After I Became A Divine Beast In An Immortal Sect [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 17

As they were leaving Bichun Pavilion, Cheng Suxi held out a hand toward Yanshuang.

Yanshuang froze. “What?”

“The peach blossom honey.”

Rolling her eyes, Yanshuang took out the jar of peach blossom honey from earlier and tossed it to Cheng Suxi.

“If you continue spoiling that little thing like this, she’ll end up climbing all over your head!”

“Chirp!”

Hua Ling chirped in protest.

She would never do that!

“There is nothing wrong with her being a little more lively.”

Cheng Suxi unceremoniously put away the jade jar.

“Thanks.”

“Go, go, go!” Yanshuang waved them away. “Sooner or later, the two of you—master and pet—will anger me to death.”

……

After leaving Bichun Pavilion, Cheng Suxi followed the address Old Zhang had given her and headed west through the city.

As Hua Ling watched the buildings ahead grow increasingly dilapidated, she chirped uneasily twice.

Sensing her emotions, Cheng Suxi explained, “This is the district where mortals live. Naturally, it cannot compare with the prosperity of the marketplace.”

In Jiangyong City, even the lowest-level cultivator possessed a higher status than an ordinary mortal. Since Old Zhang was elderly and his son was injured, they naturally could not afford to live near the city center.

Still, this place was far too run-down…

Hua Ling sighed inwardly. Although she had been expelled from the human race, she was now a divine beast protected by her caretaker and lived without any worries.

Had she transmigrated into an ordinary mortal instead, who knew what kind of bitter life she might have suffered?

A person—or bird—should learn to be content…

When they reached a thatched cottage, Cheng Suxi stopped and lightly knocked on the wooden door.

“Is Old Zhang here? I have come to purchase the bronze mirror.”

“Perfected One, please wait. This old man will come out immediately.”

Old Zhang’s voice came from inside.

A moment later, the wooden door opened, and Old Zhang warmly welcomed her.

“Perfected One, please come in.”

The moment Cheng Suxi stepped through the courtyard entrance, she frowned.

“Chirp, chirp?”

Seeing her caretaker suddenly stop, Hua Ling called out in confusion.

Cheng Suxi calmly stepped inside with her other foot and said to Old Zhang beside her, “You may inspect the medicinal pill now.”

Old Zhang nodded repeatedly.

“My son is frail and can no longer get out of bed. Perfected One, please follow me.”

Cheng Suxi nodded.

“Lead the way.”

She wanted to see what sort of cultivator could construct a killing formation with such crude materials.

Because Cheng Suxi was disguised as a male scholar, Old Zhang did not have many reservations and directly led her into Zhang Ruoqing’s bedroom.

Hua Ling curiously poked out her head and looked at the man lying on the bed.

In the original novel, Zhang Ruoqing was a grandmaster of formations and talismans. The male protagonist had rescued him while he was being pursued, after which the two became good friends.

In the later parts of the story, he became one of the male protagonist’s greatest sources of support and could be considered a fairly important character.

However, this future grandmaster of formations and talismans was presently emaciated and sickly. There was no sign of the high-spirited man he would eventually become.

“Cough, cough, cough… This junior is Zhang Ruoqing, a disciple of the Tiangang Sect. Please forgive me, Senior, for being unable to rise and welcome you.”

The instant Cheng Suxi entered the room, Zhang Ruoqing realized that the formation he had painstakingly arranged would be completely useless against her.

Instead of becoming more anxious, however, he felt relieved.

With her level of cultivation, she had no reason to deceive him.

Perhaps she had truly recognized that the bronze mirror was extraordinary and was willing to exchange a medicinal pill for it.

Hearing his introduction, Cheng Suxi raised an eyebrow.

“Since you are a disciple of the Tiangang Sect, why have you not returned to your sect?”

Zhang Ruoqing smiled bitterly.

“Had I returned, I fear I would have died without a burial place long ago.”

Hua Ling remembered that the people pursuing Zhang Ruoqing in the original novel had come from the Tiangang Sect, but she had not known that he was also one of its disciples.

It appeared he must have experienced something unpleasant within the sect.

Cheng Suxi had no intention of probing further. She merely wanted to buy a toy for her little divine beast.

She tossed the medicinal pill toward him.

“This is a Xuanyuan Pill. Open it and inspect it.”

Zhang Ruoqing’s hand trembled slightly as he gripped the jade bottle.

Taking a deep breath, he removed the stopper. A refreshing medicinal fragrance immediately spread through the room.

It was a Xuanyuan Pill!

Moreover, it was a supreme-grade Xuanyuan Pill!

Zhang Ruoqing was ecstatic, but he did not forget to thank Cheng Suxi.

“Thank you, Senior.”

He has a good temperament and is worth nurturing.

Moved by the thought, Cheng Suxi took a jade slip from her storage pouch.

“This is an inheritance jade slip left behind by a senior skilled in formations. Before ascending, he entrusted me with passing it on to someone fated to receive it. I see that you possess some talent in formations, so I will give it to you today.”

Zhang Ruoqing froze.

He had never imagined that he would encounter such an extraordinary opportunity.

Ignoring his weakened condition, he immediately performed a solemn bow toward Cheng Suxi.

“Thank you for your generosity, Senior. Please tell me your name. If I have the opportunity in the future, Ruoqing will certainly repay you.”

Cheng Suxi replied indifferently, “If you wish to thank me, then after mastering the inheritance within the jade slip, pass it on to another suitable person.”

Zhang Ruoqing solemnly promised, “Ruoqing will not betray Senior’s trust.”

Watching this, Hua Ling felt both happy and worried.

She was happy because Zhang Ruoqing belonged to the male protagonist’s circle of friends and was upright by nature. After receiving kindness from her caretaker today, perhaps he might intervene in the future if the male protagonist tried to harm her.

She was worried because she suddenly feared that recklessly changing the plot might cause an unpredictable chain reaction.

However, after thinking about it again, Hua Ling realized that the plot had probably already changed the moment she transmigrated into this body.

There was no use worrying about it now.

They would block soldiers with generals and stem floods with earth—whatever came, they would deal with it!

……

After leaving Zhang Ruoqing’s thatched cottage, Hua Ling was once again stuffed into her caretaker’s robes and experienced another journey by “airborne flying sword.”

This flight lasted a long time.

By the time Hua Ling woke after taking a nap, they were still traveling on the flying sword, and the sky had already grown dark.

“Awake?”

The moment the little ball in her arms moved, Cheng Suxi immediately noticed.

She gradually lowered the flying sword and returned to the ground.

They were in the middle of a desolate wilderness with no signs of human habitation nearby. Only the swaying shadows of the trees rustled in the darkness.

With her caretaker present, Hua Ling was not afraid.

She vigorously flapped her wings and flew onto a nearby branch. Proudly puffing out her chest, she chirped several times.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

Look! I’m getting pretty good at flying, aren’t I?

“You have improved.”

After praising her, Cheng Suxi took several formation disks from her storage pouch and tossed them around the area, establishing an illusion formation to ensure that no person or beast would intrude.

She then took out the peach blossom honey she had obtained from Yanshuang and beckoned to Hua Ling.

“Come. It is time to eat.”

Hua Ling spread her wings and glided down.

Her caretaker caught her in one hand and placed her in front of herself.

“You may only drink three drops.”

After issuing the warning in advance, Cheng Suxi removed the stopper and used spiritual energy to draw out three drops of honey, moving them toward Hua Ling’s beak.

Hua Ling knew this was because the honey contained too much spiritual energy for her present body to withstand.

Although she was somewhat dissatisfied, she obediently refrained from making trouble and carefully swallowed the precious honey.

Compared with the Peach Blossom Curd she had eaten earlier, the peach blossom honey possessed a richer flavor. It was sweet without being cloying.

However, the instant it entered her stomach, an enormous surge of pure spiritual energy swept through Hua Ling’s meridians like a violent gale before finally gathering in one place.

That was where Hua Ling’s demon core would form in the future.

For now, however, it was merely a mass of concentrated spiritual energy.

Following the memories of her bloodline inheritance, Hua Ling began circulating her cultivation technique and converting the spiritual energy for absorption.

Seeing Tuanzi’s eyes gradually close and her claws retract beneath her round belly, Cheng Suxi understood that she had entered a state of cultivation.

She quietly remained beside her without disturbing her.

Author’s Note

Cheng Suxi: Get down from the top of my head! You’re already a grown bird, not a little Tuanzi anymore!

Hua Ling: You were the one who said there was nothing wrong with being livelier!