48: White Tooth's Past

After dealing with those scumbags, Xie Ning asked the Girl about her situation and learned that she was also a candidate for the Secret Realm Trial, but she had gotten lost in the forest.

"I have some business to attend to in the forest, and I'll be heading to the Secret Realm Trial later. If you're willing, you can follow me for now."

When Xie Ning finished speaking, the Girl was overjoyed and said with excitement, "Can I really?!"

After receiving a nod from Xie Ning, she looked delighted.

The Girl then recalled her Heavenly Star Bird and sat on Bai Ya's back, sprinting deeper into the forest with Xie Ning.

As the scenery flashed past her vision, the Girl looked at Xie Ning sitting in front of her, her thoughts unknown.

Ten minutes later.

Bai Ya slowly slowed down and eventually stopped beneath a massive tree.

"Is this the place?" Xie Ning asked.

Bai Ya gave a low response and then crouched on the ground.

Xie Ning got off its back and helped the Girl down to the ground.

During the previous escape, the Girl had exhausted too much physical strength. Her body was covered in several small scratches, and her clothes were torn in many places. Occasionally, she would even be slightly exposed when the wind blew. Getting down from the wolf's back was indeed not very convenient.

Once the two were on the ground, Bai Ya walked forward and raised a paw to knock on the tree. A blurry face slowly emerged on the trunk. Bai Ya barked 'Yoo-yoo' at it, seemingly conversing with it.

During this time, Xie Ning also checked the tree's attributes.

[Yao Beast Name] Thousand-Year Tree Demon (Good)

[Yao Beast Grade] Lord Low Grade

[Yao Beast Level] Gold Rank 10

[Yao Beast Attribute] Nature

[Yao Beast Weakness] Fire, Lightning

[Yao Beast Status] Surprised

[Yao Beast Talent] Natural Space

[Yao Beast Description] A thousand-year-old tree that evolved into a Yao Beast under the long-term nourishment of Spiritual Qi. Its long years have allowed it to see past prejudices. It is kind-hearted, dislikes conflict, and often helps small Yao Beasts store food.

[Evolution Path]... After reading the attributes, Xie Ning's pupils constricted.

No one would have expected that such an unpretentious tree was actually a Gold Rank 10 Yao Beast.

"How magical..." The Girl stared blankly at the Thousand-Year Tree Demon in front of her.

Xie Ning: "..."

After a while, the conversation seemed to end. The Thousand-Year Tree Demon appeared to glance at Xie Ning and then bent a branch down in front of Bai Ya. A flower bud on it slowly opened, revealing the items inside.

Bai Ya picked up the items in its mouth and came before Xie Ning.

Xie Ning asked, "Is this your savings from the past?"

Bai Ya nodded.

"I didn't expect that back when you were so small, you actually collected so many good things." There was surprise in Xie Ning's voice.

Bai Ya looked smug at this moment, its youthful voice full of pride: "Of course, I'm very clever. These were all picked up."

It was no wonder Xie Ning was surprised. Among the pile of items, most were spiritual Materials, along with four Black Iron Rank demon cores, a booklet so worn that the title was illegible, and a strange bead filled with fire-element energy.

Suddenly, Bai Ya's voice became aggrieved. It lay on the ground and began to recount its experiences. Of course, only Xie Ning could understand.

"After being kicked out, I kept running through the forest. Many Yao Beasts wanted to eat me, but I escaped them all. Later, I learned from other Yao Beasts that there's a type of person among humans who can help Yao Beasts become stronger.

Then I started collecting things. At first, everything I found was stolen by other Yao Beasts. Later, I met Tree Grandpa, and it was Tree Grandpa who helped me keep them safe so I wouldn't be robbed... I dug up many spiritual Materials and secretly dug out demon cores from dead Yao Beasts. That little notebook was left behind by a Yao Beast's master. Then I found a human and wanted to use these Materials to trade with him, to have him help me evolve, but..."

Bai Ya paused here, flames involuntarily erupting from its body, its eyes becoming angry.

Xie Ning raised his hand and gently stroked its head, comforting it with soft words.

Soon, Bai Ya's emotions calmed down. It looked at Xie Ning with a complicated gaze:

"Why are you humans so different? You are so good, but that person wanted to capture me. He wouldn't help me evolve and wanted to steal the things I collected.

After being caught, I escaped secretly. Chased by that human's Yao Beast, I fled into the territory of the Spider King, a place I didn't dare go before, and ended up being caught by it... After that human and his Yao Beast left, I started calling for help. I still wanted to become stronger and didn't want to be eaten. But I didn't expect the Spider King's web to be poisonous. Just when I thought I was about to die, Master appeared."

Listening to Bai Ya finish its story, Xie Ning patted its head with heartache and said teasingly, "I remember, your voice was loud enough back then. I could hear it from hundreds of meters away."

After comforting Bai Ya with a few gentle words, Xie Ning gave the fire-element demon core from the set to Bai Ya to eat as a snack, put the other three away, and then picked up the bead filled with fire elements, looking surprised.

The fire-element energy in this bead was massive, even seemingly endless.

"Bai Ya, where did you get this bead?" Xie Ning asked.

Bai Ya gave a low cry, which in Xie Ning's ears translated to, "It fell from the sky."

Hearing this, Xie Ning was stunned for a moment, but he didn't take it to heart. He placed the bead into Bai Ya's mouth: "Eat it. Use your Talent to absorb it bit by bit. Your flames will be even more powerful in the future."

Bai Ya used its Talent, and a burst of flame appeared in its mouth, enveloping the bead. However, it didn't go into its stomach but floated up and merged into its upper palate, seemingly coming to rest in its head.

Subsequently, Bai Ya entered a certain state. The flames on its body rapidly flared up, while it remained motionless.

Xie Ning and the Girl retreated a full twenty meters before they felt the heat was no longer so oppressive.

"What powerful flames..." The Girl looked at the rising fire in the distance, her face full of shock.

Xie Ning also nodded. At this moment, he shared the same thought.

Seeing that Bai Ya was still in a state of comprehension, Xie Ning picked up the last item it had brought, a worn-out little booklet.

The characters on the cover had been weathered away, making it impossible to see what was written. Opening the first page, it discussed the origin of elements and the possibility of humans utilizing them.

Starting from the second page, it talked about experiments of elements on humans... The fifth page discussed the refinement of the experiments... The tenth page... As he read page by page, Xie Ning became increasingly shocked. He flipped directly to the last page, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

"What's wrong?" the Girl asked curiously.

Xie Ning shook his head and replied, "Nothing. I was just shocked by this experiment. This booklet actually records experiments on humans utilizing elements."

"Humans using elements? How could that be possible?" the Girl replied with a laugh.

Xie Ning nodded along, but in his heart, he thought otherwise, because the last page contained nothing other than the Beast Taming Skill—Elemental Sharing.

In other words, the final result of this experiment was successful, but it had taken a detour. Instead of absorbing the elements themselves, it became about borrowing the elements of the Demon Tamers Beast.

Just then, the roar of flames sounded, and the two looked toward the source.

They saw that Bai Ya's originally deep red flames had darkened several shades, approaching a purple-red. The flames on its body condensed into a fire giant wolf nearly ten meters tall. The leaping flames were like its fur, adding a touch of vividness to it.

These flames, layer upon layer, overlapped to form an extremely dense fire space. The surging flames also caused the temperature to rise, forcing the two to retreat again, stopping only when they were thirty meters away.

After a few breaths, the flames quickly returned to Bai Ya's body like a beast returning to its cage. Its body length grew slightly, though it wasn't very obvious.

[Ding! Poison Flame White Wolf stimulated its potential during comprehension. Reward: intermediate energy potion *2]

Xie Ning quickly checked Bai Ya's attributes.

[Yao Beast Name] Poison Flame White Wolf

[Yao Beast Grade] Excellent High Grade

[Yao Beast Level] Bronze Rank 3

[Yao Beast Attribute] Fire, Poison

[Yao Beast Weakness] Water

[Yao Beast Status] Excited

[Yao Beast Talent] Fire Source Evolution (Description: Has a certain chance to devour other flames to grow itself)

[Yao Beast Description] Offspring of the Gold Yao Beast Crimson Fire Wolf King (Lord). After consuming heart fire stamen and Poison Flame, it has a very deep understanding of fire. It has a resilient personality and is not easily defeated.

[Evolution Path] 9 paths

Bai Ya was still a Poison Flame White Wolf, but because of that bead, its level increased by 1, and its potential was awakened once.

"Next, we should head to the Secret Realm Trial. Time is a bit tight, so we need to hurry." Xie Ning said to the Girl after giving a bottle of intermediate energy potion to Bai Ya to take to the Thousand-Year Tree Demon.

The Girl nodded repeatedly; she was eager to reach the Secret Realm as soon as possible.

Subsequently, the two rode Bai Ya and sped toward the northern part of Flower City. After the upgrade, Bai Ya's speed was even greater than before.