Ziyun Sect.
Xianyu Peak.
The Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower stretched its leaves contentedly in the gentle breeze.
Ye Fan's bottle of experience water had awakened its sentience back then, and now it had finally stabilized completely.
It had gained a deeper understanding of this world.
When idle, it would follow the cultivation techniques in its mind.
After circulating the demonic energy for a full cycle, the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower stopped.
It discovered a slight anomaly in its body.
The flowerpot it had been comfortably inhabiting now felt incredibly awkward.
Instinctively, it yearned to break free from the confines of the pot...
"Clatter."
The flowerpot toppled to the ground, and the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower followed, falling with it.
Its roots slowly began to withdraw from the soil...
The entire process was slow, taking nearly half an hour to complete.
Purple light flowed around its body, and the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower struggled to stand up from the ground.
It moved its leaves, and its roots gradually explored its surroundings.
Eventually, the roots split into two.
Like a human, the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower began to walk with its two root-legs, stumbling along.
It looked like an infant learning to walk, incredibly clumsy.
This novel sensation was something it had never experienced before, and it was clearly enjoying itself immensely.
As it wandered around, the light surrounding its body grew stronger.
Finally, its entire form was enveloped in a ball of light.
The purple light sphere grew larger and larger, exceptionally dazzling in the dark night.
An hour later, the purple light slowly receded.
The original Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower was gone, replaced by a young maiden lying on the ground.
The maiden was unclothed, her skin still bearing a faint residual purple glow.
Once the purple light completely faded, the maiden slowly rose from the ground.
It was a peculiar sensation, entirely different from when she was a flower.
Curiously, she touched her new body.
"Did I transform?"
"But I'm only at the Nascent Soul stage, I shouldn't be able to transform yet, right?"
"This is so strange?"
"Perhaps my master found a way to help me transform ahead of time?"
"Gurgle—!"
A sound emanated from her stomach.
"Suddenly I'm so hungry," the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower mumbled, grabbing a handful of soil from the flowerpot and stuffing it into her mouth.
She used to think this soil tasted good, but now it didn't seem quite so palatable.
However, she didn't dwell on it, continuing to grab handfuls of soil and chew.
After finishing the soil in the flowerpot, she dug from the ground, and eventually, she began to eat directly from the earth.
Before long, a large pit had been dug into the ground...
The Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower wiped her mouth and stopped.
Eating dirt like this wouldn't do.
If my master saw me making such a mess of the house, she would surely be unhappy.
And the other parts of the master's sect are probably not places I can just eat indiscriminately...
With this thought, the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower decided to venture outside the sect.
There was plenty of soil out there, so she wouldn't lack for food.
She had only taken a few steps when she turned back.
She had almost forgotten.
Humans usually wear clothes, and if I'm not wearing any, they'll think I'm not fitting in.
Since I've transformed into a human now, I'll definitely need to integrate into human society in the future.
The first step is to start by wearing clothes.
The Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower summoned the scattered leaves on the ground, and they instantly transformed into purple light, covering her body.
When the light faded, she was adorned in a set of flowing purple gauze.
"Speaking of which, I should also give myself a name," she murmured as she adjusted her attire. "From now on, I'll call myself Ziyu, and my nickname will be Yu'er."
Thus, the Purple Jade Ice Flame Flower flew out of the Ziyun Sect.
Normally, her movements would have alerted Ziyun and the others.
Moreover, she was only at the Nascent Soul stage; even if she could elude True Person Ziyun, she couldn't hide from Li Tianju and A'da.
Strangely, not a single person, including Li Tianju, detected any abnormality on Xianyu Peak.
After flying a few hundred miles in a random direction, Ziyu stopped.
"I'm already outside my master's sect's territory, I should be able to eat now," Ziyu mumbled, landing gently on the ground.
She was not picky, digging up a handful of soil and eating it with relish.
Several cultivators were flying towards her, conversing as they approached.
They had had a good harvest from their recent expedition to the Demonic Beast Forest.
Not only had they successfully hunted a fifth-level Foundation Establishment demonic beast, but they had also unexpectedly obtained a demonic core.
After all, not every demonic beast at the Foundation Establishment stage condensed a demonic core, so this trip had been extremely profitable!
Just then, they spotted a young maiden sitting on the ground ahead.
Even just her back view made their hearts stir!
In broad daylight, a cultivator-less maiden sitting alone in the wilderness.
This was an opportunity!
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Ziyu turned around.
To be honest, Ziyu was exceptionally beautiful.
However, the moment they saw what she was doing, the cultivators lost all inclination to strike up a conversation...
A beautiful girl eating dirt on the ground in the middle of the night?
Was she out of her mind?!
Although she had seen people at the top of Xianyu Peak before, such as Ye Fan and his master, and Li Mingbai, etc.
But back then, she was in her flower form and had had no interaction.
So, this was her first formal contact with humans.
Seeing the humans staring at the dirt in her hands, Ziyu brought the soil closer to them: "The taste is quite good, would you like some?"
Her simple words and actions conveyed her friendliness and goodwill.
"We'll pass..." the cultivators replied with strange expressions. "Please, enjoy your meal..."
"What's the rush that's making you leave so quickly?" Ziyu asked kindly. "Do you need my help?"
"We just finished our training and are heading back to the sect." The cultivators added, "Miss, farewell!"
With that, they slipped away without looking back.
Ziyu didn't think much of it and continued to eat dirt with gusto.
The soil here tasted good to her, and she was enjoying herself.
A quarter of an hour later, Ziyu patted her stomach with satisfaction.
Those humans had mentioned training, which reminded her that she should also undergo some training.
After all, she had only been confined to a flowerpot before and had never really taken any action.
My master has bestowed upon me such a great opportunity; I must cultivate diligently to repay her!
Even if I can't become her capable aide, at least I shouldn't be a burden!
With that, Ziyu departed.
All that remained was a large pit on the ground, two zhang in diameter and one zhang deep, as if recounting her presence there...
Demonic Beast Forest.
A wolf demon at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage surveyed its territory with satisfaction.
Today, it had successfully eliminated its neighbor and incorporated its territory into its own domain.
Although it was injured, it was not a major issue.
Scars were symbols of honor!
With each increasing scar, it would only grow stronger!
"Bang—!"
A streak of purple light descended, and its head, as expected, gained a new scar...
Unfortunately, this scar did not bring it any honor; instead, it claimed its life...
"It seems I chose an opponent that was too weak..." Ziyu squatted down, curiously examining the wolf king on the ground.
Although she was also a demon, she had not encountered many of her kind.
Creatures like wolves were still novel to her.
"Gurgle—!" Ziyu's stomach growled again.