"Ling Feng, congratulations! If I'm not mistaken, this is the core of the secret realm. It now recognizes you as its master, and this secret realm is yours from now on."

"Really?" Xiao Lingfeng still couldn't believe it, when suddenly a childish voice appeared in his mind.

"Mom, I'm hungry, I want to eat something."

Xiao Lingfeng glanced in shock at the chick that was still clutching his finger and pecking incessantly.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, aren't you my mom? I want to eat something delicious. I'm so hungry!" the chick said, looking at Xiao Lingfeng with teary eyes.

"I'm not your mother, I'm a man, can you please call me something else?" Xiao Lingfeng's tone softened considerably upon hearing her sweet, childlike voice.

"Not Mommy? Is that Daddy? Daddy, I want to eat something delicious!" The chick tilted its head and thought for a moment, then changed its name and patted its little belly with its wing.

"Xiao Ning, it's hungry. Get it some food."

Jian Ning glanced at the chick, took out two low-grade spirit stones from her storage bracelet, and placed them in front of it.

"Xiao Ning, did you take the wrong one? This is a spirit stone, how can you eat it?"

Before Xiao Lingfeng could finish speaking, the chick pounced on it and quickly devoured both spirit stones.

Then it flapped its wings, tilted its little head, and chirped a few times.

"I want more, it's not enough."

"Xiao Ning, give it two more pieces, it's not full!"

After Xiao Lingfeng finished speaking, he curiously squatted down and watched as Jian Ning took out three spirit stones, which he then devoured in a whirlwind.

He looked up at Jian Ning and asked.

"Won't this make me sick?"

"It's alright. I guess this chick is just a form it has transformed into. We don't even know what its original form is yet. Newly hatched spirit beasts need spiritual energy. It won't hurt it."

"Here are some spirit stones for you. You can feed it whenever it gets hungry." Jian Ning generously handed Xiao Lingfeng a storage bag filled with low-grade spirit stones.

If you want to eat well, you'll have to wait until the spirit stone mine is mined out.

We're lucky to have anything to eat right now.

"Let's go, let's take the leader to get something to eat, and then we'll go out. The people outside are definitely getting impatient."

As Jian Ning spoke, she took out a large bowl of millet porridge from her spatial storage and also served it with two tea eggs.

She handed it to Xiao Lingfeng, not intending to reveal to the leader that she had a storage space.

Xiao Lingfeng took them and put them into his own space before walking out of the small building with Jian Ning.

The chicks had just finished eating the spirit stones and quickly followed, chirping incessantly.

Xiao Lingfeng had no choice but to bend down and pick it up. This was really troublesome; he had a pet and now he couldn't put it down.

As soon as he stepped out of the small building, Huang Fugui, who was carrying two large fish, saw the chick in Xiao Lingfeng's hand.

"What is this? Can it talk?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the chick flew off Xiao Lingfeng's hand and landed directly on Huang Fugui's head. It ruffled Huang Fugui's fur with its paws a couple of times before settling down comfortably.

"Fugui, this chick likes you, so why don't you help raise it for a while?" Xiao Lingfeng finally had some free time and quickly said to Huang Fugui.

"Really? That works too."

Huang Fugui curiously poked at the chick on his head. He figured it was quite novel, so he didn't take it off. He kept it on his head and swayed ahead, quite happy.

They quickly returned to the thatched hut. Jian Ning put Huang Fugui back into her spatial storage and then removed the array.

The commander opened his eyes as soon as he walked in.

I must have woken up when I heard footsteps.

However, his complexion has improved considerably; his face has regained color and is no longer as pale as before. It seems that ginseng is quite effective at replenishing blood.

"Commander, have something to eat first, then we'll leave." Xiao Lingfeng took out millet porridge and tea eggs and handed them to him.

The leader didn't stand on ceremony; after waking up, he was indeed hungry again. He quickly finished a large bowl of millet porridge.

"Where am I? I was soaking in a hot spring, but suddenly I was sucked here by a suction force."

Thankfully, I sensed something was wrong and grabbed the pistol. That's why I was able to chase the tiger away when we encountered it.

The leader handed the empty bowl to Xiao Lingfeng and asked a question.

"Well, this is a separate space. It's connected to the hot spring water. We just happened to come in. After we leave this time, it probably won't be easy for us to come back in."

Xiao Lingfeng couldn't explain the formation to his superior; it was too incredible to ordinary people. So he decided to keep quiet. Some secrets were best kept to themselves.

"Oh. Let's go then. Just find me a branch to lean on. I'm not so immobile yet." The commander sat up from the recliner, wanting to walk by himself, but Xiao Lingfeng stopped him.

“Your leg is injured, so I can carry you. If we encounter that tiger, we can run faster.”

"Alright, then thank you for your trouble." The commander also agreed with Xiao Lingfeng; the most important thing was to leave this place as soon as possible.

With so many ferocious beasts around, what if they encounter one? They might end up as tiger food.

So he had Xiao Lingfeng carry him and quickly walked towards the exit. Now the map of this secret realm was in Xiao Lingfeng's mind.

I walked in that direction without the slightest hesitation.

When I came out, it was as if I had just broken through a barrier and stepped into the hot spring water.

To prevent the leader's leg injury from getting wet, Xiao Lingfeng immediately erected a spiritual energy shield as soon as they came out, carrying the leader on his back as they surfaced in one breath.

As soon as it peeked out, someone exclaimed in surprise.

"He's out, he's out! Captain Xiao, is that you?"

"It's me. The commander has been found and is safe and sound."

Upon hearing Xiao Lingfeng's words, a cheer erupted inside the cave, and the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the leader is alright, their hard work that night was not in vain.

They hurriedly pulled Xiao Lingfeng ashore and were surprised to see that the old commander's clothes were not wet, but no one asked what had happened.

"Old commander, you've suffered so much. It's all my fault for not taking good care of you." Commander Wu held the old commander's hand, extremely moved. If anything had happened to him, he truly couldn't bear the responsibility.

"How can I blame you? It was all an accident. Let's go back." The old commander had just finished speaking when Xiao Lingfeng bent down and carried him on his back again.

"I'll take the commander back first. It's too cold outside. You should all put on your coats when you come out." After saying that, he nodded to Jian Ning and walked out quickly.

It's so cold outside, and the commander is only wearing a spring/autumn tracksuit. He definitely can't stand being out here. He's protected by a spiritual energy shield, preventing the cold air from getting in. Taking the commander back is the most suitable choice.

So without being polite to the other soldiers, he picked them up and ran.