Until nightfall, Chu Feng still hadn’t managed to reach the other side. He had barely completed a quarter of the path.
Lying on the shore, he was soaking wet and completely exhausted. To be precise, he was out of spiritual energy. In order to control his true qi with precision, he had to be extremely careful with each step. Every bit of true qi had to be perfectly calculated.
Seeing this, Zi Xin’er walked over and looked at the panting Chu Feng. She picked up a sugar pill and fed it to him.
Chu Feng swallowed it in one bite. At first, it was sweet, but as the outer coating dissolved, his expression quickly twisted in pain. A strong bitterness spread through his mouth, followed by a sharp, pungent sensation that shot straight to the top of his head. His face instantly contorted. It felt like drinking herbal medicine mixed with wasabi.
“Aunt Zi, what is this? It’s so bitter! And spicy!”
Chu Feng instinctively tried to spit out the sugar pill, but just as he opened his mouth, a hand covered it. Gulp….he swallowed it down.
Zi Xin’er withdrew her hand and looked at the dazed, traumatized Chu Feng. She explained,
“This is a medicinal sugar pill I carefully prepared. It can rapidly restore your spiritual energy.”
Sure enough, after a moment, Chu Feng felt his spiritual energy recovering rapidly. But that sugar pill… just one had nearly ended him.
He sat up, looked at the remaining three-quarters of the path, and asked, “Aunt Zi, do I still have to keep training?”
Zi Xin’er flicked her finger, and a strand of true qi shot out, instantly drying Chu Feng’s soaking wet clothes. She said, “That’s enough for today. Little one, go back and get a good night’s rest. We’ll continue training tomorrow. Once you’re able to successfully walk to the other side, it will mean you’ve gained some understanding of the word ‘soft’.”
“And also, if you manage to reach the other side, I have a big reward waiting for you.”
Zi Xin’er gave him a mysterious smile.
“A big reward?”
Chu Feng’s curiosity was suddenly piqued.
Once he had fully recovered, he returned to the dwelling Zi Xin’er had prepared for him.
Calling it a “dwelling” didn’t quite do it justice. It was more like a palace, absurdly large. When he got back to his resting place, he found Aunt Liu Shi there, reading a book.
“Senior, is there a reason you’re here?”
If he remembered correctly, this was supposed to be his resting area, and Liu Shijing was sitting nearby.
“Xueyao wants to move in. I’m only here to look after her, that’s all.”
Bang!
Liu Shijing closed the book perhaps with a bit too much force, causing her ample chest to sway noticeably with a duang duang.
Chu Feng quickly averted his gaze. As Grandmaster Niu had once said, according to the laws of gravity, the larger the mass of a sphere, the stronger its gravitational pull.
Liu Shijing stared at Chu Feng for a moment before asking, “Brat, why do you call the Holy Master ‘Aunt Zi’?”
This question had been bothering her all day.
“Oh, that…” Chu Feng paused. “The Holy Master said my master is a good friend of hers, so she told me to call her Aunt Zi.”
Suddenly gaining an “aunt” out of nowhere felt strange to him too.
“I see…” Liu Shijing murmured.
At that moment, Liu Xueyao walked in. When she saw Chu Feng, her beautiful eyes lit up.
“Husband!”
The cool and elegant fairy walked over to his side. But then, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, leaned in close, and sniffed him.
“Husband… you smell like the Holy Master.”
At her words, Chu Feng jumped in fright. He couldn’t even smell it himself….how on earth did this saintess pick it up?
Could it be that women really do have maxed-out instincts when it comes to catching their man cheating?
Still, all he did today was train normally with Aunt Zi. He had nothing to fear.
“I trained with Aunt Zi today. Maybe I picked up some of her scent.”
***
The Great Yan, Imperial Capital.
Lu Xiyue rested her delicate cheek on her hand as she watched her eldest disciple cultivate in seclusion. She had already broken through to Fifth-Rank and still showed no signs of coming out. From the looks of it, she was aiming to push straight through to Sixth Rank.
She let out a quiet sigh. If only Feng’er were by her side now. Without Yuyan hogging him all to herself, she could have had Feng’er to herself for a little while.
Thinking of how Feng’er was now at the Yaochi Holy Land, she recalled the conversation she had earlier with Zi Xiner. That final “Aunt Zi” she heard. She was certain it was Feng’er’s voice.
Feng’er calling Zi Xiner “Aunt”!?
The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. She wanted to go to the Yaochi Holy Land and see for herself.
“What’s this? Still staring at your disciple cultivating in seclusion?”
A slightly domineering female voice sounded as Ji Yuhuang entered, dressed in a dragon robe.
Since Bai Yuyan had been in seclusion for quite some time, her awareness of the outside world had weakened considerably. So Ji Yuhuang had withdrawn her avatar.
But upon seeing Lu Xiyue looking so troubled, Ji Yuhuang was a bit puzzled and asked, “Did something happen?”
Lu Xiyue gently bit her lip before replying, “I feel like Feng’er’s been at the Yaochi Holy Land too long. I’m a little uneasy.”
Compared to Lu Xiyue’s worried demeanor, Ji Yuhuang was much more at ease. “That woman is the Saintess of Yaochi, after all. With her around, even if the Yaochi Holy Land isn’t fond of men, there’s no way our little husband would be mistreated there.”
The fact that the Yaochi Holy Land looked down on men was well-known throughout the cultivation world. Many men would avoid their female disciples from a distance. If you wanted to argue with them, you’d have to beat them first.
“It’s not that I think he’ll be bullied,” Lu Xiyue said. “What I’m worried about… is that if Feng’er stays there too long, he might get involved with some woman again.”
The moment she said this, Ji Yuhuang who had just been nonchalant immediately turned serious.
That’s right. The Holy Master of the Yaochi Holy Land was a graceful beauty, her charm and poise no less than their own. And their little husband had a known preference… for mature women.
Since Liu Xueyao was the Saintess of the Yaochi Holy Land, and Feng’er was always by her side, it was only natural he’d cross paths with the Holy Master as well.
All of a sudden, Ji Yuhuang felt that if they didn’t do something, they might end up with another rival.
“You’re right. Feng’er’s been recuperating at the Yaochi Holy Land for far too long. Even in our past life, he never stayed there this long.”
At that moment, Lu Xiyue made up her mind and said, “I’m planning to visit the Yaochi Holy Land to check on Feng’er….and while I’m there, take care of Lin Ruo.”
This time, with Liu Xueyao accompanying Feng’er into the Sky-Mending Secret Realm and the sudden closure of that realm, it was likely that the great treasure from their previous life had ended up in Feng’er’s hands.
Lin Ruo was still a threat. He needed to be eliminated before he had a chance to grow stronger.
“That’s fine, but I’m going too.”
Ji Yuhuang supported Lu Xiyue’s decision but made her own intention clear.
“You going in person? Your identity is too sensitive.”
Lu Xiyue frowned slightly. Her close friendship with Zi Xiner made it reasonable for her to visit the Yaochi Holy Land. But Ji Yuhuang was the Empress of the Great Yan. The relationship between the Great Yan and the Yaochi Holy Land was shallow at best. If she went there without warning, it would surely attract attention from various factions.
“Who said I’d be going in person?”
A sly smile curved Ji Yuhuang’s red lips. As a ripple of true energy surged, the space behind her tore open and out stepped a woman in red, identical to her in every way.
“It won’t be Ji Yuhuang who goes… but Ji Wan’er.”
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