After a period of intimacy, once Lu Xingzhou’s mood had calmed, Ye Tinglan smiled faintly and said, “Let’s continue. When we checked Anuo’s condition, our main goal was to solve the problem of her illness caused by high-grade demonic blood…”

Lu Xingzhou eagerly asked, “What ideas do you have?”

“I have some answers, but I need to verify them,” Ye Tinglan said. “First, we all know there’s a bloodline suppression among demons. Do you recall if Anuo felt any discomfort the first time she met Long Qinghuang?”

Lu Xingzhou replied, “Yes, I actually observed Anuo’s reaction secretly at the time. Her little face was somewhat pale, but she quickly recovered and seemed quite close to Long Qinghuang.”

Ye Tinglan nodded thoughtfully.

Lu Xingzhou continued, “Furthermore, even with demonic bloodline suppression, I’ve never heard of it causing illness just from contact with blood. If that were the case, low-level male demons wouldn’t dare to sleep with high-level female demons; their first night would be their death sentence?”

Ye Tinglan scoffed, “What kind of analogies are those?”

She then chuckled to herself, “But it’s apt. There really isn’t that extent of an effect.”

“Then what do you think the reason is?”

“I think it’s the other way around… Anuo’s bloodline level is higher. The demon whose blood she was exposed to earlier had a lower level. She was contaminated by low-grade trash. Of course, under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t cause such contamination, but three problems coinciding could lead to this…”

“Three…”

“Yes. This is just my analysis; you can judge it with me. First, Anuo’s true form happened to be perfectly countered by that demon, they were natural enemies.”

Lu Xingzhou recalled and felt a stir in his heart.

This was very possible… because the demon’s reaction at the time clearly showed it perceived and could sense what Anuo roughly was. In contrast, the incredibly powerful Long Qinghuang had no such perception. Long Qinghuang, whether in terms of noble bloodline or cultivation, was infinitely superior to that demon. Why couldn’t Long Qinghuang sense the problem while that demon could?

With this comparative data, the most likely explanation could be derived: there was an element of natural enemy suppression, which Long Qinghuang did not possess, so she couldn’t detect it.

“That’s highly probable… You truly live up to your title, Shizun,” Lu Xingzhou said, flattering her as he helped Ye Tinglan sit and massaged her shoulders. “Three problems coinciding, that’s one. What else?”

Ye Tinglan was quite pleased with her lover’s fawning and said with a smile, “Second, the demon’s cultivation at the time was higher than Anuo’s, giving it the qualification to interfere. Third, Anuo herself has some imperfections, perhaps she didn’t fully develop when she transformed?”

As Ye Tinglan spoke, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, showing a hint of uncertainty. Whether a plant had fully grown shouldn’t, in principle, be related to whether it could be contaminated. But from a logical analysis, if Anuo herself had no issues, she shouldn’t have been suppressed to this extent.

Lu Xingzhou, however, understood immediately… If Anuo was a medicinal pill that hadn’t been fully refined, with slight imperfections or disharmony, and the main herb happened to encounter its natural enemy’s corrupting energy, it could indeed cause the entire pill to malfunction. This is common in low-level alchemy and is a basic judgment for alchemists.

Everything aligned.

“If that’s the case…” Lu Xingzhou mused for a moment, then asked, “Is it possible that Anuo’s inability to grow taller is due to the imperfection of her true form?”

Ye Tinglan nodded, “Yes, the two things are connected now. Therefore, for Anuo to grow, there are only two ways: one is to find an item that can complete her true form. This could be some kind of rare treasure for watering and fertilizing, or it might be that she didn’t have enough years originally and needs a treasure of time to accelerate her growth. The second is to cultivate a top-tier demonic cultivation method to self-correct.”

Lu Xingzhou thought carefully and increasingly found Ye Tinglan’s analysis entirely reasonable. At most, some details hadn’t been fully clarified, but the general direction seemed correct.

If this were truly the case, the previous worries could be greatly alleviated. Anuo wouldn’t need to retreat far every time she saw a demon; at most, they would need to identify her natural enemy and be mindful of it. Moreover, there were now two paths to a solution: as long as Anuo’s imperfections were resolved, this “illness” would also be cured.

Lu Xingzhou breathed a huge sigh of relief, happily embracing Ye Tinglan and kissing her, “My dear wife is amazing.”

Ye Tinglan patted him, “Go on, go on. It still needs verification. What are you so eager to celebrate?”

“How do we verify it?”

“Of course, we’ll try exposing Anuo to other demonic blood first. If other demonic blood causes no issues, then our judgment is correct, and it was merely a special encounter with a natural enemy. If there are issues, this is Tianyao Holy Land, we will naturally save her, don’t be nervous.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded and quickly went out.

Anuo and Dugu Qingli were staring blankly at each other. The little white-haired girl was truly not one for casual conversation, and Anuo didn’t know how to talk to this white-haired sister, who was once closest to her second shiniang and now seemed like a stranger by the roadside. She could only stare in a daze.

The next moment, Lu Xingzhou rushed out and scooped her up into the bedchamber.

On the table in front of Ye Tinglan was a row of blood samples. She smiled and said, “Should we try them all?”

Anuo was horrified and struggled, “What are you going to do to me…?”

Lu Xingzhou held her small, plump hand, dipped it into a bottle to get some blood, and asked, “How does it feel?”

Anuo’s eyes went dark with fright; she was about to faint.

Her head drooped, but she realized she hadn’t fainted, and she opened her eyes, blinking.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Anuo plucked up her courage and even proactively smeared some on her face.

After all, she had been splashed before, not just gotten it on her hands.

She smeared it on, and not only was she fine, but she even glowed slightly. That was a sign that the energy within the demonic blood was being absorbed by Anuo.

Not only was there no issue, but there were even benefits…

Anuo quickly opened the second bottle and again smeared a handful onto herself.

No issues, and more benefits.

Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan watched silently as Anuo smeared the blood on herself, waiting to see if any bottle would cause her harm.

The demon from Xiazhou back then was a very low-level demon, its true form roughly a bovine-like creature. Does this mean all herbivores can counter Anuo?

Currently, there were many blood bottles from herbivorous demons, but Anuo was fine with them.

So, it must be specifically a cow?

Ye Tinglan silently pointed to one bottle, “Try this one.”

Anuo glanced at it, then smeared some on.

This time, she frowned slightly, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Lu Xingzhou’s heart was in his throat. He checked her pulse and saw that Anuo’s blood had a slight chaotic surge, which then self-corrected.

“Is this a bovine demon?” Lu Xingzhou asked Ye Tinglan.

“Yes… and it’s a first-grade, very high level,” Ye Tinglan said, pondering Anuo’s state. “It should be related to cows, but ordinary bovine species would at most cause a small effect, which is still manageable… To cause Anuo to be on the verge of death, it shouldn’t be an ordinary cow.”

Unfortunately, that demon from before had long since turned to dust, making it impossible to investigate its bloodline origin. However, with the direction now clear, that demon likely carried genes of a certain exotic bovine bloodline, such as a special species like the Kui Niu. This was the root of its natural enmity towards Anuo.

All three let out long breaths of relief.

Bovine species had a slight suppressing effect, but it was manageable, not to the point of needing to retreat far. Depending on the opponent’s strength, one could still decide whether to fight. What truly needed to be worried about were certain exotic bovine species, and how many of those could there be in this world? Suddenly, something that had been a long-standing worry became very simple.

“We can’t be complacent, after all, many times we might not even know what the opponent is even after fighting them. Generally speaking, Anuo should still be as cautious as possible towards demons, especially adopting a strategy of retreating far from suspected bovine-like creatures,” Ye Tinglan said earnestly. “Only after Anuo’s own problems are completely resolved will she truly be safe.”

Anuo nodded.

Dodge if you can dodge; who wants to butt heads?

Ye Tinglan shot Lu Xingzhou a look, and he understood, then carried Anuo out again.

Anuo: “…”

Seeing Lu Xingzhou close the door and return, Ye Tinglan said, “Now, from the perspective of bovine natural enemies, we need to deduce what Anuo’s true form as a plant is. It’s better not to let Anuo hear it herself, let her believe she’s an immortal being; don’t let her fall into doubts about being a demon… like Qingli, whose mood is always poor.”

Lu Xingzhou hugged her, resting his chin on her shoulder, “It’s so good to have you…”

Ye Tinglan’s heart also softened. Her jade finger poked his head, “Are you still going to pretend, day after day? You can help me, acting like a big man.”

Lu Xingzhou didn’t bother to argue that she would soon need his help for the grand competition; he just smiled and asked, “Cows eat many things, but it’s hard to judge with exotic species. You’re well-traveled and knowledgeable, do you have any ideas?”

“Anuo certainly can’t be an ordinary plant that ordinary cows love to eat. As for exotic species, our information isn’t detailed enough to remember every little thing they like to eat. This kind of information might be clearer among demons,” Ye Tinglan frowned in thought for a moment, then whispered, “I’ll have our spies in the demon realm specifically collect information on this, and also have those on the Dagan side keep an eye out.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded, knowing that this was all they could do for now. He then said, “What do you think about Qingli’s matter? I feel she has some commonalities with Anuo. Should we also draw her blood for study?”

“I drew her blood more than ten years ago; she’s truly human.”

It seemed she was still somewhat different from Anuo… Lu Xingzhou also felt a bit of a headache and fell silent.

Ye Tinglan said, “Alright, you don’t need to think too much about others’ affairs. You are Qingli’s Shigong, not her husband.”

“Cough.” Lu Xingzhou covered up, saying, “If Shiniang can help Anuo, what’s wrong with Shigong helping Qingli? This is called reciprocity.”

“What about your own affairs then?” Ye Tinglan said, “I can sense that the essence of water in you is becoming stronger, not as skewed as before… But why don’t you want a magic weapon? Don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want to take an ancestor’s burial item as a reason; the ancestors gave it voluntarily.”

“It’s simply because I don’t want to take things from Tianyao Holy Land,” Lu Xingzhou whispered in her ear. “I want to acquire magic weapons through my own abilities from outside… For example, in this grand competition, aren’t there rewards for the winners? If Holy Lord wants to pull some strings, then help arrange a reward more suitable for me.”

Ye Tinglan felt a little ticklish from his biting, and murmured, “Stubborn man’s pride.”

“If I didn’t have that kind of spirit, what would you like about me?”

Ye Tinglan pouted. That was true. The most crucial point about why she liked him was this desire of his to shoulder everything, which made her feel reliance and warmth, not demand.

She still said, “Then you still let me help you so much. How will you thank me?”

Lu Xingzhou embraced her and collapsed onto the bed, “Serving Holy Lord comfortably, as a small token of my gratitude…”

“Get out of here…” Ye Tinglan scolded, but her hands unconsciously tightened, pressing him against her chest, and she whispered, “Use your teeth, but not too hard…”