Seeing Nan Ji cut the immortal peach into several pieces, Duo Duo's eyes revealed a trace of reluctance.
After all, these were the first batch of peaches borne by the Ren Water Immortal Peach tree.
The first batch had taken tens of thousands of years to mature, and there were only nine of them. Each one could create a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
However, unlike the peach trees of the Heavenly Court in later generations, these immortal peaches would not leave cultivators with unstable foundations after being consumed.
Although the Witch Clan did not cultivate primordial spirits, these immortal peaches were still rare treasures for tempering their physical bodies.
It was simply that Houtu had heard this was the most beautiful place between heaven and earth, while the little immortal crane before her was also unlike most Great Desolation cultivators.
Niu Niu, meanwhile, wore an expression of "just as expected" as she glanced at Houtu.
Only then did Nan Ji realize it. Seeing that the roasted meat on the grill was nearly done, he rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Get ready, let's eat!"
This time, Nan Ji did not yield to either of them. In one smooth motion, he picked up a bamboo skewer and held a piece of roasted meat in his hand.
After blowing on it twice, he dipped the roasted spirit beast meat in his homemade seasoning and put it into his mouth.
Niu Niu was quick as well. She grabbed a skewer of roasted meat that still had faint traces of blood and carelessly dipped it in the seasoning before devouring it.
Duo Duo, on the other hand, was usually rather carefree, but seeing the two of them fighting over the food, she felt somewhat embarrassed.
"Hey! Little Duo Duo, I'm telling you, if you don't grab some now, the two of us will finish it all."
Nan Ji spoke to Duo Duo while tearing into the roasted meat with his teeth.
Niu Niu paid no attention to her close friend Duo Duo, as though she feared that slowing down even a little would mean eating less.
"This..."
Duo Duo hesitated.
Though the Witch Clan was naturally rough and bold, she was both an Ancestor Witch of the Witch Clan and the youngest of the Twelve Ancestor Witches.
Her older brothers had always indulged her. When had they ever fought over food like this?
But seeing even Queen Mother of the West Niu Niu eating like that, Duo Duo stopped putting on airs. She picked up a piece of golden-brown roasted meat, imitated the others by dipping it into the seasoning before her, and put it into her mouth.
The instant the steaming roasted meat touched her mouth,
Duo Duo felt as though all the meat she had eaten before had suddenly become tasteless.
Fragrant and tender, spicy, with a crisp exterior and succulent interior...
It made Duo Duo unconsciously narrow her eyes in utter contentment.
Seeing Duo Duo's expression, Nan Ji and Niu Niu exchanged a glance before speeding up their eating.
When Duo Duo reluctantly swallowed the roasted meat and reached for another skewer, she discovered that only one bamboo skewer remained on the grill.
Looking again, she found hundreds of bamboo skewers piled beside both Nan Ji and Niu Niu.
"You..." Duo Duo looked at the two of them angrily, wanting to say something.
But after thinking it over, she first put the final skewer of roasted meat into her mouth and savored it with an expression of enjoyment.
Only then did she look reluctantly at Nan Ji, seeming to want to ask whether there could be more.
But Nan Ji seemed to see what she wanted to say and hurriedly replied, "No!"
Then, seeing Duo Duo's aggrieved expression, Nan Ji explained, "Hey, good things lose their appeal when there's too much of them. It'll be the same from now on. If you want something tasty, you have to make it yourself!"
That was the essence of barbecue gatherings.
If everything were unlimited and available for anyone to take at will, the food itself would naturally lose a certain special flavor.
"Still, we have fruit for after the meal!"
As he spoke, Nan Ji placed a fruit platter before the two girls. All kinds of spirit fruits had been cut into small pieces and arranged in the middle.
"Come on, dig in!"
Perhaps because of what had happened with the barbecue, Duo Duo and Niu Niu both consciously picked up forks this time and swept through the spirit fruits on the jade platter.
Whether intentionally or not, neither of them ate much of the peaches. Nan Ji, however, ate quite a few immortal peaches.
The palm-sized fruit platter was instantly wiped clean by the three of them.
"Burp..."
Duo Duo and Niu Niu both rubbed their little bellies in satisfaction, extremely pleased with the refreshing fruit after the meal.
"You two..."
Nan Ji had just been about to take the two of them to find some more fun when he suddenly felt a surge of pure spiritual energy erupt from within his dantian.
Without time to say anything else, Nan Ji hurriedly sat cross-legged and guided the spiritual energy through his body.
Seeing Nan Ji begin cultivating, Niu Niu revealed a sly smile. Then, with a wave of her little hand, she laid down an array beside him.
A flash of white light followed, revealing the form of a figure with a human head, tiger body, and leopard tail. Queen Mother of the West then said to her, "Don't worry. This array will not only keep him safe, but also isolate all sounds and sights from the outside."
A yellowish-brown flash of light passed, and Houtu also returned to her true form. She said to Queen Mother of the West with feeling, "Sister truly did not deceive me. This Xuanqing Peak really is fascinating."
Queen Mother of the West smiled knowingly. "Once Nan Ji wakes up, there will be even more fun things to do. But for now, we should go meet the three senior brothers."
With that, the two women flashed away and arrived beneath Kirin Cliff.
The Three Pure Ones were still cultivating, but they all opened their eyes and looked toward Queen Mother of the West and Houtu.
"Greetings, three senior brothers!" Queen Mother of the West and Houtu said to the Three Pure Ones.
"You two fellow Daoists have certainly been running my disciple around in circles," Yuanshi said in an unfriendly tone as soon as he opened his mouth.
To his surprise, Queen Mother of the West put on an exaggerated expression and said, "Big brother's master shouldn't speak nonsense. Brother will be unhappy when he wakes up."
If Nan Ji had seen this scene, he would surely have given Queen Mother of the West a thumbs-up.
She was so good at playing along that she was practically the founder of the Great Desolation cosplay world.
Sure enough, after Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, Yuanshi became so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. He simply closed his eyes and ignored them.
Laozi, however, said nothing about it. Instead, he looked at Houtu. "Fellow Daoist, you are quite generous to have brought out even the Ren Water Immortal Peach."
Houtu did not act coyly upon hearing that and stated directly, "Though the Ren Water Immortal Peach is precious, it cannot compare to this experience. If senior brother agrees, Houtu is willing to move to Kunlun Mountain temporarily."
Her words were gentle and pleasant, but one must not forget Houtu's voice.
Tongtian raised an eyebrow as soon as he heard it. "Fellow Daoist Houtu, come as soon as possible. But my brothers and I have yet to eat the Ren Water Immortal Peach..."
The contents of that exchange immediately made Yuanshi, who had closed his eyes, open them again. "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Are you lacking peaches to eat?"
Only after saying that did Yuanshi realize there were outsiders present, so he explained, "I have lost my composure."
Ignoring Tongtian's aggrieved look, Yuanshi changed the subject. "However, Fellow Daoist Houtu, how can someone ask to stay after coming to another's Daoist grounds for the first time?"
Indeed, though Houtu's words had sounded pleasant, they were truly rather impolite.
Though Houtu was usually accustomed to being carefree, Yuanshi's words made her blush slightly.
Seeing the situation, Queen Mother of the West mercilessly mocked him. "So what? You Three Pure Ones and the Ancestor Witches share the same origin. You were all transformed from the great god Pangu. Now that the great god Pangu has fallen, could it be that you cannot even stay together for a while?"
"You!"
Yuanshi looked at Queen Mother of the West, who stood with her hands on her hips, and thought to himself, As expected of one covered in fur and scales, born wet or hatched from eggs—utterly beyond teaching!
Thus, he ignored the two women and closed his eyes again.
Laozi, however, tried to smooth things over. "No matter, no matter. We reside here in Kunlun together with Queen Mother of the West, while the Ancestor Witches were formed from Pangu's essence blood. We should naturally visit one another more often."
"Now that sounds like something a member of the Three Pure Ones should say!" Queen Mother of the West muttered.
Yuanshi, who heard her, could not help raising an eyebrow.
Houtu said simply and directly, "Thank you, senior brother. Then I shall trouble you."
Afterward, Houtu and Queen Mother of the West realized that it would not be appropriate to disturb the Three Pure Ones further. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they turned and returned to Western Kunlun.
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