A few cans of food were enough to make Caijing’s Nuo Yi beam with joy.
It was hard to find a more cost-effective deal in this world.
Chen Yu had Nuo Yi following him around for a while now. He was starting to feel reluctant to return her. It wasn’t that Chen Yu was unwilling to part with Nuo Yi’s strength in Caijing; they hadn’t encountered any major dangers along the way anyway, and even if there were, he and the little demon could handle them.
Even though Chen Yu was only at the Golden realm, he was actually a Saint of Magic behind the scenes.
With his affinity for elements,
Even a simple fireball spell he conjured could turn into a forbidden technique.
Who was he afraid of?
He was afraid there weren’t enough people to burn for him.
His reluctance to part with Nuo Yi was purely because having such a lively companion was fun. Her appearance made his monotonous life much richer.
“I’ll discuss it with Su Zhan when I have time,” Chen Yu murmured.
Su Zhan had told him when they parted ways that Nuo Yi was not suited to participate in the upcoming war between the Batu Federation and the Tatu Kingdom. It would be better to let Nuo Yi follow him.
With him, Nuo Yi could taste her favorite delicacies again.
And live a life of great freedom.
No matter how he looked at it, Nuo Yi seemed more suited to following him.
Chen Yu figured that as long as he asked, Su Zhan wouldn’t refuse. Given their relationship, this was a small matter.
Besides, Black Bean was still being held by him, wasn’t he?
Exchanging Black Bean for Nuo Yi didn’t seem like a bad deal no matter how he thought about it.
“Achoo!”
Far away in Hezhen, Black Bean suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose.
“Who’s talking bad about me behind my back?”
Bang bang bang!
Before Black Bean could finish speaking, the sound of wooden sticks tapping on the desk made him collect his thoughts. He cautiously looked up and saw Liu Yue holding a wooden strip as thick as a thumb, looking at him unhappily.
“What are you mumbling about? Have you understood the military strategies I gave you?”
“Liu Yue, why are you making me read these?” Black Bean shrunk his neck timidly, spreading his hands to look at the mountain of jade slips piled before him. “I’m not leading any troops, what use are these to me?”
“Didn’t you want to help Mr. Chen resolve his worries?”
“Yes!”
“Since that’s the case, you must study all these military books thoroughly,” Liu Yue said with a focused gaze. “Mr. Chen will surely become a feudal lord in the Grottoes in the future. Since you have his trust, you will eventually have a day to command troops. Learn what you need to learn now, lest you become a burden later.”
“Yue’er, you might not understand me, but I’m actually a resource…”
“Do you really want to marry me?”
Suddenly, as if losing patience, Liu Yue frowned. Black Bean, who had been sitting cross-legged at the desk with a belly full of words, forcibly swallowed what was about to be said and grabbed the jade slip in front of him.
“I’ll read!”
“I’ll come back to test you in three hours. If your answers don’t satisfy me, you have to copy the contents of these jade slips ten times,” Liu Yue said, getting up. Black Bean, holding the jade slips, widened his eyes in disbelief. “Three hours, ten times, isn’t… isn’t there a scope?”
“These jade slips are the scope.”
“Huh?”
Black Bean looked dumbfounded at the mountain of jade slips before him. There were at least hundreds of these jade slips, and each slip contained at least two military books.
“Don’t disappoint me.”
At this moment, Liu Yue had already reached the door and closed it shut with a bang. Black Bean sat silently at the desk, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
“This… this feels even more ruthless than Sorna and Barbara, Brother. You’re really setting up your own younger brother!”
“Believe it or not, that little brat Black Bean is definitely badmouthing me behind my back.” Chen Yu rubbed his nose and glanced sideways at the little demon beside him.
The little demon smiled slightly, and Chen Yu cursed as he scowled.
“How dare that kid gossip about me behind my back.”
“I really envy the bond between you two.”
The little demon said with a smile, but her eyebrows were furrowed, and her right hand reached out towards the magma, as if searching for something in it from a distance.
“What are you doing?”
Noticing this, Chen Yu looked at her suspiciously. The little demon glanced at him.
“Looking for the core of the secret realm. Didn’t you feel uneasy leaving this secret realm here? If you can find the core of the secret realm… then you can directly place the secret realm within the territory you govern… Hey, hey, hey, found it!”
Rumble—
Suddenly, almost the moment the little demon finished speaking, a fist-sized stone emanating strong fire elements flew out from the magma. Hot magma was still flowing down its surface. After the magma completely receded, the stone’s original appearance was revealed.
Scarlet red, irregular in shape.
Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that there were many cryptic symbols etched inside the stone.
As soon as the stone appeared, it seemed to have a mind of its own and tried to escape. The little demon let out a cold laugh and reached out with her fair hand towards the void.
“Still trying to run!”
A palm condensed with energy instantly gripped the stone. No matter how the small stone struggled, it couldn’t break free from the energy palm.
“Quick, drip your blood on it.”
The little demon, holding the stone tightly, shouted. Chen Yu, without any hesitation, took out a small knife, cut his finger, and dripped his blood onto it.
The blood fell onto the stone’s surface and was absorbed within moments. The struggling stone, after absorbing Chen Yu’s blood, seemed to wilt and lost its previous liveliness.
“Here, take it.”
The little demon casually tossed the stone towards Chen Yu, who caught it in a flustered manner.
“Aren’t you afraid it’ll run away?”
“It has your blood, so it’s no longer pure; it belongs to you. Why would it run away?” The little demon said with a smile, crossing her arms. Chen Yu’s face darkened. “Don’t say it so ambiguously, as if I did something to it. What is this secret realm core, and why are you getting it out?”
“Use your vital energy to activate it.”
Following the little demon’s instructions, Chen Yu instinctively circulated his vital energy.
Whoosh!
Everything happened in an instant. By the time Chen Yu regained his senses, he was standing in the wilderness where he had entered the secret realm before. The secret realm had vanished before his eyes.
“The secret realm was absorbed by it?”
“Yes, the core of a secret realm is used to absorb and release secret realms,” the little demon whispered in a serious tone. “When you find a suitable location, activate the secret realm core and throw it back into the magma. Then the secret realm will stay wherever you want it to be.”
“That’s quite convenient.”
“Otherwise, why do you think secret realms always change their locations? It’s actually that little thing in your hand that’s running around. After it absorbed your blood, it became lazy. From now on, you’ll have to move it, instead of it finding places rich in elements on its own.”
“I understand.”
Chen Yu, holding the secret realm core, nodded with a smile and then threw the core into his pocket.
“So, where are we going now? To… the Seven-Colored Tree?”