowed the pill in no time.

It had earlier expended quite a lot of its energy, and its stomach was practically empty at this moment. Thus, when it first consumed the Subsistence Pill, a refreshing sense of fullness swelled up from its stomach once more, and the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf even burped slightly.

Thus, Jun Xiaomo and the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf spent one night together in the wilderness together without a hitch. When night fell, Jun Xiaomo even fell into a deep slumber as a result of the warm, comfortable heat emanating from the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s body.

On the second day, Jun Xiaomo woke up to a cool morning breeze gently licking her face. As soon as she woke up, she immediately discovered that the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf was standing in front of her and howling madly at the people standing outside the formation array.

Jun Xiaomo walked around the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf and looked out of the formation array. It was only then that she had discovered the tens of referees standing outside together with Jun Linxuan, Liu Qingmei and the other disciples from the Heavenly Peak.

Jun Xiaomo realized that everyone around must have noticed her sleeping “etiquette”, and she rubbed her cheeks with embarrassment.

In contrast, the members of the Heavenly Peak were evidently rather dispirited and dazed. It was evident that many of them had found themselves unable to rest peacefully at night because of their worry and concern for Jun Xiaomo.

Faced with the sincerest concern of her martial brothers, Jun Xiaomo couldn’t help but feel moved and slightly sorry for them.

At that moment, the chief referee took a step forward to address Jun Xiaomo, “Little fellow cultivator, your suggestion has been approved on our end. You’ve used your bravery and your conduct to prove to us that this Scarlet Heavenly Wolf is truly harmless. Naturally, vigilance calls for us to continue to observe the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s actions for a period of time, but after some internal discussions, we’ve decided that it would be best to let you have the opportunity to bring the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf away right now.”

“I sincerely thank the esteemed referees.” Jun Xiaomo extended her sincere appreciation for their acquiescence.

“There’s no need for thanks. This is your reward after all, and this reward is well-deserved. That said, if I can be direct with you, the refinement technique within the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf has not been completely written off yet. At this point in time, it has only been temporarily suppressed by the effects of your talismans. If you don’t think of a way to remove it completely, there might still be a day when it would turn on you and attack you.” The chief referee cautioned.

“I thank senior for your reminders. I understand this much as well. Fortunately, junior happens to know an expert who has once mentioned in passing that he has the ability to remove the lasting effects of any refinement techniques on a spirit beast. Thus, I intend to look to this expert and let him have a shot at this.” Jun Xiaomo smiled jovially as she explained.

“Oh?! There’s such a thing?! I wonder who that expert might be...” The chief referee’s interest was piqued. After all, it was conventional wisdom and knowledge that the process of refining a spirit beast was irreversible.

Even if one were adept and proficient with cleansing and dispelling magic, purging the full effects of refinement techniques from a spirit beast was still incredibly difficult. At the very least, the chief referee had never heard of anyone succeeding in this regard at all.

“Truth be told, I’m also hoping that this can be done. After all, I’ve also heard that expert say that he’s not seen it done before. As to the identity of this expert...forgive me for protecting his identity, because he doesn’t wish to be disturbed by others as well.” Jun Xiaomo looked apologetic as she responded.

“Don’t worry, I understand. But from what you’ve just described, I gather that this expert must be incredibly powerful. Thus, I’m sure that he’ll have no issues restraining the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf even if he’s unable to succeed in purging the effects of the refinement technique from its body.” The chief referee revealed signs of being assuaged.

“That’s right.” Jun Xiaomo’s lips curled up wryly. She knew that this matter had now come to a proper closure, and what she had to do next was to convince old man Chi to help purge the effects of the refinement technique from the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s body.

Oh...if these referees found out that the expert that I’m referring to is a demonic cultivator, I wonder what kind of reaction they would have?

Perhaps they would be astonished and attempt to convince me not to approach him? After all, opposites can’t coexist in the same plane.

Jun Xiaomo’s eyes flickered with a mischievous gleam.

Just then, she thought about something else – If she wanted to communicate with old man Chi, perhaps the best way to do it would be through brother Rong, right?

Yet how could Jun Xiaomo have known that during her group battles, Rong Ruihan had forcibly activated the strand of his soul in her earrings to block the Scarlet Heavenly Wolf’s attack for her, and he was now lying in the inn, completely unconscious...?