"I'm leaving, Xiao Qing. You be good, and try to evolve soon."
"Zhi zhi."
Xu Yi patted Xiao Qing's head, her face showing reluctance.
She had lived in the wormhole for a year. Every time she woke from cultivation, Xiao Qing was the first thing she saw. Over time, it was inevitable that she would develop feelings.
Xiao Qing leaned its plump head against Xu Yi and rubbed gently. Then, it propped itself up, its fat little feet below wiggling forcefully, "Zhi zhi."
"You want to come with me?"
After watching for a while, Xu Yi tentatively guessed.
"Zhi zhi!" Xiao Qing nodded.
Xu Yi shook her head, "No, it's too dangerous in the south. What are you, a little green caterpillar, doing getting involved?"
Through Xu Yi's observation for nearly a year, Xiao Qing was just a rather plump herbivorous green caterpillar with combat power practically equal to zero.
If she took it with her, it might be caught and eaten by other birds and beasts within a few days. It would be better for it to stay in the wormhole, where at least it had a chance to grow into a fluttering moth.
"Zhi zhi!"
Xiao Qing squeaked twice, a little urgently, and then, under Xu Yi's gaze, rapidly shrunk until it was no bigger than her palm.
Xu Yi: !!!
She bent down, picked up Xiao Qing, and placed it in her palm, marveling, "Xiao Qing, you can become so small."
Xiao Qing proudly propped itself up, shaking happily.
Xu Yi placed Xiao Qing in her sleeve. "Alright, I'll take you with me."
With Xiao Qing shrunk down, it was convenient to carry. Xu Yi wouldn't have to worry about protecting it during a fight.
Xu Yi packed a lot of grass feed that Xiao Qing loved into her storage ring. Just as she was about to leave the wormhole where she had lived for a year, her steps suddenly halted, and her expression turned odd.
She inexplicably took out a large bird egg from her storage ring.
The egg was covered in cracks, and faint tapping sounds could still be heard from within.
"This is..."
"Ka ka!"
A piece of the eggshell fell off, revealing a small, pointed beak in the gap.
"The egg has hatched..."
This egg was what Xu Yi had stolen from the Iron Claw Mountain Eagle's nest, an act that had led to her being chased by the Iron Claw Mountain Eagle.
After she escaped, the egg had remained in her storage ring, and she had never thought about it.
She never imagined that this egg could actually hatch.
Under her gaze, the little mountain eagle vigorously pecked open more than half of the eggshell, revealing a wet body.
Although the little mountain eagle had just hatched, its body was already the size of an adult.
"Zha zha!"
Xu Yi looked at the egg, feeling somewhat at a loss.
She had never had experience raising a young bird.
The little mountain eagle must have been hungry. Its eyes were closed, but its mouth was wide open, chirping with hungry calls.
Xiao Qing was attracted by the little mountain eagle's cries. Taking advantage of Xu Yi's inattention, it crawled from her sleeve into her palm.
However, as soon as it got close to the little mountain eagle, the eagle, as if knowing Xiao Qing was part of its menu, opened its mouth wide and pecked fiercely at Xiao Qing.
"Zhi zhi!"
Xiao Qing, terrified, fled in disarray, hiding in Xu Yi's sleeve and trembling.
Xu Yi came back to her senses, thought for a moment, and took out a piece of raw meat from her storage ring. She carefully divided it into strips and placed them near the little mountain eagle's mouth.
The little mountain eagle swallowed the meat strips whole, then opened its mouth wide and continued to chirp.
The meat strips were devoured at a rapid pace. Once more than half of the strips were gone, the little mountain eagle finally closed its mouth and fell asleep.
Xu Yi looked at the little mountain eagle, finding it quite troublesome.
If this little mountain eagle were still an egg, she might eventually stew and eat it. But now that it had hatched, she couldn't bring herself to put it into a pot.
However, if she were to keep this little mountain eagle by her side and care for it diligently, it would clearly go against her plans.
Xu Yi pondered for a long time and finally decided to return the little mountain eagle to the Iron Claw Mountain Eagle.
It was more appropriate to let the mother take care of her child.
She set up a barrier outside the wormhole and headed towards the Iron Claw Mountain Eagle's nest.
However, when she reached the massive nest, she found that the gigantic figure was no longer there, only a few broken eggshells remained.
"Where's the eagle? Where did such a big eagle go?"
Xu Yi circled the spot a few times. Helplessly, she went to find the Green Armored Barbarian Bull to inquire about the Iron Claw Mountain Eagle's situation.
"That big bird? It seemed to have left some time ago. I don't know where it went."
The Green Armored Barbarian Bull only knew about ground beasts; flying birds were clearly outside his scope of knowledge.
Xu Yi's expression changed, and she returned to the wormhole with a heavy heart.
As soon as she opened the barrier, Xu Yi heard hungry chirping coming from inside the cave.
She entered the wormhole in disbelief and indeed, the little mountain eagle had its mouth open again, calling for food.
She had only been gone for two hours.
Xu Yi, with a dejected face, stuffed the meat into the little mountain eagle's mouth again, her emotions complex.
Seven days later.
"Zha zha, zha zha!"
The little mountain eagle flapped its wings covered in thin down, enthusiastically following behind Xu Yi.
Seven days had allowed the little mountain eagle to open its eyes and gain the ability to move freely.
Except for the fact that it couldn't yet flap its wings to fly, it already bore the semblance of an Iron Claw Mountain Eagle.
Xu Yi, with a look of utter despair, led the way, occasionally turning back to scold the little mountain eagle and tell it to be quiet.
The little mountain eagle seemed not to understand Xu Yi's meaning. Seeing Xu Yi speak to it, it immediately raised its voice and shouted.
"Zha zha! Zha zha!"
Xu Yi: ...
Xu Yi now deeply regretted her impulsive act of stealing the bird's egg. Now she had fallen into such a predicament.
This was fate.
"Bang bang!"
Suddenly, a violent noise came from the front.
Xu Yi immediately stopped, cautiously spreading her divine sense forward, and quietly said to the little mountain eagle, "Be careful."
The little mountain eagle immediately nodded and obediently tucked itself behind Xu Yi, its sharp beak tightly shut.
Xu Yi: ... So it *can* understand.
Xu Yi temporarily let the feigning-ignorance little mountain eagle off the hook and focused her attention ahead. After surveying the scene, she immediately showed a look of surprise.
The two people ahead were her first batch of customers.
They were still in the Land of Giants.
Xu Yi sighed with emotion because, after a year, the Shadowless Slug still had no trace, and countless cultivators had died here.
Therefore, she rarely saw unfamiliar cultivators entering this area now. Those who remained here were almost all from the first group who had entered.
And now those two had encountered trouble.
Facing them was also a group of cultivators, totaling five people, all around the late Nascent Soul stage.
Wei Jiu and the woman were also only in the late Nascent Soul stage. On the surface, their chances of winning were very low.
"Hand over the Tian Yang Flower you just picked, and we can avoid a fight," said the middle-aged woman, the only one among the five opposing cultivators, in a cold voice.
Wei Qing Shan and Wei Jiu exchanged glances, both seeing the unwillingness in each other's eyes.
The guardian beast of the Tian Yang Flower was a powerful demon in the late Nascent Soul stage. The two of them, working together, had finally managed to kill it.
Now, the other party was demanding they hand over the Tian Yang Flower without a fight, which they were naturally unwilling to do.