Chapter 437: Yun Ji Is Missing
Hearing this, the Beast King’s eyes darkened as she looked at Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi remained unfazed, blinking with a look of pure innocence.
The more she acted this way, the angrier the Beast King became.
Every word was practically forced from her throat.
"Are you messing with me?"
At those words, Qiao Xixi’s lips trembled and her eyes reddened.
’Her acting skills were truly top-notch; she could cry on command!’
Qiao Xixi produced an Awakened Beast Soul Crystal Stone. "If you don’t believe me, Your Majesty, see for yourself. Doesn’t this Crystal Stone contain the power of a Dark Source Stone?"
The Beast King looked away and snatched the Crystal Stone from her hand. Her rough movement made Qiao Yi frown. If Qiao Xixi hadn’t told him not to do anything rash, he would have intervened.
The Beast King looked at the Crystal Stone in her hand. The moment she held it, she felt the power of the Dark Source Stone.
Her elegant features hardened. ’Could what Qiao Xixi said be true?’
She glanced at Qiao Xixi again, only to see her with her eyes downcast, looking pitiful and terribly wronged.
’That’s right,’ she thought. ’Given how much she desires me, she wouldn’t dare lie.’
The Beast King clenched the Crystal Stone, her voice a bit stiff. "Besides the Dark Source Stone, what else is needed?"
Qiao Xixi raised her head and said softly, "The other ingredients aren’t hard to find, but this Dark Source Stone is a bit tricky."
"There are plenty of Dark Source Stones in the Thunder-swallowing Forest. What’s so tricky about it?"
"The stones that can be used to refine an Awakened Beast Soul Crystal Stone aren’t ordinary Dark Source Stones, but the raw power from the very origin of the Dark Source Stones. I only obtained it by chance back then, and when I went to look for more, I couldn’t find it."
Her words stunned the Beast King, and doubt colored her eyes. ’The origin of Dark Source Stones?’
Qiao Xixi watched the Beast King’s reaction closely. Seeing her confused expression, Qiao Xixi’s heart sank.
’Sprite, does even the Beast King not know where the source is?’
’Host, I can’t read her mind, but my data shows that only the royal family knows of its existence. Keep digging.’
’This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.’
"Your Majesty, this item is crucial. If we can find enough of it, it’s possible to awaken a Beast Soul to three stars or higher in a single day."
’Awakening a Beast Soul to three stars in a single day!’
’If I get my hands on this, wouldn’t the combat strength of my Beast King City skyrocket?!’
To the Beast King, this was an irresistible temptation.
"You don’t know where this thing is?"
Qiao Xixi shook her head. "I don’t. When I first found some, I only heard scattered rumors that the royal family of Beast King City knew the location. You don’t know either, Your Majesty? Could it be that someone else knows but hasn’t told you?"
The Beast King fell into deep thought, clearly taking Qiao Xixi’s words to heart.
After confirming with Qiao Xixi several times that this item was crucial for refining the Crystal Stones, the Beast King no longer had any intention of staying.
However, she couldn’t appear too eager to leave, so she had her attendants leave behind the gifts they had brought before departing.
As soon as she left, Qiao Yi and Qiao Xixi returned to the living room.
The Beast King had brought a great deal of fresh meat and beautiful beast pelts, and even some small trinkets made from colorless Crystal Stones.
Qiao Yi saw how much Qiao Xixi seemed to like the gifts and felt a pang of guilt. "Xixi, I’ve made you suffer."
Qiao Xixi snapped back to reality, took her hand off the soft beast pelt, and grinning, went forward to tug on Qiao Yi’s sleeve.
"It’s not suffering at all! You’ve never let me go hungry, Father. I’m incredibly happy every single day I’m with you. As for these things, why turn down free stuff? I’ll take however much she’s willing to give."
Seeing her so happy, Qiao Yi’s worries began to fade. "I’ll go get you some breakfast."
"Okay."
Qiao Xixi followed Qiao Yi and carried the meat to the kitchen in the back. As for the beast pelts, she secretly stored the larger ones in her dimensional space. Looking at the beautiful pelts, she couldn’t help but think of her cub, wondering when she’d be able to go back.
The weather had turned cold, so Qiao Xixi picked a medium-sized pink Long-eared Rabbit pelt from the pile and wrapped it around her neck for warmth.
After breakfast, Jin Ling and the others were surprisingly still fast asleep.
"Father, they’ll be okay, right?"
Qiao Xixi was worried, so she pulled Qiao Yi along to check on them one by one.
"They were injured and depleted their beast soul energy. They’re sleeping to mend their beast souls. They’ll be much better when they wake up."
"Won’t they get hungry if they don’t eat?"
"If a few days of hunger could kill them, they wouldn’t be considered strong males."
Seeing that Jin Ling and the others were only sleeping deeply and showed no other abnormalities, Qiao Xixi and Qiao Yi left the room.
"Father, I want to take a walk around the royal palace."
Even though she had tricked the Beast King into searching for the origin of the Dark Source Stones, she couldn’t put all her eggs in one basket. She needed to fool more people.
Qiao Yi didn’t approve, worried that someone in the royal palace might harm Qiao Xixi.
"I’ll go with you."
"But Jin Ling and the others are still here." ’And they’re all healing. I’d be worried leaving them by themselves.’
"Then I’ll take you after they wake up."
"Okay."
With nothing to do while she waited, Qiao Xixi took out the beast pelts, planning to make a set of clothes for Qiao Yi with her own hands.
Seeing her serious expression, Qiao Yi couldn’t help but laugh.
Hearing the laughter, Qiao Xixi looked up. "What are you laughing at, Father?"
"I remember when you were little, you insisted on making clothes for your father, but they fell apart before I even made it out of the cave."
Qiao Xixi blinked. She had no memory of this.
"You were little then, so it’s normal that you don’t remember." ’But,’ Qiao Yi thought, ’I’ll never forget it. A little cub, not even as tall as my thigh, already trying to look out for her father.’
Qiao Xixi huffed. "Well, I’m much better at it now! I’ll be sure to make you the most durable clothes ever."
"Okay."
The word had barely left his lips when a knock sounded at the door.
Qiao Yi stood up. "I’ll go see."
Qiao Xixi, holding a beast pelt, curiously followed him to the door.
Qiao Yi opened the door, and standing outside was, unexpectedly, Sunxuan.
"What is it?"
Sunxuan’s gaze swept across the courtyard. "Has the Holy Priest come this way?"
Qiao Yi raised an eyebrow. "The Holy Priest is awake?"
Sunxuan’s cool eyes grew colder. "Yes, he just woke up. He was gone by the time I returned with the shaman."
"He didn’t come here. You should look for him somewhere else."
Sunxuan got his answer but didn’t leave right away. "How is Sunxiao? Are his injuries serious?"
Qiao Yi sneered. "If you want to know, why don’t you ask him yourself?"
Sunxuan glared at Qiao Yi. "I’m going to find the Holy Priest first."
As he watched Sunxuan’s retreating figure, Qiao Yi raised a hand to shut the door. Suddenly, a figure darted past him and into the house.
Startled, Qiao Yi immediately reached out to grab the intruder.