The Frost Mole Beast was not very large. Once its entrails, head, and tail were removed, there was not much left to eat.
Before long, he had devoured the entire thing.
Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and between his fingers onto the colorless clothing. It quickly soaked into the fabric.
He licked the blood from his fingers, then carefully crouched down and drank the fresh blood that had pooled in a depression in the stone.
Only after meticulously eating everything edible did he lick his lips with an expression of lingering satisfaction.
Apparently, he still was not full.
A flicker of emotion crossed Yuan Shu’s eyes. She suddenly remembered how, before she had embarked on the path of cultivation, she had mingled with a group of beggars as a young child.
Back then, she had neither food nor clothing, and no way to make a living. She had been so hungry that stars danced before her eyes.
She, too, had once snatched raw food without a second thought.
Back then, she had looked just like this person before her—wary and fearful as she stared at the immortal standing in front of her.
Later, that immortal had become her master.
Had she looked just like this person back then?
A trace of compassion rose in her heart. Without giving it much thought, Yuan Shu took some cooked food from the Divine Tree’s space, wrapped it in spiritual power, and pushed it toward him.
“Roar!”
The sudden approach of the bundle frightened the man into jumping to his feet. He bared his teeth and snarled at Yuan Shu before smacking the food away with one hand.
Clearly, he had mistaken her for an enemy.
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow but did not make fun of him. Instead, she waved her hand and summoned the scattered food back.
In full view of him, she opened the package, picked up a piece of roast chicken, and held it up to him before putting it in her mouth and chewing. She demonstrated how to eat it.
Then she wrapped the package up again and used her spiritual power to carry it over to him.
“Go on. Eat.”
The disheveled man tilted his head, looking first at Yuan Shu and then at the package that had landed in front of him.
This time, he did not slap it away. He twitched his nose, catching the aroma of the food, and a look of surprise rippled through his green eyes.
Then, copying Yuan Shu’s movements, he opened the package and pulled out the roast chicken, holding it beneath his nose and sniffing it.
The savory scent of meat made his eyes light up. He hurriedly opened his mouth and took a large bite.
After tasting the delicious food, the light in his eyes seemed to grow even brighter. He took another huge bite, tearing off a large chunk of chicken.
“Smack, smack.” He chewed noisily, savoring every mouthful.
Yuan Shu smiled faintly. After glancing at him, she walked past the cavern and headed toward the entrance farther ahead.
Clatter, clatter.
The man shifted his crouching position. The meteoric-iron chains around his hands and feet dragged across the ground, ringing as they collided.
While wolfing down the chicken in his hands, he raised his head and watched Yuan Shu’s retreating figure without blinking.
His dark green eyes blinked twice.
…
Yuan Shu’s path was blocked by a formation.
The formation was fused with the stone wall. Layered over the rock, it possessed astonishing defensive power.
She clenched her fist, gathered spiritual energy, and struck down with one palm, but neither the formation nor the stone wall moved in the slightest.
Yuan Shu’s brows drew together. “Was this formation here when we came in?”
“I don’t think so.”
The Hehuan Divine Tree spoke from within her sea of consciousness, then changed its tone.
“But, Shushu, some formations are only triggered when touched. It’s possible that it was here all along and we simply didn’t notice it before entering.”
Yuan Shu frowned and walked along the side of the stone wall, sensing for the formation’s location. Yet the more she walked, the deeper her frown became.
There were formations at the entrances of several caverns in succession.
It seemed that the formation had surrounded the cavern from every direction!
“Quick, go back the way we came and take a look!” The Hehuan Divine Tree seemed to realize how serious the situation was, and its voice turned solemn.
Yuan Shu nodded and headed back.
As she passed the cavern from before, she once again saw the man chained inside.
His thin, lanky figure was crouched barefoot on the ground. In his hand, he held a chicken bone that had been gnawed completely clean, still chewing on it.
There was no meat left on the bone, but the salty, savory flavor of the cooked food had already seeped into it.
He chewed the chicken bone as though it were meat, making loud cracking sounds.
When he saw her, his dark green eyes suddenly lit up. He straightened and looked at her.
A hint of anticipation and excitement showed in his eyes.
He looked just like a dog seeing its owner.
Yuan Shu glanced at the chicken bone in his hand, which had been chewed down to half its original size. Taking a wild guess that he was still hungry, she simply took two roast ducks from the Hehuan Divine Tree and tossed them over.
The man hurriedly jumped up and caught them. He held them beneath his nose and sniffed, then happily backed up two steps and sat down again at the center of the chains before beginning to devour them.
Yuan Shu glanced at him twice but did not linger. She followed the route they had taken earlier and headed back.
It was only after retracing her steps that she finally discovered the problem.
When they had entered this cavern, they had broken through the stone wall. But when she tried to return, the hole in the wall had vanished.
In its place was a formation fused with the stone wall.
She clenched her fist again and attacked the wall, but no matter what she did, she could not break through!
“Damn it! We can get in, but we can’t get out? What kind of cursed place is this?”
Yuan Shu could not help cursing aloud.
Unwilling to accept defeat, she tried attacking several other directions, but all her efforts were fruitless.
The formation embedded in the stone wall had enveloped the entire cavern.
Its defensive power was so formidable that it was utterly beyond her ability to break!
“Shushu, why not ask that person from before?”
Seeing Yuan Shu fly into a rage and vent her frustration on the surrounding stone walls, only for each attack to vanish like a stone sinking into the sea, the Hehuan Divine Tree swallowed and spoke cautiously.
“He looks like he’s been here for a very long time. Maybe he knows something?”
Yuan Shu ground her teeth. Knowing that she had no other options, she could only nod and return once more to the previous cavern.
The disheveled man was still sitting on the ground. When he saw her return, his dark green eyes lit up again.
He rose from the ground and stared at her without blinking.
“Finished eating again?”
Yuan Shu was a little surprised as she glanced at the ground by his feet.
The roast duck and chicken bones had formed a small pile. Only the parts that were difficult to chew remained; everything easy to chew had been eaten, skin and bones alike.
Yuan Shu drew in a sharp breath. “You… just how hungry are you?”
He had eaten three whole roast ducks and chickens, yet there was no visible change at all. He still looked as though he were thinking, I’m hungry.
This time, Yuan Shu did not rush to feed him. Instead, she took a roast chicken from the Divine Tree’s space and pointed it at the man. “Do you want to eat?”
The man’s eyes lit up. He stared unblinkingly at the roast chicken in Yuan Shu’s hand, then pointed at his own mouth and spoke haltingly.
“Eat… eat…”
“Not so fast. Answer me a few questions, and I’ll give it to you.” Yuan Shu smiled as she explained, then began asking.
“Do you know whether there are any other demon beasts or strange spirit beasts in this place?”
The man looked at Yuan Shu, blinked, and tilted his head to the side, seemingly unable to understand what she was saying.
“Then do you know how to get out?” Yuan Shu frowned. Thinking he might not understand the first question, she tried another.
The man tilted his head again. His dark green eyes gazed at Yuan Shu in innocent confusion.
He seemed to be trying to figure out what she meant.
?
Yuan Shu’s brows furrowed. A strange feeling rose in her heart as she looked the man up and down and hesitantly asked,
“You… can’t speak?”
