That night, Ning Xiang quietly asked the damned system, "What punishment will I get for failing this mission?"
She had waited until everyone was resting to ask because she was afraid the damned system would give her another ugly bird 3.0.
To Ning Xiang's surprise, the system actually sounded delighted.
[Congratulations on successfully completing the mission, esteemed host! You truly live up to being the host chosen by a system as wise and mighty as myself.]
Ning Xiang was taken aback. That was... all it took?
"Ahem, go on, then. What's the reward?"
Immediately afterward, the system said:
[The reward has been delivered to your Spirit Bracelet. Please check it, esteemed host.]
Ning Xiang took a look with her spiritual sense. Huh? A jade flute?
What was she supposed to do with that? She couldn't play an instrument. Was she supposed to use it to knock enemies over the head in a fight?
[Ding! Side quest activated: Mock Su Lang in front of everyone and deal a blow to his pride. Time limit: three days.]
Ning Xiang rubbed her neck. "Can I decline?"
[No, dear.]
The next day.
Everyone got up and split into two groups. One would search for the Heaven-Splitting Python's remains, while the other would look for the other three teams.
Naturally, they reshuffled the groups.
Yu Tingchao and a sword cultivator were assigned to Ning Xiang's team. That sword cultivator was the one obsessed with writing fanfiction for Overbearing War God, and his name was Bai Yueguang.
After hearing his name, Ning Xiang fell silent for a full three seconds.
The muscular sword cultivator named Bai Yueguang wore a resolute expression. "When my parents named me, they must have realized I would someday embark on the path of literary creation. That's why they gave me such a beautiful, poetic name." His eyes brimmed with tears as he spoke.
Ning Xiang badly wanted to exercise her veto and kick him out, but she feared people would call her dictatorial, so she let it go. Very soon, however, that fleeting moment of kindness came back to bite her.
Luo River Sect disciples B, C, and D, along with the two women from the Pill Sect, joined Mu Jianying's team.
The yellow-robed female cultivator from the Pill Sect spoke timidly. "I want to go with Senior Sister Ning."
"No, you don't," Ning Xiang said mercilessly. She glanced at her streamlined squad and gave a brief command. "Charge!"
Along the way, Bai Yueguang, Wen Maimai, and Zhou Ruoxue chattered nonstop about the plot of Divorced 10,001 Times. Feng Xiaohan and Luo Hanzhen from the Beast Taming Sect occasionally joined in.
The noise made Ning Xiang's brain ache.
Zhou Ruoxue might not have been much of a cultivator, but she had an extraordinary gift for drawing! She could even draw while walking-or while flying with the Wind-Riding Art. Her hands were unbelievably steady.
Ning Xiang stole a peek.
Crap, why does he look more and more like Master? And the War God's face is looking more and more like mine, too! Is my identity going to be exposed?
Wen Maimai propped her chin on her hand and said thoughtfully, "Ruoxue, I know you admire my senior sister, but you shouldn't model your drawings so closely on her. It'll really hurt all the cultivators who have a secret crush on her."
Zhou Ruoxue humbly accepted the advice. "I'll change it right away."
Ning Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, only to look up and find Yu Tingchao watching her with a teasing expression.
"Senior Sister, do you think Master will see Fellow Daoist Bai's work?"
Ning Xiang feigned ignorance. "How would I know? Why are you bringing up Master out of nowhere?"
What's this little black lotus getting at? Has he guessed that Ye Fan is Master? That shouldn't be possible. I was so subtle when I wrote it! Or did that bigmouth Second Senior Brother tell him?
Hmph, hmph, hmph. Bai Yueguang posted his fanfiction in Heaven-Question's gossip section. Master is devoted to his studies. He'd never browse a boring forum!
Of that, Ning Xiang was absolutely certain.
Beside her, Su Lang said, "..."
He had more or less pieced together what had happened. Ning Xiang had actually written a story to tease Master and make things up about him. That really was terribly naughty of her. Yet as he watched the girl's lively, smug expression, he suddenly felt that if it made her happy, he... seemed willing to accept it.
Meanwhile, at Chengfeng Courtyard.
Xie Feihong let out an enormous sneeze.
Wasn't it far too cold at Master's place?
With Eldest Senior Brother away, Master had dragged him over to help organize his books. Just looking at the rows of towering bookshelves gave Xie Feihong a headache.
Master had hurried off a moment earlier. Bored on his own, Xie Feihong checked that no one was around, then quietly took out his Heaven-Question Stone, intending to find someone to discuss the plot of Overbearing War God with. Instead, he immediately spotted the soaring popularity of a thread titled Divorced 10,001 Times and clicked straight into it.
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Qingchen returned, looking ethereal in his white robes. The moment he arrived, he saw his second disciple sobbing his heart out and muttering, "Waaah, it's so moving! War God, you'll regret it if you let Ye Fan slip away. Turn back! Ye Fan has been waiting for you all along."
Lu Qingchen said, "..."
"What are you doing?"
Xie Feihong jolted in fright and hastily hid the Heaven-Question Stone behind his back. Naturally, that only made his guilt more obvious.
Lu Qingchen's gaze fell on his tear-reddened, swollen eyes. "You..." He considered his words. "You really are quite sentimental."
"Master, was there something urgent you had to attend to when you rushed off just now?" Xie Feihong changed the subject between sobs.
"The Heavenly Chaos Mirror showed unusual activity just now. Things are not peaceful in the Purple Tenuity Domain."
"Could those demon cultivators be stirring up trouble?"
"We don't yet know how events are unfolding. Once your eldest senior brother and the others return, I will go to the Purple Tenuity Domain myself to investigate."
After Xie Feihong withdrew, Lu Qingchen summoned his own Heaven-Question Stone and, as though moved by some unseen impulse, opened the gossip section.
Maze Forest.
It was already noon, yet neither sun nor moon could be seen.
With its brows drooping, the Kui Ox said listlessly, "You've already cut out my demon core. Why won't you let me go? Isn't having that idiot Earth-Fiend Demon Lion guide you enough?"
Riding on the Earth-Fiend Demon Lion's back, Ning Xiang drawled, "Nope. Once Little Lion gets tired, I'll try having you be my mount instead."
The Kui Ox said, "..." What else could it do? Forget the fact that its demon core was gone-even with it, Ning Xiang had beaten it like a hanging punching bag. It could only lower its noble head in indignation.
"Sister Xiang, haven't we been going around in circles for ages?" Wen Maimai asked, pointing at a familiar-looking tree.
Ning Xiang gave her an approving look. "Not bad. We've only gone around eight times, and you've already caught on."
Just then, blood-red mist suddenly spread through the forest. As though it had eyes of its own, it rolled and surged toward the group.
Wherever the blood mist passed, the trees withered at an alarming speed. A Golden-Winged Cloud Eagle in the sky was swallowed by the mist and instantly vanished into nothing.
"It's Lord Tree Demon! It's come to punish us!" the Kui Ox stammered. Its single leg could barely support it, and it almost dropped to its knee.
"Speak properly!"
The Kui Ox said, "...Lord Tree Demon's true form is an Immortal-Bewildering Tree. Whenever Lord Tree Demon grows angry, it releases blood mist. Any people or living creatures swallowed by the mist have their flesh rot away, leaving not even their bones behind."
The Earth-Fiend Demon Lion was trembling too.
Clearly, both of them were terrified.
Zhou Ruoxue's pretty face paled. "Senior Sister Ning, what should we do?"
"What's there to be afraid of? We just break the formation here, find the Immortal-Bewildering Tree, and burn it down. Problem solved." Ning Xiang looked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Before you continue