My tamed beasts can't be demons.

Chapter 43 Parasitic Plants by Division

Linxi Secret Realm is a paradise for insects.

Although small insects are not suitable for raising as spirit pets unless the mother insect is controlled, they are very important as part of the ecological environment.

Many birds, frogs, and other mythical creatures need these insects as food and even as materials for evolution.

Beside the stream where the white jade snail is found, countless palm-sized mosquitoes are flying around, buzzing as they search for blooming flowers to suck the sweet nectar.

Suddenly, a bright green creeping vine swept through the swarm of mosquitoes, swatting several unlucky mosquitoes.

However, the vine seemed to have simply swept across the area. The mosquito that was hit tumbled a few times in the air before quickly regaining its balance and flapping its wings to catch up with the main group.

However, after flying forward for a distance, their speed gradually decreased, and new green shoots appeared on their bodies.

In an instant, the new shoots began to grow wildly, and the white roots pierced directly through the mosquito's body. The plant grew rapidly and completely took the mosquito's life.

Driven by inertia, the blades of grass carried the remains of mosquitoes a short distance before finally landing on the soft soil.

In the blink of an eye, the mosquito that was just full of energy became an inconspicuous blade of grass in the forest.

Or rather, it is a dream of rain and flowers.

Within seconds, the mosquitoes that had just been hit by the vine met the same fate.

Their bodies became nutrients for the plants growing on them, and they lay eternally asleep in the soil.

"Well done, Hanabi!"

Zhou Lu, who was not far away, observed the behavior of these mosquitoes and excitedly waved his fist.

Fireworks, proud of receiving praise from its owner, tapped its shell with its vines.

In the last few days of the Forest Creek Secret Realm, Zhou Lu trained Hua Huo on the technique of shrinking herself down through the [Miniature Kingdom] and then parasitizing other creatures.

It must be said that the effect is quite remarkable.

Nowadays, the firework can not only perfectly parasitize mushrooms such as the 'Giant Mushroom', but also parasitize some small insects.

When the fireworks evolve and upgrade in the future, becoming even stronger, they might be able to parasitize large spirit beasts.

While it may not be as easy as killing insects to drain and kill large spirit beasts, absorbing their energy and unleashing vines to entangle them is still a very good effect.

At this stage, the most useful aspect of this technique is its ability to control the growth of juicy mushrooms.

With the parasitic divisions of the Firework, he no longer needed to worry about the backlash from the enlarged Delicious Mushroom. As long as he achieved his goal, he would immediately make the divisions grow wildly and destroy the Delicious Mushroom from the inside.

Moreover, it allows the propagated vines to work perfectly with the vigorous growth of the delicious mushrooms.

I wonder if this skill, once mastered, can solidify into a true ability, like the movement of fireworks.

As he spoke, Zhou Lu glanced at Hua Huo's Beast Taming Card.

A new skill has been added to the skill list: [Vine Walking]

[Walking with Vines]: A unique skill. Utilizes the constant switching between [Wild Growth] and [Walking Stems] to achieve the purpose of walking.

This skill is solidified into a technique after Hanabi's walking skills have reached a high level of proficiency.

Therefore, Zhou Lu had no doubt that the technique of division and parasitism, like that of fireworks, would solidify into an inherent skill once he mastered it.

Moreover, unlike [Walking with Vines], since other plant spirit beasts cannot learn [Lilliput], this parasitic propagation will be a unique skill of Hanabi.

Watching Hanabi, who was constantly whipping away flying insects with vines, Zhou Lu fell into thought.

Since the branches of the Fireworks plant can already parasitize other organisms, can I go a step further?

Some parasitic organisms can control the behavior of their hosts in certain ways.

For example, crab slaves who control crabs, and lateral snake and cordyceps fungi that control ants.

Hanabi has now begun to learn to parasitize by division. Is it possible to give Hanabi the ability to control the parasitic host through division in some way?

I don't know if similar skills exist in this world.

Fireworks seemed to have gotten tired of playing. It wrapped its vines around Zhou Lu's ankles, then used its skill to quickly shrink itself and skillfully climbed onto Zhou Lu's legs.

In no time, it was like a giant spider, quickly climbing up Zhou Lu's body and landing on its throne: on top of Zhou Lu's head.

Firework lazily rubbed Zhou Lu's ear with its vines, expressing its weariness.

This little blade of grass is really something; even though it's exhausted, it's unwilling to return to the Beast Taming Card to rest, preferring to rest on its own head.

I glanced at the time; the time allotted for exploring the secret realm for credit exchange was running out.

Zhou Lu returned to the camp, packed his things, and prepared to leave.

If you want to visit Linxi Secret Realm frequently, you can choose to rent a simple place to stay here.

However, Zhou Lu has no such plans for the time being.

After settling the accommodation fee, he raised his wrist and turned on the bracelet.

Lü Rang knocked on his door.

"There's still half an hour left before the exploration ends," Lü Rang said to Zhou Lu. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

Zhou Lu nodded.

Lu Rang gave Zhou Lu a deep look.

His training by the stream was conducted entirely under the observation of Lü Rang.

There's no other way around it. Since you've chosen to operate within the safe zone, you have to accept trading privacy for safety.

Zhou Lu actually knew this as well.

In the safe zone, no matter what you do, the safety instructor will always be nearby.

But he has a clear conscience and is upright, so there's nothing to hide.

Moreover, safety instructors like Lü Rang have signed confidentiality agreements, and the most stringent ones at that, personally supervised by Qiudaomu.

As Zhou Lu confirmed, the teleportation light shone brightly.

When Zhou Lu opened his eyes, he and Lü Rang had already returned to the Explorers Association.

Fireworks lay lazily on Zhou Lu's head.

Zhou Lu didn't stay at the Explorers' Association for long and went straight back to his dormitory.

He was about to begin preparations for his trip to the C0021 Mountain and River Secret Realm.

After the initial battle exams ended, the campus fell silent, and even the freshmen began preparing for their various exams.

Zhou Lu quickly returned to his dormitory.

He opened the door, paused for a moment, then silently stepped outside to take another look.

"Hey! You're back!" Xiao Xi's voice came from inside, which made Zhou Lu realize that he hadn't gone to the wrong dormitory.

Although Zhou Lu often cleans the dormitory, he doesn't clean it this tidy.

The books that were originally piled on the ground were tidied up and put back on the bookshelves, and those that couldn't fit were packed in cardboard boxes and piled up by the window.

As a result, the originally cramped dormitory suddenly became much more spacious.

"This is..." Zhou Lu looked at Xiao Xi in confusion.

"Hehe, since you're only home a few days a month anyway, it'd be a waste to leave it lying around, so I just cleaned it up a bit," Xiaoxi said with her hands on her hips. "This way, my room suddenly doubles in size!"

Zhou Lu looked at Xiao Xi speechlessly, then rummaged through his water glass, intending to take a sip first: "Where's my water glass?"

"That's too dirty, I threw it away..."

The next second, Xiaoxi looked at the vines around her waist and said helplessly, "It's just throwing a cup..."

Fireworks quickly swung Xiaoxi around.

I was the one who cleaned the room!

You stole my job, you little rascal, you're definitely up to no good!

And they even threw away their owner's water glass! Unforgivable!

"Ahhh! I'm so sorry! I was wrong!"

Xiaoxi's screams echoed down the corridor.

"Ugh! Don't put these weird things inside me! What is this?!"

(End of this chapter)