Request for a transparent tree
In the blink of an eye, Ruan Qingyu saw a gentle breeze blow by, ruffling Lü Liangke's clothes and hair, accompanied by the rustling of leaves.
A moment later, a fruit fell, just like the one she had just received. It hit Lü Liangke on the head, instantly making her open her eyes.
Staring blankly at the luminous fruit that had flown into his hand, he was still somewhat taken aback.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much for the gift from the Tongming Divine Tree today."
Yunyin flicked its tail, its anger at being kept away earlier having dissipated considerably. After all, the two items Ruan Qingyu held were clearly given to it by the Tongming Tree.
Upon hearing this, Lü Liangke quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Tongming Divine Tree!"
Another gentle breeze swept by, and a voice suddenly echoed in Ruan Qingyu's mind: "Little Phoenix, after your Phoenix Divine Fire has been tempered to one-tenth, I will come to borrow a wisp of divine fire from you."
It was still that same aged voice, but this time it carried a hint of negotiation. Thinking about how easily she had obtained those two Clarity Fruits, Ruan Qingyu, though not understanding how the Phoenix Divine Fire needed to be refined, still nodded.
Seeing her readily agree, the voice of the Tongming Divine Tree reappeared in Ruan Qingyu's mind: "Although I don't know why you didn't mention your phoenix bloodline, in the cultivation world today, the only place to temper and elevate the Phoenix Divine Fire to the Great Ascension stage is the Far Continent Snow Plain."
After saying that, the leaves of the Divine Tree of Illumination rustled again, but the two people and the leopard found themselves in an unfamiliar forest.
Yunyin cautiously looked around. It seemed that the place he had just been to was a small secret realm created by the Tongming Tree itself. It had actually evaded his divine sense, and Yunyin immediately became somewhat anxious.
The chirping of insects and calls of birds around them made them realize that this was the scene a normal secret realm should have. The quiet and peaceful grassland just now was clearly a place that the Divine Tree of Illumination had deliberately led them there.
With a click, Ruan Qingyu realized that the disciple token she had activated in the grassland was now beginning to record as if it had absorbed spiritual energy.
She couldn't help but exchange a glance with Lü Liangke, and the unspoken understanding in their eyes made them smile at each other. Then, as if they had just entered a secret realm, they headed towards a certain direction in the forest.
Although they returned to the secret realm, apart from some Qi Refining Level 2 demonic beasts, the two of them didn't encounter any particularly ferocious demonic beasts along the way.
Aside from Lü Liangke wanting to practice his skills, and Ruan Qingyu watching over them, the two walked all the way until dark without encountering any special monsters or spiritual herbs.
After a whole day, Ruan Qingyu simply found a tree and, together with Lü Liangke, set up a campfire to roast the spirit rabbit and the somewhat spiritual pheasant they had encountered along the way.
The spiritual energy in this secret realm is abundant, and even the flesh of the spirit beasts is tender and delicious. Even without cultivation, one can easily absorb the spiritual energy within the spirit beasts and make it one's own.
As Ruan Qingyu repeatedly flipped the roasted meat, she was about to cut off half and toss it to Yun Yin, who had been craving it for a long time, in her mind's eye. Suddenly, she stopped what she was doing, because a rumbling sound, like an earthquake, was heard not far away.
Immediately, she pulled Lü Liangke to her feet. Just as they were about to retreat in another direction, they saw a colossal creature approaching from that direction.
Its entire body was jet black, with long fur hanging down to the ground, except for two round eyes staring at Ruan Qingyu. Yet it was not a ferocious demon beast, if it weren't for its cultivation level far exceeding Ruan Qingyu's.
During the day, she would have just mistaken it for an ordinary demon beast. But when Ruan Qingyu turned around, intending to take Lü Liangke away, she noticed that the demon beast was staring at her and moved along with her.
With astonishing force, his footsteps created a crater in the surrounding soil with a single step. Yun Yin stood in front of Ruan Qingyu, his beastly eyes blazing with threat.
With Lü Liangke present, he couldn't be too obvious in his display. He could only rely on his imposing aura to force the sudden appearance of the hairy monster away.
This long-haired demon beast was clearly only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, yet it stubbornly withstood Yun Yin's pressure, standing there motionless, or rather, despite trembling, it refused to leave.
Ruan Qingyu's gaze unconsciously drifted to Yun Yin, who remained wary. Her intuition told her that this demon beast didn't seem to be after people.
After thinking for a moment, she shook her hand and soon noticed that the monster's gaze followed her hand, but then looked away.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu frowned slightly and followed the beast's gaze. She saw it staring at the campfire in the same spot, and a thought struck her.
"You want to eat this?" Ruan Qingyu simply walked over and handed over the rabbit meat, which had turned slightly black from being roasted over the fire due to the earlier incident.
The demonic beast let out a low roar, but did not attack Ruan Qingyu. Instead, it slowly lowered its head, its long tongue extending from its mouth like a vine.
He stuffed the rabbit meat from Ruan Qingyu's hand into his mouth, and in the blink of an eye, he heard the long-haired monster roar again. It seemed to want to take a few more steps, but when its gaze fell on the small Ruan Qingyu, it suddenly stopped.
A moment later, Ruan Qingyu heard a clear voice say, "Human cultivator, this is delicious. Give me some more, and I'll trade you something better."
"A good thing?" Ruan Qingyu wondered, but seeing that the behemoth did not make any other dangerous moves, her vigilance lessened.
“If you like, I have other spirit beast meat here.” With that, Ruan Qingyu glanced at Lü Liangke, and the two returned to the campfire.
Yun Yin then realized that this big guy was trying to steal his food. His threat instantly turned into annoyance, and he circled around Ruan Qingyu.
However, he didn't interrupt Ruan Qingyu's actions, since he had also heard those words. This demonic beast had come to barter, and being able to exchange some worthless spirit beast meat for better things was a sure win for Ruan Qingyu.
Not knowing just how big the monster's appetite was, Ruan Qingyu simply roasted all the spirit beasts that Yun Yin and she had captured, accompanied by the aroma of meat.
The long-haired monster eagerly devoured all the meat that Ruan Qingyu had thrown away, eating for nearly half an hour before gradually stopping.
"Delicious, delicious! I've never eaten anything so delicious before." The long-haired monster shook its head and let out a satisfied growl.
Yunyin impatiently flicked his tail. In the past, he would have killed and eaten this kind of demon beast that forcibly ignored his pressure.
Ruan Qingyu and Lü Liangke rubbed their arms, thankfully both of them were cultivators. Roasting demonic beasts back and forth would have caused ordinary mortals considerable soreness, but the two of them could relieve their fatigue with their spiritual energy.
Shaking its long black fur, the furry monster spoke again: "Get on my back. I'll take you over there; you'll definitely be satisfied."
Although he had seen very few human cultivators, it was rare to encounter one who suited his tastes so well. The long-haired demon beast had no intention of deceiving Ruan Qingyu; it was genuinely willing to exchange resources.
After hearing this, Ruan Qingyu looked at Lü Liangke and reached out to pat Yun Yin's head. She then jumped onto the back of the long-haired monster and sat steadily on its back.
Compared to Yunyin's warm and slightly soft back, the long-haired monster's back was like a mountain. Sitting cross-legged on it was no different from being in the forest as usual. It was as if the long black fur had turned into rock, and one could not feel any softness at all.
The long-haired monster shook its head and looked at Yunyin, who was floating in mid-air and clearly indicated that it did not want to land on its back.
There was a hint of fear in its eyes, but considering that it had been eating for so long and the boss hadn't made a move, it meant that it had a good relationship with the cultivator on its back.
In an instant, the long-haired monster took off running, leaving the surrounding scenery far behind.
“Human cultivator, I am the demon beast Wu Niu. You can call me Wu Niu. The place I'm taking you to this time is a treasure I discovered a year ago.” Wu Niu’s voice remained clear despite the howling wind.
If Wu Niu, a Golden Core cultivator, had chosen to fight Ruan Qingyu from the beginning, he would have had a very high chance of winning against her, provided Yun Yin hadn't intervened.
Upon hearing this self-introduction, Lü Liangke immediately recalled the sect's records, but found no demonic beasts related to the Black Ox. He couldn't help but look at Ruan Qingyu with a questioning gaze.
She noticed that although Ruan Qingyu's expression showed some doubt, it quickly turned into understanding. She had clearly realized something, and while she admired Ruan Qingyu's current level of knowledge, she also acknowledged it.
Ruan Qingyu did indeed know what kind of demon beast the Black Ox was—a hairy beast whose fur could be used in medicine. It was commonly found in Xuan-grade and Di-grade pills, and seeing a living one now still made her somewhat unaccustomed to it.
She wondered if she could ask the black ox for some of its hair. Ruan Qingyu pondered to herself, while the black ox below gradually slowed down, and Yun Yin remained close to Ruan Qingyu's left front.
It gradually came to a stop, and then landed directly next to Ruan Qingyu.
"This black ox has actually discovered a treasure." Yun Yin said to Ruan Qingyu in his mind, his deep voice carrying a hint of surprise.
Before Ruan Qingyu could ask what kind of treasure it was, he noticed that the black ox beneath him had come to a complete stop. With a hint of confidence and pride, he said, "Only I discovered this place. If I hadn't needed it, I wouldn't have kept it until now. You can go in now."
As he spoke, Wu Niu began to tremble violently, throwing the two men and the leopard off the ground.
Unexpectedly, Wu Niu moved so suddenly that Ruan Qingyu could only grab one of Lü Liangke's hands. Spiritual energy rippled around her like a storm, and a pair of phoenix wings sprouted from her back.
It slowly landed on the ground, but the ground didn't feel very pleasant. The ground was very damp and smelled of moisture.
If one didn't not see an underground river or water flowing through the rocks, one might mistake this for the interior of a waterfall.
"Wu Niu, would you be willing to exchange some of your fur for me?" Ruan Qingyu said, tossing out a recording stone before continuing, "This recording stone contains the effects of roasting spirit beast meat. If you want to eat it again in the future, just follow the recipe and the taste will be about the same."
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