Chapter 116: Reunion with She Shiyi

The dogs scouted ahead while the lions formed the vanguard. Once they emerged from the marsh, they entered the towering grasslands once more.

The grass still stood as tall as ever, but after traveling for half a day, they only discovered some purplish-red fruits growing at the bases of certain large purple grass roots. Each fruit was roughly the size of a toddler’s head.

Plucking one and weighing it in hand, each fruit surprisingly weighed two to three jin.

“What are those?” Qing Hu pointed to the purplish-red fruits and asked.

“These are Bauhinia fruits,” the black dog replied happily upon seeing them. “This grass is Bauhinia grass, a rare eighth-tier spiritual treasure. These fruits are not only delicious but can also rapidly increase a cultivator’s magical power.”

“Oh wow, there are quite a few here—at least two hundred fruits in this area.”

“Hurry and pick me a ripe one; I want to taste it.”

“All right.” The black dog immediately ran off to gather the fruits.

The Bauhinia fruit’s skin was somewhat thick, preventing moisture loss. The flesh inside was incredibly tasty—juicy and sweet.

Qing Hu ate with satisfaction. “Go gather all the fruits for me, then divide them among yourselves and the fire lions—two fruits per person. Leave the Bauhinia grass trees for me.”

“Master, you brought storage space equipment for transplantation? That’s great! We can keep eating even when we’re out,” the black dog said with envy.

“You, a proud young black wolf, envy others having space gear? Don’t you have any?” Qing Hu asked, puzzled.

“To have space equipment that can permanently store spiritual treasures, you need soil infused with spiritual energy. Where would I get that?” The black dog replied bitterly.

“But the Blue Scale Tribe traded me a shell that can produce its own spring water. I reckon their tribe must have quite a few of those shells?” Qing Hu said. A space item with its own water source should be quite useful.

“That’s only for storing water,” the black dog sneered, unimpressed with the Blue Scale Tribe’s shell.

“If it can hold water, it can hold soil too. Just put some soil inside,” Qing Hu argued.

“Putting soil directly inside is troublesome, and the soil can’t hold much spiritual energy. At best, it can temporarily support a few transplanted spiritual treasures. But these treasures consume a lot of spiritual energy constantly, far beyond what ordinary space equipment can supply. Without enough spiritual energy, the treasures will die,” the black dog explained to Qing Hu.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

No wonder Qing Hu exchanged several Blue Beauty Clams for that seemingly nice little shell.

Clearly, from the Blue Scale Tribe’s perspective, that small shell’s value was very different from what Qing Hu had imagined. They thought such space gear with a built-in spring was quite limited and not highly valuable.

Of course, that little shell hung around Qing Hu’s neck every day and gradually changed, becoming very different from before—exposed daily to Qing Hu’s divine power radiation, it was no surprise.

So whether the shell is limited depends on whose hands it’s in.

“Oh, I see,” Qing Hu responded, then approached the Bauhinia grass trees and tried to draw the tree’s energy into herself.

But nothing happened.

Qing Hu increased her effort, channeling more magical power.

Still no effect.

The roots of the Bauhinia grass trees were deeply entrenched in the earth—not easy to deal with.

If she forcibly drew them out, she would waste her precious magical power and the soil marrow pearl she carried inside.

Good steel must be used on the blade’s edge.

Turning to the black dogs and fire lions, she ordered, “After you finish eating the fruits, help me dig up the trees. Try to keep the roots intact. If I find out you broke my precious Bauhinia grass tree roots, there’ll be trouble.”

The dogs and lions immediately ate their fruits, grumbling but starting to dig.

Though strong, the trees were difficult to uproot; the main roots were generally seven or eight meters long—longer than the tree trunks above ground.

Qing Hu grew impatient with the thinner roots and told the lions and dogs to cut off roots once they reached seven or eight meters. The dug-up trees, along with the surrounding soil, were absorbed back into the little shell.

Thus, the soil platform turned into a large earth mound with steep slopes surrounding the spiritual pool. Besides the abundant fragrant oil flowers, many Bauhinia grass trees were transplanted there.

Under the cleansing and radiation of divine energy, the previously withered uprooted Bauhinia trees revived one by one.

Moreover, the appearance of the Bauhinia grass trees gave the scattered soil-dwelling ginseng larvae a new home. With a large tree for shelter and plenty to eat, it was far better than feeding on just the fragrant oil flower roots.

The young grass insects were delighted, and the wandering green-tailed chickens were happy too. Though the Bauhinia trees were tall, the chickens had wings and could easily fly up. This gave them both exercise and access to fresh grass blades and stalks—much better than only eating fragrant oil flowers.

Even rice, eaten every day, can become tiresome; variety is necessary.

After uprooting the large trees, everyone was exhausted, and Qing Hu was hungry, so she decided to cook a meal. They would eat their fill first, then continue their journey.

During the meal, Qing Hu enjoyed fresh fish and shrimp meat.

The fire lions and black dogs made do with just broth.

The unlucky others ate dry rations.

The aroma from the big pot of boiling meat made them all salivate, almost to tears. “Sister Hu is too cruel, tempting us with delicacies every day. We’re so tempted we might get into trouble sooner or later.”

The fire lions saw their kin eyeing the soup bowls longingly and felt quite frustrated.

“Master, can we buy some fresh meat from you with spirit stones?”

“Why didn’t you bring more food when entering the Xuanyuan Tower?” Qing Hu replied, somewhat unwilling. The meat she brought was all from the little fish she had stored. These guys ventured out without food and now wanted to freeload on her supplies. She didn’t like that.

“We planned to hunt after arriving. We are following you, after all,” the fire lion said, implying they had no time to hunt while accompanying her.

Qing Hu thought for a moment and said, “Fine. Buy it with spirit stones. Tell me what meat and how much you need.”

“Master, give us two thousand jin of ninth-tier fish and shrimp meat for twenty spirit stones. How about that?” The fire lion quoted prices from Wuding City’s fierce beast meat market.

“Okay.” Since the meat was free for her, selling it was pure profit.

“Well, we want some too,” the black dog said. They had spirit stones and were craving meat.

“Fine.” Qing Hu accepted the spirit stones and sold four thousand jin of fish and shrimp meat.

The dogs and young lions happily cooked the meat again. After this meal, they were noticeably more energetic and began chatting and laughing heartily.

“After eating, where do we head next?” Qing Hu asked the black dog.

The black dog closed his eyes, concentrating deeply.

Sweat dripped from his forehead before he opened his eyes again.

“There’s a big treasure in that direction,” he said, pointing.

“Good, let’s go that way.”

Qing Hu looked at the simple map the black dog had drawn of the surrounding mountains and rivers, then marked a path with a small black stone.

To leave the towering grasslands, they had to pass through a canyon formed by a mountain fissure.

To reach the place the black dog indicated, they needed to cross the canyon ahead.

However, shortly after leaving the grasslands and entering the narrow valley, they found the path blocked.

Hissing sounds came from beneath the scattered rocks—many venomous snakes emerged.

The scouting dogs were suddenly ambushed and attacked by these venomous snakes.

The snakes sprayed venom that formed a pale green poisonous mist in the air.

The mist engulfed a large patch of half-human-height grass, which visibly withered and rotted.

Even the soil touched by the mist hissed and seemed corroded.

The dogs panicked, yelping and running wildly.

They almost fled past the fire lions toward Qing Hu’s position.

Yet, wherever Qing Hu stood, the dogs dared not pass beyond her—like there was a line of life and death beneath her feet.

“This poison is too strong. How are we supposed to get through?” The black dog led the retreat and came to Qing Hu’s side to report and complain. “Sister Hu, our path is blocked by these venomous snakes. They not only spray venom but that venom spreads into a deadly green mist. Anything touched by the mist even the soil corrodes and smokes. Terrifying.”

“They’re just legless creatures. How can they outrun your four legs?” Qing Hu immediately questioned. “Why are you running like scared mice?”

“Sister Hu…” The black dog looked timid, like a bullied little victim.

“Useless. Come on, take me to see them,” Qing Hu ordered.

The black dog quickly led her forward, and soon they saw the rocky ground and the snakes.

The snakes sprawled across the rocks, blocking the narrow path through the canyon.

“Is there no other way?” Qing Hu asked.

“No, the surrounding mountains are very tall and steep, hard to climb. If we don’t take this shortcut, we’d waste a lot of time climbing the mountains. The problem is, if we don’t enter the new spiritual cave within twenty-four hours, we’ll be teleported out,” the black dog said bitterly.

“Then we have no choice but to push through,” Qing Hu looked at the snakes and poisonous mist.

The black dog almost cried. “They’re venomous snakes; we can’t fight them. Plus, there’s deadly mist. If we recklessly attack, we’ll get bitten or poisoned.”

“Pathetic. Little lions, bring your people over and breathe fire. Burn away that toxic mist first,” Qing Hu commanded.

“Coming, coming.” The young lions arrived with their subordinates and began breathing fire.

The flames blazed, quickly incinerating the poisonous mist.

A foul stench drifted through the air.

The snakes, afraid of fire, retreated into the deeper rocks.

Though they kept their distance, the path was still not safe. The snakes lurked deeper, ready to ambush.

Qing Hu wanted snake soup, but time was limited; they couldn’t linger.

She cupped her hands and shouted, “Is anyone here? Come and collect your snakes! Otherwise, we’ll burn them for snake meat. Who will be responsible if you come out after the snakes are cooked?”

“Coming, coming! Don’t burn them, don’t burn them! They’re hard to raise. Feeding one costs thirty purple gold coins,” two snake-eyed youths ran up, waving frantically for Qing Hu not to roast the snakes.

“Why block the path with snakes?” Qing Hu said irritably. “You almost poisoned us.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. We didn’t expect anyone here in this remote place. The mist is to defend against wild beasts,” one snake-eyed youth said shrewdly, blinking his narrow eyes.

Thin eyebrows, narrow eyes, single eyelids, thin lips, and a flat nose—he truly bore the traits of a serpent. That snake-like gaze looked familiar.

“Who are you fooling? You found a spiritual cave here and are blocking the path to keep others out, right?” Qing Hu folded her arms, her gaze hostile.

The two youths stiffened, then quickly denied, “No, no spiritual cave here.”

“Trying to lie to me? Want a beating? If you don’t speak the truth, I’ll cook you into snake soup,” Qing Hu snapped.

“Don’t, don’t cook us! There is a spiritual cave here, Shen Qing Hu. We’ve been waiting for you. I said if you didn’t come soon, I’d come find you,” a third snake-eyed youth appeared from behind them, running over eagerly.

Qing Hu recognized him immediately—it was She Shiyi Lang.

“Shiyi, such a lousy place really has a spiritual cave?” Qing Hu glanced around. This place was nothing but barren mountains and wild grass, hardly the sort to hide a spiritual cave.

“The better the spiritual cave, the more it hides in plain sight. Come on, we’ve been waiting for you,” She Shiyi Lang said.

“Waiting for me? Did you find others, too?” Qing Hu was curious.

“Of course. Besides my kin, three from the Fire-Tailed Chick Tribe have also arrived,” She Shiyi Lang said.

“Only three? We have more—thirty-one including me,” Qing Hu said. “Do you really need so many?”

“Yes, very much so. We miscalculated before, thinking our group plus you four outsiders would be enough to break the cave’s defenses and enter. But no. We’ve been fighting all day and made no progress.

Time is short. If we don’t enter soon, we’ll have to rest at another nearby spiritual cave.

Also, a brother told me this might be a large spiritual cave, which often have multiple visible entrances elsewhere. If others get in first and we don’t, our efforts are wasted.”

Hearing this, Qing Hu scoffed, “Then what are we waiting for? We must race against time—lead the way and let’s break the barrier and claim the place. I’ve been wanting to rest and eat for a while now.”

She Shiyi Lang was speechless.

“Quickly now.”

“All right, all right,” She Shiyi Lang hurried.

“By the way, keep blocking this place,” he instructed the two snake-eyed youths.

“Yes. Keep blocking well. Once we’re inside, no need to block anymore. Then everyone can enter together,” Qing Hu said.

“Right. Shen Qing Hu, let’s go. I’ll lead you,” She Shiyi Lang beckoned for them to follow.

They circled a large rock and found a huge pit on the other side, seemingly freshly dug.

She Shiyi Lang jumped down.

Oh! Qing Hu finally understood why he only poked out his head before—he must have just climbed out of that pit.

“Hurry down, there’s still a long way to go,” She Shiyi Lang shouted from below.

“Since it’s far, why not open a cave nearby?” Qing Hu asked as she jumped down.

“There’s no suitable path nearby. Only through this underground cavern can we safely reach the place. Let’s go quickly. If I hadn’t sensed you arriving, I wouldn’t have stopped you. You might have roasted my snake babies,” She Shiyi Lang said with relief.

“Even the most venomous snakes fear fire. If they meet fire lions or similar, they’re definitely suppressed,” Qing Hu smiled.

The deeper they went, the more the cavern extended underground, growing colder and damper.

After some time with no sign of the spiritual cave, Qing Hu asked, “Is the spiritual cave inside the underground water veins?”

“Hmm, I can’t say for sure. You’ll understand when we get there.”

What does “you’ll understand when we get there” mean?

When they arrived, Qing Hu finally understood. This cave was strange—the seven-colored barrier’s entrance was aboveground, but its core was underwater in an underground lake.

No wonder She Shiyi Lang called for her.

“Are you planning to send my little fish scouts ahead?” Qing Hu asked.

“I’ll send all my small snakes too,” She Shiyi Lang said. “I’ve raised over a thousand highly venomous black-spotted king snakes.”

“I’ve got hundreds of light sword fish ready as well—seven or eight hundred,” Qing Hu said.

“That’s enough. Just scouting ahead. If not possible, we’ll slow down the exploration. As long as we aren’t behind others, entering the spiritual cave first is best,” She Shiyi Lang said seriously.

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So tired, taking a day off to rest.

.bqkan8..bqkan8.

Le Wen