Night.
A silent mountain forest.
It was pitch black.
One could only hear the faint sounds of birds, beasts, and insects.
Creak, creak.
A large red-eyed long-eared rabbit poked its head out from the decaying leaves, warily scanning its surroundings.
After confirming there was no danger, it cautiously emerged from its burrow.
It twitched its nose forcefully and leaped rapidly towards the direction from which the scent of food emanated.
"Whoosh—"
An ear-piercing whistling sound suddenly rent the air.
The red-eyed long-eared rabbit barely had time to let out a sharp screech before its breath was cut off, and it crashed to the ground.
A shadowy figure appeared beside the beast's corpse like a phantom, extended a thick palm to grasp the rabbit's long ear, and then effortlessly dragged the entire beast away.
Soon, it disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
When Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye arrived after hearing the commotion, they only saw a small pool of blood.
"It's a beast's blood."
"It must be other cultivators hunting."
They both said in unison.
Xu Yi nodded, her face betraying her unconcealed weariness.
A cultivator's vision was not affected by light. Lu Zaiye noticed her expression and suggested, "Let's find a place to rest first."
"Alright."
The two found an ancient tree nearby and hollowed out two holes in its trunk to serve as resting places.
After Xu Yi lay down in the tree hollow, her mind relaxed, and she almost couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Fortunately, she was quick-witted enough to cover her mouth, avoiding losing face in front of her disciple.
She and Lu Zaiye had been in the Myriad Beast Ridge for nearly a month.
From her initial high spirits and boundless energy, Xu Yi was now left with nothing but exhaustion.
The Myriad Beast Ridge truly lived up to its reputation as a notorious killing ground on the Kyushu Continent.
On their very first day entering the Myriad Beast Ridge, they encountered an ambush.
The ambushers were not beasts, but cultivators reeking of blood.
They looked at Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye with eyes filled with greed and covetousness, as if they were looking at beasts.
That battle was Xu Yi's first life-or-death struggle against cultivators, and also her first time killing someone.
The scene of flying flesh and blood shook her soul, and she was almost killed in retaliation. If Lu Zaiye hadn't intervened in time, she would have already been pierced by a gaping wound.
It was also because of this unexpected event that Xu Yi quickly regained her composure, forced herself to calm down, and, along with Lu Zaiye, ensured those people remained there forever.
After the bloody battle ended, before she could even adjust her mindset, they were soon encountered by beasts drawn by the scent of blood.
They fought their way through, ran, and finally managed to escape the beasts, gaining a moment of respite.
Lying in the tree hollow, Xu Yi no longer had the energy for wild thoughts. She just wanted to rest for a while, just for a little while.
She closed her eyes, her breathing gradually deepening.
Even as Lu Zaiye sat cross-legged in the tree hollow, he remained composed. Sensing the increasingly peaceful aura beside him, his gaze grew even more gentle.
Moments of crisis were the most revealing of a person's true inner self.
Lu Zaiye had witnessed Xu Yi's growth from her initial struggle to her current calm self-possession.
He was now certain that Xu Yi's identity was not fabricated.
The fact that Ancestor Yuan Ming chose Xu Yi as his senior disciple was enough to prove Xu Yi's excellence.
Xu Yi's performance over the past month had also allowed him to witness her outstanding qualities.
Lu Zaiye felt a pang of guilt for his previous suspicions.
Perhaps he should find an opportunity to reveal his identity to the junior grand-aunt.
As the thought arose, Lu Zaiye frowned slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy.
If the junior grand-aunt found out about this, she would surely be angry, and might even refuse to travel with him anymore.
With the matter of the Formation Heaven Alliance still unresolved, Lu Zaiye was concerned about leaving the junior grand-aunt to travel alone.
He would have to wait until their journey was over and they returned to the Xuanji Sect before seeking forgiveness from the junior grand-aunt.
Lu Zaiye's brows slowly relaxed.
The next day.
Xu Yi awoke from the tree hollow, feeling sore all over.
She took out a mid-grade spirit stone, held it in her palm, and circulated its spiritual energy through her body for several cycles.
Only after the spirit stone in her hand was depleted of its energy, turning into stone powder, did she emerge from the tree hollow feeling refreshed.
As soon as she landed, Lu Zaiye leaped down from the tree.
Xu Yi looked at Lu Zaiye somewhat sheepishly and said, "You worked hard last night."
The Myriad Beast Ridge at night was even more dangerous than during the day.
She had fallen asleep without realizing it, and Lu Zaiye couldn't rest, standing guard all night to prevent beast attacks.
Lu Zaiye replied, "It's nothing. This is what a disciple should do."
He wasn't tired.
Except for the first few days when Xu Yi was still adjusting, he had intervened a few times. Most of the time afterward, Xu Yi had handled things herself.
After a battle, Xu Yi would be panting heavily and covered in grime, while he had barely even used his magic treasures a few times.
It could only be said that Xu Yi was a very dutiful grand-aunt.
Xu Yi was so touched by Lu Zaiye's words that her eyes welled up with tears.
She silently noted down Junior Lu's good qualities in her mental notebook, deciding that once they returned to the Xuanji Sect, she would praise him thoroughly to Elder Qingfeng.
Such an excellent disciple should be cherished.
The most important thing now was to improve herself.
Xu Yi pointed towards the southeast and said, "I just saw what looks like a water source in that direction. Let's go there."
A water source meant the presence of beasts.
Xu Yi's eyes lit up as she thought of the treasure-filled beast carcasses in her storage ring.
Beasts were great.
They could be eaten, used for refining artifacts and alchemy, or serve as whetstones to hone oneself. Xu Yi no longer disliked encountering beasts.
Lu Zaiye remembered how Xu Yi, even when exhausted, had diligently collected all the incomplete beast carcasses, not even letting the beast blood go to waste. This stirred his compassion.
The junior grand-aunt's past life must have been too difficult.
When they returned, he could let her choose items from his private vault as his apology.
"Alright."
Since the junior grand-aunt liked beasts, they would go hunt beasts.
Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye reached an agreement and moved swiftly towards the water source.
...
By the stream.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang lay hidden behind a large rock, his eyes fixed on a spotted deer approaching the stream.
Closer.
Even closer.
Just as he lowered his body, preparing to pounce, the communication disk on his waist suddenly vibrated with a buzz.
He cursed silently, sensing something was wrong.
He looked up and saw that the spotted deer had already become wary and was fleeing.
"What a pity."
He muttered under his breath, placed the communication disk to his ear, but his face showed no sign of displeasure at being disturbed.
From the communication disk, his junior sister's anxious yet caring voice continuously emanated.
Xiong Zhuangzhuang's lips curved into a simple, honest smile.
After the voice stopped, he listened to it repeatedly before carefully hanging the communication disk back on his waist.
He could have turned off the communication disk and focused wholeheartedly on searching for the Soul Reviving Demonic Fruit in the Myriad Beast Ridge.
However, he still wanted to hear news of his junior sister and master.
Even if he couldn't reply, knowing their condition would bring him peace of mind.
He glanced in the direction the spotted deer had left, moved to another spot, and continued to conceal himself, waiting for the next prey to approach.
He had observed earlier that this was the largest water source in the vicinity, and more beasts would surely come.
He just needed to be patient and wait for his opportunity.