80: I considered you a comrade-in-arms, and you actually wanted to eat me?
On the way back from the airport, Xie Ning received phone calls or text messages from time to time, all of which were words of congratulations.
Except for the more familiar Lu Bingyun, Jin Feng, and a few others, he hung up on all other calls.
Even so, his phone vibrated incessantly along the way; only now did Xie Ning truly experience the Mo Sisters' distress.
However, there was one call on the way back that made him quite happy. After hanging up, he urged the Poison Flame White Wolf to speed up.
"Master, whose call made you so happy?" Mo Yu asked, leaning forward from behind Xie Ning.
Xie Ning replied with a smile on his lips, "It was a call from the Monster Taming Merchant Guild. They said all the items have been gathered."
Mo Yu was also excited upon hearing this: "They're finally all here? That's great. I'll help too!"
"There will naturally be work for you."
Since promising the Supersonic Mantis a few days ago, Xie Ning had been preparing the Materials for its evolution. Some Materials were only available at the City Defense Bureau; he had even gone there and spent a lot of effort to convince them, nearly resorting to throwing a tantrum.
Even so, some rare Materials were still difficult to buy in Flower City.
Among them, the qiankun stone was the hardest to obtain, worth a million yet unavailable even with money. He had visited the Monster Taming Merchant Guild many times, and only now was it finally in stock.
Galloping all the way, they arrived at the Monster Taming Merchant Guild.
"Look, our Top Scholar is coming on a tall wolf."
A teasing voice came from the guild's counter. A man in a long robe with a clean-shaven face stood there, his eyes alternating between smiles and shrewdness.
Seeing this person, Xie Ning also narrowed his eyes and replied, "President Huang, you're teasing me."
This middle-aged man was the Vice President of the Flower City branch of the Monster Taming Merchant Guild. Xie Ning had spoken with him when he wanted to buy the qiankun stone a few days ago.
"Haha, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," President Huang laughed. "Alright, everything is here. Check it over, and if there's no problem, pay the bill."
Xie Ning didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the large bag on the counter and checked the items one by one, not forgetting to introduce the properties of these items to Mo Yu, who listened very carefully.
President Huang, standing aside, listened for a few moments, and his expression gradually became serious. When he looked at Xie Ning again, his gaze was entirely different.
"Everything is correct. Thanks, President Huang~"
After speaking, Xie Ning scanned a code to pay for more than a dozen Materials, including the qiankun stone, totaling 1.13 million yuan. Then, he left the Monster Taming Merchant Guild with Mo Yu and rode away.
Watching their retreating figures, President Huang fell into deep thought until a middle-aged woman in a floral T-shirt approached. He then snapped out of it and bowed, saying:
"President, as per your request, I have handed over the only qiankun stone to Xie Ning. However, doing so might make it difficult to deal with Young Master Zhao's side..."
No one would have expected that this ordinary-looking middle-aged woman was the true person in charge of the Flower City branch.
She spoke with a cold expression, "The Monster Taming Merchant Guild does not need to explain anything to a small Zhao Family. If they have an objection, they can go settle it with Xie Ning themselves."
"This child has just begun to show his talent, but his strength is too weak. I fear..." Reaching this point, President Huang seemed to realize something and quickly said, "This subordinate admits his fault."
"Mhm."
They didn't notice that on the roof of a house outside the Monster Taming Merchant Guild, a mantis was sitting quietly while holding a rabbit... On the way, Xie Ning slowly opened his eyes and frowned slightly, but said nothing, though his heart felt even heavier.
Ultimately, his strength was still too poor. If he were strong enough, why would he need to eavesdrop so cautiously?
Returning home, Xie Ning and Mo Yu divided the work to prepare the Materials for evolution.
Midway, the Supersonic Mantis and Wind-Listening Rabbit returned. The two little fellows, who had just finished their task, were directly conscripted by Xie Ning to do some odd jobs. As for the Poison Flame White Wolf, it was responsible for breathing fire. It first scorched the small garden attached to the villa, then breathed fire toward the base of a Golden Three-legged Cauldron that was as tall as a person and placed in the center.
The scorching flames caused the air to distort. The Materials inside the Golden Cauldron also emitted fine 'crackling' sounds; anyone unaware would have thought they were rendering lard.
About half an hour later, the Golden Cauldron was glowing red, and there was no more movement inside. Xie Ning stepped forward.
"Little Mantis, come over here."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a pair of thick heat-resistant gloves, and opened the Golden Three-legged Cauldron. A heatwave instantly rushed out.
He poured in half a container of water to dilute the liquid inside the cauldron.
From a distance, the inside of the Golden Cauldron shimmered with silver light, rippling with the water. It was incredibly beautiful, yet it also felt as if countless tiny whirlpools were invisibly stirring the liquid.
This liquid was precisely the diluted Universe Stone liquid after combustion.
Next, Xie Ning used a brush to apply various prepared Material powders and liquids all over the Supersonic Mantis's body. A fragrance drifted from the Supersonic Mantis, as if it were being barbecued.
'Gurgle~'
The two of them looked at the Poison Flame White Wolf with strange expressions until it felt embarrassed. It turned around, dug a hole, stuck its rear up, and buried most of its head in the dirt.
The Supersonic Mantis was so startled it shifted half a step sideways, hiding behind Xie Ning and peeking out to stare warily at the Poison Flame White Wolf.
I treated you as a comrade, but you actually want to eat me!
Suppressing a laugh, Xie Ning earnestly applied the prepared evolutionary medicine to the Supersonic Mantis.
Mo Yu also hurried to place some Materials. Following the diagrams Xie Ning gave her, she carefully inscribed markings around the Golden Cauldron, burying a demon core here and placing a plant Material there.
She had to be very serious, otherwise, she would burst out laughing.
"This is the Four-Armed Flying Cockroach's demon core; put it into the Golden Cauldron as well."
Saying this, Xie Ning handed the Four-Armed Flying Cockroach's demon core to Mo Yu and took out an intermediate energy potion for the Supersonic Mantis to consume.
In the life-and-death struggle against the Fallen Demon Tamer, both beasts had activated their potential and gained four energy potions in total. However, two were used up to heal them afterward. Now, Xie Ning only had the last two left.
"Everything is ready. This evolutionary mutation will be quite significant, and I'm not sure what the result will be. Everything depends on you now." Xie Ning looked at the Supersonic Mantis with seriousness and concern. He wanted to reach out and pat its head but worried about rubbing off the evolutionary medicine. Then, he took out a Medicinal Pill from his storage stone and fed it to the Supersonic Mantis.
"This evolution might be very painful; you must be mentally prepared... I have no other way to help you. I hope this pill can help ease some of your pain."
At this moment, the Supersonic Mantis's body was surging with energy, but because it had lost its golden horn, this energy could not be condensed. It enveloped its body, damaging its outer shell.
It nodded heavily toward Xie Ning and then leaped into the Golden Cauldron.
"As long as I can become stronger, I'm not afraid of pain!"
The Supersonic Mantis's determined words echoed in Xie Ning's mind, making his heart tremble and causing him to become tense.
He took a deep breath and closed the Golden Cauldron's lid again.
"White Fang! Ignite!"