Chapter 56

"I don't want to go in, it's pitch black inside." Lu Xiaodeng, with her hands behind her back, pouted and glared at the mud hole entrance hidden behind a large rock, which had just accommodated the Dung Ding.

Lu Yaoxiang had just dug a few ventilation holes inside the cave and placed some night-luminescent stones, feeling that staying there for a few days should be fine. She spoke earnestly, "Xiaodeng, the evil cultivators' hideout is not far from here. Although there is a town nearby, we can't be sure they haven't set up people to watch. When we fight, I won't be able to take care of you. The other day, you encountered over a dozen people alone outside, and I already regretted it. If I had known, I would have let you stay in the sect. At least that's the Cloud Sword Sect's territory, and generally, nothing unexpected would happen."

Bai Zhen had been watching the two of them carefully. When he heard this, he couldn't help but mock her in his heart. If it weren't for Lu Yaoxiang not trusting even the people in the sect, she wouldn't have insisted on bringing Lu Xiaodeng out. Now, they were dozens of times more dangerous than when they were in the sect. He really couldn't understand how such a smart person could become so foolish over Lu Xiaodeng.

This was her weakness. As long as Lu Xiaodeng was controlled, she could either go mad or be forced to surrender. If he hadn't reminded her, she might have really taken her to kill the evil cultivators.

These two didn't look like master and disciple at all; they looked more like mother and daughter. If it weren't for their similar ages, one might suspect that Lu Xiaodeng was her daughter.

Seeing the sulking Lu Xiaodeng, Lu Yaoxiang was at a loss. Her original intention was to bring Xiaodeng along because the various poisons she had could play a significant role and wouldn't be much of a burden.

However, after being reminded by Bai Zhen last night, she realized something. If Lu Xiaodeng were captured by the evil cultivators, she would be helpless. Lu Xiaodeng carried the lives of two people on her back, and there couldn't be any mistakes.

Considering this, she decided to dig a cave and hide her for a few days. She didn't put her in the nearby town because the evil cultivators had seen Xiaodeng and might recognize her. More importantly, she was afraid that Xiaodeng would get lost while playing, and who knew what trouble she might get into alone.

"I know, because I can't cultivate and have no strength, Senior Sister is afraid I'll be killed in the fight. After this is over, you must take me to play, or I'll be upset." Lu Xiaodeng wasn't being unreasonable. Seeing her senior sister covered in mud, she knew it was for her own good. Despite understanding, she still made a request, albeit unhappily.

Lu Yaoxiang breathed a sigh of relief. If Lu Xiaodeng wasn't willing to stay, she might have come out as soon as she left. She smiled and said, "Okay, after we're done, I'll take you wherever you want to play."

"Then I'll go in." Lu Xiaodeng dragged the Dung Ding into the cave and walked in sideways for a dozen steps, seeing a cave about six to seven zhang wide. A few rays of sunlight filtered through the ventilation holes in the rock crevices, while the rest of the cave relied on the night-luminescent stones.

She looked around, thinking how difficult it must have been for her senior sister to dig such a large cave, almost like a tomb.

Outside, Lu Yaoxiang called out a few times and gave some instructions not to run around, then pushed the large rock over to block the cave entrance. Bai Zhen found it quite amusing, wondering what kind of situation this was.

Feeling that this was temporarily safe, Lu Yaoxiang left with him to meet up with the other sect members.

Lu Xiaodeng, alone in the cave, idly counted the crystal beans in her hand. Time slowly passed, and the sunlight filtering through the ventilation holes slowly moved. When a beam of sunlight landed on her toes, she suddenly stood up.

"Alright, I remember there was a small town on the way here. I'll go play there." She had been bluffing Lu Yaoxiang. Although she usually didn't leave the sect, Lu Yaoxiang and Lu Dan were always busy and didn't have time to watch her.

She often ran around the entire Cloud Sword Sect, even visiting the dangerous basins many times. If Lu Yaoxiang knew, she would be furious. She had narrowly escaped death many times.

Lu Xiaodeng first went to the entrance of the cave and looked at the large rock blocking it, which was about three people tall from the ground. She couldn't fly, and pushing it was impossible, so she returned.

"What kind of beast transformation pill should I use, one for digging or one for strength?" She stared at the cave ceiling, thinking, and finally decided on the one for strength. She had obtained a beast core from a Bursting Ape and refined it into a beast transformation pill. The strength of that ape was immense, and it should be able to break through the cave ceiling, which was just soil, not stone.

Her eyes darted, and a red-striped beast transformation pill appeared in her mouth, which she bit into with her teeth. After a few breaths, a wave of energy surged from her body, and she had transformed into a half-ape.

Lu Xiaodeng stretched out her hand to see the red ape paws but found that her hands were still the same white, tender human hands. She was puzzled and searched her body, even touching her face, but found no signs of transformation.

"Is this a fake pill? No, I refined it myself, so I couldn't have made a mistake. There must be something wrong with the Bursting Ape." She muttered to herself, remembering that transforming into a snail and a double-crested rabbit a few days ago had been fine. What was wrong today?

Suddenly, Lu Xiaodeng felt a cool sensation on her buttocks and turned around, screaming. A monkey tail had grown from her buttocks, breaking through her pants, exposing her buttocks and tail. No wonder it felt cool.

"My luck with beast cores is really bad. Why did I only get a tail?" She knew that taking a beast transformation pill didn't guarantee useful transformations, but getting just a useless tail was extreme. On second thought, if she had gotten an ugly ape face, the tail wasn't so bad.

Sighing, Lu Xiaodeng dug out a pair of pants from the Dung Ding and put it on, tucking the tail inside. Although her outer robe covered the pants, she didn't want to cut a hole in the pants to expose the tail.

"I'll take another pill. In the blink of an eye, two beast cores are gone. I'll buy a few more in the city later." Lu Xiaodeng took another beast transformation pill, and this time, she got useful claws from a Ground Sinking Beast.

The Ground Sinking Beast was born to dig, and its claws were excellent at digging. She didn't exert much effort to break through the cave ceiling. She picked up the Dung Ding and climbed out, heading in the direction of the town.

The beast transformation pill only lasted for about half a cup of tea, and she returned to her original form on the way. After about an hour, she safely arrived at the small town she had seen on the road.

"So many mortals, not even a cultivator in sight." The guards at the city gate were all mortals. Although Lu Xiaodeng couldn't discern the cultivation levels of cultivators, she could tell the difference between mortals and those who could cultivate. This bustling small town had no cultivators at all.

This surprised her. After all, this was Yun Dan Province, definitely within the influence of some sect. With so many mortals living here, there should be a cultivation family managing it. However, the shops on the street were different from those in Luxing City, mostly selling items for mortals.

Lu Xiaodeng walked around the streets for a long time before finding a True Item Pavilion on the busiest East Street. If it weren't for the wind chime artifact hanging at the entrance, she wouldn't have recognized what the shop sold. She went in and looked around but was disappointed to find no beast cores.

She inquired and learned that the area was too peaceful, with no beast cores within five hundred miles. There were no spirit gathering places, and the terrain was mostly flat, with no mountains or forests for spirit herbs to grow.

Mortals lived here very comfortably, without cultivators bullying them. They farmed, wove, and raised pigs, living a pleasant life. The city's ruler, though from a cultivation family, was quite wealthy in the city but lived a simple life in the cultivation family.

Because it was a place of mortals, there were many small trinkets, which fascinated Lu Xiaodeng. Besides various shops and stalls, there were street performers and magicians, drawing crowds and applause.

Lu Xiaodeng already had windmills and small balls, and she didn't care for these mortal-made trinkets, which could easily break. She wasn't interested in delicious snacks, and her eyes were always searching for interesting small items. Suddenly, she was drawn to a stall surrounded by children. "Hmm, what's that?"

An old man sat by the roadside with a stand in front of him, on which many small figures were displayed. He grabbed something from a small box in front of him, quickly molded it, and a beautiful small figure appeared on a small wooden stick.

Almost every child had one, not only resembling the children in appearance but also in clothing. Seeing that they didn't eat the figures, Lu Xiaodeng thought they weren't for eating and curiously asked, "What is this?"

The old man looked up at her, stunned for a moment, and then examined her for a while before saying, "These are dough figures."

"Are dough figures edible?" Lu Xiaodeng leaned in to look, amazed by the many colors of the dough.

"No, they are for playing with. Do you want to buy one?" The old man asked kindly, his eyes lingering on her Dung Ding for a while.

Lu Xiaodeng nodded and said, "Sure, I'll buy one. But don't make it look like me. Make a tall one with a big chest and a fierce expression."

The old man had already started molding the figure as she spoke but stopped halfway. He then smiled and said, "How about we make one that looks like you first?"

"No, I want the one I described." Lu Xiaodeng shook her head. Of course, she wanted to make it look like her senior sister. What was the point of making it look like herself?

Unexpectedly, the old man firmly said, "Let's make you first, and then I'll make the one you described. It's hard to make someone who isn't here."

"Okay, then make two. Here are the crystal beans." Two was fine. Lu Xiaodeng was easy to talk to and grabbed a handful of crystal beans, asking, "How many crystal beans for two?"

The old man saw the crystal beans in her hand, immediately threw the almost finished dough figure back into the box, stood up, and carried the stand away without looking back. The seven or eight children surrounding him followed, still looking unsatisfied.

Lu Xiaodeng, holding the crystal beans, remained in a daze, her hand still outstretched. What was going on? Why wouldn't he sell her a dough figure?