"Alright! I can become your spirit beast!" the one-horned white tiger declared. "However, I have a condition: you cannot make me do anything against my will, especially on matters of principle."
"Agreed!" Ye Bufan replied.
The one-horned white tiger looked at Ye Bufan and said, "Drip a drop of your vital blood onto my horn."
Following the one-horned white tiger's instructions, Ye Bufan cut his finger and squeezed out a drop of blood onto the tiger's horn.
"Buzz—"
Ye Bufan's head buzzed, and he felt a connection form between his spiritual sea and the one-horned white tiger.
"From now on, with just a thought, we can communicate telepathically," the one-horned white tiger's voice echoed in Ye Bufan's mind.
"Understood," Ye Bufan replied.
Ye Bufan inquired if the white tiger wished to enter the Taiyi Divine Sect's secret realm to cultivate immediately.
The one-horned white tiger shook its head. "I have just arrived in this world and you have already made me your spirit beast. I don't understand this world, let alone you. I'd prefer to stay in these mountains for a while longer."
Ye Bufan nodded, surprised by the creature's astuteness.
"Do you have a name? My name is Ye Bufan," Ye Bufan said.
"Call me Bai Mufeng," the one-horned white tiger replied. "It's truly strange; I've become your spirit beast without even knowing your name."
Bai Mufeng shook its head helplessly and asked, "Can you tell me about the situation of this world?"
"This is Blue Star, and currently, there's a barrier on Blue Star that is about to disappear," Ye Bufan began explaining the events on Blue Star to Bai Mufeng.
Upon hearing this, Bai Mufeng found it quite peculiar that this world seemed to lack any demonic beasts, which it considered highly unusual.
"It's not that there are absolutely no demonic beasts, but rather not many," Ye Bufan clarified.
"The upcoming Heavenly Sealing period over the next few years is also Blue Star's last line of defense. Once the Heavenly Seal disappears, powerful beings from other worlds will undoubtedly come to Blue Star to contend for resources," Ye Bufan voiced his concerns.
Bai Mufeng shook its head and said, "Besides resource contention, in our world, the weak are often enslaved. The weak have no standing whatsoever. Given what you've told me, encountering those empires would undoubtedly turn us into their colonies."
Listening to Bai Mufeng's account, Ye Bufan frowned and inquired further about Bai Mufeng's world.
The world Bai Mufeng hailed from was known as the Yuanming Star Domain, and its location was within the Heavenly Dou Empire's Heavenly Demon Mountain Range.
"Have you ever heard of a nomadic teleportation array?" Ye Bufan asked tentatively.
"You're referring to the teleportation array that brought me to this place, aren't you?" Bai Mufeng responded. "I was foraging in the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range when I inadvertently activated a teleportation array. While within the array, Bai Mufeng told Ye Bufan, it was a very long process, taking about five minutes before I appeared in this forest."
Bai Mufeng informed Ye Bufan that this situation indicated the Yuanming Star Domain was likely very, very far from Blue Star.
The man and the tiger spent another two days in the forest. Bai Mufeng willingly took Ye Bufan on tours, serving as his mount.
Ye Bufan, using the same method that attracted Bai Mufeng, lured other demonic beasts, eventually attracting a Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox.
The Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox bore markings resembling lightning, and most importantly, it possessed the power of lightning. Ye Bufan engaged the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox in a battle.
Bai Mufeng watched from the sidelines. Upon witnessing Ye Bufan's 'Chongxu Thunder Art' combined with Ye Bufan's sword domain and his sword techniques, Bai Mufeng couldn't help but shiver.
"Fortunately, I didn't fight Ye Bufan earlier. Otherwise, I would probably be a corpse by now," Bai Mufeng mused, amazed at Ye Bufan's strength. Based on Bai Mufeng's estimation, Ye Bufan could now contend evenly with cultivators in the late Core Formation stage.
In the end, the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox and Ye Bufan engaged in a clash of lightning power.
All the lightning power from the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox was absorbed by Ye Bufan, and the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox was killed with a single strike by Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan extracted the demonic core from the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox and tossed it to Bai Mufeng, saying, "This demonic core should be useful to you. You can absorb the true qi within it."
Bai Mufeng accepted the Thunder-Patterned Purple Ox's demonic core and replied, "Thank you."
"Buzz—"
Just as Ye Bufan was about to pack up, he noticed the jade pendant he had given to Zhang Wei being crushed. It was likely that Qu Fei and his group had reached the outer perimeter.
"Let's go," Ye Bufan said to Bai Mufeng. "Let's go meet some old friends."
Bai Mufeng looked at Ye Bufan in confusion. He knew that at the outskirts of the forest were cultivation sects of this world, but he was unsure who Ye Bufan intended to meet.
Ye Bufan leaped lightly and landed on the one-horned white tiger's back. Man and tiger galloped towards the direction Ye Bufan indicated Qu Fei was.
"Roar—"
A tiger's roar echoed through the air. The surrounding low-level demonic beasts trembled at the sight.
Meanwhile, at the encampment of the Overlord Saber Sect.
"Supreme Elder, there's trouble! According to the latest news from disciples who entered the mountain, a powerful demonic beast seems to be rapidly approaching our location," a disciple of the Overlord Saber Sect rushed in frantically.
Upon hearing this, Qu Fei immediately cursed, "I was just looking for something to practice my saber techniques on, and now a demonic beast is delivering itself to us."
"Hahahaha, and I was just looking for something to practice my sword techniques on," Song Mingqin, standing beside Qu Fei, said with a slight smile.
The two walked out of the encampment and waited silently at the entrance for the arrival of the demonic beast.
Shortly after, something whistled through the dense forest, and a rustling sound came from within.
"It's here!" Song Mingqin exclaimed excitedly.
A moment later, a white tiger with a single horn appeared before the two. On its back, there was actually a person.
Qu Fei and Song Mingqin were stunned, finding it hard to believe their eyes. The person riding the white tiger was none other than Ye Bufan.
"Two seniors!"
Bai Mufeng, carrying Ye Bufan, arrived before the two. Ye Bufan dismounted and bowed to them with clasped fists.
Qu Fei and Song Mingqin, still somewhat wary, took a step back.
"Ye Bufan, what's going on?" Qu Fei asked.
Behind them, many disciples of the Overlord Saber Sect emerged from the encampment. Upon seeing Ye Bufan standing with a one-horned white tiger, they were greatly astonished.