Little Color

The Spirit Masters standing near the center of the Black Pool summoned their Spirit Weapons. Multicolored Spiritual Power converged within the swamp, forming a blood-red net that stretched over heaven and earth, ready to snare the Three-Headed Snake as it shot up from underground.

Dongfang Minghui trembled at the sight of the Three-Headed Snake's heads, each as thick as a pillar supporting the heavens. When its fist-sized eyes swept over the crowd, her knees went weak.

"That's the Blood Fiend Alliance's blood net," her troublesome companion suddenly said in her mind.

The Blood Fiend Alliance was an assassination organization lurking in the shadows. Its vast influence extended throughout the Seven-Colored Continent, reaching practically everywhere.

She swallowed. "Are you confident you can snatch the Purple Cloud Fruit from them?" And two of them, at that.

Not knowing who they were would have been one thing. Now that she knew, she wanted to retreat. Stealing from the Blood Fiend Alliance was like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth—she would be courting death.

Dongfang Minghui waited a long while without hearing her companion's answer, but the situation in the Black Pool below suddenly changed. One of the Three-Headed Snake's heads burst after taking the blood net's attack head-on. Its three heads represented its three lives; losing a head meant losing a life.

These humans were despicable!

With only two heads remaining, the Three-Headed Snake went berserk. Its tail, more than ten meters long, slammed against the swamp walls again and again. Finally, the earth split and the swamp collapsed. All the creatures living beneath it surged out, with a huge swarm of man-eating ants following the black spiders.

The blood net was a signature of the Blood Fiend Alliance. Once it appeared, anything trapped inside, whether magical beast or human, would be reduced to a pool of blood when its time was up.

The blood net was an exceptionally ruthless sacrificial ritual invented by the Blood Fiend Alliance, one that hurt its users almost as much as their enemies. Once the net claimed lives, every Spirit Master participating in the sacrifice would lose all their Spiritual Power and be rendered powerless.

The Blood Fiend Alliance generally reserved this sacrifice for desperate situations, unless they were determined to obtain the Purple Cloud Fruit at any cost.

Dongfang Minghui racked her brains but could not figure out what the Blood Fiend Alliance wanted the Purple Cloud Fruit for. The book had mentioned that the Young Master of the Blood Fiend Alliance once had a younger brother, but he had died for reasons unknown.

"Could the Purple Cloud Fruit actually bring the dead back to life?" she murmured.

"Yes."

Her troublesome companion said mournfully, "If my true body weren't injured, dealing with them would be a breeze. Unfortunately—" Most of its Spiritual Power was sealed inside this good-for-nothing, and it had reverted to its juvenile form.

In other words, it could not do it. She understood that much.

Yet Dongfang Minghui could not bear to leave empty-handed. She could practically picture the heroine looking at her with scorn and disdain.

Chaos reigned below. After breaking open the swamp walls, the Three-Headed Snake slipped out of the blood net. Just as the group had planned, some of them lured the snake away while the others seized the opportunity to retrieve the Purple Cloud Fruit, splitting up to carry out their tasks.

Sitting in the tree, she watched the Three-Headed Snake flee in another direction. She peeled off a piece of bark and asked her companion, "If you took me with you to escape, how far could you get at top speed?"

At the mention of speed, her troublesome companion puffed out its chest and thumped it confidently. "In this forest, I'm king."

"Good. When I tell you to grab them, do it immediately, then take me and run." Dongfang Minghui had a plan, but its success depended on how well they worked together. Of course, she was taking an enormous gamble, too.

"Young master, look! The Purple Cloud Fruit." Even the Grand Elder found it unbelievable when he brought out the fruit. This single parent plant had actually produced two Purple Cloud Fruits. It was truly astonishing.

The man addressed as young master curled his lips into a captivating smile. "We haven't disappointed anyone. We finally have them."

Just as the Grand Elder handed him the two fruits, a slender twig suddenly thrust between their palms. It curled lightly around both fruits, then whisked away.

They both froze for a moment before realizing that someone hidden in the shadows had stolen what they had worked so hard to obtain.

"You impudent brat! Where do you think you're going?" The Grand Elder's eyes reddened with fury.

This was Dongfang Minghui's first time seeing a Purple Cloud Fruit. Its uneven green rind resembled the bumpy skin of a toad. She leaned closer and sniffed disdainfully, only to discover that it gave off a rich, enticing fragrance unlike any fruit she had encountered before. It was quite distinctive.

"Quick, put the Purple Cloud Fruit in your Spatial Ring." Otherwise, its scent would attract a huge horde of magical beasts, to say nothing of those cunning people behind them.

"But... but I don't have one." She usually swaggered around at home, throwing her weight about. Everyone in the Dongfang Family knew she never cultivated, and she had maids to attend to her daily needs. Why would she need a Spatial Ring?

Her troublesome companion stumbled and nearly planted itself face-first in the dirt.

"You! Are! Unbelievable!"

Dongfang Minghui thought she could hear it grinding its teeth.

Sure enough, just as the Demon Plant had predicted, the Purple Cloud Fruit's fragrance was like the most delicious food in the world, irresistibly alluring to magical beasts. Within moments, a huge horde was chasing them, along with the relentless Blood Fiend Alliance.

Feeling as though its backside was about to catch fire, her troublesome companion raced even faster.

"When we get there, throw one Purple Cloud Fruit into the winged beast's lair," Dongfang Minghui instructed. She did not want to confront the Blood Fiend Alliance head-on, either. With her strength, she would never withstand them.

She simply diverted the trouble elsewhere, pinning the blame on the winged beast.

Her troublesome companion understood her plan, too. Without another word, it tossed a Purple Cloud Fruit unerringly into the lair. To an observer, it looked as though the companion itself had entered the cave.

"Let's go!" Her troublesome companion did not forget to drag along Dongfang Wanyu, who had been keeping watch nearby.

Seeing this, Dongfang Wanyu could hardly fail to realize what had happened. She paced in circles, trying to calm herself, then asked coldly, "You just threw the Purple Cloud Fruit in there? What if... what if that horde of magical beasts kills the Winged Elephant calf, too? What use would the Purple Cloud Fruit be to me then?"

Dongfang Minghui lowered her head. This was the best solution she had been able to think of.

"There's something strange about your ninth sister," Qing Mo, who had never thought much of her, suddenly said. "And I feel as though I've seen that Demon Plant of hers somewhere before."

Dongfang Wanyu was furious. "Hurry up and think of a way to get the calf out from under a horde of magical beasts and the Blood Fiend Alliance without anyone noticing."

Even without Qing Mo pointing it out, the Blood Fiend Alliance's young master had already thrown himself into battle against the horde of magical beasts to obtain the Purple Cloud Fruit.

The two women hid to the left of the Winged Elephant's lair, watching the chaotic scene.

"Wait here for me. I'll be right back," Dongfang Wanyu instructed Dongfang Minghui.

Dongfang Minghui tugged at the hem of Dongfang Wanyu's clothes, expressing her worry. "Seventh Sister, it's too dangerous for you to go in alone."

Dongfang Wanyu patted her hand reassuringly and slipped inside. Occasionally, one or two foolish magical beasts attacked her, but she dispatched them with ease.

"This Purple Cloud Fruit is mine," her troublesome companion declared in her mind.

"It's yours. It's all yours." Having escaped with her life, Dongfang Minghui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She watched the Demon Plant extend two vines and pierce the Purple Cloud Fruit, absorbing it bit by bit until nothing remained.

"Delicious." After eating, the troublesome Demon Plant smacked its lips and said in a soft, childlike voice, "If you take good care of me, I can help you get rid of that useless constitution."

She was a little useless, but the problem lay in her cultivation method, not her constitution. Humans had always been poor judges of such things. Fortunately, it had found her.

"If my constitution really were what you say it is, why would you have made a Blood Contract with me?" Dongfang Minghui rolled her eyes as if to say, Do you think I'm an idiot? "You just want to trick me into finding you a Furnace Cauldron, don't you? I'm not helping." Every word struck a nerve.

The troublesome Demon Plant flailed its Vine Tendrils wildly in her mind, nearly going mad with anger. "Do you want the cultivation method or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Dongfang Minghui said calmly. "Think about it. If I reach Spirit King level someday, at least I won't have to drag you down, right?"

They were in the same boat now. She trusted that her troublesome companion understood their situation.

"Aim higher! With me around, just try stopping at Spirit King. You need to reach Saint King at the very least."

Dongfang Minghui thought her companion was far too fond of daydreaming. Spirit Saint and the like were much too lofty.

Soon, a cultivation method appeared in her mind. She glanced through it and immediately noticed a few differences. "Are you sure cultivating this way won't cause any problems?"

Her troublesome companion waved its Vine Tendrils. "Of course. I found this on a Spirit Venerable. I've checked it; it's suitable for human cultivation."

It was practically tailor-made for her.

"All right. Thanks." Dongfang Minghui was not petty. Given how much her troublesome companion had done for her, she decided to forgive its earlier brutal treatment and the Blood Contract it had forced upon her against her will.

"Since we'll be living together from now on, why don't I give you a name?" Dongfang Minghui carried on talking to herself without waiting for an answer. "You're a plant, yet you're always going on about finding a Furnace Cauldron. I'll just call you Little Color."

"Hey, hey, hey!" her troublesome companion protested. "Why can't a plant find a Furnace Cauldron? Do you know what Dual Cultivation feels like? Do you know the bliss of joining body and soul? Of course you don't."

"Little Color, Little Color, something seems to be happening over there." Dongfang Minghui ignored what it was saying. She had noticed that the Winged Elephant's lair seemed about to collapse.

Little Color extended its Vine Tendrils and quickly learned what was happening. "Damn it, she's been spotted! Run!"