On the top floor of the pavilion, Xun'er stood by the window, gazing at the distant horizon.
Hearing Ling Ying's account, a ripple of emotion could not help but stir in her beautiful eyes, and she murmured, "So, you're saying that the massive explosion was caused by Cousin Xiao Se?"
"Yes, Young Miss." Ling Ying knelt on one knee and said respectfully.
"Then did you see him?" Xun'er turned and asked.
Ling Ying shook his head: "No. By the time I arrived, Master Xiao Se had already entered the giant crater to search for the corpse of the Earth Demon Old Ghost. I only saw Xiao Yi Xian. She is very powerful; her strength has already reached the Seven-Star Dou Zong, and she discovered me very quickly. Because I had monitored Master Xiao Se before, she drove me away."
"Is that so." Xun'er sighed, a strange look flickering in her beautiful eyes, and she muttered to herself, "Xiao Yi Xian possesses the Calamity Poison Body. In recent years, with the help of Cousin Xiao Se, the Calamity Poison Body has been controlled, so it is not surprising that she has such strength."
"Young Miss, I told Xiao Yi Xian about the Family coming to pick you up in the next few days, and asked her to pass the message on to Master Xiao Se." Ling Ying said with some hesitation.
"Who told you to be a busybody?" Upon hearing Ling Ying's words, Xun'er's willow eyebrows arched, and golden flames rose in her beautiful eyes.
"Please forgive me, Young Miss!" Ling Ying lowered his head even further.
"Forget it, I know you meant well." Xun'er lifted her beautiful, fair chin slightly, her pretty face revealing a trace of melancholy.
How could she not want to see Xiao Se one last time before leaving? But if she did, Xiao Se would certainly enter the sights of those old fellows in the Ancient Clan.
Less than eighteen years old, a Three-Star Dou Zong, a Peak Seventh-RankAlchemist—such talent, even in the Ancient Clans, was a unique existence.
But talent is, after all, just talent. A Three-Star Dou Zong might seem strong, but in the Ancient Clans, it is not worth mentioning.
Before talent is fully transformed into strength, if one enters the eyes of those with malicious intent, one might meet an untimely death.
After all, among those old fossils in the clan, there are many who do not wish to see the Xiao Family rise again.
This is something Xun'er does not wish to see.
Just as these thoughts were swirling in Xun'er's mind, a sound of footsteps suddenly rang out outside the room.
Xun'er glanced at Ling Ying, who nodded, his figure turning into a black shadow and blending into the darkness.
"Xun'er, are you there?" Xiao Yu's soft voice sounded from outside the door.
"Come in, Cousin Xiao Yu, the door is unlocked." Xun'er said.
"Creak." The room door opened in response. Xiao Yu walked in with Zhu Zhuqing and Die, smiling, "Xun'er, look who I've brought."
"Zhuqing, and who is this? Queen Medusa?" Her gaze swept past Zhu Zhuqing and finally rested on Die, a flash of surprise crossing Xun'er's eyes.
She looked almost exactly like Queen Medusa, and her aura had also reached the Dou Zong level, but she seemed somewhat different from the decisive and ruthless Queen Medusa in her memory.
Queen Medusa was proud, domineering, and had a very regal air.
But the beautiful woman before her gave off a feeling of innocence, kindness, and gentleness. It made one unable to help but feel favorably towards her.
"You must be Xun'er. Nice to meet you. Medusa is my sister, and I am called Die. Xiao Se is, for the time being, my brother-in-law! You can call me Die, just like Xiao Se does, or call me Sister Die, like Zhuqing and the others." Die appeared very familiar, walking up to take Xun'er's delicate hand and introducing herself.
"Ah, oh. Sister Die. Hello." This action by Die left even the composed Xun'er somewhat at a loss. Although she had guessed as much, when she heard the former call Xiao Se brother-in-law, her heart could not help but tremble slightly.
Seeing the strange expression on Xun'er's face, Zhu Zhuqing explained from the side, "Xun'er, don't mind her; Sister Die is a very good person."
"How could I?" Xun'er smiled and shook her head, suppressing the disappointment in her heart, and gestured, "Everyone, don't just stand there; come in first."
As she spoke, Xun'er turned and walked to the table to pour tea for the four of them. Afterward, Zhu Zhuqing, Die, and Xiao Yu also entered the room and sat down.
The four of them began to chat happily.
On the other side, Xiao Se had already returned to the Sea King Pavilion with Xiao Yi Xian.
"Big bad guy." As soon as he returned to the Sea King Pavilion, Xiao Se heard Zi Yan's loli voice.
Xiao Se smiled slightly, and just as he was about to greet her, he saw Zi Yan puffing up her cheeks and pouncing on him, claws and fangs bared.
"Zi Yan, listen to my explanation." Seeing this situation, Xiao Se secretly thought it was not good.
However, the 'biting' he had imagined did not fall. Instead, he saw Zi Yan's dark eyes filled with innocence and a faint mist of tears. She shook her head vigorously, her voice laced with a hint of crying and grievance: "I won't listen, I won't listen! You big bad guy, sneaking out to play without me, and you didn't even leave me any Medicinal Pills. Two years! Do you know how I spent those two years? Are you afraid that I would be angry with you because of what happened last time, so you ignored me? Wuwu. You big bad guy."
"Don't worry, I won't ignore you." Xiao Se stroked Zi Yan's little head, feeling a surge of self-reproach. Come to think of it, ever since he lured her out of Jia Nan Academy, it seemed he hadn't spent much time with her.
"Really?" Zi Yan lifted her little head and sniffled.
"Really." Xiao Se nodded.
"Really, really?"
"Really, really."
"Really, really, really?"
"Really, really, really."
"Alright then. Xiao Yi Xian has planted a lot of Materials in the bamboo forest. I want you to refine Medicinal Pills for me—one thousand, oh no, I want ten thousand." Zi Yan pointed to the bamboo forest.
"One hundred thousand is fine too." Xiao Se smiled faintly and said, "But before that, I need to go to Demon Flame Valley. Now that the Earth Demon Old Ghost and most of the elites of Demon Flame Valley are dead, their collection cannot be missed."
"Then I want to go. I want to go." Zi Yan jumped onto Xiao Se, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, looking like she wouldn't let go unless he took her.
"Don't worry, I will take you." Xiao Se looked at Xiao Yi Xian: "Xian'er, Zi Yan and I are going to Demon Flame Valley first. Please send someone to collect the force-grown Materials. When I return, I will refine them all into Medicinal Pills for the auction in over a month."
"Hmm, be careful then." Xiao Yi Xian pondered slightly, "By the way, when you entered the giant crater to search for the Earth Demon Old Ghost's corpse, Xun'er's guard came by. His original words were, 'In the next few days, someone from the clan will come to take Xun'er back.' He asked me to pass that on to you."
Xiao Se paused for a moment, pondered for a while, and slowly said, "I know. After I finish dealing with the matters at Demon Flame Valley, I will go over."
As he spoke, Xiao Se wrapped his arm around Zi Yan's slender waist, his figure flashing as he shot into the high sky, flying towards Demon Flame Valley.
Before long, Xiao Se arrived at the location of Demon Flame Valley.
By this time, the news of the Earth Demon Old Ghost's death had already spread, and the vast Demon Flame Valley was in complete chaos. Seeing Xiao Se arrive with Zi Yan, they surrendered directly, almost without any resistance. Xiao Se used the Sharingan to control the leaders, telling them to wait for the people from Sea King Pavilion to come and take over. Meanwhile, Xiao Se took Zi Yan and swept into the depths of Demon Flame Valley to look for the small treasury left behind by the Earth Demon Old Ghost from the original story.
As for the fate of the people in Demon Flame Valley, that was not his concern.
The two of them passed through several deep and long tunnels in the valley, eventually stopping before a stone wall covered with weeds.
"This is it." Xiao Se pointed to the stone wall, then suddenly threw a punch. The stone wall shattered instantly, revealing a mountain cave.
"This is the place, alright. But Xiao Se, this location is extremely hidden. Even for me, it would take some effort to find it. How did you find it? Could it be that, like me, you also possess a talent for treasure hunting?" Zi Yan asked, puzzled.
"I don't have that ability; it was just luck. Alright, let's go in." Xiao Se smiled slightly without explaining too much. He didn't have a talent for treasure hunting, but he had the X-ray vision granted by the System. Even the most hidden places could be seen through at a glance—including the little bear panties Zi Yan was currently wearing.
Hearing Xiao Se's words, Zi Yan didn't think too much about it. Compared to delving into whether Xiao Se also had treasure-hunting abilities, she was more interested in the treasures inside the cave.
Passing through the cave tunnel and climbing a stone staircase, a few minutes later, the two encountered another stone door.
The stone door was pitch black, covered with some moss, and faintly exuded a sense of heaviness.
"Let me."
Seeing that there was another stone door, Zi Yan volunteered, her little face full of excitement. This girl had a special fondness for destruction. Since the previous stone door had been destroyed by Xiao Se first, she had been holding back her energy.
Xiao Se did not stop her, just watching quietly while gathering Dou Qi in his right hand. As Zi Yan shattered the stone door, he sent a powerful stream of Dou Qi into the interior.
"Let's go in." Zi Yan walked to Xiao Se's side as if asking for credit, took his hand, and walked into the stone door, completely unaware of the powerful stream of Dou Qi Xiao Se had sent out.
"Hmm." Xiao Se stroked Zi Yan's little head, his figure flashing as he took her into the space behind the stone door.
Entering the stone door, what appeared before Xiao Se and Zi Yan was a rather spacious stone chamber. Inside, the lights were blinding, and the surroundings were pitch black as ink, all built from hard Ink Steel. A glance was enough to tell that this stone chamber had been carved out of an Ink Steel vein.
In the stone chamber, there were many racks piled up, and on these racks, scrolls were neatly arranged.
On the other side of the racks, there were many crystal cabinets. Inside the cabinets, one could vaguely see many rare medicinal Materials and high-Rank Monster Cores carefully arranged.
"Wow, so many medicinal Materials. Xiao Se. Hurry, hurry, take them all away, and go back to refine Medicinal Pills for me." Zi Yan's gaze swept across the stone chamber, ignoring the scrolls, and upon seeing the crystal cabinets, she drooled, her eyes shining.
"You go and collect those medicinal Materials; I'll go get those scrolls." Xiao Se casually sucked a red Monster Core from one of the crystal cabinets into his hand, then gave Zi Yan a Medium Gradestorage ring. He didn't care about the medicinal Materials; what he truly cared about was the bamboo scroll recording the secret technique for refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet, as well as the Seventh-Rank fire-attribute Monster Core left behind by the Earth Demon Old Ghost.
"Earth Rank Low-level lightning-attribute Cultivation Technique 'Thunderbolt Mirror', with its matching Dou Technique 'Awakening Thunder Method', an Earth RankIntermediateDou Technique. Although it's useless to me, it's good for those around me."
"True Flame Condensation Technique, Earth RankIntermediate, can condense a fake Heavenly Flame; it's better than nothing."
"Blood Cold Ice Heart Technique, Earth RankIntermediate, with its matching Dou Technique, 'Blood Cold Extreme Freezing Heaven', an Earth RankIntermediateDou Technique. It seems to be the Cultivation Technique and Dou Technique that the Earth Demon Old Ghost cultivated."
"Thousand Illusion Profound Ice Thorn, Earth Rank Low-level Dou Technique."
"Ice Condensation Sword Technique, Earth Rank Low-level Dou Technique."
Taking everything as he went, he gathered all the scrolls on the racks into his storage ring. Finally, Xiao Se let his gaze rest on an ordinary grayish-brown bamboo scroll.
Gently untying the thin string on the bamboo scroll, Xiao Se slowly opened it. A line of blood-red characters, exuding a hint of ruthlessness, suddenly came into view: Heavenly Demon Puppet!
"Heavenly Demon Puppet. This method is neither a Cultivation Technique nor an ordinary Dou Technique, but a puppet technique passed down from ancient times. To refine a Heavenly Demon Puppet, three things must be gathered: a body, a Soul, and a Monster Core. Use the body as the vessel, the Soul as the guide, and the Monster Core as the heart, then combine them with many Materials to finally achieve the Demon Puppet. Demon Puppets are divided into three Ranks: Heaven, Earth, and Human. The difference in Rank depends on the refining Materials and the refining fire. It has infinite power, knows no joy or sorrow, feels no pain or injury; it is truly a killing weapon."
Seeing the introduction on the bamboo scroll, Xiao Se could no longer hide the joy in his heart. He couldn't refine a Heavenly Demon Puppet yet, but an Earth Demon Puppet was definitely possible. He had the Iron Protector's Soul, the Earth Demon Old Ghost's body, and the Monster Core was in the storage. Once he refined the Earth Demon Puppet, he could then upgrade it to a Heavenly Demon Puppet by absorbing Pill Lightning. By then, he would have the strength to fight even a real Dou Zun.
"Xiao Se, I've collected all the medicinal Materials. The storage ring is full." Zi Yan leaned close to Xiao Se, as if asking for credit, and handed him the storage ring.
Taking the storage ring, Xiao Se stroked Zi Yan's little head and smiled, "Let's go!"
"Hmm." Zi Yan nodded, quite enjoying it, and was about to turn and leave, but Xiao Se called out to her, "Where are you going?"
"Back, of course!" Zi Yan said, puzzled.
"No need. Hold onto me, close your eyes, and I will teleport us out directly." Xiao Se shook his head.
"Oh." Zi Yan didn't understand, but she still followed his instructions. Her pretty face slightly flushed, she wrapped her arms around Xiao Se's waist.
Xiao Se wrapped one arm around Zi Yan, formed a seal with his other hand, and silently chanted in his heart: "Flying Thunder God Technique."
The next moment, Xiao Se and Zi Yan disappeared from the stone chamber simultaneously.
When they appeared again, they had arrived at a hot spring.
In the hot spring, the four beauties—Zhu Zhuqing, Die, Xiao Yu, and Xun'er—were naked, covering their chests with their hands, looking at the suddenly appearing Xiao Se in disbelief. Their stunningly beautiful faces were flushed red, whether from the hot spring or because of Xiao Se, it was impossible to tell.
Being stared at by the women like this, Xiao Se's old face turned red, and for a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off them.
He had already seen the bodies of Zhu Zhuqing and Die, but it was his first time seeing Xun'er and Xiao Yu without clothes.
Both women had very fair skin and perfect contours. Although Xun'er's development was not yet mature due to her age, her shape was the most beautiful among all the women, even slightly better than Die, who had the hottest figure.
The five of them just stared at each other, and no one spoke.
The strange atmosphere lasted for a while, and then Zi Yan's voice sounded from Xiao Se's arms: "Xiao Se, are we there yet? I'm going to open my eyes!"
"Zi Yan, wait—" Before Xiao Se could finish his sentence, Zi Yan had already opened her eyes. Looking around, she said in disbelief: "Eh? Isn't this the hot spring deep inside the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy? I only told Xiao Yi Xian and Zhuqing. Xiao Se, how did you know about this..."
Zi Yan's voice came to an abrupt halt; she saw Zhu Zhuqing and the other three.
(End of Chapter)
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