Spirit Spring Hidden Show Valley (Part 1)

"Awoo."

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger immediately lowered its body in an obedient manner, curling its massive frame into a ball to expose its softest neck area.

Gu Chensha carried Zhu Zhuqing and leapt lightly onto its back, settling her down securely.

"To Base Number Three."

He patted Wangcai on the head. "Walk steadily. If you jostle her, I'll peel your tiger hide off later to use as a floor mat."

Wangcai's ears twitched, and it nodded hurriedly.

It stepped forward with a gait so light it was almost silent, heading toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was clearly a taboo evil creature that made all soul masters and soul beasts tremble in fear, yet at this moment, it looked exactly like...

A dog thief.

The man, the soul, and the tiger moved slowly forward, with no need to worry about any blind soul beasts being drawn in by the scent of blood.

With Wangcai present, as long as it released even a sliver of its aura, soul beasts within a radius of ten miles would scatter in terror.

The entire Star Dou Great Forest, and indeed all soul beast forests on the continent, followed a similar hierarchical division: the edge zone, the outer ring, the mixed ring, the core ring, and the Great Fierce Lands.

The outer ring was the domain of ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts; further in was the gathering place for hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts, with the occasional lone ten-thousand-year soul beast appearing.

The mixed ring was dominated by ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

The core ring was home to hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

And the Great Fierce Lands in the deepest reaches were the territory of those "Fierce Beasts" that surpassed ordinary hundred-thousand-year levels.

Before long, Wangcai stopped in front of a stone cave hidden by dense vines.

The entrance was narrow and concealed, and the interior was pitch black, so dark one could not see their own fingers.

If Zhu Zhuqing were awake at this moment, she would certainly find it hard to imagine that her powerful Teacher would actually live in such a narrow, dark place with this fierce tiger.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, however, was familiar with the path, carrying Zhu Zhuqing and Gu Chensha straight inside.

After passing through a narrow passage over ten meters long, the view suddenly opened up.

This was a hidden valley surrounded by mountains, roughly the size of two soccer fields.

Initially, Gu Chensha had given this place a name, Spirit Spring Hidden Show Valley, but later he couldn't be bothered to say it, so he simply called it "Base Number Three."

In the center of the valley was a hot spring five meters in diameter, shrouded in mist and emitting a faint scent of sulfur, never drying up throughout the year.

Growing by the water were a few luxurious medicinal herbs of various shapes with thick, glossy leaves; these were the few that Gu Chensha had transplanted from various places over the past few hundred years.

Under the stone wall to the east grew a small, gnarled ancient tree with sparse branches and leaves, hanging with a few green, translucent fruits.

On the other side of the hot spring was a flat stone platform covered with dry, soft animal hides, upon which sat a dozen crooked clay bottles and jars—one look and it was clear they were the work of some clumsy old monster.

This place could not be considered a treasure land filled with rare natural resources; the spiritual energy was richer than the outside world, but it was far from being a miracle site like the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well or the Qiankun Asking-Love Valley.

It was more like a convalescent home prepared by a seasoned soul beast for itself.

Hidden, safe, and functional—nothing more.

Although there was no cover above the valley, with a ten-thousand-year-level Dark Demon Evil God Tiger sitting guard, no soul master or soul beast dared to trespass.

Occasionally, some ignorant newcomer would wander in, and Wangcai would handle it immediately:

If it looked pleasing, it became a snack; if it was in a bad mood, it would kill it outright; only when in a good mood would it show mercy and chase them away.

The Iron-back Centipede that had panicked and crashed into Zhu Zhuqing and the others earlier was the one it had chased out.

In the survival-of-the-fittest Star Dou Great Forest, talk of racial righteousness or soul beast sentimentality was all nonsense to it.

Gu Chensha casually plucked a few healing herbs and walked to the stone platform to skillfully grind them.

Wangcai lay obediently by the edge of the platform, padding its neck area to be extra soft, terrified of bruising the person on its back.

The valley was quiet, save for the "thump-thump" of the medicine being ground and the bubbling sound of the hot spring.

It was unknown how much time had passed when the eyelids of Zhu Zhuqing, sleeping on the massive stone bed, trembled slightly.

A faint scent of sulfur and herbal fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose, and she was covered in soft animal hide, the warmth slowly seeping into her cold limbs.

She opened her eyes abruptly, her body tensing instinctively.

An unfamiliar stone wall, an unfamiliar valley, and...

That giant black tiger that had nearly taken her life!

It was napping not far away, its massive tail sweeping the ground with a rhythmic flick.

Zhu Zhuqing's heart jumped into her throat, and her body involuntarily shrank backward.

Chaotic memories surged in like a tide:

The sharp claws of the Iron-back Centipede, the poisonous mist of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, and finally, that giant claw that blotted out the sky...

As well as that tall, upright figure standing before her.

"Awake?"

A low voice drifted from beside her.

Zhu Zhuqing slowly turned her head to see Gu Chensha sitting by the stone platform, holding a pestle with dark green medicinal paste in the mortar.

Sunlight shone in from the valley entrance, falling upon his jet-black hair and gilding it with a soft golden edge.

His dark golden eyes watched her quietly.

She opened her mouth, her voice raspy and strained.

"Teacher..."

Gu Chensha set down the pestle and reached out, intending to ruffle her hair just as he had done before.

Yet, as if burned, Zhu Zhuqing jerked her head away and buried her face into the animal hide.

Gu Chensha's hand froze in mid-air, his expression stiffening.

He looked at the girl's awkward posture and sighed helplessly.

It was over; she was truly angry this time.

He turned his head toward Wangcai not far away, who was pretending to sleep while actually peeking over with the corner of its eye.

As their gazes met, Wangcai immediately squeezed its eyes shut, its tail going still.

Gu Chensha's eyes lit up as an idea formed.

He climbed off the stone platform with light steps and walked over to Wangcai.

"Ao?"

Wangcai opened one eye, tilting its head in confusion.

Gu Chensha pointed toward Zhu Zhuqing with a solemn expression.

"You gave her quite a scare just now."

Wangcai immediately drooped its head, letting out a grievance-filled whimper in its throat as it rubbed its massive head against Gu Chensha's pant leg.

It was clearly her who summoned that giant spider to scare me first! I caught your scent and held back, not even going for the kill...

Gu Chensha ignored its petty antics.

"When you go over there, if she hits you, you are not allowed to dodge or fight back, and you must cry out pitifully."

Gu Chensha patted its head and added in a low voice, "And act cute after she's done."

"Aowu?"

Wangcai tilted its head, looking completely bewildered.

Having lived for so many years, it only knew how to kill and fight; how could it possibly understand what "acting cute" meant?

Gu Chensha covered his face.

After thinking for two seconds, he leaned into Wangcai's ear and whispered a few instructions.

Wangcai's eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief.

I, the dignified Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, a forbidden existence of the Star Dou Great Forest, am actually expected to play the victim and act cute for a human girl?

This is an utter humiliation!

But as it met Gu Chensha's gradually chilling gaze, it instantly cowered.

Fine, well... then again.

Dignity is nothing compared to one's life; it certainly didn't want to end up with a few more holes in its body like when it was a cub.