Feng Yuqin raised her eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you say you're a divine beast? Aren't divine beasts countless times more powerful than spiritual beasts? So unblocking my meridians should be a piece of cake, right?"
Xiaoying, having been hit on a sore spot, said reluctantly, "That was in the past. I was seriously injured. I'm lucky to have survived. So my current strength... is less than one ten - thousandth of what it used to be."
One ten - thousandth?
Feng Yuqin gasped in surprise and was quite curious about how powerful Xiaoying used to be.
Hearing her thoughts, Xiaoying said, "Master, your current task is to find demon cores, not to be curious about my past strength."
Feng Yuqin narrowed her eyes slightly. "What? Have you forgotten the lesson just now? Dare to make decisions for me?"
"No, no, no..." Xiaoying still had lingering fears about what had just happened. "I just hope that master can unblock your meridians as soon as possible."
Xiaoying used to be powerful, but now his strength was not up to par. If Feng Yuqin cut off the contract connection again, his end would be the complete dissipation of his soul.
Feng Yuqin snorted but said nothing more.
She knew very well that Xiaoying wouldn't lie to her now.
That meant she had to help Xiaoying find demon cores as soon as possible to help it regain strength, and then have it help her unblock her meridians. Only then could she start her cultivation.
In a continent where martial prowess was revered, if she couldn't cultivate, wouldn't her trip here be in vain?
With this thought in mind, Feng Yuqin decided that in the following days, instead of avoiding demon beasts, she would actively seek them out.
Feng Yuqin spent another day and a night killing many demon beasts to obtain their cores. When she came across demon beasts that had died in mutual battles, she didn't hesitate to dig out their cores for Xiaoying to absorb.
After absorbing the demon cores, Xiaoying's strength was gradually recovering.
However, Xiaoying said the cores were still not enough, so Feng Yuqin had to continue looking for demon beasts.
Soon, Feng Yuqin arrived at the foot of a mountain. Suddenly, Xiaoying said, "Master, I sense the aura of a Spirit - Gathering Fruit ahead."
Before Feng Yuqin could reply, Xiaoying continued, "The Spirit - Gathering Fruit is emitting such an alluring aura, which means it's almost ripe. The consequence of the fruit's ripening is that many demon beasts will gather here."
Feng Yuqin twitched the corner of her mouth, and information about the Spirit - Gathering Fruit emerged in her mind.
The Spirit - Gathering Fruit was a very rare cultivation treasure.
There was no definite time for the fruit tree to blossom or bear fruit.
Whether the Spirit - Gathering Fruit blossomed and bore fruit depended on the surrounding environment. If the spiritual energy in the environment was rich, the time for it to blossom and bear fruit would be shortened.
In short, the flowering and fruiting of the Spirit - Gathering Fruit were completely determined by the surrounding environment. Encountering a fruit - bearing Spirit - Gathering Fruit tree was truly a matter of luck.
"Shall we go?" Xiaoying asked curiously when he saw that she didn't say a word or move forward.
"What do you think?" Feng Yuqin countered.
Xiaoying thought for a while and said, "Although the Spirit - Gathering Fruit is a very rare spiritual fruit for master's cultivation at present, there are also many demon beasts. So I think master should proceed with caution."
This was the most prudent advice Xiaoying could give her.
Hearing this, Feng Yuqin didn't hesitate for long. A few seconds later, she said, "Fortune favors the bold."
These five simple words made Xiaoying understand that she was going to go.
Xiaoying paused for a moment and said, "Then let's go." If they really encountered danger, he would use his natal power again.
However, he would try his best not to use it, otherwise all the previous demon cores would be wasted.
When Feng Yuqin got near the Spirit - Gathering Fruit tree, since the fruit wasn't fully ripe yet, she didn't see any demon beasts.
She scanned the surroundings and quickly locked onto several trees. She drew out her dagger, cut off a few branches, and began to whittle them quickly and skillfully.
"Master, what are you doing?" Xiaoying asked curiously, not understanding Feng Yuqin's actions.
"Making preparations," Feng Yuqin said calmly. "The fruit is almost ripe, and its fragrance is spreading. The demon beasts will come soon. Since I got here first, I must make some thorough preparations. Otherwise, wouldn't my trip be in vain?"
Feng Yuqin worked very fast. In just over half an hour, she had whittled hundreds of hidden weapons.
Looking at the pile of hidden weapons on the ground, Xiaoying gasped in surprise.
He had to admit that although his master's strength wasn't very great, she was very smart.
"Master, a demon beast is coming," Xiaoying reminded.
Hearing this, Feng Yuqin quickly put the hidden weapons into her storage bag and then quickly circled around to the base of the Spirit - Gathering Fruit tree. Soon, a Blood - Moon Leopard appeared in her sight.
Feng Yuqin stared at the Blood - Moon Leopard with her cold eyes, holding the previously whittled hidden weapons in her hand, calculating the distance as the leopard approached.
When the distance was about right, Feng Yuqin made a little noise.
The Blood - Moon Leopard instinctively looked over upon hearing the noise.
Perfect, this was the moment...
Whoosh...
The hidden weapon in Feng Yuqin's hand flew out and directly into the Blood - Moon Leopard's throat.
The Blood - Moon Leopard didn't even have time to react before it closed its eyes unwillingly.
Xiaoying was stunned by this scene. "Master, you're so amazing."
Feng Yuqin frowned slightly, quickly stepped forward to take out the demon core, and then replied to Xiaoying, "That's because there was only one. If there were more demon beasts, it wouldn't be so easy to deal with them."
Xiaoying gave his master a helpless look. "This time, there are three demon beasts."
When the three demon beasts appeared in Feng Yuqin's sight, a look of worry flashed across Xiaoying's eyes. "Master, as the aura of the Spirit - Gathering Fruit spreads, more and more demon beasts will come."
Feng Yuqin narrowed her eyes. She of course knew that more and more demon beasts would come, but she had no intention of backing down.
As the demon beasts got closer, Feng Yuqin focused her mind and concentrated on calculating the distance the demon beasts were walking.
Whoosh—
The hidden weapon was thrown out by Feng Yuqin, and the demon beast in the front was hit just like the previous Blood - Moon Leopard.
The two demon beasts behind saw the one in front fall dead and instinctively took a step back.
But soon, the two demon beasts looked in Feng Yuqin's direction.
When they saw that Feng Yuqin had no spiritual power, a look of astonishment flashed across their eyes.
Although these demon beasts weren't very powerful and hadn't been intelligent for long, they thought Feng Yuqin posed no threat because she had no spiritual power.
Thinking that Feng Yuqin was no threat, the remaining two demon beasts immediately rushed towards the Spirit - Gathering Fruit tree where she was.
Feng Yuqin held a hidden weapon whittled from a branch in each hand.
Whoosh whoosh... The sound of the weapons piercing the necks echoed, and the demon beasts soon fell dead. Feng Yuqin quickly took out the demon cores as she had done before.
At this moment, Xiaoying didn't know what words to use to describe his mood.
Three demon beasts...
His master had just taken them out?
And this was done when his master had no spiritual power.
Originally, Xiaoying had been very worried, but now he felt a bit more expectant.
In just over an hour, several more waves of demon beasts came. Feng Yuqin quickly dealt with them all and took out their demon cores for Xiaoying to absorb.
When the tenth wave came, seven demon beasts appeared at the same time.
Seeing so many demon beasts, Xiaoying thought his master would use the hidden weapons to pierce the throats of the demon beasts again.
But she didn't.
When there were only two or three demon beasts, she could do that.
But when there were more, she couldn't use the previous strategy.
Feng Yuqin hid behind a big tree, constantly calculating the distance the demon beasts were walking.
When she thought the time was right, she quickly threw out several hidden weapons in each hand...
The sound of whoosh whoosh whoosh echoed in the air, and all the hidden weapons flew into the demon beasts' eyes.
Roar... The roars came one after another.
The pain in their eyes made the demon beasts below start to fight each other. Seeing this, Xiaoying gasped.
Suddenly, he sensed several auras approaching. "Master, someone's coming."