Hearing Qian Renxue's voice outside, Ning Rongrong's heart skipped a beat. She wondered whether Qian Renxue had overheard what she had just said to Chu Xiu.
But Ning Rongrong soon lifted her chin again.
So what if she heard? It wasn't as though we only started falling out yesterday.
What was wrong with openly targeting her?
"Go see what she wants. If you get an opening, go straight for it. I'll back you up."
Ning Rongrong offered Chu Xiu encouragement.
She had already forgotten that she had come to call him to account.
Chu Xiu was delighted inwardly, but he showed none of it. He merely nodded calmly, stood up, and left his room.
Qian Renxue stood in the cave's front chamber. Only when Chu Xiu emerged did she say, "The rice has formed ears, and the wild apple trees have grown too. They're all growing well, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of mutation."
So that was what this was about.
Chu Xiu nodded. "I'll take a look."
When he arrived at the Spirit Rice paddy, sure enough, a fresh crop of ears had already grown.
It had only been a little over two months since the previous harvest. For the new crop to flourish in such a short time, the plants here clearly had much shorter growth cycles than those on the Douluo Continent.
"They really haven't mutated. It's probably because they haven't had any Spirit Beast blood."
Chu Xiu pondered aloud.
They had previously speculated that the plants' mutations were connected to being watered with Spirit Beast blood.
But Chu Xiu had been busy forging lately and had not gone hunting, so naturally, there had been no Spirit Beast blood to water the crops.
"I actually wanted to remind you a few days ago, but you've been so busy lately, and I didn't expect the plants here to grow this quickly."
Ah Yin felt somewhat guilty.
The planting had originally been entrusted to her, but the results left something to be desired.
"It's fine. There should still be time to water them now."
Chu Xiu glanced at the two women.
Thanks to Ning Rongrong's sudden idea, he had intended to seize the opportunity to win over Qian Renxue first. Now that something new had come up, however, he had to change his plans.
After all, he now knew that the Deserted Island was very likely an immortal cultivation island.
Perhaps eating more Spirit Rice would let him acquire Magic Power.
Besides, going out to hunt Spirit Beasts would give him time alone with Ah Yin. If need be, he could simply max out her Bond Value first.
Ah Yin's Soul Power should have been at rank seventy when she was first resurrected. Even if she was below Qian Renxue, the gap could only be a few ranks.
It made no difference whose Bond Value he maxed out first.
"Ah Yin, sense the area. See where the nearest Spirit Beast we can safely hunt is."
Chu Xiu never wasted words when getting things done. Since he had decided to kill one, they would go hunting now.
By now, Ah Yin had long since mapped out the locations of the nearby Spirit Beasts.
She immediately replied, "The closest Spirit Beast is a little over two hundred meters uphill. But the Spirit Beasts up there generally don't come down, and they're much stronger than those in the tier below. We might not be able to beat it."
"Other than that, about three hundred meters beyond where we mined last time, there should be a thirty-thousand-year Fire-Attribute Soul Beast."
A thirty-thousand-year Spirit Beast was still relatively easy for Chu Xiu to handle now.
And it was a fire-attribute one, too.
Unlike the pangolin, Luo Sanpao, and the Man Faced Demon Spider they had encountered before, flames were plasma and extremely unstable.
Chu Xiu was eager to see whether the island's Fire-Attribute Soul Beasts could release flames when they could not use their innate abilities.
"Good. That's the one."
At that moment, Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er also emerged from the cave. Upon learning that Chu Xiu was going to hunt a Fire-Attribute Soul Beast, both women immediately expressed their wish to come along.
Chu Xiu wanted to win Ah Yin over as soon as possible, so naturally, he would not take them.
As they drew closer to the Spirit Beast's location, Ah Yin grew increasingly uneasy.
"Chu Xiu, I'm a little nervous."
She was Blue Silver Grass that had taken human form and had an immense, innate fear of fire.
Chu Xiu reached out and drew her into his arms. As his hand roamed up and down, he said with a wicked grin, "It's fine. I'll help you relax. Once you open up, you won't be so tight."
"No, I really do sense danger."
Ah Yin's cheeks flushed as she murmured her explanation.
Her ability could only detect danger. To determine its exact nature, she had to analyze the limited information available.
For instance, she had sensed the Blue Silver Grass near the Spirit Beast's location recoiling from its fire attribute, which was how she had deduced that a Fire-Attribute Soul Beast lay ahead.
Her estimate of around thirty thousand years, meanwhile, came from her assessment of the danger.
But now...
As they drew closer, Ah Yin discovered that the sense of danger was intensifying. That Spirit Beast might not be merely thirty thousand years old, but forty or fifty thousand, or even older.
"Really? Let me take a look."
A trace of gray drifted across Chu Xiu's pupils, and his sight rapidly extended ahead.
"Huh? What's that?"
Within Chu Xiu's vision appeared a pool of magma resembling a volcanic crater.
But they were only at the foot of the mountain. What sort of volcanic crater sat at a mountain's foot?
And the Spirit Beast that worried Ah Yin was soaking in the magma, leisurely enjoying a "hot bath."
"No wonder you're worried. It's a mutated Spirit Beast."
Chu Xiu had gained little else from staying by Yu Xiaogang's side, but he had certainly learned a great deal about Spirit Beasts.
Especially after Yu Xiaogang shifted his focus to Tang San, he had all but ignored Chu Xiu. With no Spirit Ring, Chu Xiu had been left to pass his days studying theory.
Thus, even though the creature before him was a mutated Spirit Beast, he could still identify it easily.
"Your estimate was wrong. There's a Red Flame Bear ahead, with ten thousand years of cultivation at most. Its strength should be greater than an ordinary thirty-thousand-year Spirit Beast's, though."
Chu Xiu withdrew his hand from beneath her leaves and brought it to Ah Yin's lips.
Ah Yin deftly took his fingers into her mouth and licked them clean.
"Such a good girl."
Chu Xiu stroked her head in satisfaction.
[Ah Yin's unusual feelings for you have deepened. Bond Value +3] [Current Bond Value: 40]
It was already at forty. Although it was rising a little slowly, it had been increasing steadily.
Chu Xiu was quite satisfied with this result.
"Wait here for me. It would break my heart if you got hurt."
Chu Xiu gave Ah Yin's cheek one final pinch before turning and heading toward the Red Flame Bear.
While he was still over a hundred meters away, searing waves of heat were already washing over him. Another fifty meters forward, and the temperature felt like a sauna.
Chu Xiu took off his leaves and entered Concealment.
Fortunately, the heat had not yet reached the level of AOE damage and did not bake Chu Xiu out of Concealment.
Chu Xiu advanced a little farther until he stood before the magma pool, then calmly analyzed the situation:
"A Red Flame Bear is only an ordinary Fire-Attribute Soul Beast, but this one should be a mutated Magma Bear. Not only is its resistance to flames greatly enhanced, its defenses should be stronger too."
"I wonder whether my Wolverine Claws are sharper, or its magma skin is tougher."
Chu Xiu stood at the edge and waited quietly.
After roughly ten minutes, the Magma Bear finally finished its satisfying soak and paddled through the magma toward the edge.
Before you continue