Spirit Beast
Yunyin traveled swiftly and finally landed slowly in an unfamiliar mountain range after a day and night.
The location was completely unfamiliar, so Ruan Qingyu tried to recall the direction Yunyin had fled in. She took out a map and began to estimate her current location.
Yunyin shook his fur on the spot. Although he still had some spiritual energy left after running all night, his appetite suddenly surged into his brain.
He then looked at Ruan Qingyu expectantly, thinking that he would wait for her to finish looking at the map so that he could find a place to catch some monsters to satisfy his appetite.
Meanwhile, after repeatedly examining the map, Ruan Qingyu was somewhat surprised. The entire mountain range was covered in red, even the trees growing there were fiery red.
It clearly comes from the Sacred Fire Mountains in the northern part of Yuzhou. This place is included in the map issued by Xuantian Sect because it intersects with Dingzhou.
The Sacred Fire Mountain Range can be considered a sacred cultivation ground for fire-attribute cultivators, simply because the fire spiritual energy here is three times that of other places.
If a fire-elemental cultivator cultivates here for a month, it's equivalent to three months elsewhere. However, the most famous part of this place is the lava cave in the central sacred volcano, where occasionally spirit fire of considerable level appears.
Not to mention fire-attribute cultivators, even alchemists and other cultivators who need spiritual fire are eager to obtain the spiritual fire of the Sacred Volcano.
As Ruan Qingyu was still pondering whether she should stay a little longer, her skirt suddenly seemed to be torn open by something.
With a rip, the skirt was completely ruined.
This immediately made Ruan Qingyu look down, her lips twitching: "Do you really think you're some kind of little pet? With that one swipe of yours, my clothes are ruined!"
Seeing the hem of the robe, which barely offered any protection against dust, being torn apart by his claw and reduced to ordinary clothing, Yun Yin took a half-step back, intending to flee.
The next moment, Yun Yin's ear was grabbed by Ruan Qingyu: "You just got some spirit stones, and you're already trying to squander them?"
Seeing that the Cloud-Hidden Beast's eyes widened in surprise, Ruan Qingyu released her grip and slapped it on the head.
"I'm hungry, I'm going to catch some monsters to eat." With that, Yunyin dashed off into the distance.
Ruan Qingyu, who remained where she was, only had time to catch a glimpse of Yun Yin's back before shaking her head in resignation.
They simply set up the defensive formation on the spot. They hadn't rested for two consecutive days, and although they were now in the Foundation Establishment stage, they were still a bit tired. They decided to take a break while Yunyin went to find food.
But this rare tranquility was short-lived, as it was shattered by Yunyin returning from their hunt. With a few heavy thuds as objects fell to the ground, Ruan Qingyu opened her eyes.
Two demonic beasts came into view. One had a particularly obvious wound on its neck and was already dead. The other looked like it was still breathing, but its eyes were full of fear.
Yun Yin's voice rang in Ruan Qingyu's consciousness: "This living spirit beast's aura is extremely similar to that of the person from Xuantian Sect who stole your mission that day."
Blinking, Ruan Qingyu's expression remained calm, but she carefully examined the still trembling spirit beast once more. Its fiery red fur, if not for Yun Yin's reminder, would have led her to believe it was a unique monster from the Sacred Fire Mountains.
Since Yunyin said the aura was similar, then it must be the other person. It's just that it's unclear why this person always appears in the form of a spirit beast. Since he doesn't want to change back, Ruan Qingyu won't let Yunyin actually eat him.
“You are a spirit beast.” Ruan Qingyu looked at the fiery red spirit beast and said with certainty.
The spirit beast, which was still trembling, seemed to know that it couldn't escape, so it simply moved closer to Ruan Qingyu's feet, as if it wanted to act cute.
Before it could even get close, Yunyin swatted it away with a claw. A low growl followed, a clear warning to the spirit beast to stay away from Ruan Qingyu.
The spirit beast trembled, and the originally fluffy spirit beast instantly shrank, looking at it roughly like an ordinary bird in the mortal world.
Before Ruan Qingyu could ask any further questions, the red-feathered bird said, "I am not an ordinary spirit beast. I am a demon cultivator who is skilled in alchemy. My bloodline is inherited from the Fire Phoenix."
Alchemy? It seems this fellow disciple is also an alchemist. Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingyu raised her hand: "Yunyin, you can leave this Fire Phoenix to me."
Upon hearing this, Yun Yin spat out two bolts of lightning from his nostrils, tacitly agreeing. He continued to devour the other silent demon beast, occasionally casting a glance towards the Fire Phoenix.
Seeing Huo Luan trembling with fear at Yun Yin's words, Ruan Qingyu took a deep breath and punched Yun Yin on the head: "Don't scare people."
He then smiled and said gently, "Although I don't know why you maintain the appearance of a spirit beast, my friend Lei Bao told me that you are a fellow disciple of the Xuan Tian Sect."
She had assumed Ruan Qingyu was a kind-hearted cultivator, but to her surprise, the other party recognized her identity as soon as he spoke.
Seeing this, the Fire Phoenix stopped pretending. Accompanied by a clear bird song, the Fire Phoenix returned to human form in a burst of fiery red light.
This was quite a spectacle, which made Yun Yin somewhat envious. This Fire Phoenix's cultivation was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, yet it could transform into human form, clearly indicating that its bloodline was not pure.
He was the only ancient thunder leopard in the world, born and raised by nature. To transform into human form, he would need to reach at least the Nascent Soul stage.
"Greetings, fellow disciple. Thank you for your mercy, fellow Daoist and your pet. I am deeply grateful." Fire Phoenix spoke gently, trying to appear as harmless as possible.
She had been perched in a tree when she was captured by Yun Yin. Moreover, the Thunder Leopard's cultivation was clearly superior to hers, and she thought her life was hanging by a thread. Unexpectedly, the beast pet of the other party was quite intelligent and spared her life because it had seen her before.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Huo Luan. We are both in the early stages of Foundation Establishment. You may call me Qing Yu." Alchemists are rare in Dingzhou. Don't underestimate Huo Luan just because of her low cultivation level. If she has superb alchemy skills, she will be the one who benefits.
Seeing that Ruan Qingyu's attitude remained gentle throughout and that she did not look down on her because she was a spirit beast in disguise, Huo Luan breathed a sigh of relief. "Please keep this a secret, Qingyu. If you ever need my help in the future, please feel free to contact me."
After speaking, Huo Luan offered a jade bottle containing a Yellow-grade healing pill she had refined, the Blood Coagulation Pill.
"Although this pill is only at the Yellow level, it was refined using my natal spiritual fire. It won't produce any impurities when taken by someone in the Foundation Establishment stage, and its wound healing speed is much faster than that of a hemostatic pill." Huo Luan explained her strengths with much more confidence, and her previous caution had largely dissipated.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingyu's smile became even more gentle: "It's nothing. Alchemists are rare. I just hope you can give me a discount when the sect refines pills in the future."
Seeing her smile become much more approachable, Huo Luan already felt a sense of warmth, and now she felt even more that Ruan Qingyu was kind and friendly, just like seeing her mother back in her family.
"Of course! If you come to me, Qingyu, I'll definitely give you the cheapest price! I might even waive your fee!"
Although he didn't know why the fire phoenix was suddenly laughing so foolishly, Yun Yin was inexplicably annoyed. He took action and moved closer to Ruan Qingyu, pushing the fire phoenix aside.
Thinking of the mission that Huo Luan had taken first, Ruan Qingyu asked curiously, "Huo Luan, I happened to see you in the Mission Hall back then. You clearly took the mission to collect sandworms in the Vast Sea of Yellow Sands, so why are you here?"
Huo Luan was immediately startled: "I've seen you before in the sect. My true form is a fire-attribute spirit beast. I accepted this mission because the Vast Sea of Yellow Sands is the closest location to the Sacred Fire Mountain Range."
After hearing her explanation, Ruan Qingyu nodded: "I see. I observe that the fire spiritual energy here is abundant. I am a fire spiritual root, so I am very suitable to cultivate here."
Instantly, Huo Luan's eyes lit up, and her expression became even more excited. She took another step closer, pushing Yun Yin aside from Ruan Qingyu's feet.
"If you don't mind, I can invite you to cultivate in the cave I built myself. It's secluded enough that no one will disturb you."
The person in front of her was indeed sincere, his eyes fixed on Ruan Qingyu as he spoke, but this inexplicable enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming for Ruan Qingyu.
Yun Yin, unable to bear it any longer, squeezed between the two and shoved Huo Luan aside. He glared fiercely at the other, letting out a low growl. Huo Luan was immediately frightened and took three steps back, looking at Yun Yin in bewilderment, not understanding why this beast pet could be so ferocious.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu said helplessly, "You've seen it too. Yun Yin just has a bad temper. It's fate that we met here. We'll exchange cultivation tips when we get back to the sect."
Seeing the black thunder leopard staring at her menacingly, Huo Luan had no choice but to nod reluctantly: "Alright, this is my disciple token. I'll exchange information with you, and we can use the disciple token to contact each other within the sect in the future."
Seeing that she agreed, Ruan Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. The token at her waist flew out, and she quickly exchanged information with Huo Luan.
After bidding farewell to Huo Luan, Ruan Qingyu led Yun Yin to a mountain cave to stay.
"I need to go out alone for a few days. Remember my aura after you finish building the defensive formation, then I will leave." Yun Yin helped Ruan Qingyu improve the defensive formation. At present, Ruan Qingyu, who is in the Foundation Establishment stage, can only build the formation with the help of talismans and the terrain.
The spiritual energy in her palm, carrying the talisman, landed on the stone beneath her feet. Only then did Ruan Qingyu understand what Yun Yin meant. Somewhat surprised, she said, "Alright, then you may go."
These past few days, Yun Yin's attitude and the bond between them were enough for Ruan Qingyu to believe that her relationship with Yun Yin was inseparable. If she had to say who she trusted most in the world right now, it would only be the black leopard Yun Yin, with whom she had exchanged blood essence and formed a contract.
Yun Yin specifically explained to Ruan Qingyu that the place they were going to this time could no longer be concealed. The previous raid on the Ruan family was manageable due to the distance. This time, however, they would have to cross another continent; in a secluded corner of Luzhou, there were some resources he had previously stored.
Ruan Qingyu had been frequently mentioning the shortage of spirit stones and resources in recent days, which made him realize something. These cultivators cultivated for the sake of their cultivation methods, wealth, and companions; he had to think of some solutions.
In the world of cultivation, this is called supplementing household income, and he happened to have looked at the map many times in the past few days. Although these places have changed somewhat over the years.
However, some landmarks and place names are still similar. After three days of continuous travel, Yunyin finally found the place he had marked before at sunset on the third day.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com