NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Walking away from her master's house until it was out of sight, Ruan Xiaoyue felt sad about parting from her beloved master.
As she walked, Ruan Xiaoyue looked back at her master's now invisible home and spoke as if her master could hear her.
"Master, just wait. RuanRuan will definitely return. RuanRuan cannot leave and let you do all the work alone. RuanRuan will be back soon!"
After that, she ran quickly towards what she believed was the core location of the Death Forest.
"As expected of Master, even though I’ve run quite far, I haven’t seen a single dangerous monster to hunt. It seems Master’s aura makes dangerous creatures uncomfortable and makes them stay away from Master’s residence.
"But why did Master tell me to bring consumable beasts? I’ve often seen edible animals while walking in this forest. Could it be that Master meant rare animals? I don’t even know what rare animals look like. I guess I’ll have to ask passing cultivators."
As she ran and looked around without finding any monsters, Ruan Xiaoyue could only admire her Master for making the notoriously dangerous Death Forest not dangerous, even though she was only a few li from Master’s home.
ROOooAaaRRRrrss…
While running and thinking about her Master, Ruan Xiaoyue heard the roar of a ferocious beast. Curious, she approached the source of the sound and saw a giant tiger-like monster, about five meters tall, fighting three cultivators.
"Junior! Distract the monster! Senior will perform a technique that takes time!"
"Got it! Senior Sister!"
Seeing that the five cultivators were not in danger and could balance the giant tiger, Ruan Xiaoyue did not help them and only observed the battle from atop a lush tree.
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When Xue Lanting and her junior were on their way to the alternative realm conference in the Death Forest, they were suddenly ambushed by a hungry Wind Gale tiger monster. Facing this monster, Xue Lanting and her junior could not escape the monster known for its speed and strength.
Although Xue Lanting’s cultivation was on par with the tiger monster, there was a significant difference between the strength of human cultivators and monsters.
'Damn! We’ve been fighting for a long time, I can’t let this drag on. All my juniors are injured and exhausted. It’s time for me to use my ultimate technique if we want to survive!'
"Junior! Distract the monster! Senior will use a technique that takes time!"
"Got it! Senior Sister!"
With her junior distracting the monster, Xue Lanting prepared to channel all her qi into her sword according to the ultimate technique she had learned.
After all the qi was absorbed by the sword, Xue Lanting swing the sword at the tiger monster after signaling her junior to move away from the attack.
"Junior! Everyone, dodge, the technique is about to be unleashed! Aerial Flying Slash!"
Roar…
When the tiger monster realized it was trapped, it was too late. Xue Lanting’s technique struck, slicing its body in two.
Seeing the tiger monster no longer moving, Xue Lanting breathed a sigh of relief, having saved her members without casualties. She instructed all her juniors to rest and heal, while she went to the monster’s corpse to collect valuable materials and its core.
'If I’m not mistaken, the Wind Gale tiger is a rare monster with Golden Core cultivation. We’re lucky to encounter a young one. If we bring its materials and core back to the sect, we should get a lot of sect points, right? …Huh?'
"Who’s there! Show yourself!"
'It seems someone has been spying on us. Could they be hostile? They shouldn’t be. If so, they would have attacked us while we were fighting the monster.'
Hearing Xue Lanting’s voice, the spy jumped down from the tree to be seen.
"You! A… child? Your aura… eh? Umm, tell me, little miss-girl, can I know why you were spying on us?"
'This person, even though they are a child, has a cultivation level far higher than mine. Could they be at the Peak Building Foundation stage or already a Golden Core?'
"Sorry if I made you all wary. I had no other intention. I just wanted to help if you couldn’t fight the monster. Since you succeeded, I actually intended to leave. But since I’ve been discovered, I had to show myself."
"No need to apologize, little girl. I feel you mean no harm, and that’s enough."
"Alright then, I’ll be going."
"Wait, little girl! Can I know where you’re headed?"
"…No particular destination, I just want to wander the forest and hunt monsters."
"If it’s not too much trouble, would you like to join us? We’re actually heading to the alternative realm conference."
"Alternative realm? What’s that?"
"You don’t know? An alternative realm is a dimensional space created by a powerful cultivator after their death. It is said to contain many treasures left by the cultivator. If we manage to open it, we can inherit all those treasures."
"I’m not interested."
After hearing Xue Lanting’s explanation, the little girl showed her disinterest and was about to leave. However, after a few steps, she stopped, turned around, and asked,
"Aside from treasures, are there any rare plants or edible rare animals?"
"Eh? Rare plants are certainly in the alternative realm. Edible rare animals? Although this is my first time there, I’m sure there are rare animals guarding the realm."
'What does she mean by edible rare animals? Could she mean rare monsters? This girl is quite strange. She seems more interested in plants and animals than in the valuable treasures from the powerful cultivator.'
"Okay, then I’ll join you."
After hearing Xue Lanting’s answer, the little girl agreed to join them on their way to the alternative realm conference in the Death Forest.
Xue Lanting was pleased with the girl’s decision. She was curious how a child who seemed under eight years old could have reached a higher cultivation level than her. Maybe this little girl could give her tips on improving her cultivation level.
After resting enough and healing their wounds, the group continued their journey towards the alternative realm conference in the western area of the Death Forest with the little girl.