Wen Qiao went through the sequence of events in her mind but was still a little confused about her current situation.
When the labyrinth was attacked by demonic beasts, she suffered severe injuries and immediately lost consciousness. She had no idea what happened afterward, nor did she know Ning Yuzhou’s fate or how she ended up here.
Thinking of this, she felt a little worried about her husband, hoping he was safe.
Next, Wen Qiao used her divine sense to probe her surroundings and discovered she was in an underground cave. A few faintly glowing stones were embedded sporadically in the walls, allowing her to vaguely make out the environment. The air here was moist, and the climate warm, perfectly suited for the growth of spiritual plants. As a plant herself, Wen Qiao naturally found the temperature and humidity quite comfortable, making her feel at ease.
However, she felt a bit troubled, unsure of where this place was or if it was still within the Lintai Hunting Valley.
Her gaze fell once again on the demonic rabbit guarding her, which was staring at her while drooling.
The demonic rabbit was covered in flawless white fur, with gemstone-like red eyes. It looked like a fluffy snowball and was extremely adorable. However, to Wen Qiao, who was now only two inches tall, even a fluffy little rabbit seemed like a giant beast.
If she were still human, she would naturally have adored such a snowball-like little rabbit. But now that she was a tiny sprout and had become potential food for it, she was no longer fond of it.
Perhaps the rabbit couldn’t resist its craving any longer, as it finally opened its mouth toward her. Its two large front teeth glinted brightly, and without any doubt, their bite force was sufficient to crush her little sprout completely.
Just when Wen Qiao thought the demonic rabbit was going to treat her demonic form as food and devour her, it instead licked her two tiny leaves, leaving behind a slick, wet trail.
Wen Qiao: “…………” I want to eat rabbit!
The demonic rabbit seemed to adore her, licking her two tiny leaves several times before reluctantly closing its mouth. Then it lay down beside her, carefully guarding her.
Wen Qiao felt a strange emotion welling up inside her.
Since no one disturbed her, Wen Qiao continued studying her demonic form.
She wanted to quickly transform back into human form and leave this place. However, the inheritance she had received was incomplete. After searching through the fragmented knowledge in her sea of consciousness for a long time, she still couldn’t figure out how to transform from her demonic form back into human form. She could only slowly figure it out herself.
After successfully transforming into her demonic form, Wen Qiao belatedly realized that she could now use divine sense.
Divine sense was a supernatural ability that cultivators could only use after reaching the Yuan Martial Stage. This was because, after the Yuan Martial Stage, a cultivator’s sea of consciousness expanded, and their primordial spirit solidified to a certain degree, granting them divine sense. Cultivators below the Yuan Martial Stage could not awaken divine sense and still relied on their physical eyes.
Although she was now just a tiny sprout, as a semi-demon with spiritual intelligence, she carried a certain mystical bloodline. Compared to humans, she had an advantage, and divine sense was one of those advantages. Her divine sense could now substitute for her physical eyes, allowing her to perceive her surroundings within a range of several dozen zhang, comparable to the divine sense of a Yuan Martial Stage cultivator.
After researching for most of the day, Wen Qiao finally realized that aside from divine sense, she didn’t seem to have any other advantages =口=!
What use was this demonic form?
Was it because she was still just a tiny sprout and, by the standards of plant growth, merely a seedling? Was that why she had no abilities?
Wen Qiao couldn’t help but shake her leaves.
As her tender green leaves quivered, the demonic rabbit opened its eyes to look at her, then licked her a few more times.
Wen Qiao: “…………”
Wen Qiao froze her leaves in place. After the rabbit finished licking, she was just about to shake off the saliva when she suddenly noticed the rabbit leap up. Its ruby-like eyes fixed warily on the entrance to the cave, its entire body tense and alert.
Wen Qiao’s heart stirred, and her divine sense spread outward.
At the entrance of the cave, a third-grade Fire Gnawing Rat appeared, its eyes staring fixedly at the tiny sprout being guarded by the demonic rabbit.
Wen Qiao’s leaves quivered again. She was far too familiar with that gaze—the demonic rabbit was looking at her with the same drooling expression it had before, treating her as a delicious snack.
What happened next left the little sprout witnessing a battle between a rabbit and a rat. She also got a glimpse of the demonic rabbit’s combat prowess.
Despite its appearance as a fluffy little bunny, the rabbit held its ground against the third-grade Fire Gnawing Rat, which was several times its size. Its speed was terrifyingly fast. With a leap and a sudden swipe of its claws, the rabbit sent tufts of the rat’s fur flying, accompanied by its pitiful squeals, until the rat fled in defeat, badly injured.
The demonic rabbit let out a disdainful grinding noise, then sprawled back down beside Wen Qiao, licking her a few more times as though she were a seasoning for its victory.
Wen Qiao was left utterly speechless.
Not long after the Fire Gnawing Rat fled, a fourth-grade White-Scaled Snake appeared, coiling itself at the cave entrance. Compared to the rabbit, the size difference was like that between an elephant and an ant.
The White-Scaled Snake had come for Wen Qiao’s demonic form as well.
Unfazed, the rabbit hissed a warning before leaping toward the snake.
The rabbit’s movements were incredibly fast and agile. Before the White-Scaled Snake could react, it had already been kicked by the rabbit’s hind legs, sending its massive body hurtling into the cave wall. Stalactites fell from above, crashing down onto the snake’s body.
Wen Qiao bore witness to this miraculous sight: a little bunny no larger than a palm was actually overpowering a fourth-grade White-Scaled Snake, forcing it to flee in a cacophony of hisses and cries.
The rabbit gave her leaves a lick, letting the snake escape without pursuing it further.
Wen Qiao scrutinized the demonic rabbit but couldn’t tell what rank it was. Other than its slightly shorter ears, it looked no different from the typical first- or second-rank demonic rabbits commonly found outside. For most cultivators, such low-ranking demonic beasts were merely a meal on a plate.
Soon after, more demonic beasts began to appear, one after another.
All of them looked at Wen Qiao with the same ravenous gaze. Strangely enough, however intense the battles became, they would all somehow steer clear of her exact location. The area around her remained untouched amidst the flying debris, not a single scratch reaching her.
A growing premonition took hold in Wen Qiao’s heart.
Her demonic form seemed to have become some sort of rare treasure of heaven and earth, attracting a swarm of demonic beasts fighting to claim it.
Wen Qiao knew that many rare treasures of heaven and earth were often guarded by companion beasts. These companion beasts would protect the treasure as it matured, either to consume it for their own evolution or to form a symbiotic bond, ensuring no one else could covet it.
So… were these demonic beasts actually fighting for the right to be her companion beast?
This speculation left Wen Qiao utterly stunned. She couldn’t help but think that the bloodline on her other side must be extraordinary. Otherwise, how could her mere transformation into a demonic form immediately attract so many demonic beasts fighting over her?
It was worth noting that the demonic beasts attracted so far were of relatively low rank—likely because her demonic form was still in its infancy. The demonic rabbit managed to win every fight with ease.
This rabbit was ridiculously strong.
After observing several battles, Wen Qiao came to understand that the rabbit was a wind-type demonic beast. It could manipulate the wind to fly, boasting incredible speed and power. These two abilities alone allowed it to crush other demonic beasts.
Could this rabbit actually be a mutated demonic beast?
For demonic beasts, the strength of their bloodline was determined at birth. Breaking through the limits of one’s innate bloodline was nearly impossible unless a mutation occurred. Once a demonic beast underwent a mutation, regardless of its rank, it would far surpass others of the same rank. If such a beast could continue to consume treasures of heaven and earth after mutating, it might even achieve a complete transformation, attaining human form and soaring to new heights.
As Wen Qiao was lost in thought, she noticed the rabbit suddenly dragging out a storage pouch from who-knows-where. It began pulling out spiritual pills to eat.
Her gaze fell on the familiar storage pouch, and an urge to gnaw the rabbit to death surged within her.
That was her storage pouch! It was the one her husband had tied to her body so she could access it anytime she needed. Now, the storage pouch filled with spiritual pills had become the private property of this rabbit, and watching it happily dig out and devour pill after pill was simply infuriating.
The demonic rabbit seemed to have a particular fondness for spiritual pills. After consuming over a dozen, it finally appeared satisfied. It carefully stashed the storage pouch away, resumed its post beside Wen Qiao, closed its eyes, and prepared to face the next fight.
Every demonic beast coveting Wen Qiao had been driven away by the rabbit.
This behavior of the rabbit’s, oddly enough, gave Wen Qiao a sense of security.
At the moment, she was nothing more than a fragile little sprout, unable to move or escape. If a herbivorous demonic beast decided it couldn’t wait for her to mature and treated her as a snack, it would be a complete tragedy.
In the two days since Wen Qiao woke up, she had seen the rabbit chase away numerous demonic beasts.
These beasts ranged from third-rank to fourth-rank, then fifth-rank and sixth-rank. The challenges grew increasingly difficult until a sixth-rank Armor-Devouring Beast appeared. The rabbit barely managed to fend it off, sustaining severe injuries in the process before finally defeating the beast.
After dragging the Armor-Devouring Beast’s corpse to the cave entrance, the rabbit rummaged through the storage pouch, swallowed several healing spiritual pills, and quietly stayed beside Wen Qiao to recover.
The presence of the Armor-Devouring Beast’s corpse acted as a deterrent, and no other demonic beasts appeared afterward.
Wen Qiao thought she might enjoy a few peaceful days, but unexpectedly, the rabbit—still in the midst of healing—suddenly pricked its ears. Its ruby-red eyes locked warily on the cave entrance. After glancing at Wen Qiao, it hesitated for a moment before scurrying into a crevice densely covered by vines to hide.
Wen Qiao soon understood why the rabbit had hidden.
“Look, there’s a demonic beast corpse here,” a gentle female voice rang out.
This was followed by a male voice. “Miss Wen, be careful. That’s a sixth-rank Armor-Devouring Beast.”
Extending her divine sense, Wen Qiao quickly noticed a group of about ten cultivators outside the cave. Among them was her cousin, Wen Xian, as well as disciples from other families in the Dongling Kingdom, temporarily banding together for training.
Understanding the situation, Wen Qiao also realized why the rabbit had chosen to hide. After its grueling battle, it was severely injured and stood no chance against ten cultivators.
Wen Qiao, however, was now worried about herself.
Without the protection of a companion beast, would she, as a tiny sprout, be mistaken for some kind of spiritual herb and get plucked by the cultivators?
The group, led by Wen Xian, peered into the cave.
The cave was about twenty zhang deep and could be seen to its end at a glance. Along the walls, shade-loving vines with dark green leaves thrived, covering much of the area.
Ever since they had fallen into this underground space from the labyrinth, the group had discovered that the terrain here was vast and winding, with a far greater variety of demonic beasts and spiritual plants than outside. They had already gained quite a harvest. These caves, filled with shade-loving spiritual plants, were common. Occasionally, they could even find some high-grade spiritual herbs. However, the abundance of demonic beasts made collecting these herbs an arduous task.
Due to the Armor-Devouring Beast’s corpse at the entrance, the group refrained from entering recklessly.
Among the group, Wen Xian and Zheng Haoran, a disciple of the Zheng family, took the lead. After inspecting the Armor-Devouring Beast’s corpse, Zheng Haoran remarked, “This beast has sustained many wounds, primarily from wind blades and brute force. The one that killed it must be a wind-type demonic beast.”
The constant battles among demonic beasts for territory and resources were commonplace. Upon understanding the cause of the Armor-Devouring Beast’s death, the group relaxed slightly.
At least it wasn’t a trap set by someone else.
“The Armor-Devouring Beast was a sixth-rank demonic beast. The one that killed it must be no less than sixth rank. Everyone, be careful,” Wen Xian said gently.
“Why would that demonic beast leave the Armor-Devouring Beast’s corpse here?”
“Perhaps the demonic beast was also severely injured and had to hide and recuperate, avoiding other powerful beasts drawn by the scent of blood.”
The world of demonic beasts was far more brutal than that of humans. The strong ruled, and if a wounded beast didn’t hide to recover in time, it could easily fall prey to opportunistic attackers.
After some speculation, the group decided to investigate the cave further.
Wen Qiao did her best to pretend to be a patch of ordinary weeds. She didn’t even dare to let her leaves tremble, terrified of being discovered.
Fortunately, there were some other weeds growing nearby, allowing Wen Qiao to blend in and avoid being discovered. Since the spot where she was rooted was off to the side, several pairs of feet passed by her but did not trample her. Her leaves and sprout remained intact.
Seeing the other weeds nearby crushed and broken underfoot, Wen Qiao felt a pang of sympathy for them, sharing a sense of common plight.
Wen Xian and the others found no high-value spiritual herbs in the cave. They collected the corpse of the sixth-rank Armor-Devouring Beast and quickly left.
Wen Qiao let out a breath of relief.
Some time after they left, the demonic rabbit emerged from its hiding place. Its white fur was stained with blood and dust, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless—nothing like the majestic rabbit that had previously challenged countless beasts on its own.
Dragging its frail body, the rabbit returned to her side, its ears twitching. Unable to resist, it licked her leaves a few more times.
Wen Qiao was utterly numb to it by now.
Just as the rabbit was licking her, its ears perked up again, and it quickly hid itself once more.
Seeing this, Wen Qiao thought that Wen Xian’s group had returned. She hurriedly continued pretending to be a patch of ordinary grass, doing her best to avoid being plucked.
Another group of cultivators walked into the cave.
When Wen Qiao “saw” the person leading the group through her divine sense, her leaves began to tremble with excitement.
Her husband had arrived!