Chapter 160 - 159: About to Advance

But the report she received was that the teams led by Feng Qiwu had already departed early.

They had all agreed to depart at the same time, so they never expected to be backstabbed. He Yushu’s team was furious with them, but since they were already gone, there was nothing to be done.

Once they realized what had happened, they set off immediately, but by then, the sky was already growing light.

After hearing this, Chu Liangyu couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Among the three of them—Feng Qiwu, Xiang Qiancheng, and Yu Tu—Chu Liangyu knew without even thinking that the only one capable of pulling something like this was Feng Qiwu.

As for why he left in such a rush, it was undoubtedly to snatch the credit for himself in front of her. The other reason involved Chi Yizhong; he was afraid she’d come to settle the score.

Considering those two things, it would have been strange if that guy Feng Qiwu hadn’t thought of leaving early.

At the thought of Chi Yizhong, her heart grew heavy, and her desire to end all of this quickly intensified.

----

"You’ve got to be kidding me. You fought tooth and nail for that map, don’t tell me you don’t actually know how to read it?"

From inside the vine-woven basket, Yu Tu’s voice was incredibly dramatic, his tone thick with amusement.

"If you’re really lost, just listen to me. Let me take a look at the map. How about we stop pretending you know what you’re doing?"

Feng Qiwu’s face darkened, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Who says I can’t read it!"

"Feng Qiwu, you’re going in the wrong direction. We need to go south."

Xiang Qiancheng didn’t bother arguing about the map, directly pointing out his mistake.

He hadn’t been lying when they were fighting over the map; he really had memorized all the information after looking at it a few times.

The only reason he’d wanted the map was to make guiding them easier and prevent this exact kind of situation.

"You don’t have the map, so how would you know where to go? I’m going north, and that’s correct. If you two don’t believe me, you can get out and walk yourselves."

It was still snowing, and there was no telling how deep the snow on the ground was. It would take forever to get anywhere on foot.

Xiang Qiancheng frowned and instinctively exchanged a look with Yu Tu. They could both see the resignation in each other’s eyes.

It seemed they would just have to let him hit a dead end before he was willing to turn back.

Compared to the disarray of their team, He Yushu, Jinling, and Yu He’s group was far more orderly.

Unlike the stubborn Feng Qiwu, He Yushu would determine a direction and then double-check with his two companions. Only after confirming there were no mistakes would they set off for their destination.

----

Winter passed and spring arrived. The four-month cold season was soon over.

It had been a month since the Beast Husbands had departed. Whether it was the cubs who had only recently begun learning Body Technique or Feng Qingqing, their growth was obvious.

The rabbit cub Chu Liangyu worried about most now had the ability to protect itself and would no longer be so easily beaten and abused by the bear cub as it once was.

Roughhousing among cubs is normal, but the weak are inevitably bullied even more.

Chu Liangyu could stop it when she saw it, but what happened when she wasn’t around?

Ultimately, being strong enough to stand up for oneself was what mattered most.

And this was one of the reasons Chu Liangyu had gone to such great lengths, a goal she had now successfully achieved.

As for her relationship with the cubs, as time passed, their initial reverence for her slowly blossomed into deep affection.

Although not all of them were as attached to her as Wen Yuehong’s cubs, it was still the best outcome she could have hoped for.

The final step was to send all the cubs out to gain experience, and in the process, spread the Body Technique to every corner of the Beast World.

At the same time, Chu Liangyu planned for them to carry seeds for all the herbs needed for Body Refining. This was to give a chance to the females who were mired in despair.

Thanks to the modifications made by Xiong Jiaojiao and the others, the seeds were guaranteed to grow with proper care and would mature twice as fast as normal.

This was all thanks to the rare and exotic herbs Chu Liangyu had brought back.

The Wood Spirits’ power had grown immensely, and seeing that Xiong Jiaojiao, Cheng Miao, and the Elder were on the verge of advancing to become Double-winged Elf Kings, Chu Liangyu was naturally happy for them.

She did a quick calculation. The cubs’ final Body Refining was in three days.

’It’s time to start the preparations. As for Feng Qingqing, if nothing goes wrong, her Beastification should happen... today!’

"Jiaojiao, have everyone stay away from Feng Qingqing."

Chu Liangyu’s attention had been fixed on Feng Qingqing. When she turned her head, she noticed Xiong Jiaojiao’s complexion was pale.

Cold sweat poured down her forehead, and in an instant, she looked as if she’d been drenched in water.

Seeing her condition, Chu Liangyu’s expression changed. "You’re... about to advance?"

"I think so." Xiong Jiaojiao nodded with great effort, then seemed to lose all her strength.

"Please, Sister Liangyu, take me to the herb garden."

Chu Liangyu knew she now needed to absorb the nourishing feedback from the herbs to help with her advancement, so she said nothing, simply wrapped an arm around her waist, unfurled her wings, and flew swiftly toward the herb garden.

At the same time, she carried a completely bewildered Feng Qingqing in her left hand.

"You’re about to undergo Beastification. Staying there, you might accidentally hurt them."

Hearing this, Feng Qingqing looked down at herself, then said with disbelief, "Really? But... I don’t feel anything."

Chu Liangyu raised an eyebrow, guessing that it just wasn’t time yet. "Just wait a little longer, you’ll feel it."

Chu Liangyu couldn’t predict the scale of a female Phoenix’s Beastification. Worried that Feng Qingqing might affect the herbs in the garden, she dropped her off on an empty mountaintop along the way.

The two locations weren’t far apart—close enough for Chu Liangyu to immediately sense if anything went wrong.

After setting Xiong Jiaojiao down in her section of the herb garden, Chu Liangyu realized that several other people were seated in the other plots as well.

Judging by their appearance, they were in the same state as Xiong Jiaojiao, showing signs of an imminent advancement.

Xiong Jiaojiao had told her before that the herbs’ nourishing feedback was a one-to-one process. The herbs would give their replenishing power to whoever had put in the effort to raise them.

That being the case, she didn’t need to worry that them all advancing at once would cause them to accidentally absorb each other’s power.

"How are you feeling now?"

Xiong Jiaojiao’s face was set with a gravity Chu Liangyu had never seen before, so it was no surprise that even Chu Liangyu’s own heart was in her throat.

"Not good. It feels like my whole body is being crushed. It hurts!"

Sighing, Chu Liangyu tried to console her. "Just hang in there. If it becomes too much, I’ll help you."

But Xiong Jiaojiao shook her head sharply, refusing. "No need, Sister Liangyu. It was more than enough that you went to the trouble of bringing back the herbs."

"Ultimately, advancement is something one must achieve on their own."

"Alright. But if anything feels wrong, you must tell me."

This was the first time in the long history of the Wood Spirit Clan that any of them had advanced to the Double-winged stage. As such, they had no precedent to follow and could only rely on their own experience.

In the time it took to speak a few more sentences, countless green motes of light began to rise from the herb garden around Xiong Jiaojiao and fly into her body.