256: Chapter 256 Someone is targeting them, wanting them dead.

Yue Lan's calm and composed demeanor made Long Ze frown slightly. "Did you not sense that something happened to him?"

"I sensed it, but I knew he would not die just like that, so I was not nervous." Yue Lan took out the black tortoise inner core and handed it to Feng Yange. "Mistress, this is the black tortoise inner core. Have him consume it, along with a drop of your blood, and he can enter the Beastification stage."

Yue Lan's words shocked both Feng Yange and Long Ze, but they took it without immediately feeding it to Li Mingye.

"A-Lan, did you know long ago that Li Mingye would face this tribulation?"

Feng Yange asked her inner doubts. Seeing Yue Lan nod, he replied, "I knew the moment I first saw him. Is Mistress blaming me for not telling you beforehand?"

"Do you think I should blame you?" Feng Yange walked up to Yue Lan. "I remember you saying you have the ability to foresee the future. You knew but didn't say anything; that must have something to do with your ability as well, am I right?"

Yue Lan nodded; he had thought Mistress would scold him.

"Precognition allows one to see, but it cannot be changed. If he wants to undergo Beastification, it must be this way."

Yue Lan looked at Feng Yange, his emotions still without much fluctuation. He had known since birth that things foreseen cannot be changed, so he would only let nature take its course. This black tortoise inner core was something he had prepared long ago.

"A-Lan, was this black tortoise inner core prepared by you a long time ago?"

Yue Lan nodded. "Yes, I saw you feed him a beast core, transforming him into a black tortoise, along with a drop of your blood."

"Then did you know long ago that you would become my husband?" After asking, Feng Yange felt it was redundant; since he could foresee the future, he must have known.

Yue Lan replied, "Mistress should feed the inner core to Li Mingye now; his Beastification will take time."

Feng Yange took out the black tortoise inner core and walked to Li Mingye, crouching down before him. Looking at his open mouth, although she knew Li Mingye would be revived after Beastification, seeing him like this made Feng Yange feel awful. What had he experienced when he fell into the depths of the swamp? How desperate must he have been then?

"A-Ye, this is the black tortoise inner core. You must succeed in Beastification. I will wait for your return."

Feng Yange placed the black tortoise inner core into Li Mingye's mouth. Blood from her fingertip dripped into Li Mingye's mouth, and the fresh blood spread along the black tortoise inner core. Li Mingye's previously petrified body quickly condensed into a giant egg, shocking everyone.

"This..."

Feng Yange looked at Yue Lan, then at Long Ze. "Is this normal?"

Yue Lan nodded. "It is normal. Mistress has already completed your task; the rest of the Beastification depends entirely on Li Mingye himself. Mistress need not worry; he will succeed."

Long Ze frowned and muttered under his breath, "Are black tortoises born from eggs?"

However, regardless, as long as Li Mingye could succeed in Beastification, that was enough. Nothing else mattered.

Feng Yange breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that he can be saved. At least, he can live."

The egg was very, very large, standing there—a giant petrified egg. No one could see what the situation was like inside, and only Li Mingye would know what he would experience. Feng Yange reached out and gently stroked the stone egg. "A-Ye, you must successfully undergo Beastification. I await your return."

"Mistress, he cannot hear anything you say right now. All we can do is wait for him to emerge from Beastification." Yue Lan spoke calmly. Seeing the worry in Mistress's eyes, his gaze dropped. "If Mistress is not at ease, I can stay here with him."

Feng Yange looked at Yue Lan's worried eyes and asked quickly, "Will he be in danger here alone? Does Beastification require outside help?"

"He can only rely on himself; no one can help him."

Yue Lan was not lying. When a human undergoes Beastification into a beast, it depends first on his physique and the Fusion of his body and the beast core, and second on his luck.

If his luck is bad, even if the Beastification is successful, there might be a backlash. He can only rely on himself.

"Then there is no need to deliberately guard him." Feng Yange noticed Yue Lan's loneliness and reached out to gently stroke his cheek. "A-Lan, don't you have to cultivate? Go attend to your business; we will wait for A-Ye to come out."

Li Mingye, you must strive for success. Whether you can survive depends entirely on yourself.

"Mistress, you and Long Ze go out first. I need to stay for a few more days. If anything happens, I will come out to find you, and I will keep an eye on Li Mingye." Yue Lan jumped into the spirit spring pool and headed straight for the seaside along the river.

"Mistress, let's go out." Long Ze touched Li Mingye's stone egg. "Little Six, don't let us down."

Feng Yange took one last worried look at Li Mingye and left the space.

In the swamp forest, Xuan Li held a Jade Slip and kept sending messages. "Mistress, have you arrived? I have arrived."

To see Mistress, he had specifically changed his clothes to avoid Mistress seeing him looking disheveled and worried.

The suffocating feeling in his chest yesterday had made him panic. That guy, Little Six, had an accident, and his avatar was gray. Fearing he had died, he had killed his way here, but he hadn't seen Mistress.

"Xuan Li, you are here alone, where is Mistress?"

Mo Yuan arrived, also having specifically cleaned himself up, fearing Mistress would worry. Although he wasn't seriously injured, he was truly disheveled this time.

"Haven't contacted her yet. Mo Yuan, did you feel anything about Little Six yesterday..."

"He died."

Mo Yuan said it very directly. "I felt a sudden suffocation in my chest, and his avatar was gray—a sign of falling."

Xuan Li wanted to say something but hesitated, gripping the Jade Slip in his hand tighter. He had wanted to come and check as soon as he sensed it, but he was ultimately too slow.

If Mistress knew, she would surely be very sad.

Li Mingye was Mistress's only Human Race, the husband Mistress had snatched away. How sad must Mistress be?

"The second layer of the Great Secret Realm is this dangerous. This time, we are all scattered, and everyone is having terrible luck—it's extremely bizarre." A cold glint appeared in the depths of Mo Yuan's eyes. At first, he thought he was just unlucky, but after these few days, he discovered that he seemed to be being targeted.

Not just him; looking at the reactions of others, they had all encountered issues and were unwilling to speak about them, which made him start to suspect something.

Xuan Li nodded excitedly. "Right, right? I said it wasn't just me who was this unlucky. We have entered so many Secret Realms; when have we ever been hunted by the Beast Race? You wouldn't believe it—I sat my butt on the head of a giant python and was chased across ten mountain peaks. I was almost peeled alive from running."

Thinking of the encounters these past few days, Xuan Li poured it all out. What did losing face matter? Being aggrieved was what really mattered.

"It seems it's not just you guys who are unlucky."

Jun Chen had also arrived. There were red spots on his face—those were from bites. He had finally managed to survive.

Thinking of the miserable days these past few days, Jun Chen felt full of Life Qi, but also very frustrated, as if he were being targeted.

"Jun Chen, were you also targeted?"

Mo Yuan didn't miss the faint red spots on Jun Chen's face. "Have you been having a miserable time these past few days?"

Jun Chen nodded and recounted how he had been hunted by a bug nest. Xuan Li and Mo Yuan looked at each other, their expressions darkening further.

Clearly, they were being targeted, but who could have such ability? The first person the three of them thought of was Xiao Linger, but thinking that Mistress was fine, Xiao Linger was ruled out.