The Most Useful Beast

"It's them—what happened to them?"

Jiang Lu pointed at the two spirit beasts lying unconscious on the ground and asked.

"Master, as the controller of this space, I can control everything. Once they enter, they will immediately fall unconscious. After leaving, they will slowly awaken, with no memories of what happened inside the space—unless they form a soul contract with Master and receive permission."

At those words, Jiang Lu looked at the spirit of the space excitedly.

"Spirit of the space, you're amazing!"

"Hehe~"

The spirit of the space smiled shyly and scooted over to nuzzle against her neck.

Master praised it!

"How about I give you a name? Linglong—what do you think of that name?"

"Linglong~ Linglong~ Master, I like this name!"

Linglong cheered, and Jiang Lu felt the space itself change slightly along with its cheers.

"Linglong, if I put something into the space outside, or take something out of the space, will there be spatial fluctuations that others can detect?"

Linglong firmly shook its body. "Master, there won't be. As long as you don't display the space in front of everyone, and don't enter it before those mighty experts with overwhelming strength, it will be fine."

Even with a soul contract, who knew what secret arts the other party might possess?

Another day of caution!

"Could that spirit plant have been your doing as well?"

Jiang Lu suddenly looked toward the vine not far away.

"Yes, Master. If there are more spirit plants like this in the future, all you need to do is think of it. Once they enter, I can deal with them directly."

Jiang Lu's eyes immediately lit up!

Heavens!

What kind of celestial treasure was this spirit of the space? She hugged Linglong in her arms and rubbed her face against it again and again. At last, the heart she had kept hanging for several days settled down.

After learning this, Jiang Lu brought Chi Li and Cangchen out of the space.

From now on, she only needed to store things in the space. Even if the two of them discovered something unusual someday, even if they became suspicious, it would not affect her much.

"Huh~ Why did I pass out?"

Cangchen opened its eyes inside the cloth pouch. Why did it have no memories at all? What had happened?

It then looked at Chi Li and slapped its face with its tail.

Seeing two tufts of fur that had fallen off, it immediately picked them up and tossed them out of the cloth bag.

It didn't notice, did it...

Seeing that Chi Li had not awakened, it poked half its head out to look around. Maybe they had simply forgotten. The plants in the forest were growing ever denser now, and it caught the scent of treasure.

Suddenly, Jiang Lu stopped walking. She turned sideways and hid behind a tree, holding her breath as she peered through a gap in the leaves toward the source of the voices.

Several disciples were leaning against tree roots or sitting on the ground, eating while chatting.

"I heard Senior Sister Liu has already reached the Golden Core stage and become the number one among the three upper sects."

"Of course. Senior Sister Liu is extraordinarily talented. It is said that even the Sect Master only formed a core after the age of one hundred and twenty, while Senior Sister Liu is only a hundred years old now. Her talent is remarkable—she can even stand shoulder to shoulder with the prodigies of the Xuanchен Spirit Domain."

"Hehe, let me tell you a piece of gossip."

"What gossip?"

"Senior Sister Liu's exceptional talent is known to all. She is the model for today's disciples. But do you know about the Sect Master's newly accepted final disciple, Senior Sister An..."

"I know about that, but what's the problem?"

"The problem is huge. You tell me, as one of the three upper sects, which disciple of our Flowing Cloud Sect did not rise through their own strength? But that one relied on that soft, boneless..."

"Tsk, the direct disciples had no objections?"

"They did. How could they not? But there are always blind fools, aren't there? I heard Senior Sister Liu even went out to train just to avoid her."

"What did the Sect Master say?"

"The Sect Master accepted that disciple, so the Sect Master has to acknowledge her. Her talent is good enough, but unfortunately, it is not being used on the right path. Still, some people simply cannot see through these matters..."

"You mean the direct disciples and those inner sect members?"

"Cannot say, cannot say..."

After the few of them finished talking, they quickly finished the food in their hands, then got up and headed elsewhere.

Jiang Lu only emerged from behind the tree long after they had left.

Flowing Cloud Sect...

But why had what she just heard sounded so strange? This was a green-tea junior sister trying to become the sect's darling and replace the eldest senior sister as the sect's number one!

Jiang Lu slapped her thigh, becoming even more certain.

Then a flash of light passed through her eyes. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that her guess was correct.

Following that logic, there would definitely be incredible gains to be found by following them.

But right now, she could not even reach their shoes. She would have to see what happened in the future.

She then headed in the opposite direction from the one they had taken.

Following Cangchen's guidance, she arrived at a place filled with jagged, strange rocks. It was well hidden; without Cangchen's guidance, she might not have found it at all.

Jiang Lu looked around, then bent over and carefully approached the pile of rocks. By then, Cangchen and Chi Li had already awakened and were leading the way ahead of her.

"Master, be careful. These spirit plants are poisonous."

Jiang Lu nodded and carefully avoided the poisonous spirit plants around her.

These spirit plants were called Numbing Needle Grass, a common poisonous spirit plant in the Immortal Cultivation Realm. They had little medicinal value, but if one was scratched by them, their spirit fluid would seep through the wound and numb all four limbs.

Not far from these spirit plants were demonic beasts—the Red Demon Ants.

The moment cultivators were numbed, the ants could smell the scent of Numbing Needle Grass sap entering a living body, then swiftly rush toward the injured cultivators.

Their tails carried deadly poison. Cultivators numbed by Numbing Needle Grass had no strength to fight back before them.

Jiang Lu carefully wrapped spiritual power around herself and hunched over as she headed toward that spot.

She then discovered an exceptionally well-hidden cave. The stone wall outside the cave glimmered with starlight, and a thin layer of barrier seemed to cover the entrance.

"Master, we only need to break this barrier. Ordinary cultivators generally don't have that ability, though. Watch me!"

Cangchen crawled toward the rocks. With a light tap of its tail against the barrier, it shattered.

It proudly raised its head. Its racial talent was something Chi Li could never compare to!

Hmph hmph!

It was Master's most useful beast!

Seeing its smug appearance, Chi Li flexed its claws, secretly refusing to accept it. This bastard!

"Master, let's go inside."

"Let's go."

The entrance was not large, but it was just big enough for her to enter. She crouched and carefully crawled inside, while spiritual power continued to tightly envelop her body.

The cave gradually became wider, and Jiang Lu stood up.

The surrounding rocks were covered in plants emitting a purple glow. Crystal-clear droplets of water fell from their branches and leaves.

"This is... Ruby Blue!"

Jiang Lu stood there in a daze, staring at it without blinking as she murmured softly.

Ruby Blue was said to be a superior spirit plant. It could be fused into any Dan; with only one stalk or leaf, it could improve the quality of the Dan.