Chapter 201: Demon Beast?

Roar! About a dozen Snow Lion cubs surrounded Hao Ren.

Except for two battles with Qin Shaoyang and one competition with Su Han, Hao Ren's experience of battles was almost zero.

The dozen or so Snow Lion cubs were not as huge as the adults, but their heights reached Hao Ren's waist. They looked fierce.

Having blocked Hao Ren's only exit, the adult Snow Lions weren't eager to attack him. They seemed to want to use Hao Ren to train the Snow Lion cubs.

Hao Ren's heart raced as fast as 180 beats per minute. Circulating the five-elemental sword energies around him, his observed the moves of the cubs carefully, ready to release sword energy any moment!

Meanwhile, the last 1,000-year seven-colored snow lotus was still up on the top of the cave.

If he couldn't get it, Zhao Kuo would certainly die!

About a dozen pure white Snow Lions stepped closer to Hao Ren.

Kicking the ground, Hao Ren leaped up suddenly and shot a beam of sword energy upward.

Swoosh! The sword energy cut into the root of the third snow lotus which immediately fell.

Hao Ren reached out and caught it. Anyway, he had gotten all the snow lotuses!

Almost at the same time, the dozen Snow Lions also leaped up as high as Hao Ren. Instantly, they pounced at Hao Ren while they were in the air.

Swoosh! Swoosh... Hao Ren shot out beams of sword energy with his ten fingers. He dropped to the ground and turned to race toward the entrance of the tunnel!

However, the adult Snow Lions stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the exit like a huge wall of flesh!

Hao Ren shot out sword energy with his full force, but they didn't budge!

According to the power system of the Dragon Clan, these Snow Lions each had the strength of the Xun Level. That was why the Earth Dragon Clan members guarding this place couldn't get the 1,000-year snow lotuses even though they knew the lotuses were in the depth of the cave.

Hao Ren crashed into them, but he was bounced back as if it was a resilient wall.

The dozen or so Snow Lion cubs pounced at Hao Ren again!

Hao Ren tried to release sword energy, but he lost his aim. The Snow Lion in the foremost of the group pounced on him and pushed him on the chest with its paw.

Splash! Hao Ren fell backward into a puddle.

He tried to struggle up, but the other Snow Lion cubs had all followed up.

Each of the Snow Lion cubs weighed more than a human adult. Although their spirit beast potential had not been activated yet, their body strength and attacking force was even stronger than that of a Dragon Clan cultivator at the Zhen Level!

With its paw on Hao Ren's chest, the Snow Lion cub opened its mouth. Hao Ren closed his eyes, knowing he would die this time.

Lick... Hao Ren felt a slimy feeling on his face.

He opened his eyes and found the cub was licking his face affectionately!

And the other cubs were all sitting around him tamely, scratching his hands, feet, and belly!

"Huh?" Panicked and baffled, Hao Ren sat up on the wet ground.

The Snow Lion cub which had been licking his face put its head on his chest and rubbed against it fondly.

Tentatively, Hao Ren reached out his stiff fingers and scratched its head as if he was petting a puppy. The cub seemed to like his petting, squinting its eyes cutely.

The adult Snow Lions blocking the exit rumbled, then they turned to leave.

Hao Ren stood up, and the Snow Lion cubs followed him obediently while some of them rubbing against his pants affectionately.

"Is it possible that they were playing with me instead of attacking me?" Hao Ren felt amazed.

He walked out of the tunnel, and the adult Snow Lions had disappeared, but the dozen or so Snow Lion cubs followed him closely.

He continued to walk and encountered nothing dangerous on his way. He touched his chest to make sure he was not hurt, still baffled about the situation.

When he came to the exit of the cave, a surge of Nature Essence rushed at him, and the cubs timidly hid behind Hao Ren.

They shook their round heads and looked at Hao Ren expectantly with their black eyes, seeming to beg him to take them out.

Hao Ren understood them, but he couldn't take them all. He squatted down and chose the prettiest one, which was also the first one that had pounced on him. He scratched its paw.

Understanding Hao Ren's intention, the Snow Lion cub jumped into his arms, turning into a mini Snow Lion as big as two palms.

The ability to change sizes was a born-ability of spirit beasts. Holding it in his arms, Hao Ren got a faint glimpse of two huge adult Snow Lions looking at him in the depth of the cave.

"It seems your parents want me to take you out." With a pat on its little head, he put it in his arms. Circulating a surge of Nature Essence, he walked out of the cave.

It was bright outside; it was the second day! Hao Ren had spent a whole night stumbling through the cave.

The two guards were still on the ground, unconscious. Hao Ren wondered if they had been like this for the whole night or had woken up and then sent into unconsciousness again by Su Han. She was sitting on a nearby boulder, cultivating with her eyes closed. Sensing Hao Ren approaching, she opened her beautiful eyes. "Have you got them?"

"Yeah." Hao Ren nodded. He didn't want to tell her the dangers he encountered in the trip; after all, the only thing that mattered was that he had gotten the snow lotuses.

Su Han's gaze rested on the Snow Lion cub in his arms. "And you caught a little spirit beast?"

Hao Ren thought, "I didn't catch it; if followed me out." But he just nodded, not caring to explain.

Su Han glanced at it again. "A Bin Level spirit beast. It will be a good pet. How many snow lotuses have you gotten?"

"Three. There are only three that have matured," Hao Ren said.

"We have no choice but to ask the Earth Dragon Clan for the last one." Su Han tossed up her sword and stood on it.

Hao Ren also stood on it. Knowing Su Han had been guarding the entrance in case Qin Shaoyang would come and rob the snow lotuses from him, he felt a surge of gratitude.

The sword flew swiftly toward the highest peak of the Sky Mountain. Su Han tossed out two air currents and woke up the two guards at the entrance of the cave.

It was the first time the Snow Lion cub saw the world outside of the cave and it looked around at everything curiously like a harmless little animal.

However, Hao Ren had seen its original form and its great power. If it took its original form, a cultivator below the Zhen Level would not be its match.

"If your hidden space is spacious enough, you can place the cub in it. But you'd better not put any herbs in the space, or he will eat them all," Su Han told Hao Ren.

"Good idea!" Not wanting to attract too much attention, Hao Ren tossed the Snow Lion cub into his necklace and took out the five 1,000-year snow lotuses. He handed them to Su Han.

Su Han put the five snow lotuses into her space ring. After a moment of consideration, she asked, "Was there only one spirit beast in there?"

"No. There are many of them, big and small, but they didn't attack me," Hao Ren said.

"Then you were fortunate. Since your cultivation strength is weak, the essence of the dragon core in your body is not strong. You are also cultivating the human cultivation technique the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll, the spirit beasts guarding the snow lotuses in the cave thought you were a cultivator from the Sky Mountain Sect and didn't attack you." Driving the flying sword, Su Han turned her head and said to Hao Ren.

"Poor spirit beasts! Their masters left them hundreds of years ago, and they are still in the cave guarding the spirit herbs and waiting for their masters. No wonder they were so happy to see me, thinking I was a human cultivator," Hao Ren thought.

Since no one fed them and they couldn't leave the cave, they had to eat the snow lotuses. So far, they had eaten the matured snow lotuses, and the three 1,000-year snow lotuses must have been their food stored for the future.

Su Han's white jade sword flew toward the highest peak and arrived at the mountaintop shortly.

The flying sword landed smoothly. Seeing Su Han's sword light from a distance, the elders all hurried out to welcome them.

"Elders, the snow lotuses in the karst cave are not enough, so we still need the last 1,000-year snow lotus in your possession," Su Han said politely.

The elders exchanged a look, thinking they were not able to get into the depth of the cave but were too proud to admit it. They had expected Su Han would come for the snow lotus and had put it in a golden wooden box. They handed the box to Su Han.

Su Han opened the box and made sure it was indeed a 1,000-year snow lotus. As compensation, she took out six dark red elixir pills. "Here are six Soul Transferring Pills which are very useful for breakthroughs. I'll trade these pills for your snow lotus."

The First Elder took two steps forward respectfully and took the six elixir pills from Su Han. Six elixir pills for one snow lotus, it was not a bad deal for them.

"I'm in a hurry now. We must take our leave!" Su Han tossed up the white jade sword and brought Hao Ren up to the sword.

"Farewell! Inspector Su!" The elders of the Earth Dragon Clan bowed their heads.

Having gotten six 1,000-year snow lotuses, Su Han had no time to settle accounts with Qin Shaoyang. She immediately took Hao Ren back to East Ocean City.

On the way back, Su Han asked him abruptly, "When you were deep in the cave, did you see some small dark red flowers?"

"Small dark red flowers?" Hao Ren remembered faintly that he had seen several very ordinary-looking small red flowers in the big cave at the end of the karst cave. They grew on the wall of the cave beside the 1,000-year snow lotuses.

"Are the red flowers as big as half a nail, looking like little dots?"

"So, they do exist..." At Hao Ren's answer, Su Han murmured to herself, "These are materials for youth elixirs. Someday, I'll come back for it..."

"Su Han, have you heard of a kind of seven-colored snow lotus that takes 10,000 years to take root, 10,000 years to bloom and another 10,000 years to mature?" Hao Ren asked abruptly.

"The natural snow lotuses wither after 1,000 years. I've never heard of such snow lotuses you mentioned. However, the Sky Mountain Sect were experts on growing snow lotuses; maybe they could cultivate such snow lotuses with special methods," Su Han answered casually.

Not knowing how to pursue the topic, Hao Ren kept the questions to himself. The things the Lu sisters mentioned were all treasures, and some of them were beyond Su Han's knowledge.

Rumble! Rumble... Suddenly, Hao Ren felt the Snow Lion in the hidden space of the necklace rolling around.

The cub seemed to be hungry.