Whether the Crow was a Demon Bird or a Divine Bird, Tu Xiao'an didn't hesitate. He immediately used Conscious Insight on it.

He had to know his enemy.

The Demon locking Shackles were extraordinary, binding all of Tu Xiao'an's attribute abilities and Consciousness Power, but his System Ability could still be used.

Tu Xiao'an stared intently at the ancient-looking Crow Blackbird. Suddenly, its black feathers began to glow with a deep blue light, as if some taboo had been touched.

"DING... Scan failed. Cannot be subjugated."

'What does that mean?'

Tu Xiao'an was stunned. 'A scan can fail? Is this Crow's Level too high, or is its pedigree just that impressive?'

It could speak human words without having undergone Transformation, which meant it was only a Rank Two Awakened Creature, not a Rank Three Creature. Tu Xiao'an's Insight shouldn't have failed.

But the reality was, his Insight scan had failed.

'As for its pedigree, that must mean its bloodline. Don't tell me this Crow Blackbird is actually something transcendent.'

Tu Xiao'an was shocked.

'As expected of an inauspicious bird, it's shrouded in a dense, mysterious aura.' During the Insight, Tu Xiao'an had noticed the deep blue light on its body, which seemed to be some unknown mystical power that prevented others from prying.

"What are you doing?"

The Blackbird suddenly stared at Tu Xiao'an and asked warily.

"I'm not doing anything."

Tu Xiao'an blinked, his expression one of pure innocence.

Peeping was shameful; of course he wasn't going to admit it.

The Blackbird adopted a superior, human-like expression. "Snake Spirit, not bad. Even while bound by the Demon locking Shackles, you can still use some kind of power to pry into your Uncle Hei."

'Uncle Hei?'

'Fucking black, maybe, but not my uncle.'

This Crow was not to be trifled with.

Tu Xiao'an decided to behave. He'd never used Insight on someone only to be discovered.

It made things very awkward, like having X-ray vision and getting caught trying to see through a beautiful woman's clothes.

"So, tell me how you got caught. Give me a good laugh."

He cleverly changed the subject.

Tu Xiao'an's capture had been both unjust and tragic, so being mocked was inevitable. 'As a dignified Snake Spirit, forgetting to swallow a few people to fill your stomach is one thing, but trying to save someone? What the hell does saving people have to do with you?'

The one thing he should have done every day was silently repeat to himself three times: 'I am not human. I am a snake.' 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

'A little daily self-reflection, a bit of self-awareness—he needed that.'

'But then again, we were all doing time here. This was no time for the pot to call the kettle black.'

"Hmph..."

The Blackbird snorted haughtily, clearly unwilling to share the embarrassing story with Tu Xiao'an.

"That Demon Bird went crazy. It cursed a village of a thousand households, cursed the women so they couldn't give birth to sons. It nearly turned the whole village into a country of women."

A passing police officer kindly answered Tu Xiao'an's unspoken question.

Hearing this, Tu Xiao'an sucked in a sharp breath. He stared, dumbfounded, at the Blackbird in the corner with eyes wide in shock, seeing it in a whole new, astonishing light.

'That badass? It actually has Curse Power?'

'As expected of a Crow. It's really living up to its species.'

In daily life, you often hear people cursing each other with phrases like, "I'll draw a circle to curse you," or "I curse you to have a son with no butthole," and so on.

But those are just empty words; they never come true.

This Blackbird was different. It directly cursed you to have a baby with no little pecker, and you really couldn't have one.

'How about that? Are you impressed? Are you scared?'

"Dumbass, mind your own business! Does Uncle Hei need you to tell his story?"

The Crow's face was full of contempt, treating the officers like dirt. Its style was on a much higher level than Tu Xiao'an's.

"Demon Bird, I'm telling you, if you don't lift the curse on that village, you're never getting out of here!"

The officer shot it a vicious glare, but he was clearly wary of it and didn't step forward to get physical.

"Lift the curse? Impossible. Not in this lifetime. Those foolish villagers! I told them to build a temple and worship me, Uncle Hei, and they actually refused! They must be fucking blind!"

The Blackbird said arrogantly, 'I should have cursed them again, cursed them so they couldn't even have girls.'

The concept of Demons originated in Ancient Times, born from humanity's reverence for nature and animals. People labeled all the forces they couldn't see, touch, or control as Demons.

When animals became Spirits and Demons, many people began to view them as totems to be worshiped and believed in.

The most widely recognized were the legendary Dragon totem, various Snake totems, and then others like the wolf and ox totems.

Wherever a local population believed in an animal totem, they would build temples to worship it, keep incense burning continuously, and forbid the killing of that animal.

Therefore, in any region that worshiped an animal as its totem, that animal would live a very blessed life, multiplying in great numbers without fear of malicious slaughter.

Of course, there were exceptions. Generally, totems were to be respected and protected from harm, but sometimes the exact opposite happened.

There was once a tribe that specifically hunted and ate its totem animal. They believed the totem was so perfect that by eating it, its wisdom, power, and courage would be transferred to them.

That animal, tragically, was hunted to near extinction in that area.

Bai Town was one such region that worshiped a Snake totem. This was why Tu Xiao'an, the Snake King, had had such a smooth and easy time, without too many twists or hardships.

But not every animal was so lucky as to be worshiped by humans as a totem.

Take this Crow Blackbird, for example. It felt its pedigree was extremely high and that it was fully qualified to have a temple built in its honor, but unfortunately, it had never been able to achieve this wish.

Crows might have enjoyed a certain degree of favor in ancient times, but in the modern era, they were seen as inauspicious creatures that everyone detested.

People couldn't get away from you fast enough, yet you want them to build a temple and worship you? In your dreams...

So, in a fit of rage, the Blackbird cursed a village's women to have babies without little peckers, and was subsequently arrested by the Demon Management Bureau.

"Hmph... If you don't lift the curse, we'll pluck all your feathers sooner or later." The officer glared at the Crow one last time before turning to leave.

'Wow, this Blackbird is really something else.'

'When intimidation failed, it just laid down a curse.' Tu Xiao'an stared blankly at Uncle Hei next to him, his interest thoroughly piqued.

The Blackbird sneered. "I, Uncle Hei, am a Divine Bird. The people of this world are just too dull-witted to recognize quality. Even a mere magpie gets worshiped, but they won't believe in me!"

It just didn't understand... It felt like a case of heaven being jealous of great talent.

Tu Xiao'an felt that the crow should recite a poem that matched its particular style, like that one by Tang Bohu: "Others laugh at me for being too crazy; I laugh at them for failing to see."

However, this Crow didn't just want to be worshiped by the world for a bit of vanity; what it truly wanted was the people's Power of Faith.

Tu Xiao'an's Power of Faith was directly converted by his System into Faith Points, which served as currency.

But for other Spirit Monsters, the Power of Faith could likely be used to increase their strength.