As a little sapling that could do nothing except move two tiny leaves, Wen Qiao remained as quiet as a chicken the entire way.
She was being carried by Ning Yuzhou as they left the cave they had stayed in for the past few days.
The place was an underground space, vast and expansive, with a terrain that was varied and complex. Winding passages connected countless caves, and there was an abundance of spiritual plants. Along the way, Wen Qiao noticed many rare varieties of spiritual herbs that were difficult to find outside. She wished desperately that she were in human form so she could dig them all up.
These spiritual plants were not of high grade, starting only at the second or third tier. However, many were rare outside, and to Wen Qiao, who was currently obsessed with spiritual plants, none of them could be passed up.
Unfortunately, she was now just a little sapling and couldn’t dig them up herself.
Wen Qiao was so disappointed that even her leaves drooped.
Ning Yuzhou lowered his head and glanced at the little sapling that had suddenly wilted. His gaze shifted to the surrounding low-grade spiritual herbs, which he had been ignoring. These were spiritual plants so low-grade that not even demonic beasts bothered to guard them. They were everywhere, and anyone could dig them up without contest. They were probably seeds the cave’s original owner had casually scattered, left to grow on their own.
Ning Yuzhou suddenly said, “These spiritual herbs are of decent variety. Dig up a few of each kind and take them back.”
Qian Shou was momentarily stunned but quickly relayed the order, instructing a few Qianlin Guards to start digging up the herbs.
After giving the order, Ning Yuzhou lowered his head again. He noticed that the little sapling, which had been wilting just moments before, had instantly perked up, with its small leaves trembling slightly.
His expression grew subtle. The solemn look he had been wearing for the past few days finally softened, and he showed his first smile in days.
Qian Shou caught sight of this and was quite puzzled, but he also felt a sense of relief.
As long as he was smiling. What they feared most was him keeping a cold face all the time, which was incredibly stressful!
From then on, whenever they came across rare varieties of spiritual herbs, regardless of their grade, Ning Yuzhou would instruct the Qianlin Guards to carefully dig up a few plants and store them in jade boxes.
Ning Yuzhou’s actions left the Qianlin Guards baffled, and Qian Shou couldn’t help but wonder. Had he finally accepted Wen Qiao’s death and stopped obsessing over finding her corpse? Earlier, when they encountered that demonic rabbit, they had only found Wen Qiao’s storage pouch and hadn’t seen her body. Qian Shou had a bad feeling.
Her corpse had probably already been eaten by some demonic beast, leaving nothing behind.
The fact that the demonic rabbit had snatched Wen Qiao’s body was likely because of the spiritual pills in her storage pouch. The demonic rabbit clearly had a fondness for consuming spiritual pills.
Although he still had doubts in his heart, Qian Shou didn’t voice them. He only wished Ning Yuzhou would stop fixating on finding Wen Qiao’s body.
With only a few days left until the Lintai Hunting Valley closed, the underground space was simply too vast. Trying to find a body that might have already been devoured by a demonic beast was an almost impossible task. From the very beginning, Qian Shou had not held much hope.
As they passed through a concealed cave, Ning Yuzhou finally instructed everyone to take a break.
The cave wasn’t large, and a few luminous stones were embedded sporadically in the walls, resembling stars in the night sky.
This underground space likely contained a vein of luminous stones scattered across different areas. It was thanks to the presence of these luminous stones that the spiritual plants here thrived so abundantly.
In the depths of the cave grew a cluster of vine-like plants, covering an entire wall. Their dark green leaves were interspersed with purple flowers, and occasionally, red fruits could be seen, emitting a sweet fragrance.
After surveying the cave, Ning Yuzhou said to the Qianlin Guards, “I want to rest here for a while. All of you, leave.”
Qian Shou responded and quickly prepared a resting area for him before retreating with the Qianlin Guards to guard the cave entrance.
Ning Yuzhou walked around the cave, casually setting up a soundproof array. Then, he lifted his robes, sat on a clean, flat stone that Qian Shou had prepared, and placed the white jade pot he was carrying in front of him, examining the little sapling inside.
Wen Qiao continued to pretend to be just a sapling, remaining motionless.
Then her leaves were stroked again by her husband.
Wen Qiao thought to herself, Well, he’s my husband. Since he went through all the trouble to dig me up, letting him touch my leaves a few times is fine. It’s still better than being licked by that demonic rabbit.
Thus, she remained particularly calm.
Ning Yuzhou gently stroked the two small leaves for a while before suddenly saying, “Ah Chuo.”
Wen Qiao: (⊙w⊙) Surely he wasn’t calling her, right?
When Ning Yuzhou saw the reflexive tremble of the leaves, he chuckled softly, his brows arching with infinite tenderness. In a warm voice, he said, “Ah Chuo, is that you?”
Wen Qiao stared at him in shock, completely unable to react.
How did he know it was her?
As if sensing her confusion, Ning Yuzhou continued, “I have a drop of your essence blood within me. Not only did it break the seal in my body, allowing me to cultivate, but it also lets me sense you. I know this is you.”
Wen Qiao listened without fully understanding, still staring at him in astonishment, her two leaves moving again.
Then, Ning Yuzhou explained what had happened after she fell unconscious. Wen Qiao finally understood how her essence blood ended up in his body. It was all a coincidence—who could have guessed that Ning Yuzhou’s body would be so unique, capable of automatically absorbing the essence blood she had accidentally sprayed out? By sheer chance, the two of them had formed a rudimentary blood bond.
This blood bond was of a very low level and did not deeply affect either of them. It only allowed Ning Yuzhou to vaguely sense her presence.
Wen Qiao felt a mix of emotions. So that was it. No wonder Ning Yuzhou had come looking for her, managed to spot her among a field of weeds, and dug her up without being fooled by her demonic body.
After witnessing the demonic beasts fighting fiercely over her demonic body and seeing Wen Xian and others turn a blind eye, Wen Qiao had come to understand that the aura of her demonic body had a mysterious allure to demonic beasts. To human cultivators, however, she was no different from a weed, completely indistinguishable from other spiritual plants.
For her, this was a natural form of camouflage.
Ning Yuzhou smiled as he watched the little sapling in the white jade pot unconsciously twitch its leaves. Unable to resist, he stroked her leaves again.
Perhaps because he knew this was Wen Qiao, he instinctively felt more fondness toward her. Now, the more he looked, the cuter the delicate little sapling seemed to him. Even her fragile, tender appearance was endearing, leaving him with no complaints.
He didn’t even question it. He simply and completely accepted the fact that Wen Qiao had turned into a plant.
Wen Qiao noticed the familiar expression on his face. Compared to the cold, murderous aura from earlier, this was the Ning Yuzhou she was familiar with, the one that gave her a sense of security. She could naturally sense the kindness he exuded.
Wen Qiao felt conflicted. There were many things she wanted to ask Ning Yuzhou, but unfortunately, she couldn’t speak. Her two leaves couldn’t help but move again.
“Don’t worry. We have time. I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” Ning Yuzhou said soothingly, stroking her leaves to comfort her.
Wen Qiao quickly calmed down, her leaves brushing against his outstretched fingers.
The smile on Ning Yuzhou’s face deepened. In a soft voice, he said, “Are you wondering why I can suddenly cultivate? It’s a long story…”
Wen Qiao’s spirits lifted. Yes, she was still very confused. How did her husband, who used to be a “good-for-nothing,” suddenly gain the ability to cultivate? Wasn’t he born with a damaged Yuan Spiritual Root due to poisoning, doomed to remain a mortal his whole life?
Could it be that the poison was cured?
And what was that seal he mentioned earlier?
“When I was born, there was a seal within my body. Unlike other cultivators, I was unable to cultivate. Only when I reached adulthood would the seal naturally break, allowing me to begin cultivation,” Ning Yuzhou explained slowly. “My father feared that others would discover this difference and harm me, so he claimed that my Yuan Spiritual Root had been damaged by poison.”
Wen Qiao twitched her leaves slightly, indicating she understood.
Ning Yuzhou gently stroked her tender leaves again. His movements were so light, as if afraid that even the slightest force might snap the fragile leaves. He continued, “I was born with the ability to recall things. The seal within me was due to the divine bloodline I inherited.”
Wen Qiao’s leaves instantly stiffened. Her consciousness focused on him, looking at him with curiosity. Could it be that he, too, had awakened some kind of divine bloodline?
Ning Yuzhou did indeed possess a kind of extraordinary bloodline.
Unlike Wen Qiao, he was born with his extraordinary bloodline already awakened. This caused him to be inherently knowledgeable from birth. However, because the power of his bloodline was too overwhelming and the inheritance within him was exceptionally complete, his fragile, untrained young body was unable to bear the awakened bloodline’s strength. To protect him, the power of the bloodline sealed off his Yuan Spiritual Root, safeguarding his growth.
If nothing unexpected had happened, the seal within him would have naturally broken after he reached adulthood, allowing him to begin cultivation.
But fate is unpredictable. Who could have foreseen that during this trip to Lintai Hunting Valley, Wen Qiao’s essence blood would break the seal in his body, enabling him to start cultivating ahead of time?
Fortunately, by now, he was an adult, and his body was no longer as fragile as it had been in childhood. He could fully withstand the power of his awakened bloodline. After the seal was lifted, Ning Yuzhou naturally became a cultivator, no longer hindered by its effects.
After revealing his secret, Ning Yuzhou looked at the little sapling in his hands, lost in thought, and said, “Ah Chuo, you must have also awakened some kind of extraordinary bloodline, right? And it seems to be plant-based.”
Wen Qiao’s leaves trembled slightly. Her husband was indeed exceptionally intelligent to deduce this much.
When she heard him mention that his inheritance was complete, Wen Qiao, who had received only a fragmented inheritance due to her underdeveloped state, couldn’t help but place her hopes on him. Perhaps he could help her figure out what was going on with her demonic body and determine what kind of extraordinary bloodline she had awakened so she could quickly find a way to return to her human form.
Ning Yuzhou seemed to hear her thoughts. After studying her closely for a moment, he regretfully said, “I can’t tell what kind of extraordinary bloodline you’ve awakened. Your demonic body appears very ordinary.”
Wen Qiao’s leaves drooped.
She already knew that her current appearance was no different from the weeds on the roadside. If not for the fierce competition among demonic beasts for her demonic body those few days, she might have thought of herself as utterly useless.
Ning Yuzhou quickly stroked her leaves and said, “But it must be incredibly powerful. Otherwise, how could a single drop of your essence blood have broken the seal within me, allowing me to cultivate ahead of time? In a way, Ah Chuo is my benefactor.”
Hearing this, Wen Qiao perked up again.
By now, she no longer feared that he would discover her secret. Since they both possessed extraordinary bloodlines, it had become a shared secret. Sharing secrets only deepened her trust in him, and Wen Qiao grew even more reassured in his presence.
The two of them talked for a long time—well, it was mostly Ning Yuzhou talking while Wen Qiao listened, occasionally twitching her leaves in agreement. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
With his sharp mind and some guessing, coupled with Wen Qiao’s reactions, Ning Yuzhou quickly pieced together most of her situation.