Sheng Rulai asked again, but still received no response.
He then looked towards Leifeng Pagoda, which floated above West Lake, slowly spinning.
Since there was no response, it was clear that once the snake demon had been locked inside Leifeng Pagoda, she couldn't transmit her thoughts anymore.
"Take!"
With a light command from Sheng Rulai, the majestic and solemn Pagoda, bathed in Buddha's light, began to shrink while rotating and eventually returned to its original size to fit in Sheng Rulai's palm.
Holding the delicate Leifeng Pagoda in his hand, with a solemn expression, Sheng Rulai sent his Divine Sense into it, and immediately on the first layer, he saw a white snake the size of an eel, shivering and coiled in a corner.
"Mercy, great master..."
Realizing that Sheng Rulai's Divine Sense had entered and was observing her, the white snake inside the pagoda immediately transmitted her weak thoughts.
"Hm? Snake demon, how did you awaken your Spiritual Wisdom?"
Sheng Rulai was slightly surprised to hear this soft voice again, and then he asked in a deep tone.
In his century of cultivation, he had met many ferocious beasts that had become spirits, and had witnessed demons rampaging amidst darkness and chaos, but none, like this snake demon before him, was truly capable of communicating with people!
Those spirits that had been ferocious beasts were at most more intelligent, able to understand human language, and able to communicate with simple gestures.
But this snake demon actually possessed consciousness and could communicate with people. Aside from still being in a snake's body, she was almost no different from a human, a true monster!
Upon hearing Sheng Rulai's words, the white snake understood his meaning and shyly replied, "I'm not too sure myself. Since I can remember, it seems like it was a while back, when I ate a shimmering lotus seed at the bottom of West Lake that I gained Spiritual Wisdom..."
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing the white snake's words, Sheng Rulai fell into thought.
If the snake demon had not lied, then it must be that recently, with the revival of Spiritual Energy, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures started appearing frequently, and it just happened to consume a Spirit Plant that allowed it to develop Spiritual Wisdom, thus transforming from a spirit into a demon.
Thinking this, Sheng Rulai then asked sternly, "Then why did you attack me earlier? If you do not give a proper explanation, I will disperse your soul today!"
The white snake hurriedly explained, "Great master, I did not intend to kill you. I merely wanted to scare you a little, to make you return the pagoda to me."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
When Sheng Rulai heard the white snake's words, he frowned and asked in a deep voice.
The white snake then explained that it had found Leifeng Pagoda at the bottom of West Lake. As soon as it dug it out from the mud, it mysteriously floated to the shore, where Sheng Rulai picked it up.
It thought that Sheng Rulai had taken her possession, so it rushed out of the water, attempting to scare Sheng Rulai into returning the tower. Unfortunately, she didn't expect Sheng Rulai to be so formidable, and in the end, she was the one restrained by him.
"Is that so?"
After hearing the white snake's explanation, Sheng Rulai recalled the snake's previous behavior.
When it burst out of the water, it did not immediately attack him but hissed and flicked its tongue as a warning.
Only after he had admonished it did it pounce at him.
It looked like it intended to devour him whole, but there was no real murderous intent in its actions. If he had chosen to throw away the Leifeng Pagoda and run, he could have easily done so.
"Great master, can you spare this little demon this one time? I swear I won't dare to do it again..."
Seeing that Sheng Rulai no longer spoke and the previously overwhelming murderous intent was slowly receding, the white snake asked again, this time more nervously, as she felt less tense.
"Let you go?"
The White Snake's words roused Sheng Rulai from his contemplation. He pondered for a moment and said, "Heaven favors all life. Since you have gained spiritual wisdom and transformed into a demon under a twist of fate, it would indeed be a pity to just help you pass on to the next life. However, your ferocity remains unchecked; setting you free could bring disaster to many. For now, you will stay inside Leifeng Pagoda!"
"What?" Upon hearing Sheng Rulai's words, White Snake exclaimed in a voice filled with despair.
After a pause, Sheng Rulai continued, "During this time, I will regularly recite scriptures and chant Buddha's name for you. If you can comprehend and gain great enlightenment, shedding your violent nature, I will consider taking you in as a Dharma-protecting divine beast under the Buddha's Light Shines Everywhere."
White Snake dared not say anything more, only feeling grateful for the opportunity Sheng Rulai was giving it.
Although it did not wish to become any kind of Dharma-protecting divine beast, under the current circumstances, it dared not ask for more.
It was already fortunate enough to be spared.
…
Elsewhere.
Mu Jinyu extinguished the Taoist fire, and a brilliant display of colorful light flashed.
Then, a somewhat sinister-looking pellet drum appeared before him and San Liu.
After Mu Jinyu's modifications, the drum's handle did not betray its origins from the bones of the Nine-Eyed Bichan. The strings tied to the pellets looked less like a tongue and more like nine red cords.
The nine beads, refined, no longer resembled eyeballs but looked more akin to jade beads carved from emerald.
"Not bad, it seems to be a success. I wonder about the effects," Mu Jinyu remarked, his eyes showing satisfaction as he spoke softly, then turned to look at San Liu.
Feeling Mu Jinyu's gaze, San Liu instinctively had a foreboding feeling, shivering slightly as he weakly said, "Dragon Master, you..."
"Ah-San, do me a favor and let me test the power of this pellet drum, shall we?" Mu Jinyu asked with a faint smile.
"Ah?" San Liu's face fell as he thought to himself that he knew it would come to this, then resignedly said, "Alright then."
He knew he shouldn't be in any danger; after all, Mu Jinyu had timely resolved the mental intimidation caused by the still-living Nine-Eyed Bichan previously.
Now that the Nine-Eyed Bichan was refined into a magic treasure, there was no reason he couldn't withstand it.
Still, the experience of being subjected to mental intimidation was inherently uncomfortable.
Seeing that San Liu had agreed, Mu Jinyu's smile broadened. He then picked up the pellet drum and began turning it by its handle with a gentle twist.
"Thump thump thump…"
Unlike an ordinary pellet drum with just two pellets striking the drum surface, Mu Jinyu's drum, due to the special nature of the Nine-Eyed Bichan, couldn't have just two eyeballs; therefore, it had several pellets that made an even more chaotic and shrill sound when struck together!
"Thump thump thump thump..."
Standing in front of Mu Jinyu, San Liu listened to the discordant, arrhythmic drumming, feeling only annoyance and irritation.
As he listened, he suddenly felt an excruciating headache and let out a roar, clamping his hands tightly over his ears before collapsing to the ground with a thud, rolling and howling in extreme pain!
"Ahh! It hurts, it hurts!!!" San Liu roared hysterically, filled with desperate agony.
"Hm? What on earth is this?!" Mu Jinyu, shocked by San Liu's reaction, quickly stopped spinning the pellet drum.
"Heh heh heh..."
Once Mu Jinyu stopped, San Liu felt much better, but he still lay helplessly on the ground, drooling from the corner of his mouth, eyes vacant, breathing heavily as if he had just endured a torturous ordeal.