In less than half a day, Ning Yuzhou was able to stand and move freely. Although his body was still somewhat weak, he was no longer in critical condition.
At this moment, his cultivation level was at the initial stage of the Entry Yuan Stage, the very beginning of a cultivator’s journey. In the Lintai Hunting Valley, this was a level that could be easily crushed by any other cultivator. Yet, Qian Shou dared not underestimate him for this reason and instead showed even greater respect, tinged with a careful reverence.
“Summon back the Qianlin Guards,” Ning Yuzhou said.
Qian Shou responded with a sound of acknowledgment, took out a token, forced a drop of blood from his fingertip, and pressed it onto the token. This was a secret blood technique, the most efficient and reliable method of communication, capable of summoning the scattered Qianlin Guards in this underground space at the fastest speed.
The Qianlin Guards, who had been searching nearby for Wen Qiao’s corpse, quickly returned, although some of those farther away would still need more time.
Next, Ning Yuzhou instructed Qian Shou to fetch a blank talisman paper and a talisman pen. Using the blood of demonic beasts collected in the Lintai Hunting Valley as ink, he swiftly painted on the blank talisman paper. In mere moments, a portrait of a cultivator appeared on the paper.
“Find this person and bring him here,” Ning Yuzhou said. His voice was as gentle as ever, but it carried no warmth.
After glancing at the portrait, Qian Shou did not question how this person had offended his master. Instead, he silently handed the task to ten Qianlin Guards, instructing them to begin the search.
When most of the Qianlin Guards had returned, Ning Yuzhou said, “Let’s depart.”
Qian Shou’s face showed concern. “Your Highness, your injuries have just recovered. Shouldn’t you rest a little longer?” Furthermore, now that the seals had been broken, the spiritual energy of the Lintai Hunting Valley was abundant. It would be better to seize this opportunity to make a breakthrough in cultivation in one go.
“Find Ah Chuo first.”
As Ning Yuzhou spoke, he placed a hand over his chest, a look of melancholy and indescribable pain twisting his expression.
He couldn’t forget that scene—of the young girl who had protected him with her life. It was etched deeply in his mind.
He had never encountered such a foolish girl.
Even though he had done nothing for her, she had unhesitatingly sacrificed her life to protect him in a moment of life and death, disregarding all gains and losses. Her foolishness was heart-wrenching.
Qian Shou’s brow twitched slightly.
This underground space was vast, with countless interconnected caverns and winding passages, more confounding than a labyrinth above ground. Finding someone here would be no easy task.
Moreover, Wen Qiao was already dead. Her corpse had been taken by a demonic beast. Given the habits of demonic beasts, her body had likely already become food, devoured completely.
For demonic beasts, cultivators were an extremely delicious meal.
Qian Shou understood this well, but seeing Ning Yuzhou’s demeanor, he dared not say much, lest it provoke him into doing something reckless. Comparatively, his obsession with finding Wen Qiao’s body was still acceptable.
Thus, Qian Shou spoke in an extremely cautious and indirect tone, “Your Highness, we’ve already explored this place thoroughly. The underground caverns and passages are extensive, forming a flourishing space inhabited by many demonic beasts. Furthermore, this place was originally the demonic cultivation cave of the Lintai Hunting Valley. In seven days, the valley will close, and at that time, those of us still alive will be forcibly ejected…”
The Lintai Hunting Valley created a unique environment with each opening. During the month it remained open, any humans who survived until the valley’s closure would be expelled.
When that time came, even if Ning Yuzhou wished to remain and search for Wen Qiao’s body—assuming it still existed—it would be impossible.
Ning Yuzhou didn’t waste words with him and simply stated, “Ah Chuo should still be alive.”
Qian Shou hesitated, thinking that Ning Yuzhou simply couldn’t accept Wen Qiao’s death.
At that time, he had personally confirmed Wen Qiao’s death. Her life force had been completely severed, with no chance of survival. If not for the sudden appearance of a demonic beast that caught them off guard and took her body, he wouldn’t be so troubled now.
Ning Yuzhou closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his expression was calm as he said, “I have a drop of Ah Chuo’s essence blood in my heart. I can feel her presence.”
Qian Shou: ??????
Ning Yuzhou offered no further explanation.
In the labyrinth above, when the demonic beast attacked them, Wen Qiao shielded him with her own body. The beast inflicted severe injuries on her, damaging her internal organs and causing her vital blood to uncontrollably spray out. By chance, the blood landed on him and seeped through his chest, penetrating into his heart. By some twist of fate, it dissolved the seal that had been binding him.
Ning Yuzhou’s Yuan Spiritual Root was not, as the outside world believed, poisoned and destroyed. Rather, it had been sealed by a restriction that not only suppressed his Yuan Spiritual Root but also prevented him from absorbing the Yuan Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, rendering him seemingly useless.
This restriction was supposed to lift when he reached his coming of age.
Now, with one year left before his coming of age, the restriction that had bound him for nineteen years was unexpectedly undone because of the vital blood that Wen Qiao’s body had shed into his heart.
He did not know why Wen Qiao’s vital blood could lift the seal within his body, but it had also created a mysterious connection between them. Through this drop of blood, he could faintly sense her location.
Ning Yuzhou pressed his hand against his chest, feeling the warmth of that drop of vital blood.
He knew Qian Shou wouldn’t lie to him—Wen Qiao had indeed been dead at the time. Yet, through the connection with that drop of blood, he could sense Wen Qiao somewhere in this underground space.
This sensation was akin to a life-and-death blood pact, an imprint carved into their beings.
No matter what, Ning Yuzhou was unwilling to give up on finding Wen Qiao. Even if she were truly gone, he would venture into the underworld to retrieve her soul.
As long as there was even the slightest hope, he would not abandon that foolish girl.
—
Wen Qiao knew she was dead.
When she had shielded Ning Yuzhou beneath her and bore the demonic beast’s fatal attack, she had felt life slipping away rapidly. That sensation of awaiting death was one she was all too familiar with.
She accepted it calmly, without a trace of resentment or unwillingness, and embraced her death with quiet acceptance.
Having been bedridden for fifteen years, she had always believed her life would end in that manner—quietly passing away one day in the Wen family’s water courtyard. After her death, apart from Lian Yue, no one would mourn or grieve for her. At most, people would occasionally feel regret for her parents, Wen Boqing and his wife, lamenting that their daughter, born with a supreme-grade Yuan Spiritual Root, could not cultivate—a loss to the Wen clan.
Although her life had undergone an upheaval on her coming-of-age day, she knew she could still die at any time.
Just as she had resolved when she cast aside all restrictions to follow Ning Yuzhou into the Lintai Hunting Valley, she had prepared herself to face death at any moment. Even if she perished in the Lintai Hunting Valley, she would not feel disappointed or sorrowful—it was her choice.
To be able to protect Ning Yuzhou was something she considered fortunate.
Ning Yuzhou was the kindest person she had encountered in her life. Even though he was just a mortal unable to cultivate, she did not want him to die.
Compared to her—a person who could die at any moment—Ning Yuzhou had nearly a hundred years of lifespan ahead of him. He shouldn’t die prematurely; he deserved to live his life fully.
She was more than willing to save Ning Yuzhou, even at the cost of her own life.
Wen Qiao knew she was dead, but she somehow seemed to have come back to life.
It was just that the way she came back to life was… peculiar.
Wen Qiao couldn’t help but look at the creature squatting in front of her—a rabbit with eyes like gleaming rubies, staring at her greedily. Its three-parted mouth hung slightly open, and suspiciously transparent drool dripped from it, landing on her with a plop.
Wen Qiao: “.…” Wants to eat me?!
She had the unsettling feeling that this demonic rabbit might eat her at any moment.
As for why it hadn’t eaten her yet, she thought it might be because she was now just a tiny sprout—not big enough to fill even a gap between its teeth. It probably planned to raise her until she was larger, so she’d make a more satisfying bite.
Yes, Wen Qiao had turned into a small sprout rooted in the soil.
She used her divine sense to examine her current appearance: a tiny, two-inch-tall sapling, pale green and tender, with two delicate little leaves. It looked exactly like the small sprout she once held in her palm.
Perhaps this was the true form of her other half, inherited from the Nature Spirit bloodline she awakened after becoming a half-yao.
When Wen Qiao awakened as a half-yao, she developed a yao bone. However, because she was only half-yao, with half her bloodline still human, she naturally did not possess a full Yao body.
This was common knowledge Wen Qiao had gleaned from the fragmented inheritance of half-yaos.
All things in heaven and earth possess spirit, and Nature Spirits are one form of such spirit. As long as a being develops sentience, it can receive an inheritance. However, the content of the inheritance varies depending on its power level and the strength of its bloodline, which is a form of divine favor bestowed upon the Nature Spirits.
Some inheritances are exceedingly simple and practically useless, while others are rich and can benefit a Nature Spirit throughout its life.
Perhaps because Wen Qiao was born frail and weak, even after awakening as a half-yao, she remained malnourished. Her inheritance was fragmented and mostly useless. She had to carefully sift through it every time to find something of value.
To this day, she still didn’t know what kind of Nature Spirit bloodline she had awakened as a half-yao.
Among the Nature Spirits, only pure-blooded Spirit Beasts could freely transform between their original form and human form. Most half-yaos remained in human shape, awakening certain powers of the Spirit Beasts without the ability to manifest a powerful physical form.
If not for her brief death this time, which allowed her to escape the restraints of her human body, she wouldn’t have gained a Nature Spirit form.
She wasn’t sure if this counted as a kind of blessing. Though her Nature Spirit form had turned into a tiny sprout, completely useless and utterly defenseless, it had instead drawn the attention of a demon rabbit, which was eyeing her hungrily, ready to devour her whole.