Spendthrift Little Sister Xun'er

"Ugh... my head hurts..."

Gu Fengchen opened his eyes.

He gently patted his somewhat groggy head and let out several long breaths of Turbid Qi.

He took out a mirror and looked himself over. His handsome face was still handsome... and, well, he also had a kind, beautiful, and pure soul.

Yes, a kind, beautiful, pure, and interesting soul—one in ten thousand.

His long hair covered his slightly sharp brows, while the deep black eyes beneath his fringe held the depth brought by two lifetimes of experience.

After narcissistically admiring himself for a while, Gu Fengchen examined his body internally. Only after confirming that nothing was unusual did he finally relax.

Still, the sensation of suddenly passing out left Gu Fengchen somewhat shaken.

"Could it be that the Taotie Seal consumes mental strength when it absorbs things?"

It was only Gu Fengchen's guess, but it was very likely.

Gu Fengchen slowly exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi, leaned halfway against the bed, and considered his plans going forward.

First, he planned to search for Heavenly Flames. The Taotie Seal should be able to devour them as well. The Green Lotus Core Flame was in the Tagor Desert, while the Falling Heart Flame was at Jia Nan Academy. As for many other Heavenly Flames, even their locations had never been clearly recorded.

Then there were top-grade pills and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Those would depend on luck.

The greatest advantage of the Taotie Seal was that it could directly devour Medicinal Herbs.

Medicinal Herbs could not be consumed directly. Most people who acquired them would either sell them to the Alchemist Guild or ask an alchemist to refine them.

Unless they were Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, consuming Medicinal Herbs on their own would not bring out their medicinal effects at all. Instead, it would only waste the medicinal power, with barely any improvement to one's strength.

That was why alchemists were so sought after on this continent.

Alchemists could extract the medicinal essence from numerous herbs and refine it into pills, which was essentially a second round of processing for the raw ingredients.

Therefore, once Gu Fengchen found Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, he could feed them directly to the Taotie Seal.

As for opportunities, aside from Xiao Yi Xian, Yun Yun's encounter with Xiao Yan had also been a twist of fate. Should he go to the Magic Beast Mountain Range and help Yun Yun out, forming a good connection?

After all, the reason Xiao Yan had managed to get involved with Yun Yun in the Original Work was because he had saved her life in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Unfortunately, they had not ended up with a happy ending.

Besides Yun Yun, there was also Nalan Yanran.

What was wrong with Nalan Yanran breaking off the engagement? Why couldn't she decide her own marriage? Freedom to love, understand?

Going on and on about thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. I'll give you thirty years in Henan and thirty years in Hebei!

If this had been Gu Fengchen's era, there would have been nothing wrong with Nalan Yanran calling off the engagement.

You, Xiao Yan, could be upset all you wanted, but Nalan Yanran didn't owe you anything!

The more Gu Fengchen thought about it, the angrier he became.

Then there were Ya Fei, Zi Yan, and the Han sisters, Han Xue and Han Yue. Damn it, Xiao Yan was such a scumbag.

Pah!

If you didn't want to take responsibility, why did you flirt with girls in the first place?

Do you know those beauties ended up alone for the rest of their lives because of you, you deadbeat scumbag?!

I've tolerated that shameless bastard Xiao Yan for a long time.

Especially the things he did to Gu Xun'er. They were simply a disgrace to transmigrators.

If Gu Fengchen had been in his place, he absolutely would not have used such dirty methods as Xiao Yan. It was far too humiliating!

He would conquer women's hearts openly and honorably.

Gu Fengchen felt that since he had come to this world, he could not let Xiao Yan ruin those innocent women.

That said, Gu Fengchen naturally would not let women disrupt his Dao Heart. It was just that those women all came with their own opportunities, so he could indeed go fleece them for some benefits.

Oh, right, there was also that old brat Xiao Yan's Mysterious Heavy Ruler. He wondered whether it could satisfy the Taotie Seal's appetite!

But there was no need to scheme so much right now. He would take things one step at a time.

Soon, Gu Fengchen noticed that the Taotie Seal on his left hand had dimmed.

He could not help muttering, "So... is it full?"

It seemed the Taotie Seal could not feed without limit either. After each meal, it would enter a period of dormancy.

Gu Fengchen sat up, another thought arising in his mind. If he broke through to become a Dou Di, would he be able to return to his original world?

An Immortal Emperor reborn, living freely in the city—wouldn't that be much more enjoyable than this?

I only want to live the dull life of having a wife and countless concubines.

Thinking of all those harem novels, Gu Fengchen revealed an unpromising smile.

"Brother Gu Fengchen..."

A young girl's voice came from outside.

Gu Fengchen was about to answer, but the person calling outside seemed unable to wait. She pushed open the door and walked right in.

She was a young girl, no more than six years old. Her eyes were as dark as ink, her nose delicate, her lips small. She was still too young to be mature or alluring, yet she was exceptionally lovely.

Though young, her cool and tranquil aura could not be concealed.

Like a clear lotus just beginning to bloom, she would surely become a beauty pursued by countless people once she grew up.

The girl always showed others a calm and detached expression, but whenever she met Brother Gu Fengchen, she would shed all her disguises.

Gu Fengchen was exactly five years older than Gu Xun'er. This year, he was eleven.

Gu Xun'er puffed out her cheeks and said unhappily, "Brother Gu Fengchen, I called you for so long. Why didn't you answer me?"

Called me for so long?

You called my name once, then pushed the door open and came in. How was that my fault?

Still, faced with such an adorable little girl, Gu Fengchen could not feel the slightest dissatisfaction. Smiling, he said, "So it's Xun'er. What is it?"

By the timeline, Gu Fengchen had already arrived and settled down within the Gu Clan when Gu Xun'er was born.

In other words, Gu Fengchen had practically watched Gu Xun'er grow up, and Gu Xun'er also loved coming to play with him.

As the little Princess of the Gu Clan, Gu Yuan's daughter, and a future Divine Grade Bloodline holder, Gu Xun'er's Dou Di Bloodline was exceptionally rich. Gu Fengchen therefore did not dislike her, and since she was just a child, he found her quite cute.

As for why Gu Xun'er liked coming to see Gu Fengchen, it was for no other reason than that Gu Fengchen was an excellent cook.

Not only was the transmigrated Gu Fengchen skilled in the kitchen, but the original owner of this body had been good at it as well.

The incident Gu Fengchen remembered most vividly had happened a month ago, just after his soul had transmigrated into this body.

At the time, he had made Gu Xun'er a steak. After she ate it, tears had actually welled up in her eyes.

That was right—she had actually cried.

The meat juices and pepper dissolved together in her mouth. The rich, spicy fragrance mixed with a trace of sweetness repeatedly assaulted her taste buds, lingering throughout her mouth even after she swallowed.

Yes, the most important part had been the pepper!

No matter the country or era, people's pursuit of good food never changed.

Even after coming to the Dou Qi Continent, that remained true.

And when it came to food, spices were impossible to avoid.

Especially on the Dou Qi Continent, where everyone ate pills like candy. Those pills themselves had little flavor, while cooking methods were even more limited. To achieve good taste, people had to rely entirely on spices to enhance the flavor.

During ordinary meals, Gu Fengchen had discovered that pepper did exist here as a spice. It was just that hardly anyone liked using it.

But Gu Fengchen was different. Naturally, he knew the most delicious ways to combine flavors, and Gu Xun'er had, unsurprisingly, been won over by him.

Besides delicious dishes, Gu Fengchen had also pioneered something else: afternoon tea.

Naturally, this world had no custom of afternoon tea, but Yuan Ting did. The world's productivity was so poor that people rarely had the leisure to enjoy refined food.

Thus, Gu Fengchen created the tradition of afternoon tea, and Gu Xun'er's little mouth had been completely tamed by him.

After intercepting Gu Xun'er, Gu Fengchen had continued considering another matter. Gu Xun'er was actually Xiao Yan's early protector. Without Gu Xun'er, Xiao Yan would likely suffer quite a few losses in the early stages.

"What is this?" Gu Xun'er had originally been pouting, but when she saw the plates of colorful fruits on Gu Fengchen's table, her eyes immediately lit up.

It was a fragrance she had never smelled before.

"Red Banana Fruit. It's pretty tasty."

Gu Fengchen had found these wild fruits in the mountains and processed them slightly.

Gu Xun'er trusted Gu Fengchen completely. Without hesitation, she took a Red Banana Fruit and bit into its flesh. The sweet, smooth, juicy texture, along with a dense flavor like winter jujube, made Gu Xun'er's eyes widen.

She could not believe that she was already five years old and had never eaten anything this delicious!

"By the way, Xun'er, are you going to the Xiao Clan?" Gu Fengchen felt the time was about right, so he suddenly changed the subject and asked softly.

At that, a trace of gloom suddenly flashed across Gu Xun'er's little face.

Children were not good at hiding their emotions, so in that instant, her disappointment appeared before Gu Fengchen without any way to conceal it.

In order to obtain that Ancient Jade, the clan had sent her to the Xiao Clan in Wutan City.

Gu Yuan had long coveted the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade for the secret of becoming a Dou Di. However, sending Xun'er to the Xiao Clan was not entirely for the Ancient Jade. After all, there were eight Ancient Jades in total, and even obtaining one might not solve anything. More than that, he wanted Gu Xun'er to have a happy and peaceful childhood.

Gu Xun'er looked at Gu Fengchen's face, then suddenly threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. "I want to stay with Brother Gu Fengchen forever, but Father wants me to go to the Xiao Clan. He said I have to grow up there. Maybe I... I'll never see you again."

Xun'er's face was streaked with tears, and her voice was choked with sobs.

Gu Fengchen rubbed Xun'er's little head and said with a smile, "It's all right. Once you go to the Xiao Clan, I can also go out and gain some experience. I'm already eleven, so it's about time I went out into the world."

Gu Fengchen had long wanted to go out and train. After all, staying in the Gu Clan was fine while he was weak, but once his strength rose, the secret of his Taotie Seal might be discovered by those old monsters of the Gu Clan.

Gu Yuan had picked him up in the first place. Who knew whether he might end up being sliced apart for research?

Therefore, Gu Fengchen had decided to keep some distance from this mysterious clan for now.

Besides, he had freeloaded the materials in the Storage Ring and the Blood Bodhi Pill. He had definitely not lost out this time.

Still, if he had the chance, he should see whether he could freeload some delicious food for the Taotie Seal before leaving the Gu Clan.

Although this world did not have heaven-defying bloodlines such as the Pangu Bloodline, Nuwa Bloodline, or Fuxi Bloodline, if he could obtain some bloodline connected to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan or the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, the Taotie Seal should be delighted as well.

"Ancient Void Dragon Clan..."

Gu Fengchen had searched through fragments of memory before. Gu Xun'er seemed to possess a weapon containing Ancient Void Dragon bloodline, called the Ancient Dragon Flute. It had been nurtured using a section of an Ancient Void Dragon's Finger Bone together with its blood.

It was said that Gu Xun'er had obtained the weapon by chance, and because she feared that using it would draw retaliation from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, she apparently had never displayed it publicly.

Could he trick her into giving it to him?

There was no need to rush this matter. He had to take it slowly.

Upon hearing Gu Fengchen's words, Gu Xun'er immediately stopped crying. She lifted her little face and asked, "Brother Gu Fengchen, y-you're leaving the Ancient Realm too? Do you want to come to the Xiao Clan with me?"