Chapter 20:

Chong Yan had never been fed.

Or rather, very few people had given him food.

After he was born, he was a spiritual entity and never received any nurturing. He grew up on his own. As he grew into a deformed dragon despised by everyone, a fearsome beast dreaded by future generations, no one would give him anything.

However, Yao Yao’s soft little hand held up the spoon, as if treating him like a young cub.

Chong Yan knew he wasn’t a cub. He was too massive and too ugly.

But as he looked at her gentle fingertips, he couldn’t help himself. Just like when she touched his head that one time, he lowered his head and took the spoon she offered.

It was sweet.

His restless and chaotic consciousness gradually settled down.

This was the first taste in this noisy and chaotic world, and she brought it to him.

How could he repay her?

He received another gift.

Yao Yao looked at his lowered head, with his silver-white hair quietly cascading down by his side.

No matter how big his true form was or how terrifying he appeared to others, to Yao Yao, he was just her little demon.

After taking a sip, the little demon pushed the porridge back to her.

Yao Yao, with her deer-like eyes, didn’t refuse.

In the past, she never had the opportunity to go out and play. Sickly Yao Yao had special conditions that prevented her from coming into contact with bacteria from the outside world, and there were many dietary restrictions.

In the end, she was just a child who hadn’t seen the world.

So, the two friends shared the bowl of sweet porridge.

The food they bought with spirit stones could be felt circulating with spiritual energy when consumed, and it tasted sweet. Yao Yao touched her stomach and thought that having money was nice.

If there were external injuries, spiritual food could also aid in recovery. However, when Yao Yao thought about the countless wounds and missing parts on Chong Yan’s body, this bowl of porridge was merely a drop in the bucket.

Healing the little demon, filling in the gaps, it was a long and arduous journey.

Earlier, she had inquired and found out that to participate in the Canglan Grand Event and reach the Extreme of the Eastern Sea, they needed a “guide.”

It was said that this guide didn’t need to be valuable or rare; its only requirement was that it had to be a gift that the Deep Sea God would like.

Otherwise, even if they wanted to participate in the grand event, they wouldn’t be able to find the entrance to the sea. The Eastern Sea was ethereal and elusive, and even if they ventured into the ocean, they would be pushed back by the sea. Not to mention finding the legendary Extreme of the Eastern Sea and touching the buried heart of the ancient demon deep beneath the sea.

Yao Yao fell into a daze. She vaguely remembered that after giving the little pearl to the deep-sea serpent, it would transform itself into a bow tie.

The shopkeeper who had told her the information looked her up and down. “Little girl, don’t even think about it.”

The depths of the sea, where the heart of the ancient demon, was extremely dangerous. Regular people like them didn’t dare to even think about it. Moreover, they would need to find a gift that would satisfy the Deep Sea God.

Yao Yao felt conflicted. Ah, what should she do?

She circled around, and no matter what, she had to give a gift to the big black snake. After all, she was a person with magic now.

The shopkeeper tried to dissuade her. “They say it doesn’t need to be valuable or rare, but entering the deep sea is not that easy. Even though the sea god is not as brutal and terrifying as the ancient demon, it has lived for thousands years. The same goes for the Lan family of the Eastern Sea or the Jun Capital people. They start preparing the guide several years in advance.”

“At present, the ancient demon could bring a calamity to the world at any time, and countless people are eyeing its heart.”

“Just give up.”

But Yao Yao glanced at the little demon, who was quietly finishing the porridge at the bottom of the bowl.

That was not an option.

What belonged to Chong Yan was Chong Yan’s.

The little girl anxiously spun in place, and in the end, she made up her mind. She wouldn’t give up. After all, it wasn’t about giving a gift to the big black snake; it was all for the sake of retrieving the little demon’s heart.

Money, well, there was no money. She had only exchanged a few spirit stones for the hairpin, which was her entire fortune. So, she had to find another way.

She didn’t expect that the major shareholder who used to spend lavishly in the game was now feeling the pinch. It was a bit bittersweet to think about.

After sighing, what should she do to take care of the little demon?

However, she had at least bound the shopping store. Yao Yao quietly went to her sea of consciousness and took a look. Last time, during Chong Yan’s outburst, she had showered him with a rain of gifts, using up all the spirit pearls she had.

But there were tasks available in the store. Since the store combined her character identity with player attributes, the tasks would be based on her characteristics. For example, now that Yao Yao’s bloodline spiritual power had increased, the tasks were no longer simple physical activities but proper cultivation tasks, such as enhancing her control over spiritual flow.

Completing tasks would earn her spirit pearls, which she could use to buy things from the store.

Yao Yao contemplated this, while the quiet Chong Yan collected the empty bowl and silently fixed the broken box, placing it on his own lap.

He looked up at her.

The young girl was twiddling her fingers and muttering as she counted something.

A few for what, and a few for another.

Chong Yan didn’t know what she was saying or understand the rules of the mortal realm, but he saw that when she bought the sweet porridge earlier, she used one of those stones.

So Chong Yan slowly stood up and silently grabbed her wrist.

Yao Yao looked up. “Hmm?”

A segment of Chong Yan’s silver-white and icy tail gently wrapped around her, and in an instant, they were through the door. Yao Yao found herself in a nearby mountainous area.

The vegetation here was lush, and the spiritual energy was abundant. However, it didn’t look much different from the many green mountains they had seen when flying here.

Yao Yao turned and asked, “What are we doing here?”

Chong Yan shook his head and slowly raised his hand.

Yao Yao quickly felt the ground beneath her start to tremble, and the surroundings seemed to vibrate. The spiritual energy in the air grew denser, and then, with a loud rumble, the mountain in front of her split open, revealing a shimmering spiritual mine hidden underground.

The purity and abundance of the spiritual energy in the mine surpassed the medium-grade spirit stones she had exchanged for.

Due to the use of divine power, Chong Yan’s complexion grew pale, and he clenched the bone spurs that emerged from his fingertips. He turned to look at Yao Yao.

“Take… it,” he said in a barely audible voice.

Yao Yao was stunned for a moment, feeling like she had won the jackpot even though she hadn’t bought a lottery ticket.

But he didn’t even know that she had to give gifts to another big black snake.

Yao Yao was truly on the verge of tears.

Chong Yan stared at her, trying hard to understand her expression.