Several disciples, suppressing their nausea, began their activities. Xu Wenyuan dug for quite a while before finally extracting the beast's beast core. The beast's core was as large as two fists, and when pulled out, it inevitably carried a lot of viscous fluid and blood. Xu Wenyuan happily ran to Song Zhixia and handed her the beast core.
"Junior Sister Song, take the beast core."
Song Zhixia looked at the large beast core with some confusion, then turned to look at Song Weizhi.
With a laugh, Song Weizhi cleaned the beast's core and condensed it with spiritual qi into the size of a fingernail before handing it to Song Zhixia.
Taking the beast's core, Song Zhixia breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd have to eat such a big one."
Amused by Song Zhixia's comment, Song Weizhi said, "That thing is so pungent; eating such a big piece would be nauseating. But let's put it away for now. When we rest later, I'll help you protect the law."
Song Zhixia obediently put away the beast's core. On the other side, Xu Wenyuan and the others also finished dealing with the large spider. The disciples cheerfully collected their shares of the spider. When it came to Song Zhixia's turn, she didn't use the hairpin her Senior Sister had given her but used a storage bag to contain her share of the large spider.
Leading Song Zhixia, Song Weizhi walked towards the lake. Since there were three days in total, and exploring a secret realm was a rare opportunity that might not be found even if sought, the two released the big tiger and the clown chicken to play on their own.
The inner disciples following Song Weizhi were astonished. How could Senior Sister's Heaven-grade divine beast get along with Junior Sister Song seemingly useless spirit beast?
"Xia Xia, while it's safe in the secret realm now, why don't you absorb and digest the beast core you just got?" Song Weizhi thought that, for both of them, the top priority was to enhance their strength.
Listening to her Senior Sister, Song Zhixia took out the beast core, swallowed it in one gulp, and then sat in place to absorb it. The other inner disciples, seeing Song Zhixia absorbing the beast's core, also quieted down. For a while, only the sounds of the big tiger and the clown chicken playing by the lake could be heard.
In the evening, Song Weizhi felt the fluctuations in Song Zhixia's spiritual qi. It seemed that Song Zhixia was about to break through. Indeed, not long after, Song Zhixia opened her eyes, and Song Weizhi could sense that she had already reached the Perfection-Foundation Building realm.
Song Zhixia didn't expect the beast core to have such a significant effect. Knowing what she was thinking, Song Weizhi said, "You were just one step away from reaching the Perfection-Foundation Building realm. The beast core merely provided you with some assistance. The main credit goes to our Xia Xia herself, who is outstanding."
"Senior Sister teaches well," blushed Song Zhixia.
Xu Wenyuan and the others hadn't built their foundations yet, so they fished for fish and hunted wild game. Song Zhixia, feeling excited after eating meat, also wanted to try her hand. Song Weizhi knew her little sister's eyes were shining and suggested, "Xia Xia, go find some food with them. Senior Sister hasn't eaten for a long time either."
"Does Senior Sister want to go together?" Song Zhixia stared at Song Weizhi.
Song Weizhi beckoned to the big tiger, indicating for it to lie down. Then, Song Weizhi comfortably leaned against the big tiger, which was as large as an elephant. She blinked at Song Zhixia and said, "No, I'll wait to eat what Xia Xia brings back."
"Okay, I'll find delicious food for Senior Sister." Song Zhixia's eyes narrowed with a smile.
Meanwhile, the clown chicken, seeing that the big tiger no longer wanted to play with it, ran to Song Weizhi and the big tiger. Seeing Song Weizhi leaning on the big tiger, it imitated her and plunged into the illusory fur of the big tiger. For a moment, it couldn't climb out. The clown chicken tried to crawl out a couple of times, but since the big tiger's fur was soft, it simply stopped struggling and lay down to rest.
Since there was no danger nearby, Song Weizhi felt at ease, allowing Song Zhixia to play and socialize with other disciples. Song Zhixia followed Xu Wenyuan and a few others into the woods to find food, while Liang Qin and another inner disciple caught fish by the lake.
Song Zhixia and Xu Wenyuan exchanged a few words, asking them to find some wild food. She decided to check if there were any vegetables or wild fruits nearby because, after eating meat, it's good to balance it with some fruits.
Fortunately, she knew many wild fruits from her time in the village. As she walked along, she already found quite a few. Going deeper, she heard some rustling not far away, like human voices. Song Zhixia thought of going over to take a look. Walking a few steps, she saw two female disciples engaged in a scuffle. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be disciples of the Tian family.
Song Zhixia didn't want to intervene in the fight. Just as she was about to turn and leave, the scene before her widened her eyes. The two girls who were just fighting suddenly started kissing each other!
Song Zhixia's pupils dilated, staring blankly as one of the female disciples pinned the other against a tree and kissed her. The other initially resisted a bit, but later just let the other female disciple have her way.
Song Zhixia was greatly shocked, breaking a branch she was holding in her hands. Fortunately, she wasn't very close to them, and the two disciples were too engrossed in their situation, apparently not noticing her. When Song Zhixia saw them starting to undress, she dared not continue watching, turned around, and ran. She even forgot that she could fly on her sword. She kept running until she was quite far away, finally stopping and leaning against a tree, panting.
Resting on one side, Song Zhixia recalled the recent scene. Can girls really kiss each other there? Or were they just good friends? Song Zhixia felt her mind was in chaos. Her heart pounded as if it wanted to leap out of her chest. She didn't know what was happening to her. Her mind was so chaotic that when she returned to the lakeside, she was still in a daze.
Song Weizhi naturally noticed her little sister's absent-mindedness and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Did Xia Xia find something delicious? Come, show it to your Senior Sister."
Song Zhixia seemed startled, blinked her peach blossom eyes in confusion, and then obediently walked to Song Weizhi, pouring out the wild vegetables and fruits she had found in front of her.
Looking at the small wild pears, persimmons, ferns, and more than a dozen other items, Song Weizhi smiled and said to Song Zhixia, "My Xia Xia is the best, finding so many delicious things."
Song Zhixia, with her peach blossom eyes trembling, looked at Song Weizhi. For some reason, she felt a bit guilty.
"Nothing, everyone found quite a lot," Song Zhixia stood still, not moving her steps.
Song Weizhi, with a playful look, watched the somewhat awkward Song Zhixia in front of her. "Xia Xia, why don't you come and lie down on the tiger with your Senior Sister for a while? The chicken is also here," she said, pulling out the sleeping little chicken from the tiger's virtual fur.
Song Zhixia's face turned red. "No, I'll go help them." After saying this, she ran away like she was escaping.
Song Weizhi was puzzled. She hadn't said anything, so why did the little girl seem even shyer than before?
Xu Wenyuan and Liang Qin had already set up a fire by the lake and were roasting fish and wild rabbits. Soon, the aroma wafted from the lakeside. Xu Wenyuan brought over a lot for Song Weizhi, but she only kept one rabbit leg.
She reclined on the tiger, enjoying watching the little girl who had been avoiding her since the afternoon. The little girl occasionally stole glances at her, thinking she was being discreet. Song Weizhi had been holding back her laughter since the little girl returned in the afternoon, planning to tease her a bit later.
After eating, Xu Wenyuan and the others, being conscious of their actions, summoned their spiritual beasts to rest. The lakeside was now only occupied by Song Weizhi and Song Zhixia.
Amused, Song Weizhi looked at the awkward little sister in front of her. "Xia Xia, why don't you come over? Won't you keep your Senior Sister company in sleeping?"
Song Zhixia's hands, twisted behind her back, hesitantly approached the large tiger. At this moment, Song Weizhi rested on the tiger's belly, patting it and gesturing for Song Zhixia to lie down. Song Zhixia slowly leaned against the tiger's shoulder, maintaining a person's distance between her and Song Weizhi. As soon as she lay down, Song Zhixia closed her eyes, amusing Song Weizhi.
Song Weizhi wanted to see why the little girl was avoiding her. If the little girl didn't move, she could move herself. With a hint of a smile, Song Weizhi shifted towards Song Zhixia until there was only a two-fist-sized distance between them. During this, Song Weizhi kept staring at Song Zhixia's face. Indeed, she saw the closed eyes of the pretending-to-sleep little girl, and as she approached, she noticed the little girl's breath quickening.
Song Weizhi chuckled. She wasn't a wolf; did the little girl need to be so afraid of her?
Intentionally, she placed her index finger on the little girl's cheek, gently stroking it. At first, the little girl seemed to be doing a good job pretending, but after Song Weizhi played with her for a while, the little girl's eyes remained closed. Finally, moving a bit more forward, Song Weizhi directly embraced the little girl in her arms.
Song Weizhi could feel the little girl's body stiffen, but the little girl, still pretending, didn't open her eyes. Song Weizhi didn't bother to expose her; instead, she simply held the fragrant and soft little girl in her arms and fell asleep.
While Song Weizhi slept peacefully, Song Zhixia's heart was in turmoil. Her mind kept replaying the scene in the woods from earlier. In a daze, the faces of the two women in the forest gradually blurred. After a while, it even turned into herself and her Senior Sister!
In the dream, her Senior Sister pinned her against a tree and then leaned in to kiss her. The Senior Sister in the dream actually kissed her! Before she could feel the warmth of her Senior Sister's lips, she was startled awake. Her Senior Sister was so good to her; how could she defile her like this? It must be because of wandering thoughts during the day that led to dreams at night. Song Zhixia comforted herself in her heart.
She secretly raised her eyes to look at the already sleeping Song Weizhi. Thinking of moving back a bit, she found that her Senior Sister's embrace was too tight. She didn't dare exert too much force, fearing to wake her Senior Sister.
Song Zhixia sweated a lot on her forehead. Even though it wasn't hot here, she felt her whole body was burning. Especially when her gaze involuntarily fell on her Senior Sister's lips, she couldn't help but think, what would her Senior Sister's lips taste like if she hadn't woken up earlier in the dream?