The regions of the Demon Spirit Realm are divided very clearly. Zone 1 to Zone 9 form a three-by-three grid, arranged just like the numbers on a computer's keypad.

Du Yu was at the entrance, which was Zone 2, but his destination this trip was Zone 1 in the southwest.

He needed to complete the fifth intelligence task: to find out why the bugs were chirping. As for the other four collection tasks, he'd probably complete them along the way?

Du Yu pondered as he picked up his pace, heading west.

Once he entered the forest path and was sure there was no one around, Du Yu immediately summoned his Demon Pet.

Ripples of Fire Attribute Demon Breath gathered together, and Xiaoyan appeared out of thin air, landing in Du Yu's palm.

"Wuuu~" Xiaoyan, returning once again, was clearly fond of this environment.

The Demon Breath here was rich and pure, and all of it was Attributeless Demon Breath; any Demon Pet could cultivate here.

The only thing was, you had to add an extra step: convert the Attributeless Demon Breath into the element that suited you.

Little Fen Yang: "Buggy."

"Hm?" Du Yu hurriedly looked around, but right above his head, a super-sized ladybug was dropping down!

By the time Du Yu realized, another "Ladybug Hat" had landed neatly on his hood.

Little Fen Yang hardly reacted at all, which seemed to suggest this guy was relatively weak and bore no ill will.

Du Yu shook his head, brushing the ladybug off with one hand.

"Bzz~" The palm-sized ladybug flitted to the ground.

For a Demon Pet, it was quite small, but compared to ordinary society's ladybugs, this thing was a monster!

The ladybug's antennae twitched, reaching toward the Little Fire Fox standing before it―it seemed the graceful fox cry had attracted it.

"A Demon Pet battle?" The thought suddenly crossed Du Yu's mind.

His first time had been with Li Mengnan.

And now, his first wild battle would go to this Red Ladybug!

Du Yu whipped out his phone, hurriedly scanning.

"Red Ladybug, Fire Demonic Beast, Insect Race.

Named for the black square spots covering its elytra. Red Ladybugs are relatively gentle in temperament, not very aggressive (only toward humans), their growth potential is very low, so Demon Tamers are advised to think carefully before making a contract.

Power Level Assessment in progress...

Mortal Level·Initial Stage. Actual strength may vary; encyclopedia scan is for reference only.

Common Red Ladybug Demon Skills: 1, Flame-Waving Wings..."

"Not very aggressive"—that's only toward humans?

Such a description instantly reminded Du Yu of another creature: the killer whale.

As ocean overlords, killer whales are undisputed in power, and their hunting methods are famously brutal.

Yet when wild orcas meet humans, they almost never harm people.

"Hey? Be careful!" Du Yu was still pondering, when he noticed Xiaoyan had bounced over, treating the Red Ladybug like a toy, tapping its round back with a little paw.

"Bzz, bzz~" The Red Ladybug clearly didn't want to be a toy, and suddenly shot into flight.

"Pop!"

Hu Xiaoyan was quick as lightning, trying to pin it down with her paw, but she was small as well, and the Fire Fox Race was never known for strength.

The Red Ladybug was knocked askew, but didn't stop—instead, it buzzed away in a hurry.

"Yip!" A small fireball gathered quickly before Xiaoyan's face.

"Wait, Xiaoyan." Du Yu quickly stopped her.

"Yip?" The fireball in front of her face faded away, and Xiaoyan turned to look up at Du Yu.

Du Yu suggested, "Let it go. This guy's way too weak, let's find some of those vicious Demon Beasts instead."

Xiaoyan tilted her head at Du Yu, but was obedient, bouncing and hopping back...

Du Yu rewarded her with a sandwich cookie, and of course, to be fair, he helped Little Fen Yang eat one too.

To tell the truth, Du Yu reckoned he could save on his own meals: after all, when he fed Little Fen Yang Demon Pet Food, the Firethorn Fruit Jam got absorbed, but both cookies really did go straight into his own stomach.

Lost in thought, he wandered ahead, phone at the ready, scanning the area as he continued toward Zone 1.

People might not believe it, but along the way, Du Yu had seen no fewer than five types of Demon Beast, all shapes and sizes.

Only the Demon Plant· Beard Tree always looked the same—forever bald...

By the time Du Yu stepped into Zone 1, he still hadn't seen what Beard Tree "beards" actually looked like!

"Hm? Someone's here." Du Yu quickened his steps, rested a hand on a huge tree for cover, and stealthily peeled off a small piece of bark.

Little Fen Yang was overjoyed—happier than eating a cookie!

"Beard!" Du Yu grinned inwardly. At last, he'd found the fabled beard.

Under a distant tree, a boy was squatting in ambush, already unrolled his sleeping bag and laid out a picnic blanket, clearly in for the long haul.

Above his head, a thick vine swung with the breeze, its grayish-green hue standing out—it had to be the beard.

Du Yu hesitated for a moment, then decided to walk over.

"Woof!" Little Wolf Lake Dog was the first to spot an intruder.

"Who's there?" The boy spotted Du Yu in his cloak and immediately stood alert, talking tough: "I found this beard first!"

"I'm not fighting for it." Du Yu waved his hands, signaling he meant no harm. "Why don't you just take the beard off?"

The boy relaxed a little, pointing at a tape measure on the blanket: "This beard's at 2.8 meters now, I need 20 cm more. I'm waiting for it to grow."

Du Yu: "..."

The boy added politely, "Big brother, please leave. This beard is mine. You look pretty strong; you could collect beards in zones 7, 8, or 9."

"Alright, I'll go. How long have you been here?"

Boy: "Four days now. This beard grows more than half a meter a day. I'm almost done."

Four days...

Whoever said a young boy's time is precious?

After such a reply, Du Yu had even less urge to be the villain. He asked, "You've been in Zone 1 this whole time—have you heard any really loud bug-chirping?"

"Oh yeah, actually! It was really quiet before, but last night there were these really loud bug noises, wave after wave, the whole night through." The boy pointed west. "Came from that way, super loud."

"Thanks." Du Yu quickly took his leave—making the boy feel at ease.

Still, to be so young and already awakened... he must be a prodigy. What's he even doing here?

Du Yu's mind was set on completing missions and earning points, but he hadn't realized how much more complicated the Demon Spirit Realm's terrain was than he'd imagined.

With hardly any wild survival experience, he seemed to have gotten lost. Wandering around and around, he'd at least managed to get Xiaoyan into a couple of Demon Beast battles—just friendly matches, nothing life-or-death.

In these Low Level Demon Spirit Realms, there wasn't much Cold Qi, so Demon Beasts that lost their minds were rare. Most little fellows were quite sane—some energetic types could spar with Xiaoyan, but fights would never go too far.

Such a training journey was truly perfect, except, by sunset, Du Yu still hadn't heard any huge bug-chirping.

Yeah, and he hadn't seen another beard either...

...

At nightfall, up in a tree.

Du Yu sat astride a thick branch, leaning against the trunk, one hand gripping his bow, the other hugging the wary Xiaoyan.

His ears were filled with insects' song, his nose brimming with earthy scent—the summer night was genuinely cozy.

With Little Fen Yang's help, he was following that mysterious, badass Little Black Gold Bird, tracing lines of flame through his body, nourishing himself, bit by bit expanding the limits of his vessel.

"Hm? Something's wrong!" Du Yu's eyes snapped open.

Little Fen Yang was circling within him, drawing in and converting Demon Breath at a remarkable pace. But as Du Yu practiced diligently, it felt as if something foreign had invaded his body.

Little Fen Yang: "Youhan Qi."

"So this is Youhan Qi?" Du Yu raised his hand, staring closely at his skin, glowing slightly orange-red.

All day, and he'd finally encountered the infamous "Cold Qi."

Little Fen Yang: "Burn it up, or drive it out."

Du Yu opened his palm to the side. The flame-patterns coursing within him slowed just a bit.

Waves of Fire Demon Breath rushed toward his hand; like clearing out traitors, they left that thread of energy no place to hide or escape. After a full-on blaze, the Youhan Qi was utterly destroyed by the Fire Demon Breath.

Du Yu was curious: "Youhan Qi isn't nearly as sneaky as people say, is it?"

Little Fen Yang: "Because you're pure—you're a Pure Fire Attribute, so it's easier for you to sense something out of place."

Du Yu nodded thoughtfully. So, Demon Tamers like Li Mengnan with multiple attributes are more likely to get tripped up?

After all, with all sorts of Demon Breath inside, Youhan Qi would be easier to disguise.

"Bzz... BZZ!!!"

The sound of wings suddenly intensified—all melded together in a shrill cacophony that made Du Yu sit bolt upright.

Huge bug-chirping!

And really close this time!

Du Yu was about ready to bash his head in; where was this bug swarm during the day?

He quickly suggested, "Wanna go check it out?"

"Sure!"

Du Yu hugged the tree and slid down with care, shining his flashlight ahead, following the swell of insects, inching quickly toward the sound.

The farther he went, the louder and fiercer the buzzing wings became.

Du Yu had no idea what he'd run into. And above his head, dense foliage rustled from time to time—maybe Demon Beasts were making their escape.

That can't be a good omen, can it?

"Heh..." Du Yu drew a deep breath, crept ahead a few more steps, and pressed close to another tree.

Crouching, steadying himself on the trunk, he tilted his head and finally caught a glimmer of light.

In the distance, a spill of moonlight.

And below—ripples shimmering on water.

A small river?

Moonlight was a rare treat. Du Yu eased forward, but dared not cross the stream outright—he feared a Water Demonic Beast might leap out any second.

As he neared the riverside, he finally saw, across the water in the mountain woods, a faint, strange glimmer!

It was a patch of dark red; faint illumination, but against the black backdrop of night, it stood out sharply.

That was exactly where the buzzing chorus came from.

Du Yu tried shining his flashlight over, but it was much too far; after a second's hesitation, he slowly closed his eyes.

Focusing for a few seconds, Du Yu suddenly snapped his eyes open.

In an instant, his eyes were sheathed in pale red.

Mysterious. Stylish!

Of course, Du Yu had no idea how cool he looked, but as soon as he stared across, he was completely dumbstruck!

The forest across the river—was it crawling with Red Ladybugs?

If there were just ten or so, it'd fit the beautiful summer night woods. But packed everywhere, densely packed…?

This ear-shattering bug chorus—it was all Red Ladybugs flapping their wings!

Du Yu was a little dazed. Ladybugs did this sort of thing?

Isn't that supposed to be cicadas and crickets' gig?

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