Before Dai Hua, Dai Jun was like the clever, quick-witted little daughter from a mold, utterly different from the smiling dagger she was before Lin Qi.
Lin Qi watched the mother and daughter interact, her face thoughtful.
Perhaps Lin Qi's gaze was too scorching, for Dai Hua turned to look at her.
"Who is this?"
Dai Jun explained, "A fellow cultivator I met at the Ascension Pool. I lent her a hand and had her play my part for a time."
"Oh?" Dai Hua said casually. "If you like her, then so be it. Just don't stir up any major trouble because of her, or even I won't be able to protect you."
Dai Hua did not pay much attention to Lin Qi.
Her gaze remained tender and doting as she looked at Dai Jun.
Dai Jun suddenly said, "Mother, your daughter truly does have an important matter to report this time."
A trace of puzzlement appeared in Dai Hua's eyes. "I thought you were merely making an excuse. So there really is something."
"Near the Immortal Cleansing Pool, I saw cultivators from the Northern Realm Ice Phoenix Clan."
"The Northern Realm Ice Phoenix Clan?"
Dai Jun had taken in everything Lin Qi said and now recounted it all to Dai Hua.
Only then did Dai Hua's gaze toward Lin Qi gain a measure of seriousness.
After all, Dai Hua had lived tens of thousands of years longer than Dai Jun. At a glance, she sensed that something was off about Lin Qi's aura.
"What is your relationship with the Ice Phoenix Clan?"
After a moment of silence, Lin Qi answered, "In the lower realm, I was fortunate enough to obtain the Ice Phoenix Clan's cultivation technique and cultivated it to this point."
Surprise showed in both Dai Hua's and