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

Under the star-studded night sky, all was quiet.

A small, dark blue boat, bathed in the bright moonlight, carried three figures in flowing robes. It lay quietly in the tranquil Xiushui River, gently swaying and drifting with the wind, until it had flowed far, far away in an instant.

"What an amazing spirit pet!"

Perhaps the Xiushui River was too quiet and cold at night, Zhao Sihai pursed his lips, but still couldn't help but speak up and break the silence.

"Ta Xue is untamed, Uncle Zhao is too kind in his praise. If you would like to raise a spirit pet for Xiao Bao to protect him, I can teach you the art of beast taming."

At this moment, Cui Ying had finished her cultivation, but she did not open her eyes; she simply spoke with her lips slightly parted.

"Is what my niece Cui Ying said true?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sihai was overjoyed at first, but before Cui Ying could respond, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

"Although Uncle Zhao is also very envious of your Ta Xue, given Xiao Bao's personality, if he has a spirit pet protecting and accompanying him, he probably won't have the mind to cultivate, let alone be as ambitious and capable as you."

If Zhao Sihai were still a parent, he would naturally be eager for his children to learn more techniques to strengthen themselves. But now that he's reached this age, he understands the principle that you can't bite off more than you can chew. Xiao Bao has good aptitude, and if he works hard, he'll surely achieve great things in the future.

Thinking this way, he politely declined Cui Ying's kind offer.

Cui Ying roughly understood Zhao Sihai's thoughts, and stood up with a smile:

"Uncle Zhao is right. Compared to unorthodox methods like taming beasts and raising spirit pets, only strong personal strength is the foundation for survival. As long as Xiao Bao can calm down and cultivate, he might be able to join a major sect in the future, and then break through to Foundation Establishment, Golden Core Condensation, and become a Nascent Soul expert."

As elders, almost no one dislikes being praised by their juniors.

Zhao Sihai was equally delighted by Cui Ying's few words, grinning from ear to ear: "Hahahaha~"

Although he also longed for his grandson to become an unparalleled powerhouse capable of overwhelming mountains and seas and manipulating clouds and rain, he was still very self-aware:

“Niece Cui Ying, you really know how to make your Uncle Zhao happy~ If Xiao Bao can really cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, I, Zhao Sihai, will be able to drink the Xiushui River dry.”

"Haha~"

Hearing the commotion from the bow, Cui Zhengming couldn't help but burst into laughter and said to Cui Ying with a smile:

"Third girl, if you ever manage to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, your father, like your Uncle Zhao, will drink this Xiushui River dry!"

Unlike her two elders who were dismissive, Cui Ying slowly fell silent. If she remembered correctly, Zhao Xiaobao's real name was Zhao Linyi.

In his previous life, Zhao Linyi had indeed been practicing Qi cultivation at home for two or three years without any results. Not long after his family tried every means to send Cui Yan to a sect to cultivate, Zhao Sihai also made up his mind to send Zhao Linyi to another sect to learn from a master.

Who knew that a few years later, the sect Zhao Linyi had become an apprentice to was wiped out because it offended a demonic cultivator. When Zhao Sihai learned of the news, he was so angry that he almost died.

At that time, Cui Ying was also preoccupied with her own affairs. After trying to find out information for several days without success, she returned to help build a cenotaph for Zhao Linyi.

As Cui Ying's cultivation level increased and she escaped the sea of ​​suffering, Zhao Linyi, who was originally dead, returned alive and later became the renowned Nascent Soul cultivator 'Linyi Daojun'.

Thinking of this, Cui Ying gradually suppressed her smile.

In her previous life, her cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, only one step away from the Nascent Soul stage. Although she hadn't refined her body, her spiritual sense was extraordinary. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't get close to her, let alone break through her defenses.

In this way, the person who makes the move can only be a Nascent Soul cultivator, or even stronger.

Even though Cui Ying has been reborn for so long, the pain of being pierced through the body and having her golden core shattered by a sword still often wakes her up from nightmares.

She gazed at her reflection in the river:

The other self has a beautiful face and delicate eyebrows, with youthful teeth, like a goddess adorned with stars and moon, but her brows are tightly furrowed, vaguely revealing a gloomy and fierce aura.

Cui Ying felt increasingly agitated, so she simply looked away and stopped thinking nonsense.

-

Time flew by and it was already past midnight. The moon was high in the sky, and the dark blue boat slowly drifted into a very wide body of water.

The three, who were on high alert, were also somewhat tired, especially Cui Zhengming and Zhao Sihai, who yawned from time to time.

Traveling by land will encounter mountain spirits and monsters, while wading through water will be blocked by fish spirits and water demons.

If they are too tired or negligent, not only will the goods being transported be lost, but they could also lose their lives.

Therefore, Cui Zhengming, who took over the task, decided to take turns on duty with Zhao Sihai.

Cui Ying, however, sat calmly in the middle of the boat, gazing absently into the distance at the layered mountain shadows and moonlight.

"Woo~"

Perhaps sensing its master's bad mood, Ta Xue, who had been staring intently at the river, whimpered softly twice and nudged Cui Ying's hand with its fluffy head.

"hehe."

Cui Ying finally came to her senses, reached out and hugged Taxue, rubbed its big head, and gently asked:

"Ta Xue, are you tired? If you are, lie down and take a nap. Don't worry, I'm on the boat, nothing will happen."

After leaving home, Taxue stayed by her side. When leaving the city, she chased after Lei Yujing's Lingma roller coaster and stayed by her side even after boarding the small boat, unwilling to let her guard down for a moment.

Although the body of a demon beast is much stronger than that of a cultivator of the same level, it is ultimately not made of iron.

Under Cui Ying's repeated stroking, Taxue lazily squinted its eyes, and its two ears swayed comfortably.

Seemingly understanding Cui Ying's meaning, it suddenly stood up and jumped into the Xiushui River with a "plop".

"∽Enemy attack!!"

Cui Zhengming, who had been squinting, suddenly jumped up, the movement so violent that the entire small boat rocked.

When he finally saw the black figure struggling in the river, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his face darkened at the same time.

"You stupid dog, why did you jump into the river in the middle of the night? You scared me to death!"

"Haha, it's nothing, Brother Cui, you can go back to sleep."

Zhao Sihai, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed on guard, was also startled by this sudden turn of events, but he quickly recovered and did not make a fool of himself.

"Third Sister, keep your dog in check! It's terrifying! We still have a long way to go tomorrow, so make it behave!"

Just as Cui Zhengming was about to take a nap again after saying that, there was a series of loud splashes in the Xiushui River, followed by a muffled thud from the boat planks beneath their feet.

"Wang Wang Wang"

Stimulated by the icy river water, Ta Xue instantly perked up. Hearing Cui Zhengming pointing his finger at him and cursing, he jumped back into the small boat, spat out a wet, glowing waterweed, and raised his head to shout at Cui Zhengming.

"Hahaha∽"

To everyone's surprise, Cui Zhengming wasn't angry this time. He simply sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat and said with a smile:

"You drowning dog, come and bite me if you dare."

"father."

Cui Ying was completely bewildered. It was the first time she had ever realized that her father, who was in his fifties or sixties, was as mischievous as a child.

She was about to comfort Ta Xue when she turned her head and was drawn to the spiritual herb that Ta Xue had spat out: "Huh."