Su Chen gently ruffled Ye Lingxi's hair and smiled. "Did you miss me?"
Ye Lingxi looked up and blinked. "I did!"
Su Chen laughed. "I missed you too."
The Demon Venerable looked at Ye Lingxi and said quietly, "Is this your younger sister, young master? How impressive. She's already at the Purple Mansion Realm First Layer at such a young age. Even compared to those monstrous geniuses in the Immortal Realm, she's hardly inferior."
Ye Lingxi noticed the Demon Venerable then and asked curiously, "Brother, who is he?"
Su Chen glanced at the Demon Venerable, who hurriedly said, "Young miss, my name is Demon Venerable. You can just call me Old Devil."
Ye Lingxi blinked and looked at Su Chen.
Su Chen smiled. "From now on, he'll be responsible for keeping you safe."
With that, he looked at the Demon Venerable. "From now on, your task is to protect my sister. Understood?"
The Demon Venerable said respectfully, "Understood!"
Ye Lingxi shook her head. "I don't want him to protect me. I only want you, Brother."
Su Chen looked at Ye Lingxi dotingly and said softly, "Silly girl, you have to understand, I can't be by your side at all times. I'll feel at ease with someone protecting you, all right?"
Ye Lingxi pouted and said nothing.
Su Chen shook his head with a smile, then picked Ye Lingxi up. "I'll make something tasty. Want some?"
At those words, Ye Lingxi's unhappiness vanished in an instant. "Yes! Yes!" she said happily.
Su Chen smiled and walked into the pavilion. Then he paused and turned to look at the Demon Venerable. "You come too."
With that, he walked into the pavilion.
The Demon Venerable was delighted and hurried after him.
This was a great chance to grow closer to the big shot!
An hour later, the aroma of hot pot filled the pavilion. A large pot sat on the table, surrounded by all kinds of dishes.
Su Chen picked up a piece of tripe and swished it around in the pot. Then he dipped the cooked tripe in sauce and put it in Ye Lingxi's bowl. "Try it," he said with a smile.
Ye Lingxi obediently nodded, then picked up the tripe and put it in her mouth. The next moment, golden light flashed in her eyes, and both pairs of eyes narrowed like crescent moons.
"It's so delicious!" she exclaimed.
Su Chen smiled. "Have more if you like it."
Then he looked at the Demon Venerable. "You eat too."
The Demon Venerable nodded and copied what Su Chen had just done, preparing a piece of tripe for himself. The moment it entered his mouth, his eyes widened. "What is this? How can it taste so delicious?"
Su Chen smiled faintly and said nothing.
How was he supposed to explain? Should he say it was hot pot from Earth in his previous life? Obviously not.
Star Hall
Murong Xue recounted everything that had happened. After hearing her out, the people in the hall fell utterly silent.
After a long silence, Xia Meng spoke. "I never imagined Peak Master Su was so terrifying. He effortlessly subdued a Great Saint Realm expert and casually wiped out the Heavenly Devil Sect. It seems our Star Holy Land was reaching above its station after all."
Murong Xue said, "Let's leave Peak Master Su be. An existence like him is beyond our imagination. We should discuss recruiting disciples a year from now instead."
Xia Meng nodded. "Indeed."
For the rest of the time, Xia Meng and the peak masters discussed how to arrange the recruitment of disciples a year later.
An Lan suddenly said, "Holy Lord, should we notify Peak Master Su?"
Xia Meng was silent for a moment. "A year from now, have Du Yuan tell him about it. If he wants to take disciples, he can come. If he doesn't, he needn't."
"All right."
Everyone nodded.
Time flew, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
The Star Holy Land was particularly lively today for one reason alone: it was the day the Star Holy Land recruited disciples.
The Holy Land's square was a sea of people, all young men and women who had come from across the world. Every one of them dreamed of joining the Star Holy Land and becoming an immortal cultivator.
After all... what young person hadn't dreamed of cultivating immortality?
They looked around curiously, their eyes full of excitement.
Cultivating immortality!
It was something that ordinary mortals like them had never even dared to imagine.
Now the chance to cultivate immortality was right before them.
How could they not be excited?
One young man spoke up. "Have you heard? A mysterious expert came to the Star Holy Land two years ago!"
"I know! Rumor has it that the mysterious expert killed a peak master and an elder on his very first day at the Star Holy Land. He was freaking awesome!"
"I also heard that the mysterious expert is now the Peak Master of Ancient Moon Peak!"
"I wonder if we'll get to see the Peak Master of Ancient Moon Peak today. If he takes me as his disciple, my ancestors' graves will be sending up blue smoke!"
More than half the young men and women in the square were discussing the mysterious expert, all of them curious about him.
"Silence!"
Just then, an imposing voice rang out.
The square fell silent in an instant. Everyone looked up into the air, where a middle-aged man stood.
The middle-aged man wore purple robes and had a sturdy build and a stern face. The pressure radiating from him was like a mountain, weighing heavily on everyone.
And that middle-aged man was none other than An Lan, the Peak Master of Artifact Peak!
An Lan looked sternly at the crowd below. "Next, I will release my own pressure. Anyone who can withstand it for a quarter of an hour will pass."
As soon as he finished speaking, before anyone could react, the pressure of the Ninth Level of the Venerable Realm bore down on them.
"Holy crap!"
"I'm not ready yet!"
Some people were immediately pinned to the ground by the pressure, unable to move.
As the seconds ticked by, some struggled to hold on, cold sweat constantly beading on their foreheads; others looked relaxed, paying the pressure no mind.
Three people appeared the most at ease.
Two young men and one young woman could even stroll about freely under the pressure.
One of the young men had delicate features and long black hair that fluttered in the wind, his whole being giving off a cool, unworldly bearing.
The other young man had a fair face with sharply defined, austere features and a tall, slender build that was not coarse. Like an eagle in the night, he was aloof and solitary, yet overbearing.
The last, a young woman, wore a plain dress and had a smooth, radiant, oval face, hair as black as ink, and skin like congealed cream. Every movement revealed an elegant, unhurried bearing.
Up in the air, An Lan looked at the three below and nodded without realizing it. "These three are good, but..."
As he spoke, he looked at the others and couldn't help shaking his head.
Ancient Moon Peak
Su Chen was fishing at the moment, while Ye Lingxi watched from beside him.
Just then, the fishing rod trembled slightly. The corners of Su Chen's mouth rose, and he gave it a sharp tug. A spirit fish a meter long flew out of the lake.
Su Chen gently patted the spirit fish on the belly and smiled, then removed the hook from its mouth. Finally, he put the spirit fish back in the lake.