Returning Home, Blocked at the Door!

In a clearing somewhere within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xun'er was in the final stage of breaking through to a seven-star Dou Zhe...

"Mm, Xun'er had broken through to seven stars too. We had been out for two months. It was about time to head back..."

Gu Xia was not worried about whether Xun'er could break through to a seven-star Dou Zhe, because he knew she certainly could. What he was thinking about now was what their next step would be after returning...

"First, we definitely need to visit Jia Nan Academy, so we can't miss their recruitment. After that, there's the matter of gathering the materials for the Emperor Pill..."

Whenever Gu Xia thought of the Emperor Pill's ingredients, his head hurt. He did not even recognize the materials listed on it, let alone know where to find them...

"Looks like I'll have to make a trip to the Alchemist Guild too."

Gu Xia felt quite helpless. He had originally not wanted to bother with any alchemist assessments, at least not so soon. But if he wanted to consult the Alchemist Guild's collection of books, he had to have an alchemist's identity. So Gu Xia had no choice. He had not wanted to show off, but his strength simply would not allow it!

"Forget it. Why think so much? I'll take things one step at a time..."

Gu Xia shook his head, temporarily casting those complicated thoughts out of his mind. Then he felt a pair of slightly cool jade-like arms wrap around his neck from behind. Xun'er's soft, gentle voice, carrying a trace of joy and sweetness, reached his heart by his left ear...

"Brother Xia, what are you doing?"

Xun'er had successfully broken through not long after Gu Xia began thinking. She had originally wanted to find Gu Xia immediately and share the joy of her breakthrough. But when she heard his helpless sigh nearby, the considerate girl did not go over to disturb him at such a moment. Instead, she decided to silently embrace him from behind, showing the resolve in her heart...

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how to make you stronger faster..."

Gu Xia inhaled the girl's fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose and felt the soft, resilient touch from behind him. He did not hide anything; everything he said was true. As for how many details those truths omitted, perhaps only Heaven knew...

"Brother Xia... Xun'er can slowly grow stronger on her own. You really don't need to think about so much for Xun'er..."

The trace of sorrow in Xun'er's heart remained, but it was gradually filled by another emotion called gratitude...

Feeling the girl's delicate, flawless skin gently brush against his cheek, he raised his hand and covered the jade-like hands clasped over his chest. With the tenderness he reserved only for Xun'er, he answered this adorable and sensible girl's question...

"You silly girl, you're the person I love most. This little hardship is nothing to me. You only need to obediently listen to me and cultivate..."

"But Xun'er doesn't want you to be so tired. Besides your own cultivation, you still have to help Xun'er find cultivation resources. Brother Xia, you really can be a little more selfish when you have the time. Rea—"

"No, Xun'er... Your Brother Xia has actually always been selfish. He has always been thinking about how to keep Xun'er tied to his side forever, so that her heart belongs only to me..."

"So, Xun'er, will you allow me to stay by your side forever?"

"Brother Xia... Xun'er allows it. But Xun'er also wants Brother Xia to promise me that, no matter what happens, you won't abandon Xun'er, okay?"

Gu Xia did not answer the girl behind him immediately. First, he brought the girl lying on his back around to the front. He sat on a large rock, while Xun'er sat on his lap...

His expression was extremely serious. He wanted to answer Xun'er's question with his actions. Xun'er's jade-like arms were still looped around Gu Xia's neck. Looking at the girl in his embrace, whose eyes had already misted over, he slowly lowered his head and gently kissed those soft, rosy lips.

They merely touched lightly, paused briefly, then separated...

"Xun'er, I promise you. No matter what happens, I will never leave you..."

"Mm..."

The morning sunlight was not scorching, but its perfectly gentle warmth was just like what they felt in their hearts at that moment...

At the same time, in a small town outside the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a girl dressed in purple was preparing as usual to enter the mountains to gather medicinal herbs. Because the girl was pure and beautiful, many mercenaries were willing to protect her into the dangerous mountain range, so she was not worried about being unable to hire anyone. Yet while beauty granted her certain privileges, it also brought her certain dangers...

"Young Master, after we tracked that group into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, we lost their trail..."

Not far behind the girl in purple, two figures were walking in her direction. They spoke as they walked...

"I need a reason..."

Of the two, one was a youth of only sixteen or seventeen. His expression was utterly calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. Yet the more he was like this, the more alarmed the black-clothed man beside him became, because he knew this was a sign that his young master was about to erupt...

"Young Master, please calm your anger! It was this subordinate's incompetence. We have already ordered people to seal every exit of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. With merely Dou Wang-level cultivation, they absolutely cannot escape!"

The man in black immediately dropped to his knees, hoping the youth would suppress his anger. Otherwise, not only him, but the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range would have to face the youth's wrath...

"So why did you lose track of a mere few Dou Wangs? And even let them abduct my younger brother? Do you not know how highly my father valued his talent for alchemy? He even gave him that incomplete formula, and now you're telling me he's gone? I gave you a month, and you still haven't found him! What use are you people to me?!"

The youth's eyes twitched with the anger in his heart, but the upbringing of a great family made him suppress it.

However, the man in black knew that his young master was already on the verge of exploding...

"Hah... I'll give you three more days. If you still can't find them this time, you can go to the Punishment Hall and receive death..."

The youth took a deep breath and calmed the anger in his heart. Afterward, he ignored the man in black and came alone to the entrance of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. By sheer coincidence, he saw that captivating figure entering the mountains under the protection of a group of mercenaries. In an instant, he felt his heart begin to race...

"Li Si!"

The youth stared blankly as that figure walked farther and farther away, until she vanished from his sight. Only then did he recover himself. After he called out, the man in black appeared behind him like a ghost...

"This subordinate is here!"

"I'll give you half an hour. I want all the information on that girl!"

"Yes!"

"Go..."

With that, the man in black silently vanished from the spot once more.

"Hehe, it would be a bit of a pity to use such a beautiful woman as a cultivation furnace. But who told you to possess such dense Profound Yin energy?..."

After the man in black left, the youth finally revealed his true face. His body trembled slightly at the thought of finding a peerless cultivation furnace, while the expression he could no longer control became twisted and perverse. At this moment, he did not resemble a human at all. Instead, he was more like an ugly demon—perverted, disgusting, and obsessive...