Low bushes surrounded the area. A baby less than a year old and a big yellow dog suddenly appeared among the bushes.
Ning Xiu lay on Big Yellow’s back, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings and tilting his head in confusion. “Aya?”
Where is this place?
“Ah~dai~”
Mother~ Father~
“Ah~”
Where are my brothers and sister?
Ning Xiu raised his head to look around. After finding no familiar faces, his lips quivered and he burst into tears.
Where was his father? His mother? Brother Zizhang? Sister Yizheng? Brother Huanhuan? Where was Little Black? Where was Big Yellow?
“Awoo~” Big Yellow wagged his tail and barked once to indicate he was still there.
Ning Xiu paused his crying, looked down at Big Yellow, then continued crying.
Don’t want Big Yellow, want Father~
Big Yellow: ……
Seeing him cry with such vigor, Big Yellow wagged his tail, stood up carrying him, and sniffed hard.
The mixed spiritual energy contained all unfamiliar auras, and there were even hidden dangers lurking in the darkness.
“Awoo~”
Don’t cry~
“Waa~” After crying for a while with no one coming to comfort him, Ning Xiu stopped sobbing on his own. He looked at the tall forest around him with tear-filled eyes and grabbed Big Yellow’s fur in fear.
As a contract beast of a Golden Core cultivator, Big Yellow naturally also reached the Golden Core stage. Being a demon beast and being fed various spiritual foods daily, his cultivation speed was even faster than his master’s. He wanted to tell his master that as a Golden Core cultivator there was nothing to fear, but then remembered his master’s age…
Well, let this dog bear the burden silently.
Ning Xiu stood up wobbling on Big Yellow’s back while tugging at his ears. “Ah~”
Want to find Father~
“Woof!”
Got it!
A master and their contract beast could communicate directly through divine consciousness, but given Ning Xiu’s special age, the daily conversations between man and dog usually revolved around highly meaningful profound topics like “Have you eaten?”, “What did you eat today?”, “What tastes the best?”, “Don’t like changing diapers”, and “Which is better – ducks or dogs?”
As for finding people, the mighty Big Yellow could only rely on a dog’s instincts – sniffing around everywhere.
Now the man and dog were completely unaware that about ten miles away from them, a group of people was slowly advancing.
This group had around twenty people, but they were clearly divided into three factions. Among them, over ten people wore the Xie family’s white apricot-colored cloud-patterned brocade robes. Both men and women were dressed elegantly and exquisitely. They looked less like they were exploring a secret realm and more like noble young masters and ladies out for a spring outing. They were all led by a beautiful woman at the front.
Another faction consisted of five or six disciples from the Qingdan Sect, led by Jimo Hongcai, maintaining an extremely low profile. The remaining ones were disciples from the recently rising Xuantian Sect. Although these disciples wore plain clothes, they all had brushes hanging at their waists, and yellow talisman paper would inadvertently show from their sleeves as they walked, clearly indicating they were talisman masters.
The Xie family members were arrogant, the talisman masters were aloof, and the Qingdan Sect people were stuck in the middle keeping quiet. The whole team was deathly silent.
“Fellow cultivator Jimo, why has your Qingdan Sect also come to the Floating Sky Realm?” The disciple who spoke up was lively in nature, named Xie Jiangnan. Having met Jimo Hongcai once before, he deliberately fell back a few steps to strike up a conversation with him.
“The Chongzheng Alliance required all 120 sects to send people to the Floating Sky Realm—” Jimo Hongcai said softly, “Our master was unlucky, drew the lot, and had to send us in.”
Alchemists generally had lower cultivation levels. Rather than exploring secret realms for treasures, they preferred to tend to their furnaces. What other sects would fight over was an opportunity that the Qingdan Sect assigned to whoever was unlucky enough to draw the lot.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jiangnan burst out laughing, then felt somewhat embarrassed and said quietly, “Don’t worry, if we encounter any danger later, you can hide behind me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Wenshi, who was walking ahead, suddenly said, “Once in the secret realm, life and death are up to fate. If we encounter danger, fellow cultivators should take care of themselves.”
After speaking, she gave Xie Jiangnan a warning look.
How could Jimo Hongcai not understand her meaning? He immediately cupped her hands to Xie Jiangnan and said, “Thank you for your kindness, but although we Qingdan Sect cultivators have average combat abilities, we still have some survival techniques.”
Xie Jiangnan said awkwardly, “My sister is just like that, don’t take it to heart.”
Jimo Hongcai smiled at him but said nothing more. Xie Jiangnan could only sullenly return to the Xie family’s group.
“Everyone has their strengths, Brother Jimo, don’t take it to heart,” Pei Heguang came over and patted his shoulder.
Jimo Hongcai said apologetically, “We’ve caused Brother Pei trouble all along the way.”
Pei Heguang laughed heartily and put his arm around his shoulder, saying, “Why are you being so polite with me? If it weren’t for your pills, my injuries wouldn’t have healed so quickly. If anyone’s causing trouble, I’m the one troubling you.”
Bu Qing, who was behind the two, silently rolled her eyes at this.
Just then, the cultivator scouting ahead suddenly raised his hand, signaling them to stop.
Xie Wenshi went forward and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Senior Sister, there seems to be a cultivator blocking the path ahead,” the scout said. “Their cultivation is no less than Golden Core, and they have a powerful contract beast.”
Xie Wenshi’s expression immediately became serious. Though they had numbers on their side, encountering a Golden Core cultivator wasn’t frightening, but a Golden Core cultivator with a contract beast was as dangerous as someone at the God Transformation stage.
“Everyone be on guard!” Xie Wenshi called out.
All twenty-plus people drew their swords and prepared for battle. The talisman masters even took out their most destructive talismans just in case.
Half an incense stick later, the group fell silent as they stared at the small yellow dog that wasn’t even as tall as a person, looking simple and silly, and the white, tender, cute, and beautiful baby lying on the dog’s back.
Fearsome Golden Core cultivator?
Powerful contract beast?
Is this it?
While they were examining the man and dog, Ning Xiu and Big Yellow were also examining this group of strange adults.
“Ah~” Ning Xiu patted Big Yellow in confusion.
What are they going to do~
“Awoo~”
Don’t know~ They’re holding swords~
“Ah yi~ya!” Ning Xiu sat up excitedly, clapping his little hands hard.
Do they want to fight? Go get them, Big Yellow! Where’s my little wooden sword? I want to defeat them magnificently like Father!
“Awoo…?” Big Yellow tilted his head in confusion.
Where did you get a sword?
Ning Xiu took out a palm-sized wooden sword from his little silver lock, “Ah da!”
This is it!
This was the wooden sword Brother Zizhang had carved for him, Sister Yizheng helped tie the pretty tassel, Brother Huanhuan helped engrave characters on it, and Little Black even contributed a big gem! Super awesome!
Big Yellow looked at the black dragon scale that had been forcefully embedded into the wood, then at the yellow “sword tassel,” and finally understood why a patch of his tail had mysteriously gone bald!
Ning Xiu raised the little wooden sword in his hand, imitating his father’s imposing and mighty manner, and shouted with great momentum. “Ah da!”
Come fight!
“Puff!” Xie Jiangnan laughed disrespectfully, and the other cultivators who had been wearing serious expressions also relaxed, holding back their laughter as they watched the baby who couldn’t even speak properly.
“Where did this child come from?” Xie Wenshi put away her sword but didn’t rashly approach. She could indeed see that this child was already at the Golden Core stage, and besides, using children as trap bait wasn’t uncommon in the past.
“This child’s parents are really too careless,” Xie Jiangnan shook his head while holding his sword.
A sharp-eyed Xuantian Sect disciple exclaimed, “Quick, look at the child’s hand!”
Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on the red string on Ning Xiu’s wrist. They saw that the ordinary red string held an exquisite little silver lock overflowing with spiritual energy, with complex talisman formations carved on it. Just by looking, it was at least a heaven-grade magical treasure…
“Is that little wooden bead hanging there red sandalwood?” someone said softly.
Everyone’s breath suddenly caught.
Compared to heaven-grade magical treasures, red sandalwood was truly something that could only be encountered by chance, not sought.
“This child’s parents should be nearby,” Jimo Hongcai suggested. “Why don’t we all help look for them?”
Pei Heguang agreed, “Yes, looking at this child’s appearance, he must be very loved by his parents. They must be very worried that he’s lost.”
A talisman master from Xuantian Sect frowned and said, “The Floating Sky Realm is full of dangers. What parent would bring such a small child in here?”
After he said this, everyone began to hesitate again. When training outside, especially exploring secret realms, the greatest taboo was meddling in others’ affairs. If there was a trap, they would be risking their own lives.
For a moment, no one dared to step forward.
Ning Xiu proudly puffed up his little chest and shouted again with great momentum. “Ah ya!”
Come fight!
Everyone saw the baby make a tender sound, looking at them with bright eyes, very… adorable.
“It’s just a baby after all,” Xie Jiangnan sighed and stepped forward, making to pick up Ning Xiu.
“Woof woof!” Big Yellow’s fur suddenly bristled all over, and he roared fiercely at the crowd. His form suddenly grew dozens of times larger, and he bared his sharp fangs, staring intently at one person among them.
Xie Jiangnan was startled and was pulled back by Xie Wenshi in an instant.
“Who the hell told me this was just a dog!?” Xie Jiangnan clung to his sister’s arm, his face ashen. Those fangs had just grazed past his throat – if he had been even a moment slower, his corpse would have been hanging there.
Ning Xiu, clutching his little wooden sword, was buried in the fluffy dog fur. After struggling for a while without success, he sighed tiredly, rolled to the side, and lay on his back on Big Big Yellow’s back. “Ah~”
Fighting is so tiring~
In the crowd, someone slightly narrowed their eyes and chuckled softly.
“How interesting.”
“Prepare the Beast Trapping Formation!” The Xuantian Sect disciples were well-trained and made the first move.
The Xie family members, not wanting to fall behind, also began deploying their swords into formation.
Big Yellow, baring his teeth, stared at that person who made him feel fear and disgust. He backed up several steps carrying Ning Xiu, then turned and ran.
“After them!” Contract beasts were rare enough to find, let alone one whose master was just a baby.
Ning Xiu lay confused on Big Yellow’s back, trying to stand up several times but kept falling into the fur. He finally gave up and lay flat, “Ah~”
Miss Father~ Miss Mother~
Big Yellow ran frantically while turning his head to look back, only to meet that person’s gloomy gaze.
“Persistently annoying little beast.”
