"I swear, this is the worst grilled skewer I've ever eaten in my life."
Xu Yi lay weakly by the tree, feeling as if all her strength had been drained by that half-cooked, bitter piece of roasted meat.
Who would have thought that Wei Qingshan, who looked gentle and refined, could cook skewers like poison?
Only the mountain roc, a demonic beast that had only ever eaten raw food, found it edible.
Wei Qingshan pretended to be calm, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Senior, this is due to a lack of seasoning."
The implication was that her cooking skills were secondary.
Xu Yi shook her head in pain. Wei Qingshan still hadn't realized that being able to cook such skewers was a kind of innate talent.
After resting under the tree for a quarter of an hour, she asked faintly, "You are from the Wei family, aren't you?"
Wei Qingshan and Wei Jiu exchanged a look and replied earnestly, "Yes, junior Wei Qingshan, ranked fifth in the Wei family."
"May I presumptuously ask what you intend to use the Shadowless Slug for? The Shadowless Slug is extremely poisonous all over its body, and it seems to have no usable parts."
Xu Yi had been curious about this question long before entering the Giant's Realm. Seeing the Wei family members now, she couldn't help but ask.
This question was mainly to satisfy her curiosity. If Wei Qingshan and Wei Jiu didn't want to answer, she wouldn't press them.
Upon hearing this, Wei Qingshan hesitated but ultimately did not conceal the truth.
Although this matter was not something to be spread easily, Xu Yi's status was different, and she was their benefactor. She did not want any rift to form between them because of this issue.
"My elder brother, the head of the Wei family, was poisoned. This poison is extremely potent and has no cure. A medical cultivator who was an old acquaintance of our Wei family told us that if we could find a Shadowless Slug, we might be able to detoxify my brother by using its venom to fight the poison. That's why the Wei family issued a high-price bounty."
The news of the Wei family head's poisoning would severely damage the Wei family's reputation and cause unnecessary commotion, so the Wei family had kept the truth hidden.
Seeing her clansmen worrying, Wei Qingshan voluntarily went to the Giant's Realm to find the Shadowless Slug to share the burden with her family.
Using poison to fight poison?
Xu Yi's brow furrowed slightly.
She had initially thought the Wei family wanted to extract the potent venom from the Shadowless Slug to refine poisonous magical treasures.
"Are you sure that medical cultivator is an old acquaintance of your Wei family?"
Wei Qingshan was taken aback. "What do you mean, Senior?"
"The potent venom of the Shadowless Slug can permeate the intestines and bones, and ordinary cultivators would die upon contact. I've never heard of using the venom of the Shadowless Slug to combat poison. Of course, perhaps I am ignorant, as there are always things on the Kyushu Continent that I haven't heard of."
Xu Yi spoke cautiously. Although she had read widely and had some knowledge of medicine, she was not a true medical cultivator and could not guarantee with 100% certainty that anything she hadn't heard of was fake.
Moreover, even if she were a medical cultivator, she would need to understand that there is always someone better and higher heavens beyond the heavens.
Wei Qingshan remained silent.
In fact, when that medical cultivator proposed this method, many in the clan voiced their opposition.
However, the head of the family's condition was progressing rapidly, and there was no other solution, so they could only try anything.
Now all hope rested on that medical cultivator, and Wei Qingshan did not want to shatter this last glimmer of hope.
So she smiled faintly and affirmed, "That medical cultivator has been acquainted with our Wei family for over a hundred years. I trust him."
Xu Yi nodded.
Wei Qingshan's attitude was clear. If she continued to speak, it would only be unwelcome.
"Here, this contains the Shadowless Slug. You can take it." Xu Yi casually tossed a golden alms bowl to Wei Qingshan and Wei Jiu.
Wei Jiu's body reacted faster, and he instinctively caught the golden alms bowl, then froze.
What did Senior just say?
This contained the Shadowless Slug?
The surprise came so suddenly that Wei Jiu and Wei Qingshan couldn't react for a moment.
When Wei Qingshan finally came to her senses, she immediately stood up and thanked Xu Yi incoherently.
She had already given up hope of finding the Shadowless Slug, and she never expected it to be delivered to her so readily.
Her brother was saved!
"Senior, why don't you come with us to the Wei family? The entire Wei family will welcome you with open arms and personally present a generous gift." Wei Qingshan said excitedly.
Xu Yi shook her head again. "I will stay in the Giant's Realm for a while longer. I will visit the Wei family after I leave."
Xu Yi naturally would not give up on the high-price bounty she was owed. However, her priority now was to increase her strength. Once she became a Body Integration cultivator, she would have nothing to fear from the Wei family reneging on their promise.
Although Wei Qingshan was somewhat regretful, she did not dare to press the matter. She took the golden alms bowl containing the sealed Shadowless Slug, thanked Xu Yi profusely, and left.
Xu Yi took out another identical golden alms bowl and said to the mountain roc, "Come in."
The mountain roc glanced at the golden alms bowl and shook its head disdainfully.
"If you don't go in, and get bullied by other demonic beasts later, I won't save you," Xu Yi threatened.
The mountain roc proudly puffed out its chest, and under Xu Yi's gaze, it flapped its wings with difficulty, taking off shakily.
Xu Yi's eyes lit up, but before she could praise it, the mountain roc fell from the sky in an arc, kicking up countless fallen leaves.
Xu Yi: ...It can't fly but it still shows off. How embarrassing.
The mountain roc acted as if nothing had happened and hopped back to Xu Yi's side, chirping.
"Mm, good job, good job."
Xu Yi praised it perfunctorily, but in the end, she couldn't persuade the mountain roc into the golden alms bowl.
Finally, she had to place it in a safe place, cast a protective barrier around it, and then go find demonic beasts to fight.
Xu Yi always chose demonic beasts that were slightly stronger than her but not so strong that they could defeat her in one or two moves.
So, after each injury, she would rest for a few days and then become energetic again to find the next demonic beast to fight.
At first, the mountain roc was terrified by Xu Yi's miserable appearance, chirping frantically and staying by her side without even eating, which deeply moved Xu Yi.
However, later, when the mountain roc realized this was Xu Yi's usual routine, its concern disappeared. Each time, Xu Yi could detect an undisguised schadenfreude in its little eyes.
In response, Xu Yi felt it was karma.
Of course, there were also extremely dangerous events during this period.
Xu Yi couldn't always predict correctly, and coupled with the powerful innate divine abilities of the demonic beasts, Xu Yi had been close to perishing there several times.
Fortunately, she still had the formation disks left by Teacher Yuwen, which allowed her to escape from death again and again.
Under the stimulation of life-and-death crises, Xu Yi's spiritual power grew at a slow and steady pace.
According to her estimation, if nothing unexpected happened, she would be able to attempt a breakthrough in another year.
One day, as she was escaping from an earth dragon and preparing to find the next demonic beast, a piercing bird cry suddenly came from the sky.
"Screech!"
Xu Yi inexplicably felt a chill down her spine. She looked up and saw a massive iron-clawed mountain roc swooping down from high altitude, its target directly at her location.
The mountain roc's mother had found her!