Because of the constant unsettling feelings, Li Meirong's cultivation had regressed to an even slower pace. She wasn't very skilled to begin with, considering her spiritual foundation, but after jumping several ranks higher in such a short time, to be held in the same stage without even the smallest of changes was quite disheartening.

Today was one of those days where she had tried, once again, to contract a beast. And just the same as before, she ended up failing miserably.

It wasn't the case of an inability to battle a spirit beast or charm it in one way or another. No, they simply refused to appear at all.

Li Meirong knelt down in frustration on the seashore of an island situated not far from the floating Forgotten Waters sect. She had flown to this small patch of land using one of the Bestiary Division's crane mounts and had been accompanied by Snowball, while Chou and Feng Huang stayed back home.

The beach stretched out along the ocean water, gentle waves greeted the warm grains of sand in a constant, unchanging rhythm. It was quite a peaceful, sunny day. On such a pleasant day, Li Meirong would normally have felt joyful, if the circumstances were different.

She turned around to glance at Snowball. The fox was busying himself with licking one of his paws.

"Didn't you say you're going to help me disguise my aura before?" Li Meirong complained, venting her frustration by shifting the blame onto the fox.

"O-oh? Oh, right! Hmm…" Snowball hopped on the sand, leaving small canine footprints behind as he approached Li Meirong. He caused his own inner energy to flare, encasing himself in a dense, visible aura.

"Summon your spiritual powers to the surface, and as you feel your meridians coursing with qi, attempt to control your aura from spreading."

"Alright." Li Meirong followed Snowball's guidance and summoned her inner energy. A bright blue flame enveloped her and made her shine like a fire sprite.

"Try to tone it down now. Control the energy which you summoned and reduce its strength." Snowball instructed, reducing his own flare of energy as an example.

"The way you explain it makes it sounds so easy..." Said Li Meirong as she closed her eyes and attempted to control the spiritual energy coursing through her body.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Li Meirong's aura dimmed a tad.

"Well," Snowball remarked after assessing the fruits of Her Ladyship's labour, "That's a start! Though sadly, it won't be enough to make the spirit beasts approach. You should probably practise until you manage to conceal all of your aura."

"Dam*it!" Li Meirong focused on her energy but she lacked the skill to control it. After reducing it a bit, the strength of the aura wouldn't budge even a little.

"I'll never be able to practise this way! How can I capture beasts if I scare them off from miles away?!"

Li Meirong bit her lower lip and grabbed a fistful of sand, tossing it in the air. Unfortunately, it was as if mother nature herself mocked her inability, for at that exact moment, the wind shifted in her direction and all the sand flew straight back into her face.

"Hahaha!" A feminine sound of merry laughter could suddenly be heard behind Li Meirong and her fox spirit companion. The duo spun around to face the person behind them.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance," Spoke a beautiful girl with caramel hued skin which only further enhanced the vividness of her deep azure eyes. She greeted Li Meirong with a grin so wide, a dimple formed on each side of her lips.

Li Meirong sputtered out some of the sand that had flown into her mouth and rubbed her eyelids with the backs of her hands.

"Xiong Mei? Where have you been? What are you doing here?" Li Meirong asked hesitantly, her eyes reddened from the sand. She noticed Snowball had advanced to her front, baring his fangs and flexing his claws in front of Xiong Mei.

"Oh, I only just returned from my sect mission and stumbled upon this area. What a surprise it was to find you here! Junior Sister, you need to call off your guard dog or I won't be able to help you!"