Di Qiu'er gazed at the man sleeping on her lap and fell into deep thought.
"I have a feeling that this time, he's improved quite a bit."
Judging from the naked eye alone, his total amount of Qi and Blood has increased significantly.
It was even plated with a layer of gold.
Di Qiu'er didn't know what this meant, but it was clear that Toji's Qi and Blood level had advanced further, as if she had crossed some kind of limitation and arrived at a completely new realm.
She had a premonition that this was the first step towards Toji's physical ascension to godhood.
"No wonder this guy has been reading that Secret of the Body these past few days..." Di Qiu'er involuntarily relaxed as she smelled the scent emanating from him.
"I thought I had gotten used to his scent, but I never expected..."
Di Qiu'er had a bit of a headache, but decided to rest for a while.
As the morning light pierced through the thin mist in the forest, Toji's consciousness slowly began to awaken.
Before he even opened his eyes, Toji felt a soft touch on the back of his head, which vaguely reminded him of the Swan he used to sleep on as a child.
It has a refreshing fragrance, but it's also mixed with a kind of indescribable sweetness.
Until he opened his eyes, he saw Di Qiu'er's golden hair falling down, weaving a curtain of light in the morning light, with glimpses of snow-white hair glistening with night dew.
Toji did he realize with a start that he was resting his head on the girl's lap.
His nose was only three inches away from Di Qiu'er's waist and abdomen, and the girl's body fragrance mixed with a certain sweetness lingered around him.
The fragrance was like a cluster of white plum blossoms suddenly blooming deep in a pine forest covered by the first snow, bursting with an alluring sweetness amidst the chill, and then turning into morning mist that seeped into the lungs when you took a closer sniff.
The sensation from the back of her head made Toji's apple bob involuntarily. Di Qiu'er's thighs were as soft as the finest brocade, seemingly thin yet containing the explosive power of Ferocious Beast.
Seemingly noticing Toji's gaze, Di Qiu'er also woke up.
The moment she woke up, she discovered that Toji was performing some kind of epic lung-opening act, which instantly turned her pretty face cold.
"Woke up?"
A cool, clear voice came from above Toji's head. He turned his stiff neck and met those crimson vertical pupils.
"If you keep looking, you won't be resting your head on my thighs anymore, but on my fists," Di Qiu'er suddenly said.
"..."
Toji silent, simply watching Di Qiu'er.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze, Di Qiu'er suddenly turned her head away, revealing her reddened ear tips:
"Look again and I'll pop your eyeballs out..."
"Dig it up and use it as a football?" Toji's hoarse voice carried a hint of amusement. "But given the current situation, it seems I don't have a choice."
"Why?"
"I don't have the strength to move..."
"Serves you right." Di Qiu'er sneered. "Your cultivation has broken through, but the price you have to pay is too high. Is this the body-tempering method your teacher taught you?"
"No, that's not true. You've seen my memories, so you should understand that after I broke through to the Soul Ancestor, ordinary extreme body tempering methods no longer had any effect on me."
Toji spoke up.
"To continue breaking through quickly, I can only do something as crazy as I did just now, carrying even heavier loads, at least as heavy as before. But my cultivation level is too low, and I don't have enough strength. So you saw the price I paid: lying on your lap like this, I can't move at all."
"Right now, any kid could take me down... wait, that's not quite right. Most people probably couldn't even break through my defenses."
"Well, at least a Soul Saint would be needed to break through my physical defenses, so I should say that right now, any Soul Saint could easily kill me."
Di Qiu'er was silent for a moment:
"... You've become so long-winded."
"If you can't move any part of your body except your mouth, you'll also become talkative, believe me."
Toji tried to sit up, but a piercing pain shot through his arms, rendering him unable to move.
"Alright, stop moving."
Di Qiu'er raised her hand and pressed it against his chest with annoyance, causing Toji to hiss in pain.
Her fingertips unconsciously softened:
Why didn't you cry out in pain when you were showing off by moving mountains?
"... In the Storage Soul Tool my teacher gave me, there are a bunch of rare and precious herbs and healing pills. These are the healing methods I will use after I finish body tempering," Toji said softly.
"I can't move right now, could you please get the pills and feed them to me?"
Di Qiu'er was stunned for a moment, then realized:
What should you say when you need someone's help?
Toji remained silent. "... What did you say?"
"Young lady, please help me, say this."
Toji's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but curse, "... What the hell? What's the point of taking advantage at a time like this?"
"Who told you to bully me all the time? I just can't get my revenge!" Di Qiu'er, who could never get the better of Toji, laughed. Her laugh was very happy and sweet.
"Come on, say those words, and I'll help you."
"... Young Miss, please help me." Toji closed her eyes and said through gritted teeth.
He silently thought to himself: You just wait, you'll see once I'm healed.
Di Qiu'er seemed quite satisfied with Toji's current weakened state, so she took out a jade-colored pill from the Storage Soul Tool hanging on Toji's waist and held it to Toji's lips.
Open your mouth.
Toji swallowed the pill through her hand, deliberately brushing his tongue against the girl's fingertips.
Di Qiu'er recoiled as if electrocuted, her delicate body trembling, and she quickly said:
"Just take your medicine, why are you licking my hand?!"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Toji seemed quite proud, licking the food. "It tastes pretty good. Why don't you feed it some more?"
Di Qiu'er: "..."
It's strange, why can't she bring herself to throw this guy out?
The night wind swept across the wheat fields on the border of the Star Luo Empire, stirring up layers of golden waves.
Toji injuries had almost fully healed, squatted on a treetop, a straw dangling from his mouth, gazing listlessly at the distant town where smoke curled from the chimneys.
"Are you really sure this is the place?" He turned to look at Di Qiu'er beside him. "We've been searching for long enough... it's been almost a month."
A pale golden light flickered in Di Qiu'er's crimson eyes:
"This time it should be right, after all, there's a very strong line of destiny here, pointing in this direction."
"Is it really accurate, Grandma?" Toji spat out the wheat stalk in her mouth and asked hurriedly.
"I just hope this whole thing won't be a waste of time."
"It's hard to say. Who told you not to know more information? We can only conduct a thorough search," Di Qiu'er said.
"Grandma," Toji sighed, pointing to her brain, "Where did I get this information? How am I supposed to know exactly where Ju Zi's dad is?"
"This was even with your help. If I were alone, I wouldn't have even considered rescuing her father, because I simply couldn't find him, couldn't tell the difference, and had never seen him before."
"..."
Di Qiu'er tactfully avoided the topic.
A moment later, as if she had seen something, she raised her hand and pointed forward:
"Wait, isn't that her? She has a very strong aura; she's destined for great things."