Heaven-Falling Gift

“Origin Returning Fruit, oh Origin Returning Fruit…” Lu Qiancha rubbed her sore temples and gazed at the desolate grassland before her, which she had practically plowed through, letting out a long sigh. “You sure know how to hide…”

This was the thirteenth day since she had left the Juezhang Treasure Forest and ventured alone into the depths of Beiju Luzhou.

The area beneath her feet was the very place marked on the tattered ancient sheepskin map as a possible location for the Origin Returning Fruit—a three-hundred-li radius, with a field of vision so open it was almost unobstructed, save for a few distant, snow-capped peaks standing in silence.

Five days.

Five whole days!

She had practically dug three feet into the ground, her spiritual sense meticulously scanning every inch of meadow, every exposed rock.

She had even risked exploring the icy crevices of the cliffs at the edge of the snowline, but the legendary spirit fruit remained elusive.

The continuous projection of her divine soul and consumption of spiritual energy had left her feeling a long-forgotten weariness, even with her peak Spirit Transformation cultivation.

By now, she had shed all her disguises—the wilderness stretched for thousands of li, devoid of human life.

What living being would be bored enough to pay attention to an ordinary little wolf loli with aquamarine ears and a gently swaying tail?

Let alone connect her to the senior brother of Tianquan Peak.

“Haaa~~~~ ooh—”

A sleepy yawn escaped her lips uncontrollably, bringing tears to the corners of her eyes.

She shook her slightly heavy little head, and with a light tap of her foot, her figure floated to the nearest snow-capped mountain.

With a flick of her slender finger, the hard mountain wall parted silently, revealing a shallow cave just big enough to accommodate her.

Sitting down cross-legged and circulating her cultivation technique, Lu Qiancha tried to rein in her scattered thoughts, adjusting her state to be as perfect as possible.

She had obtained the information from an ancient text, discovering that the Origin Returning Fruit grew in this area.

Searching for it directly was the method with the lowest cost to obtain this herb.

If she truly had no luck… Lu Qiancha decided to return to the demon clan town from before and try her chances there.

Even if it meant spending all the spirit stones and treasures she had saved up over the past sixty years, it would be worth it to exchange them for an Origin Returning Fruit.

If that path also proved fruitless… a trace of helpless exhaustion flashed in Lu Qiancha’s eyes.

Then she would have no choice but to return home for the time being and devise another plan.

The cold, icy air circulated around her, and the brief period of rest finally soothed her tense mind.

‘Martial Aunt Xuan… is she alright?’

Lu Qiancha thought of the assassin she had killed a few days ago.

She took out the Soul-Capturing Pearl, wanting to look at the memory fragments again, but the remnant soul within had long since dissipated.

‘Forget it, forget it. It’s not my business to worry about.’

‘That group’s plan was meticulous, and with a smiling tiger like Qingfeng as their inside man, Martial Aunt Xuan’s straightforward personality… should make it easy for her to be lured into the trapping formation.’

‘Martial Aunt Xuan has high cultivation but lacks cunning. Her temper is too rash; she acts recklessly whenever something happens.’

‘It’s a pity about that Shangguan Yunzhu. After so many years of cultivation in the sect, she still couldn’t escape the secular power struggles. And the childhood sweetheart who was always so attentive to her turned out to be the most venomous hidden piece… The world is truly ironic.’

Rumble—

Suddenly, a low rumble of thunder rolled from deep within the heavy clouds overhead.

‘Hmm? Is it going to rain?’

Lu Qiancha’s brows furrowed slightly.

The dampness of the rain was most likely to lure out hibernating poisonous insects and strange beasts to forage, adding to her troubles.

‘Well, I’ll just hide in the cave for a night. The trial still has more than ten days left anyway.’

Boom!

Just then, the mountain wall suddenly trembled.

The frequency of this tremor…

Lu Qiancha quickly spread her spiritual sense and soon perceived the anomaly in the clouds above.

The clouds had formed a vortex, and in its eye, a dazzling lightning flashed and twisted with insane ferocity, as if it would tear the very heavens and earth apart.

‘A celestial anomaly signifies a great evil! I must not linger here!’

As the thought flashed through her mind, Lu Qiancha erected a protective barrier around herself.

Her small figure shot out of the cave without hesitation.

Her toes tapped lightly on the slippery, half-melted mountain wall.

The Cloud Sea Dragon Step technique was pushed to its limits as she descended rapidly towards the relatively safe plains in the distance like a wisp of green smoke!

But just as she began her descent, she heard a roar from above.

A bright red figure shot out from the vortex, crashing towards the ground like a bolt of lightning.

The figure landed precisely three zhang in front of Lu Qiancha, splashing up a pile of mud.

Lu Qiancha’s figure quickly retreated, the Trickery Cube already in her palm.

But then, Lu Qiancha saw the figure, enveloped in a layer of pale red light, and her brows furrowed slightly.

‘This…’

‘Is the heavens thinking my search for spirit herbs is too comfortable? Intentionally adding some difficulty to my task?’

‘Or did I offend some fatal star before leaving home, and this disaster is written in my fate?’

The figure in the bright red immortal dress before Lu Qiancha was none other than Shangguan Yunzhu.

But she was heavily injured.

There was a wound on her left shoulder so deep the bone was visible, and blood continuously trickled down her jade-like arm.

The broken sword in her right hand had several web-like cracks on its blade.

She had more than a dozen wounds on her body, but all of them had avoided vital points.

Lu Qiancha frowned.

Her spiritual sense spread out, but she did not detect any pursuers.

‘Considering the commotion just now, it’s clear that Shangguan Yunzhu used some treasure to escape, teleporting directly to this place.’

At that moment, Shangguan Yunzhu also saw Lu Qiancha not far away.

She lowered her head and coughed up a mouthful of blood, calling out to Lu Qiancha, “Little sister, run! There are bad people nearby…”

Before she could finish, Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes closed weakly.

Her aura fell into complete disarray as her injuries flared up, and she collapsed, sword and all, onto the muddy grass.

‘Little sister…’

The corner of Lu Qiancha’s mouth twitched at the address.

She then sighed and muttered, “Forget it, I won’t hold it against you. Seeing as you still have some conscience, I’ll save your life.”

With that, Lu Qiancha placed the broken sword into her storage pouch, then bent down with great effort—in her current petite loli form, dragging an unconscious adult woman was no easy feat.

“Tsk… so heavy…”

Her grumbling was accompanied by panting breaths.

Lu Qiancha gritted her teeth and, half-dragging, half-pulling, painstakingly moved the unconscious Shangguan Yunzhu towards the ice cave she had just dug out on the snow-capped mountain.

A long, messy drag mark was left behind them on the muddy grass.

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

Shangguan Yunzhu had only coughed twice, but sharp pains shot through her entire body.

‘This… what is this place?’

Shangguan Yunzhu sat up alertly.

Her eyes shone with a pale red light, instantly illuminating the cave as bright as day.

“Don’t move. I just finished applying good medicine for you.”

A small paw, covered in pale blue fur with warm pads, unceremoniously pressed down on Shangguan Yunzhu’s uninjured shoulder, easily pushing the injured woman back onto the makeshift bed of dry grass.

“…You saved me?”

Shangguan Yunzhu looked at the blue wolf loli before her and couldn’t help but ask.

“Who else? Do you see anyone else here?”

Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this, her impression of Shangguan Yunzhu deepening.

‘So silly, even sillier than my junior sister.’

‘The kind of silly that bubbles up nonstop.’