Vast Yellow Sand
"A spirit beast taking human form? What kind of spirit beast is it?" Ruan Qingyu asked curiously.
This stumped Yun Yin Nan, as he had only sensed it intuitively. However, the other person had moved too quickly for him to discern the details. Although the person seemed somewhat familiar, he couldn't quite place them.
Seeing that Yun Yin remained silent, Ruan Qingyu didn't ask any further questions, but she felt a little regretful about the mission. The sect mission, which required 300 contribution points, was simply to catch 100 sand worms in the vast desert.
Those sandworms are easy to catch, and they like to live in groups. We could make some traps and catch quite a few. Unfortunately, the other side got them first, so we'll have to wait and see.
As her gaze shifted, Ruan Qingyu spotted another quest notice. This time, she reacted quickly, immediately accepting the quest using her disciple token.
Coincidentally, this place is still a vast desert of yellow sand, but the monsters they're catching are of a different kind: the Sand Sliding Fish, a type of fish-like monster with delicious flesh.
The skin of the sandfish can be used in medicine, and the inner core of the sandfish can be used to make many hemostatic pills. The difficulty lies in the fact that the sandfish lives in the yellow sand all year round and is a solitary creature.
It would probably take at least three months to gather the fifty sandfish required for the mission. Fortunately, Ruan Qingyu knew of a place in her past life where she could catch a lot of sandfish in a short time.
While exchanging these 400 contribution points is a bit of a stretch, it's still a decent job. Compared to that, the sect's mandatory missions are more important.
Having secured the mission, Ruan Qingyu headed downstairs without hesitation. Upon reaching the trading hall, she spotted a familiar-looking stall in a corner and, after a moment's thought, went up to it.
"How do you trade these pet boarding tags?" Ruan Qingyu's gaze fell on the ground. The tags that allowed pets to stay looked a bit rough in workmanship, but as long as they worked, that was fine.
There was no hope of selling them anyway, but someone actually came to inquire. Seeing that Ruan Qingyu was in need, Li Jiayao quickly said, "These signs are all only ten low-grade spirit stones each. The interior is about half the size of a disciple's courtyard, so the pets won't feel cramped inside."
As Li Jiayao spoke, her gaze landed precisely on Ruan Qingyu's neck. Yun Yin, who had been lying there, had already stood up alertly upon hearing the pet badge.
However, Ruan Qingyu had no intention of listening to him. She gave him ten low-grade spirit stones and took the nearest pet token.
Li Jiayao immediately grinned from ear to ear: "Senior sister, my name is Li Jiayao. I am from the Xuan Er Mountain Disciple Residence and I am skilled in weapon crafting. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me."
Seeing her smile so enthusiastically, Ruan Qingyu nodded silently, then left the trading hall with Yun Yin, who was still struggling.
Li Jiayao wasn't bothered by Ruan Qingyu's cold attitude. She had seen people with even colder or worse attitudes, but few were as generous as Ruan Qingyu in giving spirit stones.
Once outside the office, Yunyin protested incessantly, "I'm not going in. They say that place is half the size, but it's not as comfortable as this outside!"
Seeing Yun Yin burrowing around on her shoulder, making Ruan Qingyu want to throw him in even more, but she still patiently said, "If you don't go in, and someone more capable than me can see through your true form when I go out in the future, then you won't be in my hands anymore."
Hearing her explanation, Yunyin understood, but still refused to go in: "I now possess a method that no one can know. Unless they have seen my true form, but those who have seen the Ancient Thunder Leopard have either ascended to immortality or are dead."
Seeing his stubbornness, Ruan Qingyu had no choice but to agree: "But if it's really inconvenient to take you in one day, then you can go in, so at least you can be with me."
This refers to those secret realms or certain activities where cultivators are not allowed to bring their own beast pets. Apart from beast-taming cultivators, few cultivators are inseparable from their beast pets.
Yunyin stretched out his claw and gently scratched Ruan Qingyu's cheek: "Of course not, I'll shrink and follow you when the time comes, I can shrink even smaller now."
As he spoke, Yunyin seemed to want to prove himself, so he shrunk himself even smaller. If he was once a leopard, he now looked like a kitten the size of a palm.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu felt inexplicably itchy: "I still prefer the size you had just shown, and larger beast pets are more majestic."
Bigger? Yun Yin froze. Could it be that she preferred his original size? But the largest he could get now was the size he was when he was out of the cage. If he got any bigger, his spiritual power would be unable to support it.
Seeing that Yun Yin remained silent, Ruan Qingyu thought she had touched a nerve and immediately changed the subject, saying, "The most important thing right now is to complete the mission. As for the pet token, we can talk about it later."
With a surge of energy in his palm, a recent map appeared. With a swipe of his right hand, he unfolded the map, making the route to the vast desert clear at a glance.
Seeing that she was changing the subject, Yun Yin was naturally happy not to say anything more. In any case, ever since he had been in the cage for tens of thousands of years, he didn't want to stay in any suffocating place again.
The man and his beast rented a free mount from the sect and traveled for three days towards the vast desert. On the fourth day, the mount rented by the sect returned on its own, just as agreed.
"The remaining journey isn't far. With my current spiritual power, I should be able to get there in about two days after increasing my speed," Ruan Qingyu said to Yunyin on her shoulder, looking at the map.
Looking at the endless road ahead, Yunyin thought for a moment and said, "I am now at the Golden Core stage. I'll try to grow bigger, and you can sit on my back and walk."
Having said that, Yun Yin jumped off Ruan Qingyu's shoulder. Several purple lightning bolts flashed in his beastly eyes, and with a roar, he suddenly transformed from a small leopard into a leopard the size of a person.
"Are you sure? Just a few days ago you said you couldn't grow bigger for the time being, how come you can today?" Ruan Qingyu leaned closer to look, curious. Yun Yin looked almost the same as when they first met.
Although it's still a size smaller, it's already quite large. Its fur is glossy and smooth, and it's not as thin as before. It's clearly been well cared for, which makes Ruan Qingyu very proud.
She now knows that Yun Yin's recovery, aside from his own cultivation, was largely due to her contract. The two are now inextricably linked, each serving as the other's other half.
Seeing her curiosity, Yunyin pretended to lower his head and lick the fur on his paws, thus avoiding the question.
Two days ago, while Ruan Qingyu was asleep, he set up an array around them. As long as someone touched it or got close, he could immediately rush back.
It was during this lull that he used the mark he left in the Ruan family to travel thousands of miles back to Immortal City. That very night, he devoured all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Ruan family who had his blood on them.
Even when the head of the Ruan family reacted and activated the clan's protective formation, he was unable to stop him. This was naturally because he had remained in the forbidden area, and the formation was already familiar with his presence.
The array was useless against him; in fact, it devoured many more Ruan family disciples who had stained their lives with his blood. All their life force and cultivation were used by him, and his cultivation, which had been destroyed by most, instantly surged to the Golden Core stage.
At that time, Yun Yin was capable of facing a Golden Core cultivator, but there was a possibility that his foundation was unstable. Naturally, Yun Yin did not choose to confront the Ruan family head ...
Over the past two days, he has completely depleted the cultivation and vital energy of these people, so they may not have fully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. However, they can still use the spiritual power of the late Golden Core stage, which naturally allows him to enlarge their physical form.
Seeing that Ruan Qingyu still didn't move, Yun Yin simply bit her sleeve and pulled Ruan Qingyu onto his back.
Within his consciousness, Yun Yin's deep voice was becoming increasingly similar to the state when they first met: "Hold on tight, I don't know the way, just point the way and I'll run."
Before Ruan Qingyu could reply, he leaped into the air. In a few leaps, he had already reached the clouds.
"Aren't you a leopard? How come you're flying in the sky?" Ruan Qingyu was a little surprised. Many clouds and mists flew by, bringing a bit of coolness and dampness.
As the scenery below continued to flash by, Ruan Qingyu saw tiny purple lightning bolts erupting around Yun Yin. The faster the lightning bolts erupted, the faster the Yun Yin was moving.
The fur, which normally appeared black, swirled and churned among the clouds, now taking on a purple hue, subtly blending with the purple lightning.
"The Thunder Leopard is not a beast that dwells on the ground. With enough spiritual power, it becomes like lightning, able to ride the clouds and soar through the sky." Yun Yin's voice rang in Ruan Qingyu's mind, even carrying a hint of exhilaration.
Now that the two were bound by a contract, Ruan Qingyu naturally sensed his emotions. For some reason, she also felt a sense of relief.
In the blink of an eye, what should have been a two-day journey was completed in just one day. The scenery beneath our feet had gradually faded from green—mountains, rivers, and seas—to a landscape of endless yellow sand.
As they approached the vast desert, Ruan Qingyu patted Yun Yin on the back: "It's alright, let's go down."
After hearing her words, Yun Yin quickly flew downwards. In the blink of an eye, he reached the ground. Watching Ruan Qingyu dismount from his back, Yun Yin blinked and quickly shrunk back to the size of a cat.
With a leap, she landed back on Ruan Qingyu's shoulder.
The scene before them was nothing but endless yellow sand, devoid of any greenery. There wasn't even a human figure in sight; the vast desert was devoid of spiritual energy, so naturally no cultivators lingered there.
If she had no other choice but to come here for a mission, Ruan Qingyu wouldn't have come. She extended her divine sense in all directions, but after regaining her composure, she still couldn't find anything familiar.
"You're fast, but I've never been to this place before." Ruan Qingyu looked around, looking somewhat bewildered.
Yunyin flicked its tail but remained silent. Speed and location are mutually exclusive; after flying for a day and a night, it's normal that the enemy doesn't recognize it.
"Let's find the sandfish first. Although they are solitary creatures, they are still easy to find." After saying that, Yunyin jumped to the ground.
It sniffed the air and walked in a certain direction. Seeing that Ruan Qingyu seemed to be still trying to find her way, it simply grew bigger again and carried her onto its back.
After flying with Ruan Qingyu on his back for a long time, Yun Yin inexplicably found this method quite comfortable. After all, in the past few days, he had been the one lying on top of her, and now it was the other way around, which was quite interesting.
As Yunyin ran across the sand, Ruan Qingyu had to reach out and grab the fur on the other's neck to prevent herself from being jostled off.
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