Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

After the master-recognition ceremony was completed, the human and the demon became a shared destiny. A sense of intimacy deepened between them, their trust peaked, and they journeyed onward in the mortal world, forever accompanying each other. Furthermore, a unique new connection emerged: they could communicate through thought, a far more efficient and private method than previous voice transmission. Voice transmission risked being overheard by those at higher levels, but thought transmission presented no such concerns. Voice transmission required verbal expression, while thought could directly convey thoughts, even emotions. For example, anger, joy, pain, and sadness—all seven emotions—could be sensed by the other. At this level, tacit understanding approached 100%. In the past, tacit understanding was described as instant understanding at the mere mention of a single word or a glance. Now, the two could achieve understanding at the mere thought of a single thought. This demonstrates that the tacit understanding and trust between master and servant surpassed, if not surpassed, that between husband and wife, though the emotional connection differed slightly: the bond between husband and wife was based on love and kinship, while the bond between master and servant was based on comradeship and kinship.

However, there's a distinction between master and servant, so control rests with the master. The soul imprint the master plants in the pet's brain allows the pet to actively perceive its thoughts, emotions, and mental activity, while the pet can only passively accept the master's will. The master can control the pet's life and death at any time, but the pet cannot harm the master unless the pet's power is significantly greater than the master's, at which point it might retaliate.

With this foundation of trust in place, the rest of the process became easier, with Liu Xing taking the lead. Jiao Jiao exclaimed in joy, finally free from the burden of overthinking. Its dependence on Liu Xing instantly reached its limit, unfazed by the discomfort of having its fate controlled by someone else. Seeing this, Liu Xing could only shake his head and smile wryly. He had inadvertently adopted a little sister, who would later be responsible for its food, drink, toilet, and sleep, and help it advance. At the same time, he gazed dotingly at the little dragon soaring through the air, feeling immense joy within. He knew he would no longer face a formidable foe alone, and crucially, he now had emotional support. With his little sister by his side, his path to immortality would no longer be a lonely one.

The little dragon had enough fun in the air and went back to playing in the pool. Liu Xing ignored him and walked straight to the Qingling Fruit Tree. He saw dozens of Qingling Fruits, green with a hint of yellow, emitting a faint fragrance. Liu Xing took out the jade box, carefully picked some, put them into the jade box, and put them away. It was not until this moment that the stone in his heart was finally put down, and he felt the true joy of building a foundation. Qingling Fruit matures after 300 years. If not picked in time, it will fall off and rot. It is unknown what effect Qingling Fruit has on demonic beasts, but after all, it is a spiritual fruit. Long-term consumption may also have incredible effects. The Horned Python probably advanced to Level 3 so quickly because of consuming a large amount of Qingling Fruit.

He then headed towards the Dragon Scale Orchard and was surprised to discover that it, too, was enclosed within a barrier. The senior demon master who had set up the formation was truly meticulous, employing two layers of formation, both inner and outer, to protect the Dragon Scale Fruit, ensuring its ultimate safety. He likely left the Horned Python there deliberately to guard the orchard; otherwise, a single breath would have slain it a thousand times. Liu Xing spent another half day studying the barrier, finding the entrance. He still needed Jiao Jiao's blood to break it. He also discovered that the barrier had remained unbroken for tens of thousands of years. The Dragon Scale Fruit must have been incredibly attractive to the Horned Python. The Horned Python must have tried countless times to break through the barrier, a truly pitiful thought. Every day, it gazed upon a treasure, unable to obtain it, trapped within it for tens of thousands of years. If Jiao Jiao hadn't come this time, the secret would never have been discovered. The Horned Python would have eventually broken the barrier. By then, with its regular consumption of Dragon Scale Fruit, it might even have reached the Transformation stage, adding another powerful force to the demon world. So, when it comes to chance, who can truly predict it?

Liu Xing summoned Jiao Jiao and opened the restriction. Seeing such a large field of dragon scale fruit, so vivid and real right before her, Jiao Jiao was so overwhelmed with happiness she didn't know how to express. She gently walked forward, her eyes sparkling with stars. She didn't dare pick any, fearing it was all a dream, that touching the fruit would shatter the dream. Liu Xing also picked one and examined it closely. It was shaped like a pear, with a soft, fish-scale-like shell covering the skin. It was bright yellow and looked delicious. He didn't know if it was edible, but he wasn't going to try.

Jiao Jiao gently plucked a dragon scale fruit with her claws, popped it into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. A sweetness permeated her heart and spleen, and it was extremely delicious. Suddenly, she felt her blood slowly boiling, her dragon bloodline was stimulated, and her magic power was increasing, with faint signs of a breakthrough. Her eyes were full of surprise. The medicinal effect was so amazing that the long journey was worth it. However, now was not the time for a breakthrough. She immediately sealed off the remaining medicinal power and refined it later. However, such a short improvement made her heart full of joy. Liu Xing was also happy for her. With so many fruits, she would eat for a hundred years.

Hidden behind the scales on Jiao Jiao's neck was a small storage pouch, invisible without careful inspection. Then, the master and servant each began to pick the abundant fruit, unexpectedly gathering over a thousand. They were overjoyed. Eating one fruit each month would provide enough for over a hundred years—so blissful!

Liu Xing wondered if he could transplant the dragon scale fruit tree. Using the normal method for transplanting spiritual herbs and trees, he dug up a young dragon scale fruit tree with a special medicinal hoe. However, the moment the tree left the ground, it quickly withered. As expected, the inability to transplant it might have something to do with the soil. He then took out a jade box and filled it with soil for further study.

After doing all this, he walked out of the orchard and searched carefully in the restricted space. No one had been here for tens of thousands of years. Any spiritual herb must have accumulated deep medicinal power. After searching around, except for some young green spiritual fruit trees, the rest were ordinary vegetation without any spiritual energy. He did not give up and drilled to the bottom of the pool. After searching carefully, he saw that the cave of the horned python was at the bottom of the pool. So he drilled into the cave and searched again, but still found nothing. The thousand-year-old spiritual herb he was looking forward to did not appear, and he was suddenly disappointed. It seems that he was too greedy. Being able to harvest green spiritual fruit and dragon scale fruit is already a great opportunity. How can he pray for too much? He laughed at himself, relaxed his mind, and stopped worrying about it.

He then pulled out a pet bag and handed it to Jiao Jiao, having forgotten which enemy he had snatched it from. After Jiao Jiao acknowledged her master with a drop of blood, she hid behind her natal scales. Liu Xing then retreated into the storage bag, intending to conceal himself from the world and leave the secret realm with Jiao Jiao. As long as the pet bag wasn't snatched away and inspected, Liu Xing wouldn't be discovered hiding inside. With only three or four days left until the exit opened, he planned to remain silent, avoiding exposure and focusing on escaping the secret realm.