Wang Wu and Old Niu exchanged a few simple words, then let it quickly go eat the tree heart wood shavings.

The Little Wild Boar lay there like a crying baby, needing Old Niu to transmit some Spirit Essence to it every now and then.

Meanwhile, he began patrolling around as a guardian. In truth, until today, when Old Niu pointed it out, he realized this place was extraordinary and he almost missed it before.

About ten hours later, Old Niu finally ate all the tree heart wood shavings. Although it remained as skinny, its spirit was entirely different, leaving Wang Wu marveling in astonishment.

"Old Niu, do you want me to chop some more shavings for you?"

"No need, third brother, it's enough. Eating too much isn't easy to digest; it's just right now."

Old Niu rarely showed a smile, then unexpectedly dropped a pile of dung. Immediately, three vines rapidly grew from the dung, flourishing quickly, and soon, three little white flowers bloomed at their tips.

The vines stopped growing rapidly, and the flowers quickly bloomed and withered, turning into fruits. These fruits grew larger and finally became as big as apples, glowing red and appearing juicy. But Wang Wu couldn't believe they were edible, only feeling that Old Niu's trick was too magical.

Soon, the dung below was completely absorbed, and all the vines withered away like the wind, leaving only three fragrant fruits.

"Big brother, you're amazing, give me one, give me one, I'm starving!"

The Little Wild Boar rushed forward and chomped down, tears of happiness streaming down—it had been through too much.

"Third brother, you should eat one too, don't disdain it, it's not dirty at all, consider it a Ninth-Grade Spirit Fruit."

Old Niu offered a fruit and then chomped down the third one himself; it indeed seemed delicious.

Wang Wu hesitated, and the Little Wild Boar already rushed over, sobbing loudly, "Third brother, from now on you be the second brother, I'll be the third. Just let me have half of the fruit."

"What are you saying, Little Pig, you eat it, I'm really not hungry right now." Wang Wu felt relieved, truly not overcoming the mental barrier at the moment.

Old Niu chuckled and didn't persuade further, only commented, "Actually, this is a kind of secret technique of mine. My body houses a Companion Ninth-Grade Spirit Vine, which is why I seem to eat so much—even that tree heart shavings, I couldn't digest them on my own, but the Companion Ninth-Grade Spirit Vine had no issues."

"In short, aside from the inelegant activation, its effects are truly phenomenal."

"Companion?"

Wang Wu was shocked. Oh wow, Old Niu also hosted a Companion Ninth-Grade Spirit Vine. He thought that such occurrences were rare and that only he was lucky enough to have it.

At this moment, Old Niu seemed full, leaping onto a tree stump, sitting down, crossing his legs, vaguely resembling the return of Niu Aihua.

"Second brother, third brother, if you have the chance, you should also find a Spirit Grass or Spirit Wood to companion with. This is our Demon Race's most cost-effective secret technique, offering countless benefits without harm. Normally, it helps Concealment and movement. In crucial times, it can be used for healing or even to bear a Spirit Fruit. As long as there's Spiritual Qi, you won't starve."

"Speaking of which, this time, Little Pig and I owe you a great deal for providing such an opportunity. If we stay here for a while, I'm confident I can upgrade my Companion Spirit Vine to Eighth Grade. Third brother, thank you!"

"We're brothers, no need for thanks. But I'm curious, is this tree heart perhaps a branch from Grandpa Tree's heart at West Mountain Temple?"

Wang Wu curiously asked.

"Yes, that's right. But Grandpa Tree's clone in West Mountain Temple hasn't been alive for centuries. You saw it—it looked like a piece of rotten wood. Only today did I learn that Human Race cultivators have been secretly plotting, gouging out a large piece of Grandpa Tree's clone's tree heart. They probably used other insidious methods. Those Human Race cultivators are really cunning. When we three brothers venture out, we'd better keep our distance from them."

"Exactly! They even set a trap, almost trapping me to death!"

The Little Wild Boar interjected, looking revitalized after eating two Spirit Fruits, boasting with a large pig's head, seemingly becoming a bit smarter.

"Third brother, what do you plan to do next?" Old Niu suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask?" Wang Wu was a bit surprised.

"After all, you discovered this place first. If we report this to the Little Tree Spirits, the credit alone is enough for us three to be awarded Eighth-Grade Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers. However, with the situation rapidly changing, the Companion Tree Spirit clan at West Mountain Temple might also join the Great Ape King's battles, and we won't be exceptions."

"So, what's your plan, third brother? Bear in mind, those Little Tree Spirits probably don't know about this place yet." Old Niu spoke with a hint of implication.

But Wang Wu didn't hesitate and shook his head, "I don't want to become Grass and Wood Demon Soldiers. Liberty is better."

Bear Mother's warnings echoed in his mind.

The Cao Li Heng siblings had already guessed his lineage. Even if they didn't have bad intentions, you never know when they might inadvertently leak it.

So it's better to take this opportunity and stay far away.

"Great! Third Brother, you're indeed wise! We, the Three Heroes of the West Mountain, could easily become the Three Heroes of the Western Wilderness. Why get involved in this upheaval, only to not even know how we died?"

The Little Wild Boar clapped his hooves in approval.

"Very well, it's settled then. Next year, when the spring thaws the snow, that will be the day we migrate west." Old Niu nodded.

"Old Niu, what about your parents and your sister and brother-in-law?" Wang Wu suddenly asked, always curious about Old Niu's family situation.

"There's no need to linger. In my family, I am the least accomplished one. Thirty years ago, my parents kicked me out of the clan, forcing me to make my own way, but I've always been living off my sister. In reality, my sister has long resented my incompetence. If she knew of my changes now, she'd only be happy."

"Yes, yes, I'm in the same situation. According to the Demon Race clans' rules, it's called setting up a separate household. Unless I become the very best, I have no right to return. We don't need to worry about their fate, and no one will worry about ours."

The Little Wild Boar exclaimed, though a hint of disappointment could still be seen.

At this moment, Wang Wu thought for a bit and then said, "Old Niu, you and Little Pig stay here. I still want to go out and cultivate my Ice Spirit Root."

"Ice Spirit Root, you're cultivating an Ice Spirit Root? Impressive, Third Brother!"

The Little Wild Boar hopped over with a face full of delight, though he and Old Niu had probably already guessed it. Perhaps this silly one really didn't notice until now.

Old Niu nodded, "Second Brother, why are you shouting? Within a radius of thousands of miles of the Great Snow Mountain, every winter, there's always cold winds and snowstorms. Which Little Demon hasn't taken the opportunity to cultivate the Ice Spirit Root? Understandable that Third Brother wants to do this, but going out now could be dangerous."

"The Snow Mountain Great Ape King is a Thousand-Year-Old Demon. If it's still searching for illegal demons, you'll most likely be found. Any Little Demon trying to cultivate the Ice Spirit Root is regarded as one of its minions. All the Ice Spiritual Qi in this area is monopolized by it and its subordinates."

"Yes, yes, Third Brother, it's too dangerous. If you go out, you'll definitely get caught. Don't go, don't go."

Upon hearing the advice of Old Niu and the Little Wild Boar, Wang Wu didn't dare to take it lightly, nor was he arrogant enough to think that Level 15 Passive Concealment would let him come and go freely.

But cultivating the Ice Spirit Root was a rare opportunity.

"Third Brother, I understand your thinking. Cultivating the Ice Spirit Root is important, but it's really not the year to take risks. Actually, if you want to strengthen yourself, there are other ways. You can go to the Profound Iron Jar, use your Qi Blood to refine and temper it, and gradually integrate the Profound Iron Essence into your Bear Claw. This is an unavoidable stage in cultivating Lifebound Demon Soldiers. You don't have a Lifebound Demon Soldier yet, right? Look here."

Old Niu jumped off the stump, mooed, and the two huge black horns on his head instantly etched numerous mysterious runes. Then he unexpectedly charged forward and rammed into the tree bark dozens of meters away.

With a "boom," Old Niu's two large Black Bull Horns easily pierced into the tree bark, about thirty centimeters deep.

This scene shocked Wang Wu quite a bit because he considered his own strength absolutely capable of suppressing Old Niu, yet his claws could only leave marks less than a centimeter deep on the tree bark. Old Niu could achieve such a feat.

"Haha, Third Brother, watch me too!"

The Little Wild Boar laughed loudly, charged ahead, and his four tusks could also pierce more than ten centimeters into the tree bark.

It just took some effort to pull them out.

As Old Niu struggled to pull out his horns, he shouted, "See that, Third Brother? That's the use of Demon Soldiers, honing your claws to be tougher and sharper, not necessarily inferior to the Human Race's Lifebound Sword. I'll teach you some Qi Blood activation techniques later. This winter, don't go anywhere, just focus on refining the Profound Iron."

Seeing Old Niu and the Little Wild Boar persuading him to this extent, Wang Wu naturally wouldn't insist on his own way. Indeed, compared to cultivating the Ice Spirit Root, refining the Bear Claw, and cultivating Lifebound Demon Soldiers, these are equally important.

In conclusion, there's a lot more he needs to learn and continue strengthening, which can't be achieved in a short time. Speaking of which, this time, he managed to strike it rich. It was really lucky, and such opportunities will be very rare in the future.

Instead of waiting for a windfall, it's better to ground oneself in cultivation.

"Old Niu, Little Pig, I understand. This winter, we'll seclude ourselves here."

"Alright, alright! Third Brother, Big Brother has already renamed himself Niu Dajiao, and I've changed mine to Pig Iron Beak. Do you want to rename yourself to Bear's Claw?"

The Little Wild Boar asked expectantly, truly middle school level stuff.

"Why not!"

Wang Wu laughed heartily, completely unconcerned. Besides, he believed that in time, Old Niu and the Little Wild Boar would continue to change their names. After all, he had already seen through their middle school nature.

"Ahem! Well, Third Brother, come help me out!"

After talking for quite a while, Old Niu still couldn't pull his horns out, and the same was true for the Little Wild Boar. These two silly ones were in a strange posture, stuck in the tree bark.

Wang Wu stifled his laughter and stepped forward to pull them out.

At this moment, he felt great contentment.

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