The Snail Princess and Her Benefactor

The next day, Hua Chao and Ling Mi went up the mountain before sunrise, hoping to reach Xunyunpan as soon as possible to watch the sunrise.

They walked up the mountain in a hurry to save time, and by the time they arrived, Hua Chao and Ling Mi were already panting and sweating profusely.

"Ouch!... I walked a little too fast this morning. I feel much more tired than I did yesterday."

Ling Mi Lei's cheeks were flushed and sweat stuck her hair to her forehead.

"Ah!... With this body of flesh, it seems that being a mortal is really tiring. Climbing such a small hill has made me so tired. Oh!... I am really dying of exhaustion."

“Hahaha… Sister, look at the two of us now. Are we still the Hua Chao and Ling Mi who braved the sword sea and crossed the Red Flame Mountain?”

Hua Chao gently pushed the hair on Ling Mi's ear behind her ear.

"Ah!... This is something that cannot be compared. Now I just hope to climb the mountain this early every day, just as a physical exercise, so that the two of us will have fewer illnesses in the future."

Hua Chao said as he looked at the faint paleness in the sky.

"Ling Mi, why don't we try meditation now? The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is most abundant at sunrise. Even if we can't refine spiritual power, it's good to absorb some spiritual energy from heaven and earth."

After Hua Chao finished speaking, he sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff and began to meditate.

"That's not difficult. I practiced meditation every day when I was a flower fairy."

Ling Mi sat cross-legged, calmed her mind, breathed deeply and exhaled slowly.

On the cliff above the clouds, two beautiful girls, as pretty as fairies and as charming as the moon, were meditating quietly. The sun was rising from the abyss, and the dazzling light was shining through the thin clouds, like golden veils hanging in the air and falling.

The morning light shines into Hua Chao and Ling Mi's hearts, dispelling the haze in their hearts and starting a new day.

Hua Chao suddenly felt a trace of warmth slowly flowing in his dantian.

She wanted to mobilize that warmth, but after concentrating on her energy, she found that she could not control it. It was like a naughty child wandering around at will, but it only circulated slowly in her dantian, making the Qi flow smoothly in Hua Chao's dantian, which was very comfortable.

Hua Chao no longer paid any attention to it and continued to meditate.

…………

Lingmi picked up the backpack, looked at the little baby who was still sleeping soundly inside, and gently touched its little ear with her finger.

"Little lazy bastard, why don't you get up? The sun is already shining on your butt!"

"Woooo..."

Xiaowo's tiny body rolled a few times in the backpack. Hua Chao couldn't help but reach out and stroke it twice when he saw its cute little appearance.

"Ling Mi, did you feel anything special when you were meditating just now?"

"Hmm! ...No! Apart from feeling the fresh air and feeling happy, I don't have any other special feelings."

Hua Chao put on his backpack and said, "What happened to me? I just felt that there was a breath in my Dantian moving around on its own, and I couldn't control it."

Ling Mi thought for a moment and then said faintly, "Is it because of the 'Nine Rings Spirit Stone' in your body? It has recognized you as its master. Although you are now a mortal, the Nine Rings Spirit Stone still has spiritual power. Sister, you were meditating and it may have sensed your luck, so it started to work."

"Hehe! My Ling Mi is really smart. No matter what problem you have, you can quickly answer it."

Ling Mi's small and straight nose was upturned, which made her look even more proud. Hua Chao couldn't help but scratch it gently.

"Let's go! We're going to collect herbs now so we can exchange them for silver in the afternoon."

…………

Hua Chao felt helpless as she watched Ling Mi busying around in the bamboo forest. Although she had already dug two or three bamboo shoots, she still felt it was not enough and continued to look for her bamboo shoots.

Just now when she came down the mountain and saw the bamboo forest, she insisted on digging bamboo shoots to eat and no one could stop her.

"Hiss..."

Xiao Wo called Hua Chao softly on his shoulder, and Hua Chao turned around and took Xiao Wo in his hands.

When I looked back at Ling Mi, she had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Hua Chao stood up hurriedly and looked around, but still couldn't see which direction Ling Mi had gone.

“Spiritual honey!…Spiritual honey…”

Hua Chao was so frightened that his voice became hoarse. This was a sparsely populated area deep in the mountains and forests. A healthy person could disappear in the blink of an eye. How could one not be terrified?

“Ah…ah…sister…ah…come on!”

Ling Mi's exclamation came from the front, her voice trembling.

Hua Chao's heart tightened, and he suddenly felt his feet go soft. He steadied his breath and ran quickly towards Ling Mi.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. The road under her feet became more bumpy and uneven. She ran with one foot deep and one foot shallow. It felt like she could never reach Ling Mi even after running a short distance.

"Hiss..."

Xiaowo seemed to sense Hua Chao's uneasiness and called out nervously.

“Spiritual honey…”

Hua Chao turned a small corner and saw Ling Mi squatting on the ground with his back to her.

Seeing that Ling Mi was fine, Hua Chao's heart finally eased a little.

"Sister, come and see what this is!"

Ling Mi didn't look back at her, just squatted there.

Hua Chao walked towards her and said accusingly, "It's nothing, you're frightened like that, are you trying to scare me to death?"

"what!……"

Hua Chao just walked close to Ling Mi and couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Hahaha... You must have been startled too! I saw it by accident when I was digging bamboo shoots just now. When I first saw it, I wondered if I was dazzled. Then I chased it and saw it lying here eating bamboo. ... It's so cute!..."

Hua Chao looked at the black and white furry little beast in Ling Mi's arms. It had a round and chubby head, and two black gems embedded in its dark circles under its eyes, flashing with light like two night pearls. Its short mouth and furry round ears were so cute.

Ling Mi turned around and took out the largest bamboo shoot from the backpack and handed it to the little furry beast's mouth. The little guy immediately stretched out his paw to take it and started to chew it.

"Ling Mi, this is a little furry beast that hasn't grown up yet. How can such a small creature survive in this forest?"

Hua Chao squatted down and touched the soft and cute head of the little furry beast.

"You two little girls seem to be kindhearted people, otherwise the panda wouldn't let you get close to its cubs."

Suddenly, an old man's voice sounded behind the two people.

Hua Chao turned around and saw a white-haired old hunter looking at them with a smile.

"Grandpa, do you call it a panda?" Hua Chao quickly stood up and bowed.

“Hahaha!… This clan of little guys has lived in our Sichuan and Shu land for tens of thousands of years. Don’t be fooled by their cute appearance. They are the descendants of the ancient mythical beast Iron-eating Beast. Here, they are the mythical beasts we worship and are spiritual beasts that cannot be desecrated.”

"Ah!... Are they the descendants of the iron-eating beasts? It turns out that the mortal world also calls them iron-eating beasts!" Hua Chao was secretly surprised.

The old hunter couldn't help laughing when he saw the two little girls who were stunned by his shock.

"Hahaha! It seems that you two are not locals. You will see more pandas in the future. The mother of this little cub will be back soon. You should leave here quickly with me. Otherwise, you will be in danger."