Chapter 42 Reunion (Three-in-One) An apology to Niannian! ...
"friend?"
Qianchuan was a little confused: "Xiao Jiu means, your friend is... in the field?"
Xiao Jiu nodded, then shook his head, seemingly unable to explain it himself.
Seeing this, Qianchuan didn't ask any more questions, but simply took Xiao Jiu's hand and walked back.
Only when he reached the roots of the nearest elven tree did Qianchuan quickly and quietly recite the matter, clearly to the system.
Although the system had already scanned it from afar with points in a hurry, it was still very grateful that Qianchuan would repeat it again.
[Let me ask; I can understand what the host is saying.]
As Qian Chuan led Xiao Jiu back, he kept hearing Xiao Jiu uttering incoherent words, occasionally interspersed with the roars unique to zombies, clearly talking to the system.
When they returned to the edge of Moon Lake, Fuyu had already moved forward quite a distance using a seal-like crawling motion, and was panting heavily.
Behind him, the Suanni wagged its tail with obvious disdain: "See? I told you it was fine. Just wait patiently where you are."
Qianchuan didn't expose the stubborn cat.
After all, if Suanni were really as indifferent as he claimed, why would he follow Fuyu for so long?
By this time, the system had also gained a fairly complete understanding of the situation.
Actually, things aren't complicated.
In the system's terms, it's like spatial energy disorder, an accidental frequency shift.
Since the Elf Tree grew, the system has taken advantage of merging with the Elf Tree to intentionally expand the area covered by the tree roots.
This operation serves two purposes: firstly, it expands the range the creature can travel to. For example, if the area wasn't covered by the Elf Tree, it wouldn't be able to get there at all.
The other reason is to make this space more stable.
Although this pure white fairy tree grew from a broken branch, it was full of energy thanks to the watering of the Moon Spring.
It's no exaggeration to say that if the tree roots could spread to every corner of this spatial rift, the system could completely guarantee the safety of this rift, and even the Heavenly Dao wouldn't be able to open it up again.
This place is the anchor point. Once the anchor point is stable and there are enough points, the system can open a stable spatial passage to escape with its host and these non-humans.
The theory is simple to say, but in practice, as you can see from the results of the system over the past few days, extending tree roots is not a simple thing at all.
System explanation: [It's similar to me using the energy of this tree to create countless tiny knives, peeling away the spatial walls of this spatial rift bit by bit, and then inserting myself into it.]
But this means there's a problem.
In this "cutting" process, some small spatial cracks will inevitably be created.
These cracks are extremely unstable and have a certain probability of extending to other dimensional worlds, thus forming a momentary energy exchange.
The system used an analogy: "These cracks are like the morning glories in the level 4 farmland before; they spread everywhere, getting entangled in whatever they encounter, but they are also very fragile, breaking easily with a single pull."
When everyone recalled how the morning glories had been flailing around like whips, they instantly understood.
Qian Chuan only cared about one thing: "Who is the friend that Xiao Jiu mentioned...?"
The system paused for a few seconds, then speculated: [There are two possibilities: one is that the host's perception is faulty, and the other is that the crack happens to connect to a place the host had previously visited.]
And it goes without saying where that place is.
The reason Xiao Jiu understood the word "friend" was because he met a family there.
Fu Yu's face was somewhat pale: "Then... if it's the second scenario, will the humans from that world come looking for us?"
Of course not.
The system answered definitively: "Leaving aside how brief this moment of shared energy is, simply finding a specific world plane among countless worlds and simultaneously breaking through the spatial barrier between two worlds is no easy feat."
The system then said something like, "How complicated the formation of spatial channels is," but the various monsters present were somewhat distracted.
So the only one really listening attentively was Xiao Jiu.
Xiao Jiu still couldn't understand.
The system that noticed this: ...
Fortunately, it was just a false alarm tonight, and nothing serious happened.
Once the system confirmed that its host was unharmed, it stopped worrying about it.
Time passed by day by day.
Zombies don't age, and for monsters like Suanni Qianchuan, time is even less important; it's just a number.
Although Fu Yu is considered young among the demon beasts, he is still over four hundred years old.
Therefore, in this spatial rift, only the transplanted mint plants clearly testify to the passage of time.
As the system had previously calculated, the mints were withering away at a visible rate every day due to light and temperature.
However, today, before the system could even speak, Xiao Jiu proactively asked, "System, decompose?"
The system paused for a moment, then quickly replied: [Yes, decomposing it will yield random decomposition products, just like before.]
After the last decomposition, I obtained a packet of seeds, but that packet of seeds mysteriously disappeared. The system tried to search for it using the scanning function, but couldn't find it.
If you're lucky enough to break down the seeds, you can continue to earn points.
After all, in the system's structure, mint is not considered a flower, so no matter how many there are, they can only be packaged as a unit. Xiao Jiu simply followed the system's instructions, dug up all the mint, and then decomposed them collectively.
The decomposition process was very quiet, without any announcements or special reminders. All you could see were the mint leaves withering and turning yellow, gradually turning into white specks of light, and disappearing into the air like strangely colored sparks.
As the last point of light disappeared, Xiao Jiu found something in her hand.
It looks like a stone, but it's translucent. When you hold it up to the light, you can see the white, thread-like structures inside.
Before the system could even spend points to submit an appraisal, Qian Chuan suddenly spoke up: "Can I take a look?"
He took the strange stone Xiao Jiu handed him, and after just one squeeze, he affirmed, "This is spiritual essence."
[Spiritual Essence?]
Xiao Jiu curiously leaned closer: "Ling... Ling...?"
Qian Chuan first taught Xiao Jiu the pronunciation of "sui" before explaining: "In our world, humans, monsters, flowers, trees and plants all use spiritual energy to cultivate, and spiritual marrow is the crystallization of spiritual energy."
Qianchuan said that there are spiritual veins between heaven and earth, and the quantity of these spiritual veins and the density of their spiritual energy are all determined by heaven and earth.
The so-called spiritual essence is more like a solid substance formed by the fusion of all the remaining spiritual power when a spiritual vein is about to dry up.
Qian Chuan put the spirit marrow back into Xiao Jiu's hand, saying, "Spirit marrow doesn't have any attributes. Although it's rare and precious, it can't be used directly like spirit stones or spirit plants. So only cultivators who focus on crafting magical artifacts will have a need for it."
The system then asked: "[Artifact crafting? Is it a craftsman specializing in weapon forging?]"
Qian Chuan: "I suppose so, but they can forge more than just weapons. They can also forge other types, such as those specifically for decoration or those used to replace living creatures in guarding formations."
The system understood. This profession was similar to that of the dwarven artisans in the world where the Elf Tree lived; both were master forging.
Then it pressed further: "What is the purpose of this spiritual essence?"
Qianchuan rested his chin on his fingertips and thought for a while.
"It should be... to increase the responsiveness to spiritual energy. For example, to allow the user to activate the magical artifact with less spiritual energy, or to enhance the power of the magical artifact."
System: [This only works on spiritual energy? Will it work with other energies?]
Qianchuan: "I don't know, after all, there's only spiritual energy in my world. Hmm? Wait, why are you asking that?"
The system probably didn't try to be brave because it was facing Qianchuan; it only hesitated for two seconds before continuing to write.
Regarding the mutated flower's debuff, I'm not 100% confident I can control it; what if I fail to do so...?
The last few words were not written out, but Qianchuan already understood.
Although the system had said before planting the hyacinths that "if the control fails, it will tie everyone up with tree roots," this was on the premise that the debuff effect would not overwhelm the rationality of the monsters.
Although Qian Chuan did not know the identity of the brown cat, it was not hard to tell that the cat was no ordinary creature just from its close relationship with Taotie.
Among the monsters, the only one who didn't have a contract with Xiao Jiu was that cat.
So if the debuff gets out of control, it's hard to say what will happen.
The worst-case scenario is that the cat completely tears off all its disguises and seals, causing the spatial rift to burst open and resulting in mutual destruction.
"So you want to try fusing it with chalcedony again?" Qian Chuan pondered for a moment and asked, "What will be the price if the fusion fails?"
The system responded quickly this time: "This piece of spiritual essence will disappear, and the points used for fusion will not be refunded."
That's it?
That's all.
Qian Chuan exhaled and smiled, "Then let's give it a try. Anyway, none of us know how to use the Spirit Essence, and we can earn more points."
During Qianchuan's conversation with the system, Xiao Jiu listened attentively the whole time.
After Qianchuan finished speaking, he turned to look at Xiao Jiu: "And Xiao Jiu will definitely agree, right?"
Although Xiao Jiu couldn't understand all the words and sentences, he understood what the system wanted to do, so he immediately said, "Yes, system, do it. Xiao Jiu will wait."
The system immediately seemed to be injected with adrenaline: [Okay!]
Integration is no small matter; the system has to refresh its data from scratch, which for Xiao Jiu and the others means it has to disappear for a while.
The system was worried that Xiao Jiu would be hungry, so before leaving, it grabbed several strands of red mist from the top of the tree, rolled them into various shapes, and gave them to Xiao Jiu to eat. It also pulled each of the monsters aside and instructed them to tell Fu Yu not to push herself too hard and to take good care of her health, and to tell Qian Chuan to keep a close eye on Xiao Jiu.
When it came to the Suanni, the Suanni simply waved its claws and said, "Goodbye, don't bother seeing me off."
system:......
It smeared a cloud of red mist onto the Suanni's face and then slipped away.
The Suanni spat twice, blowing away the red mist: "Making a mountain out of a molehill. It's only been a day or two, what could possibly happen?"
That evening, Fuyu was playing in the water with Xiaojiu by the lake when he suddenly felt a vibration coming from the soil beneath his bottom.
The tremor was not noticeable at first, but a second later it turned into a violent shaking that almost made Fuyu fall into the lake.
Qian Chuan said from the side, "This should be the 'fusion fluctuation' that the system mentioned before. Don't be nervous."
This is also why the system must be "offline".
The Elf Tree maintains the stability of the entire space, and the system has merged with the Elf Tree. Now the system is going to install upgrade patches into its own data, which will definitely affect the Elf Tree in turn.
To avoid any mishaps in the spatial rift, the system must remain fully focused.
As expected, the tremor lasted for only a dozen seconds, just as the system had predicted.
Fu Yu let out a long sigh: "Then when the system comes back this time, this tree might be completely different."
He seemed to remember something, and a faint smile appeared on his face: "I wonder what will happen, Xiao Jiu—"
Fu Yu's pupils shrank instantly.
Fish have excellent hearing, so Fuyu noticed the unusual noise almost immediately.
In the darkness, a crack more than ten meters wide, like a ferocious giant python, rushed straight towards Xiao Jiu.
"Run!"
After Suanni shouted two words, he turned around and saw Taotie sleeping soundly next to him.
A few meters away from him, Fu Yu by the lake was half-fish and half-human, and Xiao Jiu and Qian Chuan were children, each with shorter legs than the other.
The Suanni clicked its tongue, and in the next instant, the long hair around its neck moved without wind, and its figure vanished into thin air.
The deafening roar echoed repeatedly throughout the space, as if an invisible hand was stirring things up inside.
When Fuyu heard the noise, he instinctively grabbed Xiaojiu.
He was just about to pull Xiao Jiu into his arms when he suddenly felt a weight on his hand and was sent flying into the air.
Fu Yu: ? ? ?
He was still in a daze when he suddenly saw Qian Chuan take off as well, and even faster than him.
In this state, he was unable to speak at all, and Fuyu could only frantically gesture in his anxiety.
On the ground, the cracks spread rapidly.
The fairy tree had no offensive or defensive capabilities, so it didn't stop even after the crack hit it directly.
It continued to spread to the ground, and soon formed a huge spiderweb-like crack on the ground, like a magic circle.
A short figure ran at an extremely fast speed in front of the crack.
He was holding a gray, furry ball that was almost half the size of his body in his left arm, but it didn't hinder his movement at all.
Xiao Jiu's joint flexibility is much better than before. He is also very strong. Every time he pushes off the ground, he does so with great force that he almost sticks to the ground as he leaps forward.
At that speed, he quickly overtook Fuyu and Qianchuan.
At this moment, Fuyu and Qianchuan were still flying in mid-air, like baseballs that had been hit by a bat.
Qianchuan is alright, but Fuyu is probably falling to the ground at a significant angle because of the weight of that big tail. It will probably hit the ground in a few seconds.
Xiao Jiu immediately turned around and rushed forward in a posture that no human could possibly do, trying to grab the two of them and run away together.
Fuyu saw it.
He had already subconsciously reached out his hand, but immediately withdrew it.
He flicked his tail and slapped Qian Chuan into Xiao Jiu's arms.
He knew that his current form was too heavy and would only be a burden.
So ignore him, ignore him.
It's okay if you fall; the giant chub won't die from a fall.
All of this happened very quickly.
Just as Fuyu was bracing himself for the pain of the fall, a sudden force came from his hand.
Fu Yu suddenly looked up—
It's Xiao Jiu.
Xiao Jiu gripped his hand tightly.
But at this moment, the ground directly beneath them had been torn open.
The cracks moved extremely fast, spreading far and wide in an instant, tearing the earth in the distance with huge fissures tens of meters wide.
With no foothold on their feet, Xiao Jiu and the others had nowhere to escape.
The pitch-black crack was like a gaping maw, mercilessly swallowing them whole.
Realizing there was no possibility of escaping the rift again, Fuyu immediately swung its tail, changed its posture, and tightly hugged Xiao Jiu, Qian Chuan, and Taotie to protect them.
The feeling of free fall is not pleasant. Xiao Jiu had never experienced such sensations before. This was the first time he had felt weightlessness, and his whole body was as tense as a steel bar.
The wind blowing past my ears felt like someone was splashing water into them—heavy and painful.
Fu Yu felt a chill run through her body, saw stars, and gradually loosened her grip.
A turbulent current surged in the darkness, and Xiao Jiu was instantly swept away from his arms.
Fu Yu immediately reached out to grab it, but only grasped empty air.
"Xiao Jiu!!"
Fu Yu's screams were carried away by the wind, and at the end of that gust of wind, a clear female voice suddenly rang out: "Senior sister, hurry! There's definitely something ahead..."
The wind howled, squeezing through the narrow gaps in the passageway like the wailing of vengeful ghosts and monsters.
On the other side of the crevice, the woman, blown by the wind, staggered back a step, the sword in her hand trembling, causing the blood-stained tassel on the hilt to swing wildly.
A round-faced girl in yellow quickly supported her shoulder: "Senior Sister Qinian!"
The woman, known as the Prayer for a Good Year, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand: "It's nothing."
The girl in yellow's eyes reddened: "How could nothing be wrong? That sword... there was Spirit Awakening Powder on it!"
Qinian gently wiped the girl's cheek, removing the bloodstains that had splattered on her face: "Alright, didn't you say this morning that you were going to wear the most popular makeup look? It would be such a waste to ruin it by crying."
The girl shook her head, took a deep breath, and held back her tears.
She supported Qinian under her armpits: "Senior sister, lean on me, it'll save you some energy."
Qinian did not refuse again.
She could barely stand.
Qiling Powder sounds nice, but it is a vicious poison that can forcibly open a cultivator's meridians. Once hit, the spiritual power in the body will run wildly in the meridians and will not stop until the meridians are completely broken and shattered.
What's even worse is that there's no antidote for this poison; anyone poisoned will inevitably become a cripple.
"Oh, isn't this the famous number one disciple of the Qiongling Sect?"
Upon hearing the voice, the girl immediately stopped in her tracks, her eyes flashing with venomous hatred: "You despicable scoundrel—"
The man walking against the wind laughed loudly: "Despicable? Say what you will. Qiongling Sect has lost this promising talent that it has cultivated for many years, and it is likely that it will have to depend on others for the next hundred years."
The girl shielded Qi Nian behind her: "Senior sister, you go quickly, I'll deal with him."
The man twirled his sword and brought it straight at the girl's face: "Fight? I'd like to see how you're going to take this sword!"
The girl's face turned pale from the pressure. She was only at the Qi Refining stage, while the man in front of her had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. All her protective magic treasures had long been shattered, so she had no chance of winning against him.
But she wasn't afraid.
She was not afraid as long as she could buy even a moment's time for her senior sister, Qinian!
Suddenly, a red hem of clothing floated past her.
She was her senior.
Qinian said, "I'll let you do whatever you want with me, but you must let her go."
"Senior Sister!!"
The man said with interest, "Alright, then kneel down first, and I'll think about what to do next."
Qinian didn't say anything, but his knees had already bent.
Looking at the man's smug face, and remembering how he had been so humble and respectful to his senior sister just a day ago, the girl felt a surge of hatred about to burst through her chest.
She grabbed Qi Nian, her hands moving swiftly to form hand seals, and a sharp aura burst forth from her body.
A few blue feathers sprouted from between her eyebrows and along her hairline, and her voice was as clear as a bell: "You won't hurt her!"
Qinian panicked: "Stop—"
But as soon as she uttered the word "Stop," the surging power within her forced her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
The man was hit in the face by gusts of wind, but he remained calm.
His eyes even blazed with wild joy: "The rumors were true! Qiongling Sect really does have demonic beasts that can take human form!"
Just as the girl was about to self-destruct her demon core, the man raised his sword and waved it, summoning a copper bell.
The sound waves emitted by the shaking copper bell actually cleaved through the fierce hurricane.
Upon hearing the sound of the copper bell, the girl seemed to have her bones removed, and collapsed limply to the ground.
The young man rang a bell as he walked slowly toward the girl.
In his eyes, greed was like a leech, clinging desperately to the girl.
Qi Nian gasped for breath, her face flushed purple and her eyes bloodshot, but she still gripped the sword tightly in her hand.
Just as she was using her sword to support herself as she struggled to her feet, a slightly hoarse child's voice rang out.
"Year after year!"
Qinian was taken aback.
That sound...
The young man merely frowned and impatiently snorted, "Getting in the way."
He bent his knees and swung his sword, unleashing a rainbow-like sword light that shot straight towards the direction from which the sound came.
The blow even produced a buzzing sound, and its residual force sliced through the boulders on one side as if they were mud.
The man gave a disdainful smile.
This is the power of a Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection cultivator!
In this secret realm, once Qinian is crippled, he will be invincible!
"Bang!"
The man had just taken another step forward when the smile on his face froze instantly.
In the distance, the sword energy, mixed with mud and dust, dispersed, revealing the figure of a child.
The child with grayish-blue skin looked blankly at his hands, then hugged the big fluffy ball in his arms and ran excitedly toward Qinian.
"Year after year!"
The child ran up to Qinian, looked up at her with his dark eyes, and exclaimed, "Niannian! Grow taller!"
Qinian finally unearthed that scene about the other person from his memories of a hundred years ago.
She was extremely surprised: "A little fairy!?"
This is the little fairy that suddenly appeared in the river near her home all those years ago!
Qi Nian's expression instantly shifted between surprise and sadness, and the unconscious smile that tried to twitch at the corners of her mouth made her face look somewhat distorted.
Xiao Jiu blinked: "Getting hurt every year, does it hurt?"
Qinian quickly composed herself and replied, "I'm fine."
"Nothing's wrong!"
The girl in yellow immediately spoke up.
She was being held captive by that vile man, but for some reason, the moment this strange child ran over, the thing that was holding her down stopped working.
She realized that the child who had suddenly appeared wouldn't harm her senior sister and was actually quite powerful, so she immediately complained.
"That man lied to us. He poisoned our senior sister! He's the one who inflicted the wounds on her body!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu's expression immediately changed.
With a stern face, he slowly turned around and stared at the man holding the sword.
Ever since he discovered that Xiao Jiu had casually dispersed his sword energy, the man had not made any rash moves. Now, with Xiao Jiu staring at him, he simply put one hand behind his back and said, "This is a misunderstanding."
He frowned, feigning a troubled expression: "I was just worried that Qiongling Sect wouldn't be able to protect the spirit beasts that can take human form, so I left a communication talisman for my fellow disciples to come and help..."
This is a threat, threatening Qinian not to speak carelessly, otherwise he will spread the news about the transformed spirit beast.
The girl was so angry that she couldn't speak, "You, you..." She hadn't expected this man to be so shameless even at this point.
At that moment, an extremely faint spiritual energy spread out behind the young man.
That was a talisman.
This talisman is specially made so that it can blend into the surrounding spiritual energy, making it almost impossible to detect.
In an instant, a sound wave suddenly exploded.
Even though no sound could be heard, the sound waves caused the ground to shake.
The dust flying everywhere shows its immense power.
Amidst the smoke and dust, the young man summoned back his magical copper bell and withdrew the spiritual power protecting his ears. He sneered, "I thought it was some strange spirit beast, but it seems it's nothing special."
Just as he was about to take a step, he suddenly felt a weight on his head.
The next moment, his chin slammed hard into the ground, even creating a crater.
A small, bluish-gray hand pressed down on his head.
The owner of that hand looked at him as if he were looking at a corpse.
"Apologize to Niannian."
The young man never imagined that there would be someone in this world who was unaffected by this "soul-binding bell".
He clenched his back teeth so hard that he almost drew blood from his mouth.
"Pray for a good year..."
He uttered two words, but couldn't get the rest out.
He was so unwilling to accept it!
He came from an ordinary background, but because of his innate talent for cultivation, he broke through to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment in just a hundred years, and even became an inner disciple of a major sect.
But there are always disappointments in the world.
Everyone says that sect is good, but who knows that the disciples inside must make continuous contributions to the sect? Those who contribute the least will not only be expelled, but all the resources used will also be taken back from them.
So what if they're inner disciples?
Above the inner disciples are the registered disciples, above the registered disciples are the personal disciples, and above the personal disciples are the sect's chief disciple.
Cultivating immortality is a path where you can see the goal, but you can't see yourself.
The young man once thought he was a genius, one in a million, but when he actually stepped into the world, he realized that his "genius" was nothing compared to some people, who couldn't even touch the hem of their clothes.
And such a person is Qinian of the Qiongling Sect.
Qinian is just over a hundred years old, but he is already in the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
Qiongling Sect was originally just a small and insignificant sect, but thanks to Qi Nian, it has been unstoppable in recent decades, and even has the potential to rival the twelve major sects in the cultivation world.
This trial was originally intended as an opportunity and training for new disciples, but Qinian chose to suppress his cultivation to enter, which sparked much speculation.
The young man, through his incredible luck, received the news.
The message said that Qinian's master was seriously injured not long ago and needed a rare spiritual plant called Chongling Flower to make medicine. It is said that the flower will appear in this secret realm.
The youth's good fortune helped him achieve everything.
He successfully dealt with the aloof and arrogant Qinian, and even discovered the secret of Qiongling Sect's hidden possession of transformed spirit beasts.
He had calculated everything.
He will later use Qinian's life as leverage, falsely claiming that he has a unique method to break the Qiling Powder, first making the spirit beast willingly sign a subservient contract, and then cutting Qinian to pieces inch by inch.
The thought of the high and mighty Qinian being tormented to the point of unbearable pain made him laugh in his dreams.
But all of this was destroyed because of the appearance of this monster!
He didn't know what was going on with this child-like monster. He could only feel that the hand pressing on his head felt like it weighed a ton, and even when he used all his spiritual power, he couldn't break free.
The hatred in the young man's eyes was almost tangible.
He closed his eyes tightly, and when he spoke again, his face wore a pitiful, repentant expression: "This senior..."
"Bang!"
The young man's face was pressed into the ground again.
Xiao Jiu: "Apologize."
"Senior, I..."
"Bang—Apologize."
Xiao Jiu felt that hitting her head repeatedly like that was no fun, but there was nothing she could do about it.
He thought this person must be mentally challenged.
He clearly apologized to Niannian so many times, but this person just doesn't understand and keeps muttering to himself. What else could this be but a sign of mental instability?
Normally, broken things are meant to be broken down, but Xiao Jiu thought about it: this person wasn't grown in his field, so he decided to repair him first.
Xiao Jiu remembered that Suanni had mentioned a quick way to fix things: just tap or knock them.
Just as he was slamming the young man's head into the ground again, he suddenly heard a cry of surprise: "Senior Sister!"
When Xiao Jiu looked up, he saw that his good friend Niannian's whole body was red, and she looked like a blood ball that was gradually expanding, which was very frightening and terrifying.
Xiao Jiu threw the young man aside, ran to the side, picked up the gray ball of fur, and shook it wildly.
"Dog! Dog! Wake up!"
Just as he was getting anxious, a shadow flew through the air and approached him from behind at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The thing was strange; the moment it touched Xiao Jiu's skin, it immediately burrowed halfway inside.
A normal person would be in excruciating pain at this point, but Xiao Jiu didn't feel it at all.
So the thing twisted its body and continued to burrow inside.
Just as it was about to completely disappear into Xiao Jiu's body, a large mouth full of sharp teeth suddenly came close and bit down.
The owner of the mouth was disgusted by the taste of this thing and immediately stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"Dog, flower! Synthetic medicine!"
The gluttonous beast, which was still feeling nauseous, immediately opened its mouth upon hearing this and vomited out a bunch of small white flowers, which were the spirit-transformed morning glories from the warehouse.
Xiao Jiu counted three flowers and grabbed them, putting them into Taotie's mouth. Taotie moved its mouth a few times and then spat out a small box.
Xiao Jiu said "Good job, doggy!" and then grabbed the box and ran towards Qinian, opening the box and pouring the liquid medicine over Qinian's body.
The medicine was light green and thicker than water, but when it came into contact with Qinian's body, it instantly penetrated her red outfit and seeped straight into her skin.
Qinian's body was almost completely shattered by the chaotic spiritual energy caused by the poison and the resulting spiritual energy chaos. He was essentially just a human skin balloon being held together by a single layer of skin.
However, once the medicine entered her body, her swollen skin not only didn't deflate, but it even peeled off completely.
This makes the current prayer for a good harvest look even more terrifying than before.
The girl in yellow wanted to stop it, but after Taotie followed Xiao Jiu over, she was pinned down by something invisible and couldn't move at all.
She could only watch helplessly as box after box of those strange medicines were poured onto her senior sister, her eyes bloodshot with anxiety.
Xiao Jiu didn't pay any attention; he just kept stuffing flowers into Taotie's mouth, taking medicine, and pouring medicine, performing the whole set of actions very smoothly.
Xiao Jiu didn't stop until she had poured out a full fifteen boxes of medicine.
At this moment, Qi Nian, lying on the yellow-clad girl's lap, looked like a mummy wrapped in blood bandages, which were actually her own skin.
The girl in yellow was heartbroken by her pitiful state, but unfortunately, she couldn't move a single finger.
She couldn't believe that this child would harm her senior sister, who had seemed so caring towards her before and even stood up for her.
But the truth is, Senior Sister Qinian's aura has disappeared.
My senior sister is dead.
The instant she realized this, an overwhelming sense of regret and anger surged within her, almost overwhelming her completely.
But suddenly, her ears caught a slight sound.
"Click..."
Her body had been unable to move since before, and her bent-over posture allowed her to immediately see the abnormality of Qinian's "corpse".
Cracks appeared on the peeling skin, which was like a hard shell, and then spread rapidly in all directions within a few seconds.
"Snap!"
An arm stretched out.
The girl in yellow felt the pressure on her suddenly disappear, so she quickly took off her outer garment and draped it over her senior sister.
Underneath her outer garment was only a silver-white kimono, so you could see that her arms and chest were not the fleshy skin of a human, but a pearly greenish-blue.
Xiao Jiu's eyes widened immediately.
Green!
Just like him!
The spirit beast girl isn't stupid; she couldn't possibly not see that Xiao Jiu was saving people, and that she had been being petty before.
She placed her hand on Qi Nian's wrist, used a wisp of spiritual energy to probe his meridians, and finally let out a heavy sigh.
She was about to thank the "little fairy" that Sister Qinian had mentioned when she looked up and met a pair of dark eyes.
The spirit beast girl shuddered inexplicably, then quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, senior."
Xiao Jiu: "It's Xiao Jiu."
The girl wasn't human to begin with, and she wasn't particularly attached to formalities. As soon as the other person said that, she immediately changed her tune: "Thank you, Xiao Jiu."
Seeing Xiao Jiu staring curiously at her arm, she wasn't embarrassed and simply said, "I am a descendant of the Azure Phoenix. And Xiao Jiu?"
Xiao Jiu could already say many words by now, so she immediately answered, "Xiao Jiu, zombie."
Qingluan: "Huh?"
Xiao Jiu thought she hadn't said it well, so she imitated Qing Luan's previous way of speaking and said it again: "Xiao Jiu is a zombie."
Qingluan was even more confused.
She had heard of the ancient Shebi Corpse and knew about the zombies in human legends, but she really didn't know what a zombie was.
Her first thought was that Xiao Jiu might have said something wrong, but when she thought that the zombie's way of acting was completely different from Xiao Jiu's, she immediately dismissed the idea.
However, Qingluan did not dwell on this issue any further.
Qingluan hadn't even fully transformed into human form yet, and was still young. Many rumors in the world changed over time, and some even disappeared altogether.
So she felt it was perfectly normal that she didn't understand this matter; maybe Xiao Jiu was just a monster that nobody knew?
After all, Xiao Jiu's hands, one long and one short, looked quite peculiar.
Because Xiao Jiu had saved her and Qinian, and was the first non-human being she had ever seen since hatching, Qingluan's affection for Xiao Jiu skyrocketed.
She talked to Xiao Jiu for a while, and then suddenly slapped her forehead.
"Oh no! That bad guy got away!"
The young man who harmed Qinian has long since disappeared, and they have been here for so long that even if they wanted to chase after him, they couldn't.
Just as Qingluan was feeling annoyed, she heard a gentle female voice: "Don't be afraid, nothing will happen."
Qingluan was stunned for a moment, and then her whole body burst forth with a vigorous vitality, like a blooming flower: "Senior Sister!"
Qinian casually rummaged through his storage ring for a change of clothes, then gave Qingluan the yellow outer robe to wear.
She carefully fastened the top of Qingluan's collar, then pulled Qingluan around in a circle, making sure that nothing could be seen from the outside before letting go.
Qinian turned around, but Qingluan clung to him from behind.
She rested her chin on Qinian's shoulder, her face full of curiosity: "Senior sister, have you figured out how to deal with that bad guy?"
Qinian didn't avoid it, but just kept the posture and hummed in agreement. Then, in front of Xiao Jiu and Qing Luan, he slowly turned his wrist.
Her movements were slow, yet they carried a mysterious quality that others could not discern.
Soon, a drop of blood seeped from her palm, forming a mysterious array in the air.
The array was made of blood, crimson and ominous.
A hint of sadness shone in Qi Nian's eyes, but her voice remained calm and steady, so the Azure Phoenix behind her couldn't detect anything amiss.
"Return as soon as possible then—wait?"
She abruptly stopped talking.
Qi Nian stared in astonishment at the crumbling blood array in his palm: "What's wrong with the aura...?"
Suddenly, she thought of something and immediately looked at Xiao Jiu, only to see that Xiao Jiu was also looking at her.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a while, Xiao Jiu tilted her head and asked, "Niannian?"
Qi Nian's fingers trembled slightly.
"Little fairy, I—"
Suddenly, she realized something, stopped talking abruptly, and looked to her right.
Something is coming.
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