405: Chapter 323 405: Chapter 323 It had become a poison more potent than the combination of toxins in their bodies and other poisons, an upgraded version that their bodies might not be able to resist.
Night was fast approaching, and as the fruits on the vines were about to vanish, the giraffes couldn’t afford to think further.
Some of them let out a comforting call to the grieving mother giraffe before resuming their work.
As darkness slowly fell, the giraffes, having toiled all day and having gone without sleep for a full day and night, subsisted solely on the husks of the fruits, continuously storing the physical materials into their storage spaces throughout the night.
Their hectic work, of course, was to harvest all the fruits on the vines before dawn, for they would disappear automatically with the break of day.
They fed on the petals and the vines’ husks, which wasn’t just a matter of plant consumption; these were resources for their strenuous cultivation.
These resources were invaluable to the giraffes as they enabled them to eat their fill and also cultivate by transforming the food into spiritual energy, which in turn enhanced their cultivation.
Unnoticed by others, there was a place among the vine mists, where a small river flowed, and it was here the giraffes bathed and drank.
After another busy night, the giraffes all gathered at the river as dawn broke to drink and bathe.
Only one giraffe mother was shedding tears, consoled by another giraffe who might well have been the father of the young one.
Giraffes have long lifespans, directly correlated to their cultivation; they were prolific breeders, yet they could only produce one offspring per year.
The man in black took Bian Shasha out of the misty area and brought her back to his abode.
Bian Shasha happily took out the storage bag in her arms and released the giraffe cub from inside.
“So adorable.”
Bian Shasha caressed the giraffe’s head and felt incredibly fond of it; her demeanor caused the man in black a twinge of jealousy, and he gave the young giraffe a cold glance.
The little giraffe seemed to sense the danger in the air, feeling pressure from the black-clad man—it was, after all, this very man who had kidnapped it.
The giraffe cub trembled, its eyes filled with fear, seeking refuge in Bian Shasha’s arms.
Bian Shasha appeared to notice the giraffe’s trembling and fear, gently patting its back and stroking its small head.
Due to its youth, the giraffe’s horns had yet to fully grow out.
This behavior from the giraffe greatly angered the man in black; he had brought a rival back home, how could he permit this?
He gestured, and the little cub was flung a good ten feet away.
“You brute, what are you doing?
You’ll kill it with such actions,” Bian Shasha angrily ran over to pick up the giraffe.
“Stay away from it—don’t you see the wolfish look in its eyes?
Even at a young age, it can spew poison.
If it releases toxins and affects you, I can’t save you—I don’t have any antidote.”
The man was partly telling the truth and partly lying.
It was true that the cub could spew poison, but his claim of having no antidote was false.
He had long hunted giraffes and had already discovered from their bodies a means to counteract the toxins: the meat of the giraffes.
Although only the liquid form was poisonous, sometimes a part of a poisonous organism’s tissue could neutralize the poison.
However, he didn’t wish to share this with Bian Shasha; if he told her all his secrets, she might not be as compliant.
Indeed, Bian Shasha stopped in her tracks toward the giraffe’s body.
She too loved pets and shared the common girlish fancy for adorable ones.
The precondition was that it couldn’t harm her.
People have a selfish nature; they cherish only themselves and have no love for others.
“This cub can be contracted.
If you want to ensure it doesn’t spray toxins at you, then go ahead and form a bond with it.”
Seeing Bian Shasha becoming docile again, the man’s heart softened; even a seasoned bandit can’t always resist a beautiful woman.
Especially one who was so obedient and divine.
The woman who was previously so dominant and fierce had become submissive, endearing her even more to him.
Indeed, people are conflicted, falling for both fierce and docile women.
“Really?
Yay, I have a pet now!”
Bian Shasha jumped up in delight, her smile beaming brightly as she then ran to hug the giraffe.
The giraffe cub, probably weighing only about 20 to 30 pounds, was light enough for her, a female cultivator, to lift.
She whispered to the giraffe and began the bonding process.
The little giraffe seemed to be influenced by the words of its new female owner.
Of the two humans before it, only this woman seemed to bear it no malice and was willing to form a bond with it.
Although their giraffe tribe isn’t a Divine Beast, they also possess a bit of spiritual intelligence.
The elders are able to cultivate to third rank, and it’s not just because they have resources, but because their giraffe lineage has its own heritage.
Just like some other Demonic Beasts, they have their own storage space within their bodies, which ordinarily people can’t see.
After Bian Shasha formed a contract with the giraffe calf, she discovered she could communicate with the little calf, a mind-to-mind connection between owner and pet.
She could understand the giraffe’s speech, and her words were also intelligible to the giraffe.
Bian Shasha played happily with the little calf, who, feeling soothed, was no longer as scared as before.
The black man was roasting meat at this time, and the giraffe calf seemed to smell the scent of its own kind’s meat, though these creatures also eat their own kind.
Even though beasts of their tribe don’t typically do this, they’ll eat the meat of their kind if they are old or fall sick and die.
Plus, the young giraffe was still small, without a concept of enemies, only knowing that the black man before it was a formidable presence, so it didn’t dare to get close.
“Woman, don’t get caught up playing; once we’ve eaten, we’ll have work to do again,” said the black man as he roasted meat, his gaze fixed on the young giraffe, with an apparent temptation to roast it as well.
“Ugh…”
Bian Shasha certainly understood what the black man meant by ‘work’, and shyly picked up a piece of meat to eat.
“Haha, I’ll make you despise it even more.”
The black man laughed, amused by the woman’s coquettish voice; he found it very gratifying, it filled him with joy—the pride of conquering a woman is a man’s pride.
From then on, Bian Shasha had the company of a giraffe by her side.
The giraffe grew quickly, and once it was big enough to bear her weight, she would ride on it like a horse, running through the Boundless Forest.
Their range of activity was not broad, often staying near the cave where they lived.
Bian Shasha matured more and more, her relationship with the man in black becoming increasingly good, her cultivation also grew; within these short months, she had reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
A thought flowed in her mind that if this man hadn’t captured her, she might have never achieved such cultivation in her lifetime.
There grew in her a reluctance to leave the man, no longer harboring thoughts of leaving the Boundless Forest.
In the Boundless Forest, with the man’s and the giraffe’s company, without contact with the outside world, not venturing out, not seeing her relatives, Bian Shasha didn’t feel lonely.
Each day was filled with happiness and contentment, and gradually she became more uninhibited, a mature woman no longer shy.
…
Fan Dingding and his entourage, following the map, took half a month to change their location, encountering Demonic Beasts several times in the process.
Fortunately, they were vigilant and avoided danger; the longer they stayed in the outskirts of the forest, the more perilous it felt because they had to descend to find food each time.
Their stock of Pills was also diminishing, and even the poison in the few women who had been poisoned seemed to deepen.
They suffered some battles and the women could no longer be of help.
Bi Renchuan felt the women were a burden; not only did he have to take care of them but also save them.
He had never looked for a partner before and after encountering these burdensome women, he was even less inclined to seek one that would slow him down.
If he were to choose, he would choose someone like Fan Dingding, a woman with whom he felt a great rapport, a pity that Fan Dingding was actually a man.
Fan Dingding was somewhat kinder, caring for those women.
With their help, the four female cultivators became tender and learned to be clever and agile.
Eventually, they finally exited the Boundless Forest, only to discover that this place was different from where they had entered.
From here to their intended destination was more than a thousand miles, requiring a day and a night of flight.
They rested on the spot for a while but soon boarded the Flying Artifact, determined to reach their destination no matter the distance.
The woman cultivator’s travel destination differed from theirs; initially, the girls thought they were heading to Nangong Immortal Sect, which was not far away and thus they could travel together.