Lu Heng stepped over fallen leaves and weeds, walking out of the forest step by step. His tall figure appeared at the forest's edge.
The moment the Roc saw Lu Heng, it had already charged through the crowd and was rushing towards him.
Because of its massive size, it ran towards Lu Heng with great joy, forgetting about the other humans at its feet. This caused the temporary resting place of everyone to become a mess.
"Ouch! What's gotten into this Roc?"
"Could there be a magical beast in that direction?"
"I don't sense any dangerous magical beasts around."
"Oh no, my fault, my freshly cooked meat..."
The Roc paid no attention to these people. It only slowed down when it was not far from Lu Heng, then lowered its body close to the ground.
"Master!!"
"Mm, good boy."
"Master, where is Dalang?"
Lu Heng "..."
Alright, the Roc's mind was entirely occupied with its mate!
"It's in the spatial artifact. When I have time, I'll let you go meet it."
As the Roc rushed towards Lu Heng, those resting on the grass also noticed a person at the forest's edge.
Lu Daniu gathered his belongings, patted the grass off his body, and walked towards Lu Heng.
"Master! Why are you here?" Lu Daniu's face showed both joy and surprise.
"I noticed you haven't returned to the small courtyard in a long time, so I came to check on you. How are you doing?"
Lu Heng subtly glanced at the people not far ahead.
There were mostly young people there, along with a few individuals wearing the attire of the Danyang Sect sitting together.
However, these people were not too close to where Lu Daniu had been resting, indicating that Lu Daniu's identity had not been revealed.
Lu Heng patted Lu Daniu's shoulder. Lu Daniu had grown taller and looked much more robust.
"Master, I'm doing fine. The magical beasts I've encountered haven't been too difficult to deal with."
"That's good. What is this forest called, and what are you looking for here?"
Lu Daniu led Lu Heng to an open space to sit. To prevent Lu Heng from feeling uncomfortable, he even took out a set of wooden tables and chairs from his spatial artifact.
"Master, please sit."
After Lu Heng sat down, Lu Daniu directly sat on the ground beside the small table.
"I'm just here to hone my skills. This area is called Huiping Valley, and the magical beasts inside are not of high level, just enough for me to practice."
"Those people, are you traveling together?"
"No, I met those people in the previous forest. We helped each other defeat a large group of magical beasts. Afterward, these people were also heading to Huiping Valley, so we rested here outside the valley for a bit."
Lu Heng nodded after listening and observed the levels of those people again.
After looking around, Lu Daniu was indeed the highest level among this group. However, Lu Daniu was the only one who came alone; others were more or less traveling in pairs.
"Do you still have any magical crystals for upgrading?"
"Yes, but not enough for me to upgrade, so I'm gaining experience and collecting more magical crystals along the way."
Lu Daniu scratched his head and gave Lu Heng a simple, silly smile. Previously, the magical crystals he used for upgrading were all provided by Lu Heng. But as an ordinary person cultivating in the Shenyuan Continent, he had to rely on himself to kill magical beasts and obtain magical crystals. Especially for him, who had gone from an ordinary person unable to cultivate to a cultivator, he already owed Lu Heng a great deal.
Lu Heng had not told Lu Daniu about his ability to replicate magical crystals. Firstly, someone from ancient times like Lu Daniu would not be able to comprehend such incredible matters in a short period, and he didn't want to explain too much. Secondly, Lu Heng did not want any news of this matter to leak out in the Shenyuan Continent, not even to Lu Daniu alone. Therefore, Lu Daniu planned to use this time to train and accumulate magical crystals for upgrading.
Lu Heng listened to Lu Daniu's thoughts and felt immensely gratified. He had indeed chosen the right person. He could see that Lu Daniu had plans for his future and was taking steps towards his goals. Lu Heng decided not to interfere with Lu Daniu's development here. Sometimes, people without a background like Lu Daniu needed to experience certain things to truly grow.
"Here, take this."
Lu Heng handed a storage bag to Lu Daniu. It contained various pills, including several bottles of healing pills refined by Wu Chenzi. With these, even if Lu Heng wasn't by Lu Daniu's side, Lu Daniu would have an added layer of security.
"When it's time to seek support from the Danyang Sect, don't be polite. That token the old man gave you, it's a waste if you don't use it. You need to be flexible."
When Lu Daniu left the Danyang Sect, Wu Chenzi had given him a token of special identity. Not using that token was foolish of Lu Daniu.
"Hehe, I know. It's just that I haven't encountered anything I can't handle yet. I know what to do."
Seeing that Lu Daniu had things under control, Lu Heng nodded and then looked at the Roc lying beside them.
"I'm taking it away for a while. I'll bring it back to you later."
There were many people around now, and Lu Heng didn't want to put the Roc back into his spatial artifact. Although this world had storage accessories that could collect items, their accessories couldn't collect living creatures. Lu Heng didn't want to attract too much attention in front of so many people, lest it cause unnecessary trouble for Lu Daniu after he left.
"Yes, it's always been very obedient and understands human nature. It understands most of what I say."
"Then I'll be leaving for a bit."
Lu Heng patted Lu Daniu again, stood up, and, with the Roc that was staring intently at him, flew away from there.
Finding a secluded spot, Lu Heng returned to his spatial artifact with the Roc. Suddenly seeing its companion, Si Niu, it excitedly ran towards its mate. Fortunately, there was a significant time difference between the space and the outside world. By the time the two had their reunion, not much time had passed outside. Lu Heng took Si Niu, who was content yet reluctant to leave, out of the spatial artifact, specifically reminding it to be careful outside. Actually, Lu Heng really wanted to change Lu Daniu's mount to a Fire Phoenix, but he was afraid that bringing a Fire Phoenix would be too conspicuous and attract the covetous eyes of others, bringing him trouble. Although this Roc didn't have any attack skills, it wasn't a rare flying mount in the Shenyuan Continent.
"Alright, now that you're fine, I'm relieved. Come back to the small courtyard to stay from time to time, don't always be out traveling."
"Yes, Master, you should also take care of yourself."
Lu Daniu bowed deeply to Lu Heng, filled with respect. Watching Lu Heng ride the Fire Phoenix away, Lu Daniu returned to his previous resting place with the Roc. The people who had been there earlier had seen Lu Heng leave. Those who could have a high-level magical beast like a Fire Phoenix as a mount inspired awe, and they even looked at Lu Daniu with more apprehension.