The condition of the Azure Quetzalcoatl didn’t look good. Without getting first-aid from a masterful doctor, it would soon end up in an Astral Pet grave.
Fan Yujing glanced at the fog warily. “Mister—Mister Su, did your skeleton get it under control?”
He stopped addressing Su Ping as “buddy.” It would be extremely odd to call someone who just displayed terrifying strength in this way.
“Sort of, yes.”
From what he sensed through the spiritual connection, Su Ping could tell that Little Skeleton was absorbing the Undead energy left behind by the Magical Corpse Beast.
Earlier, Little Skeleton excavated a small hole on the body of the Magical Corpse Beast and dived in, in order to evade the “bowling ball attack” and easily tear the beast apart from the inside. Even the outer shell of the beast was unable to withstand its bone blade, let alone its vulnerable innards. That was to say, if this thing had any innards.
“Should we go there and finish it off?” asked Li Ying. He didn’t do so yet because he sensed something creepy coming from the fog.
Su Ping shook his head and took out the bottled Fire Dragon Fruits. “Has anyone seen a Fire-tailed Blood Fox around here?”
Fan Yujing and Li Ying were taken aback by the question. They didn’t think Su Ping still had this matter in mind after what just happened.
“A Fire-tailed Blood Fox?” Ye Chenshan frowned. He decided to play it safe with Su Ping for the moment. “No, I’m afraid we haven’t. That thing in your hand is pet feed for fire-type pets, right? Are you here to capture the fox?”
“The fox is supposed to belong to someone in this team. I’m here to help them search for it.” Su Ping seemed disappointed.
“Help?” Ye Chenshan widened his eyes. He’s not a member of their team? Makes sense… If he was, I would have heard of him.
“Thank you, Mister Su…” Fan Yujing just felt overwhelming gratitude filling him up. A moment earlier, he thought Su Ping was going to abandon their task.
Su Ping simply gave Fan Yujing an unamused look. Come on, I’m not helping YOU. It’s the goddamned system forcing me.
“First profanity alert.”
Forget it.
“If you’re looking for a Blood Fox, I think I saw its footprints somewhere,” the woman beside Ye Chenshan spoke up. She didn’t seem sure about her decision because she didn’t want to accidentally provide false clues.
“Really? Where did you see them?”
“There’s a slope around the woods up ahead.” She pointed in a certain direction. “But the footprints were left a long time ago. The scent was long gone.”
“Now that I think about it, she’s right.” Ye Chenshan nodded along.
Su Ping looked that way and kept the information in his mind. “Thanks.”
“It’s us who should be thankful.” The woman smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Luo Guxue from Team Polaris. May I know your name?”
“Su Ping.”
“Su Ping?” Both Luo Guxue and Ye Chenshan failed to find this name in their memories.
Even so, they had more than enough reason to keep the name in mind. Someone so brilliant would soon get recognized by all the other teams out there.
Fan Ganglie had retrieved his pet in time to hear their conversation. His Azure Quetzalcoatl would either die or survive with a serious disability at this rate. Learning about the Fire-tailed Blood Fox did nothing to cheer him up.
He looked at Ye Chenshan, who returned a knowing look and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Mister Fan, I never go back on my promises. Rest assured.”
“For real? You’d give me another Azure Quetzalcoatl? But that’s an eighth-rank Astral Pet.”
Ye Chenshan smiled and turned to Lin Mokong. “Your wounded Flame Bird and the Six-Armed Gorilla too. I’ll take care of their medical expenses.”
Lin Mokong was briefly shocked, before he quickly thanked Ye Chenshan. He could afford the treatment of his pets, but saving the money was even better.
Lastly, Ye Chenshan addressed Su Ping politely, “Thank you for your help, Mister Su.”
“You’re welcome.”
The black fog around the Magical Corpse Beast was dissipating, causing everyone to look that way.
Like water drawn by a sponge, the fog retreated inside the beast’s body; it remained motionless, without showing any energy signatures.
Crack!
Little Skeleton emerged from an open wound and looked around the area using a pair of hollow eye sockets with crimson flames burning inside. Its dark bones were further blackened by the dark energy swirling around it.
The others felt a sudden chill down their spines when Little Skeleton looked their way, as if they were being inspected by something a lot deadlier.
Su Ping ordered Little Skeleton to use the Puppet skill, which Little Skeleton learned the other day.
Unlike the Undead Enslaving, this skill required some time to work. The dead Magical Corpse Beast was the perfect material to make a puppet.
Upon receiving Su Ping’s command, Little Skeleton pumped more dark energy out of its body, which sank into the corpse below.
The energy slowly repaired the Magical Corpse Beast’s broken bones. A few minutes later, the Magical Corpse Beast twitched; the members of the group almost yelled in fear.
“Calm down. It’s a puppet now,” Su Ping comforted them.
“A puppet??”
They all knew about this commonly-seen skill, usually available to high-level Undead creatures. But they never believed Su Ping’s skeleton was potent enough to turn the mighty beast into a puppet.
Following Little Skeleton’s instructions, the Magical Corpse Beast slowly stood back up.
A puppet created this way was always one rank lower than when it was alive. Moreover, the puppet user could only control something three ranks higher than itself or below. Right then, this “Magical Corpse Beast Puppet ” was only an upper seventh-rank creature.
As for how Little Skeleton pulled this off as a third-rank Astral Pet… Its superior aptitude had made it possible.
The restriction of “three ranks higher at most” was a conclusion drawn by federal educators. The best potential of this skill was in fact, unknown.
“Now we have something to ride on.” Su Ping walked to the Magical Corpse Beast first.
Seeing him, the others followed behind, albeit more carefully.
“You need to find a Fire-tailed Blood Fox, right? We’ll go with you,” said Ye Chenshan.
Su Ping agreed without a second thought. He knew that Ye Chenshan was probably tagging along so that they didn’t have to return on foot while their pets were wounded.
By using the Magical Corpse Beast’s speed and Luo Guxue’s guidance, they soon reached the aforementioned footprints and began their search for more traces left by the fox.
Su Ping took out the Fire Dragon Fruits and squashed them up. This way, he could use the smell of the fruits to attract fire-type Astral Pets. This space fracture was mainly occupied by beasts of the Undead-type, so they didn’t have to worry about attracting unwanted creatures.
The others were amazed by how Su Ping made such a costly preparation just to find the fox.
A few hours later, they reached the edge of a high cliff, where they found more tracks. Fresh ones.