Chapter 58: The White Jade Sacred Elephant and the Contract of Arcane Patterns

"White Jade Elephant!"

Watching the massive white beast charging across the snow, Guan Yingfan’s expression grew grave as he spoke:

“This is the White Jade Elephant of the snowy plains, and it has at least reached the third tier—”

“Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly outrun a demon bird!”

The White Jade Elephant was a type of demon beast native to the snowy wilderness. Its body, pure as snow, allowed it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings, while its flesh and bones were as hard as white jade, granting it extraordinary defensive power.

In the northern reaches of the Western Regions, the king of beasts upon the icy plains—the White Elephant King—was a White Jade Elephant at the very peak of the fifth tier. Not only was it adept at concealment, but within the snowfields, it was virtually unmatched, its very presence a potent deterrent among demon beasts.

“Can you make out the appearance of the person atop that eagle?” Guan Yingfan asked Lu Sheng, his mind racing through the details. Of the three of them, only Lu Sheng had opened his spiritual sight and cultivated eye techniques, allowing him to discern the figure riding the giant eagle.

Knowing his own insight was inferior to Guan Yingfan’s, Lu Sheng studied the scene intently and replied:

“Broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with a full beard—looks to be fifty or sixty years old!”

“The giant eagle beneath him has a broad back, easily able to carry several people...”

“Ironback Grey Eagle!”

At this, Guan Yingfan already knew the man’s identity. He interrupted Lu Sheng’s description, saying:

“That’s Grandmaster Duanmu Xiong, ninety-two this year, ranked sixty-third on the Heavenly Roll!”

“The eagle he rides is a third-tier Ironback Grey Eagle, bred by the Duanmu clan!”

Duanmu Xiong, patriarch of the Duanmu clan in the Western Regions, had already achieved the peak of Martial Grandmaster. Whether in martial prowess or influence, he was second only to the Fire God Sect Master!

“I didn’t expect the Fire God Sect to send him!”

“In that case, that White Jade Elephant must be at the fourth tier!”

At the same tier, the White Jade Elephant was naturally slower than the Ironback Grey Eagle by half. Yet, Duanmu Xiong, riding his third-tier eagle, could only barely keep pace in the sky—this could only mean—

The White Jade Elephant carrying Shi Ying and Murong Yu had likely reached the fourth tier!

Observing the elephant’s light steps, barely leaving a mark in the snow, Guan Yingfan’s suspicions only deepened—

This White Jade Elephant had already touched upon the power of heaven and earth; it was a fourth-tier demon beast, capable of rivaling a Grandmaster!

———

“To have tamed a fourth-tier demon beast!”

“That fellow is truly blessed by fortune!”

At this moment, Guan Yingfan began to understand why Shi Ying dared to oppose the Fire God Sect, and why he had so brazenly abducted Murong Yu from the Four Seas Trading Hall—

Clearly, his confidence stemmed from possessing this fourth-tier White Jade Elephant!

Normally, fourth-tier demon beasts possessed fully developed intelligence, rendering ordinary beast-taming techniques useless against them.

Only by forging a contract could one exert some control over such creatures.

However, the forging of such a contract required the consent of both parties. For Shi Ying, at the level of Martial Master, to possess a fourth-tier White Jade Elephant—

Clearly, he’d needed incredible luck!

Such fortune, Guan Yingfan could only look upon with envy.

“This White Jade Elephant must have advanced after forging a contract with Shi Ying—”

“It’s highly likely that Shi Ying gained an innate ability from it!”

Though not as well-versed as Guan Yingfan, Lu Sheng had encountered more than one fourth-tier beast and understood them well. Moreover, within the Lu clan’s legacy in Bingzhou, he’d seen many secret techniques.

Among them was a method for acquiring supernatural powers: by forging a specific contract rune that allowed for sharing abilities just before a demon beast awakened its innate gift—

Thus, when the beast advanced and awakened its abilities, the contractor might also gain a similar gift.

Remembering how Shi Ying could completely hide himself, how his skin gleamed like jade, and how he could muster such strength from such a small frame, Lu Sheng suddenly understood—

Shi Ying had likely obtained the White Jade Elephant’s innate ability in this way!

———

“Innate ability?”

“You mean Shi Ying forged a contract with the White Jade Elephant while it was at the third tier, and when it advanced to the fourth and awakened its innate power, he gained that ability too?” Guan Yingfan asked in astonishment.

He, too, had heard of those ability-sharing contract runes.

But as he understood it, that method had a high failure rate. Many had died from the backlash of the beast’s resistance, and the method had long since been abandoned.

He had never heard of Shi Ying possessing the White Jade Elephant’s innate gift.

With this in mind, Guan Yingfan voiced his doubt.

“Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist—”

“Shi Ying’s powers of concealment can’t be explained by the Stone Concealment Technique alone.”

“In fact, they’re strikingly similar to the White Jade Elephant’s own ability to become one with the snow and hide its breath!”

“And when I fought him just now—”

“I could clearly sense that his defense was far beyond that of any ordinary Martial Master!”

Lu Sheng had met several Martial Masters and even killed one himself; he knew this level well.

Moreover, his current spiritual power was formidable, his senses keen. When he fought Shi Ying, he could clearly sense that beyond his protective aura, Shi Ying’s flesh itself was incredibly resilient—

At the very least, far beyond the norm for a Martial Master!

As he described his experience battling Shi Ying, he pointed to the receding figure of the White Jade Elephant and said:

“That elephant hasn’t been at the fourth tier for long; it’s still unfamiliar with the power of heaven and earth—”

“Otherwise, it wouldn’t be the one being chased!”

Fourth-tier demon beasts could already wield the power of heaven and earth. Even though grounded, and thus at a disadvantage against flying beasts, they should not have been so powerless to retaliate—

Clearly, this White Jade Elephant had yet to master its new abilities.

———

As they were speaking, Lu Sheng suddenly saw the White Jade Elephant draw in a breath of snow with its trunk and then fling it backward in a sparkling spray toward the Ironback Grey Eagle and Duanmu Xiong.

While the snowflakes did not penetrate Duanmu Xiong’s defenses nor harm the eagle’s iron feathers, they successfully disrupted their vision and widened the distance between pursuers and quarry!

Seeing this, Lu Sheng remarked with admiration,

“They won’t catch up now—”

“The White Jade Elephant has begun to harness its own abilities!”

It was instinctive for elephants to suck up and spray water with their trunks. Now, this White Jade Elephant was using its trunk to inhale and spray snow. Though it still seemed clumsy—

With its mature intelligence and the power of a fourth-tier beast, it would soon develop effective countermeasures against the Ironback Grey Eagle.

Indeed, though Duanmu Xiong soon had his eagle climb out of range of the elephant’s snowy barrage,

The White Jade Elephant quickly learned to use the power of heaven and earth to compact the snow into balls and hurl them with its trunk—

The force unleashed was such that even the third-tier Ironback Grey Eagle and Duanmu Xiong himself, a Grandmaster at the peak, had to dodge with full caution.

So the chase continued for a time, until, as both sides were about to disappear from view, Lu Sheng suddenly saw the White Jade Elephant vanish behind a curtain of snowflakes.

Duanmu Xiong and his eagle circled in the sky for a while before flying back toward Snow Hawk City—

Clearly, he had given up the chase!

———

“Brother Lu, Duanmu Xiong is coming back, you’d better watch yourself!”

“That old Grandmaster has a fiery temper and is not someone to trifle with. Just now, you teased the granddaughter-in-law he had chosen, and used his grandson to slow down Shi Ying—”

“When he returns, you’re in for a rough time!”

Watching the black dot in the sky grow ever larger, Guan Yingfan guessed that Duanmu Xiong was returning on his Ironback Grey Eagle and teased Lu Sheng.

Duanmu Yun was Duanmu Xiong’s direct grandson and the most talented of his generation in the clan. Normally, Duanmu Xiong doted on him and had always hinted at marrying Duanmu Yun to Murong Yu.

Just now, Lu Sheng had not only flirted with Murong Yu but had even used Shi Ying to injure Duanmu Yun—

One could imagine how Duanmu Xiong would treat him now!

He might well vent all his anger over failing to catch Shi Ying squarely on Lu Sheng’s head.