Liu Qingxuan offered a radiant smile. “Once I’ve fully recovered, I’m confident I’ll break through to the late Golden Core stage in short order.”

Zhang Xian reached into his storage pouch, producing a jade bottle filled with a shimmering liquid. “This is Dragon’s Saliva Jade Liquid. Open a hot spring pool in the back mountain and soak in it daily. It will significantly accelerate your spiritual energy absorption.”

Liu Qingxuan took the bottle and uncorked it. A single sniff told her the contents were priceless. Moved by the gesture, she suddenly narrowed her eyes in thought. “No wonder your master soaks in the hot spring every day,” she chided playfully. “She has some of this too, doesn’t she?”

“She is my master; that was a gesture of filial piety,” Zhang Xian replied, his face a mask of perfect innocence. “It’s different with you.”

Having fully accepted her relationship with him, she stopped acting coy and tucked the liquid away.

[Ding! Successfully gifted Earth-grade Dragon’s Saliva Jade Liquid. Return triggered: 100 bottles of Dragon’s Saliva Jade Liquid.]

[Dragon’s Saliva Jade Liquid (Earth-grade): When added to a spiritual pool, it drastically enhances the quality of the spring and the rate of cultivation.]

As Zhang Xian spoke, his hands had already wandered, restlessly encircling her waist.

Liu Qingxuan’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she gently tried to push him away. “Enough. You promised both me and my father that we would keep our distance.”

Zhang Xian chuckled softly, pulling her closer. “We haven’t reached the sect yet, have we? Right now, there is no distance at all.”

“The disciples back home were right about you,” she whispered, her breathing growing uneven. “You really are a little pervert. No… if we must, let’s at least go to the bedroom in the inner cabin.”

“No,” Zhang Xian said, pressing her against the low table. “Master’s divine sense is currently covering the entire ship. If I take you to the bedroom, she’ll notice immediately and scold me later.”

“You scoundrel…” Liu Qingxuan tried to protest further, but he sealed her lips with his own.

The flying vessel pierced through the final layer of the cloud sea, revealing the towering mountain gates of the Yunmiao Sect in the distance.

Zhang Xian straightened his robes and looked at Liu Qingxuan. Her face was as radiant as peach blossoms in spring. He chuckled lightly. “Supervisor Liu, we’ve arrived.”

She shot him a sharp, annoyed glance. “Let’s go.”

Zhang Xian nodded and pushed the door open. Outside, Li Fuxi stood with her arms crossed, her sword held tightly. She swept a cold, piercing gaze over the pair.

“What were you two dawdling for?” she asked frostily. “The sect is right there.”

“Master, I hit a sudden bottleneck in my cultivation and sought Supervisor Liu’s urgent advice,” Zhang Xian explained. “It took a bit longer than expected.”

Liu Qingxuan simply nodded. “Mm.”

Li Fuxi gave them one last suspicious look before turning and walking away.

At the Yunmiao Sect mountain gates, the vessel slowly descended. As the gangplank lowered, a wave of shocked exclamations rose from the disciples gathered along the mountain path.

“Damn! It’s that old scoundrel Zhang Xian’s ship!” one disciple shouted, pointing. “Is he back from his honeymoon already?”

“I heard they were ambushed and barely escaped!” another added. He looked at the trio disembarking and suddenly gasped. “Holy crap! Why has Supervisor Liu’s cultivation dropped so much?!”

“Supervisor Fuxi’s level has plummeted too!”

The crowd erupted.

“Look at Zhang Xian! His cultivation actually went up!” someone roared.

“No way! Did he drain both supervisors through dual cultivation?!”

Pfft!

A disciple who had harbored a secret crush on Li Fuxi for years vomited a mouthful of blood on the spot. He pounded his chest in agony. “I’m reporting this beast to the Immortal Alliance! I’ll sign it with my real name!”

“A conspiracy! This is a scheme!” another cried out in grief. “That schemer Zhang Xian must have colluded with the enemy to stage the whole thing!”

“Such evil practices cannot be tolerated by heaven!” Several disciples, faces twisted with righteous fury, drew their swords.

Below the ship, the scene was one of pure chaos, with disciples wailing and weeping as if the world had ended.

Zhang Xian’s mouth twitched. Do these people have nothing better to do than imagine such scenarios?

Liu Qingxuan turned a deep shade of crimson. Without a word of goodbye, she leapt onto her sword and flew away. Li Fuxi was so angry she stamped her foot, but since she couldn’t explain the truth, she simply vanished into the sky in a streak of light.

Zhang Xian rubbed his nose awkwardly, standing alone on the deck.

“Old scoundrel Zhang Xian!” a disciple roared, pointing his blade at the ship. “I challenge you to a duel!”

Seeing the mob’s indignation, Zhang Xian began to worry. If he stepped off the ship now, he’d be torn apart. He decided to make a quick escape, but the mountain protection array prevented him from flying the vessel directly to his courtyard.

He tried to step onto his own flying sword, but he wobbled unsteadily and nearly toppled over.

“Tsk, I’m still not proficient enough at this.”

He sighed and pulled out his communication jade slip to message Lin Yinyin. No response. He tried again. Still nothing.

“This girl…” He had no choice but to contact Zhenhai. “Brother Zhenhai, come pick me up.”

A moment later, Zhenhai arrived. The moment he saw Zhang Xian, he gave him a suggestive wink and a thumbs-up. “I heard you took care of both supervisors…”

“Let’s just go,” Zhang Xian muttered.

Back at his courtyard, he found Lin Yinyin sitting at a stone table, leisurely sipping tea. She didn’t even look up as they arrived.

Zhenhai took one look at her and immediately bolted. “Farewell!”

Zhang Xian forced a dry laugh and sat opposite her. “Yinyin, I’m back.”

Only then did she look up. “Oh? Brother has already reached the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment? Such fast cultivation… didn’t you spend the nights at Supervisor Liu’s place?”

“Yinyin, I’m not that kind of person,” Zhang Xian said, rubbing his nose.

“Do I not know exactly what kind of person you are?” She leaned in close, sniffing his collar. “You’re covered in medicinal fragrance; you were just with Liu Qingxuan! And I heard you didn’t even spare your own master!”

“Master and I are innocent!”

“So things with Liu Qingxuan weren’t innocent?”

“…”

Lin Yinyin’s eyes suddenly grew red. “Do you know how worried I was? And while I’m here fearing for your life, you’re off with her…”

“The situation was urgent,” Zhang Xian sighed. He took a sip of tea and recounted the events, carefully omitting the more “ambiguous” parts.

“Ah!” Lin Yinyin gasped, her anger momentarily forgotten. “You encountered a Golden Core seventh-layer enemy?!”

“Master and Supervisor Liu held the front line; I just assisted.” Zhang Xian suddenly conjured a puppet identical to himself. “Look—my true body never even saw combat. It was this puppet the whole time.”

Diverted, Lin Yinyin curiously poked the puppet’s cheek. “It feels just like real skin…”

Then, she caught herself and glared at him again. “So you sent Captain Zhenhai to save Master while you went off to ‘rescue’ Liu Qingxuan yourself?”

“I didn’t want to lie to you, but I couldn’t choose. I had to use this strategy.”

“Hmph… I suppose that’s sensible. If you had kept me in the dark any longer, I would have been truly angry.” She narrowed her eyes. “But why save Liu Qingxuan instead of Master? You must have been coveting Master for a long time.”

“Nothing of the sort!” Zhang Xian declared righteously. “Master’s Nine Turns Jade Condensation Sutra is at the eighth layer. If I broke her purity, a hundred years of her cultivation would vanish. How would I be any better than a beast?”

“I see. So it wasn’t what the rumors say.”

“I should go check on Master then,” Lin Yinyin said, standing up.

“Mm-hmm. You should definitely hurry along,” a cool voice interjected.

“Wah!” Both jumped in fright.

Su Ling had appeared out of nowhere, sitting opposite them and watching with an expressionless gaze. Lin Yinyin hurriedly bowed. “Elder Su… Elder Su…”

Su Ling nodded and tapped a finger. In a flash of light, Lin Yinyin was teleported away.

Silence reclaimed the courtyard.

“Your puppet—” Su Ling said, getting straight to the point. “I want to dismantle it.”

She paused briefly. “Name your conditions.”