Chapter 31

Seeing that a full-scale battle was about to erupt between the fox and the bird, Jiang Lingyu and Cheng Suxi hurriedly began soothing their respective little troublemakers.

Cheng Suxi held Hua Ling’s slender claws in one hand while repeatedly stroking her back with the other, gradually smoothing down every puffed-up feather.

Meanwhile, Jiang Lingyu stuffed a large piece of dried meat directly into Huoyu’s mouth.

“You’re already so grown up, yet you’re still bullying a little child. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Huoyu muttered unhappily, “Dried fruit-mouse meat is good stuff. I wouldn’t even be willing to share it with anyone else!”

Afraid Cheng Suxi might misunderstand, Jiang Lingyu explained, “Huoyu is right about that. Dried fruit-mouse meat is actually very suitable for little ones like Tuanzi.”

According to Jiang Lingyu, fruit mice were not actually mice. They were simply rodents that resembled them.

Since they ate nothing but spiritual fruit, their meat was extraordinarily tender and melted in the mouth. It even carried a faint fruity fragrance, making it a very popular “snack” among demons.

After hearing this explanation, Hua Ling became tempted again.

When she thought about it, rabbits and bamboo rats were rodents too. Back then, she had happily eaten spicy rabbit heads and braised bamboo rats without hesitation.

“Would you like to try some?”

Cheng Suxi picked up a piece of dried meat, tore off a small strip, and held it beside Hua Ling’s tiny beak.

Hua Ling swallowed the strip in one bite and smacked her beak.

It really did taste quite good.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

Hua Ling opened her beak as wide as possible.

Cheng Suxi laughed softly before tearing the dried meat into thin strips and feeding them to her one by one.

Huoyu watched enviously for quite some time before turning toward Jiang Lingyu and pointing at her own mouth.

Jiang Lingyu: “…”

Zhu Zhangfei, who had remained silent at the side:

He suddenly missed Xuanyue a little…

……

Over the following half month, Jiang Lingyu began preparing for her heavenly tribulation.

Unless the circumstances were especially unusual, cultivators—even unaffiliated ones—would select a location and establish formations in advance before undergoing a tribulation.

As the Tianling Sect’s senior sister, Jiang Lingyu naturally received the sect’s full support.

The location had already been prepared. The only remaining task was to arrange the formations.

Cheng Suxi happened to possess some skill in formations, so she went along to help.

Hua Ling accompanied her for two days before discovering that arranging formations was nothing like the effortless process described in the original novel, where everything could seemingly be completed with a mere flick of the fingers.

Instead, every measurement had to be repeatedly checked and compared. If even one formation disk was positioned slightly incorrectly, the entire formation could instantly collapse.

The whole process was therefore extraordinarily dull and tedious.

Hua Ling was not particularly patient. When Huoyu happened to invite her out to play, she immediately became eager to leave.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

Hua Ling flew in circles around Cheng Suxi.

Cheng Suxi glanced at Huoyu, causing the fox demon to shudder involuntarily.

Why was this woman so cold?

She was practically a giant block of ice!

Cheng Suxi had no intention of restricting Hua Ling too much.

The Tianling Sect did not possess as many rules as the Qianyuan Sect, and all kinds of demons lived there. It would be good for Tuanzi to make a few friends.

“You must return before dark,” Cheng Suxi instructed.

“Chirp!”

All right!

After obtaining her caretaker’s permission, Hua Ling happily flew onto Huoyu’s head and unceremoniously settled there.

Huoyu reached up to grab her.

“Get down!”

“Chirp!”

No!

“Get down!”

“Chirp!”

No!

After a struggle, Hua Ling ultimately got her way.

Huoyu had been pestered until she lost her temper and could only grumble, “What an irritating little demon.”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

You’re the irritating one!

……

Although Huoyu claimed she was taking Hua Ling out to play, she first brought her to meet her friends—a group of other underage demons.

Most of them had already assumed human form. The only one who had not was a squirrel demon with an enormous tail.

Hua Ling recognized him immediately.

He was the squirrel who had thrown a pinecone at her and her caretaker during their previous visit.

Hua Ling, who always held grudges, immediately flew toward him to take revenge.

Unexpectedly, the squirrel demon was no easy opponent. He launched a spinning kick directly toward Hua Ling’s forehead.

Hua Ling hurriedly flapped her wings and dodged before diving at him again.

This was Hua Ling’s first proper fight since becoming an Ice Luan, but she showed no fear whatsoever. She charged forward valiantly and forcibly bit a tuft of fur from the top of the squirrel demon’s head.

The price was several feathers scratched from her own body.

The squirrel demon clutched the bald patch on his head and burst into loud sobs.

The other young demons, who had been too stunned to react earlier, hurried forward to comfort him.

An older-looking boy picked up the squirrel demon, Jinli, and skillfully stuffed several nuts into his paws.

Beside him, a girl of twelve or thirteen with her hair arranged in flower-bud buns pointed at Huoyu and scolded her with an overly mature expression.

“Huoyu, where did you find such a vicious little demon? She bullied Jinli until he cried!”

Huoyu rolled her eyes.

This little creature truly knew how to cause trouble.

However, Huoyu refused to shoulder the blame.

“She is Elder Lingxi’s spiritual pet. I cannot control her.”

The boy, who had finally soothed Jinli, abruptly raised his head.

“Elder Lingxi of the Qianyuan Sect?”

“How many Elder Lingxis could there possibly be on the Yuezhou Continent?”

Huoyu pointed at the domineering creature who had already returned to the top of her head.

“See her? She’s the offspring of the Qianyuan Sect’s divine beast, the Ice Luan.”

Nine-tailed foxes could also be considered divine beasts, but their bloodline still could not compare with an Ice Luan’s.

Otherwise, Huoyu would never have allowed such a tiny creature to climb onto her head.

The demon race valued bloodline rank just as highly as human cultivators valued the quality of spiritual roots.

A young demon with rabbit ears exclaimed in surprise before turning toward the boy.

“Qingyi, I remember Senior Brother Qingzhu saying that Elder Lingxi of the Qianyuan Sect was the one who rescued you?”

The boy nodded.

At the time, he had run away from the sect after arguing with the Sect Master.

He had not traveled far before being discovered by two cultivators.

Fortunately, he encountered Elder Lingxi, who not only saved him but also brought him back to the sect.

Qingyi remained deeply grateful. Therefore, after learning that Hua Ling belonged to Elder Lingxi, he abandoned his earlier hostility.

From the other young demons’ conversation, Hua Ling also realized that the boy was the Bluebird she and her caretaker had rescued.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp?”

Have your injuries healed?

As a fellow bird demon, Qingyi naturally understood her.

He smiled.

“They have mostly healed.”

They had only been external injuries, and demons possessed strong regenerative abilities.

Hua Ling did not want everyone to genuinely believe she was a violent maniac, so she began explaining why she had attacked the squirrel demon.

With Qingyi translating, the others finally understood what had happened.

The girl with the flower-bud hairstyle complained, “Jinli has become increasingly mischievous lately. He causes trouble everywhere.”

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

The squirrel demon puffed out his cheeks, clearly unconvinced.

Still, as the saying went, friendship often began with a fight. Hua Ling soon joined the young demons in playing together.

“I heard that a peacock in Blackrock Forest laid eggs. Shall we go take a look?”

“That peacock is extremely fierce. I don’t dare.”

“What is there to fear? The peacock hasn’t even managed to assume human form, so it definitely cannot defeat us. Besides, we’ll only sneak a look. We’re not going to steal the eggs,” the flower-bud-haired girl said dismissively.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!”

Jinli raised a peanut in agreement.

“That makes sense. Shall we go and see?”

Momo, the most timid rabbit demon, was persuaded. She had never seen a peacock egg before!

The group of young demons quickly reached an agreement.

Hua Ling was somewhat confused. She flew onto Qingyi’s shoulder and asked, “Chirp, chirp, chirp?”

Isn’t that peacock a Tianling Sect disciple?

Qingyi explained, “The Tianling Sect does not accept every demon. They must pass an extremely strict assessment first.”

“That peacock demon only moved here recently. The Sect Master said that our territory is large enough, so as long as it does not attack our disciples, it can remain wherever it likes.”

Because of the Tianling Sect’s unusual nature, cultivators rarely dared hunt demonic beasts in the surrounding region.

Qingyi’s previous encounter with the pair of cultivators had simply been extremely unlucky.

Many demons had noticed this benefit and moved nearby. The peacock demon was one of them.

“Chirp.”

So that was how it was.

Demons were quite clever too!

……

Although Blackrock Forest sounded rather sinister, it was actually an ordinary forest.

It received its name because numerous Blackrock Fruit Trees grew there.

The peacock demon they had come to see lived among the bushes beside the river.

“Can you see it?”

“I see it! I see it! The peacock is lying inside its nest!”

“Wow, its tail is so beautiful!”

“I heard it looks even more beautiful when it spreads its tail!”

Listening to the young demons chatter, Hua Ling suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Even with her limited knowledge, she knew that male peacocks were the ones who displayed their tails.

Then…

Could a male bird lay eggs?

This was going to become awkward.

Hua Ling leaned toward Qingyi’s ear and quietly chirped.

How do you know the peacock laid eggs?

Qingyi answered uncertainly, “I think Senior Brother Hangu told us.”

Hangu?

Wasn’t that the myna who had welcomed them earlier?

Upon hearing this, Huoyu immediately sneered.

“You actually believed that rotten bird? I heard he fought the peacock recently and lost. Didn’t you know?”

The young demons were startled.

Although Senior Brother Hangu was not a divine beast with an especially powerful bloodline, he had cultivated for more than a hundred years.

He was undoubtedly far stronger than underage demons like them.

If even he could not win, what were they supposed to do?

“Huoyu, why didn’t you say so earlier…?”

Momo, the rabbit demon, immediately wanted to retreat.

“Maybe we should go back?”

Huoyu snorted, accidentally raising her voice.

“It’s only a stupid peacock! What is there to fear?”

Hua Ling: “…”

Were all foxes this foolish?

The commotion finally alerted the peacock resting among the bushes.

Its long neck turned, and its eyes precisely located the young demons’ hiding place.

As the eldest, Qingyi was the first to realize something was wrong.

He grabbed several of his companions and [stolen content]prepared to escape, but the peacock demon moved even faster. With a single glide, it landed directly before them.

“Human-raised brats.”

The peacock demon’s voice was low and magnetic.

“Why have you disturbed this lord’s cultivation?”

Only then did Qingyi realize that the peacock demon was nothing like the untransformed young demon Senior Brother Hangu had described.

Judging by the pressure it radiated, it was at least a powerful demon of the Demon General rank.

Afraid of angering it, Qingyi carefully considered his words.

Before he could speak, however, the flower-bud-haired girl curiously asked, “Why did you come over here? What about your eggs? Don’t you need to incubate them?”

Qingyi: “…”

Hua Ling: “…”

Huoyu, who had been extraordinarily arrogant moments ago but was now terrified: “…”

The peacock demon immediately flew into a rage.

“You’re the one incubating eggs! Your entire family incubates eggs!”

When the Demon General’s pressure erupted, the young demons immediately began trembling.

Only divine beast cubs such as Qingyi, Hua Ling, and Huoyu could resist it.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”

Hua Ling flapped her wings unhappily.

She could tell that the peacock demon held no true hostility toward them and merely wanted to frighten them.

“An Ice Luan?”

The peacock demon noticed Hua Ling. Its anger immediately faded, and it extended its long neck toward her with an intrigued expression.

“I never expected to see an Ice Luan hatchling again…”

Hua Ling was puzzled.

What was wrong with Ice Luans?

“Little one, you had better hide yourself well. Do not let those lunatics from the demon race find you. Otherwise, you will not survive.”

The peacock demon shook the crest on its head and looked almost regretful.

Hua Ling was completely confused.

Did some demon have a grudge against Ice Luans?

Even then, surely they would not attack every Ice Luan they encountered.

After successfully frightening Hua Ling, the peacock demon appeared extremely pleased with itself.

It raised its head and strutted away, leaving behind one final threat.

“Tell that damned myna to wait for me! I will personally make him incubate an entire nest of eggs!”

The peacock demon was no fool.

If all these young demons had come to watch it, they had clearly listened to that loose-tongued myna’s nonsense.

Hangu could not defeat it, so he had resorted to ruining its reputation?

Sooner or later, the peacock would settle the score with him!

Only after the peacock demon had gone far away did the young demons finally relax.

Since there were no eggs read the original at bailiantales.comto see, they began discussing whether they should gather Blackrock Fruit instead.

Seeing that they showed no lingering effects from their fright, Hua Ling could only marvel at how carefree demon children were.

“Although Blackrock Fruit has an unpleasant name, its flesh is extremely sweet!”

The flower-bud-haired girl began educating Hua Ling.

“But you must never eat the skin. It is especially bitter.”

Hua Ling chirped to indicate she understood.

From a great distance, she saw a stretch of pitch-black trees that looked as though they had been struck by lightning.

However, Qingyi informed her that Blackrock Trees naturally looked like that.

The dark fruit growing on them was Blackrock Fruit.

Neither Momo the rabbit demon nor the flower-bud-haired spirit deer was ​stolen content​skilled at climbing trees, so Qingyi returned to his Bluebird form and picked fruit together with Hua Ling.

As for Jinli the squirrel demon, he had already darted up a tree.

Hua Ling and Qingyi pecked through the fruit stems, causing the Blackrock Fruits to fall.

Momo and the flower-bud-haired girl caught them below, preventing the fruit from smashing against the ground and rotting.

With the young demons cooperating perfectly, the fruit soon formed a small mountain.

Hua Ling was thinking about her caretaker, so she asked Qingyi to store some for her to bring back later.

Blackrock Fruit was pleasantly sweet and tart.

It tasted slightly like a pear but was even sweeter and more refreshing.

However, the fruits were quite large, so Hua Ling became full after eating only a few.

While her companions continued eating, Hua Ling curiously wandered around Blackrock Forest.

There were almost no plants in the forest besides Blackrock Trees.

However, beneath one of the trees, Hua Ling suddenly discovered a very strange plant.

Its leaves were small and serrated. A long stem extended from the center, supporting an enticing red fruit at its tip.

Hua Ling searched through her bloodline memories and finally found its name.

A Transformation Fruit.

As the name suggested, a Transformation Fruit was a spiritual plant that helped demons assume human form.

However, compared with Transformation Grass, its effects were unstable, and its success rate was much lower.

Its only advantage was that if transformation failed after consuming the fruit, there would be no side effects.

Thus, the question Hua Ling now faced was:

Should she eat it, or should she eat it?

Of course she should eat it!

Without hesitation, Hua Ling swallowed the Transformation Fruit in one bite.

If Hua Ling had to describe its flavor, it tasted like rotten eggs that had been left sitting for several months.

The stench nearly made her faint.

Most importantly, after eating it, she noticed absolutely no changes in her body, much less any sign of transformation.

“Little Ice Luan, where did you run off to? We’re going back!”

Hearing Huoyu calling her, the disappointed Hua Ling flew over.

“Why do you look as though you lost your soul after wandering around for a while?”

Huoyu tugged Hua Ling’s tail, earning herself a vicious peck.

She was in a bad mood.

Do not disturb her!

Huoyu: Fine. She could not afford to provoke her.

Lying on top of Huoyu’s head, Hua Ling released a quiet sigh.

Why was assuming human form so difficult?

Even after returning to Cheng Suxi’s side, Hua Ling had not recovered from the blow.

She had eaten such a disgusting fruit and still failed to transform.

What a terrible loss!

Cheng Suxi looked at Hua Ling, who had flattened herself into a pancake upon her palm, and frowned.

She asked Huoyu, “What happened to Tuanzi?”

Huoyu was somewhat afraid of Cheng Suxi and answered honestly, “I don’t know either.”

The little troublemaker had been perfectly fine while eating fruit. Who knew what was wrong with her now?

Cheng Suxi raised her hand, signaling for Huoyu to leave, before touching Hua Ling’s back.

Tuanzi’s body temperature seemed unusually high.

Was she ill?

Worried, Cheng Suxi immediately used spiritual energy to examine Hua Ling’s body, but she found nothing abnormal.

She hurriedly sent Jiang Lingyu a voice transmission, asking her to come and determine unauthorized copy what was happening to the little creature.

Ever since returning to her caretaker, Hua Ling had begun feeling dizzy and muddled.

Combined with her dejected mood, she could barely summon any energy.

She struggled to raise her head and released a pitiful chirp.

Seeing the normally energetic little creature reduced to such a listless state, Cheng Suxi felt as though a heavy stone had lodged inside her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

Hua Ling’s body grew hotter and hotter until it seemed as though the entire bird might burst into flames.

She opened her beak but could no longer produce a sound. Even her soul seemed ready to drift from her body.

At that moment, Cheng Suxi suddenly noticed changes beginning to occur in the hatchling.

The tiny bird’s body twisted and lengthened continuously.

Then Cheng Suxi’s arms abruptly grew heavier as a naked human body fell into her embrace.

Cheng Suxi’s breath caught, and she instinctively tightened her arms.

Her palms pressed firmly against the smooth, delicate skin of the person in her embrace. The other person’s soft, steady breaths brushed against Cheng Suxi’s neck, sending a faint tingling sensation through her.

Tuanzi…

Had she assumed human form?

Author’s Note

There will be another chapter a little later. I’m working very hard on it!

Love you all—mwah!