[Ding! Ling Qingxue's favorability increased by 20%, currently at 50%. Devouring All Things talent increased at 50%.]
Wu Liang smoothed the few stray hairs on his head, a smile on his face.
"Hehe, Little Grumpy Empress, you've been impressed by my personality once again."
Breaking through to the early-stage of the First Level only two days after hatching, who else could do that?!
System, I give you a thumbs up.
[Host, you flatter me. Please continue your efforts.]
Wu Liang shuffled towards Ling Qingxue.
"Little Xuexue, quickly take me deeper into the mine to eat more Scarlet Sun Iron Ore! The more I eat, the stronger I become!"
Hearing this, Ling Qingxue picked him up and placed him on her shoulder.
But Wu Liang hopped up onto her head.
He wanted to stand up higher to see farther away; too bad the mountain peaks couldn't be seen from there. So he hopped back onto her shoulder and settled in comfortably to take in the view.
Ling Qingxue frowned deeply. "Don't jump around on me, or you'll have to walk by yourself!"
He'd already broken through to the First Level early-stage, yet he still needed her to carry him!
"Don't get mad, I was just testing where it feels better. Give me a bath when we get back, okay? I haven't had one since I was born."
Ling Qingxue's face darkened, but she simply shut her mouth and walked into the mine.
She had a quiet personality and didn't like noise. Now that she had made a contract with the chatterbox Wu Liang, she was in for a really tough time.
"Do you possess the bloodline of the ancient ferocious beast Taotie?" Ling Qingxue asked softly.
Wu Liang displayed a smug grin.
"As expected of the reborn Grumpy Empress, you figured it out so fast. I am a divine beast possessing the bloodline of Taotie. In the future, I will take you to great heights."
Even with Wu Liang's confirmation, Ling Qingxue still found it hard to believe.
The Taotie bloodline disappeared in ancient times and hadn't appeared for tens of thousands of years.
Furthermore, bloodlines like the Taotie, one of the Four Fiends*, along with those of the Divine Dragon and Divine Phoenix, could not be easily contracted by humans.
Because of their inherent arrogance, they did not consider humans qualified to contract them.
Furthermore, if such bloodlines were not pure enough, their advancement to Godhood became even more difficult.
Obtaining even a slight increase in bloodline purity was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
But once these elite bloodlines achieved Godhood, they were invincible, truly a game-changer.
The Taotie devours the heavens and the earth, consuming almost everything; all attacks were meaningless before it.
"So, am I destined to go higher in this life than in my previous one?"
Having regretted three times, the Empress was, for the first time, somewhat grateful for her choice.
Perhaps one day, she really would be carried to new heights by Wu Liang.
"Little Xuexue, I smell blood. It seems to be from one person. Be careful."
Ling Qingxue turned her head to look at him.
"Can you deduce something about this person?"
Wu Liang touched his chin with his little paw.
"The blood is from three hours ago. It smells very fresh. The person should be about your age. There's a girl's unique perfume scent in the air, and a milky fragrance… Oh, sorry, the milky fragrance is yours. What shower gel do you usually use? It smells so good. Can I use it when we get home?"
Ling Qingxue clenched her fists, her chest heaving.
Wu Liang stared with wide eyes, drooling.
Whoa, this has already reached the standard of E-level talent.
My Grumpy Empress is too fierce!
Ling Qingxue's ears turned pink, and her body temperature rose slightly.
She was really furious.
She tugged at her collar, covering her unintentionally revealed cleavage.
"Don't look where you shouldn't, or you'll have to go down there yourself!" Ling Qingxue gritted her teeth.
Wu Liang pursed his lip, feeling a pang of regret.
You should flatter me now, so I'll take you to new heights later. You don't even know how to invest.
So stingy, what's wrong with a quick peek?
"Based on the information you gave me, it's highly likely it's Zhao Xin. The Wolf Fang Squad happens to be nearby, and Zhao Xin might be injured and has hidden in this mine."
"Should we rescue her?" Wu Liang asked.
Ling Qingxue raised an eyebrow slightly. "We can't rescue her. The Wolf Fang Squad's strength is beyond my limits. Helping her will only drag us down."
The treasures in the low-level secret place controlled by the City Lord were decent, but not as important as her life.
Zhao Xin was injured. If the city guards couldn't find this place, she was destined to be captured by the Wolf Fang Squad, repeating her fate from her previous life.
Her strength was limited, even if she was a reborn Empress.
"She's a living being after all. It's such a pity to let her be raped and killed, isn't it?"
"You want to save her?" Ling Qingxue asked calmly.
"Um... I want her to give me more spiritual herbs so I can evolve quicker."
This is the City Lord's daughter. If we save her, we'll definitely get a lot of good stuff.
Then I can exchange all of them for spiritual herbs and gain a large number of evolution points, enough for my second evolution.
He even refrained from upgrading that insane "Damage Reduction" skill; heaven knows how hard he endured it.
Ling Qingxue remained silent for a long time.
"Our success rate is less than 20%, and it largely depends on the speed at which the City Lord's guards arrive."
The sound of Bai Ya's self-destruction was very loud; most likely, the guards had heard it.
However, no one could be certain how long it would take for them to arrive.
At this time, the City Lord didn't know that the Wolf Fang Squad was trying to capture Zhao Xin; it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Even if the City Lord's guards and the Wolf Fang Squad encountered each other, it would be of no use.
"Little Xuexue, we need to use our brains! How come you're even dumber than me…" Wu Liang complained.
Ling Qingxue: "???"
A sly glint flashed in Wu Liang's eyes.
"We're in a mine right now. Even a Second Rank early-stage martial artist would be severely injured if the mine collapsed, even if they didn't die."
Ling Qingxue's eyes brightened slightly, and she subconsciously looked at the stone wall above her.
This place was man-made, and the soil and rock structure were unstable.
If she used a spirit formation to disrupt the mine's rock structure, it would be like planting a time bomb. She could trigger a collapse with her spiritual power, potentially crushing the Wolf Fang Squad members to death.
Second Rank martial artists were still mortals, and even Third Ranks were no exception.
The physical abilities of low-ranked martial artists were essentially not that different; a disaster of the magnitude of a mine collapse could easily turn them into mincemeat.
"But how do we get out? At best, I can guarantee we won't get crushed to death," Ling Qingxue asked.
Wu Liang raised his chin, adopting a savior-like posture.
"The final cleanup is my job, of course. Even if the cave collapses, I can still eat my way through, and pretty fast too."
He was now a First Level early-stage magical beast; his four skills were greatly improved, and his defense was approaching 300.
He could refine ordinary stones instantly, taking up no stomach space at all. Only ores like Scarlet Sun Iron Ore required some time to digest.
His level 4 "Gluttonous Stomach" had a space of 40 cubic meters; eating his way through was nothing.
And if that wasn't enough, his evolution points could support the upgrade of his "Gluttonous Stomach" by one level!
Level 5 "Gluttonous Stomach" required 20 evolution points, and he still had 48.
[Host: Wu Liang]
[Beast: Devouring Beast (Next Form: Glutton Beast, Evolution Points required: 100)]
[Rank: First Level early-stage]
[Talent: Devouring All Things (50%)]
[Bloodline: Low-Level two-star]
[Attack: 145]
[Defense: 260]
[Speed: 101]
[Spirit: 165]
[Evolution Points: 48]
[Skills: Gluttonous Stomach Lv. 4, Greed Lv. 1, Damage Reduction Lv. 1, Size Control Lv. 1, Supernatural Smell Lv. 3]