"Your Highness Sixth, I have a request," a soft voice said.
Seeing Yang Hong did not stop, the voice raised slightly, clear and pleasant.
Yang Hong then turned his head to look.
It was Lin Daiyu, that frail beauty, Sister Lin.
She appeared thin and weak, looking as if she would suffocate from exhaustion after walking so far.
Yang Hong felt no pity or tenderness towards her; instead, he felt a degree of disgust.
Although he had loved Sister Lin and pitied her when he read "Dream of the Red Chamber" in his past life, this was a real world, a world of martial artists and cultivators.
To be so frail in a martial world was simply useless.
"Speak," Yang Hong said indifferently, suppressing his inner disgust.
"Your Highness Sixth, my health is poor, could you please..."
Before Lin Daiyu could finish, Yang Hong raised his hand to interrupt her.
Yang Hong scanned Lin Daiyu's body with his spiritual sense. At twenty years old, her body was not as healthy as Jia Xichun's beside her.
He looked at Song Yuzhi and said, "Yuzhi, this Lin Daiyu is too weak. Within her physical limits, give her intensified martial arts and farming tasks. As long as she doesn't die, train her to death."
Yang Hong's voice was calm and detached, but to Lin Daiyu, it was like thunder. As soon as Yang Hong finished speaking, she fainted.
"Sister Lin... Daiyu... Miss..."
The group of girls who had been full of anticipation turned pale, surrounding Lin Daiyu and crying out in distress.
Yang Hong's brows furrowed, and he shouted, "Silence! Move aside, Li Xuefeng, save her."
Li Xuefeng was Noble Lady Li, the daughter of a royal physician, and knew some medicine.
The newly arrived girls, intimidated by Yang Hong's imposing aura, obediently stepped aside.
Yang Hong glanced at them, his mood slightly soured. These girls were nothing but trouble.
"Yuzhi, I know your Song family is skilled in military training, so as the second daughter of the Song family, you must know something about it, right?"
"Yes! My dear, don't worry, I will train these young ladies as quickly as possible."
Song Yuzhi's eyes brightened further, and her tone became more excited.
"These people are yours to handle."
Yang Hong nodded with satisfaction and went to the Baolian Pond to seek solitude.
It wasn't that Yang Hong was lazy, but he disliked trouble.
He worried that he might kill a few people on impulse, just to make an example.
Arriving at the Baolian Pond, Yang Hong specifically looked at the corpse under the [Demonic Qi Blood Lotus].
As expected, the corpse had vanished, leaving no trace, not even bone.
The [Demonic Qi Blood Lotus] was indeed demonic and bloody, having completely digested a cultivator's corpse in just three days. It was truly terrifying.
After digesting the corpse, the five Demonic Qi Blood Lotuses became even more vibrant, and five small lotus seedpods even began to sprout.
It was peculiar; these spiritual plants, after blooming, surprisingly did not bear seedpods until now.
This completely defied Yang Hong's understanding of natural laws, but considering it was a world of cultivators, it seemed normal again.
He moved the Demonic Qi Blood Lotus slightly further to the side and surrounded them with ten Water Purification Lotuses, trying to prevent the extremely pleasant sweet fragrance of the Demonic Qi Blood Lotus from spreading.
Smelling the fragrance of the Demonic Qi Blood Lotus always whetted one's appetite.
It always made one crave meat, and a bloodthirsty desire would surge from the depths of one's heart.
Therefore, Yang Hong usually did not "灌顶" (infuse energy) the Demonic Qi Blood Lotus, allowing them to grow naturally.
After moving the Demonic Qi Blood Lotus, Yang Hong also brought some stones to widen and heighten the banks of the Baolian Pond, trying to prevent others from accidentally entering.
After all, his place, the Pavilion of Unfeeling Indifference, had acquired a group of troublesome individuals.
For two consecutive days, Yang Hong did not return to the Yadou Tower. Instead, he had the eunuch Old Wang fetch him some construction materials and remodel the Baolian Pavilion, where he stayed.
He intended to wait until Song Yuzhi had finished the basic training of the newcomers before returning.
One evening, Yang Hong was meditating and cultivating in the Baolian Pavilion when a tiger's roar suddenly startled him awake.
"A tiger's roar? Are there tigers in the imperial palace? Whose new pet is it?"
Yang Hong mumbled groggily, then realized something was wrong.
The tiger's roar was low and faint, but it felt very close.
He immediately stood up and looked towards the lotus pond.
Under the bright moonlight, about three feet above the lotus pond, there was a gray rift, about ten feet high and three feet wide.
A massive tiger was struggling to climb out of the rift.
Judging by its movements, its size was clearly too large for the rift, making its escape incredibly difficult.
"Hey, you kid, hurry and help this tiger grandpa out. Once tiger grandpa is out, I'll give you great benefits."
Just as Yang Hong was curiously observing the tiger, it spoke.
It was speaking in pure human language, with a Northeast accent.
Yang Hong walked closer to the lotus pond curiously, looking at the large head and two forelegs that had emerged from the rift, and the tiger still struggling with all its might.
"You're a tiger?"
"Nonsense, of course, tiger grandpa is a tiger. Tiger grandpa is the Blazing Sky-Soaring Tiger, the king of tigers."
"You can talk?"
"Hmph~ Tiger grandpa is an eighth-rank Tribulation Stage transformed demon, of course, I can talk."
"Is eighth rank very powerful? How many stages are there in cultivation?"
Seeing that the tiger seemed easy to talk to, Yang Hong moved closer and started a conversation.
"Cultivation on the Taiyuan Continent has nine stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Integration, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Separation, Body Integration, Tribulation Crossing, and Mahayana.
The eighth-rank Tribulation Crossing stage is considered one of the peak existences on this continent.
Kid, why aren't you hurrying to help tiger grandpa?"
The tiger spoke while clawing at the air, its body wriggling, slowly squeezing outwards.
"If you're so powerful, why are you stuck in this rift? Shouldn't you be able to break through it with a mere flick of your hand?"
Yang Hong circled the Baolian Pond and found that the rift seemed to be one-sided. Beyond the rift was a visible black space.
The rift appeared out of nowhere, and so did the tiger.
"Hmph~ That's because grandpa was blinded by... by the wind and accidentally got stuck in mid-air.
Kid, quickly pull tiger grandpa out. Once I'm out, I guarantee you wealth and prosperity, and you can even cultivate to become an immortal."
The tiger's voice became a bit more urgent.
It could feel the pressure of the space increasing. If it didn't get out soon, it would have to use its cultivation to force open the spatial passage.
But doing so would inevitably attract the attention of the seal guardians.
If that happened, its death would be a small matter; if the loophole in this seal were exposed, the entire demon race would be in danger.
Therefore, the tiger demon did not want to use its cultivation unless absolutely necessary.
Just like its roar earlier, it had deliberately lowered its volume.
"Tiger, tell me about the cultivation world. I want to hear stories."
The tiger demon was anxious, but Yang Hong was not.
He stood about ten feet away from the tiger demon, watching its struggle with great interest.
"My... my young sir, please pull me out first. Once I'm out, I'll tell you all about the cultivation world. I've lived for tens of thousands of years and know many secrets."
The tiger demon's voice became as calm as possible, using its spiritual sense and a seductive technique.
"Alright..."
Yang Hong's head spun slightly, and he slowly rose, stepping on the water as if it were solid ground, walking towards the tiger demon, and...
Yang Hong really reached out his hand.