Shangguan Yuan was almost going insane. This was already the third search point, and the kidnapper of the crown prince was clearly playing with them. Each time they arrived at a location, a note was left saying the prince was at another place, and they had already been led astray three times.
He picked up the note placed on a rock. It said the prince was in a small cave a hundred and fifty li east and had been poisoned, urging them to hurry.
He glanced at the two demon kings behind him. Shangguan Yuan immediately tore the note and frowned. "Is it really the demon race? When did demons become so intelligent?"
"What did you say? Think I didn't hear you?" The Black Bear Spirit behind him immediately protested, slamming his spear into the ground, about to fight Shangguan Yuan. But Shangguan Yuan ignored him, his figure flashing as his speed suddenly increased, heading toward the next target according to the map.
While running, the other demon king said, "I say, Jinxi, could this really have been done by the demon race? If so, then he is truly a talent. We can't let him die."
The Black Bear Spirit narrowed his eyes and laughed sinisterly. "Indeed. Then we'll join forces to save him."
The two demon spirits laughed strangely and turned into two streams of black energy, chasing after Shangguan Yuan.
At this moment Guanyin Temple had fallen into complete chaos. The monks had been trying to extinguish the fire for half a day without any effect. In fact, the flames were becoming even more intense.
Wang Hu's figure flickered as he transformed into the appearance of Elder Jinchi and returned to the meditation hall from before. Seeing more than ten Qi Refining monks standing in the courtyard, Wang Hu glanced around and said, "You all withdraw first."
Although the monks were puzzled as to why the abbot had returned, they did not dare disobey and quickly left.
Wang Hu chuckled and walked to the front of the meditation hall, easily unlocking the door and stepping inside.
In an instant his saliva almost drooled out again. The entire room was filled with golden light, countless spiritual pills shimmering with treasure light, and a dense medicinal fragrance pouring out. Just taking a single breath caused his cultivation to fluctuate.
Without saying another word, Wang Hu frantically began collecting the pills, not distinguishing their types or effects, stuffing everything into his tiger-tooth storage space. These pills were placed very casually, clearly prepared for convenient selection, undoubtedly intended for trade with the demon race. But now everything had fallen into Wang Hu's hands.
In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he had completely swept the room clean of pills. Then, satisfied, he closed the door, restored everything as it was, and called the monks outside back in to continue guarding. Then he swaggered away.
Only after leaving Guanyin Temple well behind did he remove the disguise talisman and return to his true appearance. The high-grade talisman turned into ashes, making Wang Hu feel a pang of heartache. This had been the only high-grade talisman in his inventory. He sighed as if regretful, but inwardly reminded himself to speed up his cultivation. Once he reached the stage of refining qi into spirit, he would barely be able to perform the Seventy-Two Transformations.
Looking back at Guanyin Temple engulfed in flames, Wang Hu laughed softly and stroked his tiger-tooth storage space filled with loot, extremely satisfied. He even wondered whether destroying Guanyin Temple and killing Elder Jinchi would affect the journey to the west, but then dismissed the thought. After all, his existence had already changed the original timeline.
Transforming into his tiger form, he continued rushing toward the Shanglan Kingdom, thinking that even if those people searched the entire mountain range, they still would not find him.
The next day, after running for a full day and night, Wang Hu finally stopped in front of a mountain range. This place was already the edge of the forest. Beyond it was the human world. Standing on the mountaintop and looking down, he saw faint cooking smoke rising from a small village, and he could not help but sigh. After all, his soul was still human. But now he could no longer integrate into the human world.
He found a hidden cave, entered it, sealed the entrance, and after preparing everything, opened his tiger-tooth storage space, taking out a large number of pills and a storage ring.
Most of these pills had unknown effects to him, so he did not dare use them casually. However, among them he recognized two types. One, present in large quantity, was the Huanling Pill, used to increase cultivation.
"Xiaoqing, you're going to have a blessed life from now on."
Wang Hu tossed a Huanling Pill to the little green snake and also shoved one into his own mouth, chewing with a crack. Once inside his body, the pill immediately turned into a warm stream of energy spreading throughout him. He instantly activated the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art to refine it. The effect was equivalent to one month of his cultivation.
The second type was the Transformation Pill, also in large quantity — seventeen in total. This pill allowed demon beasts at the Foundation Establishment stage to temporarily take human form, each dose lasting about a month. It was one of Wang Hu's key tools for infiltrating the human world.
The remaining hundred-plus pills gave him a headache, as he had no idea what they were.
At that moment, after eating her Huanling Pill, the little green snake let out a sound as if asking for more.
"Hm? You want more? Fine. Take whatever you like." Wang Hu rarely acted so generous.
The little green snake was not polite at all, transforming into a streak of green light and devouring a dark green pill filled with dense spiritual energy.
Mm. This one's not bad. Quite rich in spiritual energy. Wang Hu nodded.
Crack. Another red pill was swallowed by the little green snake.
The smile on Wang Hu's face stiffened, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back. After looking at the remaining pills, he comforted himself that with such a small body, it probably could not eat much anyway.
Crack, crack, crack. Three more pills were eaten.
Wang Hu could no longer sit still. "Xiaoqing, can you eat slower? That black one earlier might be poisonous."
But the little green snake did not respond at all and just kept eating.
After a while, Wang Hu looked at the last two pills in his hand and almost wanted to cry. More than a hundred pills had been eaten by this prodigal child, leaving only two.
After finishing, the little green snake patted its belly, let out a few cooing sounds, then curled up and completely concealed its aura, falling into a deep sleep. Wang Hu checked her body carefully and confirmed there was no problem before finally sighing in relief.