“You have helped me deal with the Fengxi Boar. I am already extremely grateful,” the mulberry tree said. Its leaves rustled as if it were laughing, and it continued, “I am but a tree. I do not have so many desires.”

The cultivators’ faces heated up. This great mulberry tree had already lived for who knew how many years. It didn't care about any of their secular affairs, and was an individual of noble character and unquestionable integrity. It wasn’t as calculating or scheming as ordinary people.

Zu An was a bit absentminded. Why did he feel as if he had heard the very same thing somewhere else? Previously, he had encountered the Silverflame Flowertree in the Yu clan’s mines. It seemed to have said similar things. That guy isn’t this great mulberry tree’s descendant, is it?

However, when he recalled the Silverflame Flowertree’s appearance, and how it wasn’t similar to the great mulberry tree in the slightest, he felt that he was overthinking things.

…

Thus, the three of them thanked the tree again. After saying their goodbyes, they moved according to its advice, finally leaving the seemingly endless Mulberry Forest.

“Little An, were you watching carefully earlier?” Yun Jianyue secretly asked Zu An when she had a chance.

“Of course. I wasn’t even willing to blink. Big sis Yu really is beautiful beyond comparison…” Zu An replied, naturally realizing what she was asking about. He wasn’t stingy with his praise, immediately showering her in flattery.

Of course, those were also his true thoughts; the scene he had witnessed truly was beautiful. He never could have imagined that the normally ferocious-looking Devil Sect Master would have such a gentle and alluring side to her.

“Is that all you were thinking back then?” Yun Jianyue asked with an ambiguous smile and a thoughtful gaze.

Zu An’s face heated up. He also calmly admitted, “Back then, many thoughts of violating big sis Yun appeared in my mind… I’m truly horrible…”

“Are you courting death?!” Yun Jianyue exclaimed. She had only planned to tease him a bit; how could she have anticipated that he would be so direct? It was now her turn to feel embarrassed. She quickly said with a stiff expression, “I’m Honglei’s master; you’d better not think about that nonsense. There won’t be a next time!”

When he saw that there were actually no Rage points, Zu An knew she wasn’t actually angry. He couldn't help but grumble, “Who was it that wanted to dance for me anyway…”

“What did you say?” Yun Jianyue asked, a dangerous look filling her eyes.

“Ahem, I was saying that big sis’ Bewitching Dance and Charming Voice were just too incredible, to the point that my brain couldn't even control my body anymore and there were only instincts left. That’s why you can’t blame this on me!” Zu An said, sounding ‘wronged’.

“I didn’t blame you though,” Yun Jianyue said. She was very satisfied with his reaction, feeling that she hadn’t shown this side of her that she had withheld from others for so many years for nothing.

“Right,” Zu An said, his expression suddenly growing strange. “Did you change your clothes while hiding in the forest?”

Doesn’t that mean the old mulberry tree saw everything?

That would normally have been something completely ordinary, but who would have thought that the old mulberry tree actually had its own consciousness?

What kind of a person was Yun Jianyue? She had been heavily influenced by the ways of the Devil Sect and immediately realized what Zu An was thinking. Her face heated up and she scoffed, “What kind of nonsense are you thinking? For people of my cultivation rank, changing while still covered is a basic skill. We do that precisely to guard ourselves from perverts like you.”

“Why did I become a pervert?” Zu An replied, feeling wronged. However, he added, “Why don’t you show me that dance alone next time? It’s hard to really get into it when there are others watching.”

“Get lost!” Yun Jianyue cried.

“Okay~” Zu An replied teasingly.

Yan Xuehen had already noticed them muttering to each other for some time. She had initially planned to just ignore it, but when she saw that the two were getting more and more into it, she finally couldn't take it anymore, asking, “What are you talking about?”

Yun Jianyue felt a bit guilty, but she reacted quickly, saying, “None of your business.”

“You!” Yan Xuehen exclaimed.

You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +122 +122 +122…

Zu An felt a bit depressed. Yun Jianyue was the one bullying you, right? Why are you getting mad at me?

He could only say, “We were talking about the healing effects of the leaves the old tree gave us.”

Yan Xuehen was stunned. She was suddenly a bit embarrassed, feeling that she had misunderstood them. She quickly tried to redeem the situation, saying, “Those leaves are indeed quite miraculous. I noticed that even my old injuries showed signs of recovery. If this continues, I should be able to recover ninety percent of my former strength.”

For injuries on the grandmasters’ level, normally, they wouldn’t improve at all without at least ten years of recuperation. However, the spiritual spring at Feather Mountain had recovered quite a bit, and now, with the help of the mulberry leaves, even making a full recovery was in sight. They felt a bit of disbelief.

“If this world’s laws hadn’t been lacking, that great mulberry tree might have already achieved great cultivation. Even the legendary daoist ascension wouldn’t necessarily have been impossible for it,” Yun Jianyue said, unable to hold back a sigh of praise.

…

As the group chatted with each other, a layer of white mist soon appeared in front of them. The earth beneath their feet also grew soft, and there were puddles everywhere around them. Despite that, they continued forward.

Zu An, who was walking at the forefront, almost had his foot sink into the ground. He quickly stopped, saying, “This should be the Xiushe Snake’s lair, Dongting Lake.”

He wondered if it had anything to do with the Dongting Lake of his previous world. However, the scenery before him didn’t share even a hint of similarity with the Dongting Lake he remembered.

Yu Yanluo looked at the mist and said, “This is probably the miasma. Thanks to the great mulberry tree’s leaf, though, I don’t feel any abnormalities at all.”

“This miasma is indeed poisonous,” Yun Jianyue said, giving her surroundings a gentle sniff. “I reckon that the further in we go, the stronger  its poisonous nature will be.”

“With the protection of the mulberry leaf, we don’t have to fear this miasma. It’s the so-called Xiushe Snake that we have to be careful of. If it’s hiding in the great marsh, it’ll be extremely dangerous if it suddenly attacks us,” Yu Yanluo said, feeling a bit worried.

“It’s fine. Both the witch and I have already recovered quite a bit of strength. We will not have to be scared even if we face the Xiushe Snake now. What I am more worried about is that it might just hide in this swamp forever, making it quite difficult for us to find it then,” said Yan Xuehen.

That had been one of the biggest problems when they faced the Yayu and the Fengxi Boar. They were in such a vast swamp; they really didn’t want to have to go through that again if they could.

At first, Zu An had thought that the swamp was the kind that wouldn’t let go once one stepped into it, slowly dragging people down. Now that he had entered it, however, he realized it was more watery than that. It was more like a particularly shallow lake.

Many trees grew in the water, with large root systems that all sorts of fish swam through. Apart from those fish, there were some other animals faintly discernible in the forest. Perhaps because they had already gotten used to it over countless years, the miasma didn’t seem to affect them at all. The mountain range in the distance was also verdant and lush, appearing to be full of vitality.

The three women sighed in relief when they saw the presence of life. After all, there hadn’t been many living creatures in the places they had passed through previously. This place seemed to have more life by far.

The group created a simple wooden raft to float on the water. At the same time, they searched for traces of the Xiushe Snake.

After some time passed, Yan Xuehen wondered in puzzlement, “Do you think water this shallow can really hide a massive creature like the Xiushe Snake?”

At first, they had thought that only the areas nearest the shore were shallow. Even after traveling on the raft for so long, however, they didn’t find many areas that were more than a meter deep. Even the deepest parts were only a few meters deep at most. With their cultivation, they could even see the bottom of the lake. They really couldn't imagine a legendary giant monster hiding in such shallow waters.

“Look, there’s actually a group of elephants there,” Yu Yanluo said with a hint of excitement, pointing into the distance.

There were several elephants playing around in the water, looking simple and adorable. Because everything the group had experienced until then was too serious, when they saw that scene, they all relaxed quite a bit.

“Are these elephants not scared of falling into the marsh?” Zu An muttered to himself. In his previous world, when he watched nature programs, he had learned that elephants didn’t really have any natural predators. However, because of their tremendous body weight, it was easy for them to fall into mud and be unable to crawl back up. In the end, they could die from such a thing.

To be honest, a marsh didn’t suit elephants’ normal lifestyle at all. However, Zu An noticed that the elephants were slightly bigger than the African elephants of his previous world. When they moved, their muscles seemed to flow with ki. He quickly realized that this was a world of cultivation, so how could there be ordinary elephants? They were clearly monsters, and it seemed that they weren’t weak either.

The group of elephants eventually noticed Zu An’s group. The massive elephant in the lead stood up. Its trunk rose into the sky, revealing its long tusks. It roared at them, almost as if it were giving them a warning. Furthermore, judging from its posture, it looked as if it would launch an attack at any time.

Zu An laughed inwardly, thinking, As expected, regardless of which world it is, male elephants are still irascible in nature.

The group didn’t want to start a conflict with the elephants, so they tried to leave. Suddenly, however, a ferocious mouth burst through the water’s surface, viciously gobbling up the giant elephant that weighed more than a dozen tons in a single bite.

Zu An’s group was completely speechless.