My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

North of the village, a bamboo grove.

In the quiet, verdant bamboo grove, a young girl's clear, inquiring voice rang out:

"Tell me honestly, have you regained your magic power? If you don't speak, I'll take that as a yes."

"Crack, click, click."

The only response she received was the sound of the little iron-eating beast intently eating.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat. What else can you do besides eat?"

"Uh-huh-huh."

"Eh∽Never mind, I guess I owed you from my past life."

"Crack, click, click."

Cui Ying was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth, but the little iron-eating beast completely ignored her, instead using both hands to gnaw on the fresh and juicy spirit bamboo, drooling all over its face.

Seeing this, Cui Ying couldn't help but turn around and say, "Eat slowly, there aren't any other iron-eating beasts here to take it from you."

But as soon as she took a step, half of her skirt was ripped off with a "rip".

"you!"

The little iron-eating beast realized it had caused trouble, so it quickly let go of Cui Ying's hand, wiggled its little bottom and moved to the side, making soft "whimpering" sounds.

"Wait for me."

Cui Ying shook her tattered dress and walked away.

This time, the little iron-eating beast dared not follow. Soon, Cui Ying broke off seven or eight fresh spirit bamboo shoots from the nearby bamboo grove, threw them in front of the little iron-eating beast, and angrily threatened:

"If you do it again, I'll smash your hands."

The little iron-eating beast, which had been feeling aggrieved, quickly dropped the spirit bamboo it was holding when Cui Ying returned. It then happily ate the spirit bamboo shoots that Cui Ying had brought back.

Just then, a familiar shout suddenly rang out from outside the bamboo grove:

"Sister Ying? Sister Ying?"

Upon hearing the sound, Cui Ying disregarded her anger towards the little iron beast and quickly raised her voice to transmit it outside the bamboo forest:

"Brother Shiyin, I'm here."

Before long, Gu Shiyin followed Cui Ying's directions and arrived deep in the bamboo forest.

"Brother Shi Yin, what are you doing here?"

Upon seeing Gu Shiyin, who was dressed in a lake-blue brocade robe, Cui Ying's eyes were full of smiles.

"I originally intended to visit you at your house, but I ran into Aunt Wang on the way. She said you had taken the little iron beast out, so I guessed you might be here."

Gu Shiyin couldn't help but take a few more steps closer to Cui Ying, intending to take her hand, when he noticed a large hole in the hem of her skirt.

"Little sister Ying, how did your skirt get torn?"

"I was grabbed by the little iron-eating beast when I just got up."

"嘤嘤嘤"

Cui Ying had just said one sentence when she suddenly felt a weight on the back of her foot. It turned out that the little iron-eating beast behind her had climbed onto her foot again.

While eating non-stop, she blinked her big, black crystal eyes, curiously observing the boy in front of her.

"Is this the little iron-eating beast you picked up?"

Gu Shiyin also noticed the furry little beast figure in front of him, and immediately raised his eyebrows and said with some surprise.

"That's right, this little thing's magic power is suppressed and it's still incredibly mischievous, it's really giving me a headache."

As Cui Ying spoke, she bent down and rubbed the little iron-eating beast's head, her eyes filled with helplessness.

"Hehe, I think this little thing is quite adorable, but why does it keep clinging to you like this?"

Although Cui Ying expressed disdain, Gu Shiyin noticed that her eyes showed no sign of disliking the little iron-eating beast.

Out of affection for the creature, he reached out to pick up the little iron-eating beast and examine it closely. However, as soon as he got close, the little iron-eating beast opened its mouth at him and waved its barbed front claws, attempting to attack Gu Shiyin.

Fortunately, Gu Shiyin practiced martial arts every day, so his reaction speed was not slow. Although he dodged in time, a bloody mark was still left on his well-defined hand.

"Brother Shi Yin~"

Seeing that Gu Shiyin was injured, Cui Ying ripped the small iron-eating beast off her leg and threw it to a spot not far away.

"Get out of my way! Didn't I warn you that if you dare to hurt people indiscriminately, you should go back to your Jade Bamboo Peak!"

As she spoke, Cui Ying angrily flicked out a wisp of spiritual energy, which struck the chubby bottom of the little iron-eating beast heavily.

"嘤嘤嘤"

The little iron-eating beast was also frightened by Cui Ying's anger, and fell to the ground in a sorry state, baring its teeth and howling strangely.

"Oh, I'm fine, Sister Ying, don't scare it."

Cui Ying glared fiercely at the little iron-eating beast, signaling it not to come any closer, before somewhat embarrassedly explaining to Gu Shiyin:

"I'm so sorry, Brother Shiyin. This little thing has been staying at my house for several days. Apart from not liking to be touched by others, it's been quite well-behaved. I really didn't expect it to hurt you today. Let me see, how badly are you hurt?"

"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."

Gu Shiyin shook his head, indicating to Cui Ying not to worry.

But Cui Ying stubbornly held onto Gu Shiyin's hand, led him to sit on an exposed rock in the bamboo forest, and took out some hemostatic medicine from her storage bag to carefully bandage his wounds.

Afterwards, Cui Ying gently leaned on the boy's shoulder, her tense body slowly relaxing.

Soon, only the whispers of young men and women talking and the crunching sounds of small animals munching on the spirit bamboo filled the bamboo forest.

Fengxi Ridge, the new residence of the Cui family.

While Cui Ying and Gu Shiyin were having a long talk, things were bustling with activity on Fengxi Ridge.

In just one night, news of Cui Ying's advancement and her master's slaying of the ghost had spread throughout Shuangling Village. Today, while working, many rogue cultivators who were absent last night surrounded Cui Zhengming to inquire about the news. After learning that the matter was true, everyone congratulated him repeatedly, praising Cui Ying's talent.

"My goodness, my niece Cui Ying's cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds since she became a disciple of a renowned master. In just over a month, she has already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. At this rate, she'll probably be able to establish her foundation in a few years. Right, Brother Cui?"

"That's right! We've all witnessed the abilities of this niece of the Cui family. She built such a huge mansion just like that, and she killed that powerful Gale Tiger just like that!"

"That's right. Not only has the cultivation level of the Cui family's niece increased rapidly, but her status has also risen accordingly. Even the village chief, who is usually arrogant, had to give the demon bear to the Cui family's niece to curry favor."

"I've also heard that my niece Cui Ying will be refining pills and becoming an alchemist in the future. That's a status that even Foundation Establishment cultivators have to give her some respect for. Brother Cui, don't forget our decades-long friendship. Maybe you can charge me less spirit stones then!"

Haha~ Haha

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You old Zheng, we've known each other for thirty years, and you've been beating around the bush for so long, all you're trying to do is take advantage of me."

Upon hearing this, Cui Zhengming feigned anger and threw a brick at the cultivator who had spoken, laughing as he said:

"I, Cui Zhengming, don't know anything about pills or alchemists. I'm already very satisfied that my daughter is better than me."

After saying this, he waved to the assembled cultivators and shouted:

"Gentlemen, the ghosts have been dealt with, so we don't need to patrol at night anymore. Let's work harder today to finish the work from the past few days. I'll stew some demon bear meat for you at noon to help you recover, and you can take some home tonight. How about that, Old Zheng? Am I being generous enough this time?"

Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivators hurriedly shouted in agreement:

"Brother Cui, don't worry, we'll definitely make sure your residence is well-maintained. It'll be even more magnificent than the city lord's mansion!"