The sun hung brightly in the blue skies and white clouds.
Sunlight shone on the land as Yellow Dragon River flowed, with a dense forest beside the river, forming an ocean of greenery.
On the beast-trap tree's crown, vines hung as eight or nine leaves formed a cage, like a gathering of seashells standing tall.
Suddenly among one of the cages, there was intense shaking.
Pew.
A bright red moon blade shot out from there, tearing the leaves apart.
A young girl in light colored clothing, shrouded in a white colored armor on her body, emerged from the leaf cage.
She was agile, her feet landing on some branches on the trees, moving quickly as she jumped down, eventually landing safely on the ground.
It was Bai Ning Bing.
Throughout the process, the beast-trap tree did not move, as if it was dead.
Bai Ning Bing looked at this beast-trap tree, thinking of what Fang Yuan had said to her the previous night.
"Towards any prey that escaped, the beast-trap tree will not attack further. Because any prey that can escape, is not something the tree can deal with. Even without intelligence, the instinct of the beast-trap tree can allow it to adapt and survive better in the wild."
"Achoo."
Bai Ning Bing could not help but sneeze, as she rubbed her nose, she observed the surrounding and checked out her location.
In this beast-trap forest, most leaf cages were hanging high up in the tree crown like shiny green seashells.
"It seems that the blood smell on the beach has attracted many wild beasts. The beast-trap tree had a great harvest last night," Bai Ning Bing thought in her heart as she stretched her limbs, cracking her neck.
She had an uncomfortable sleep last night — the crocodile's corpse was hard and tough. Coupled with the cold night, although she was extremely tired, she was woken up by the cold several times.
Thus, with huge eyebags, she was in a bad condition mentally. But after cultivatiing for a while, her stamina had recovered by more than half.
At this moment, she was standing in an area with sunlight, using the sunlight to dispel the coldness in her body.
"Bai Ning Bing, let me out." A voice was heard, none other than Fang Yuan. He did not need to use the Earth Hearing Communication Grass to notice the commotion.
Bai Ning Bing glanced at another beast-trap tree. On this tree crown, the leaf cage that had captured Fang Yuan was still at the same spot.
She laughed inwardly, not replying, instead closing her eyes and resting while bathing in the sunlight, delaying on purpose.
Fifteen minutes later, she shot out a blood colored moonblade, cutting the vines apart.
The seashell-like leaves scattered on the ground as they tore and dispersed.
Bai Ning Bing slowly walked over, using another blood moonblade, cutting the leaves as Fang Yuan moved his way out of the cage.
"What's with the delay? I woke up ages ago, and even managed to cultivate for a while." Fang Yuan's face was gleaming, looking extremely refreshed.
The clothes and cloak that he took out last night had already been kept.
Bai Ning Bing snorted. Fang Yuan's current situation was beyond her expectations.
She had thought that Fang Yuan would be like her, not being able to sleep while feeling hungry and cold. Thus she delayed his release, trying to torture him.
But to think that his condition was at its peak!
"It's getting late, we have to start moving. Let's eat first." Fang Yuan shot out the tusita flower, taking out the coal stone, iron rack, iron pot, water bottle and dried biscuits etc.
He moved quickly, cooking a pot of meat stew in a short while.
Next he searched around, finding a large number of mushrooms under the cover of the beast-trap tree.
These tree shrooms were long, dry and thin, looking dark purple or black.
Bai Ning Bing looked at Fang Yuan as he put these into the pan, questioning, "Wild vegetation cannot be eaten without caution, they might be poisonous."
"Yup, you're right." Fang Yuan nodded. "Then don't eat."
Bai Ning Bing laughed coldly, "If you get poisoned, I do not have a healing Gu worm."
Fang Yuan indifferently took out a ladle, drinking a huge mouthful of meat soup under Bai Ning Bing's close watch.
Bai Ning Bing snorted.
Only until Fang Yuan drank five to six mouthfuls of soup did she assure herself that there was no danger in the soup.
After drinking from the ladle, her eyes shone.
Compared to yesterday, this stew had a much fresher and sweeter flavor!
She directed her gaze towards the tree shrooms in the soup. Evidently, the difference was due to these mushrooms.
She could not help but look at Fang Yuan as he sat on a rock, drinking soup with his head lowered as he ate the dry biscuits, full of vigor.
Although their sleeping condition was the same, Bai Ning Bing compared it to her own pathetic state and felt a trace of admiration towards Fang Yuan in her heart, no matter how much she denied it.
Of course, if she knew that Fang Yuan had secretly taken out his cloak and clothes to keep warm, then she would have had a different feeling all together.
Fang Yuan felt her gaze landing on him.
But he did not raise his head, only smiling lightly, pretending he did not notice it and continued eating.
Ever since Qing Mao mountain where Bai Ning Bing resolutely saved him, Fang Yuan felt that pure demonic nature in her.
Demons are crazy, impervious to reason, adamantly walking on their own path. Bai Ning Bing's demonic nature gave Fang Yuan some ideas on how to make use of her.
But this person, Bai Ning Bing, was also complex.
On one hand, she was too tender. After getting new life and solving the problem of the Northern Dark Ice Soul physique, she did not want to give up anymore, enjoying life and not resolving to die.
But on the other hand, her demonic nature made her pursue excitement, thus having a completely unrestrained personality. She did not fear death, and if death was exciting enough, she would chase after it.
Such a person is like a young dragon, full of curiosity towards the world, carrying an unrestrained nature, and whose wildness was untamable. She had her own path, her own ambitions and aspirations.
Bai Ning Bing had not fully grown into a demon lord; she was merely a demon child now. But this true demon will never change her path, and her direction cannot be altered, and she definitely will not submit to anyone.
True demons are only loyal to themselves, moving in the darkness alone, walking their own paths.
True demons will admire other people, but they will never submit.
A true demon is the lord of their own, the supreme existence!
Fang Yuan understood Bai Ning Bing because Fang Yuan understood himself. He knew that Bai Ning Bing would never submit to him, but not submitting does not mean she couldn't be subdued. While not able to change her path, it does not mean she cannot be used.
If Fang Yuan had Rank three cultivation, he would not need her. But with only Rank one initial stage now, Bai Ning Bing's value was great.
Of course, wanting to subdue her and make use of her, some efforts needed to be put in.
Bai Ning Bing was smart and arrogant, and could not be forced. Only through some small matters, or external influence to exert pressure on her, can she slowly be tamed.
Secretly taking out clothes to keep warm, was not because Fang Yuan is petty. Earlier Bai Ning Bing purposely delayed the time, and Fang Yuan did not pursue it; it is not because he is magnanimous.
"To subdue Bai Ning Bing, I need to spend a lot of time. But I'm in no rush, let's take it slow, I need time to recover my cultivation."
After the two ate, it was near noon already.
On the ground, there were footprints of wild beasts all over. The two continued moving, as Bai Ning Bing paved the way towards the southeast direction.
The deeper they went, the taller the trees in the forest. Earlier there were only beast-trap trees around three to four metres tall, but gradually, they became five to six metres tall, and at times there were seven to eight metre tall king trees, like a crane among a flock of chicken.
Of course there were also dying tree branches that had fallen onto the ground, filled with green moss. Or at some areas, there were budding leaves, or broken wood, split apart by lightning, showing the fury of the heavens.
These great beings grew in close proximity in this area, shrouding the heavens.
The deeper one went, the colder it got.
The strong sunlight was blocked by the lustrous tree leaves, and only a tiny ray could penetrate, creating large shadows in the forest.
The wind blew, and the tree leaves made a swish sound, as shadows moved like shattered gold.
In the forest, not all was peaceful.
At times, there would be deer, foxes, rabbits and other animals moving around.
Most were birds, all sorts of birds, either in groups of threes or fives, or a large flock flying in the sky. Others stood on tree branches as they sang out in harmony.
Sometimes, there would be the roaring of tigers from far away.
The two moved and stopped, relying on the Earth Hearing Communication grass to avoid many dangers. But some areas could not be avoided, thus Bai Ning Bing's battle strength was needed to force their way through.
Rank three cultivation is already sufficient to deal with problems in the wild.
NIght descended again, and Fang Yuan found a safe camping spot; it was a stone hill.
Bai Ning Bing was extremely tired, falling asleep immediately even on the rough sharp rocks.
On the second day when she woke up, her body ached all over and even her head could not rotate properly, having gotten a stiff neck. Her sneezing also became more frequent; it was obvious she caught a cold.
Fang Yuan took all these into consideration as they continued on their journey.
They moved extremely slowly, because there was no movement-type Gu to travel. Previously, Fang Yuan used the Thousand Li Earthwolf spider and Bai Ning Bing used the White Form Immortal Snake Gu; both were mobile Gu that were Rank five. Unfortunately one died and the other escaped.
But Fang Yuan was not in a hurry — his cultivation was weak and he needed time to cultivate.
Every time there was a break when they travelled in the day, even during rest he would grab every second to cultivate.
At night, he would cultivate into late night.
A few days later, Bai Ning Bing got sick, catching a cold. Her head hurt and her battle strength fell rapidly, also getting a fever.
Fang Yuan had to stop and use the medicine in the tusita flower on her, as well as some medical paste to apply on her body. Although they were burning on the skin, they helped to remove the chill in her body.
Only after resting for six days did Bai Ning Bing recover.
This illness was a huge lesson to her. During the period, she was drowsy and barely had any strength in her body, not even able to apply the paste herself. It was Fang Yuan who helped her.
"If not for Fang Yuan, I'd be in a critical position this time..." After Bai Ning Bing recovered, she sighed inwardly. Not matter how much she did not want to agree with it, it was the truth.
In the past, her tone was tough and was very aggressive. But after this matter, she became much quieter, often keeping silent; at times, she could go for half a day without speaking.
The less she spoke, the more Fang Yuan led and his authority rose. This way, he slowly became the leader among the two.