“Feeding!” Lu Zhiying lit up in anticipation.
Zhao Yunxiao was right.
This was indeed what she had been curious about!
These small flowers... just how were they capable of posing a threat to people who were so much bigger than them?
“Watch out,” Zhao Yunxiao cautioned, he himself taking a step away from the Frozen Spiders.
As he said that, Gu Qiansi gently pulled Lu Zhiying further back.
Lei Wenzhang and Qing Dian did the same as well. In fact, they stayed at a distance even further away than Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying.
Seeing that the rest of them had steered clear, Zhao Yunxiao reached into his bamboo backpack once more and pulled out two rabbits.
The rabbits remained completely motionless in his hands, either dead or incapacitated.
A rabbit in each hand, Zhao Yunxiao carefully placed the two rabbits on the ground at the same time, one nearer to each of the Frozen Spiders.
It was a very subtle movement, but the moment Zhao Yunxiao let go of the rabbits, the two flowers trembled slightly.
Crack-!
From the moment Zhao Yunxiao released the rabbits, up till them disappearing into the ground... everything happened in a matter of seconds.
Just like that, silence returned to the garden plot, as though the events from earlier had never happened.
The Frozen Spiders continued to sway in the wind, appearing as harmless as ever.
But now, Lu Zhiying’s impression of these flower had completely changed.
“Looks like they are both eating well at least,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded in satisfaction before turning to Lu Zhiying. “How is it? Satisfied?”
Lu Zhiying: “...”
She had felt a chill run down her spine earlier, seeing how easily the two rabbits were seemingly erased from existence.
What made it worse was that had she not been told beforehand, Lu Zhiying would never have imagined that those vines from earlier actually came from these two harmless-looking flowers!
“Are you all right?” Gu Qiansi gently tapped her on the shoulder.
“...How strong are their roots?” Lu Zhiying finally asked.
“Enough to take down numerous people at once,” Gu Qiansi said with a smile. “Many people focus on developing means to deal with powerful monsters or spirit beasts when out hunting, but what they fail to realise is that spiritual plants can be even more dangerous at times.”
“This is how they got their names,” Zhao Yunxiao added. “They are called Frozen Spiders because their roots spread out underground like a spiderweb, capable of trapping any unsuspecting prey that is unlucky enough to venture within.”
Huu-!
Lu Zhiying let out a deep breath to calm herself down.
Still, it only took a couple of moments before a smile slowly started to creep across her face once more. “Are there a lot more of such dangerous plants?”
“Of course,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “There are plenty, many of which are far scarier than Frozen Spiders too.”
At the same time, he was relieved to see that Lu Zhiying had regained her usual temperament.
After seeing Lu Zhiying’s initial response, he had been slightly worried that Lu Zhiying would grow too fearful and lose confidence in herself.
That would be akin to a death sentence to any promise of excellence that Lu Zhiying had shown so far.
If one were to lose their self-confidence and no longer believe in their own abilities, there was no way they could tread far on the path of cultivation.
But it seemed that his worries were unfounded.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
From the looks of it, Lu Zhiying was only getting more excited to encounter such dangerous plants in the future!
On second thought, perhaps injecting a bit of fear into her would have been a good thing too, especially if it could help tone down her reckless behaviour a little...
“Stop scaring the poor girl! Don’t worry, Junior Martial Sister Lu. I was just as creeped out when I firsrt saw this as well,” Qing Bian tried to console Lu Zhiying without having realised the change in her expression. “Things like this are what make me reconsider ever venturing out into the wilds.”
“You can’t just keep staying within the safety of the sect grounds as well,” Lei Wenzhang chided. “Venturing out into the wilds might come with its share of dangers, but it also helps to temper both your mind and body. It is necessary if you wish to grow as a cultivator.”
“Yes, yes, I’m not saying that I won’t ever do it. I already told you that I just want to make sure that I’m fully prepared before actually doing so,” Qing Bian answered impatiently.
It sounded like this was not the first time they had this conversation.
“Is that all? Are you not going to feed them more?” Gu Qiansi asked.
“No, I’m trying to see if their behaviours will adjust according to the lack of prey,” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “Perhaps they can transition from being carnivorous to simply creating their own food sources like most plants do.”
“That’s just starving them...” Gu Qiansi frowned.
“If they don’t adapt well, I will feed them more next time,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Don’t worry. It was not easy getting my hands on them, so I definitely won’t want them to die on me either.”
“Are you done here then?” Qing Bian asked. “You have confirmed that we have enough prepared to meet the monthly quota, and also checked on your strange monster plants. Is there anything else you would like to check?”
“So eager to chase me off? Do you have something to hide?” Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes at Qing Bian.
“Haha, how can that be? It’s just that I have an appointment to go to, and would like to go prepare for it as soon as possible,” Qing Bian shrugged.
“If you have something on, you can go ahead and leave first,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “I still have something else that I need to do here.”
“Hmm? Do you have more strange plants to be experimented on?” Lei Wenzhang asked.
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“So, where are we going next?” Lu Zhiying was not ready to rest for the day just yet.
“I am thinking of restocking some of my supplies at the Sect Market,” Zhao Yunxiao said before turning towards Gu Qiansi. “Are you still going to take a look at your garden plot?”
“Come to think of it, I have some supplies that I need to get as well, so let’s go together. I will just check on my garden plot tomorrow,” Gu Qiansi shook her head.
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