Oppressive, gloomy, heavy, and hopeless—that was the final feeling of the red ball that sank to the bottom of the river. It kept trying to roll forward, but to no avail; it could only drift with the current.
"I'm about to die!" The two newly grown eyes of the red ball were stimulated by the river water and could not be opened. The red fur all over its body was gradually eroded and then spread into the skin.
After consuming the inner core of the Spirit-Eating Insect King, its body changed, and it escaped while Xiang Wan threw it towards the Yin Corpse Two-Faced Beast.
It thought to itself that since it would be following Xiang Wan from now on, it wouldn't be able to eat whatever it wanted, so it decided to be mischievous and try leaving for a while. Little did it know that by the time it realized what was happening, it was already out of the canyon.
After using it many times, it realized it had a function similar to short-distance teleportation, so it stopped thinking about going back and started looking for things to eat that suited its taste. Its eyes also grew after that.
It thought that with this ability, it would be invincible and could go wherever it wanted. Who knew that it had just used this ability and hadn't had time to recover when it fell into this unknown river.
It really couldn't think of any other way but to call out to Xiangwan.
This river seems to be able to isolate spiritual energy and corrode all living things, including itself.
The longer it stayed at the bottom of the river, the more it missed being with Xiang Wan. Even though it was always being controlled and sometimes kicked around like a ball, she would always hug it with a look of disgust and enjoyment, groom its not-so-soft fur, talk to it, scold it for its recklessness, and worry about its safety.
"If I had to choose again, I probably... would never..." The red ball gradually stopped struggling, letting the river push it forward and roll.
"Red Ball?!" Xiang Wan, covered in a mess, held the red ball, which had been eroded to the point where flesh and blood were visible, her eyes reddening.
The woman in purple sighed and took the item. "There is still a glimmer of hope. Protect it with your immortal power and nurture it for a while. Perhaps it can recover."
Xiang Wan's hands trembled as she looked at Zi Yi with hopeful eyes, then reached out to stroke the dying red ball with a sorrowful expression. Its body was a bloody mess, a tiny lump, not even the size of a palm.
After a long while, she composed herself, forced herself to remain calm, and smiled slightly: "Red Ball and I will have to trouble Master again."
Bitterness, guilt, pain, adoration... all sorts of emotions surged within Xiang Wan's heart, but what appeared on her face afterward was only a calm and composed demeanor.
A few days ago, after hearing the red ball calling in her mind, Xiang Wan asked Zi Yi to leave Sui Xu Mountain so she could save it!
Zi Yi looked at her for a long time without saying anything, and gave her a life-saving talisman, which was enhanced with his own immortal power and could withstand a full-force attack from a Mahayana cultivator.
He bid farewell in the evening, without taking the little cloud dream beast with him.
In her opinion, the little cloud dream beast definitely couldn't go to a place where even the red ball had to call for help.
She left quietly, without alerting anyone.
After leaving Suixu Mountain, a voice inside her told her that the red ball was in the West.
As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Xiang Wan had already figured out how to use teleportation, wind manipulation, and sword control techniques, allowing her to travel at breakneck speed and spare no effort.
The mountains and rivers beneath his feet are largely controlled by cultivators. Xiang Wan usually detours when encountering cultivators of the same or higher level. This is because those occupying these areas are likely unruly rogue cultivators with unpleasant tempers, and not necessarily human. They possess not only a sense of territory but also a sense of airspace control.
Xiang Wan once witnessed a cultivated bird that had flown into the airspace of a powerful being without prior notice being slapped dozens of feet deep into the ground, its flesh mangled and bloody.
She was just in a hurry and didn't want to cause trouble, much less delay the rescue of Red Ball by taking action.
Despite concealing her cultivation level and appearance, Xiang Wan, who seemed unworthy of attack to outsiders, was still targeted when she approached the deep valley where the river flowed.
The other party concealed their presence and silently landed behind her.
Xiang Wan was anxiously searching for the red ball, her mind completely focused on finding its location.
When she arrived at the edge of that barren valley, just as the man was about to make his move, Xiang Wan jumped down.
"Little beauty, you dare to venture into a place like this? You've got guts! I'll be waiting right here. It's been years since I've met someone so to my liking. When we get back, what method should I use to help you live longer? Just thinking about it excites me, hehehehehe!"
A blurry figure flashed above for a moment, then gradually disappeared into the air.
As she jumped into the air, Xiang Wan felt a suction force coming from below.
The feeling of the red ball in her heart grew stronger and stronger. Xiang Wan looked around and saw that there was no place to stand below, and the surrounding area was a barren land where not a blade of grass grew.
As she fell faster, the spiritual energy around her became increasingly difficult to circulate, as if she were stuck in a quagmire with resistance everywhere.
Xiang Wan pulled out all the weapons she could use and, as she fell, inserted them into the mountainside beside her.
In this world, all cultivators are used to using spiritual power to solve problems, but it seems to be ineffective here.
When inserting a weapon into the mountain wall, if spiritual power is used, the suction force from below will be even stronger, and movement will be hindered.
In the short distance of a few dozen feet, Xiang Wan tried dozens of times, and just before falling into the river, she managed to insert a sword into the mountain wall and stabilize herself.
The river beneath your feet flows gently and silently. But if you observe it for too long, it can give rise to extremely bleak thoughts, and you might unknowingly jump in.
Xiang Wan was searching for traces of the red ball's whereabouts, and after looking at it for a while, the calming bell at her waist suddenly began to sway silently, pulling her back to reality. When she came to her senses, her face was less than an inch from the river water.
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