Chapter 676: Chapter 676: Help! The Lion Cub Is Eating Me!
The old spiritual plant quietly looked at Su Qinglan, his lush leaves slowing down their frantic shaking and narrowing with deep suspicion.
So... this was the Female Master Little Hua kept talking about? The one who had completely stolen his precious granddaughter’s heart and made her forget her own clan?
His hidden gaze became deeper as he scrutinized her from root to tip.
"What exactly is so special about this female anyway?" he muttered bitterly inside his heart.
"My precious Little Hua talked about her every single moment. Female Master this, Female Master that... it almost drove this old plant crazy. Hmph. I refuse to believe an ordinary beastwoman could be that amazing."
He continued staring stubbornly at Su Qinglan. However... the longer he looked, the stranger he began to feel.
Thump.
His spiritual core suddenly skipped a beat.
"...Hm?" The old spiritual plant blinked his spiritual awareness in shock.
A faint, shimmering green aura seemed to be surrounding Su Qinglans body. It was incredibly pure, gentle, and warm.
To a plant, it felt like the first sweet rain after a century-long drought. It felt like the crisp morning sunlight shining through a peaceful, untouched forest.
The feeling was unbelievably comfortable, vibrating at a frequency that called out to his very soul.
His leaves unconsciously stretched toward her, uncurling completely.
Even his tangled roots moved forward across the wooden floorboards a tiny bit. He wanted to get closer to her. Just a little closer... just... one step.
Suddenly, he snapped out of it and froze.
"...!"
The old spiritual plant immediately pulled himself back in a panic.
"No! What on earth am I doing?!" He shook all of his leaves violently. "This is impossible! How could a mere beastwoman possess such a pure Forest Aura?!"
His mind was filled with absolute disbelief and deep-rooted denial.
"No. I don’t believe it. Beastmen have always hunted spiritual plants. They steal our herbs, they dig up our roots, they destroy our sacred forests... they’re greedy, selfish creatures who only know how to take! So... how could one of them possess such a gentle, giving aura?"
It made no sense. None at all.
Yet... his biological instincts could not lie. Every single leaf on his massive body was trembling with excitement, and every root inside the ground was screaming at him: Go closer! Get closer! Absorb just a little!
Even one tiny, microscopic thread of that pure green energy would be enough to nourish his aging core for months. His damaged spiritual power might even recover, and his cultivation could increase!
The temptation was simply too great to bear. The old spiritual plant swallowed invisibly.
"...Could this... be the real reason why Little Hua stubbornly refused to leave?" His expression became incredibly complicated.
"So this female didn’t lure her away with sweet words or trickery... It was this aura. No wonder that silly child kept saying she never wanted to leave. If I lived beside this female every single day..."
The old spiritual plant paused his thoughts, then silently and reluctantly admitted to himself: "...I probably wouldn’t want to leave either."
He quickly shook his main stem to snap himself out of the dangerous trance.
"No! What absolute nonsense am I thinking?! This must be some strange, high-level illusion cast by that beastman! It has to be!"
Just as he was completely lost in his swirling thoughts...
Crunch.
"...?" The old spiritual plant froze. Why... Did one of his lower leaves suddenly tug?
Crunch!
A much bigger, enthusiastic bite landed right on his stem.
The old spiritual plant jumped nearly three feet straight into the air, his roots flaring out.
"AAAAAH!!"
He hurriedly looked down at his base, only to find a chubby, fluffy little golden lion cub hanging heavily from one of his broad green leaves.
The little cub’s round, furry cheeks were completely puffed up as he happily chewed on the rare spiritual herb.
"Mmm! So crunchy!"
The cub’s golden eyes sparkled with pure excitement. He took another massive bite. Crunch!
The old spiritual plant almost fainted from the sheer horror.
"My leaf!! My beautiful, century-aged leaf!!"
The little lion cub happily wagged his fluffy, tufted tail, completely unbothered. Then, he licked the leaking spiritual sap from the leaf with his tiny pink tongue.
Slurp. Crunch!
The old spiritual plant screamed at the top of his lungs, his entire five-foot frame vibrating. "HORRIBLE CREATURE! DON’T EAT ME!!"
"You evil beastmen have finally started eating me raw! What kind of monsters are all of you?! Do I look like food to you?! I’M A SACRED SPIRITUAL PLANT! NOT FOOD!!"
The little lion cub blinked his massive, innocent eyes. His name was Xiao Jin, Xi Feng’s precious and mischievous little son.
Xiao Jin tilted his fluffy little golden head, a bit of green leaf sticking out of his mouth. Then he looked down at the savory leaf trapped in his tiny front paws.
"It tastes pretty good though..." the cub growled happily. Crunch!!
The old spiritual plant let out another miserable, heartbreaking scream that rattled the whole house.
"AAAAAAAH! My leaf! My precious, rare leaf! Someone save this old plant! This little golden lion is trying to eat me alive!"
Su Qinglan’s expression immediately froze. She had just heard it clearly that old spiritual plant had actually dared to call her precious son a horrible creature.
Instantly, her fierce motherly instincts flared up.
She frowned deeply and leveled a sharp glare at the old spiritual plant before gently picking up the chubby little lion cub from the ground.
"My baby," she murmured softly. She carefully pried open his tiny mouth to check inside. Sure enough... a piece of a shredded green leaf was still tucked behind his baby teeth.
Su Qinglan quickly plucked it out. "Naughty baby," she said, lightly tapping his little nose in mild scolding.
"Why are you eating this? This isn’t food."
She glanced over at the old spiritual plant’s bitten leaf, her tone turning dismissive.
"Look, it has almost turned yellow anyway. If you want to eat leaves, Mama will find you fresh, juicy ones tomorrow. You can’t just randomly bite others."
