"..."
Chen Ye sighed. In this case, the little white fox also holds an extraordinary position among the White Fox Race,
...
Chen Ye fed another three-pattern pill to the little white fox, offering repeated comforts until he barely calmed it down.
At this time,
the master and disciple duo further understood why the little white fox often hesitated to move forward once it entered the stone forest.
After all, it had been sent out of the stone forest at the cost of the lives of its kin.
Naturally, it dared not go back.
Yet, despite its fear,
perhaps deep down, the little white fox wanted to help its kin, which is why it overcame its fear to help guide them.
The group continued onward.
"Master, look at that vine..."
Zhiwei pointed to a coiled vine around a monument not far ahead, about as thick as a bowl.
At the top of the vine, it had split into a mouth filled with dense sharp teeth, opening and closing, waiting for prey to approach.
"It’s a carnivorous vine,"
Chen Ye said gravely,
"The resources in the stone forest are far less than those of the blood reeds. The spirit plants here mainly feed on flesh... As for the powerful demon beasts from outside, they’re often attracted by the Tao resonance within the stone forest, only to become prey to the carnivorous vine."
The little white fox leading the way suddenly stopped, its white fur bristling again, as it emitted low growls from its throat.
Chen Ye and Zhiwei exchanged a glance.
Their divine senses were suppressed within the stone forest, making it hard to detect the surroundings.
But the little white fox, having lived in the fusion stele from a young age, had a broader spiritual perception than any outsiders.
"There should be someone; let’s hide. If our divine senses can’t detect them, they won’t be able to spot us either."
Chen Ye’s mind raced, and he immediately pulled Zhiwei to hide behind a monument.
On the monument, other demon plants were also stirring.
Fortunately, these demon plants were much easier to deal with than the carnivorous vine.
Chen Ye casually performed several spirit plant techniques to pacify the spirit plants.
He then secretly manipulated the leaves of these demon plants to cover him and Zhiwei.
Noticing the little girl with black hair looking tense, Chen Ye couldn’t help but pinch her delicate nose and laughed:
"Let’s pretend we’re playing hide and seek. Zhiwei, you better hide well."
The little girl with black hair pouted and turned her little face away coldly.
Master, did he take her for a child!
Clearly, she’s a grown-up.
Nonetheless, the girl was no longer as nervous as before.
Chen Ye smiled faintly. After all, she’s just a child... No child is devoid of emotions, fearless of everything.
A moment later, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from nearby.
Chen Ye’s eyes narrowed.
He saw a group of cultivators cautiously approaching this way.
They were wearing Medicine King Valley attire, surprisingly from Medicine King Valley!
Strange,
Chen Ye remembered that he and Zhiwei had long surpassed the Medicine King Valley group while journeying through the howling expanse.
But he only contemplated the Tao stele for three days, and these people caught up?
"Could it be that they took other shortcuts? The little white fox mentioned that beyond the Wood Domain is the Ancient Pine Crossing. If they took a detour from the howling expanse to the Ancient Pine Crossing, they could indeed reach the Wood Domain so quickly."
Chen Ye thought to himself.
In no time, the cultivators from Medicine King Valley drew near.
Leading them was unexpectedly a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!
Chen Ye clearly remembered that Medicine King Valley publicly claimed to have no Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
It seems this person was hidden within the disciple team, only revealing their cultivation inside the grotto heaven.
"These sects secretly seem to know quite a lot about Songyang Cave Heaven... Tsk, each having a higher cultivation level," Chen Ye’s lips twitched.
Now thinking about it, logically, Lingyin Sect should also be aware of much insider information...
Perhaps, because of this, the Bai Family’s second elder wasn’t concerned about Bai Susu being trapped within the grotto heaven?
Instead, he felt that Bai Susu was undergoing training in the grotto heaven?
And by sending me here, openly claiming to search for Bai Susu...
Chen Ye felt a chill in his heart, breaking out in a cold sweat.
It became clear why the second elder insisted on sending him to the grotto heaven.
He previously thought that Bai Wuji’s attitude represented the Bai Family’s stance, but it seemed Bai Wuji’s situation within the Bai Family wasn’t good either.
Moreover, no one wanted to see a pig trying to play with their cabbage.
Presumably, this second elder wasn’t fond of his closeness to Bai Susu.
Yet Bai Susu held a remarkable position and was deeply loved by the second elder and other Bai Family elites.
Even though the second elder was a Golden Core True Man, he didn’t want to upset Bai Susu — Bai Susu’s arrogant nature was indeed pampered...
If outside, should I die mysteriously, Bai Susu would surely suspect something was wrong.
But, if he sent me into the grotto heaven,
in that case, when Bai Susu questioned the second elder, the second elder only needed to say that Chen Ye was overly concerned about her and volunteered to save her.
With Bai Susu’s proud nature, she would most likely believe Chen Ye risked his life to save her!
Damn...
To be fair, the second elder truly dotes on Bai Susu and actually understands her well.
Yet...
Could Chen Ye’s life merely be a mere trifle?
Chen Ye gritted his teeth silently.
At the same time, Zhao Yin of the Zhao Family likely also obscured crucial clues from him.
As for their purpose, it remains uncertain for now...