Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"I do not know."

Duan Xingchen shook her head, clutching the piece of cloth tightly in her palm, involuntarily recalling that scene from the past that still terrifies her to this day.

The dark tide swept in like a tsunami, and boundless flames engulfed the entire Holy Feather Sect.

The usually kind sect leader made Duan Xingyao protect him at all costs, wanting him to leave and become the only hope of the Holy Feather Sect.

After that, Duan Xingchen knew without even thinking what would become of the Holy Feather Sect.

But now, she sees the shadow of the former Holy Feather Sect in the demon that has been physically purified.

She had a rough idea of ​​what this meant, but she wasn't sure.

"Compared to this—"

Gu Wangjun seemed to sense that Duan Xingchen was already immersed in the painful past, so he casually changed the subject: "Junior Sister, don't you think there's something wrong with those two?"

"Gu Asan and Gu Tianren?" Duan Xingchen was taken aback. "Something's not right."

Gu Wangjun's eyes darkened. Although Gu Tianren had promised to help them search for traces of demonic cultivators within the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace, he still felt that the sudden appearance of these two was too coincidental.

Furthermore, the first person they encountered after traveling to this era was Gu Tianren.

Could there be a deeper reason behind this?

Duan Xingchen looked at his senior brother with a strange expression: "Senior brother, you don't suspect them, do you? Isn't that a bit inappropriate..."

Duan Xingchen felt that no matter what, the other person unconditionally believed them, yet they turned around and suspected these two...

I feel a bit guilty about it from a moral and ethical standpoint.

Gu Wangjun gave a simple and honest smile. He knew that his junior sister always thought too kindly of people, so he didn't say anything: "I just find it strange that Gu Asan went out to find steamed buns to eat at night."

I feel fine.

Duan Xingchen blinked. She was still not used to doubting others. Lying in the coffin-shaped magical artifact, she stretched out a big yawn: "Back at the Three-Day Academy, Senior Sister Ruoxue seemed to have done something similar."

"Is that so?" Gu Wangjun seemed to have never heard of this before.

"Senior Sister Yu Chan told me that Senior Brother Jiang Yuetian often complained that the academy kitchen didn't have enough ingredients for three days—because Senior Sister Ruoxue would sleepwalk to the kitchen to find food in the middle of the night."

Zhang Ruoxue also has a sleepwalking problem...

Having inadvertently learned of his junior sister's bad habit, Gu Wangjun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a wry smile, and then pointed out a crucial issue—

"Then why didn't he finish the bun? Why did he keep one in his pocket instead?"

Duan Xingchen: "..."

The girl suddenly froze on the spot as if possessed, blinking her starry eyes like a little fool. Even the light emanating from her whole body seemed to freeze for a moment.

So the light emanating from Duan Xingchen is connected to her thought process...?

Her gaze was fixed blankly on the simple-minded King Gu in front of her, her clever little mind starting to work.

"Is it because... you're afraid of being discovered and taking it back to eat?"

"Then why only bring one steamed bun? Although it's easy for people to miss one steamed bun in the kitchen, one steamed bun is not enough to fill you up, is it?"

"Hmm..." Duan Xingchen frowned slightly, then asked, "So, are you planning to take them back as snacks? Or maybe as food supplies?"

"It's still the same problem. Since he's already out stealing food, he should at least try to take more than he needs. If he takes too little, he'll have to risk going out again next time, right?"

"That……"

Duan Xingchen tried hard to use her little brain, and a subtle blush gradually appeared on her face.

After a moment, as if giving up, he lowered his head helplessly: "Okay, it does seem a little strange."

Gu Wangjun smiled, stretched out his thick hand, and rubbed his junior sister's head: "His reaction was as if he had planned it in advance, stuffing a bun into her mouth to prove that he had been to the kitchen."

"But whether he has been to other enemy territories is unknown."

"So, what do you mean, Senior Brother?"

Gu Wangjun narrowed his eyes, and a sharp, cold light appeared in his eyes, which usually did not show any sharpness.

"Let's go see what that Gu A-san is up to tomorrow night."

……

……

The next day.

Since it would be some time before the Palace Master of Lanyu Heavenly Palace emerged from seclusion, King Gu and his companion continued to live the life of honored guests within the palace.

Besides the martial arts sparring that was exactly the same as yesterday, Gu Tianren also took Duan Xingchen and Duan Xingchen on a tour of the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace. This tour took up most of the day.

It must be admitted that even in the ancient times, the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace still possessed an extremely large power. Before the rise of the Emperor Pavilion, the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace was the overlord of the Kuntian Domain.

However, it is worth mentioning that Blue Feather Heavenly Palace does not seem to have any intention of joining forces with other sects.

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that in this era, the concept of race was virtually nonexistent.

Although everyone looks human, most cultivators consider themselves enlightened masters who have transcended the mortal world. They are mostly loyal only to their own sect. Even if a neighboring sect is attacked by demons, it is none of their business. At most, they will strengthen the gate's formation.

Even in the Desolate Heaven Domain, which suffered the most from the demons' invasion, no cultivator alliance was ever formed to fight against the demons; they didn't care about it at all.

This situation only improved after the appearance of Emperor Wu. In history, most people refer to the humans before the appearance of Emperor Wu as the Wilderness Clan, rather than as "humans".

There is almost no communication between sects, and even if there is, it is negative. The currency system is a mess. What is valuable in Blue Feather Heavenly Palace might be trash that even outer disciples would not want elsewhere—except for magic artifacts.

"What a primitive era..."

As night slowly descended, Gu Wangjun gazed into the distance through the window.

He couldn't help but sigh at the chaos of this world. Thinking that the Martial Emperor had once ended this chaos, he felt even more respect for that seemingly nonchalant figure.

A cool night breeze caressed his face. Gu Wangjun took a deep breath, then turned around and said, "Junior Sister, it's time for us to set off..."

Before he could finish speaking...

He was astonished to see the upside-down coffin on the ground slowly wriggling.

Even a fool would know that a coffin couldn't possibly move on its own—let alone the tiny sliver of light emanating from the gap between the coffin and the ground.

"Junior Sister, what are you doing...?" Gu Wangjun's lips twitched slightly.

Duan Xingchen quickly opened the coffin, placed his hands on both sides of it as if carrying a tortoise shell, and slowly turned around. A childlike expression appeared on his pure and innocent face: "I'm stealthily moving."

"Stealth...?" Gu Wangjun began to suspect that Duan Xingchen might have misunderstood the word.

"I've never done anything like this before, so I just asked the teacher using my senior brother's talisman. The teacher told me—[Find a cube-shaped, hollow thing to carry on your back, preferably a cardboard box, but anything else will do if you don't have one. Then, carry that thing at night and tiptoe around. When you encounter someone, immediately crouch down and pretend you're an emotionless, immobile box. Don't worry, no one will be able to spot you if you do this. This is a technique from the world-class stealth master, Snake.]"

Gu Wangjun scratched his bald head. He was now beginning to doubt whether this eccentric teacher was actually the Martial Emperor who had ended the chaos.

This character design is problematic!

Duan Xingchen silently lowered the coffin and lay down on the spot. At the same time, a muffled sound came from inside the coffin: "Senior Brother, how's this stealth effect? ​​We won't be discovered, will we?"

King Gu: "..."

What should I say in this situation without hurting this girl's feelings?

He pondered for a long time, and then uttered a sentence in a simple and honest tone.

"Junior Sister".

"Ok?"

"From now on, you only need to listen to half of what the teacher, Junior Sister Yu Chan, and Junior Sister Ruoxue say."

Duan Xingchen: "?"

……

……

Despite some setbacks, the two of them finally set off.

Although Duan Xingchen was still reluctant to suspect Gu Asan, he had to admit that his behavior yesterday was indeed suspicious.

The two soon arrived at Gu Asan's house. Gu Wangjun pressed his ear against the wall and closed his eyes to sense everything inside.

About five seconds later, Gu Wangjun nodded to Duan Xingchen.

The meaning is clear—Gu Asan is still inside the house.

Duan Xingchen immediately understood, and then quietly stuffed himself into the coffin, entering a state of self-isolation.

—In the end, Lord Gu still sent Xingchen with this thing.

The reason is simple.

He suddenly remembered that Duan Xingchen would glow at night, and it wouldn't be right not to cover it with something.

Even worse, Gu Wangjun himself was forced to wear a hat.

The reason is simple.

His head is so smooth, let the moonlight shine down...

To put it bluntly, one of these two emits its own light, and the other reflects light; in the dead of night, they're practically two light sources...

That is, just as Duan Xingchen entered his self-isolation mode—

crunch.

The door to Gu Asan's house was slowly pushed open, and a hint of helplessness and fear flashed across the face of the young man dressed as a servant.

In his hand, he was holding a soft steamed bun.

33. Background and Development

Who goes out in the middle of the night with steamed buns in their hand and claims they're going to the kitchen to fill their stomach?

Although Gu Wangjun's skill in concealing his aura wasn't particularly high, not comparable to those assassins who specialized in killing, his cultivation level was far above Gu Asan's. Unless he deliberately revealed his aura, Gu Asan would never be able to detect that he was being followed.

Considering his junior sister's limited mobility, Gu Wangjun still chose to carry Duan Xingchen, coffin and all, on his back, and then followed Gu Asan at a leisurely pace.

Gu Asan's gaze fell on the young man dressed as a servant. He seemed particularly worried that his whereabouts would be discovered. He looked around furtively, and from time to time he would even stop and look around, wary of the streets where disciples might pass by.

What convinced Gu Wangjun that he truly had ulterior motives was that—from the very beginning, Gu Asan walked in a completely different direction from the location of the kitchen!

He didn't go to the kitchen to steal food at all.