Can We Spare Gu Yuena for Now?

"Absolutely, no doubt about it."

Though Lovesick Heartbreak Red had turned into her true form, it didn't stop her from speaking.

"I was cursed, and I need a specific method to break it."

"I've already completed the first step. Only the last one remains."

"My time is limited, so let's enjoy ourselves."

"Qian Xunji, isn't this your favorite thing to do?" Lovesick Heartbreak Red turned back into Xiao Rou and pounced on Qian Xunji.

"Wait, wait! I have one more question for you." Qian Xunji pushed Lovesick Heartbreak Red upright.

"What is it?"

"Can you have a child with me?" Qian Xunji asked sincerely.

"You humans really are fixated on having descendants!" Lovesick Heartbreak Red couldn't help sighing.

Qian Xunji gave an awkward chuckle. It wasn't as if he had a choice. If he wanted to advance, he had to have more sons and daughters.

Once his sons and daughters grew up, his life would get much better.

Sons had grandsons, grandsons had great-grandsons, and the generations went on without end. That way, even if he did nothing, he could just sit back and grow stronger.

"Can you?" Qian Xunji asked again.

Lovesick Heartbreak Red shook her head. "I can't right now!"

"This isn't my true body, just a prison holding my divine soul."

"Once I retrieve my true body, I can have a child with you."

"That's not realistic at all. Can you offer me some other benefit?" Qian Xunji refused. Whether this woman would come back after retrieving her true body was anyone's guess. He wasn't willing to let her take advantage of him for free.

"Isn't having me the best reward you could ask for?"

"You should know, I'm the woman even the Dragon God wanted."

Qian Xunji was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the woman before him to have a connection to the Dragon God.

But he wasn't afraid of the Dragon God. He had the system, and sooner or later he would stand at the peak of the Divine Realm. Even if the Dragon God came, he'd take him on all the same.

Still, this woman was crafty. She clearly needed his help, yet she made it sound as if she were granting him a favor.

Qian Xunji shook his head. "That's not the same. You want me, not the other way around."

"I can say no."

"Since you know the Dragon God, you must have existed in the same era as him."

"If you want my help, you'll have to offer me something concrete." Qian Xunji looked at Lovesick Heartbreak Red. He wasn't sure what she could offer, but asking cost him nothing.

"I can find someone else," Lovesick Heartbreak Red shot back.

"I don't think you can leave the Pope Palace in your current state."

"And judging by how hurried you sounded just now, I can tell you can't maintain this state for long."

"If you refuse, once you turn back into Lovesick Heartbreak Red, I'll have Xiao Rou eat you." Qian Xunji wasn't about to back down, and his words carried a hint of threat.

"What a stingy little man."

"You don't seem to care about the little rabbit as much as I thought."

"Fine. Let me think what I can offer you."

Lovesick Heartbreak Red finally gave in and fell into thought. Soon, she had an idea and asked two questions in a row. "Do you want to become a god?"

"Do you want to be free and unfettered, without the Divine Realm tying you down?"

"You can do that?" Qian Xunji asked. He hadn't expected such an unexpected boon.

"Of course." Lovesick Heartbreak Red smiled faintly. "To become a god, you need a godhood."

"And to avoid being bound by the Divine Realm, you need to find an unclaimed godhood."

"I happen to know where one is."

"There are the bones of two Dragon Kings in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Their remains are intact, and their ice and fire godheads are still preserved."

"You can use those two godheads to condense new divine positions. Then you'll be able to become a god."

"Of course, that's only the first step. Neither new gods nor old gods can escape detection by the rules of the Divine Realm. Unless you can become a God King on the spot."

"Only God Kings can manipulate the rules and shield themselves from the Divine Realm's detection."

"Of course, that's assuming the God King has never been to the Divine Realm."

"Once you've been there, even a Supreme God King won't be able to escape detection."

"But luckily, you've met me."

"I can shield you from the rules of the Divine Realm, but not yet. You'll have to wait until I retrieve my true body."

"Still, I can leave my mark on you now and teach you an ancient method to activate it."

"That way, I won't have to keep coming back and forth."

"Stingy little man, are you satisfied now?" Lovesick Heartbreak Red looked at Qian Xunji with a smile. She was sure he'd be tempted.

"Very satisfied. Of course I'm satisfied."

"But you have to teach me the ancient method first." Once he had it, Qian Xunji could determine whether Lovesick Heartbreak Red had been lying.

"How cautious. You really don't want to take even the slightest loss, do you, little man?"

"Fine, I agree." Lovesick Heartbreak Red lightly touched Qian Xunji's forehead with her index finger. The ancient method didn't just activate her mark; it could also accelerate cultivation.

After seeing it for himself, Qian Xunji would understand how extraordinary it was.

Soon, a flood of information filled Qian Xunji's mind.

As the information poured in, the system's voice rang in his ears.

"Ding! Information detected entering the host's mind. The system will automatically organize and categorize it."

"Information scan complete. The data concerns a cultivation method. A cultivation-method tab has been opened for the host."

A light screen appeared before Qian Xunji.

[Technique: Ancient Phoenix Method (Severely Incomplete)]

Severely incomplete?

Qian Xunji used his mind to select the Ancient Phoenix Method, ready to inspect its details.

[Ancient Phoenix Method (Severely Incomplete): Missing its core mark. Can only be used as an ordinary cultivation method, but can greatly increase cultivation speed.]

After reading the system's explanation, Qian Xunji understood. The mark was missing.

It seemed that even if an ordinary person obtained this cultivation method, they could only use it as a regular technique. Only he would get to enjoy its many mysteries.

Sure enough, being shameless could bring all sorts of unexpected benefits.

"All right, little man, stop staring at it. You could study it until dawn, and you still wouldn't learn the Ancient Phoenix Method tonight."

"I don't have much time left."

"Let's do something fun," Lovesick Heartbreak Red urged.

She thought he was looking down on him, did she?

He'd punish her good and proper!

Qian Xunji pounced on Lovesick Heartbreak Red, who had taken Xiao Rou's appearance, and gave her a thorough punishment.

As he punished her, Qian Xunji asked Lovesick Heartbreak Red about her past.

He learned about her history.

She had lived in the same era as the Dragon God.

She was a phoenix, and not a phoenix.

Back then, the Dragon God had split the phoenix's true body in two, turning it into Feng and Huang.

Feng had died, while Huang had clung to life until now.

Qian Xunji thought the name Lovesick Heartbreak Red didn't sound good, so he simply called her Big Huang or A-Huang.

But Huang didn't like either name. She always thought Qian Xunji was calling her a dog.

But wave after wave of surging tides crashed against her, leaving her no time to think about anything else. She didn't bother arguing with Qian Xunji.

Qian Xunji was gripping Huang's hair. He asked, "A-Huang, can we spare Gu Yuena for now?"

"Qian Xunji, I've realized you're not only stingy, but greedy too. You're eating what's in your bowl while eyeing what's in the pot."