Pengluo Stiff as a Board

As the sword struck, Li Guanqi instantly felt the primal energy within his body completely drained. Seeing this, the Flame Spirit hesitated not for an instant, transforming his own power into devouring force! The remnant sea of insects was instantly engulfed by fire, and wisps of pure primal energy were thoroughly refined and channeled into Li Guanqi's body. Far off, Jiuxiao had long finished his battle as well. His maw covered in blood, he was gnawing on the ghost-faced spider's corpse. A massive monster core had been dug out, which he was noisily crunching on. The divine marks on Li Guanqi's face faded, and his figure returned to its normal form. A weakened Pengluo had sunken cheeks, staring blankly toward Jiuxiao in the distance. "Bro... Brother Jiu... that monster core... save... save me a bite." His hoarse voice sounded like someone who hadn't drunk water for three days in a desert. With a swift sweep of movement, Jiuxiao—coiled atop a distant high mountain—hurried to rise and flew through the air to catch Pengluo. Extending a dragon claw, he snapped off a large piece from the colossal monster core and handed it over. The core was several times larger than Pengluo's entire body. A crafty glint suddenly flashed in the little creature's eyes. Abandoning all pretense, he hugged the monster core and started chomping down! "A ninth-rank monster core!! Ninth-rank!! Hahahahaha!!" "Your grandpa can gnaw on a ninth-rank monster core even in the Human Spirit Realm!! Who else can do that?!" "Hehe, ah, that hits the spot..." Jiuxiao narrowed his eyes, unbothered that Pengluo had feigned extreme exhaustion. To him, so long as Pengluo wasn't injured, that was all that mattered. Getting tricked a little was nothing, and it was just a bit of a monster core. The Flame Spirit supported Li Guanqi as they landed on a mountain peak. Yet Li Guanqi had expended far too much. Earlier, in order not to expose himself, he had endured the Stardust Mayflies gnawing at the primal energy within his origin spirit. During the final clash, he had relied entirely on the power within the lightning bead to hold on. The reason he had kept having the Flame Spirit take action was precisely out of concern that he would overextend himself. The Flame Spirit watched Li Guanqi cultivating with closed eyes, then flashed with teleportation over to Pengluo's side. Hesitating a moment, the Flame Spirit looked up at Jiuxiao and Pengluo, bowed respectfully, and said in a low voice, "Brother Luo... could you help our master recover?" "And... Brother Jiu." "Could I devour the flesh of this Eight-Eyed Ghost-Faced Spider and convert its power for our master?" The Flame Spirit was actually quite uneasy; he didn't know whether they would agree to his request. There was no reply. Just as the Flame Spirit was about to speak again, bent over in his bow, he saw Pengluo snap off an entire arm of his own and hold it out! The arm was translucent and extraordinarily plump—clearly something he had just regenerated! And Jiuxiao went even further, directly proffering the entire remainder of his monster core. Seeing the Flame Spirit still dazed, Jiuxiao nudged the monster core forward in his claw. With cheeks shriveled like dried radish, Pengluo said hoarsely, "What are you staring at... Take... take it..." This time he wasn't faking; Pengluo truly was drained now... A peculiar look surfaced in Jiuxiao's draconic eyes as he gazed at the Flame Spirit. A complex light flickered in the Flame Spirit's eyes. Taking a deep breath, he accepted Pengluo's arm and the monster core. Bowing deeply, he vanished in a flash. With the monster core in hand, the ghost-faced spider's corpse mattered little to him. Bolstered by the power of the monster core and Pengluo's arm, Li Guanqi's complexion turned ruddy at a speed visible to the naked eye! Phew... Li Guanqi exhaled a wisp of black vapor—turbid impurities that had accumulated within his body. Pengluo lay atop Jiuxiao's head, nibbling on several purple gold crystals in his hand. Of course, these spirit stones were bits he had squeezed out of Li Guanqi little by little. Li Guanqi had grown too powerful now; slipping into the storage ring was no longer something Pengluo could do whenever he pleased... Jiuxiao suddenly grumbled something in a muffled, rumbling voice. Pengluo sat straight up and snapped crossly, "I didn't bully him! With his strength... who knows who'll be bullying whom in the future?" "Still... his performance this time did make me see him in a new light." As he spoke, Pengluo glanced back at the distant Devouring Void Flame Spirit. Pengluo curled his lip and leaned close to Jiuxiao's ear, whispering, "Though I keep feeling like Master and the Flame Spirit are hiding something from the two of us, don't you think?" Jiuxiao shook his massive head and glanced at him sideways. His meaning was clear: he didn't care. Casting a glance at the corpse of the Eight-Eyed Ghost-Faced Spider, Jiuxiao curled his lip. Sour, stinking rot. Even if it was the flesh of a ninth-rank monster, he couldn't be bothered to eat it. Having eaten half a monster core, he was feeling a bit drowsy... Jiuxiao's colossal form lifted into the air, swooping beside Li Guanqi in an instant. His body transformed, coiling around Li Guanqi's arm like a small snake. Opening his eyes to give a faint nod to the Flame Spirit beside them, he drifted off into slumber. Fine arcs of lightning crackled across Jiuxiao's sleeping form. Sitting atop the ghost-faced spider's head, Pengluo crossed his arms, looking indignant. His beady eyes darted about. Creeping over to a wound on the ghost-faced spider, he reached out and tore off a piece of flesh. He frowned slightly, but at the thought that this was the flesh of a ninth-rank monster, he shut his eyes, opened wide, and gulped it down. Yet the moment he swallowed it, Pengluo's body went stiff... Yes, stiff... stiff as a board... His rigid body crashed onto the corpse with a thud. Pengluo's face darkened to pitch-black at a speed visible to the naked eye. His eyes went wide. He hadn't expected this monster's flesh to be poisonous! And lethal poison at that! Suddenly, as if remembering something, he squeaked, "Gu... insect... poison!" Whoosh! A streak of purplish-black flame descended from the sky, spreading to envelop him completely. Two breaths later, Pengluo finally returned to normal... Sitting on the ground, Pengluo gasped for breath. "Mother of god, that almost poisoned your grandpa to death! Why does it have a paralyzing effect too?!" "Thanks, eh? You're actually pretty nice." The Flame Spirit smiled and nodded, but immediately afterward, the corner of his mouth twitched... Because Pengluo... had gone stiff again. The last words the Flame Spirit had heard before the little guy stiffened were still ringing in his ears: "Hehe, that tingling numbness... is kind of addictive, isn't it?" "It won't kill me anyway. Let's try another bite..." Thud! Sure enough, Pengluo was stiff again... His beady eyes rolled toward the Flame Spirit in the distance, silently pleading for rescue. Helpless, the Flame Spirit could only refine and devour the toxins in his body once more. When he saw Pengluo sneaking back for another nibble, he couldn't help saying, "If you eat any more, I'll just let you poison yourself to death..." Hearing this, Pengluo scratched his head in mild embarrassment, tore off a piece of meat, and said, "Wanna try some? That tingling numbness is pretty fun." The Flame Spirit's mouth twitched. "You were almost poisoned to death, of course it's tingling numbness..." Pengluo lowered his head, furrowing his brow as he muttered, "Right, makes sense." Thud! "Pengluo!!!!! Are you messing with me on purpose?!" Stiff again... Yet when Pengluo got back up this time, he laughed heartily, walked over to the Flame Spirit, and clapped him on the shoulder. "That's more like it! Talking like that is way more down-to-earth. Always 'my master this, my master that'—I used to be just like you." "As for now..." The right hand hidden behind his back shoved another piece of meat into his mouth. Thud! The Flame Spirit froze, Pengluo's words shaking him to the core. It was as though just now, he had felt more like... a person... In all his long, endless years, for the first time he had felt a sense of closeness. And the feeling of being accepted. Just as myriad thoughts swirled through the Flame Spirit's mind... He saw Pengluo, pitch-black and stiff as a board all over, desperately scratching at the Flame Spirit's foot with his finger.