Youmeng

Jiang Lu paused, sensing that aura approaching her.

The corners of her mouth curled up. It seemed the little thing couldn't wait any longer.

However, she didn't sense any danger. Gently spreading her divine sense outward, she quickly locked onto its figure.

It was incredibly small—so small that Jiang Lu had almost overlooked it.

Its tiny body was curled up on a leaf just an arm's length away from her, its crimson eyes filled with a trace of curiosity and confusion.

Jiang Lu turned her head, meeting its gaze directly. She licked her lips and leaned forward to inspect the little creature closely.

It was only about the size of a thin string, barely thicker than a strand of hair, and roughly five centimeters long. Its body was translucent and snow-white, covered in fine, soft fuzz. Perched on the leaf, it looked as though it were floating, with faint traces of cold air swirling around it.

It had a pair of large red eyes on its head. Realizing Jiang Lu was watching it, it tilted its head slightly and blinked at her a few times.

This little bug is actually quite pretty, Jiang Lu thought to herself.

However, in a place like this, a combination of white and red was never simple. Moreover, she had no recollection of this insect in her memories, meaning it was likely no ordinary venomous bug.

“Have you been following me this whole time?”

Jiang Lu spoke to it, not caring whether it could understand her.

The little bug tilted its head. Watching Jiang Lu's mouth open and close, it tried to guess what she was saying, but how could a tiny bug understand the human tongue?

Unless...

It stared at Jiang Lu for a few seconds before suddenly springing forward, landing right on her shoulder. Jiang Lu stiffened for a moment.

It nudged forward, seemingly checking if the scent on Jiang Lu's body could satisfy its needs.

Jiang Lu watched as it sniffed her repeatedly. Though she couldn't see its nose, she was absolutely certain that was what it was doing. It even crawled all the way around her.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu secretly thought that it was a good thing she was immune to all poisons. Otherwise, seeing a bug crawling on her like this would have made her jump ten meters into the air.

Finally, as if confirming something, it leaped onto Jiang Lu's hand. Its touch carried a slight chill as it crawled toward her fingertips.

Jiang Lu only felt a few light taps on her fingertip. This little bug had no legs, so how was it doing that?

However, ordinary bugs couldn't perform such taps. This only happened when a Gu insect was acknowledging a master and begging for blood.

Could this be a Gu insect?

“Are you a Gu insect?”

Jiang Lu asked in surprise.

Although the little bug couldn't understand human speech, it recognized the word “Gu” from her mouth.

It nodded. Indeed, it was the very Gu insect that everyone feared.

Gritting her teeth, she decided to take the gamble.

She squeezed a drop of blood from her fingertip, letting it hover in midair.

Smelling the sweet scent of the blood, the little bug's eyes instantly filled with greed.

It wanted it.

It had to have it!

The drop of blood merged completely into its body.

A faint red glow emanated from its body, and Jiang Lu felt a thread of connection form between them. Just like with Mengbao, this was not the power of a contract.

Instead, it was a bond formed when a spirit beast willingly acknowledged a master on its own. This bond placed constraints on the spirit beast but none on the master.

However, this could only happen if they willingly acknowledged a master; humans could not force it. Once they did, they could never betray their master, or they would die instantly. It was a beneficial arrangement for both sides.

The moment the bond was established, information about the creature flooded Jiang Lu's mind.

—The Ice-Cold Blood Gu, one of the top ten Gu insects in the cultivation world.

Born in extremely cold snow-capped mountains, its body was entirely translucent and snow-white. It radiated cold air and spun frost silk, feeding on toxic mountain herbs as well as highly venomous insects and ants.

It could neutralize most burning, hot poisons. If forcibly fed with a hundred different poisons, it would evolve into a Cold Poison Gu. Anyone infected would be frozen stiff, their blood flow stagnating, and their spiritual energy instantly dispersing.

Jiang Lu gently patted its head with her fingertip.

This little thing had left its snow mountain to come all the way to Misty Mountain alone. One must not look down on it just because of its size.

Now that it had fully matured into a Gu, it meant it had consumed no fewer than a hundred types of highly venomous insects and ants. With it by her side, she had an extra layer of security.

Gu insects were existences that even Mahayana powerhouses feared. As long as a physical body remained, no amount of powerful spiritual energy could stop their corrosion.

“From now on, your name shall be Youmeng.”

Youmeng.

A tiny sound escaped its body. Had Jiang Lu not been listening closely, she certainly wouldn't have noticed it.

“Go inside and help me manage those venomous insects, ants, and beasts.”

“Sss, sss—”

With their bond now active, it understood Jiang Lu's words. In an instant, it found itself inside her space.

Sensing the aura around it, it realized these were all the venomous creatures Jiang Lu had collected.

Food!

So much food!

It was incredibly excited. Its master's meaning was that it could raise these venomous insects as food to improve itself. This was wonderful!

It loved this—

As one of the top ten Gu insects, it knew the habits of all kinds of Gu and venomous bugs. Breeding them continuously would be a piece of cake.

It knew that someone with such sweet-scented blood could be no ordinary person. Now, wasn't it going to enjoy a life of luxury?

Sensing a new companion entering and learning that it was here to raise bugs, the light orb that had just floated by drifted right back.

It was better to go find Ling Xi. This bug was definitely not to its liking. Of course, it wasn't to Ling Xi's liking either.

Having settled this matter, Jiang Lu felt delighted.

Opening her map, she saw a cliff behind Cloud Mist Mountain.

As everyone knew, in cultivation novels, there were always some opportunities for the protagonist behind a cliff.

Since she was already here, she might as well make the trip. As for the protagonist's opportunities being snatched, that would only prove they weren't meant for her anyway.

This place wasn't far from the cliff. She ran out and took out a flying magic treasure.

This large, leaf-like flying magic treasure only required a single spirit stone to fly for a long time, making it the most common flying magic treasure in the cultivation world.

It was cheap and easy to refine.

She only needed to steer it, which was much simpler than flying on a sword.

The mist gradually dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky.

Sensing the long-lost fresh air, Jiang Lu took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she felt incredibly comfortable.

This was truly a wonderful place!

“Ouch!” she cried out. Her eyes flew open, and she rubbed her head.

What had she bumped into?

Sensing the massive shadow looming overhead, she put away her magic treasure and slowly looked up.

She was doomed!

She immediately spun around and ran back.

Oh my god, could someone please tell her why there was a Tieming Beast here?!

Tieming Beasts inhabited the undersides of damp rocks. This area was filled with rugged, jagged boulders, with countless water droplets trickling down into the crevices of the stones.

No wonder she had run into one.

Jiang Lu ran forward while it gave chase.

The heavy thuds of its body colliding with the rocks behind her made her heart race with fear.

This Tieming Beast was a Tier Three demon beast. Its thick layer of armor was incredibly difficult to break, and it could manipulate the surrounding rocks for its own use. She had to be extremely careful of her surroundings.