“So, you’re a half-yao,” he said. “It seems that when you fell from the maze above, it pushed you into a near-death state, which triggered the awakening of the demonic bloodline within you. It’s a case of destruction before rebirth, which allowed you to successfully transform into a demonic body and revive. That demonic rabbit must have sensed the aura you emitted during your transformation and seized the opportunity to take your body…”
Speaking of the demonic rabbit, Ning Yuzhou frowned slightly.
Wen Qiao quickly brushed his fingers with her leaves, signaling for him not to mind.
The demonic rabbit had indeed indirectly caused her death. But in a twist of fate, it also allowed her to break through the shackles of being a half-yao and fully transform into her demonic body. Not to mention, the rabbit had guarded her over the past few days. Now that she thought about it, the demonic rabbit had attacked them in the maze above to snatch spiritual pills from the cultivators—it had no intention of harming them. Otherwise, with its strength near the sixth rank as a mutated rabbit, killing them in the maze would have been effortless.
It was just her bad luck that her body was so fragile. After taking two hits, she was already at her limit and later truly died.
Reluctantly accepting her reasoning, Ning Yuzhou decided to temporarily ignore the demonic rabbit.
He then carefully examined Wen Qiao and said, “Your current demonic body seems to be in a juvenile state…” He paused, recalling how his little wife in human form was also still a child.
No wonder her transformed demonic body was just a tiny sapling—it made perfect sense.
This delicate little wife of his would take quite some time to mature, but that was fine. He could wait.
“When will you be able to transform back into human form?” Ning Yuzhou asked.
Wen Qiao shyly curled her leaves. She didn’t know either. Without a complete inheritance, she only had a vague understanding of her extraordinary bloodline. Aside from being able to automatically absorb the spiritual essence of surrounding vegetation to cultivate, it seemed she had no other abilities. Truly, comparing herself to others was just infuriating.
Seeing this, Ning Yuzhou immediately understood and comforted her:
“It’s okay. Perhaps it’s just that you’re still in a juvenile state with too little accumulated strength. Maybe after some time, you’ll be able to recover.”
Wen Qiao reluctantly accepted his explanation and perked up again.
Ning Yuzhou found her reaction amusing. Even though she couldn’t speak, her responses were remarkably honest and easy to read.
So adorable!
Finding the little sapling utterly cute, Ning Yuzhou couldn’t help but kiss the tender green leaves.
Then, the previously vibrant green sapling turned a pale red, and its leaves curled up.
It had been kissed…
She hadn’t been kissed in her human form, but now that she was a tiny sapling, she got kissed instead. Wen Qiao felt completely undone.
After playing his little prank, Ning Yuzhou remained utterly composed, his face full of tenderness as he said, “We’re husband and wife. This is perfectly natural. There’s no need for Ah Chuo to feel shy.”
How could she not feel shy?
Her tender leaves were highly sensitive, and that feeling was akin to Ning Yuzhou kissing her skin in her human form.
Ning Yuzhou teased the little sapling again but noticed that the shy sapling was now ignoring him. He then took a jade bottle out of his storage pouch.
“Ah Chuo, are you hungry?”
Wen Qiao wiggled her leaves. In her current state, she couldn’t exactly eat anything, could she? Over the past few days, she hadn’t felt hungry at all. Simply rooting herself in soil and absorbing water and nutrients was enough—so convenient.
Just as she was wondering why Ning Yuzhou was asking if she was hungry, he opened the jade bottle. A pleasant fragrance filled with Yuan Spiritual Energy wafted out, immediately invigorating Wen Qiao. She fixated intently on the bottle.
The bottle contained a pale green liquid. Ning Yuzhou carefully poured a little onto the white jade pot, letting it seep into the soil around the sapling’s roots while observing her reaction closely, ready to stop at the slightest sign of discomfort.
However, the little sapling absorbed it eagerly, even rubbing its leaves against his hand as if urging him to continue.
With a faint smile, Ning Yuzhou gently explained, “This is a spiritual medicine solution that I casually refined in the past. While I can’t make pills, I can process spiritual herbs into liquid medicine. When diluted, it’s great for nurturing spiritual plants, helping them grow better.”
Wen Qiao: “…” So, he was treating her like a plant to cultivate?
After a brief moment of inner conflict, Wen Qiao quickly let go of the issue and happily continued drinking the spiritual medicine solution. After all, she really was just a sapling right now, so it was perfectly reasonable.
Ning Yuzhou emptied the entire bottle of spiritual medicine solution. Seeing the sapling become even more vibrant and tender, he was thoroughly pleased. His mind was already spinning with 108 different methods to nurture the sapling, determined to keep her well-cared for, healthy, and on the path to transforming back into human form as soon as possible.
After their honest exchange, the bond between the two grew significantly stronger. Wen Qiao had no reservations about Ning Yuzhou anymore.
—
Half a day later, Ning Yuzhou deactivated the soundproof array and called Qian Shou, who was waiting outside, into the cave.
“There are only a few days left before Lintai Hunting Valley closes. We might as well take the opportunity to collect more rare spiritual herbs. Tell the Qianlin Guards to stay on alert,” Ning Yuzhou said softly, holding the white jade pot carefully.
Now that he knew Wen Qiao could absorb the wood essence emanating from spiritual plants to cultivate—an energy even more beneficial to her than Yuan Spiritual Energy—he naturally wanted to gather as many spiritual herbs as possible, regardless of the variety, as long as they were useful to her.
Qian Shou acknowledged the order but couldn’t help casting a puzzled glance at the spiritual plant in the white jade pot.
He noticed that Ning Yuzhou’s mood had significantly improved, a stark contrast to the cold, silent demeanor he’d displayed upon learning of Wen Qiao’s death. This good mood seemed to have started when he dug up this little sapling…
Qian Shou simply couldn’t understand what was so special about this seemingly ordinary little weed-like sapling that made his master cherish it so deeply.
—
Over the next few days, Ning Yuzhou and the Qianlin Guards wandered through the underground space, searching for spiritual herbs and waiting for Lintai Hunting Valley to close and send them all out.
They weren’t particularly focused on finding treasures. Just like when they had first entered Lintai Hunting Valley, they leisurely hunted low-tier demonic beasts when necessary and dug up spiritual herbs whenever they came across them, leading to a remarkably relaxed pace.
For two leisurely days, Ning Yuzhou carried the white jade pot, preparing to find a quiet spot to feed Wen Qiao some spiritual medicine solution. However, he suddenly glanced toward a narrow crevice in the mountain not far away.
“Your Highness?” Qian Shou asked, puzzled, as he cautiously scanned the surroundings.
Ning Yuzhou’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing. Instead, he sat down at the spot cleared by the Qianlin Guards, delaying the feeding of the sapling. Instead, he calmly retrieved a pill bottle from his storage pouch.
Wen Qiao wiggled her leaves, uncertain of his intentions.
Ning Yuzhou gave her a reassuring smile before pouring out a pill.
The pill was the size of a thumb, round and jade-like, with a beautiful green hue. Its enchanting fragrance revealed it to be a top-grade Mysterious-level pill, with only minimal imperfections. The alluring color alone was captivating.
Ning Yuzhou toyed with the pill, looking casual and unconcerned.
Wen Qiao quickly realized what he was planning.
When a blur of white flashed through the air, aiming to snatch the pill, Qian Shou, already on guard, struck it away with his sword.
The snow-white demonic rabbit tumbled to the ground, its pristine fur smeared with dirt. It lay there pitifully, its ruby-red eyes brimming with unshed tears, looking as wretched as could be.
Ning Yuzhou remained unbothered, casually tossing the pill in his palm as he asked, “Want to eat it?”
The demonic rabbit, highly intelligent, fixated on the pill, letting out plaintive whimpers, as if begging. For a bite of that pill, it was clearly willing to do anything.
Wen Qiao hadn’t expected the rabbit to track them down. Its persistence was impressive.
She had thought it would hide to recover from its injuries, and that they would never cross paths again after leaving Lintai Hunting Valley. Who knew she had underestimated the rabbit’s obsession with spiritual pills?
The rabbit wasn’t just fixated on spiritual pills; it was also fixated on Wen Qiao.
In the rabbit’s mind, it wanted the little sapling and the spiritual pills.
Now that the little sapling had been dug up by a human cultivator, who also happened to have a lot of delicious spiritual pills, how could it not follow? By sticking close, it could have both the sapling and the pills!
Suddenly, Ning Yuzhou asked, “Do you like it?”
Wen Qiao brushed her leaves against his fingers. The mutated rabbit was highly intelligent and quite cute. If it could continue to evolve, its combat potential would be considerable. Having it as a demonic pet wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Alright,” Ning Yuzhou said simply.
Qian Shou stared at him, utterly baffled. Who was he talking to? It was certainly not him.
Then, to his astonishment, Ning Yuzhou tossed the pill toward the demonic rabbit.
The rabbit, still feigning misery on the ground, leapt into the air with surprising ferocity, snatching the pill mid-flight. Its three-petaled mouth worked rapidly, and in moments, the pill was gone.
After swallowing the pill, the rabbit looked unsatisfied and continued staring at Ning Yuzhou, letting out eager, fawning whimpers.
Ning Yuzhou tossed a few more pills, which the rabbit caught with deft jumps, gulping each one down.
“I have plenty of pills like this,” Ning Yuzhou said warmly, entirely devoid of his previous killing intent. “And in the future, I’ll refine even higher-grade pills.”
The rabbit’s ears perked up, its ruby-red eyes gleaming like gemstones. Clearly, it had been thoroughly won over and was ready to follow Ning Yuzhou loyally, eager to become his beloved little companion.
“Come here,” Ning Yuzhou beckoned.
Without hesitation, the demonic rabbit hopped over, circling around his feet. Its fluffy body carefully nudged against him, clearly seeking his favor.
Ning Yuzhou fed the demonic rabbit another spiritual pill and, seeing its obedient demeanor, chuckled softly.
When they left their resting spot, they had a new companion: the mutated demonic rabbit.
The rabbit, whose strength was no less than that of a sixth-tier demonic beast—equivalent to a Yuan Pulse stage cultivator—had healed considerably and grown even stronger after being fed several top-grade Mysterious-level spiritual pills by Ning Yuzhou. Its speed was now so swift that even Qian Shou couldn’t stop it.
With the demonic rabbit in tow, other demonic beasts fled at the mere scent of it, not daring to approach. This made it much easier for them to search for spiritual herbs.
Qian Shou couldn’t help but think that taming this rabbit was quite worthwhile—it saved them a lot of trouble.
Moreover, the rabbit was a glutton with a keen sense for spiritual herbs, practically a natural herb-hunting expert. Time and again, it led them to patches of spiritual herbs while also scaring off the demonic beasts guarding them. It had effectively become a violent but useful bunny.
Staring at the rabbit’s small, fluffy body, Qian Shou couldn’t fathom how such a tiny creature could harbor such immense strength. Perhaps its mutation leaned toward enhanced power?
Wen Qiao, however, was quite calm.
During the days the rabbit had guarded her, she had witnessed its impressive one-against-many battles. This seemingly harmless little rabbit was exceptionally deceptive. If not for its injuries sustained during a fight with the Armor-Devouring Beast, it might have caused serious trouble when Ning Yuzhou and his group came looking for her.
After the rabbit led them to a fifth-tier spiritual herb, a Bixin Begonia, Ning Yuzhou rewarded it with another spiritual pill.
The rabbit eagerly took the pill in its mouth, chewing and swallowing it within moments. Then, as if unsatisfied, it fixed its gaze on Ning Yuzhou’s storage pouch. Motivated by Ning Yuzhou’s spiritual pill rewards, the rabbit became increasingly enthusiastic about searching for spiritual herbs. It led them to more remote areas rarely visited by cultivators, avoiding unnecessary conflict. This arrangement left Ning Yuzhou and his group quite satisfied.