After transmigrating into the body of the Jade Rat Spirit, I became Nezha's adopted sister.

Bai Yeying turned and looked into the depths of Trapped Sky Mountain. The trees there were even taller, their canopies blocking out the sun, making the forest dark even during the day.

Now, we can go and see what it looks like inside.

Back in her cave, Bai Yeying didn't rush inside. She first checked on the woodcutter. He was still unconscious, but his breathing was becoming more steady, and his face even had some color returning. Cuiluo was gently wiping his face with a wrung-out cloth.

"He woke up once today, very briefly, his eyes were still glazed over, he fell asleep again after I gave him some water," Cuiluo reported in a low voice as she entered. "But he's much better than yesterday."

Bai Yeying nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. Saving even one person was better than nothing. As for the souls captured by the Xuan Yin Sect... she squeezed her eyes shut. Thinking about that now was pointless.

Cuiluo smiled, then looked curiously at the unconscious woodcutter. "Madam, what should we do after this man wakes up? Should we send him down the mountain?"

Bai Yeying pondered for a moment. This woodcutter had witnessed the evil cultivator's soul-devouring and nearly lost his life; his memory would likely be confused upon waking. Sending him directly down the mountain might not be safe and could easily reveal the existence of Trapped Sky Mountain and the demons.

"Once he recovers, have Huang Wu secretly escort him down the mountain, so he doesn't discover his demon identity."

"Yes, Madam," Cuiluo replied.

"Cuiluo, I'm going to cultivate deep in the mountains for the next few days, and I might not be able to come back for a while. Everything in the cave will remain the same, so please take good care of it with Teng Han."

"Madam is going to the deep mountains?" Cuiluo exclaimed in surprise, her face showing worry. "It's not a safe place there. I've heard there are powerful old demons there, as well as the remnants of ancient beasts..."

"I know," Bai Yeying interrupted her, her tone calm. "It's precisely because things aren't peaceful that we have to go."

Looking into her calm yet resolute almond-shaped eyes, Cuiluo knew she couldn't dissuade her, so she swallowed her worries and nodded vigorously: "Madam, please be careful. We're here in the cave, so don't worry."

Bai Yeying smiled and patted her shoulder.

She didn't set off immediately. Instead, she spent two whole days carefully reinforcing the cave's defensive array, ensuring that the warning range covered a radius of five miles around the cave, and leaving behind several evacuation routes and hiding places known only to herself.

She carefully wiped the Black Shadow Whip again, checking every inch of the whip to confirm that the black dragon tendons were still as tough as ever.

Finally, she brought enough dry food, water, medicine to last for more than a month, and a small bottle of Cui Luo's specially made Hundred Flower Honey Dew, which could quickly replenish her demon power.

.................

On the morning of the third day, before dawn, Bai Yeying quietly left the cave. Without alerting anyone, her figure, like a wisp of wind merging into the morning mist, silently swept towards the back mountain, heading towards the deep, vast forest.

As we entered the deep mountains, the light indeed dimmed abruptly. The branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees were layered upon each other, filtering out almost all the sunlight, with only a few slivers of light filtering through the gaps and falling on the ground covered with decaying leaves.

The air was damp and heavy, carrying the scent of earth, moss, and some kind of decaying, aged vegetation.

The surroundings were unusually quiet; even birdsong had become rare. The only sounds were her own breathing and the sound of her footsteps on the soft fallen leaves.

Bai Yeying heightened her senses to the limit, taking each step with extreme caution. She knew this was no longer the territory of the newly awakened demons on the outskirts who would bow and call her "Madam." This was a primitive jungle where the strong preyed on the weak, with no rules whatsoever.

On the first day, she encountered an ironback crocodile lurking in the swamp. The creature was thick-skinned and incredibly strong; its gaping maw could easily bite through a tree trunk as thick as a bowl.

Bai Yeying did not choose to fight head-on, but instead used her agile movements to constantly move around, using her Black Shadow Whip to specifically target its relatively soft abdomen and eyelids.

The battle lasted for about half an hour. The ironback crocodile was beaten black and blue, and although it was furious, it couldn't catch her slippery body. In the end, it retreated back into the depths of the swamp in frustration.

Bai Yeying was also exhausted, having used up most of her demonic power. Her arm was bruised and purple from being swept by the crocodile's tail.

She found a tree hollow to hide in, took some medicine and honeydew, and began to recover.

A vague realization dawned on her: against such a powerful opponent, a direct confrontation was the worst strategy; a hit-and-run approach was the better one. Her whip techniques seemed more suited to this kind of close-quarters combat.

The next day, their opponent changed to a shadow leopard with incredible speed and venomous claws.

That guy was as swift as the wind, and his ability to stealth and hide was almost as good as hers.

A chase and counter-chase unfolded in the dense forest. Bai Yeying used her stealth skills to the extreme, almost brushing past the Shadow Leopard several times, and could smell the stench of its breath.

In the end, she used a narrow crevice in the rocks to restrict the shadow leopard's movement, and then whipped it, breaking its hind leg, thus winning a thrilling victory.

Three bloody gashes were also slashed across his back by the leopard's claws, and they burned with pain.

This time, she realized that she wasn't fast enough and her reactions weren't timely enough. Facing an equally agile opponent, she was in grave danger.

The third day, the fourth day... the days cycled through injury, healing, fighting, and reflection.

She once encountered a thousand-year-old centipede that could spew corrosive poisonous mist, and only managed to escape by burrowing underground using earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from danger).

She also encountered an old but experienced mandrill. That fellow was very cunning. Instead of confronting her directly, he set a trap and led her to a miasma-filled canyon, causing her to inhale some of the poisonous miasma and feel dizzy for several days.

Every battle was extremely dangerous, and several times she thought she might die there.

But after each near-death experience, his ability to utilize demonic power, seize opportunities in battle, and explore his own talents became incredibly clear.

She discovered that her talent for concealment had reached a new level under the pressure of life and death. Not only could she hide her figure and aura, but she could also reduce her life force to a minimum for a very short time, becoming like a lifeless stone, thus deceiving certain demonic beasts that relied on life force to track her.

Earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a term used in Chinese martial arts) is no longer just for escaping or stealth. She began to experiment with suddenly burrowing into the ground during battle, launching attacks from unexpected angles, or creating small-scale sinkholes to disrupt her opponents.

She wielded the Shadow Whip with incredible skill. When it was powerful, it swept across like an iron rod; when it was flexible, it coiled like a serpent. When the tip of the whip was infused with demonic power, it could even briefly leave her body, like a flying sword, to strike from a distance.

Of course, behind the progress lies a body full of wounds and almost depleted supplies.

A month passed quickly, and the medicine and honeydew they brought had long been used up, and the dry rations were almost gone.

Her body was covered with countless new and old scars, the most severe of which was on her left rib, torn open by the claws of a raging bear, so deep that the bone was visible. Although she managed to seal it with her demonic power, it would still bleed if she moved too much.

But she could clearly feel that the demonic power within her body was nearly twice as thick and solid as it had been a month ago, circulating smoothly and freely, and the previous feeling of stagnation and bottleneck had long since disappeared. Her movements were faster, her whip was heavier, and her senses were sharper.

Most importantly, she was no longer afraid. Although she remained vigilant when facing the ferocious beasts and demons that pounced on her, she no longer felt the fear she had when she first entered the deep mountains.

She knew her limits, how to maneuver, how to survive, and even... how to win.

That day, she was resting in a relatively open clearing in the woods, tending to the wound on her left side. Just as she applied the crushed hemostatic herbs, her ear suddenly twitched.