"Oh, Wishing Divine Lamp!"
"I wish for Spirit Hall to endure for a thousand ages, immortal and imperishable!"
"Please grant my wish!"
Qian Daoliu squeezed his eyes shut and shouted his wish in his heart.
After accepting Qian Daoliu's wish, the Wishing Divine Lamp responded.
The dazzling golden light the Wishing Divine Lamp gave off first grew even more brilliant and resplendent.
Then, in an instant, it withdrew and returned to its previous state.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
But Qian Daoliu knew that, judging by the previous three wishes,
his wish would surely come true as well.
He simply didn't know exactly how it would be fulfilled.
But no matter what, as long as his wish for Spirit Hall to endure for a thousand ages, immortal and imperishable, could come true,
Qian Daoliu would accept whatever price he had to pay.
"Child, I've made my wish. Thank you for your Wishing Divine Lamp."
"Now, let me take you to where you'll be staying!"
After making his wish,
Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes. A faint smile appeared on his handsome, middle-aged face as he reached out and patted Xu Nuo on the shoulder.
"Come with me!"
With that, Qian Daoliu turned and led Xu Nuo toward the exit of the Worship Hall.
Golden Crocodile Douluo hurried after them, rubbing his hands together as he asked, brimming with curiosity,
"Big Brother, what did you wish for?"
"Can you tell me?"
Qian Daoliu glanced at Golden Crocodile Douluo and said mildly,
"Tell you what?"
"Haven't you heard the saying?"
"If you tell someone the wish you made, it won't come true!"
"Uh..."
Golden Crocodile Douluo scratched his head, somewhat helpless.
Qian Daoliu then led Xu Nuo out of the Worship Hall and down the steps of the hill, arriving at the back of the hill where the Pope's Hall and the Worship Hall stood. There was a small, azure lake there.
Clusters of magnificent buildings stood around the lakeshore.
Within them, green trees cast their shade, birds sang, and flowers filled the air with fragrance.
Bed after bed was filled with flowers of every brilliant hue, giving off a rich perfume.
These buildings were residences reserved for the upper ranks and geniuses of Spirit Hall.
They were all essentially detached houses with their own courtyards, looking like small villas.
Qian Daoliu led Xu Nuo to the fifth detached courtyard in the second cluster of buildings.
The sign in front of the gate clearly read: No. 205.
"All right!"
"Child, this is where you'll be living from now on."
"I've already had someone tidy and clean the place."
"The furniture, bedding, and everything else are all there. You can move right in."
Standing at the gate with Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Daoliu gestured toward the small villa in front of them and spoke with a slight smile.
He then led Xu Nuo inside the villa.
He showed Xu Nuo around the villa.
Finally, before leaving,
Qian Daoliu took a small pouch from his robes and handed it to Xu Nuo. It was emerald green all over, decorated with a gold, openwork feather pattern and inlaid with five gemstones.
"Xiao Nuo, this is a gift from Grandpa."
"This pouch is a Storage Soul Tool called the Golden Feather Hundred Treasures Pouch."
"It has nearly fifty cubic meters of storage space inside."
"It can store not only inanimate objects, but living things as well."
"I've also put some Gold Soul Coins in it, along with a soul crystal card with a limit of 500,000 and one of my Worship Tokens."
"If you need it in the future, you can use any of that money."
"When it's gone, come find me again."
"As for this Worship Token, it'll make it easier for you to enter certain places in Spirit City that require proof of identity, such as the third floor and above of the central library."
"Anyone from Spirit Hall who sees the token will treat it as if I were there myself."
"And if you have any questions, you can also present this token at the Worship Hall to see me."
"Grandpa Qian, this is too precious. I can't accept it!"
Xu Nuo hadn't expected Qian Daoliu to be so generous, giving him a precious Storage Soul Tool that could hold living things right off the bat.
There were also 500,000 Gold Soul Coins and a Worship Token.
Xu Nuo was filled with surprise and delight, but he still pretended he didn't deserve the gifts and hurriedly declined.
"Xiao Nuo, take it!"
Qian Daoliu merely smiled, his heart full of gratification.
"Your Martial Soul and talent are both exceptional."
"In the future, you'll surely be a mainstay of Spirit Hall!"
"Spirit Hall has always valued talent, and you also helped Grandpa fulfill his wish."
"This is nothing."
"From now on, Grandpa will also have someone send you cultivation resources every month."
"Once you enroll at Spirit City Junior Soul Master Academy,"
"I'll have the academy give you a gold-tier genius subsidy as well."
With Qian Daoliu insisting,
Xu Nuo finally accepted the Golden Feather Hundred Treasures Pouch, his heart full of happiness.
"Thank you, Grandpa Qian!"
After seeing Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo off,
Xu Nuo prepared to take another good look around the villa where he would be living.
That evening, he would go to a high-end restaurant in Spirit City and enjoy a good meal.
Meanwhile, in Heaven Dou Imperial City.
At the Crown Prince's residence.
Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, had just returned to the Crown Prince's residence from the imperial palace.
She had just stepped down from the carriage.
For some reason, a sudden impulse seized Qian Renxue, and she inexplicably found herself missing her grandfather, Qian Daoliu.
It's been several years since I last saw Grandpa.
I've just brought back a batch of memorials, and I happen to have nothing else to do for the next few days, so I don't need to go to the imperial palace.
Why don't I have my double hold the fort at the Crown Prince's residence for the time being?
I'll go back and see Grandpa over the next few days.
Qian Renxue couldn't help thinking to herself.
After entering the Crown Prince's residence,
Qian Renxue summoned her double to the study alone. The double had been specially selected from Spirit Hall and brought here.
The double's Martial Soul was the extremely rare Illusory Form Beast, which possessed outstanding disguise abilities.
On top of that, Qian Renxue had kept the double at her side all along to learn her speech and daily habits.
As a result, when the double disguised herself as Qian Renxue in the residence,
with only the guards to deal with, and a considerable number of the Crown Prince's guards being Spirit Hall Soul Masters themselves,
others were essentially unable to tell at all.
"For the next few days, disguise yourself as Xue Qinghe and hold the fort at the Crown Prince's residence in my place."
"I have something to do and need to return to Spirit City."
"I'll be back soon."
After Qian Renxue gave her double these instructions,
the double respectfully answered,
"Yes, Young Master!"
Once her double had disguised herself as Xue Qinghe,
Qian Renxue put on a black robe, waited for night to fall, and quietly left the Crown Prince's residence.
After leaving Heaven Dou Imperial City,
she summoned her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and possessed it. Three pairs of snow-white wings spread behind her, and with a beat, she instantly took flight, heading straight for Spirit City.
At that moment, beside Qian Renxue,
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo stopped hiding and revealed themselves, protecting her.
Because they were traveling by air,
after only half a day,
late at night,
Qian Renxue arrived at Spirit City with Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.
When she saw the city in the distance, its walls forming a hexagon and its appearance majestic and prosperous, a smile appeared on her pretty face.
"Finally, we're here!"
After passing over Spirit City's walls and making her way to the back of the hill where the Pope's Hall and Douluo Hall stood,
Qian Renxue had not yet reached Qian Daoliu's residence when,
all of a sudden, she felt the circulation throughout her body abruptly grow sluggish. Her body stiffened at once, and the three pairs of wings behind her couldn't move at all.
"Not good!"
Qian Renxue's expression immediately changed.
But her entire body seemed to have gone out of control, and like a crashing helicopter, she plummeted straight toward a small villa below.
Seeing this, Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, who were behind her, grew frantic.
"Young Master!"
But for some reason, the two of them also suddenly felt their Soul Power circulation go awry, and their bodies abruptly stiffened.
They had no time to catch up to the falling Qian Renxue.
"Bang!"
In the blink of an eye, Qian Renxue plunged straight down and crashed into the small villa below, whose doorplate bore the number 205.
She landed right in the room where Xu Nuo lived.