Five cubs clung to her; the wicked woman was being targeted.

"Has your father, Huanlan, not finished advancing yet?"

"Mother, not yet. Huanye is watching inside."

"Okay, you guys play outside quietly and don't make a fuss." After saying that, Niu Kou Shui made a shushing gesture.

Feng Yu naturally joined the ranks of those stockpiling firewood.

Niu Kou Shui tiptoed into the cave. She hadn't expected the advancement to take so long; she had been playing outside all afternoon and still hadn't finished. The advancement process must be very difficult.

On the second-floor open space, Huanlan was curled up in a ball. His once fluffy white fur was now disheveled and sweaty, clinging to his skin. His eyes were closed, but his body was trembling uncontrollably. The faint white aura of spiritual energy around him flickered, like a candle flame that might be extinguished at any moment.

When Xiao Huanye saw her mother arrive, she quietly stepped aside to make room for Niu Kou Shui.

Niu Kou Shui walked very lightly, afraid of disturbing him. Perhaps it was because of the beast mark, but she could clearly feel Huan Lan's spiritual power like a runaway mad snake, surging around his body, yet unable to break through that invisible sixth-order barrier.

Time passed slowly, and Huanlan's breathing grew heavier, with fine beads of blood even seeping from his forehead. His mental state teetered on the brink of collapse, with countless shattered illusions swirling around him, trying to take advantage of his vulnerability.

Niu Kou Shui's heart tightened as he looked at the scene, and an idea came to mind.

She sat cross-legged not far from him, a soft golden-green light emanating from her palms. Her healing power transformed into strands of light, like the gentlest spring rain, softly falling upon Huanlan.

The threads of light seeped into his body, first calming the raging mental energy, then gradually repairing the torn mental pathways. Huanlan's tense body gradually relaxed, his trembling lessened, and his scattered consciousness re-coalesced under the guidance of this warm power.

Seeing that Huanlan had finally stopped showing pain, Xiao Huanye felt a weight lifted from her heart.

Niu Kou Shui carefully channeled her healing power continuously. She dared not use too much force, and could only precisely control every bit of energy to help him stabilize his source without interfering with his breakthrough to the bottleneck.

This is my first time helping someone advance in rank, and it's quite exciting. I feel like an elder helping a disciple cultivate (ૢ˃ꌂ˂⁎).

After an unknown amount of time, a calm yet powerful spiritual energy suddenly erupted from inside the cave.

Huanlan suddenly opened his eyes, his vertical pupils blazing with light. His originally snow-white hair moved without wind as his spiritual power surged. The halo surrounding him instantly solidified and deepened, carrying the unique pressure of a sixth-tier phantom beast, and slowly spread outwards.

He succeeded! (≖‿≖)✧!

Huanlan stood up, her figure even more upright than before. She walked over to Niu Koushui, lowered her head, and affectionately rubbed against him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught sight of Xiao Huanye still standing to the side!

Huanlan immediately transformed into human form: "Mistress, thank you."

Though brief, the words contained boundless love.

"Not bad, even prettier than before!" Niu Kou Shui was very satisfied as he looked at Huan Lan's eyes, which had become even more attractive.

This is a win-win situation! Niu Kou Shui now feels that he has a deeper grasp on this healing ability.

"Go take a shower, you're covered in sweat."

"Okay." Huan Lan raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, only then realizing the blood there. Didn't he look terrible now?!

Niu Kou Shui found it somewhat amusing to see him rushing out like that; in fact, the blood at the corner of his mouth had a certain charm.

——*:ஐ٩(๑´ᵕ`)۶ஐ:*——

"To celebrate 🎊 Phantom's successful upgrade, let's have a big meal tonight!"

"Yay! Yay!" The five little ones were all quite excited.

Huanlan, standing to the side, felt a little awkward. The lowest of these beastmen was at least level six. He was going to celebrate with his level six female master. Wouldn't that make the others have something to say about him?

However, this also precisely shows that the female master treats him differently! Huanlan immediately walked over happily and stood aside.

Feng Yu glanced at Huan Lan, wondering what had happened between him and the female master upstairs.

"Tch~"

Yue Lin made no attempt to hide it, walking over and bumping into Huan Lan.

"You're just jealous," Huanlan said with a smile.

"Tch 😏~"

"Mistress~ Celebrate with me when I advance in rank!" Yue Lin gently shook the hand holding Niu Kou Shui's, her eyes filled with expectant little stars.

"Great, I'll celebrate all of your advancements."

"Great!" Yue Lin was satisfied.

The handsome men nearby were also happy. The female master was actually celebrating their advancement, so they all had to work harder.

However, Huanlan was still very happy. Although this was not his exclusive gift, he was the first female master to celebrate with him!

Niu Kou Shui looked into his space and saw that the corn plant he had left behind was almost fully ripe and very hard. He should be able to take it out as seeds next time he looked.

Looking around, I saw that the vegetables that had grown this time included tomatoes, cauliflower, and cucumbers.

"Let's have barbecue tonight!"

Niu Kou Shui still kept one stalk of each vegetable for seed, and picked all the others.

"My dear husband, break this into small pieces and wash it clean." Niu Koushui then demonstrated the process.

"it is good."

Jin Fei carried the cauliflower to the stream.

"Huanlan, cut this into slices."

"it is good."

Huanlan skillfully took the cucumber and placed it on the cutting board.

"Mizutsu, could you make some more wooden skewers for me to use for barbecue?"

"it is good."

"Fengyu, slice this pork belly into thin slices. Remember not to mix up the knife for cutting meat and the knife for cutting vegetables."

"Okay, I've remembered what you said last time, Mistress."

"Then what am I supposed to do, Mistress?" Yue Lin sat to the side, having no task.

"You should take this fish and process it. You should know which parts are edible and which are not, right?"

Niu Kou Shui handed the stingray to Yue Lin.

"I know, I'll definitely complete the mission!" Yue Lin happily took the manta ray and ran to the stream.

First, cut off the tail; it has poisonous barbs there. Then, make a cut in the heart to drain the blood; the female master doesn't like fishy smells. This fish has thick, unpalatable skin, so Yue Lin used her special ability to help it quickly shed its skin…

"Mother, Mother, do we have a mission?"

Xiao Fengqing flew around happily, having not eaten grilled fish in a long time and missing it a bit.

"Kids, you can contact the skewer maker. I'll teach you how to do it once your father has finished and signed it."

"Okay!"

While everyone was busy, Niu Kou Shui was also busy, taking out a bunch of small bowls and starting to fill them with ingredients.

One bowl contains light soy sauce, another vinegar. One bowl contains sesame oil, another Sichuan peppercorn oil…

The stone table was thus filled with stones.

"What are these for, Mistress?" Feng Yu asked curiously as she cut meat nearby.

"This will be used as a coating for the skewers later."

"Huh? Didn't you just sprinkle it on the grilled fish last time?"

"This time is different; we'll bake something else too."

Feng Yu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Is this okay?" Jin Fei asked as she brought in a bowl of torn cauliflower.

"Okay, honey, can you make me a grill now?"

"What kind?"

Niu Koushui described the grid-like grill to him, and Jin Fei immediately understood.

"Wow, this is so lively! I brought some fish, can I join in?"