Stop pretending, the seemingly useless junior sister is the real boss.

When Bai Xiaobai opened her eyes again, she was already in a spacious cave in the Monster Forest.

She was a small, soft ball leaning against Ah Yin. As soon as she opened her eyes, she hurriedly looked around.

Only when he caught a glimpse of the red-clad sword spirit hovering quietly not far away did his heart finally settle down.

Her soft, sweet voice still sounded somewhat weak.

"Sister Changling, you really don't hold back at all. I'm just a small body, how much blood can I possibly give you?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Yin and Xuan Hu could only laugh inwardly.

She was the one who recklessly rushed forward; she really is a stubborn little thing with a soft heart.

Changling, unusually, did not refute, but thanked the little baby who was pouting.

"Thanks."

Although it was still the same languid, mature female voice, for some reason, Bai Xiaobai felt that this voice was somewhat different from the one of Chang Ling, who used to love to talk a lot.

I'm not used to this kind of long-lived spirit.

She still preferred the arrogant and always confrontational beautiful sword spirit from before.

"What, are you complaining that I didn't drink enough? Or are you deliberately trying to trick me into going over there to be your blood bag? You cunning Changling, all you have is a sword. If you do this again, I won't save you."

In the past, Changling would have given her a few sarcastic remarks.

But this time, it said nothing.

The red-clad sword spirit glanced deeply at the pale-faced little dumpling and smiled at her.

"The demon core of that Shadow Wolf is too powerful; it's not suitable for you to absorb right now. Let's start with the lower-level ones. I'll go outside and protect you."

After saying that, without waiting for Bai Xiaobai to say anything, a white streak of light flashed by, and Chang Ling's figure disappeared.

This extreme, almost insane speed astonished Bai Xiaobai.

"So it's upgraded? The rust on the sword is gone, the nicks are much smoother, and this speed is terrifying. But why does it seem unhappy? Could it be because it was injured by a ferocious beast and its pride was hurt?"

Ah Yin pushed a large pile of colorful demon cores next to her and said with a smile.

"Perhaps, maybe, it feels a little guilty, after all, it didn't expect you to risk your life to save a sword."

The black tiger beside him also nodded its large tiger head.

"Exactly, I was terrified. You were too reckless. Although the natural disaster is indeed a unique sword, it wanted to kill its master. No matter how powerful the sword is, it should not be kept. But you recklessly tried to save it."

"You have no idea how miserable the Shadow Wolves and the other ferocious beasts were. They were all cut into pieces. It was a one-sided massacre. I still feel scared when I think about that scene. I was afraid that the bloodthirsty Calamity would have chopped me and Ah Yin up too."

Xuanhu's words surprised Bai Xiaobai even more.

She glanced at the mountain of demon cores and could easily imagine the scene that had unfolded in the "Mysterious Beast Realm".

She glanced in the direction Changling had left, and a silent smile crept onto her lips.

He doesn't seem to be a heartless guy, so the blood he lost wasn't a complete waste.

Now that I have the demon core and the spirit testing stone, it's indeed time to improve my cultivation.

With a thought, the spirit-testing stone in her storage bag appeared before her eyes.

Xuanhu had never heard of a spirit-testing stone being helpful for cultivation, so he wanted to take a closer look at what was so special about this broken stone.

But before it could even get close, Ah Yin swatted its big head away with a single claw.

"Young master needs to cultivate, so hurry up and go out to protect him."

Xuanhu looked utterly aggrieved, thinking that at least they had gone through life and death together in the "Secret Realm of Ferocious Beasts".

So their relationship should have become much closer, but who would have thought that the force of the slap didn't lessen at all.

At this rate, when will it ever achieve a fulfilling life?

That's it, that's it.

Let's go protect the Dharma first.

After Xuanhu left, Ayin rubbed Bai Xiaobai's little head.

"Young master, you can focus on your cultivation. Ah Yin will be right here watching over you."

Bai Xiaobai stroked Ah Yin's soft fur and nodded.

The smooth surface of the spirit stone was just like a meditation cushion, perfect for her to sit cross-legged in meditation.

With a first-tier demon beast's core in her palm, Bai Xiaobai began her five-month cultivation journey.

With the spirit-gathering effect of the spirit-testing stone, the absorbed spiritual energy is indeed transformed into spiritual power in the body.

Moreover, with the help of the demon core, the cultivation is progressing very smoothly.

However, smooth sailing does not equate to success, because her strength has not increased at all; she remains at the first level of Qi Refining.

However, her sea of ​​consciousness has expanded considerably.

Although it was still a vast expanse of white, she had explored it and found that the area had expanded by more than ten times compared to before.

Although his sea of ​​consciousness had expanded considerably, he still couldn't enter his divine consciousness space.

She still missed the treasures she had stored in her spiritual space when she was in the spirit world.

However, it seems that she is currently unable to explore her own spiritual space.

However, she remembered her snake parents' instructions and did not tell Changling and Ayin about her sea of ​​consciousness and divine space.

During these five months, she went to the "Beast Realm" several times to hone her skills.

Although they were still very weak, with Changling and Ayin around, they didn't encounter any danger.

Even with the combat experience he gained, the numerous demon cores he absorbed, and the aid of the spirit-testing stones, his strength shouldn't remain at the first level of Qi Refining, no matter how weak he is.

Even Changling, a sword that has existed for thousands of years, is completely baffled by this.

After absorbing the last demon core, Bai Xiaobai shook his head again as he looked at Ah Yin and Xuan Hu who had surrounded him.

"Apart from the initial spiritual energy, the rest of the spiritual energy gained through cultivation has still disappeared without a trace."

Xuanhu exclaimed in surprise.

"So where does spiritual energy go? Do you have some kind of thing inside you that specifically devours spiritual energy?"

Bai Xiaobai had her doubts about this.

She even suspected that something existed in her sea of ​​consciousness, and even suspected that the divine consciousness space had devoured her spiritual power.

But why has the spiritual power she accidentally absorbed from the sect leader and other elders persisted?

So it still doesn't make sense.

Five months have passed, and the sect competition is less than a month away.

Since my strength hasn't improved at all in the Monster Forest, there's no need for me to stay here any longer.

Bai Xiaobai was clearly disappointed. After all, she had worked hard for five months, but her strength hadn't improved at all. It would be a lie to say she didn't care.

Ah Yin comforted him, "It's alright, young master. Some cultivators cultivate for a hundred years and their strength may not increase much. It's only been five months, don't be discouraged. Besides, you haven't gained nothing in these five months."

Hearing what Ah Yin said, Bai Xiaobai's low spirits finally lifted a little.