CBGC - ch178

Chapter 178: Flirt

Today, Su Tingyun is watching Big Bai play the “Eagle and Chicks” game with the little demons.

Whenever it's Big Bai's turn to be the eagle, she enlarges her body and swallows the 'mother hen’ and all the little demons in one gulp, laughing and calling out, “Caught you all! One clean sweep!" Surprisingly, this “cheating” approach doesn’t bother any of the young beasts at all. In fact, they scramble to dive into Big Bai’s belly, afraid of being left out.

Big Bai’s belly holds many fun things: iron balls, rattles, woven spirit beasts that look almost alive, and even branches of the Kunlun Divine Tree. The spiritual energy inside is richer than outside, making it a more comfortable and exciting place. Now that the little demons are smarter, they understand the benefits of being inside Big Bai’s belly and eagerly seek it out.

Among the young beasts, there are a few from the eagle tribe. This game has resulted in a lot of the young keeping their distance from the Eagle clan, even making the sleepy little owlet an unfortunate target. The young eagles, feeling excluded, shed a few tears. Big Bai, unable to bear seeing the little ones cry, instructs everyone to play together, eventually leading the little demons to accept the eagles again. However, the small owl that often naps on Su Tingyun’s shoulder isn’t so lucky. Too lazy to join in and constantly snoozing, it ignores Big Bai’s calls and remains associated with the "eagle group." Refusing to “switch sides,” it ends up entirely isolated.

Su Tingyun considers pulling the little owl off her shoulder so Big Bai can include it in the games. But even as she tries, the owlet simply buries its head under its wing and refuses to budge.

The little owl is an orphan with great potential but suffered injuries early in life. Although it has physically healed, it seems to lack energy, sleeping from dawn till dusk. Su Tingyun, realizing there’s little else she can do, lets it stay by her side.

“I caught you all!” Big Bai exclaims cheerfully after “swallowing” the little demon beasts. Su Tingyun, a bit exasperated, praises her nonetheless, seeing how much fun it brings her. Just then, she senses a sudden brightness in the five-colored glazed lamp Bai Su had given her—the soul fire within grows intensely bright, and Bai Su’s presence draws near.

In this closed Beast Realm without a Boundary Lake, Bai Su shouldn’t be able to appear here. Yet, the presence is unmistakable, and as it weakens, Su Tingyun’s heart tightens. Extending her spiritual awareness, she notifies Big Bai and Jiu Yue before speeding toward the source of Bai Su’s aura.

This realm isn’t particularly large—just one-fifth the size of the White Cloud Realm—and its population barely reaches a few million, making it a rare, isolated world. However, the demons here are incredibly powerful, rivaling even the True Immortal Realm. Su Tingyun’s true strength isn’t very impressive in this realm, but thanks to Xuanyuan Wentian’s imposing presence, she can create an aura of mystery and strength, enough to ensure that the other demons treat her with respect.

Thus, as she dashes on her flying sword across the Temple's sky, no demon shows any sign of dissatisfaction.

From a distance, Su Tingyun spots Bai Su, and she notices he doesn’t look well—pale and noticeably weak. Little does she know, Bai Su had sensed her approaching, and despite his condition, he had barely managed to clean up his bloodstains before she arrived.

Bai Su, having forcibly broken through the realm via a gap in the formation, is understandably in poor shape. Yet seeing Su Tingyun safe and rosy with health eases his heart. Smiling with a hint of helplessness, he says, “This realm is so well-hidden, and the formation is overwhelmingly powerful. Even the Bai family’s combined Heavenly Net could only make a miniscule opening. How did you manage to get in here?”

He glances briefly at the little owl on Su Tingyun’s shoulder. The owl lifts its head, opens one eye to glance at him, then promptly closes it again and resumes sleeping.

Su Tingyun shrugs, also helpless. “Big Bai led the way.”

By chance, they had arrived on a full-moon night when Jiu Yue was performing a ritual to open a small realm lake. However, because of Jiu Yue’s limited power, the lake had only allowed entry, not exit.

Just as Su Tingyun is thinking about Jiu Yue, a fragrant breeze suddenly sweeps by. A flash of red darts past but doesn't make its way to her. The red goes straight to Bai Su, almost leaning against him. Injured, his cultivation of Nine Heavens Profound Immortal makes him weaker than Jiu Yue in his current state. Bai Su finds himself unable to push her away.

Jiu Yue sighs, “Su Tingyun, you rushed over here just to see him?”

Having spent a lot of time with Su Tingyun, Jiu Yue is no longer as formal as before and casually calls her by name now, not a senior.

Soft as if boneless, Jiu Yue reaches out as if to support Bai Su, saying, “Look at him, so weak he can barely stand. Why aren’t you helping him?”

Bai Su, a bit of a germophobe, is not fond of physical contact. Seeing this alluring woman leaning so close, he frowns, clearly uncomfortable. But since he doesn't have the strength at the moment, he can’t escape. He bows down, then raises his head back up, only to look at Su Tingyun with bright, pitifully pleading eyes.

“Jiu Yue, let me help him. He’s my friend—Bai Su.” Su Tingyun enlarges the Springwater Sword and tries to help Bai Su onto it. Realizing their height difference makes this awkward, she decides to let him use her as a support instead.

Once Bai Su is on the flying sword, Jiu Yue follows close behind, casting Su Tingyun a meaningful look and asking through sound transmission, “Are you two really just friends?”

“A friend I would trust with my life, a friend I would die for.”

“As long as it’s just friends.” Jiu Yue flashes Bai Su a flirtatious look, then adds, “He may be a bit weaker than me, but not by much, and he’s certainly handsome. Even the Peacock King, the most handsome in the Beast Realm, falls short compared to him. I almost want to make him my pet.”

Su Tingyun’s face darkens. “Jiu Yue, you can't extend your claws to him and toy with his feelings.”

Su Tingyun knows Jiu Yue all too well. A natural seductress as a fox demon, Jiu Yue has no trouble enticing any male demon beast she desires—save for a few beast kings. The temple is now filled with nearly a hundred attractive male demons she’s gathered from various regions. She absorbed a demon core, and it has some effects on her—so she has fun with them every night. Of course, she wouldn't kill the male demon beasts; she just practices dual cultivation with them, so they improve together.

“Besides, he’s human.” Humans in the demon realm are rare, and their status is low. As a respected demon queen, it wouldn’t be right for her to focus on a human.

“Oh, so what? I like powerful humans, too. Aren’t you one?” Jiu Yue replies as she lightly steps onto Su Tingyun’s sword. The Springwater Sword did expand, but still not that wide. Jiu Yue's toes barely balance on the blade while her other foot floats mid-air. She is beautiful—a touch of red between her brows, a tear-shaped mark at the corner of her eye, and a smile full of affection. One look could soften anyone’s bones.

With her black hair flowing and red robes like clouds, her snow-white breasts look about to burst from the collar of her clothes. There's a golden pendant nestled between them, seductive but not crossing the line. Any male demon would not be able to take his eyes away, but Bai Su keeps his head down, focusing solely on the back of Su Tingyun’s head.

Jiu Yue's eyes flicker, then she lets out a soft gasp, pretending to lose her balance, falling backward in a way that would prompt any man to reflexively reach out.

Bai Su does reach out—only to give her a light push forward.

Jiu Yue, stunned, drops onto her lotus mount below. Her phoenix eyes glint with mischief as she sends Su Tingyun a message, “Oh dear, I think I like him even more now.”

It’s rare to find a male, especially one weaker than her, immune to her charms. It must be known that when she was at the same power level as those Beast Kings, she would occasionally catch them faltering before her.

“How about I disband my harem and devote myself entirely to him?” Jiu Yue leans on her lotus platform, smirking.

Su Tingyun: “…”

Returning to the temple, Su Tingyun immediately takes Bai Su to see Big Bai. She figures the Bai family must be deeply worried about the Word Spirit's safety, so she wastes no time leading him to the garden. “Look, Big Bai has been having a great time lately.”

“This Beast Realm has no boundary lake; only on full-moon nights can we leave through the Bodhi Mirror of Reality. So, for now, we’re staying here,” Su Tingyun explains, then asks in surprise, “Wait, there’s no boundary lake here. How did you get in?”

Bai Su, unwilling to go into detail, responds casually but hasn’t even finished when Big Bai turns excitedly toward him, chirping loudly.

Big Bai bounces over like a cannonball, aiming straight for Bai Su’s arms.

Worried that Big Bai might lack control and harm Bai Su, Su Tingyun catches Big Bai mid-leap, pulling her close. “He’s hurt, Big Bai. Be gentle.”

Big Bai puffs up and declares, “Who bullied you? I’ll beat them up.”

Bai Su never thought that the Word Spirit Beast would be so protective over him, and he's deeply touched.

But Big Bai’s next words make him want to laugh and cry: “I’ll stand up for you, so come teach us how to weave spirit beasts! Look, these are all my students. Chirp!”

On the grass, over a hundred young beasts of various sizes are rolling iron balls around, creating quite the scene. Big Bai nudges Bai Su with her head, urging him to join in. Though weak, Bai Su doesn’t refuse. But Su Tingyun grabs Little Bai’s two leaves, lifting Big Bai, and says firmly, “Bai Su is injured and needs rest. Big Bai, you need to show consideration for family, understand?”

“Oh.” Big Bai reluctantly agrees, turning to Bai Su, “Hey, you. Rest up first. Once you’re better, come help. Got it?”

Su Tingyun still holds Big Bai’s leaves, which twist and tangle as Big Bai tries to turn around. Finally, Little Bai protests loudly, “Quit spinning me; I’m getting all knotted up!”

Mentioning it only makes Big Bai spin faster. Now able to change sizes, Little Bai has no choice but to lengthen his leaf stems into thin tendrils.

This makes Su Tingyun develop bad intentions. She twirls them a few more times, starting to spin Big Bai around. Once she gets the spinning started, she places Big Bai on the ground so the latter rolls several times until she's dizzy, making Su Tingyun laugh so hard she can barely stay upright.

Soon enough, Big Bai invents a new game. She ties two Divine Tree twigs to each little beast’s head and instructs them to spin. Once they’re all tangled up, Big Bai hoists up the sticks, sending the young beasts whirling. Before long, the grassy area is filled with dazed, wobbling beasts stumbling and tripping over each other like they’re drunk, stars in their eyes.

The sole survivor of this dizzying game is the little owl on Su Tingyun’s shoulder. It really chose the right person, and it didn't suffer the white blob's antics.