Chu Xuan was overjoyed, just about to urge the snow mink to exert more force and give another bite to completely eliminate this scourge.
But instead, he saw that after the snow mink spewed a second mouthful of cold air, it sagged again by three degrees, and despite having its mouth open for a long time, the third mouthful couldn't be released.
Feeling incredibly distressed, Chu Xuan hurriedly rushed forward to pick up the snow mink.
Then he looked around, hoping to find a sharp stone or a sturdy wooden stick, intending to personally finish off this damned Daoist!
"Heh, heh~" Although Old Daoist Yuan's face had turned blue from the cold, he was, after all, a practitioner. A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse; he feigned weakness on the surface but secretly reached his unharmed right hand into the bundle protected beforehand beneath him.
Chu Xuan almost cursed out loud, "Is this Doraemon's pouch of treasures? How come there are endless magic tools and talismans being pulled out??"
Seeing the ground around him empty, with only some weeds and dead leaves and not a single thread, while his opponent still had the strength to fight, Chu Xuan dared not take any more risks and immediately turned around to flee with the snow mink!
Old Daoist Yuan instantly let out a shrill howl! It was as if his life's essence had been snatched away right before his eyes.
But he was truly unable to move at the moment, and could only watch helplessly as the figure of the boy holding the mink ran further and further away.
...
As night fell, after fleeing for half a day, a thirsty and exhausted Chu Xuan barely found a large rock in the mountains to shelter from the wind and rest.
Looking at Chu Xuan leaning against the rock, with an exhausted face, the snow mink extended its tiny pink tongue and licked his face, as if feeling sorry for its owner too.
Chu Xuan gave a bitter smile and looked at the mink, "Thanks to you this time, once we escape this calamity, I'll make sure you eat the best, drink the best."
The snow mink whimpered a few times, seemingly understanding.
But the warmth between this person and beast didn't last long, as a tender female voice came from the skies, "This is indeed the one, right?"
"Correct, correct! Fairy Min truly has boundless magical power! This time's assistance will be forever remembered in gratitude by this junior."
Old Daoist Yuan's repulsive, sycophantic voice also followed.
Chu Xuan gritted his teeth and rose up, seeing a woman in pink sword-flying overhead, followed closely by Old Daoist Yuan riding his own donkey chasing after.
Seeing the boy with a gray face, with a pale face himself, Old Daoist Yuan couldn't help but reveal an utterly smug expression, "Just try running, see if you can!"
"Remember that kite from last night? I long ago informed helpers ahead of time."
The pink-clad woman, with a rather enchanting appearance, immediately retorted, "Who is your helper? I am merely a buyer."
"Yes, yes," Old Daoist Yuan dared not anger her, and had to play along with a smile.
Seeing this despicable jerk so triumphant, Chu Xuan almost gritted his teeth to shreds, but what's ahead seemed like an unavoidable doom.
Though the snow mink had rested for half a day, its energy hadn't fully recovered, at most it could spew another mouthful of cold air; but never mind Old Daoist Yuan, this pink-clad woman already reached the level of sword flight, her power far exceeding that elder's.
The only plan now was to incite these two to turn on each other…
"As per our previous agreement, that little mink belongs to me; this young man belongs to you."
"Originally, this dual cultivation furnace with great potential could have sold for a high price, but since Fairy Min assisted today, this junior won't charge a penny, as long as the mink is settled."
Hearing Old Daoist Yuan's words, Chu Xuan realized that he himself was the "goods" that female practitioner wanted to buy??
"Well, a treacherous Daoist, who has targeted not just the snow mink, clearly wanting to squeeze everything out of me, not even spitting out the bones."
With keen interest, Fairy Min sized up Chu Xuan for a moment before speaking, "The appearance is passable, but as for the aptitude, I need to personally handle and inspect to know."
"But that little mink," she slightly narrowed her eyes, "doesn't appear to be an ordinary beast. Merely a cub almost managed to kill you; it must be worth a fortune, right?"
Old Daoist Yuan panicked, quickly saying, "It's just a mutated snow mink; it's inferior-grade spiritual beast level, with my cultivation technique requiring it, that's why I treasure it so much."
"Besides, if not for my lapse and being played by this damned kid, how would I ever fail, the little mink would have been long secured."
Inwardly lamenting, Old Daoist pondered, who would have thought what seemed like a smooth "encounter" would end up in this mess.
Speaking of luck, the old Yuan Daoist happened to pass this place yesterday, encountering a young man selling ginseng.
Initially he didn't care much, but suddenly glimpsed the mink hugging in the youth's arms and almost cried out in surprise!
An upper spiritual beast, Ice Spirit Snow Mink, imbued with Snow Soul Ice Spirit, extremely fast, spewing freezing cold air, inherently intelligent, adept in escape techniques, exceedingly hard to capture.
Even though it's only a juvenile, its value far surpasses that of a mature snow mink, since cubs are easier to tame; they would rather die than submit to humans when fully grown.
This spiritual beast is not only good-looking and relatable, but born with divine techniques, extremely rare and favored by high-level female cultivators.
Therefore, even though there are quite a few upper spiritual beasts whose offensive might exceeds that of the Ice Spirit Snow Mink, their price is far inferior in comparison.
Because this kind of spiritual beast is rare, few practitioners have heard of it; coupled with its appearance differing little from ordinary minks, Fairy Min completely missed its preciousness.
Old Daoist Yuan could identify it due to seeing a great practitioner with his favorite concubine holding an Ice Spirit Snow Mink in her arms years ago.
When the concubine flaunted the origin of her demon pet, Old Daoist secretly noted it down, never expecting it would be useful today.
And her mink had a slightly mottled tail, its appearance paled in comparison to the one in the youth's arms.
Once greed set in, Old Daoist Yuan quickly plotted, feigning goodness to help boost the price and indeed won the youth's favor.
Wary of the snow mink's speed and high alertness, even when alone with the boy, Old Daoist Yuan didn't rush to act.
He first established a bond with the youth, discovering his good root, which reminded him the Hehuan Sect practitioners asked for help finding a quality dual cultivation furnace, willing to purchase them at high prices.
Thus Old Daoist Yuan ruthlessly devised a plan of killing two birds with one stone, contacting Fairy Min while deceitfully leading the youth into a den of wolves and tigers under the pretext of going to Feilai Temple.
But, despite the twist during the journey, the chaos caused by the youth not only almost cost him the "duck" he nearly secured, but also incited Fairy Min's greed for the snow mink.
Upon hearing Old Daoist Yuan's explanation, Fairy Min knew he wasn't being totally honest and merely waved her hand while speaking:
"Forget it, let's capture this kid first; if his aptitude is indeed good, it's merely a beast cub, what difference does it make giving it to you."
Old Daoist Yuan was delighted, showering her with crazy flattery, praising her as an unparalleled entity both in heaven and on earth.