Chapter 162 Chapter 162

Based on the intelligence currently collected, Xia Muqing is 70% sure that the sword-tailed tiger's plan is related to the spirit tree.

But even knowing this, the full picture of the plan was still shrouded in a thick veil, making it difficult for her to see clearly no matter how hard she tried.

"We're still missing some key information." Xia Muqing muttered in a low voice.

However, her goal had shifted from "contracting a divine beast cub" to "getting to the bottom of this matter." So, Xia Muqing planned to follow the direction indicated by the black snake and explore the west.

The little golden rose collapsed exhausted on the back of Lord Feng Luo, and was swept forward rapidly by the ice-blue mysterious current, with blue and golden light shining against each other.

The Nether Butterfly moved closer to it, and a lavender light flashed - abundant life energy swept in from between heaven and earth, continuously pouring into the little rose's body.

The little golden rose's eyes suddenly lit up: "Shasha?"

What an amazing ability! It immediately perked up and gained strength!

Xia Muqing smiled and said, "Don't be envious. Xiao Zi wasn't able to master this energy right from the start. By the way, Little Rose, can you use your special ability to bless Xiao Zi's abilities?"

She wanted to study the limits of Little Rose's characteristics and see to what extent it could be used. To a large extent, this would also be the key to influencing the Swordtail Tiger plan.

The little golden rose nodded happily, and a faint golden light shone from its blooming bud. A slender thread of golden light silently connected the Nether Butterfly and the Golden Rose, emitting a soft glow like the early sun.

The Nether Butterfly felt it for a while, then waved its tentacles at Xia Muqing: "Ah!"

It was a powerful blessing, and it felt the power surging within its body!

However, the Golden Rose's reserves of profound energy were clearly insufficient, and granting the Nether Butterfly a buff wasn't easy. Before long, its energy visibly waned, and its spirit, which had just perked up, began to wane once more.

Seeing this, the Nether Butterfly was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and swung out a stream of life energy.

Little Rose: “……!”

It works again!

The two mysterious beasts fought back and forth. This perpetual motion-like way of playing was very new to them, and they gradually began to have a lot of fun. As the purple and golden energies intertwined back and forth, they gradually intertwined into a colorful torrent in mid-air.

At the beginning, it was just a string-like thread, which gradually expanded in the interaction, turned into a trickle, gathered into waves - and finally converged into a huge vortex like a spring!

Standing beside the vortex, Xia Muqing felt the immense force transform into ripples that spread through the air, and suddenly felt a throbbing sensation in her heart. It seemed that if she allowed these two little guys to continue, this force would become truly terrifying.

"Eh?"

The Nether Butterfly felt something was wrong and quickly cut off the supply of mysterious power.

The vortex continued for another ten seconds before slowly dissipating, and the surroundings returned to calm. The little golden rose collapsed on Feng Luo Lord's back, blinking her large, watery eyes and looking pitifully at Xia Muqing: "Sha, sha, sha..."

It couldn't do it anymore. It was too exhausted. Its current profound strength wasn't enough to sustain the blessing and interaction it had just experienced. After all, its strength was far inferior to that of the Nether Butterfly.

There was a gentle breeze and silence all around.

Lord Fengluo and the little golden dragon looked at each other. The little golden dragon's eyelids twitched slightly, and after a long while, he uttered a string of bubbles: "Ah?"

If it saw it correctly, that was... a cooperative skill?

A golden rose that had just been promoted to a first-level mysterious beast actually used the prototype of a cooperative skill with the Nether Butterfly that had already become a divine beast?

The mysterious beasts were both surprised and delighted. The power of coordinated skills was self-evident; just look at Xu Ling's contracted mysterious beasts, the Mountain Erosion Ape, and the Prison Suppression Chain. Unfortunately, none of Xia Muqing's contracted mysterious beasts had yet developed a complete coordinated skill.

Although Koi Fish and Wind Dog had once used something resembling a coordinated technique during a competition long ago, to be honest, they had done it with great difficulty, simply mixing and mingling. Later, as the two raced further and further apart, they each mastered their own special moves, leaving them with even less room to practice coordinated techniques.

The same is true for the Nether Butterfly. Its attributes and skills are obviously different from the other two. If we have to talk about cooperation, using life energy to help the Gilded Sky Dragon become a stronger form can be barely considered related - but that is because they are also contaminated with dragon breath.

All of this was just a passing mention, but the vortex formed between the Golden Rose and the Nether Butterfly at this moment was indeed the prototype of a combined skill. Moreover, just by looking at the fluctuations of profound energy emitted by the skill, one could imagine how powerful the move was.

"Ouch?"

[Could it be that Xiao Zi and Xiao Meigui have a high degree of compatibility in attributes? ]

The little golden dragon held its chin with the tip of its tail, a thoughtful expression on its face: "Ah..."

[It's possible, after all, they say "Butterfly Loves Flower"! And you see, Xiao Zi is very good at using life energy to heal others, she's a very friendly nurse, right? Xiao Meigui is also gentle and indifferent, and looks easy to bully... No, she's the type who's easy to get along with. Isn't this a perfect match?]

“……?”

The Nether Butterfly landed lightly on Xia Muqing's shoulder: "Ah!"

【Master, don't listen to their nonsense. 】

I can sense that Little Rose's profound energy is extremely tolerant. Even when it comes into contact with profound energy of different attributes, the repulsive force it generates is much smaller than normal. If it's profound energy of similar attributes, the affinity is even higher. Add to that the blessing effect of its characteristics on profound beasts, and the fusion effect is simply multiplied.

[In short, I feel that it has great potential to be tapped into - perhaps it is a versatile Mystical Beast that can use synergistic skills with any Mystical Beast!]

“……!” Xia Muqing’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Is it the extremely inclusive Xuanli attribute?

This is truly rare, even more surprising than rare features. Furthermore, this is a part of the game that has never been touched upon, with no prompt message, similar to hidden data that does not appear directly on the panel.

In addition, because it cannot directly constitute combat power, this potential is difficult to be discovered on a daily basis. Unless one truly comes into contact with and has a deep understanding of this little mysterious beast, this unparalleled talent of its may remain in a state of obscurity for a long time.

Regardless, this Golden Rose is becoming increasingly suitable for their team! Xia Muqing smiled with a smile on her face. This was exactly what she wanted—the most suitable one would be the strongest.

So, on the second half of the journey, Xia Muqing quietly guided her: "Little Rose, which area were you born in?"

"Sector 7? It seems very chaotic there, with frequent spatial fluctuations."

"Of course, the human world doesn't have that much spatial fluctuation. Aside from a few bad guys causing trouble, it's generally a place of love and peace. The area of ​​activity is very vast, and with various means of transportation, it's very convenient. You can go wherever you want."

"There's no need to worry about food or survival. As for entertainment, there's cinemas, amusement parks, arcades... everything you need. There's also a variety of TV shows and variety shows. Xiao Zi loves binge-watching them, and Xiao Jin enjoys watching anime and playing games—right?"

The three little ones and Xia Muqing were in perfect sync and immediately began to "praise" the human world in various ways.

The Nether Butterfly bore the brunt of the attack: "Ahhhh!"

Yes, yes, this TV series is so good! The latest hit, the one about the century-long romance between the Luo Xing Que and the Deep Scaled Sea Whale, had me crying from beginning to end in every episode. The fleeting yet eternal love between the bird and the fish is so touching! I bought all their merchandise, plus tickets for next month's offline support!

The little golden dragon was not to be outdone: "Ahhhhhhhh!"

Let's get started! Video games are the ultimate entertainment option, okay? AAA blockbusters are so exciting! Online five-person matches are even more exciting! Come on, do you want to give it a try? I'll take you to the top of the world all night long.

“…” Lord Feng Luo blinked, feeling a little unable to get a word in.

Its entertainment activities are not as rich as the other two, and it spends more time on the training ground.

But it doesn't matter, Lord Fengluo also has his favorite part. He recalled the barbecue he had eaten over the years and couldn't help but drool: "Awoo——"

The food in the human world is so delicious! There's so much variety! For example, roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork belly, roast pork kidneys, roast chicken wings...

"..." Xia Muqing was a little amused, "Are you guys exposing your own wealth?"

"Xiao Zi, you can be a fan, but you have to be moderate. Xiao Jin, you can't play games all night long. Don't force me to confiscate your game console later. And Xiao Feng, barbecue isn't considered a cuisine, right?"

And then again, isn't the Golden Rose a carnivorous beast?

"But it's true that we have a wide variety of delicious food over there. We have floral dews of various flavors specially customized for plant-type profound beasts, and for daily use, we also have all kinds of pleasant-smelling perfumes..."

Even nutritional supplements can be made into flavors you like. Xia Muqing is no longer the stingy little girl who used to nibble on bread to save nutritional supplements for her profound beasts. She has ample financial resources to buy the best rations for her contracted profound beasts, regardless of price, ensuring they are nutritious and tasty.

Although the three little ones revealed many of their little secrets in excitement, the novel information really made Golden Rose open her eyes wide with anticipation.

In the Swordtail Tiger's repeated "admonitions," human beastmasters were always portrayed as evil-hearted, and human society was a vast cage, where the profound beasts lived without any freedom, forced to obey the beastmaster's orders and do many things that went against their will. But now, from the mouths of the Netherworld Butterfly and other beasts, a different side of human society unfolded before Little Rose, like a scroll, revealing only joy and harmony.

The Yiyuan Secret Realm is known as the "paradise" for the cubs of mysterious beasts, but to be honest, life there is still too boring.

In Xiao Jinlong's words, without game consoles, anime, TV series, e-books, or short videos, how can one survive such a dry life?

Oh, yes, you still have to "eat bran and vegetables" - although there are many precious materials in the alien space, to be honest, most of those things taste bitter and astringent when eaten raw, and are as unpalatable as Coptis chinensis.

The buds on the little rose's head fluttered in the wind, clearly quite excited. But after a moment, it covered its cheeks in confusion: "...rustling?"

[I heard that in human society, mysterious beasts are forced to fight each other? And unqualified mysterious beasts are eliminated?]

This was also what the Sword-Tailed Tiger repeatedly reminded the young Xuan Beasts in the "Paradise", saying that human beastmasters were keen on letting their Xuan Beasts fight each other, and that their students, starting from high school, would drive the Xuan Beasts onto the stage in monthly exams to fight to the death until the winner was decided - and there were many people watching and commenting nearby.

In Golden Rose's mind, an image inevitably formed: two wounded profound beasts, forced to kill each other in the Colosseum, while humans nearby chatted and laughed as if nothing had happened. The cleaner, expressionless, swept the floor with a mop, dragging the dead profound beast away to replace the next one...

"rustle."

It was so scary that after listening to the sword-tailed tiger's story, it was so scared that it couldn't sleep well for several nights.

After listening to the Golden Rose's gestures, the three confused little ones said: "..."

Oh my god, isn't this too alarmist? This is completely destroying the reputation of the human world!

Lord Feng Luo: "Ouch?"

"The exam is a duel, yes, but it's not what you're talking about. It's a friendly competition, and the teacher will be watching over us, ensuring no beasts get hurt."

Little Golden Dragon: "Ah!"

"Yeah, we fight on the field, but we're still good friends after the exam. I used to play online games with Xiangyun Beast all the time!"

Xia Muqing shook her head helplessly.

Xiao Jin's constant chatter about games suggests he's become addicted to the internet again. But that's something we'll discuss later. After all, Xiao Jin didn't interfere with the main task. Xia Muqing was more concerned about the following: "Has the Swordtail Tiger always been promoting the human world this way?"

The little golden rose paused and lowered her head embarrassedly: "Shasha."

"I don't know either, I haven't been here long after all. At least that's what they told me... Woohoo, could you please not tell Master Baihu? Master Baihu actually forbade me to say this."

Xia Muqing rubbed the soft bud of the little rose and nodded thoughtfully.

If the Swordtail Tiger has always been advertised like this in the park, it seems that the difficulty for other team members to light up the spirit leaves has increased by more than twice...

As they walked and talked, they gradually arrived at the west side of the paradise. According to the black snake's description, Xia Muqing found a pool of water behind a stone wall. Small streams of water slowly gathered from under the tangled grass and branches, forming a moist depression in the shade.

This place was a bit close to the waterfall area that Xue Yao had originally chosen, and the water vapor was very rich. The Golden Rose liked this warm and humid environment very much. She happily dipped her vines in the water and whispered to Xia Muqing, "Rustle."

When I was a beast myself, I didn't dare come here. There were some really fierce beasts here, and they always got aggressive towards me.

[But today, they seem to be gone——]

Before he finished speaking, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the lake!

A half-meter-tall mysterious beast emerged from the water. It was made entirely of vines. At first glance, it looked like a spherical dead branch, but two slender vines extended from the top. They were gray-brown like cold iron and covered with sharp thorns.

"sand?"

[Hey, guess who it is, isn't this the weakling Rose? ]

"You've evolved to the first level, yet you're still so weak. You're truly a disgrace to Paradise. Why haven't the adults kicked you out yet?"

The new mysterious beast glanced at the golden rose and raised its vine in disdain. Then, it spotted Xia Muqing and the others behind it and immediately became alert again.

"rustle?"

[You've teamed up with humans?!]

Its bulbous body was dotted with seven or eight bulges. With a few soft swish sounds, the bulges silently burst open, revealing sharp spines. The new beast instantly transformed from a gray pile of firewood into a ferocious hedgehog.

When the golden rose saw it, it took a few steps back in fear.

It was obviously very scared, and its whole body began to tremble subconsciously, especially the flower bud, which shook the most violently - as if it had been pierced mercilessly by those sharp thorns.

“Shh, shah!”

[They are my friends, just here to look around - you, you don't mess around! ]

Little Rose's voice trembled as she spoke, and the whole beast shrank back behind Xia Muqing.

This was a subconscious gesture of seeking the protection of a reliable person, but the new mysterious beast had clearly misunderstood its meaning. It glared furiously, this time not only at Golden Rose, but also at Xia Muqing and the three little ones. "Swish, swish, swish?"

"Okay, I understand! You're clinging to the humans and seeking revenge on me!"

"Hmph, no matter how many beasts you bring, it won't change the fact that you're a weakling. Go ahead and hide. You can hide behind humans for a while, but can you hide forever?"

The Golden Rose's tongue was obviously not that eloquent. It was stammering and unable to get a word in after being attacked by the other party. The more it listened, the more depressed it became. The buds that had been blooming in the wind drooped at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the color of the buds became much darker.

No, it thought aggrievedly, it just brought its new friend to find what she wanted. After being beaten before, it never dared to approach this area again - it could not afford to hide even if it was beaten.

The Golden Rose's trembling appearance quickly aroused the three little ones' protective desire. The Nether Butterfly flapped its wings and flew up into the wind, and the light purple profound energy spread in the air: "Ah!"

[Why are you so fierce? Come and fight if you dare!]

The Nether Butterfly's profound power is pure and powerful, and the pressure it releases is also at the level of a beast king.

The new mysterious beast that emerged from the lake didn't dare to confront it head-on. It turned sideways and moved to the side, but still said unyieldingly: "Shasha!"

[Fighting with you—please, I'm only four months old, still a cub, and how old are you? Bullying the weak is nothing special. You're just the same kind of idiot as that noob Rose.]

"Even if you beat me, it won't mean anything. Humph, when I'm your age, I'll definitely be better than all of you!"

Nether Butterfly: “……!”

The Nether Butterfly was so angry that it waved its tentacles repeatedly, but it had to admit that what the other party said made sense.

Whether it is it, Lord Fengluo, or Gilded Sky Dragon who comes forward to seek justice for Little Rose, the other party can use this reason to refute it. However, bullying the weak by the strong is indeed not glorious even if one wins.

Xia Muqing, who had been observing from the side and was feeling worried, finally spoke.

"What if, under my command, Little Rose fights you?"

She smiled and revealed the new beast's name: "Feng Gunjing, you seem to possess a powerful talent. Perhaps this has fueled your arrogance."

"But I'm sorry, in my opinion, Golden Rose's potential is no less than yours."