Houtu's Persona Changed

Chen Xuan helplessly flicked Houtu on the forehead again before speaking to her.

"Can't your master let you choose a cave abode here? But you must promise not to neglect your cultivation."

Hearing that Chen Xuan had finally agreed, Houtu was as delighted as a little girl. She circled Chen Xuan several times, leaving Dijiang and the others with dark lines across their faces.

Since when had their sister, who was usually so stern and sparing with words, become this lively?

But they only dared to think it. They did not even dare ask; otherwise, Houtu's retaliation would be enough to make them suffer.

Chen Xuan was equally helpless. Reaching out to pull Houtu to a stop, he said, "Stop circling. You're making my head spin. Hurry and pick a good spot, or your senior brothers will snatch them all away."

Houtu smiled and nodded, then headed straight out of Azure Lotus Palace. Chen Xuan could not help letting out a long breath.

But before Chen Xuan had even finished exhaling, he heard Houtu shout loudly from outside, "Master, this disciple has already chosen a spot!"

As she spoke, Houtu pointed directly at a place less than two li to the left of Azure Lotus Palace—the very edge of the wall Chen Xuan had set up.

The next moment, an earthen house rose straight out of the ground there. Before long, it had become a three-room dwelling, complete with a courtyard that Houtu had enclosed as well.

By then, Chen Xuan had walked out of Azure Lotus Palace. Seeing this, he could not help sighing. "That was where I grew vegetables. You ruined it just like that?"

Houtu looked at Chen Xuan with a wronged expression. "Master, could this disciple possibly be less important than those flowers and plants?"

Seeing Houtu like this, Chen Xuan instantly lost his temper. Left with no choice, he could only turn and return to Azure Lotus Palace, refusing to pay any more attention to this troublesome disciple.

When Houtu saw Chen Xuan leave, a smile appeared on her face. She immediately spoke to her brothers.

"Brothers, how does little sister's new home look? Shouldn't you give your little sister some gifts too?"

The Eleven Ancestral Sorcerers were equally helpless. But since Chen Xuan himself had raised no objection, what could they say?

At once, they each used their abilities to add bricks and tiles to Houtu's little home.

Houtu's small courtyard had only just been jointly built into something presentable by the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers when the Three Pure Ones returned.

Upon seeing the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers, they naturally stepped forward to greet them. Houtu even went forward to bow, then said,

"Three senior brothers, what do you think of this little courtyard of mine? You must come sit here often in the future."

When the Three Pure Ones saw that Houtu had actually established her cave abode within their master's Azure Lotus Palace, regret inevitably appeared on each of their faces.

Tongtian spoke up directly. "Junior sister truly is clever as ice and snow. How had I failed to think of that?"

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, why don't we also discuss it with Master—"

Before Tongtian could finish, Chen Xuan's voice came from Azure Lotus Palace. "Give up that thought immediately, or your master will make sure you regret it."

Tongtian no longer dared entertain any other ideas. He could only obediently follow Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable into Azure Lotus Palace.

Naturally, Houtu followed them in like a tail. She even ran straight to Chen Xuan's side and began kneading his shoulders and pounding his back.

This left Chen Xuan with an odd illusion. Could Houtu have been possessed by some transmigrator? Otherwise, how could the difference before and after be so great?

He remembered that when he had first met Houtu, she had been a dignified young lady. How had she turned into this after merely a few tens of thousands of years?

With that thought, Chen Xuan turned around and said to Houtu,

"Imperial court jade nectar wine..."

"Sledgehammer eighty..."

"What's the WiFi password..."

Only when Chen Xuan saw the baffled look on Houtu's face did he confirm that she was not a transmigrator. Otherwise, she could not possibly have failed to match the code words.

At that moment, Houtu spoke as well. "Master, what are you talking about? Could it be some profound Dao technique? This disciple is dull-witted and cannot comprehend it at all."

Chen Xuan naturally had no desire to dwell on the matter, so he laughed it off and let the question pass.

Little did he know that Tongtian was muttering softly below, "Imperial court jade nectar wine? Sledgehammer eighty? What's the WiFi password?"

But no one paid attention to what Tongtian was doing. Chen Xuan had already spoken again.

"Have the three of you chosen your cave abodes?"

Laozi was the first to answer. "Master, this disciple chose a mountain peak three thousand li southeast of here."

The place Laozi had chosen was exactly the one Chen Xuan had selected for him.

Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze toward Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Primordial Heavenly Venerable also spoke. "Master, this disciple chose a high mountain three thousand li directly south of here."

Primordial Heavenly Venerable likewise did not disappoint Chen Xuan, who then shifted his gaze toward Tongtian.

Yet Tongtian was still pondering Chen Xuan's three sentences and did not answer him immediately. It was only after Primordial Heavenly Venerable poked him that Tongtian came back to his senses.

He then said to Chen Xuan, "Master, this disciple chose a mountain peak three thousand li southwest of here."

Seeing that the cave abodes chosen by his three disciples were no different from those he had arranged, Chen Xuan was greatly satisfied.

But then Chen Xuan suddenly recalled the house Houtu had built in the mountains. Houtu's three rooms connected with the locations selected by the Three Pure Ones, forming exactly the character for harmony.

In other words, Laozi was heaven, Primordial Heavenly Venerable was earth, Tongtian was man, and Houtu was harmony.

By sheer coincidence, they had formed heaven, earth, man, and harmony. Could Houtu be the key to keeping the Three Pure Ones harmonious?

Once this thought arose, Chen Xuan could no longer suppress it. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Thus, he immediately resolved to develop things in that direction.

After all, brothers doting on their little sister was no trifling matter. As long as the Three Pure Ones acknowledged this sister, it would be difficult for them to even think about splitting apart.

However, Chen Xuan also understood that haste makes waste. He would not rush to force the matter.

So he said, "Although you have built your own cave abodes here with your master, you must not neglect your original cave abodes."

"Kunlun Mountain in particular is a rare blessed land and heavenly grotto in the Primordial World. You must never allow it to fall into another's hands."

After hearing this, the Three Pure Ones all assured Chen Xuan that they would never let anyone else occupy Kunlun Mountain. They even intended to turn Kunlun Mountain into Azure Lotus Retreat.

Chen Xuan did not care much about that. He immediately sent them off to build their own cave abodes, leaving only Houtu behind.