Chapter 163 : Acting as a Group
What should you do when your own cub secretly follows you? Since you can't send it back, of course you forgive it!
Seeing that her identity exposure was beyond salvaging, the little white tiger simply embraced the situation, directly transforming back to her original form. She stood up, shook her fur, and gave a sweet, milk-like "Awoo" toward Su Hao and the others, raising her chin with an attitude that seemed to say "what can you do about it?"
Indeed, Su Hao and the others could do nothing about her. After exchanging glances, they could only rub their temples in acceptance. Not only did they have to accept that Jianbing had sneaked into the secret realm at such a young age, they also had to soften their attitude and gently persuade her: "Jianbing, you should change back first. If outsiders learn that you've entered the secret realm, it might cause trouble."
Seeing this, the little white tiger displayed a bit of pride, but eventually under everyone's persuasion, she transformed back into a small white cat, continuing to curl up in her Senior Sister's arms like a little ball of fur. And so the matter was settled.
Setting aside Jianbing's situation, everyone finally returned to the main topic, with Tan Ming and his companion also approaching.
The Canglán Secret Realm was vast, with this opening lasting for one year. Though people had entered the secret realm two or three months ago, they rarely encountered others. If not for their communication methods, they might not have met fellow disciples even after a year. For this reason, Su Hao, Tan Ming, and others still didn't know about the demonic cultivators. Tan Ming and other Buddha Sect disciples who had entered the secret realm earliest didn't even know that demonic cultivators had caused trouble at Mingzong Mountain.
Now, as they listened to Tan Xin and Yun Qingyue recount their encounters with demonic cultivators, everyone's expressions grew solemn. Even when Yun Qingyue finally said: "There are elders from the three sects guarding the secret realm entrance, so the number of infiltrating demonic cultivators should be limited. We haven't encountered any more on our journey."
However, Su Hao and Tan Ming, after hearing her words, didn't relax at all: "Even if not many demonic cultivators infiltrated the secret realm, and many were lost at Foguang Temple, just one demon monk is more than we can handle."
The matter of the Seven Treasures Glass Heart was Tan Xin's opportunity; he could be honest with Yun Qingyue and the others, but Yun Qingyue had no right to disclose it further. Moreover, though Tan Xin's cultivation was considerable, he had already become exhausted after using the six-syllable mantra just once, showing significant consumption. If there were to be a second encounter, Wuxiang would likely not be so easily deceived, and Tan Xin would struggle to repel him using the same method.
These words immediately made the atmosphere tense, especially after they learned about the two missing senior brothers from the Buddha Sect. Everyone became even more vigilant. But being overly cautious just because of a possible encounter felt unsatisfying, so after discussion, they decided to stay completely together as a group.
Five people from the Xuanqing Sect, plus two from the Buddha Sect—seven people's strength was sufficient to handle most crises.
Oh, right, they also had a white tiger disguised as a small white cat.
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After grouping together, their exploration range of the secret realm naturally diminished considerably. However, because of their collective strength, some higher-level spirit beasts they previously dared not provoke—which they could only avoid upon encountering—now became potential targets.
For instance, at this moment, the group of seven was hiding behind a small hill, gazing at the calm lake in the distance.
It was a beautiful lake with deep blue waters, surrounded by maple forests on both shores. The calm surface resembled a clear mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and red maples along the shore, like an exquisite painting. Occasionally, a breeze would ripple the entire lake, also rippling the reflected painting. But this didn't cause disappointment or anger; rather, it made people appreciate the scenery even more.
The beauty of this lake lay in its tranquility, yet its imperfection also lay in that tranquility—there was no truly natural scenery in the secret realm. Just half a day earlier, everyone had witnessed a small beast approach the lakeside to drink, only to be dragged underwater by a tail, leaving nothing behind.
Beasts preying on each other, the survival of the fittest—there was nothing strange or noteworthy about this.
However, at the very moment the tail pulled the small beast underwater, the little white tiger keenly detected a rich spiritual energy. It was a wood-attributed spiritual energy full of vitality. Though she was inherently metal-attributed and was a functionally illiterate tiger who couldn't recognize many spiritual plants, having used plenty of Azure Essence Spirit Marrow before, she was quite sensitive to wood-attributed spiritual energy.
She subsequently informed everyone of this discovery, and naturally, there was nothing more to say—of course they wanted to see if they could obtain the treasure beneath the lake. Thus, the scene of everyone hiding and observing the lake situation unfolded.
However, after half a day of observation, people had likely wasted their efforts—no one knew what beast lurked at the bottom of the lake. They had only glimpsed half of its tail earlier, which looked very much like a snake's tail. But if it was a snake's tail, what kind of snake could live continuously underwater, not even releasing a single bubble in almost half a day? A water snake?
The cultivation world had too many strange spirit beasts and demonic beasts, and everyone couldn't guess or judge for the moment. So after waiting for almost half a day, Su Hao finally decided not to wait any longer and said to everyone: "There's no point in waiting like this. Why don't we draw the snake out of its hole and see?"
Bei Luo, who had grown impatient long ago, immediately volunteered: "I'll go."
Su Hao hurriedly stopped him, saying: "Don't rush. The beast levels around here are not low. That small beast earlier was dragged away without even a chance to struggle. You should first catch a beast and bring it to the lakeside, then we'll see the situation."
Hearing this, Bei Luo didn't argue. He was just impatient with waiting. After accepting the task, he hurried off excitedly.
It must be said that Bei Luo's combat power was impressive, and his efficiency was excellent. After waiting for less than a quarter of an hour, he returned, driving a Cloud-Splitting Leopard before him, herding it toward the lakeside.
Everything was going smoothly initially. The Cloud-Splitting Leopard, in its panic, didn't notice where it was running until the expanse of deep blue water came into view. At that moment, it reacted like a startled cat—not only did its fur stand on end, but it also leaped three feet high. Before Bei Luo could continue driving it forward, it turned and ran back, seemingly forgetting even its fear of Bei Luo's earlier beating. Or perhaps it feared the lake water even more.
Seeing this, how could Bei Luo let it escape? He immediately appeared and kicked the Cloud-Splitting Leopard back with one foot. The force of his kick was considerable; even though this leopard was larger than an ox, it was sent flying by his foot.
Whether intentional or not, Bei Luo's kick precisely landed the Cloud-Splitting Leopard at the water's edge, with one paw stepping into the water.
The deep blue lake water was disturbed, ripples spreading outward.
The Cloud-Splitting Leopard acted as if its paw had been scalded by the lake water, its fur standing even more on end, making the entire leopard appear to have expanded by a circle. It howled in panic, completely disregarding everything else, using all four paws to frantically try to run back onto the shore.
Unfortunately, it was one step too late. The underwater hunter had apparently been lying in wait for a long time. A dark snake tail swiftly emerged from the water bottom, quickly coiling around the bristling body of the Cloud-Splitting Leopard. The leopard became increasingly frantic, howling while using its two front paws to desperately cling to the ground. The rocks on the ground were gouged out, creating several holes... but it was completely useless. It was still dragged away, leaving only several deep claw marks on the shore.
With several splashing sounds, the calm lake surface rippled with more and larger undulations, disturbing nearly half the lake water. This was the Cloud-Splitting Leopard's final struggle, also the last disturbance it left behind.
Bei Luo hid far away. Looking at those claw marks on the ground, he frowned and returned to the group: "How was it? Did you see clearly?"
Su Hao nodded first. Due to the Cloud-Splitting Leopard's final struggle, the exposure time of the snake tail was extended somewhat, allowing everyone to see it clearly. It was a dark snake tail, but under the sunlight, its scales revealed faint silver patterns. With such distinctive features, Su Hao recognized the snake's identity at a glance: "It's a Silver-scaled Black Python."
The so-called Silver-scaled Black Python was a rather troublesome sixth-grade spirit beast. It earned its name because when these pythons first hatched, they were completely black. As they gradually grew and their cultivation deepened, silver patterns would develop on their scales. The higher their cultivation, the more silver patterns would appear, eventually covering the original black base color completely, transforming them into silver-scaled creatures.
The one in the lake before them clearly hadn't reached that level yet; the silver patterns on its body were only faintly visible under sunlight. But even so, it was a sixth-grade spirit beast, equivalent to a human cultivator at the Void Crossing stage. How could it be easily dealt with?
When Su Hao mentioned this name, his tone was somewhat grave. Everyone clearly found the situation thorny.
At this moment, the little white tiger in Yun Qingyue's arms twitched her ears, then quietly puffed out her chest. Her fluffy tail raised high behind her, occasionally swaying to assert her presence—though her cultivation was low, her bloodline was noble. Not just a black Silver-scaled Black Python, even a silver one would have to bow before her. Among the spirit beasts in this secret realm, there wasn't a single one she couldn't handle!
Naturally, the first to notice the little white tiger's excitement was Yun Qingyue, who was holding her. The Senior Sister looked at her somewhat helplessly, then stroked her small cat head, signaling her to be more low-key.
Su Hao and the others naturally also saw the little white tiger's actions. They very much appreciated her intentions but still declined: "Jianbing, our entry into the secret realm is not only to seek treasures but also for tempering ourselves. This Silver-scaled Black Python is still within our capability. Since we want to seize the treasure, we should also handle it ourselves. If things go wrong and we need saving, then we'll ask for Jianbing's help."
The little white tiger was the sect's future guardian divine beast, not their contracted spirit beast. Including Yun Qingyue, no one would allow themselves to become too dependent on her. Otherwise, this shortcut, though available once, couldn't be taken forever—what benefit would there be?
They reasonably declined Jianbing's assistance and instead discussed their strategy—this wasn't difficult for them. Even facing a sixth-grade spirit beast, there was no shortage of combat power among the seven of them, plus they had pill refiners and formation masters. Dealing with a Silver-scaled Black Python of shallow cultivation wasn't a major issue. As the head senior brothers of their respective sects, Su Hao and Tan Ming were particularly experienced in coordinating personnel.
The little white tiger dejectedly curled back into her Senior Sister's lap, listening to Su Hao's commanding deployment, feeling slightly disappointed—these people didn't want her help, which was fine. There would be other opportunities, and it was normal that they didn't want to rely on her.
But in her Senior Sister's case, taking shortcuts occasionally was acceptable; she could always help her in the future.