Keep the reserve befitting an ice queen!

Keep the reserve befitting an ice queen!

"Your Highness, I was ordered here by the King. If I return like this... it will be difficult to report back!

"The enemy nation has been making restless moves lately. The King fears they may make a secret attempt on your life. Your Highness, please allow me to accompany you. Once you return to the Du Xian Sect, I will leave on my own."

Youqin Xuanya frowned lightly. A trace of helplessness appeared on her beautiful face, which had previously held little expression.

Yuan Qing tried to persuade her. "Junior Sister Xuanya, we're heading to the Northern Continent of Julu, where danger lurks everywhere. With General Yuwen joining us, we'll have one more person to watch out for us."

Li Changshou suddenly spoke in an even tone. "Junior Brother Yuan Qing, did you know this general beforehand? I did not hear him introduce himself just now."

"Yes, that's right." Yuan Qing glanced at Li Changshou and smiled. "Junior Sister Xuanya and I grew up together, and we also entered the Du Xian Sect together.

"This general is Yuwen Ling, the commander most trusted by Xuanya's royal father. He usually guards her royal father's side. For him to rush here to protect her this time, the situation must truly be rather dire."

So the poker-faced girl and the big warmhearted guy were childhood sweethearts...

Li Changshou cupped his hands. "I spoke out of turn."

"Sixth Princess," Yuwen Ling called out with a frown.

Youqin Xuanya looked toward Jiu Jiu, who was lying atop the gourd's mouth, her gaze carrying a faint plea.

"It's fine, it's fine." Immortal Jiujiu waved from the edge of the gourd's mouth, her voice somewhat lazy. "Since he's your family's guard, let him come along. A big fellow who just became an immortal can't stir up much trouble in my hands.

"Hey, big fellow, go sit at the back of the gourd.

"Don't make any noise later. It really isn't proper to let you follow us, but fortunately, the Sect Rules do not prohibit disciples who have entered the sect from taking their family guards with them when they go out."

Yuwen Ling cupped his hands. "Thank you, Immortal Elder."

With that, the burly man carrying a Giant Axe drifted toward the rear of the Large Gourd. With a point of Jiu Jiu's finger, a gap slowly opened in the immortal light surrounding it.

Seeing this, Li Changshou quietly took two steps to the side, then circled around to the very front of the gourd. Cupping his hands, he asked, "Martial Uncle Jiu, may this disciple sit behind you?"

Jiu Jiu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "What, you're over a hundred years old and still afraid of strangers?

"Come sit here. Your master said you were overly cautious by nature. He truly wasn't wrong."

"Senior Brother Li, please sit here." Youqin Xuanya rose on her own initiative. With a slightly apologetic smile toward Li Changshou, she took two steps back.

"Thank you," Li Changshou said with a nod. Ignoring the two somewhat sharp gazes from behind him, he calmly sat where Youqin Xuanya had just been.

Those two gazes naturally came from Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi. They were clearly somewhat displeased by Li Changshou's exclusionary behavior, likely feeling that it had tarnished the bearing Du Xian Sect disciples ought to possess.

Li Changshou naturally chose to ignore them.

Immortal Jiujiu continued flying the gourd northward. Perhaps to mock Li Changshou, Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi even deliberately went to speak with Yuwen Ling.

However, this burly man was a quiet sort. The three engaged in awkward conversation for quite some time, repeatedly killing the conversation;

It was only when Yuan Qing could no longer bear listening and proactively joined in that the atmosphere became smoother.

Li Changshou did not even look behind him. His right hand remained tucked in his sleeve as strands of spiritual awareness spread around him.

Before deciding to personally travel to the southeast of the Northern Continent of Julu, Li Changshou had thought things through carefully. He had also sought out a Hall of Hundred Affairs steward he knew well and learned in advance that the immortal escorting sect disciples there for training this time was Immortal Jiujiu, who had handled this route on several previous occasions.

Although Jiu Jiu had cultivated for less than a thousand years, her strength was no trivial matter. She possessed formidable divine abilities, as well as several powerful magic treasures personally bestowed by the Sect Master. It was said that her Cultivation realm had already approached the Heavenly Immortal Realm;

—The realms after an ordinary Qi Refiner became immortal were, in order: Primordial Immortal, True Immortal Realm, Heavenly Immortal Realm, Golden Immortal, Great Luo, and Primordial Limitless. This was known as the Heavenly Immortal Path.

More importantly, Jiu Jiu was one of the few immortals in the sect who had some friendship with his master.

Li Changshou had originally felt that few people would be going to train in the Northern Continent of Julu in the first place. With this immortal protecting them, it would surely be much safer than traveling there alone.

He just had not expected such a situation to suddenly arise midway...

Glancing at Yuan Qing and Yuwen Ling from the corner of his eye, Li Changshou pondered silently, then slowly closed his eyes. Yet he had no mind to cultivate and remained ready at any moment to use Wind Escape.

At least I'm closer to Martial Uncle Jiu this way. A little more Sense of security...

Huh?

"Hehehe... just one tiny sip. We're still far from there, it won't delay anything, it won't delay anything..."

The Wine Immortal straddling the gourd's mouth let out a strange laugh. Hugging her wine gourd, she secretly took another sip. Her cheeks immediately flushed red, and she licked her lips with lingering satisfaction.

Li Changshou: ...

Sure enough, I should find an excuse to leave the group and travel there alone.

Laozi above.

Half a day passed without incident.

The sun slanted westward, dusk passed, and the sky was already filled with stars.

Sitting atop this gourd over thirty meters long, surrounded by hazy immortal light and smelling the faint fragrance of wine, Li Changshou held a Bamboo Slip and quietly read.

The others had already entered meditative cultivation, including Yuwen Ling, who sat at the very rear.

Jiu Jiu lay slanted at the front end of the Large Gourd, her eyes half-open as the wind tousled her somewhat messy short hair. She truly differed greatly from the usual image of an immortal maiden; one could say she had a personality all her own.

Li Changshou quietly savored the Dao techniques recorded in the Bamboo Slip, deducing how they operated. Yet he had not withdrawn the spiritual awareness around him, continuing to monitor the area within thirty meters.

Because he had previously undergone deliberate vigilance training, this was not much of a burden to him.

A wine gourd suddenly appeared before his eyes. Li Changshou shook his head solemnly and said, "Thank you, Martial Uncle, but this disciple is not good with alcohol."

"Boring." Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes, leapt up from the gourd-mouth's stopper, and sat at its edge, gently swinging the cleanest part of her body—her slender calves.

After letting out a wine burp, Jiu Jiu casually asked, "Changshou, your master... is about to become immortal, right?"

"He should undergo his tribulation within the next three to five years." Li Changshou placed the Bamboo Slip on his lap and watched this Martial Uncle Jiu before him.

Jiu Jiu was actually one of the few people who had visited Lesser Qiong Peak in the hundred years since he had entered the sect.

"Ah." Jiu Jiu sighed and deliberately used an old-fashioned tone to lecture Li Changshou with her back to him.

"Back then, several of us were quite close. It's a pity about your master. His aptitude was originally quite good, but an injury damaged his Dao foundation, and he has been unable to fully repair it even now.

"Changshou, don't be fooled just because your master has not yet become immortal. His understanding of our Du Xian Sect's Dao techniques does not lose to that of any immortal who has cultivated for a thousand years..."

"What are you saying, Martial Uncle?" Li Changshou revealed a faint smile, his eyes narrowing slightly. He rarely showed such an expression in front of anyone besides his master and junior sister.

Li Changshou said, "My master has always devoted everything to teaching my junior sister and me. To us, Master is like a parent."

"Speaking of which, what happened to your cultivation? After all these years, you're only at the Ninth Stage of Spirit Transformation. Can't you even comprehend Return to Void?"

Jiu Jiu turned and glared at Li Changshou. "When I first entered the sect, I heard people say that your Lesser Qiong Peak had bad fortune. Looking at it now, that truly seems right.

"Give me your hand. I'll examine your aptitude... I remember it was quite good when you entered the sect, wasn't it? Don't tell me your muddleheaded master really muddled you up!"

Li Changshou immediately frowned. Although this Wine Immortal meant well, still...

If she touched him to investigate his body, and she was a True Immortal Realm expert, the cultivation he had concealed with a Magic incantation would definitely be exposed!

Jiu Jiu had already extended her wine-scented right hand toward him. Li Changshou instinctively shifted his rear backward and said with an awkward smile, "Martial Uncle, men and women should not touch freely. This may be somewhat improper."

"Men and women should not touch freely? Who said that? I've never even heard it!"

Jiu Jiu's face immediately filled with disdain. "We Qi Refiners seek freedom from all constraints, to roam Carefree through the world. Why care about all that messy etiquette from the Mortal World!

"Come on, hold out your hand!

"Could something have gone wrong with your cultivation? I remember your aptitude being quite good, wasn't it?"

"Martial Uncle, this is not very appropriate... A few years ago, this disciple suddenly developed an illness where touching a woman makes my entire body convulse!"

Li Changshou instantly rose to his feet. His steps shifted, leaving two afterimages in his wake. His movements were smooth and fluid as he appeared directly behind Youqin Xuanya, staring at Jiu Jiu with a bitter smile.

Jiu Jiu blinked, as if she had suddenly noticed something.

That footwork he used to shift positions just now...

"Dragon Roaming Cloud Probing Steps? Not bad, kid. You even learned such a difficult footwork technique?" Jiu Jiu's expression immediately became somewhat strange. "Your master said you were only interested in escape techniques. Don't tell me that for the past hundred years... you've been doing nothing but this!"

"This disciple has always cultivated diligently and has never slacked off in the slightest... Hm?"

That soft touch.

Li Changshou looked down at the slender, pale finger gently poking the inner side of his thigh. Several dark lines instantly appeared across his forehead.

Following the finger upward, he saw a smooth, fair jade arm, as if carefully carved from the finest white jade. Higher still were fiery red shoulder straps, a collar, and then a beautiful face tilted slightly to one side, carrying a hint of curiosity.

Youqin Xuanya!

'A few years ago, this disciple suddenly developed an illness where touching a woman makes my entire body convulse!'

Li Changshou's mouth twitched wildly, but he made a decision almost instantly.

He was a ruthless man. At this moment, without the slightest concern for his outward image, his entire body began to tremble. Clenching his teeth, he controlled his muscles into twisting spasms, his face filling with pain as his eyes rolled upward and foam appeared at the corners of his mouth...

Damn it...

Youqin Xuanya, aren't you supposed to be an ice queen?!

Bastard!