The Great Rock Python is a carnivorous demonic beast with a cultivation level around Bronze Three Stars. They are enormous, with adults often exceeding ten meters in length.
Their scales are as hard as rock, resembling a suit of heavy bronze armor; unless a Silver-level weapon is used, they cannot be harmed in the slightest.
They usually coil up, disguising themselves as rocks in the rocky forest, lying in wait to hunt down prey that enter their attack range.
"Has Xiao Ning'er gone mad? Coming to such a dangerous place!" Even Chang Ping, a transmigrator, knew this; Xiao Ning'er couldn't possibly be unaware. Did she have some kind of backing?
Chang Ping decided to observe the situation before deciding whether to intervene.
The night was dark and windy.
In the rocky forest, the boulder behind Xiao Ning'er slowly trembled, and a huge, ferocious, ugly snake head emerged from the rock, flicking its tongue and opening its blood-red maw.
"Danger!" Chang Ping's heart tightened. He released the safety on his Desert Eagle, raised the gun, and aimed at the snake head.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Xiao Ning'er suddenly turned to face the snake head.
She conjured a fresh piece of demonic beast meat out of thin air, held it in both hands, and tossed it into the gaping maw of the giant rock python.
The beast swallowed the meat whole, flicked its tongue, licked Xiao Ning'er's face, and then slowly withdrew its head, reverting to its original shape as a large rock.
"She's actually feeding a demonic beast?" Chang Ping exclaimed in surprise, feeling that Xiao Ning'er was like a zookeeper. "This giant rock python is quite clever; it knows the difference between one meal and every meal."
After calming the restless python, Xiao Ning'er conjured a water jug out of thin air, washed the bloodstains from her jade-like hands, then sat cross-legged on a mat, facing the leaping flames of the campfire, and began to cultivate her soul power.
Before long, her entire body shone with a faint blue glow.
Xiao Ning'er frowned, her slender willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, her expression seemingly filled with pain. Chang Ping guessed that it was probably the Extreme Cold Disease at work.
"Before one can condense a soul vortex and become a Bronze One-Star Demon Spirit Master, one cannot effectively refine the essence of moonlight. This is an extremely yin substance; if too much accumulates in the body, it will block and damage the meridians," Chang Ping murmured.
Leaning against a tree trunk, he quietly guarded his dream lover while summoning the exchange shop to search for medicine to cure the Extreme Cold Disease.
The exchange shop had everything except food and condiments like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
Soon, Chang Ping found a medicine:
Cold-Dispelling Lily Honey!
It was made by steaming longevity lilies and then mixing them with honey. It had a soft, fragrant taste and could dispel cold, stop coughs, and clear the meridians.
This medicine could expel cold toxins from the body and had almost no side effects, making it very suitable for a Demon Spirit Master apprentice like Xiao Ning'er, whose cultivation was not yet at Bronze One-Star.
"I don't have as much strange knowledge as Elder Nie Li, nor do I know any guiding techniques. This is the only way I can help her. I hope this little girl won't mind." Chang Ping exchanged for a bottle of cold-dispelling lily honey, flipped down the tree, and landed steadily on the ground.
This medicine was of bronze grade and not expensive; exchanging for one bottle only cost 300 power points.
"Who?!" Xiao Ning'er shouted, taking out a dagger, holding it in her hand, and warily staring at the bushes not far ahead.
Demon spirit masters specialize in cultivating soul power, and their perception abilities are extremely powerful.
Xiao Ning'er's current soul power is about eighty points, allowing her to easily sense creatures moving within an eight-meter radius.
Just now, she detected an extremely terrifying aura, like a golden demon beast, which made her gasp.
She had once entered the Holy Ancestor Mountain Range with her grandfather for training and knew the terror of golden demon beasts.
Xiao Ning'er glanced back at her bodyguard, only to be surprised to find the giant rock python gone, its back empty.
"Disloyal!" Xiao Ning'er cursed inwardly.
She had even fed it silver-grade demon beast meat, meat it itself wouldn't part with, and it had abandoned her, running off like a snake.
Demon beasts were indeed all ungrateful creatures.
"Don't come any closer!" Xiao Ning'er pulled out an inscribed scroll from her spatial ring. As a direct descendant of a powerful family, she naturally possessed some means of self-preservation. "Damn it! Why are there golden demon beasts in the trial grounds?! Am I going to perish today?"
A burst of laughter suddenly came from the bushes.
"Perish? You're quite narcissistic." Chang Ping grinned and jumped out from behind the bushes. "Don't be afraid, I mean no harm."
Xiao Ning'er remained vigilant, glaring with her bright, willow-leaf eyes, and snorted, "You've killed all the horned sheep in the trial grounds, what are you doing here?" Did he have some ulterior motive?
"You're sick!" Chang Ping said bluntly.
Xiao Ning'er was stunned by the scolding.
Coming to her senses, she retorted angrily, "You're the one who's sick!"
"And...very sick," Chang Ping said seriously.
"Is this never going to end?" Xiao Ning'er's eyebrows shot up. She opened the inscription scroll, facing Chang Ping, and threatened, "Get out of here right now, or I'll activate the scroll! This is a silver-grade inscription scroll, capable of releasing terrifying lightning that can instantly kill a silver-level five-star demon beast!"
Get lost, you horned sheep testicle-eating monster!
"Why don't you appreciate my kindness?" Chang Ping was annoyed. She suspected Xiao Ning'er was like a dog, always biting the hand that feeds her. "To tell you the truth, you suffer from extreme cold. Once you cultivate to Bronze Level One, you'll explode and die!"
Xiao Ning'er was skeptical.
"What extreme cold? I've never heard of it." Could this be some kind of fabricated excuse to deceive her and get close to her?
Chang Ping pointed to Xiao Ning'er's bare feet: "When you cultivate your soul power at night, do you feel your feet burning hot, but the rest of your body freezing cold, no matter how many layers of clothes you wear?"
"How did you know?" Xiao Ning'er put down the scroll, astonished. Could Chang Ping be telling the truth? Did she really have some kind of extreme cold disease? Would she really explode and die?
"Not only do I know you have extreme cold disease, but I've also brought the antidote. Do you want it?" Chang Ping held a small, snow-white porcelain bottle, smiling as he asked.
"Antidote? You'd be so kind?" Xiao Ning'er raised an eyebrow. She didn't trust Chang Ping, even suspecting that the bottle contained a sleeping potion instead of an antidote. He wanted to drug her and take advantage of her.
"Of course not!" Chang Ping shook his head, taking a step forward. "I've said it before, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Xiao Ning'er recalled Chang Ping saying something similar to Ye Ziyun during the day.
"How much do you want?" she asked, taking a step back.
"I don't want money!" Chang Ping shook his head again. "I want you…"
"What did you say?" Xiao Ning'er's pretty face turned cold, and she immediately pointed the scroll at the lecherous man in front of her.
"I need you to do me a favor." Chang Ping chuckled. He had deliberately spoken with heavy breathing to tease this little girl.
"What favor?" Xiao Ning'er didn't put down the scroll. She stared intently at Chang Ping, ready to activate the scroll at the slightest sign of his misbehavior.
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