"They're just some birds and small animals that accidentally wandered in. There are still quite a few live ones in the kitchen's cages. If you want to eat them, I'll slaughter one for you right now," the woman in white said with a smile.
"Okay! I want to cook with you, Mother!"
Li Gou feigned excitement, but in reality, he wanted to verify if what she said was true.
"Hehe, then let's do it together."
The woman in white took Li Gou's hand and led him to the kitchen.
Upon entering, Li Gou saw many bamboo cages. Some contained wild chickens, rabbits, and other small animals—all ordinary creatures.
It seemed he had wronged her.
These two personalities were clearly completely different people.
Bai Su was kind and sincere, while Mo You was bloodthirsty and evil.
The strange occurrences in this cultivation world were truly unpredictable!
After preparing the meal with Bai Su, Li Gou ate alone. Bai Su did not touch a single bite, explaining simply that she wasn't hungry!
Li Gou sighed inwardly. After eating so much when she was Mo You, how could she possibly be hungry now?
After eating, Li Gou resumed his cultivation.
This time, he swallowed two Wood Spirit Pills, and the effects lasted nearly a full day.
During this period, Mo You appeared again, but she did not interrupt Li Gou's cultivation. She merely stared at him from a distance, barely containing her bloodthirsty impulses, drooling excessively.
As for Bai Su, out of love for her son, she was even quieter than Mo You, fearful of disturbing Li Gou's meditation!
Five days later, the Wood Spirit Pills lost their effectiveness completely.
Li Gou managed to clear his third main meridian, advancing to the third layer of Qi Refining.
He took out the Wood Spirit Pills from the Treasure Gathering Bottle—eight in total.
This had been the bottle's capacity limit before. Now, the bottle's capacity had increased to accommodate up to sixteen pills.
After filling a porcelain bottle, Li Gou placed three of the Qi Gathering Pills Bai Su had given him into the Treasure Gathering Bottle and popped the remaining one into his mouth.
As the pill dissolved, a sweet, milky taste filled his mouth and nose.
'Mmm, this Qi Gathering Pill is much tastier than the Wood Spirit Pill', Li Gou thought.
However, he didn't linger on the flavor. The first time he swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill, the medicinal power was potent, so he wasted no time and focused on clearing his fourth meridian.
Ten days quickly passed, and Li Gou successfully cleared his fourth meridian, advancing to the fourth layer of Qi Refining!
The space in the Treasure Gathering Bottle also expanded to accommodate up to thirty-two pills.
Whew—
Li Gou exhaled deeply, stopping his cultivation.
He stopped for two reasons: first, because the Qi Gathering Pills were now ineffective, and second, because the poison from the Corpse Poison Pill was approaching his meridians.
At this rate, if he didn't find relief within seven days, the poison would invade his meridians, destroying his cultivation.
Li Gou decided to spend half of the remaining time practicing spells!
Now that he had reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining, he could learn all the spells recorded in The Green Wood Technique.
Given the limited time, Li Gou chose three First-Grade Intermediate Spells.
The first, called the Flying Leaf Blade Technique, transforms wood-attribute spiritual energy into a flurry of razor-sharp leaves to attack enemies.
The second, the Wood Concealment Technique, slows the flow of spiritual energy in the meridians, effectively concealing one's cultivation level from others.
The third, Fire Evasion Wood Armor Technique, is a defensive spell specifically designed to counter fire-based techniques. It is ineffective against other attributes and offers even less physical defense than the basic First-Grade Wood Armor Technique.
Li Gou chose the Fire Evasion Wood Armor Technique for one reason only: to deal with the green-robed elder who had somehow transformed into the red-bearded man.
Learning these three spells took five full days.
The Wood Concealment Technique and Fire Evasion Wood Armor Technique each took a day to master, while the remaining three days were spent on the Flying Leaf Blade Technique.
The hand seals required for the Flying Leaf Blade Technique were somewhat complex, requiring a lot of time to perform and being easy to mess up.
However, its power was the greatest among all the First-Grade Intermediate Spells in The Green Wood Technique, almost comparable to a First-Grade Advanced Spell!
After preparing thoroughly, Li Gou approached Bai Su to ask for a way to leave.
After all, the bamboo forest was still sealed with Bai Su's formation. Without her permission, even Mo You couldn't leave, let alone Li Gou.
"No, absolutely not!" Bai Su shook her head repeatedly.
"Why not?" Li Gou was puzzled.
"My son, if you disappear like before for over ten years, what would happen to me?" Bai Su's eyes reddened.
"I promise I'll come back soon; I can't bear to leave you, Mother," Li Gou quickly assured her.
"Really?" Bai Su's doubts seemed almost gone.
"Of course! If you don't believe me, you can poison me. If I don't return, I'll die from the poison," Li Gou joked half-heartedly.
"You silly boy, how could I bear to poison you? If you must go, I will allow it, but before that, I want to teach you a simple First-Grade Basic Formation for self-defense," Bai Su replied, rolling her eyes.
Li Gou sighed in relief. As long as he could leave, learning a formation for self-defense was a small price to pay.
During the past few days, Li Gou had already picked up a lot of formation knowledge from Bai Su, so learning this formation was quick.
Formations utilize flags and discs crafted by formation masters and are powered by spirit stones to create effects against enemies.
Li Gou now understood that the luminous, translucent crystals were spirit stones, which were not only used to restore spiritual energy but also served as currency among cultivators.
The formation Bai Su taught Li Gou was called the Two-Yi Bewildering Soul Formation.
Once set up, anyone trapped within would wander in circles like ghosts, unable to escape unless they broke the formation.
After mastering the formation, dawn was near.
Bai Su handed Li Gou a white, ancient wooden token. "This is the pass token for the Small Yin-Yang Reversal Formation. Drip your blood on it to recognize it as its master, then infuse it with spiritual energy, and you can leave the bamboo forest."
Li Gou nodded and put the pass token into his storage pouch.
Soon, daylight broke.
Bai Su's loving gaze turned icy cold.
It seemed Mo You was emerging.
Li Gou sighed inwardly.
Mo You glanced at the white pass token, and her eyes grew even colder.
"Hmph, that bitch Bai Su! One day, I'll eat her whole," Mo You muttered angrily.
'If you could really eat yourself, that would be a miracle in this cultivation world!'
Li Gou silently mocked.
"Auntie Mo, I'll be off to find you some prey!" Li Gou cupped his fists in farewell.
"Go ahead. I've been waiting for this day for a long time," Mo You said, her mouth watering.
Li Gou felt a chill but kept his composure, turned, and left the bamboo house, entering the bamboo forest.
Because it was daytime, the white mist in the bamboo forest had turned black.
The bamboo forest shrouded in black mist was even darker than at night.
Li Gou took out the pass token and infused it with spiritual energy.
Immediately, the token emitted a green beam of light, like a flashlight, guiding Li Gou's direction.
Following the light, Li Gou walked straight out.
As soon as he stepped out of the bamboo forest, the blinding sunlight made him feel an immediate sense of clarity and relief.
Taking a few steps further, just as Li Gou was about to take out his Spiritwood Sword to fly, a whistling sound filled the air.
"Whoosh!"
A fireball the size of a washbasin came straight at him—a First-Grade Intermediate Spell!