No matter how foolish Zhu Su was, he knew better than to stroke the tiger’s whiskers of the Sect Master of Hunyuan Xianzong.
As soon as the Second Elder left, Lu Shuixian stepped forward to pour a cup of tea for Zhu Su and said, “Brother Su, since Hunyuan Xianzong refuses to act, let us spread the word that there is a Divine Beast on Fuchen Shan.”
“Hunyuan Xianzong isn’t the only sect in Dongyuan Dalu with Yuanying Stage experts. If other sects make a move, we can still reap the benefits. After all, the Divine Beast is not weak either; once both sides suffer heavy losses, that will be our opportunity.”
“However, to ensure our success, we should still invite a mighty expert from Waiyu.”
Lu Shuixian’s words spoke straight to Zhu Su’s heart. Wrapping his arm around her slender waist, he said, “You are right. I will leave the matter of spreading the news in Dongyuan Dalu to you. If you need anything, just tell me directly.”
“I will head to Waiyu to invite another Yuanying expert to assist us.”
Lu Shuixian leaned naturally into his embrace, nodding with a sweet smile. “Alright, Brother Su. Shuixian will definitely accomplish the mission and lend you a helping hand.”
Late at night, the moon hung high in the sky.
Looking at the man before her, Shu Jianyue’s brows were practically knit into peaks.
Lately, she had been dreaming of this man very frequently. Even though she could see him with utter clarity at this very moment, the instant she woke up, she would forget what he looked like.
“Just who on earth are you?”
The man in tattered clothes looked at her expressionlessly, his fingers twitching slightly where he hung suspended against the rock wall.
“Woman, you have my scent on you.” The man’s voice was low and raspy.
Shu Jianyue was momentarily stunned. Having dreamed of him so many times, this was the very first time she had heard him speak.
“Bullshit! I smell fragrant all over—I don’t have any of your scent!” Shu Jianyue retorted, kicking out at him, but her foot passed right through without touching him in the slightest.
The man gazed at her impassively. With a slight flick of his finger, Shu Jianyue woke up. Touching her forehead, she muttered to herself, “Why have I been having this ghost of a dream all the time lately?”
In her previous life, she hadn’t even dated a boyfriend up until the day she died, yet she had never dreamed of a man like this back then.
Strangely enough, though, while she used to forget the man’s appearance the moment she opened her eyes, today his face remained crystal clear in her memory.
That chisel-sculpted face happened to suit her tastes quite well.
A pity that no matter how handsome he was, he was merely a dream that could never become reality.
Noticing that Yuchuan and Yanxi beside her were also awake, Shu Jianyue instantly tossed that dream to the back of her mind.
“Aww, our Yu’er and Xixi are awake too. Are you hungry?”
The two children were now a little over three months old and had already begun to speak. Naturally, they had also started eating supplementary solid foods.
Mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed purple sweet potatoes, mashed Chinese yam, and the like were fed to them in rotation, occasionally accompanied by fish soup—all of which were produce from her space.
While other families’ three-month-old babies only knew how to wail and cry incessantly, her two little ones were completely different: one crawled all over Fuchen Shan, while the other was so aloof that she refused to let anyone hold her except Shu Jianyue.
“Mother, Yu’er is hungry…” Yuchuan crawled right on top of her and reached out to tug at the collar of her robes.
Shu Jianyue nearly rolled her eyes to the heavens. This child had formed a habit; whenever he got hungry, he would yank at her clothes, and no amount of scolding helped.
“Yu’er, how many times has Mother told you? Your food supply isn’t here anymore. Keep doing this, and Mother will toss you to Chaotian to look after.”
Just from nursing these two brats, her chest muscles had developed considerably—at least she was no longer as flat as an open plain.
However, once three months had passed, her milk dried up completely. Thus, the two children had to rely on supplementary solids and Lingshou milk.
“No, I want Mother.” Yuchuan clung tightly to her neck, refusing to let go while shaking his head vigorously.
Shu Jianyue felt that Yuchuan and Yanxi must have had their personalities swapped. Yanxi remained quiet and aloof every day, only opening her mouth to say “full” after she had eaten her fill; getting another single word out of her was otherwise almost impossible.
Yuchuan, on the other hand, started babbling from the moment he woke up each morning, just like a chatty little old woman. Moreover, he was extremely clingy and exceptionally good at acting cute.
Shu Jianyue scooped up Yanxi and picked up Yuchuan by the scruff, walking outside. Chaotian had already prepared their breakfast: fish congee.
Even though she had already achieved Bigu, she still did not skip her three meals a day, mostly eating ingredients from her space.
Even the wild pheasants were caught by Tiankong and raised inside the space for a month or so before being eaten, making them just as delicious.
Once three months had passed, she had already broken through to the third stage of the Golden Core, advancing roughly one stage per month.
Compared to her progress during the Zhuji Period, this was significantly slower, but it was still considered exceptionally rapid.
If outsiders ever learned of this, it would surely turn the world upside down.
Now, having nothing better to do, Tiankong would lead a pack of energetic monkeys to patrol all over Fuchen Shan, having already formed a Fuchen Shan Guard Squad.
They had built houses halfway up the mountain, all crafted according to their own personal preferences. Though they appeared bizarre and misshapen, they held a unique charm.
Unless Shu Jianyue summoned them, they would never dare to cross the line and come up.
Every transaction with Hunyuan Zong was also carried out by them.
Each time they completed a mission, Shu Jianyue would reward them, allowing their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds as well.
Among this pack of Lingshou, even the weakest had reached the fifth stage of Zhuji.
Fuchen Shan had practically become a paradise for Lingshou; whenever there was an errand to run, they would scramble desperately for the chance.
Because of this, Shu Jianyue established a shift rotation so that everyone could take turns.
The books, treasures, and Lingqi that Hunyuan Zong traded for “elixirs” had all been stored inside her small space.
Ever since she broke through to the Golden Core, another part of the small space had unlocked, revealing a copy of the Xiuhun Jue, a secret art for cultivating and nurturing the divine soul.
Meanwhile, her Mental Power had already reached the eighth tier. The higher one’s Mental Power, the sturdier one’s divine soul would become in turn.
Naturally, the stronger the divine soul, the higher the Mental Power.
If this secret manual were ever released to the outside world, the cultivators of the Ten Domains would undoubtedly fight over it like mad.
Perched atop a ginkgo tree while munching on a pear, Tiankong spotted a group of people flying on swords toward their direction and immediately called out, “Master, someone is coming.”
“I know.” She had sensed them long ago; her eighth-tier Mental Power was not just for show.
Quite a crowd had arrived—streaming in one after another, there appeared to be over a hundred people.
The barrier set up by Chaotian could block anyone beneath the Lianxu Stage. In Dongyuan Dalu, the person with the highest cultivation was merely the Grand Patriarch of Hunyuan Zong at the eighth stage of Yuanying.
Besides, the one coming was not him; the strongest among the visitors was merely at the second stage of Yuanying. Thus, it mattered not how many arrived.
Shu Jianyue nodded. “Pay them no heed.”
Arriving outside Fuchen Shan and gazing upon the mountain shrouded in white mist, the Sect Master of Tiansheng Zong, Lv Xuan, spoke up: “Let us break this barrier together.”
On the surface, they claimed to be collaborating to capture the Divine Beast so it would not bring calamity upon the lands. Yet who among them did not harbor selfish motives, secretly hoping to subdue and contract the Divine Beast for themselves?
Yang Qingling, the Sect Master of Qingling Men, gave a charming laugh and said, “Of course. Could Sect Master Lv be worried that we might slack off?”
As she spoke, she glanced at Du Yisheng standing not far away, her eyes rolling playfully as she smiled. “Elder Du, I heard that Hunyuan Xianzong has already declared this Fuchen Shan a forbidden ground where none may enter without orders. I wonder, does your Sect Master know you have come?”
Du Yisheng shot her a cold glance. “What does that have to do with you?”
He originally had not planned on coming, but upon hearing that Zhu Su had invited a powerful expert of the second stage of Yuanying from Waiyu, he decided to show up.
After the previous incident, the Sect Master had not pursued the matter with him, so surely nothing would go wrong this time either.