“Uncle, we originally came to pick Ink Lotus for my mother, but we never expected that the Ink Lotus would have a companion beast, which was the Fifth Realm Purple Thunder Beast from yesterday… Fortunately, this young master rescued us, and I am extremely grateful…”

After Yao Ling finished speaking, she lowered her head shyly.

Yin Ming, who stood quietly watching her performance, was speechless.

He calls him "Uncle" all the time, but calls Lingyao "Young Master Brother." They don't look that much different in age, okay?

As expected, the female protagonists in novels are all just devoted admirers of the male protagonist.

Forget it, I won't argue with a thirteen or fourteen-year-old brat like you.

Seeing Ling Yao's lack of reaction and even indifference, the girl's expectant expression gradually turned into one of grievance. Her brows furrowed slightly, her red lips pursed, and her cheeks puffed out, complementing her large, watery eyes...

Yin Ming admitted that even watching from the sidelines, he felt like he had been hit hard inside; he was smitten!

But Lingyao still seemed completely unconcerned; his composure was truly remarkable.

"Ahem, what's wrong with your mother? Why does she need the Black Lotus? As far as I know, the Black Lotus has no other effects besides absorbing resentment."

Seeing the extremely awkward atmosphere and the girl's expression that looked like she was about to cry, Yin Ming quickly changed the subject.

Although the black lotus can absorb resentment, the resentment it absorbs is too mixed and cannot be absorbed by cultivators. Forcing absorption will also be harmful to the body, making it a useless item for cultivators.

But it's different for magical beasts. Their physical strength allows them to absorb mixed resentment without harming themselves, making it a rare and valuable resource for them.

That's why the Purple Thunder Beast chased after the brother and sister so desperately when they tried to steal the Ink Lotus.

Could their mother be a magical beast? Although this is a world of cultivation, magical beasts can transform into human form once they reach a certain level...

But is there really no reproductive isolation? Yin Ming's expression instantly turned strange.

With a way out, the girl's eyes immediately lit up again, and she looked at Yin Ming softly and said:

"My mother fell ill for some reason. After the elder examined her, he found that a wisp of resentment had invaded her body. The elder said that only the Black Lotus could save my mother, so my brother and I secretly slipped out to take the Black Lotus back with us."

Yao Chu, who was standing next to her, nodded in agreement.

Resentment entering the body? That's indeed difficult to deal with.

The resentment the female protagonist mentioned is not ordinary resentment; it can be described as malevolent energy. After invading the human body, it can cause mental confusion, which is the least of its problems. Over time, it can cause people to go mad and explode, leading to death.

It's a pretty cliché setting, isn't it? But there's nothing we can do about it; that's how it's written in the original work.

But it's not a big problem. Since the companion beast is gone, we can pick the black lotus and go back with the female lead to treat her mother. We can also let the male lead show off his skills. Once we've met each other's parents, the marriage can be arranged.

Is it urgent? Not at all! There are still two years left, do you think that's urgent? Yin Ming even wants to move the Civil Affairs Bureau here so they can get married right here.

To save time, Yin Ming leaped away and picked the black lotus, and the group quickly resumed their journey.

***

The group arrived at a vast grassland, where a clear spring could be faintly seen in the distance.

Yin Ming was feeling thirsty, so he thought he would go get some water to drink.

But when they got closer, they realized that this was not a spring at all, but clearly the sea.

The clear sea seemed to stretch endlessly, with mist swirling in the distance, and a mysterious island could be vaguely seen in the center of the sea.

A few dozen meters away, a winding path connects the mainland to the island, but the path looks very dangerous and is likely to be submerged by seawater at high tide.

What is this place? It looks alright, but it's a bit eerie.

Yin Ming reached out to scoop up some water and found that the seawater was not salty at all, but rather quite sweet, so he took two big gulps.

Yao Ling's eyes lit up as she looked at the sea, and she surrounded Ling Yao, chattering, "Brother Yao, this Wangdu Sea is so beautiful."

She paused, then lowered her head shyly and said, "In Ling'er's opinion, Wang Duhai's eyes are just as beautiful as Yao-gege's."

*Pfft…* Yin Ming was so shocked that he spat out the water he had just drunk. This…this…this is the Sea of ​​Oblivion? And that island, isn't it the Forbidden Forest?

Yin Ming immediately took two large steps back. It was too terrifying; he had to get away.

Lingyao simply nodded politely, then subtly took a step back to distance himself from Yaoling.

Yao Ling felt a little wronged by his aloofness towards her, but she quickly put on a smile again: "Brother Yao, would you like some water? Ling'er will go and get you some, okay?"

After saying that, she didn't care whether Ling Yao responded or not, took out her water pouch and walked towards the sea. When she passed by Yin Ming, she didn't even bother to give him a glance.

Looking at her attitude towards him and her attitude towards Ling Yao, Yin Ming silently thought to himself: "Simp!"

But unexpectedly, a sudden change occurred.

Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared where Yao Ling was drawing water. Black energy surged in the center of the whirlpool, seemingly about to devour everything.

Seeing Yao Ling being swept away by the suction force and about to be dragged into the vortex, Yin Ming, who was closest, quickly waved his hand, and resentment transformed into a chain that wrapped around Yao Ling's waist, pulling her back.

Without realizing it, Yao Ling was pulled into Yin Ming's arms.

The two were in a somewhat ambiguous position. Yin Ming had his arm around Yao Ling's waist, while Yao Ling, still shaken by the sudden turn of events, buried her head in Yin Ming's chest and clung to him tightly.

Despite her slender frame, Yao Ling's waist was wrapped with such force that Yin Ming felt breathless.

Realizing what was happening, Yin Ming immediately withdrew his hand from Yao Ling's waist, but Yao Ling didn't seem to want to let go of him. Yin Ming tentatively pushed her shoulder—but she didn't budge.

Yin Ming immediately raised both hands to show his innocence. "Look for yourself, male lead. She was the one who wanted to hug me. It has nothing to do with me. I didn't touch her either."

At this moment, large patches of dark clouds rapidly gathered in the sky, and a white dragon emerged from the clouds.

The dragon opened its mouth and unleashed more than a dozen light blades at the center of the vortex, causing a series of ripples before the vortex gradually calmed down.

Just when Yin Ming thought the battle was over, a huge column of water suddenly rose from the sea, and a Nine Heavens Mystic Serpent appeared in the water column.

Yin Ming was utterly astonished. Was he witnessing gods fighting? After all, to Yin Ming, these two creatures only existed in myths and legends, and now they were appearing alive before his eyes—it was simply too dreamlike.

But these two legendary mythical beasts don't seem to be very strong?

After carefully sensing the surroundings, Yin Ming determined that the white dragon was at the advanced stage of the sixth realm, while the Nine Heavens Mystic Serpent was at the initial stage of the seventh realm.

Oh, he's making a fuss over nothing. These two creatures are just a type of magical beast in the cultivation world. So here's the important part—can't he easily defeat these two magical beasts? Hehehe.

The two demonic beasts clashed and fought in the air. After only a dozen or so rounds, the white dragon was struck by the resentment of the Nine Heavens Serpent, and its massive body was slammed onto the shore, almost hitting Yin Ming, a bystander.

It's truly like a person standing on the seashore and a dragon descending from the sky.

Yin Ming moved to the side with difficulty. Don't ask, the answer is that he still had a human-shaped accessory hanging on him.

The Nine Heavens Serpent relentlessly pursued them, unleashing another blade of light from its mouth.

Ugh, what a mess this is.