Chapter 97: Hell in the Pot (Part 6): That Monster Bird is My Master?

The Clay Little Demon was pried open at the eyelids by this fluffy thing, its hands waving helplessly as it could not move. Its single eye rolled around before it got smacked again and finally faced forward properly. Those two eyes were crystal clear.

Mu Qian Tan held her up and kept peering into her eyes. Deep within those pupils, the image of a faint gray penguin emerged—a round black head, white face, pitch-black beady eyes, and a pointed beak. If seen at the oceanarium, even the hardest-hearted person would soften, exclaiming how utterly adorable it was and snapping photos nonstop. But this was hell, a place where one wrong move meant death. Turning into this form was no different from a death sentence!

Moreover, wasn’t this creature supposed to live at the poles? It shouldn’t appear here at all!

Mu Qian Tan shoved the Clay Little Demon away and paced back and forth in fury, only to trip over her own clothes and flop down with a splat.

The bones and flesh of this little body were abnormally fragile, the pain doubled as if due to incomplete development. If not for landing on a pile of soft brocade, she probably would have been injured.

She stayed muffled in the clothes, speechless: “….”

Why had this happened?

She had released the Black Dog to devour Tan Que and draw the male and female protagonists into hell together, pulling them into the demons’ home turf to suppress them. She planned to kill those two first, reasonably eliminating unknown forces that might affect her. A couple of days later, she would toss out the Black Dog’s corpse. As Xiao Xian, she would eliminate the hidden danger and “protect” Pot City once more—a perfect two birds with one stone.

The original plot was that simple and straightforward. There was no transformation subplot like this!

Had the Teleportation Array been tampered with?

If Xiao Xian grew more wary because of the “upper immortal” title, secretly modifying parts of the formation wasn’t impossible.

Following this line of thought, Xiao Xian might have considered an upper immortal’s sharpness. A blatantly lethal formation would alert her, preventing entry altogether. So she probably just added a harmless transformation effect with some restrictions—likely only changing the outer appearance drastically!

With power returning to her body, Mu Qian Tan leaped up fiercely and tried to gather spiritual power. Her hands were gone, so she flapped her wings instead. Spiritual light shot from her wings, slicing off a stone pillar in the distance. Evidently, her spiritual power remained abundant. But she wasn’t happy at all, because the moment she unleashed that spiritual power, her own body recoiled backward, smashing hard into another pillar and crashing to the ground.

Dizzy and disoriented, she thought hazily, was this… recoil?

It really seemed like it. Oh god… this body was so weak that using spiritual power caused recoil!

This formation was vicious!

That earlier collision had been brutal; several bones inside her had definitely fractured. Every movement brought heart-piercing pain. Mu Qian Tan’s mind went blank as she lay face-down on the ground, like a gray plastic bag shivering in the wind. In her heart, she shouted, ‘Li Biyuan! Li Biyuan!’

Li Biyuan clawed at her hair in breakdown. ‘Sister Tan, we’re not in the same dimension! Calling me is useless—I can’t help you!’

Mu Qian Tan said, ‘Think of something!’

Li Biyuan said, ‘I told you to rein in your temper! If you’d just followed the plot honestly… Never mind, I won’t say it. But I really can’t help. I think it’s more reasonable for you to go find the Female Protagonist quickly!’

Mu Qian Tan snapped, ‘Where am I supposed to find…’

Before she finished speaking, her body lightened as if lifted by something. Straining to look down, she saw it was that Clay Little Demon. Its two arms had swollen several times larger, hoisting her overhead as it bolted off.

Mu Qian Tan wanted to struggle, but even a slight movement ground her bones and flesh together. She squinted and grunted, then went still. She tried to threaten the little demon verbally, but her beak only produced the chirps common to baby animals—unable to speak human words—so she gave up. She strained to twist her head toward the receding pile of clothes and Storage Pouch, her heart aching.

Her magic tools, her money—surely she’d get a chance to retrieve them later.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes wide, trying to memorize any special features of this location, mark it somehow, retrieve her things after killing Xiao Xian. But the pain made stars burst in her vision. She could recall a few landmarks at first, but moments later they blurred into a hazy dark red mush, forgotten entirely.

Seeing her go still, the Clay Little Demon ran even harder, leaping over rocks and rifts blocking the way. After who knew how far, other Clay Little Demons appeared ahead, along with a girl cradling a Pink Frog.

In the chaos, Mu Qian Tan thought muddily, why a penguin?

A chicken or duck would make more sense, but this was an animal no one in the book should have seen. Even in cultivation novels with flight and earth-shifting powers, no one went to the world’s poles.

If the transformation animal wasn’t decided by the formation, did that mean it was her own preference?

If so, it made perfect sense. She really did like penguins, and they were probably the only animals she didn’t dislike.

The Clay Little Demon held up the little penguin like a dish offering and shoved through the friends clustered around the girl leading the way, bouncing to thrust the penguin high in front of her.

The motion caught Shang Shan’s attention. She had been vigilantly scanning the surroundings, fearing the Black Dog might pounce from some corner for a sneak attack, while advancing with the Clay Little Demons. Spotting the unusual one lagging behind, she lowered her gaze as if not quite understanding and asked, “What’s wrong with this… Monster Bird?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Mu Qian Tan’s eyes snapped open. Ignoring the pain, she jumped up for a slap, but Shang Shan instinctively blocked it. The girl hadn’t used much force, but Mu Qian Tan was now just a pathetic gray-furred Monster Bird. The block sent her tumbling to the ground, rolling several times before flopping into a heap again.

“Ah, sorry!” Shang Shan hurried to check her. “Are you okay? You suddenly tried to hit me—I got scared and pushed you. Are you hurt?”

Mu Qian Tan wanted nothing to do with her. She just wanted to die.

An even more painful scene than the relic trial appeared.

The Clay Little Demon that had carried her over gestured with its hands, pairing it with those vividly expressive big eyes. If one knew the answer, they would say it mimicked perfectly, but Shang Shan didn’t understand. So it pulled over another little demon, acting arrogant as it kicked the other one. That little demon cooperated by rolling backward a few times, stomped angrily, and ran off.

Though it felt oddly familiar, like something that had just happened, Shang Shan still didn’t connect the Monster Bird before her with her master—it was too absurd. She said, “We can play later. I need to find my friend right now—I’m in a hurry.”

She picked up the Monster Bird, startled by the handful of fluffy softness, feeling even more guilty. She stroked its back carefully before placing it atop another little demon’s head. “I’m really sorry. Does it hurt? Wait till I finish my business, then I’ll come see you. I’m afraid she’ll get hurt in the fight—can you take her away?”

The little demon that brought the Monster Bird shook its head anxiously and bumped heads with the other friends. They all immediately showed expressions of understanding, knowing who the Monster Bird was. Several little demons then stacked atop one another, nearly as tall as the girl before stopping. Each squinted its eyes, arms crossed, faces full of disdain and coldness, as if imitating someone.

Shang Shan fell silent for a moment before saying, “Are you talking about my master?” She lowered her lashes, then lifted them after a while. “She’s really bad. Don’t mention her.”

Mu Qian Tan climbed up again and madly pecked at the hands still holding her. Shang Shan winced in pain and turned in surprise. “What are you doing?”

One little demon pointed at her, then at the acting little demons—the meaning was obvious. Shang Shan looked back and forth, hesitating. “What do you mean? You’re saying she’s related to my master?”

To survive, not telling this Stupid Dragon her identity would be difficult. But if she found out and dared mock her, Mu Qian Tan would absolutely kill her, consequences be damned!

For now, though, she still needed her. Mu Qian Tan pecked her a few more times until that patch of skin reddened and the hand let go. With lightning speed, the penguin leaped onto those arms. While Shang Shan was still watching the little demons gesticulating wildly to explain, she slapped her straight across the face.

Though the slap came from a tiny wing and didn’t hurt much—Shang Shan wasn’t even mad—she took note, sensing familiarity in the motion. She instantly understood the little demons’ meaning.

She clutched her face, slowly turning her head to gaze at the glaring Monster Bird. After a long daze, she exclaimed in shock, “Master?”