So what if I have a few billion concubines while I'm cultivating immortality?

By the time we returned to the valley entrance, it was nearly dusk.

Qin Xiao didn't rush off. Instead, he found a clean rock to sit on and said to Yu Fengling, "Wait here for me. I'll be right back."

"Husband, where are you going?"

Yu Fengling asked curiously.

"I need to take care of something."

After Qin Xiao finished speaking, his figure flickered and transformed into a streak of crimson light, flying towards the direction of Jinyang Prefecture City.

Yu Fengling watched the disappearing light vanish into the horizon, pursed her lips, sat alone on a rock, took out another piece of dried meat from her purse, and ate it in small bites.

He wondered what Qin Xiao had gone off to do.

……

The Mu residence in Jinyang Prefecture.

Inside the study, Mu Yunshan was listening to his manager report on the recent situation of the Chamber of Commerce when a servant came to report that a mysterious person had delivered two letters.

Mu Yunshan's heart stirred, and he quickly took the letter and opened it.

The letter was in Qin Xiao's handwriting, and the content was very simple.

Tell him to get to the capital as soon as possible. We still need to forge a weapon-refining cauldron and an alchemy furnace. The blueprints are attached separately. Please arrange it as soon as possible.

Mu Yunshan looked at the letter, then picked up the drawings from another envelope and unfolded them.

The blueprints show the appearance of an alchemy furnace, with various dimensions and requirements marked on them.

Although I don't understand the purpose of this cauldron, since it's Qin Xiao's request, it must be a very important matter.

He immediately ordered the shopkeeper, "Put everything aside and go to the city to invite the best blacksmiths, coppersmiths, and stonemasons! No matter the cost!"

……

Night fell.

In the desolate mountains, a campfire is lit.

Yu Fengling idly poked at the fire, occasionally looking up at the night sky.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, a streak of crimson light approached from afar and landed not far away.

Qin Xiao appeared.

"My husband, you're back!"

Yu Fengling immediately perked up and ran over.

Qin Xiao nodded, carrying a food box in his hand.

Opening the food box revealed several delicate side dishes and a pot of warm wine.

"This is the signature dish of 'Zui Xian Lou,' the most famous restaurant in Jinyang Prefecture."

Qin Xiao said calmly.

Yu Fengling's eyes lit up when she saw the steaming food. "Husband, you went all the way back to the city just to buy me food?"

She looked at Qin Xiao, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

Qin Xiao didn't answer, but simply handed her a pair of chopsticks: "Eat."

Yu Feng didn't say anything, but she felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

The two ate their meal by the campfire.

The atmosphere was much more harmonious than when I arrived.

After finishing his meal, Qin Xiao suddenly said, "Stretch out your hand."

"what?"

Yu Fengling was puzzled, but she still obediently extended her hand.

Qin Xiao grasped Yu Fengling's slender wrist, and a wisp of pure spiritual energy probed into her body.

In an instant, Yu Fengling felt a warm current spread throughout her body.

All fatigue vanished.

She looked at Qin Xiao in surprise: "Husband, what's wrong with you...?"

"You did a great job today, this is a reward."

As Qin Xiao spoke, he released his grip, his tone calm, "Although we are husband and wife in name, strength is fundamental on the path of cultivation. In the future, if you can keep up with my pace, you will naturally reap many benefits."

That night, a crimson streak of light pierced the night sky and sped toward the capital.

High in the sky, Yu Fengling held Qin Xiao tightly around the waist, but her heart was no longer filled with novelty as it had been when they arrived.

She would occasionally steal glances at Qin Xiao's profile.

The dinner by the firelight, the simple reward, and the warm feeling that made her feel comfortable all over all stirred up a strange feeling in her heart.

This man, though domineering, can sometimes be quite cold-hearted.

But it's not bad.

Sometimes, it's just saying one thing and meaning another.

"What are you thinking about?"

Qin Xiao's voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Yu Fengling was startled and quickly looked away, lowering her head and stammering, "No, nothing."

Qin Xiao chuckled lightly and didn't press the matter.

The speed of the escape light was extremely fast; in just half an hour, it had already covered hundreds of miles.

Just then, Qin Xiao's consciousness stirred slightly, and his brows furrowed.

He slowed down and looked down at the dark forest below.

"What's wrong, my husband?"

Yu Fengling noticed something was wrong and looked down, but all she saw was endless darkness.

"There are people down below."

Qin Xiao said calmly, "He is a cultivator."

His divine sense detected several signs of life in a valley below.

And a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

The fluctuations of spiritual energy were extremely weak and intermittent.

Like a candle flickering in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment.

But one thing is certain: this aura belongs to a cultivator.

"A cultivator?"

Yu Fengling was taken aback, then became interested. "Are they people like us?"

"Go and see for yourself."

Qin Xiao controlled the escape light and descended towards that valley.

The two landed at the valley entrance and, under the cover of night, made their way into the valley.

The valley is not large, and a small stream flows through it.

A small campfire was burning on a relatively flat grassy area.

Three people sat around the firelight.

A middle-aged man who looked to be about forty years old and was thin was wearing a faded scholar's robe and was looking at the fire with a worried expression.

A girl of about fifteen or sixteen lay beside him, her face pale, her eyes closed, her breathing weak, and she had fallen into a coma.

Opposite them sat another girl, who looked to be around eighteen years old.

She was wearing ill-fitting coarse cloth clothes, and her little face was dirty.

But his eyes were exceptionally bright.

At this moment, she was cautiously looking around, her body tense, and she was holding a sharpened wooden stick in her hand.

"this……"

Yu Fengling looked at this strange combination with some confusion.

These three people look like ordinary people fleeing from disaster; they don't look like cultivators at all.

Qin Xiao's gaze, however, fell on the unconscious girl.

That faint fluctuation of spiritual energy was emanating from her body.

She has spiritual roots!

But at this moment, the spiritual energy within her body was extremely chaotic, rampaging wildly as if it had gone berserk.

It seems that someone tampered with her, forcing her to cultivate her spiritual energy without proper guidance, which caused her spiritual energy to go out of control.

Just then, the wary girl sensed something, abruptly turned her head towards the direction where Qin Xiao and Yu Fengling were hiding, and shouted sharply, "Who's there? Come out!"

His voice carried a fierceness beyond his years.

The middle-aged man was startled and quickly looked up, also glancing nervously in that direction.

Qin Xiao pulled Yu Fengling out from behind the tree.

"Who are you people?"

Upon seeing them, the girl immediately stood up, held the wooden stick across her chest, and shielded the middle-aged man and the unconscious girl behind her.

He looked like a mother wolf protecting her cubs.

The middle-aged man noticed that Qin Xiao and Yu Fengling's attire and demeanor were unlike those of ordinary villagers, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

Yu Fengling found the tense scene before her somewhat amusing and was about to speak.

Qin Xiao spoke first, saying, "We are just travelers passing through this place. We saw a fire and came to take a look. We have no ill intentions."

The girl remained vigilant, her eyes scanning them up and down: "Traveler? In the dead of night, in this desolate wilderness, where would a traveler come from?"

Qin Xiao didn't answer. His gaze passed over her and landed on the unconscious girl. He asked, "What happened to her?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's face immediately showed anxiety. He said, "My daughter... my daughter has fallen seriously ill and is unconscious. We wanted to rush to the town ahead to seek medical treatment tonight."

"Seeking medical help?"

Qin Xiao shook his head. "This isn't an illness."

The middle-aged man was taken aback: "Not an illness? Then what is it?"