After encountering a swarm of wild bees, Luo Xingzhou and his companions seemed to experience a streak of bad luck. That night, it started to rain while they were camping. Fortunately, Luo Xingzhou sensed something was off, and Chen Kangning, being a water-elemental ability user, confirmed that the moisture content in the air had increased. So, they had decided to find a cave to spend the night instead of camping outside in the open.
Around ten o’clock local time that night, it started raining outside. At first, the raindrops were small, but after about half an hour, the rain intensified. Looking out from the cave, the entire planet seemed to be submerged in a watery world, with only the sound of rain audible, drowning out all other noises.
Luo Xingzhou was awakened by the sound of rain and could not go back to sleep. Chen Kangning was also awake, while Milo continued to curl up and sleep soundly.
Lina turned to Luo Xingzhou and Chen Kangning, saying, “Thank goodness you reminded us. Otherwise, camping outside in this weather would have been terrible. No wonder there were so many bugs in the cave when we cleaned it; they must have come in to escape the rain.”
Huo Zhijun also felt that traveling with them was much easier. She and Lina lacked practical knowledge and while they had done their homework, it didn’t mean they could apply it effectively: “We don’t know when this rain will stop. If it continues like this after dawn, we’ll probably have to stay in the cave.”
Luo Xingzhou nodded in agreement, “That’s right. Traveling in the rain is troublesome, and even with a cave to shelter in, everyone needs to stay vigilant. The sound of the rain masks other noises.”
“Exactly, we can’t be careless,” Chen Kangning agreed.
Milo slept soundly but woke up at midnight and insisted on being on duty. Huo Zhijun and Lina went to rest, and he promised them that he would wake them immediately if there was any movement.
Luo Xingzhou instructed Jiutang to lay out a thick layer of vines at the entrance of the cave. Chen Kangning and Milo felt safer with this setup. Jiutang diligently intercepted not only bugs but also caught several snakes. The largest disturbance was caused by a python, thicker than an adult’s thigh, trying to enter the cave to escape the rain.
After Jiutang relayed a mental message to Luo Xingzhou, it wrapped all the vines around the python and attacked. Luo Xingzhou and Chen Kangning quickly went outside to help, leaving Milo in the cave.
Dealing with the python in the rainy night was challenging. The python’s slippery body, combined with the rain, made it difficult to gain a foothold. Jiutang was getting frustrated, but fortunately, Chen Kangning, as a water-elemental ability user, was in his element in this rainy night.
Seeing that Jiutang was struggling to contain the python, Luo Xingzhuo suddenly used the flower bud at the top of his vines to target the python’s mouth. As the python was about to swallow the bud, the flower bud opened up and released a fragrant aroma into the python’s mouth.
Luo Xingzhou swiftly pulled Jiutang back to prevent the flower bud from being swallowed by the python. The flower bud grew after Jiutang swallowed the sea of flowers, and Jiutang had always cherished it. Luo Xingzhou could tell that this bud was related to the flower sea, and its early blooming likely had a purpose.
Chen Kangning fired water arrows into the python’s mouth, causing a gush of blood to pour out. The python, enraged, opened its mouth to bite Chen Kangning. However, an unusual phenomenon occurred: the fierce python suddenly started swaying in the rain as if it were drunk, and after a moment, it crashed heavily to the ground.
Huo Zhijun and Lina instantly woke up, ran outside to see what was happening, and found a black shadow on the ground.
Chen Kangning was surprised, “What happened to the python? Did Jiutang do something to it?”
The flower at the top of Jiutang’s vines had closed up again into a bud. Luo Xingzhou, smiling, explained as he touched the swaying bud, “Jiutang did it. Fortunately, the python was stupid enough to bring itself to the bud. It seems Jiutang’s flower contains a soporific effect, but as long as it stays closed, it’s fine.”
Chen Kangning immediately thought of the flower sea they had encountered, “Could it be similar to the effect of the fragrance from that flower sea?”
Luo Xingzhou, feeling embarrassed about the flower sea being swallowed by Jiutang, could only say, “It should be similar. I’ll keep an eye on it.”
Chen Kangning waved his hand, “Jiutang and that flower sea are different. I’m not worried, just glad that we have another asset. It’ll make things easier for us in the future.”
Huo Zhijun and Lina also approached, saying, “Jiutang is impressive. That was a star beast, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
Since everyone was awake, they worked together to drag the python’s corpse into the cave for processing. After confirming that the meat was edible, they left most of it for Jiutang to consume, keeping the rest for their breakfast. They also extracted the python’s skin, tendons, and beast core. Seeing the beast core, everyone realized that the python was a C-level star beast, which meant Jiutang had managed to drug a C-level star beast.
Inside the cave, they noticed that the flower bud at Jiutang’s top was wilting, evidently due to the energy expended in drugging a C-level star beast. Huo Zhijun and the others decided to give most of the python’s flesh and blood to Jiutang to help it recover faster.
Although it was a bit unsettling to see Jiutang consuming the flesh for the first time, it became less troubling upon reflection. They ate star beast meat themselves, and Jiutang was simply using a different method. Though it looked a bit terrifying, Jiutang was merely extracting the energy from the star beast meat to aid its growth.
As for concerns about control issues, such companion plants awakening in interstellar history had not shown such problems, which further confirmed that Jiutang was a highly offensive and powerful companion plant. That was enough.
From initially being unaccustomed to it, they had now become proactive in feeding Jiutang. Look, Jiutang has done its part again tonight.
After cleaning up and letting the rain wash away the blood, the five of them sat in the cave, chatting and waiting for dawn. As all of them were superhumans or beastmen, staying up all night was not a major issue. Just as they thought the night would pass like this, Milo’s ears twitched, and Luo Xingzhou sensed something.
“Luo Ge, did you hear something?”
Luo Xingzhou looked at Milo and said, “Milo, you heard it too? I think I heard a cry for help mixed with the rain.”
“A cry for help? This is bad. Should we go check it out?” On this planet, besides wild beasts and star beasts, the only ones who might cry for help would be the participants in their program. They had previously checked, and there were no native humans on this planet.
“Milo and Lina, stay here. The three of us will go and have a look,” Huo Zhijun suggested. Lina, being a fire element ability user, had significantly reduced power in this torrential rain, so it was better for her to stay behind.
“Alright, let’s go quickly.” Luo Xingzhou plunged into the rain, with Chen Kangning and Huo Zhijun closely following. Both of them hadn’t heard the sounds themselves, so they just followed Luo Xingzhou.
In the heavy rain, visibility was greatly reduced. Fortunately, Luo Xingzhou and Chen Kangning were less affected compared to others. After rushing for a while, they soon saw the figures of the people calling for help—two men running desperately in the rain.
Chen Kangning wiped the rain from his face and recognized the two men, exclaiming, “Oh no, one is Fang Yang and the other is Ding Changhuan. Fang Yang is a B-level ability user. If even he is only able to run and call for help, then what’s chasing them…”
Chen Kangning’s words caught in his throat as the thing chasing the two men appeared in the trio’s field of vision. It was a towering creature, even Huo Zhijun saw it. As she and Chen Kangning glimpsed the huge beast, their pupils constricted.
Good heavens, it is a B-level star beast—an unicorn lion.
Usually, when they encountered such a beast, they would have to run for their lives.
To save or not to save? It was a serious question. It was said that this type of star beast bore extreme grudges and, once provoked, would relentlessly pursue its target. Given their current strength, they were unable to fight this star beast.
Many people were still watching the live broadcast of this program. Although the torrential rain had greatly affected the broadcast quality, making the people and scenery look less clear, they could still understand the situation.
[Not good, quickly go back, don’t help. Whoever helps will die!] Someone commented anxiously.
[Don’t panic. One of the two being chased by the star beast is Fang Yang. Fang Yang is a B-level ability user. If he can coordinate well with Luo Xingzhou, they might be able to deal with the star beast, or at least protect themselves.]
[Luo Xingzhou? He’s just a newly awakened wood-based ability user. What can he possibly do against a B-level star beast? You’re overestimating him. This could end up getting him killed.]
[Hah, don’t argue with those people. Our Luo Xingzhou and Jiutang’s abilities are beyond their understanding. It all depends on how well Fang Yang can coordinate. If the coordination is good, they might indeed be able to handle the star beast.] The key lay with Jiutang. Many had witnessed Jiutang consume a B-level star beast on the first day they arrived on Hong-ai Star.
[Ah! Not good, who is that idiot who pushed Fang Yang out to confront the star beast? Damn it!]
[Quick, save Fang Yang! That fool should die!]
The sudden situation in the live broadcast made the viewers scream in alarm. They wished they could somehow intervene and push that fool out in place of Fang Yang, but they were powerless to do anything and could only watch anxiously.
Fang Yang was dazed at the moment. The unicorn lion was relentlessly pursuing him. Due to his injuries and the heavy rain, he was unable to resist the star beast. The injuries he sustained were partly due to saving his companion Ding Changhuan. At a crucial moment, he had been pushed out by Ding Changhuan. The foul smell from the unicorn lion was spraying onto his neck, and he felt that he would soon be bitten in half by the star beast.
Why? Why is this happening? Does Ding Changhuan think that pushing him out to face the beast will ensure his survival?
Ding Changhuan was in tears. “Yang Ge, I’m sorry. I didn’t want this. I want to live. Yang Ge, I will make sure to live on for you.”