Ao Zhan bent forward slightly, her sharp golden dragon eyes surveying the corpses of the Human Race cultivators around her before settling on the trembling ball of thorny vines. Her gaze lingered on the dark red markings across its surface, which resembled both dragon scales and blood vessels.
"A Dragonblood Thornbush and... its companion spirit beast?" He raised a swordlike brow, sounding surprised, then looked at Yun Shuanghua inside the ball, clear confusion flashing through his eyes. "Wait, do Dragonblood Thornbushes even have companion spirit beasts? Aren't they supposed to be companions to us in the Dragon Clan?"
Ao Zhan straightened and rubbed the nonexistent stubble on his chin, intrigued.
Dragonblood Thornbushes were strange immortal plants born through chance after absorbing the essence blood and lingering obsessions of fallen dragons. Their relationship with the Dragon Clan was special; they were practically distant relatives. Ao Zhan naturally felt a measure of tolerance toward creations bearing the aura of his own kind.
He extended a scale-covered finger and gently poked the ball of vines.
The ball shuddered violently but gave no response.
Several seconds of silence passed.
"Ugh... don't eat me. I don't taste good..." A whimper like that of a small animal suddenly came from inside the ball.
Ao Zhan's finger paused, the sharpness in his eyes softening slightly as he found himself unsure whether to laugh or cry. He could sense the Dragonblood Thornbush's unwavering determination to protect. Judging by the corpses around them, if he attacked, the silent Dragonblood Thornbush and the sniveling little fellow inside would spring into action in an instant.
"Tsk." He rubbed his chin, his curiosity stirred for once. "Lucky little brat, managing to form a contract with a Dragonblood Thornbush."
After a brief pause, Ao Zhan suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth