Zuān Tiān Shǔ, a spatial dao beast born with the innate ability to manipulate space.
Not a chaotic beast, but a beast.
Among peers, barring extremely powerful beings with exceptional speed, virtually no one could catch up to the Zuān Tiān Shǔ.
"How is this possible?"
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ couldn't believe its eyes, seeing the figure blocking its path.
When it had left earlier, that person was still on the battlefield.
Now, they had caught up?
Boom.
Behind them, chaos was rapidly being torn open.
It was clear more people were arriving.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ instantly understood, and looking at Chén Fān, it said, "You possess a treasure that allows for spatial traversal."
"That's right."
Chén Fān smiled and nodded, "Otherwise, how could I possibly catch up to you, fellow Daoist?"
Whoosh.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ clenched its claws.
Its gaze turned solemn, "You are seventh-tier, I am eighth-tier. While you can catch up to me, you are by no means my opponent. Move aside, and I will not attack you."
"Heh."
Chén Fān chuckled softly, "Quite confident."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ snorted again, "You are merely someone else's servant. Even with a treasure, what can you achieve by catching up to me? Life is difficult, are you truly willing to forfeit your own life here?"
It questioned loudly.
In the Zuān Tiān Shǔ's view, Chén Fān was merely following orders.
Chén Fān's eyebrows twitched, "I won't explain what you said. I have only one reason for seeking you out: how did you erase my memories?"
"If your answer satisfies me, I will let you leave. Otherwise, you will not be leaving today."
"Also, a warning: your spatial jumping ability might not be faster than mine."
The moment the spatial boots were complete, Chén Fān no longer feared a speed contest with anyone.
Even against the Zuān Tiān Shǔ, capable of spatial jumps.
It wouldn't matter.
"You are forcing me to kill you."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's expression turned icy.
Killing intent filled its eyes.
The fluctuations from the chaos behind grew increasingly intense.
Liè Tiān was close.
"You can try," Chén Fān was fearless.
Chī.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ vanished from its spot instantly.
Its claws, imbued with the Great Dao, unleashed fierce strikes.
The sharp claws raked across Chén Fān's back: "You court death."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ was supremely confident.
No seventh-tier being could withstand its attack.
Clang.
Sparks flew.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ froze in place.
It stared in disbelief at its claws.
Its ever-unbeatable claws had failed to pierce the enemy's flesh.
"How is this possible?"
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets, "What are you wearing?"
"Gravity."
An answer unrelated to the question.
Boom.
A gravity domain manifested.
Caught off guard, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ stumbled instantly, nearly being dragged down into the chaos.
"Anti-air."
The Heavenly Crown appeared.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's body was pinned in mid-air.
"Squeak squeak squeak."
It began to struggle frantically.
Vaguely, it seemed on the verge of breaking free from the suppression.
"Hmph."
Chén Fān let out a cold snort.
The Dragon Mark Compass appeared in his hand, and he plucked a thread.
"Ah..."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ wailed.
The anti-air force, which had almost been broken, was immediately interrupted.
At this moment, Chén Fān had already appeared before the Zuān Tiān Shǔ, and the Heavenly Cloud Sword severed one of its claws.
Pfft.
Blood splattered.
No physical body could withstand the sharpness of the Heavenly Cloud Sword.
Not even the Myriad Demon Emperor could, let alone the Zuān Tiān Shǔ.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's small movements earlier had not escaped Chén Fān's senses.
The claw shattered, and a seed fell into Chén Fān's palm.
The moment he touched the seed, Chén Fān had a realization: "It's you."
"Squeak."
Boom.
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ broke free.
The next moment, it charged forward ferociously, "Return the seed to me!"
The seed was its last life-saving measure; it could not afford to lose it.
Silver lights flashed, the attacks of the Zuān Tiān Shǔ, leaping through space.
"Hahaha."
At this moment, Chén Fān felt an immense sense of exhilaration.
Having snatched the opponent's crucial treasure, his mood was excellent, and he turned to leave.
"Bastard, give it back!" From behind, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ attacked furiously.
Boom.
The chaos churned.
Liè Tiān arrived, bringing Qī Shā and Old Demon Chǔ.
As for the Sword Master, the two parties had parted ways long ago.
It was merely a temporary collaboration, not a joint endeavor.
"Roar."
In its rage, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ let out a beast-like roar.
It was utterly furious.
The seed had been stolen.
It wanted to reclaim it, but Emperor Liè Tiān had arrived.
It had witnessed Chén Fān's strength.
It had also seen Liè Tiān's power when it fled the battlefield.
With the two of them united, it was no match for them.
However, the loss of the seed filled it with deep unwillingness.
"Give it back to me."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's eyes were red.
Its tone even carried a hint of pleading, "Give it back, I'll do anything you ask."
The seed was absolutely not to be lost.
"Oh?"
Seeing this, Chén Fān's eyebrows shot up, "You'll truly do anything?"
"Yes."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ nodded vigorously.
It saw a glimmer of hope.
"...Alright."
Chén Fān pondered for a moment and said, "Serve me for a hundred years, and I will return the seed to you. However, there's a condition: you must lend me this seed for a month of contemplation. After a month, I guarantee its return in its original state."
"How do you guarantee that?"
For this seed, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ was willing to pay a hundred years.
Let alone a hundred years, it would gladly give a thousand or ten thousand.
This object was far too important to it.
A life-saving item.
Indeed, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ suspected that once the seed grew, it might lead to a path to the heavens.
It had been stuck in the eighth tier for too long and was unwilling to let go of this sole hope.
"Guarantee?"
Chén Fān considered, "I'm not sure how to guarantee it. A vow of the Great Dao, perhaps?"
"Alright."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ nodded, "But you must swear in the name of Order."
Boom.
Liè Tiān and the others arrived.
They had overheard the conversation between the person and the rat earlier, so they did not immediately intervene.
"Order?"
Chén Fān mused, "Teach me how to swear."
Upon hearing this, a hint of confusion appeared in the Zuān Tiān Shǔ's eyes.
However, it did not think too deeply and proceeded to teach Chén Fān.
"Okay."
Chén Fān nodded, then gathered the power of the Great Dao, manifesting the two characters "Order" above his head.
His voice slowly resonated, "I, Chén Fān, do hereby swear in the name of Order. If the Zuān Tiān Shǔ is willing to serve me for a hundred years, I shall return this seed to it, provided it lends me the seed for one month of contemplation."
"During these hundred years, I will not commit any acts that dishonor the Zuān Tiān Shǔ's dignity, and unless absolutely necessary, I will not command it to do anything it is unwilling to do."
"I will need to place a restriction on the Zuān Tiān Shǔ's Dao Source, which will be immediately lifted upon the completion of the hundred-year term."
Chén Fān added the middle sentence himself.
Buzz.
As soon as his words fell, it was as if a hand appeared in the chaos and swept away the "Order" he had manifested.
"Vow fulfilled."
The words echoed in Chén Fān's mind.
"Phew."
Seeing that Chén Fān had truly sworn in the name of Order, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, I believe you now."
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ said, "Now, you can place the restriction on my Dao Source."
Chén Fān wasted no time and acted.
From this moment onwards, the Zuān Tiān Shǔ was one of his own.
"Alas."
The creature still felt a sense of resignation.
But given the circumstances, it could only sigh helplessly.
It had accepted its fate.
"Zuān Tiān ah."
Chén Fān also relaxed, holding the seed between his fingers, and asked, "Can you tell me what this thing actually is?"
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's expression was conflicted, "I don't know either. I picked it up in the chaos by chance."
At this point, there was nothing left to hide.
It continued, "This seed has the ability to erase memories. Without external reminders, one would never recall it."
"That magical?"
"Yes."
And so it was.
"I have another question."
Chén Fān asked again, "You told me to swear in the name of Order just now. What is Order?"
He had never heard of it.
"Hmm?"
The Zuān Tiān Shǔ's eyebrows shot up, "You are not from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?"
"I am."
This answer was extremely affirmative.
The Thunder Domain was located in the Tenth Earth, so he was naturally from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
"Then how could you not know about Order?" the Zuān Tiān Shǔ inquired further.
"You don't need to worry about that."
Chén Fān did not wish to elaborate, "You just need to tell me what Order is."