Xishu Garden, Prince Du's Mansion.

Yang Qingqing stood at the door on the 16th floor. At her fingertip coiled a supple flower stem, which she deftly slipped into the keyhole.

"Click~"

With a gentle twist of the slender flower stem, the so-called security door was opened with ease.

Of course, if Yang Qingqing wanted, she wouldn't have to be so gentle—she could've just ripped the door off with one hand if she felt like it…

Ordinary security measures in society clearly weren't enough to stop a powerful Demon Tamer.

But don't forget, within Prince Du's Mansion, there was a Spirit Level Firewood Tree, so this definitely wasn't a place just anybody could sneak in and cause trouble.

The Firewood Tree instantly became displeased!

Let me see, who's got the guts of a Chi Bear and a leopard to dare sneak into my house… Huh?

The rapidly extending firethorn branch came to a sudden halt in front of the entrance!

Obviously, it realized who the visitor was.

The Firewood Tree's glowing branch-whip instantly reverted to soft twigs and leaves, obediently sliding to the mistress's side and gently brushing her palm with its leaves.

"Mmm, long time no see." Yang Qingqing smiled, responding to the Firewood Tree's greeting, and gently patted the leaves beside her hand.

"Where's Du Yu?" The woman walked into the room, looking at the bright, clean home, quite satisfied.

Though there was a change of owners, the Firewood Tree had kept its good habits, still cleaning the house every day.

"Shasha~" As the flourishing branches swayed, Yang Qingqing nodded.

Ten Thousand Plants Garden, huh?

"Ng!" From deep within the thick canopy, a faint whimper emerged.

Yang Qingqing raised an eyebrow. Her disciple had hidden a Demon Pet at home?

She stepped to the northeast corner of the living room, coming to a huge flowerpot. Pushing aside the thick leaves with one hand, she couldn't help but laugh: "Hehe~"

There was Little Tai Sui, trapped between the Firewood Tree's four main trunks. The poor cub must have just woken up, found himself smothered in leaves, and was now quite bewildered…

Yang Qingqing grabbed one of Tai Sui's stubby legs and pulled him out directly.

The mistress rescuing the cub, the Firewood Tree naturally dared not block; the layers of leaves stacked around the trunk quickly scattered to make way.

"Ng~" Dangling by his short leg, Little Tai Sui swung back and forth in the air.

Seeing Master Qing's reflection, Little Tai Sui immediately broke into a broad smile, struggling to right himself, only to be placed on the ground by the woman.

"You two go ahead and play." Yang Qingqing said casually, summoning the Forbidden City out.

"Ng?"

"Ng!" The two little fluff balls immediately tumbled into a pile.

Back in the Red Bamboo Courtyard, the two little ones had already been attracted to each other.

Though still young, their minds had been awakened by Contract, and no matter how many Chi Bears there were in the Red Bamboo Courtyard, they knew in their hearts who was one of their own.

Now that they'd left the Bamboo Grove, it was even harder to run into other kin, so all they had was each other for company.

Witnessing such a warm scene, Yang Qingqing gave up her plans to leave for now. She retreated to the sofa, and slowly sat herself down.

As time passed, Yang Qingqing habitually curled up in the sofa.

She lazily rubbed her long hair and softly said: "Why don't you two practice Staff Technique together."

The two Chi Bears were still young, and their play had no boundaries—it was only right to guide them properly.

"Swish!"

The Firewood Tree was very obedient. A few branches immediately swung toward the two round cubs.

"Ng~"

"Ng!" Forbidden City and Little Tai Sui could of course understand human speech, and were mentally prepared.

One following the other, Bamboo Leaf Cloaks appeared around their bodies, and Bamboo Sticks materialized in their paws.

It was precisely at this moment that Yang Qingqing's eyes tensed, and she sat upright slowly.

This scene… She'd seen it before!

Inside the Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool!

No wonder, when she saw this image back then, all she felt was comfort, warmth, and a hint of anticipation.

Turns out, it was in this very setting.

Not only was the scene identical, but even her internal emotions were exactly the same?

This…

Yang Qingqing's expression grew grave. No matter how powerful she'd become, she always maintained a sense of awe toward this bizarre Demon Taming World.

But this Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool—was its effect not a little too shocking?

Yang Qingqing even felt a chill run down her spine!

She had reason to believe the Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool was afraid she wouldn't believe, so it added an extra layer of insurance.

You know, such a peaceful day-to-day couldn't possibly offer Yang Qingqing any insight into life.

So its only purpose could be to make her take the second scenario seriously!

Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool… had it really predicted this far ahead?

"Mmm…" Yang Qingqing put a hand to her forehead. After over ten years of cultivation, she'd never seen anything this strange.

Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool, just what is your origin?

While Yang Qingqing was deep in anxious thought, far off in Ten Thousand Plants Garden, Du Yu was in an excellent mood.

"No wonder they call it Ten Thousand Plants Garden—rightly so!" Du Yu held his phone in one hand, gazing at a towering Ancient Wood tree not far away, mumbling to himself.

His other hand rested on a low tree beside him, his fingers picking at the bark.

This little tree was quite special—its leaves were huge and pale blue, and spiraled all around the trunk in soft blue swirls, quite exquisite.

Wood and Water dual-attribute Demon Plant—Blue Ring Tree.

Little Fen Yang's voice was anxious and disgruntled: "Hey! Stupid Du Yu, hurry up and peel it off!"

"Oh." Du Yu peeled off a small chunk of bark.

Little Fen Yang instantly cheered: "Mmm~ That feels so good."

Burning Sun Joy Garden?

Du Yu felt odd, sticking the little piece of bark he'd just picked back onto the Blue Ring Tree.

The Blue Ring Tree dared not move an inch, especially since Xiaoyan was still perched on Du Yu's shoulder, eyeing it like a hawk.

Just a moment ago, it had tried to pat the young human passing by with its big fan-like leaf.

But the big leaf had been whapped right back by Xiaoyan's tail, with a crisp snap!

"Oh?" Du Yu was still scanning Demon Plants when suddenly he spotted something major by accident.

"Hidden Blade Mantis, Wood and Wind Dual Demon Beast, Insect Race.

Named for the slender blades on its forelimbs and skill at camouflage.

The Hidden Blade Mantis is a born hunter and master of disguise, able to mimic dead leaves, branches, flowers and all sorts of environmental features.

Its nature is aggressive and forceful, with high attack and great growth potential.

Power Level assessment in progress…

Celestial Level·Great Success Stage ~ Celestial Level·Peak Stage. Actual power depends on circumstances, catalog detection for reference only.

Common Demon Skills: 1. Instant Wind Slash…"

Du Yu put down his phone and looked up, inwardly impressed.

No wonder it's called a master of disguise!

This Hidden Blade Mantis was over one meter long; if you put it into the normal human world as a mantis, humans wouldn't stand a chance.

With such a size, the Hidden Blade Mantis should have been highly conspicuous.

Yet lying on the trunk, its skin color blended perfectly with the tree itself.

Du Yu thought it through and decided not to provoke it, planning to take a detour and head onward to Zone 6.

But he'd only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a strange noise!

"Whoosh~"

It was the sound of a blade slicing through air!

Du Yu immediately turned to look. On the massive trunk where the Hidden Blade Mantis had been, there was now no trace of it.

On another tree closer to Du Yu, a giant mantis was now crouched, its skin coloring shifting, merging once more with the brown trunk.

However, no matter how good its camouflage, it couldn't fool Du Yu's Eye of Burning Sun.

"Heh?" Du Yu put away his phone and took the Demon Soldier· Orange Juice slung across his shoulder.

He didn't want to provoke it, but the hunter wanted a meal, huh?

It's worth mentioning: the Ten Thousand Plants Garden was no longer a Newbie Level Demon Spirit Realm.

Though there was still a Demon Spirit Squad stationed here, their numbers were fewer, and they were no longer "babysitters."

For Demon Beasts beyond the Realm's level, the soldiers would patrol and clear them out on a schedule, but they wouldn't handle every problem as soon as it popped up like in the Newbie Realm.

And no matter how many or how few Demon Beasts lurked in these woods, the Great Xia authorities would never restock them.

But the biggest change was this: here, nobody guaranteed your safety.

In the Newbie Realm, if you cried for help, within 20–30 seconds soldiers would come charging in. If you got lucky, there might be a patrol nearby ready to rescue you offhandedly.

But here, you can only count on your own luck.

The Demon Spirit Squad's main focus was now the outskirts of Ten Thousand Plants Garden, to stop Demon Beasts from escaping the Realm, or Demon Plants from invading human society.

So most Demon Tamers entered the Garden in teams, so they could watch out for each other.

Someone like Du Yu, a lone adventurer, made for the perfect hunting target.

"Xiaoyan, get ready for battle." Du Yu reminded Lord Yan through their Contract.

"Ng~" Xiaoyan curled her long tail around Du Yu's neck, head held proud and high, full of confidence.

"Our opponent might very well be a Celestial-level Peak Demon Beast." Du Yu continued the silent communication.

He didn't attack his foe, instead continuing to walk ahead.

"Whoosh~"

Another strange sound. Compared to the mantis' wingbeats, the razor-sharp sound of its blade slicing the air was even more distinct.

Which just showed how fast it really was!

"Ng~"

"Heh, yeah." Du Yu suddenly smiled, replying to Lord Yan, "Feels really familiar, doesn't it?"

As he spoke, Du Yu hefted Demon Soldier Orange Juice. The Demon Arrow Array engraved on the bow's grip began to glow: "After months away, we're back to relying on just the two of us again."

"Ng!" Xiaoyan seemed to really miss these days. Her three bushy tails swirled around, each in turn brushing Du Yu's cheek affectionately.

With such composure, she truly wasn't taking their opponent seriously!

And this display of intimacy between man and fox finally ignited the hunter's fury!

The sharp-eyed hunter had already realized that this human had spotted it.

But all those little displays between Du Yu and his Demon Pet…

Good! Very good!

"Whoosh~"

As the sound of the blade came from behind, Du Yu swiftly nocked an arrow and drew his bow!

Skillful, unhurried, perfectly at ease.

As he twisted to look, Demon Soldier Orange Juice, previously scorched and blackened by overuse, suddenly flared with light as if ignited.

The Orange Tree Essence inside liquefied, flowing steadily—the effect was stunning!

"Whoosh!" A bright orange arrow hurtled straight toward the Hidden Blade Mantis!

"Buzz!" The mantis's wings roared to life, beating furiously.

Its huge compound eyes stared fixedly at Du Yu, and its forelimb blades—each nearly half a meter—carved an "X" before its chest.

"Slash!"

The Orange Juice Arrow was instantly split into two!

Yet the tip-carrying forward half stubbornly charged on, striking precisely at the mantis's triangular head.

"Ding!" rang a crisp sound!

The Hidden Blade Mantis was full of disbelief!

It had rushed forward at full speed and taken barely any damage—its Demon Breath Battle Robe wasn't even torn—yet it was knocked back three or four meters?!

Demon Arrow Array·Orange Juice Arrow!

"Ng!" Hu Xiaoyan let out a sweet fox cry.

As the Hidden Blade Mantis was launched backwards, uncontrollable, three fox tails burst into flowing flame and shot out in rapid succession.

The light was dazzling, radiant streaks everywhere!

"Rumble—!"

Du Yu tilted his head a little, nuzzling Xiaoyan's soft fur: "It's almost been a year, but we're finally true experts now."

True strength is born from hearts forged under fire and battle!

"Ooooo~~~"

The melodious fox cries echoed through the mountain forest!

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