Qi Yu felt that the difficulty of this question was no less than the classic dilemma of your mother and your husband falling into a river simultaneously, and you could only save one.
She opened her mouth, then sighed, "Can't I choose to go to the Dragon Clan in the morning and the Phoenix Clan in the afternoon?"
Yue Zhiyin and Sui You narrowed their eyes together, looking at Qi Yu.
Qi Yu felt a chill run down her spine. In the end, she simply pretended not to see their gazes, lowered her head to silently pack her things, and then looked up at the sky.
She looked at the sky, the ground, the small grass, anywhere but at their eyes.
After that, the group arrived at the Water Element Forest.
Compared to the cold of the Ice Element Forest, this place was full of moisture. Qi Yu’s clothes were soaked through in less than half a day.
Moreover, the scenery of the Water Element Forest was also exceptionally unique, not what one would imagine of forests and streams.
Instead, water droplets floated everywhere.
Even though they were walking on the ground, clusters of water droplets surrounded them. Under the moonlight, it gave off a strangely beautiful feeling.
However, while Qi Yu, Sui You, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, Ming Lou, and others felt uncomfortable, Yue Zhiyin and Qi Nian were having a great time here.
One of them mastered water and wind elements, and the other had wood elements mixed in. Entering the Water Element Forest, they were overjoyed.
Yue Zhiyin's cultivation was soaring.
Although this rate of increase was still a long way from Yue Zhiyin’s tribulation, it was still of great help to him.
Li Yu and Yu Zhen always adopted a laissez-faire policy regarding the younger disciples. Seeing that Yue Zhiyin and Qi Nian had the idea of meditating on the spot, they simply let them be. They set up camp nearby, letting the others run around as they pleased.
Qi Yu couldn't stand the dampness of this place. Hearing Li Yu tell them to do as they pleased, she immediately reverted to her original form.
A round, lustrous mirror.
Then, it floated in the air, using the water droplets that were also floating in the air to polish its surface.
Ming Lou found it amusing and chased after Qi Yu.
Yue Zhiyin and Qi Nian sat facing each other, both with their eyes closed in meditation.
Since Qi Nian's identity as the Demon Princess had been exposed, she was not only cultivating immortal techniques but also demonic cultivation techniques.
Yue Zhiyin did not have such convenience.
Everyone was awake during the day and did not dare to revert to their dragon form.
It wasn't until nightfall that Li Yu and Yu Zhen and the others fell asleep.
Yue Zhiyin tiptoed out, then, taking advantage of the beautiful moonlight, reverted to his black dragon form and submerged himself in a pool in the Water Element Forest.
The water in the Water Element Forest was not ordinary spring water but a spiritual pool.
The water contained spiritual energy, and it was very dense.
For cultivators with water-element heavenly spiritual roots, it was top-grade. For divine cultivators, it was a spiritual energy storage pool.
Yue Zhiyin closed his eyes, enjoying himself in the pool. Spiritual energy circulated around him. Just as he was about to circulate it for a few more cycles and then go back to sleep, he suddenly saw something white moving around not far away.
Yue Zhiyin narrowed his dragon eyes, his vertical pupils shrinking into a slit. He suddenly stretched out a dragon claw and pressed down on the white, fluffy thing.
"Roar!" The white, fluffy thing was startled and fell to the ground in fright, exposing its belly.
Yue Zhiyin, under the moonlight, finally realized that what his dragon claw was pressing down on was actually a pure white winged tiger.
"Don't eat me, don't eat me... Wuwuwu..." The pure white winged tiger's ears twitched, its tail tucked, and the entire tiger was miserable.
Yue Zhiyin frowned deeply, always feeling that the pure white winged tiger's voice sounded somewhat familiar.
He leaned in and sniffed.
To his surprise, he discovered that the little winged tiger under his claw actually carried the scent of his sixth junior brother, Ming Lou!
Yue Zhiyin, with a sense of justice, looked up and saw it transform into human form.
Ming Lou was terrified by Yue Zhiyin's dragon form. He sat on the ground, trembling. His tiger ears had not yet retracted, and he was so scared that he cried, begging for mercy, "Sir, sir, please don't eat me..."
Yue Zhiyin was amused and deliberately leaned closer to him.
Ming Lou took a deep breath in fear.
Afraid that he would faint from fright, Yue Zhiyin quickly reverted to his original form.
Ming Lou looked at Yue Zhiyin opposite him, dressed in a royal robe, with dragon horns on his head, golden hair, and red vertical pupils... He was completely stunned, his two winged tiger ears twitching from time to time.
"G-g-great..." Ming Lou looked at Yue Zhiyin, his tongue tied.
"Great, your head," Yue Zhiyin reached out and pulled him up.
Ming Lou couldn't withstand his dragon's breath and curled up into a ball, shrinking back, "Can you restrain your scent a bit? It's suffocating."
"Oh, you're getting arrogant now. You were just crying like a baby," Yue Zhiyin mocked Ming Lou, then changed back to his original appearance.
Ming Lou stood up, trembling, "Senior Brother, are you being reasonable? If you were digging a hole to relieve yourself and were pressed down by a giant dragon claw, wouldn't you be scared?"
"We dragons don't dig holes to relieve ourselves," Yue Zhiyin said, then seemed to remember something and looked at Ming Lou with disgust, "You didn't wash your hands after pooping!"
Ming Lou gasped, his face turning red, "That, that was because you scared me?!"
"It's over, it's over, I'm unclean," Yue Zhiyin reverted to his dragon form, returned to the pool, and carefully washed his claws.
Ming Lou squatted beside him, watching silently.
After getting used to Yue Zhiyin's dragon's breath, he was no longer as afraid, only filled with curiosity, "Senior Brother, you are the Crown Prince of the North Sea Dragon Clan, Prince Yuan Yin?"
The North Sea Dragon Clan revered black.
Prince Yuan Yin was the most esteemed among all the current offspring of the North Sea Dragon Clan, the Crown Prince.
His cultivation was also the highest.
Yue Zhiyin nodded, then suddenly raised a dragon claw, pointed to his back, and threw a piece of cloth to Ming Lou, "I got my scales dirty scaring you just now. I finally cleaned them. You wipe them clean for me."
Ming Lou: "..."
He resigned himself to his fate with a sigh. After retracting his tail and ears, he took the cloth and, like serving a cat master, squatted there and wiped the dragon scales for Yue Zhiyin.
Yue Zhiyin glanced at him, his dragon eyes narrowed, "Ming Lou, you don't seem curious at all why I joined the Bei Yuan Sect to become a disciple."
"What's there to be curious about? You have your reasons, and I have mine. But in the end, neither of us has bad intentions, and we still prioritize filial piety to our master." Ming Lou looked at Yue Zhiyin with a fawning expression, "So, what happened today stays between us, right? Senior Brother."
Yue Zhiyin looked at Ming Lou, raised an eyebrow, and nodded. Then, he dropped a bombshell on Ming Lou, "Our Master's wife is the Demon Lord."
"What?" Ming Lou was so shocked that he plunged into the pool with a splash.
The pool contained Yue Zhiyin's dragon's breath, and Ming Lou, unable to resist, reverted to his original form under its pressure.
Ming Lou, who was most afraid of water, flailed his four paws and scrambled towards the shore. Yue Zhiyin knew he had scared him and quickly scooped him up with his dragon claw.
Ming Lou was not okay. His white fur was wet, and he was trembling as he clung to the dragon claw. Then, he looked up and saw Qi Yu approaching with a bright flame spell in the distance...
Qi Yu had been sleeping soundly and came out to see what was happening because she was disturbed.
She was initially worried it was some kind of monster, but when she looked, she saw a black dragon in the pool holding a pure white winged tiger in its claws.
The winged tiger's fur was still wet.
At that moment, they were both looking at her with dumbfounded expressions.
Qi Yu's mood was complicated: "..."
She recognized this black dragon; it was her Senior Brother.
But who was this white winged tiger?
Was it her Senior Brother's lover?
Ming Lou, perched on Yue Zhiyin's claw, clung to him tightly, trembling. Seeing Qi Yu approaching with a curious expression, he quickly looked at Yue Zhiyin, asking with his eyes:
"Senior Brother, what do we do?! Junior Brother Qi Yu is here! But why isn't Junior Brother Qi Yu surprised to see a dragon and a winged tiger bathing in the pool?"
Yue Zhiyin pursed his lips, glanced at Ming Lou, and wondered why he would know why Qi Yu wasn't surprised.
Qi Yu looked at the two of them 'exchanging glances'... Her confusion deepened, and she couldn't help but mutter:
"Why would dragons mate with winged tigers..."
No wonder they say dragons have nine offspring, each different. It turns out they mate with different species.
"Pfft..." Yue Zhiyin couldn't help himself and hid his dragon head in the water, chuckling.
Ming Lou, the entire tiger, was about to explode. He couldn't help but turn and roar at Qi Yu, "You're the one who mates! Your whole family mates! I'm male! Male!"
After saying that, Ming Lou regretted it.
Qi Yu was dumbfounded: "...Junior Brother Ming Lou?"
Ming Lou covered his face with his paws.
He turned to look at Yue Zhiyin, who had half his head buried in the pool, and felt like crying.
Senior Brother, is there still room in your mouth?
If so, please do me a favor and swallow me whole.
Being exposed like this is too embarrassing and tragic.