The young master

Wei Junlan, the young master of the Blood Fiend Alliance, had an extraordinarily keen nose. Following the distinctive scent of Purple Cloud Fruit, he found the Winged Elephant Demon Beast's lair.

He saw a horde of demon beasts scrambling over one another, charging forward without fear of death. Before he could give an order, the brainless creatures started fighting among themselves.

The demon beasts did not know, but his people did: there were actually two Purple Cloud Fruits.

"Go deal with those demon beasts," Wei Junlan ordered the Third Elder's men.

The other group remained hidden in the grass, awaiting orders.

As expected, he soon spotted a woman slipping past the demon beasts and ducking into the Winged Elephant's lair.

"Come inside with me," Wei Junlan ordered. He wanted to see just who had dared to set him up like this.

What happened next was exactly what Little Color had witnessed. Their opponents had seen through their scheme and were now lying in wait for Little Color to walk into their trap.

"Run!"

Little Color wrapped Dongfang Minghui up and retreated. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—all the vines outside instinctively recoiled. Little Color swiftly concealed itself as well.

Wei Junlan recognized Little Color's vines and was certain it was responsible for tricking him.

"Our opponent is a wood-element Spirit User." And one who was very good at using favorable conditions to hide. He gave a quiet order. "Grand Elder, you're a Fire Element Spirit Emperor. Sorry for the trouble, but please drag this little fellow out for me."

"Yes, young master."

Little Color was frantic. "Think of something, quick! They've actually brought out a Spirit Emperor!" That was practically cheating.

In the past, Little Color would not have given a Spirit Emperor a second thought. But now, saddled with dead weight, it was sweating with anxiety.

Dongfang Minghui's head hurt from being jostled around. Now that Little Color wanted her to think of a solution, her mind had gone completely blank.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

The script never included this part! Why was she facing something so dangerous? This made absolutely no sense.

"Damn it, have you thought of anything? Our opponent is a Fire Element, and he's a Spirit Emperor!" Little Color nearly jumped in panic as it watched its vines catch fire.

She could practically hear Little Color screaming.

"I've got it!"

"Little Color, carry me around in circles while we run. Do as I say and deliberately leave openings for them to set fires. The more fire, the better."

With that, Dongfang Minghui put two fingers to her lips and let out a piercing whistle.

"Catch them." Wei Junlan sensed something unusual about that sound.

In the blink of an eye, the First Elder found Little Color and Dongfang Minghui's hiding place. A mass of flames descended, instantly burning away all the grass around the woman and her pet.

Little Color took the full brunt of the heat. "You'd better explain why we're letting them set fires! The bigger the fire gets, the harder it'll be for us to escape!"

It had no desire to become a bald Demon Plant.

Dongfang Minghui nervously surveyed their surroundings, continuing to whistle with increasing urgency. "I don't like fire either, but the bigger it gets, the better for us."

People feared the Purple Demon Mountains not because the demon beasts within were particularly ferocious, but because of the high-level demon beasts that presided over them. These creatures were above level nine, equivalent to human Spirit Emperors and Spirit Venerables. As long as they were there, they would never allow anyone to destroy the Purple Demon Mountains. One stamp of their feet could make the entire mountain range shudder.

"Damn it, you're trying to lure out those old monsters? Do you have a death wish?" Little Color was going mad. It had misjudged her, utterly misjudged her! Sob, sob, sob. It had thought she was timid and afraid of trouble, only to discover she had no sense of fear at all. At this rate, she was about to poke a hole in the sky.

The Purple Demon Mountains were covered in a vast forest. As the flames spread from tree to tree, the entire area soon became a sea of fire.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak."

The Lightning Mouse arrived remarkably quickly. Standing on its hind legs, it looked adorably at Dongfang Minghui and scratched the softest fur on its belly.

Dongfang Minghui crouched down and stroked its furry little head, smiling. "The rest is up to you."

Little Color's heart nearly leaped out of its chest when it saw her reach out and touch the Lightning Mouse.

"You certainly kept that well hidden," Little Color said, a little jealous.

The Lightning Mouse still refused to leave. It patted its belly, patted it again, then gave it one more pat.

"All right, a feast." Dongfang Minghui could barely keep from laughing at the Lightning Mouse.

"Here they come again. They just won't quit." Little Color had barely pulled her to another spot when a huge crater was blasted into the place where they had just stood.

A tuft of fur on the Lightning Mouse's tail caught fire. The flames were quickly extinguished, but the Lightning Mouse was furious. Every hair on its body stood on end.

"Squeeeak—"

A particularly piercing noise rang out and continued for a long time.

It was Dongfang Minghui's first time seeing a Lightning Mouse angry, and it was nothing like its earlier adorable display. It bared its teeth in furious rage. Now it was like a true ninja: you never knew when it would appear, much less which direction it would attack from. As swift as lightning, it would lightly swipe your face.

Blood drawn, throat sealed.

And that was not all. Its earlier shriek seemed to have been a signal. Soon, countless identical Lightning Mice emerged from the forest.

Dongfang Minghui marveled at the sight. Seeing that their opponents were too busy to deal with them, she finally had time to wipe away her sweat. "Now they won't have time to chase us."

Little Color was astonished. "Why did the Lightning Mouse summon its own kind too?"

Dongfang Minghui gave a knowing smile.

The Blood Fiend Alliance had its roots in assassination. Facing Lightning Mice, creatures famous for ambushes, was a clash between masters. They had met their match.

The Lightning Mice used the favorable terrain for cover and the familiar trees as concealment, giving them a slight edge in the battle.

Their claws were their deadly weapons. Wherever they scratched the skin, the poison flower's toxin swiftly spread into the victim's internal organs, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and die.

Within moments, many members of the Blood Fiend Alliance were struck down one after another. They collapsed and never woke again, suffering heavy casualties.

"Young master, somehow our opponent summoned a group of Poison Flower Demon Beasts. Their poison is too potent." Even the First Elder had nearly fallen victim.

"Retreat." Seeing the situation turn against them, Wei Junlan swiftly issued a new order.

The forest was a sea of fire, and every living creature had fled the area.

Wei Junlan's order came a little too late. The moment he finished speaking, the ground began to shake, the earth trembling and the mountains rocking. The Lightning Mice froze one by one, their round eyes all fixed in the same direction. Their soft fur stood straight up like a hedgehog's spines—a reaction they showed only when facing an enemy.

Without waiting for Dongfang Minghui to remind it, Little Color tied her up with its Vines and fled. It moved as fast as lightning, faster even than the Lightning Mice. "We're doomed! They really came!"

Soon, the Lightning Mice also scattered in panic, fleeing in another direction.

The great horde of demon beasts dispersed in a frenzy, as though they had encountered something even more terrifying.

Such an unusual sight naturally caught the attention of Wei Junlan and his party. He looked in the direction the demon beasts were fleeing, then surveyed their surroundings and roared, "Retreat, now!" He had been fooled again.

Being tricked twice by the same person in a single day was a first for him.

Very good. He would remember this.

He would not be a gentleman if he failed to avenge this grudge.

As she fled for her life, Dongfang Minghui suddenly let out a tremendous sneeze. "Oh no, we forgot Seventh Sister!"

Little Color had run so far that it felt they were almost at the border between the Purple Demon Mountains and the Gold Star Continent. A little farther, and they would be out of the Purple Demon Forest.

"We nearly died over a single Purple Cloud Fruit."

Dongfang Minghui glared at Little Color. Fuming, she yanked one of its vines over and tied it in a knot. One was not enough, so she tied another. "Tell me, who ate the other one?"

She was the one who had truly been run ragged, all right?

At least Little Color had gotten a Purple Cloud Fruit, and the heroine would surely find the cub too. As for her, forget even a blade of grass—she had gotten absolutely nothing.

They had all benefited and still had the nerve to complain.

Dongfang Minghui made up her mind. Until her anger faded, she would not say another word to Little Color.

Little Color was particularly good at reading expressions. Seeing her sulking, it swallowed its pride and changed its form to please her.

"Don't be angry. Didn't I tell you about a cultivation method that suits you?" An exceptionally childish voice sounded beside her ear.

Dongfang Minghui wondered whether they had angered her so badly that she was now hearing things.

"Stingy."

The voice was soft and sweet.

When she turned around, she saw a Chubby Doll sitting beside her, wearing an arrogant expression that said, If you ignore me, I'll ignore you too.

"What an adorable baby." Dongfang Minghui first pinched its plump little cheeks. Once she had had her fill of those, she moved on to its chubby little hands.

Little Color decided humans were utterly annoying. Its face puffed up with anger as it glared fiercely at her.

"Pinch me again, and I'll make you regret it." It was clearly a threat, but coming from a Chubby Doll, it carried no force whatsoever.

"Aww, let me play a little longer." Dongfang Minghui loved children, especially fair-skinned, chubby, adorable ones. They were her absolute favorites, and she could not keep her hands off this one.

Little Color endured it for a while before it could bear no more. With an unusually serious expression, it told her, "Do that again, and I'll use you as a cultivation cauldron."

Dongfang Minghui: "..."

"Hahahahaha! Why are you so adorable?" She felt as though she had returned to her old days, when drinking Want Want milk always brought a certain line to mind: Keep looking. Keep looking, and I'll eat you up.

It was uncannily similar to what Little Color had said.

"Huh, Senior Brother, look! There's a young man here. Wow, he even has a child with him."

"Qing Yan, don't be rude."

Just as Dongfang Minghui was laughing heartily, two familiar voices suddenly reached her.

She turned to look. The people who appeared before her were none other than Mu Qing, whom the heroine had previously set up, along with his junior brother and junior sister.

Seeing his junior brother supporting his junior sister as they approached, Dongfang Minghui concluded that she had been seriously injured in the earlier fight.

Since all three of them had appeared together, did that mean they had dealt with those seven people?

Dongfang Minghui's arms trembled as she held Little Color. What was she supposed to do now?