After finishing his meal, Qing Xuanzi saw the small golden plate there, which looked like a small golden mountain.
He asked Xiao Jin, "Xiao Jin, after a third-tier spirit beast signs a contract with a human, shouldn't it be able to freely change its form and size? Why are you still the same?"
Xiao Jin shook her head: "I don't want to shrink, it's uncomfortable."
Upon hearing this, Qing Xuanzi used his divine sense to search inside the Qiankun Bracelet. After a while, he took out two spirit beast bags and probed them with his divine sense. The bags were quite large.
He asked Xiao Jin, "Xiao Jin, I think you're too big. We need to speed up our journey tomorrow, and your size is too inconvenient. Why don't you go into the spirit beast pouch?"
Xiao Jin felt uncomfortable all over when it saw the small bag, and let out a few urgent hissing sounds.
Qing Xuanzi nodded: "Alright, if you don't want to go in, then you don't have to. But you'll shrink tomorrow, and I'll take you with me."
Xiao Jin nodded, then rested her head on her body and closed her eyes to rest.
…………
The next morning, after finishing his cultivation, Qing Xuanzi, with the small gold pendant that had grown to the thickness of a wrist hanging around his neck, continued on his journey with Rong Jiaojiao.
Perhaps their good luck had run out in the first two days, because in the following days they did not encounter any top-quality spiritual herbs like the previous two times.
Of course, Rong Jiaojiao also occasionally harvests medicinal herbs such as century-old Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng.
However, because Qing Xuanzi kept adding wood essence to her cultivation, Rong Jiaojiao's cultivation level improved a lot. It seems that if she continues to cultivate with wood essence for another month or so, her cultivation level will probably break through to the Great Perfection of the Dao Realm.
This rapid progress forced Qing Xuanzi to rack his brains to come up with an excuse to cover up her rapid cultivation advancement.
Then say that you obtained a Yuanli Zhuguo in the mountains and got a few fruits, which is why you progressed so quickly.
In the evening, Qing Xuanzi stood halfway up a mountain, preparing to spend the night there.
He estimated that they would be in the capital in about four or five days. He was quite happy at the thought of seeing his fellow disciples and quickly set up the tent.
He was cooking, and Rong Jiaojiao was clamoring for cucumber salad. Qing Xuanzi deliberately brought out a basin for her and told her to wash it herself.
At this moment, Rong Jiaojiao was splashing water on Ziling. Ziling shook its fur and splashed water all over Rong Jiaojiao, causing Rong Jiaojiao to scream repeatedly.
As the man and the sable were having a good time, Qing Xuanzi looked up at them, but his gaze swept over a wisp of smoke rising from a mountain hollow not far away.
Judging by its size, it's not small; it's at least a small village.
Although he was quite close to them, Qing Xuanzi didn't intend to disturb them, so he continued cooking.
Just as they finished cooking and were about to eat, Qing Xuanzi, a weasel, and a snake all sensed someone approaching.
The little gold, which would normally revert to its original form after a rest, immediately shrank and crawled to Qing Xuanzi's feet.
Rong Jiaojiao was only focused on playing and eating, and didn't sense any danger; she didn't care about anything.
Sensing the wary attitude of her master and Zi Ling, she looked at her master with a puzzled expression.
Qing Xuanzi sensed a group of men coming down from the mountain. They were carrying hunting rifles, bows and arrows, and prey, clearly returning from a hunt and passing by.
Although Qing Xuanzi and his group were still more than ten meters away from the main road the pedestrians were going to take, the people naturally saw the conspicuous tent.
As the group drew closer, Qing Xuanzi overheard them discussing their hunting haul for the day, their voices tinged with a mixture of pride and exhaustion.
They seemed to have nothing special about them, just like ordinary hunters.
Qing Xuanzi withdrew his divine sense and continued cooking, thinking that he would pretend nothing had happened once they passed by.
However, when the hunters got to within a few dozen meters of Qing Xuanzi's tent, they discovered them.
They whispered for a while, and then a few people in the group came toward them.
They stopped about five or six meters away from Qing Xuanzi and his group. The leader was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat shrewd. His gaze fell on Qing Xuanzi's tent, and a hint of doubt and wariness flashed in his eyes.
"Hey, where are you from? What are you doing in these mountains?" he asked loudly, his voice carrying a hint of authority and scrutiny.
Qing Xuanzi frowned slightly, stopped what he was doing, and looked up at the group of hunters.
As these people approached, he could sense their fierce martial arts aura, and each of them possessed considerable skill.
He didn't expect these people to come up to him and talk to him, especially since their tone was somewhat unfriendly.
He thought for a moment and decided to respond to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. "We went into the mountains to collect herbs and were just passing through. We plan to rest here for the night and leave tomorrow."
Qing Xuanzi spoke in a calm tone, trying his best to make his voice sound non-hostile.
The man's scrutiny intensified. He couldn't sense Qing Xuanzi's martial arts level, but he could feel the pressure he was under.
He pressed on, "Gathering herbs? What kind of person would gather herbs with a baby like this?"
Qing Xuanzi understood. Did this person suspect that he was a bad person who kidnapped children?
He called out to Rong Jiaojiao, "Jiaobao, tell these uncles and elders what you called me?"
Rong Jiaojiao said in her childish voice, "Uncle and grandpa, this is my master. My master is very powerful."
The middle-aged man's expression softened somewhat as he said, "Then tell me, what are you doing in the mountains?"
Rong Jiaojiao counted on her fingers as she answered, "Gathering herbs, hunting, traveling, cultivating, Uncle, that's all."
After speaking, she raised her small face and looked at the middle-aged man with a serious expression, her face full of sincerity.
The middle-aged man looked at Rong Jiaojiao's innocent and naive appearance, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.
He frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something, but quickly regained his serious expression.
He turned to look at Qing Xuanzi, his tone tinged with a hint of probing: "Brother, you don't look like an ordinary herb gatherer. Could you tell me your true identity?"
Qing Xuanzi smiled slightly, already having formed a judgment in his mind.
These people looked like hunters from the mountains, but they carried an unusual and fierce aura. Although they were very reserved, they were clearly of extraordinary origin.
Instead of answering directly, he asked, "Brother, we're just passing through and don't want to cause you any trouble. And who are you? Why are you so concerned about our identities?"
The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, clearly not expecting Qing Xuanzi to ask such a direct question.
He was silent for a moment, as if weighing something, before finally speaking: "We are hunters from these mountains, and we make a living by hunting here. Things have been a bit unsettled in the mountains lately, which is why we asked a few more questions."
Qing Xuanzi nodded, indicating his understanding.
He knew that these hunters were definitely not ordinary mountain people; the hidden murderous intent and vigilance they exuded clearly indicated that they had been trained.
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