Recently, Jing Yu had become a bit more cheerful than before.
Normally, her days were spent tending to the flowers and vegetables in her care, living a simple and idle life at home. However, now things were different, as there was a strange new member in the household.
Of course, this was none other than the talking, deer-antlered goat demon named Huai Shuang.
This goat demon had very high demands. It refused to eat ordinary wild grasses or tree bark; even the rice Jing Yu typically ate, Huai Shuang deemed fit only for feeding livestock and unworthy of consumption. It acted as if it were the master of the house, not Jing Yu's pet.
Fortunately, Jing Yu had a kind heart, and because the demon could speak, she had never treated Huai Shuang like an ordinary goat. She often ate less so there would be enough rice left to feed Huai Shuang.
Thus, the two lived in harmony, a human and a demon sharing their home.
"I heard from the old woman next door that the Lord of the Country was born on December 20th, twenty years ago. She remembers it clearly because the ruler was so happy at the time that he deliberately rang the huge bell in the royal court that night and made the Lord of Summer the crown prince," Huai Shuang said, its voice tinged with curiosity.
"Doesn't that mean he's two years older than me? I don't even remember my own birthday, and neither do my parents," Jing Yu replied wistfully.
"So, what do you think the country lord is doing now? I was out shopping the other day and passed by the palace gates, but didn't see him," she asked as she lay on the bed, talking endlessly to Huai Shuang, who lay on the floor with its head drooping, looking disinterested.
"I've had enough of your nonsense. How do you have so much energy? You eat so little, and yet still have the strength to talk this much. The rice jar is still full of rice—why don't you eat it? If you don't want to, then give it to me!" Huai Shuang grumbled.
Jing Yu chuckled lightly and teased, "Huai Shuang, you need to be patient. We need to store up food, in case something unexpected happens, or we'll end up starving."
Huai Shuang shook its head. "I'm starving right now."
Jing Yu tossed a pillow at Huai Shuang and joked, "You're a demon who has cultivated power, but you're worse than me, a mere mortal."
Huai Shuang thought for a moment and responded, "I have a big appetite. I once ate a hundred giant mountain-like demons in one go."
Jing Yu was skeptical and said, "Big mountain-like demons? With your small body, you could eat something that big?"
Huai Shuang gave her a sideways glance and said, "Believe it or not."
Suddenly, Jing Yu remembered a legend circulating in Taicang. She asked, "Do you know about the big mountain in the east of Taicang? It's called Mount Dahuang. The older generations say it's alive, and someday it will wake up. Could you eat that mountain?"
Huai Shuang paused, its head turning slightly. With a faint voice, it said, "I can't eat it."
"Why not? Didn't you just say you ate a hundred mountain-like demons?" Jing Yu asked.
"Because Mount Dahuang is too powerful. It could kill me with a single glare."
"You're lying again. Mountains don't have eyes, and even if they did, there's no way they could kill you with a stare," Jing Yu retorted, dismissing Huai Shuang's claim.
Huai Shuang was getting frustrated and said angrily, "If you don't believe me, I'll teach you my cultivation method. If you practice it and succeed, you'll be able to eat a whole mountain!"
Jing Yu was taken aback. Her expression fell as she replied, "I've already tried learning at Taicang Academy, but I don't have any talent for cultivation. I can't sense the spiritual essence."
Huai Shuang got up from the floor and gently touched Jing Yu's shoulder with its antlers, trying to comfort her. "Don't worry. Even if it's Taicang or the martial arts schools within a thousand miles, their achievements are too low to understand my methods."
Jing Yu, with her youthful heart, felt encouraged by Huai Shuang's words. Her spirits lifted as she asked, "So what's this cultivation method?"
Huai Shuang spoke seriously, "It's called the Heavenly Phenomenon Soul Devouring Scripture."
As Huai Shuang uttered the name of the method, a mysterious spiritual energy radiated from its body, filling the air and entering Jing Yu's senses. The moment it touched her, the surrounding scenery seemed to warp, and she found herself standing in mid-air, overlooking a vast ocean.
Beneath her, she saw an enormous, ancient sea. There, standing atop the ocean, was a gigantic creature, an otherworldly beast unlike anything she had seen before. It resembled an elephant, but with six grayish wings sprouting from its back and two more wings where its ears should be. This divine beast looked awe-inspiring.
The creature's massive limbs, like colossal elephant legs, glowed with spiritual light. Within that light, tiny mythical beasts could be seen, their sharp teeth bared, countless eyes glaring with murderous intent, all scattered across the aura surrounding the beast.
Jing Yu, despite the overwhelming terror of the sight, felt no fear. The beast before her seemed oddly familiar, even warm. She felt an inexplicable connection to it.
What happened next shocked her.
The giant elephant, standing on the ocean's surface, didn't sink. Its long, mountainous trunk swept across the sea, stirring a massive whirlpool. The entire ocean seemed to be disturbed by the movement of its trunk, as if it were a giant rod stirring the water, sending towering waves crashing.
Massive sea monsters, as large as mountains, were sucked into the whirlpool, only to be swallowed by the elephant's trunk. They couldn't even put up a fight.
At the same time, the elephant let out a terrifying roar, summoning black clouds in the sky. From these clouds, purple lightning struck down in thick, powerful chains, locking the elephant in place.
The elephant, unfazed, flapped its six wings. The countless vicious beasts embedded in its body bared their fangs and broke the lightning chains, biting them apart and swallowing them whole. The sky itself seemed to roar as lightning crashed down in torrents.
Unperturbed, the giant elephant continued to devour the lightning, absorbing the spiritual essence into its body.
The black clouds in the sky, which had been pouring lightning, seemed to flee, but the elephant opened its mouth wide, sucking in the fleeing clouds and consuming them, turning them into more spiritual energy.
Jing Yu watched this scene in a daze, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what she was witnessing. The elephant suddenly turned to face her, and the thousand eyes on its colossal legs all glowed, staring at her.
When their eyes met, Jing Yu felt no fear at all. Instead, an odd feeling washed over her, and a strange piece of information was transmitted to her mind, becoming one with her consciousness.
The world around her seemed to break apart, and when she regained her senses, the massive eight-winged elephant had disappeared. Huai Shuang stood next to her, watching her intently.
"That's the Heavenly Phenomenon Soul Devouring Scripture," Jing Yu murmured to herself.
Huai Shuang, seeing her dazed expression, smiled enigmatically. "Looks like you'll soon be able to devour the beasts of the boundless wilderness too."