Outside Earth Soul City, by the Cold Pool.
Two translucent insects with twelve rings curled up amid alternating ice and flames, utterly motionless.
"They died again."
Xiao Qing sighed, looking dejected.
"Mu Chen already helped me raise them to the Sovereign level. Why are they still so easy to kill?"
"Aunt Qing, that still isn't a reason to throw them into flames and cold air at the Earthly Sovereign level."
Xiao Xiao sat beside a bonfire. A grill had been set over it, and an iron rod skewered a rabbit half the size of a person above the flames.
The rabbit had been roasted a golden brown, sizzling with dripping fat and giving off an enticing aroma.
"Don't call me Aunt Qing. Call me Sister Qing. I'm only a little over ten years older than you," Xiao Qing muttered.
"Okay, Aunt... Qing," Xiao Xiao drawled.
Xiao Qing: "..."
After a moment of silence, she complained, "Your three younger sisters are much more obedient than you."
A black-robed man with an air of vicissitude emerged from the woods and came to Xiao Xiao's side.
He sat on a rock beside the fire and said softly, "When you have time, go back to the Endless Fire Territory more often."
"What is there to see? I'm doing perfectly well outside. Once I break through to Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign and beat up the True Dragon and True Phoenix clan leaders, I'll be the supreme ruler of magical beasts!" Xiao Xiao said arrogantly. "Those three at home haven't even reached Heavenly Sovereign yet, have they...?"
"Your grandfather misses you very much."
After a brief silence, Xiao Xiao nodded slightly. "All right."
"Have you met that young man called Mu Chen?"
"I have. He's the little brother I just acknowledged."
"If you have the chance,