In the dense forest, Shi Lan, somewhat exhausted, leaned against a tree trunk and sat down. She took out some ointment, applied it to her wound, and turned her head, shaking her head helplessly.

Two steps away, the little guy was wagging its tail, nestled against the ferocious beast, and happily munching away.

In the blink of an eye, a steelback rhinoceros that was hundreds of times its size turned into a white skeleton. The little guy, with its round belly, came to Shi Lan to act cute.

Shi Lan tapped its nose and shook her head helplessly.

The little guy twitched his long ears, snuggled up to her legs, and drifted off to sleep as she meditated.

As night deepened, Shi Lan lifted half of her skirt and covered it with it, affectionately stroking its soft, long fur.

Ever since she witnessed its outburst, she felt it resembled Mingxiao somewhat, so she named it Xiaoming. To show that she wasn't a dictator, she asked for its opinion and kindly offered to choose another name if it disagreed.

The little guy pouted, staring at the thorny pig behind her, which was gushing blood and could only lie on the ground groaning, and reluctantly nodded.

Shi Lan was very satisfied. She found a place to sit cross-legged and meditate, while Xiao Ming thoroughly enjoyed eating a whole thorny boar.

As dawn broke, Shi Lan woke Xiao Ming, straightened her skirt, and continued on her way.

Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled patterns of light. Shi Lan, weighing the noticeably heavier Xiao Ming in her hand, said, "You should lose weight. From now on, you're only allowed to eat one-third of the ferocious beasts you hunt."

Xiao Ming whimpered and rubbed against her palm repeatedly.

Shi Lan's heart softened at its words, and she could only say, "Alright, half is fine, right?"

Xiao Ming stared with her watery eyes, trying to win him over with tears.

Shi Lan knew it was just for show, but couldn't help laughing. "Just half, any more and I'll change my mind."

Xiao Ming let out a mournful cry and lay motionless in her arms, feeling as if he were dying.

Shi Lan pushed aside the branches blocking her way, thinking that it was still a cub, so she compromised, "How about I don't reduce your food intake, but I won't carry you, you'll have to walk by yourself."

Xiao Ming placed its two paws on Shi Lan's forearm, pondering which option to choose.

Shi Lan glanced down at it and smiled.

And so, the man and the beast, after discussing and negotiating, arrived in the east.

The eastern part of the divine realm is near the water. Most of the ferocious beasts and immortals here love water. Shi Lan followed the water's edge eastward and finally found a cave on an inconspicuous island.

She politely sent a message and stood quietly by the door.

After a long while, a very short, strangely-looking immortal looked out.

Shi Lan bowed politely and said, "This humble immortal came here for a visit and happened upon the immortal abode, so I came to pay my respects."

The immortal stared at Shi Lan for a while before opening the barrier.

Shi Lan smiled politely and slowly walked inside.

The immortal waved his hand and conjured a set of table and chairs, gesturing for Shi Lan to sit down.

Shi Lan followed the host's lead.

The immortal, ever hospitable, brought out teaware and brewed tea for Shi Lan.

Shi Lan thanked him and then explained her purpose directly, "This humble immortal came here but is unaware of the situation. Could you please tell me if there are any places I cannot go?"

The immortal sipped his fragrant tea and said, "Speaking of places that are not to be visited, there are indeed a few. However, I wonder what brings you here, fellow immortal? If I tell you that you should not go there, what if you intend to go there anyway? Wouldn't that ruin your plans?"

Shi Lan smiled slightly, took out a brocade box from her bosom, pushed it in front of him, and said, "I don't need to come here to play, it doesn't matter if I don't go, how could it ruin anything?"

The immortal opened the brocade box and was taken aback to find a perfectly preserved immortal herb inside. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the herb was at least ten thousand years old, and he was immediately captivated.

"There are three forbidden places in this far east. One is the Wuji Abyss in the southeast, where the seawater is so deep that even a god-king cannot find out its exact depth. Another is the Iceland in the northeast, where the entire island is occupied by a ferocious python. That python is very prolific, and its offspring are scattered all over the island. Any immortal who falls on it will not survive."

Shi Lan nodded, waited quietly for a while, and seeing his hesitation, said, "What about one more place?"

The immortal glanced at her and gave a wry smile. "There's another place not far from here. It's shrouded in mist all year round. I don't know which ferocious beast occupies it. I've been here for thousands of years and I've never seen anyone come out of it."

Shi Lan thought for a moment, then muttered to herself how coincidental it was, and calmly pushed the brocade box in front of the immortal.

"Thank you for your warning, fellow immortal. These places are too dangerous. It seems I will have to take a detour."

The immortal carefully put away the brocade box, then cupped his hands and said, "It is an honor for me to be able to help you, fellow immortal."

Shi Lan stood up, exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and then left.

Therefore, she was unaware that after she left, a dark, fleeting glimpse of light appeared.

Leaving the cave, Shi Lan rose into the air and looked around for a long time before finally noticing that one cloud was slightly different from the others. If the immortal hadn't specifically mentioned it, she probably would never have guessed that the cloud there was actually formed from rising miasma.

Shi Lan immediately urged it on, preparing to go. The little bird whimpered and circled around Shi Lan's feet. When Shi Lan lowered her head, it pitifully tried to please her.

Shi Lan knew it was hungry, so she landed on the ground and walked along the water's edge, hoping to kill a ferocious beast along the way to give Xiao Ming an extra meal.

Xiao Ming sniffed and looked around, then pointed a deep claw at something.

Shi Lan had developed an extremely good rapport with it during this period. With a flick of her delicate hand, the red ribbon immediately and gracefully disappeared into the water.

Less than two breaths later, a vibrant color enveloped an extremely fat water snake that leaped out of the water.

Shi Lan pinched her fingers, and the red ribbon immediately tightened.

The water snake hissed towards the sky and then drooped its head.

The red ribbon fluttered to the shore and loosened itself in circles.

The water snake landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

The little dog barked once, then hopped over and opened its mouth wide, sucking the dog into its belly as if it were sucking up noodles.

Shi Lan frowned and said with disdain, "You're swallowing things too hastily. At least spit out the bones."

Xiao Ming blinked its eyes, gave her a soft bark, and wagged its short tail vigorously.

Shi Lan had always doted on it, and seeing it acting clever and cunning, she had no choice but to let it be.

Having solved his hunger and thirst, Shi Lan rode the clouds straight to where the colorful clouds filled the sky.

Before even getting close, she smelled a strange, faint fragrance. Shi Lan covered her nose, quickly swallowed an antidote pill, then picked up Xiao Ming and put it far away.

"You stay here and wait for me obediently," Shi Lan tapped its forehead, "Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoming quickly stepped forward, bit her hem, and whimpered, refusing to let go.

Shi Lan reached out to pull, but Xiao Ming was no match for Shi Lan in terms of strength. Seeing that Shi Lan was about to break free, it simply fell to the ground and clung tightly to her arm with its four paws.

Shi Lan tried to calm it down for a long time, but to no avail. In the end, she had no choice but to give it an antidote pill and tell it, "Be good and don't run around."

Xiao Ming nodded repeatedly; if its paws weren't so short, it probably could have raised them up and made a vow.