A Shocking Moment

However, Gan Tang quickly pushed the doubt to the back of her mind, because there was a more important matter to attend to.

“Senior Brother, the sweet cakes I asked you to bring…”

Before Gan Tang could finish, Lu Qiancha took a food box out of his storage ring.

Gan Tang immediately reached out for it, and upon opening it, saw that the sweet cakes inside were still steaming.

“Wuu~ Senior Brother, you’re the best!”

Gan Tang was deeply moved, leaping up to give Lu Qiancha a big bear hug.

She then eagerly picked up a sweet cake and took a large bite.

The soft pastry, filled with a sweet and sticky filling, instantly melted on her tongue.

An intense feeling of bliss washed over her, making her squint her eyes in satisfaction.

“Ahem, you eat first, Junior Sister. I’m going to turn in the sect mission.”

Lu Qiancha subtly took half a step back.

“I’ll go with you, Senior Brother!”

Gan Tang replied indistinctly, her mouth full of sweet cake.

However, Gan Tang quickly put these thoughts aside. She looked at Lu Qiancha, who was standing still, and urged, “Senior Brother, hurry and summon a cloud. If we don’t go now, the Deacon’s Hall will be under curfew.”

“Can’t you already fly on your own?”

Lu Qiancha didn’t say anything about Gan Tang following him. After all these years, he had long grown accustomed to having this little shadow trailing behind him.

Hearing this, Gan Tang puffed out her not-so-ample chest and replied with righteous conviction: “But I can’t fly fast!”

“I really don’t know what to do with you.”

Lu Qiancha, somewhat resigned, summoned a white cloud and jumped on first.

A glint of cunning flashed in Gan Tang’s eyes.

With a light tap of her pink cloth shoes on the grass, she floated up beside Lu Qiancha.

Just as she was about to reach out and take Lu Qiancha’s arm, he discreetly dodged her.

“Don’t forget the three rules we agreed upon.”

Lu Qiancha said with a stern face.

“Hmph, I know, stingy Senior Brother.”

Gan Tang made a face, grumbled, and then moved a step to the side in a huff.

“That’s more like it. Maintain a distance of three feet in public. You are now the rising star of our Tianyuan Sect, the Fairy Gan Tang admired by thousands of male disciples. Getting too close to me will inevitably attract some gossip.”

Lu Qiancha stretched lazily, then took out the Jade Signet from his storage pouch and sent his spiritual sense into it.

Forty-two unread messages appeared before his eyes.

Forty-one of them were from Gan Tang, all asking why Lu Qiancha hadn’t returned yet and why he wasn’t replying.

After quickly skimming Gan Tang’s messages, Lu Qiancha continued to scroll down. The next message left him a bit stunned.

[Xun Xue: “So, have you decided to be my daughter yet?”]

‘Demons use Jade Signets these days?’

‘No, that’s not the point. How did she get my Jade Signet number?’

Lu Qiancha pursed his lips and replied with a single word: [“Dream on.”]

A moment later, Xun Xue replied: [“I’m not dreaming. I’m serious.”]

Lu Qiancha: [“If my master finds out I’ve acknowledged a demon king as my mom, she’ll kill me.”]

Xun Xue: [“Is that so? Well, alright then. If you ever change your mind, you can come find me. I’m currently recuperating in Beiju Luzhou.”]

Lu Qiancha’s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this message.

He sighed. What a mess this was.

Even though he didn’t see her as a mother, Xun Xue had clearly already accepted him as her daughter…

‘And, Beiju Luzhou… isn’t a primary ingredient for the Soul-Returning Pill located there?’

Lu Qiancha shook his head, clearing the miscellaneous thoughts from his mind, and then slowly descended with Gan Tang in front of the Deacon’s Hall.

It was already nearing curfew, so only a few guards and deacons were present.

Lu Qiancha wasted no time, quickly turning in his mission and receiving three hundred contribution points.

He then went to the Internal Affairs Hall to exchange them for some weapon-refining materials and a few supplementary ingredients for the Soul-Returning Pill.

By the time they returned to Tianquan Peak, it was evening. The sun was setting in the west, painting the sky in molten gold.

After bidding his junior sister farewell, Lu Qiancha returned to his room.

“Phew…”

Closing the door, Lu Qiancha immediately let out a long sigh of relief, his tense nerves suddenly relaxing.

The first thing he did was deactivate the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art.

This technique was seamless for disguise, but its spiritual energy consumption… it was like a gold-swallowing behemoth!

How long had he been running it? Three hours? Four?

At this moment, he felt that the spiritual energy in his Dantian was completely empty, and he could barely lift his fingertips.

‘If this had been a few days ago, when I was at the early stage of Spirit Transformation, would I have even lasted three hours?’

Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but sigh, and the ears on top of her head drooped involuntarily.

‘Looks like I’ll have to stock dozens of Spirit-Recovering Pills in my storage pouch from now on.’

Shaking her head to clear the jumbled thoughts, Lu Qiancha sat down cross-legged, preparing to meditate and replenish her spiritual energy.

However, fate had other plans. Gan Tang suddenly knocked on the wooden door of the thatched hut, shouting to her, “Senior Brother, Master has something to discuss with you!”

The sudden sound startled Lu Qiancha so much she nearly leaped to her feet.

She quickly fished out a Spirit-Recovering Pill from her storage pouch and, ignoring the bitter taste, swallowed it whole!

The moment the pill transformed into a warm current and surged into her meridians, she gritted her teeth and channeled the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art with all her might!

She took a deep breath, trying to maintain a steady pace as she walked to the door.

Creak—

The wooden door was pulled open.

Outside stood Gan Tang, her head tilted, her pretty little face showing a hint of relief at having delivered the message.

“Huh, Senior Brother, you look terrible.”

The first moment Gan Tang saw Lu Qiancha, her large, dark eyes widened, and her small mouth fell slightly agape.

She took a step forward, her brows furrowed with worry. “You’re all pale and green! Was it the last sect mission… did you suffer some hidden injury?”

Hearing this, the muscles on Lu Qiancha’s face couldn’t help but twitch.

Just a moment ago, his soul had nearly been scared out of his body. It was a miracle he hadn’t performed a live heart attack for his junior sister.

So, Lu Qiancha said gloomily, “I was cultivating just now. Your shout nearly caused my spiritual energy to flow backward. How could I not look terrible?”

“Ehehe, so that’s what it was…”

Gan Tang giggled foolishly, trying to muddle through.

“…Never mind. Let’s get to the point. Why is Master looking for me?”

Lu Qiancha shook his head, steadied his breathing, and then asked.

“I don’t know. Master didn’t tell me.”

Gan Tang scratched her head and said.

“…”

Lu Qiancha gave his foolish junior sister a long, deep look, then said helplessly, “Alright, I’ll go ask Master myself.”

With that, Lu Qiancha walked straight to his master’s thatched hut and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

After receiving permission, Lu Qiancha entered the room. The first thing he saw was his master—Daoist Xuan Ya.

She was wearing a white ruqun and sitting cross-legged on a cattail hassock at the side of the room.

“Sit.”

Xuan Ya opened her eyes and looked at Lu Qiancha. “Do you know why I have summoned you?”

Hearing this, Lu Qiancha, who was sitting on the hassock, felt a jolt of alarm—

‘Could it be that Master has seen through something?’

He channeled more spiritual energy into the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art and then replied, “This disciple does not know.”