Chapter 885: Qingqing? (two in one)

“Has it reached within ten kilometers of Qingqingni?” Qiao Sang’s heart stirred, but she wasn’t particularly excited.

Having seen two Illusion Beasts, and even lived with an Illusion Beast from another planet for several months, and later seen an ancient Pet, she believed that her mindset would remain stable even if she encountered a particularly rare Pet again.

Her original intention for coming to the 16th Secret Realm this time was simply not to waste the hard-won Secret Realm key and Qingfeng Compass.

If she could find Qingqingni during this time and witness the legendary Pet, that would naturally be the best.

If she couldn’t, at most, it would be a bit regrettable.

She had prepared herself mentally, but she didn’t expect to find traces of Qingqingni so quickly.

“It truly lives up to its nine hundred million value, the Qingfeng Compass. Otherwise, upon arriving here, who would know that Qingqingni was nearby…” Qiao Sang sighed inwardly and looked at the direction indicated by the middle needle of the Qingfeng Compass.

At this moment, the three rings of the compass were still subtly rotating, and the middle needle, as if affected by a magnetic field, swayed back and forth, not pointing to a specific direction.

Qiao Sang held the Qingfeng Compass and tried it in every direction.

When the compass faced southeast, the swaying of the middle needle became slighter.

“It seems to be in this direction…”

As the thought flashed, Qiao Sang heard rustling sounds beside her.

She turned her head and saw Xiao Xunbao, who at some point had taken out a black cloak from the ring and was putting it on.

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, thinking of the low-level Dianwei worm, and was about to ask if it was cold, but then she looked down and found the Dianwei worm curled up in Ya Bao’s fur, sleeping peacefully.

“It’s good that it’s not cold…” Qiao Sang withdrew her gaze and yawned uncontrollably.

She suddenly remembered another piece of information about the 16th Secret Realm from the post:

“There is no night in the 16th Secret Realm, only day, so you must keep track of the time yourself.”

“Could it be that a long time has passed? It’s not impossible. In the past, Ya Bao always went to bed on time, but now it can stay up at night. Now, it’s impossible to tell if it’s night outside from Ya Bao…” Qiao Sang glanced at Ya Bao, then turned to Xiao Xunbao and said:

“My phone.”

“Xiao Xunbao…”

Xiao Xunbao reluctantly handed over the phone.

“I’m not not returning it to you, is it really that bad…?” Qiao Sang saw Xiao Xunbao’s expression, complained inwardly, took the phone, and checked the time:

2:29 AM.

“It’s already this late…” Qiao Sang was stunned, then put down her phone and picked up the Qingfeng Compass again to confirm Qingqingni’s direction.

After confirming that it was still in the southeast direction, she said:

“Ya Bao, put me down. You should rest for a while.”

“Ya Ya…”

Ya Bao forced its eyelids open, letting out a cry to indicate that it wasn’t sleepy.

“So, it’s already this sleepy…” Qiao Sang said seriously, “We are in the Secret Realm now. Only by resting well can we better cope with the dangers we encounter.”

She hadn’t forgotten that with Ya Bao’s sleepiness, even Lu Bao’s Healing Light wouldn’t last long; it was better to let it sleep normally.

“Ya Ya…”

Upon hearing this, Ya Bao thought it made sense, moved its four limbs, and prepared to run downwards.

“Steel Sword.”

At this moment, Steel Treasure called out, indicating that it would take over while Ya Bao rested.

Just as Qiao Sang was about to refuse and tell it to rest well too, Steel Treasure’s voice rang in her mind at that very moment:

“Steel Sword.”

It’s not like Big Brother Ya Bao; if it really wants to sleep, Lu Bao can just give it a Healing Light. It’s best to stay in the air in this place.

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, then said, “Send me to Steel Treasure’s back.”

Steel Treasure heard its Yu Beast Master’s words, and its previously shrunken body slowly began to enlarge again.

“Xiao Xunbao~”

Xiao Xunbao’s eyes glowed blue, controlling its Yu Beast Master and the Dianwei worm to land on Steel Treasure’s back.

Ya Bao’s body shrunk and it lay down beside its Yu Beast Master, closing its eyes.

“Dianwei…”

The Dianwei worm shivered.

“Get out one of my down jackets,” Qiao Sang said upon seeing this.

“Xiao Xunbao~”

Xiao Xunbao thought its Yu Beast Master was cold and quickly took out a black down jacket.

Qiao Sang took it and draped it over Ya Bao and the Dianwei worm.

Then, she picked up the Qingfeng Compass and began to give directions:

“Fly forward. There’s no need to use Space Movement anymore.”

A distance of ten kilometers was not far for the current Steel Treasure.

Under speed control, the distance could be more precisely managed. If Xiao Xunbao were still to use Space Movement, something might go wrong, possibly causing the Qingfeng Compass to lose its reaction entirely.

“Steel Sword.”

Steel Treasure called out, indicating understanding, then flapped its wings, controlling its speed, and flew steadily forward.

The biting cold wind blew, but Qiao Sang did not feel the bone-chilling cold; instead, she felt a slight coolness that cleared her slightly groggy head considerably.

As they delved deeper into the icy land, the three rings of the Qingfeng Compass rotated more and more violently.

During this time, Lu Bao poked its head out of the backpack and gave Qiao Sang and Steel Treasure a Healing Light.

“Help, help!”

After an unknown amount of time, a heart-wrenching cry for help suddenly came from below.

Qiao Sang’s heart tightened upon hearing the sound, and she patted Steel Treasure’s back.

Steel Treasure immediately understood, flapped its wings, and flew towards the source of the sound.

Soon, a green lion-type Pet frantically fleeing came into view, with a pale-faced, terrified man sitting on its back.

Behind them, more than a dozen Pets, about six meters tall, entirely white, and resembling trees, were giving chase.

They extended their snow-white, branch-like arms, rapidly spreading and twisting forward.

The green lion-type Pet ran, narrowly dodging the attacks of these “branches.”

“Snow Branch Trees, Ice General-level Pets, usually live in groups…” Information about the more than a dozen pursuing Pets flashed in Qiao Sang’s mind, and she said without hesitation:

“Control this person and Pet to come up.”

After speaking, she suddenly remembered something and put the Qingfeng Compass into her pocket.

“Xiao Xunbao~”

Xiao Xunbao’s eyes glowed blue.

The lion-type Pet and the man on its back, who were fleeing below, were uncontrollably lifted into the high sky.

“Snow Branch!”

“Snow Branch!”

The dozen or so Snow Branch Trees raised their claws upwards, their snow-white arms intertwining and twisting, attacking the lion-type Pet.

“This feeling, how is it a bit like a white version of Dark Shadow Control…” Qiao Sang reined in her thoughts and said:

“Wing Blade.”

“Steel Sword.”

Steel Treasure flapped its wings downwards with force, and the steel feathers on its body instantly transformed into a sky full of purple blades, spinning rapidly downwards.

The purple blades effortlessly struck the bodies of the Snow Branch Trees.

“Snow Branch!”

“Snow Branch!”

The Snow Branch Trees screamed one after another, falling to the ground with hardly any resistance.

The purple blades spun upwards and reinserted themselves into Steel Treasure’s body.

“Profound Level Wing Blade, plus the sharp characteristic, truly effective…” Qiao Sang looked at the seemingly vulnerable Snow Branch Trees, satisfied.

Although these Snow Branch Trees were wild Pets and had not undergone systematic cultivation, unable to unleash their full potential and strength, they were still General-level Pets. So many General-level Pets being instantly defeated together showed that Steel Treasure’s strength had made a leap forward since its evolution…

As she was thinking, the lion-type Pet and the man were brought to the same height by Xiao Xunbao’s telekinesis.

The man looked at Qiao Sang, looking incredibly moved:

“Thank you, thank you for saving me. If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have escaped the clutches of those Snow Branch Trees just now.”

“Wind, wind.”

The green lion-type Pet also looked grateful.

Qiao Sang remained calm like a big shot, and said indifferently, “It’s nothing, just a matter of convenience.”

Before coming, she had already thought that if the other party encountered too great a crisis that she couldn’t solve, for example, if the one chasing them was an Emperor-level Pet or something, she would pretend nothing happened and turn around and leave.

Fortunately, it was just a dozen wild General-level Pets.

The man’s gaze fell on Steel Treasure and Xiao Xunbao, then he looked up and asked Qiao Sang:

“It’s too scary here. I wonder if I can continue to travel with you?”

Qiao Sang glanced at him: “Did you come alone?”

The man said dejectedly, “I don’t know many people at the Spiritual Mark Center, and I don’t know anyone who is qualified to enter this Secret Realm, so no one teamed up with me.”

Qiao Sang asked again, “Don’t you have a Flying-type Pet?”

The man was stunned for a moment: “Yes, I do, but it has been flying for a long time and is currently resting in the yu beast codex.”

“Feng Jie Lion, Fairy-type General-level Pet, can carry a person at 120 kilometers per hour. With its speed, it’s impossible for it not to outrun those Snow Branch Trees…” Qiao Sang’s mind flashed with the information about the lion-type Pet in front of her, and she immediately felt that the situation might be a bit off.

This Feng Jie Lion didn’t look injured, and it had many beautiful white striped Spiritual Marks drawn on its body.

Thanks to Teacher Li Dongdong, she recognized at a glance that the purpose of these Spiritual Marks was to amplify the Pet’s speed.

Logically speaking, a Feng Jie Lion with speed-enhancing Spiritual Marks and no injuries shouldn’t be unable to shake off a dozen Snow Branch Trees…

Qiao Sang felt alert and showed a kind smile, saying:

“I still have things to do, so I’m afraid I can’t go with you, but I can send you in whatever direction you want to go.”

The man quickly asked:

“What are you doing? I can join you!”

He paused, then added awkwardly, “I’m a bit afraid to move alone in this Secret Realm now.”

“Afraid to move alone, yet he’s already come this far…” Qiao Sang complained inwardly, but her expression remained unchanged as she replied:

“I heard that medicine made from the feathers of an Ice Snow Bird can greatly increase the power of Ice-type Pet skills, so I wanted to go and see if I could get a few.”

The man looked stunned: “You want to find an Ice Snow Bird?!”

Qiao Sang hummed in affirmation.

Upon hearing this, the man looked at Qiao Sang in astonishment, his expression changing several times, before finally forcing a smile and saying:

“I think I’d better not go with you.”

Qiao Sang asked calmly:

“Where are you going?”

The man casually pointed in the direction Qiao Sang had come from: “I’m going to head that way.”

Qiao Sang nodded slightly: “I’ll see you off.”

The man looked up and refused: “No need, I’ll…”

However, as he spoke, Qiao Sang nodded to Xiao Xunbao.

Xiao Xunbao understood its Yu Beast Master’s meaning, and its eyes glowed blue.

Before the man could finish speaking, he and the Feng Jie Lion disappeared into the air.

“Let’s go,” Qiao Sang said, glancing downwards.

“Steel Sword.”

Steel Treasure called out, flapped its wings, and continued to fly deeper into the icy depths.

After Steel Treasure disappeared into the sky, several figures emerged from below.

“What should we do? Zicheng seems to have been teleported away by Space Movement…” a man in a white down jacket worried.

“Does that person have a Qingfeng Compass on them?” The short-haired woman beside him was more concerned about another matter.

“No,” said the man wearing a baseball cap.

As soon as he finished speaking, a cat-like Pet, about twenty centimeters in size and mostly black, appeared out of thin air and instantly moved beside them.

“So what do we do now?” the short-haired woman asked.

“Let’s find Zicheng first. Without a Qingfeng Compass, only his Feng Jie Lion can somewhat sense the unusualness in the wind,” the man in the baseball cap said calmly. “That person just now was not simple. As long as her goal doesn’t conflict with ours, we don’t need to bother with her.”

…

“It seems that in this Secret Realm, besides being careful of wild Pets, one must also be careful of people…” Qiao Sang felt a faint lingering fear.

She had originally thought that only the person she had just saved had some issues, but she didn’t expect a commotion to break out below after that person was transferred away. If her brain domain hadn’t reached 50% and her hearing hadn’t improved so much, she probably wouldn’t have heard anything at all… Tsk, it was actually a group operation. If she had chosen to go down and save them, she would definitely have been ambushed… Thankfully, she was clever… Qiao Sang steadied her emotions, pulled out the Qingfeng Compass from her pocket, and continued to check the direction.

The middle needle still pointed to the southeast.

“I remember the post said there’s an Emperor-level Ice Snow Bird on the snowy mountain in the southeast. Could Qingqingni be there…?” “Calm down, it’s actually fine if Qingqingni is there. Even if I unfortunately encounter an Ice Snow Bird, I can just run…” Qiao Sang thought of this and turned to ask with concern:

“Xiao Xunbao, you’ve used Space Movement and telekinesis many times already. Quickly use an energy recovery potion to recover.”

“Xiao Xunbao~”

Xiao Xunbao called out, indicating understanding, then took off its ring and took out an energy recovery potion.

Qiao Sang relaxed and continued to look at the Qingfeng Compass.

At this moment, the three rings suddenly rotated violently, and the middle needle also swung wildly.

And the outer needle, which had always been relatively still, suddenly began to spin madly counter-clockwise.

“What’s going on…?” Qiao Sang’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately remembered another piece of information from the item description:

If the three rings suddenly rotate violently and uncontrollably, and the outer needle rotates 360 degrees counter-clockwise, it indicates that Qingqingni is rapidly approaching your location.

“Qingqingni is coming this way?”

Qiao Sang’s heart stirred, but she didn’t say anything to make Steel Treasure stop.

This only indicated that Qingqingni was approaching her direction, not that Qingqingni was nearby.

Time passed bit by bit, and Qiao Sang’s heartbeat grew faster and faster.

The three rings rotated more and more violently; she had a feeling that she was getting closer and closer to Qingqingni.

“It won’t really let me see Qingqingni, will it…” Qiao Sang slowly exhaled.

Calm down, how can I be so excited over a Pet I haven’t even seen yet, when I’m someone who owns an endangered Pet, has seen two Illusion Beasts, and an ancient Pet? It’s not like I can make a contract with it…

As thoughts flickered, a gentle breeze, different from the biting cold wind, blew past.

The wind brushed her cheek, even carrying a hint of warmth.

Qiao Sang felt the fleeting warmth, and all her thoughts abruptly stopped. She looked at the Qingfeng Compass, where all three rings and three needles were spinning wildly 360 degrees, her pupils slightly constricted, and she instinctively shouted:

“Wait!”

“Steel Sword.”

Steel Treasure stopped in mid-air.

“Xiao Xunbao.”

Xiao Xunbao also stopped drinking the energy recovery potion.

“Qingqing?”

Immediately after, an ethereal and tender voice sounded from behind. (End of Chapter)