Chapter 60: An Invitation to a Drop of Blood.

Perhaps because she had figured things out yesterday, Hua Xun woke up feeling refreshed and her steps were much lighter.

Surprisingly, Liu Huo didn't sleep in today. As soon as Hua Xun stepped out of the palace gate, she saw it spread its wings and fly towards her, chirping "jie jie" as it flew, occasionally rubbing against her sleeve.

Hua Xun, puzzled, took out a chestnut cake that she had recently discovered in the human world from her purse and handed it to it.

Liu Huo's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he swallowed it. After finishing, he continued to call out, circled behind her, and used his head to push her towards the temple.

Hua Xun reluctantly followed the force of the flowing fire forward, but when she got close to the temple, she couldn't help but stop.

The White Mist Cliff, filled with ethereal beauty and floral fragrance, was unexpectedly tinged with the aroma of everyday cooking.

Hua Xun followed the fragrance and walked forward until she reached the temple.

Instead of sitting behind the celestial curtains observing the world, the deity quietly walked out of the palace, carrying a plate of green bamboo shoots, and placed it on a jade table under a peach tree not far away.

There were two bowls of congee on the table, shrouded in an invisible barrier, still emitting warm white steam.

"Awake?" The God's gentle voice rang out.

Hua Xun snapped out of her daze and stammered, "These are..."

The deity smiled and removed the barrier. The flower petals floating above his head also wisely moved away from the table. He looked at the girl standing not far away, and couldn't help but take her hand and lead her to the table.

"I have prepared a meal. Would you like some, Ah Xun?"

Ah Xun, who had already been pulled to the table, blinked and asked incredulously, "You made this?"

The deity nodded.

"You cooked it yourself?"

The deity still smiled and bowed.

Hua Xun glanced at the food in surprise, finding it hard to imagine how a god as detached from worldly affairs as Shenjun could cook porridge in front of the stove.

"It was brewed with the divine fire of the rootless realm," the deity explained, seemingly noticing her confusion.

Hua Xun paused for a moment, thinking, "As expected of a divine lord."

She pursed her lips and sat down.

Meeting the gaze of the deity, Hua Xun quietly took a sip of porridge.

The porridge was very fragrant, and it also contained a pure spiritual energy. After entering the stomach, an unprecedented feeling of comfort and warmth arose in the lower abdomen.

Hua Xun's eyes lit up slightly, and she looked up in surprise, immediately meeting the God's focused gaze.

In that instant, she inexplicably felt that there was a hint of barely perceptible expectation hidden in his gaze.

“…It’s delicious.” Hua Xun said tentatively.

Upon hearing this, the deity's brows and eyes slowly relaxed. He then noticed something, and naturally raised his hand to wipe away the slight dampness on her upper lip with his index finger.

Hua Xun felt the cool, warm touch on her lips and her breath caught in her throat.

Liu Huo flew over and called out twice to the God.

The smiling deity patted its forehead reassuringly, and the fiery creature gradually calmed down.

Hua Xun silently watched the God's actions, then looked at Liu Huo's head, and continued to drink her porridge absentmindedly, but couldn't help but secretly wonder: Could it be that the God has mistaken her for another Liu Huo?

Half an hour had passed since breakfast was finished, and the deity asked Ah Xun if she wanted to continue her cultivation.

Ah Xun thought about it and, since there was nothing else to do at White Mist Cliff, agreed.

As usual, sitting face to face with the Divine Lord on either side of the desk, Hua Xun suddenly remembered the purpose of her trip.

A drop of blood, a drop of tear, a drop of saliva.

But these three things seem to have nothing to do with the God.

During the divine punishment, the divine lord's body was scorched by heavenly fire for several days, yet he did not shed a single drop of blood, nor a single tear, nor even a drop of saliva...

Hua Xun's gaze left the incantation before her and secretly glanced at the God's lips.

The deity's lips were a light pink, with a cool, jade-like smoothness. They seemed untouched by worldly affairs, more like flower petals soaked in celestial dew, quietly closed, exuding a divine restraint and asceticism.

Hua Xun's ears burned, and she lowered her eyes in frustration, letting out a soft sigh.

Such a deity is so sacred that even touching him would be considered blasphemous; how could one possibly take him?

"Hmm?" As if noticing her distraction, the deity put down his book and looked at her.

Hua Xun quickly realized what was happening, and unconsciously smiled. After a moment's hesitation, she tentatively asked, "Will the Divine Lord bleed?"

The deity seemed puzzled as to why she asked such a question, but still answered her softly, "Yes."

After saying that, he felt that the answer was too cold, so he added: "Few powers in the world can penetrate divine light, therefore, I rarely shed blood."

Hua Xun looked at the protective divine light flowing around the Divine Lord, and his eyes dimmed involuntarily.

"Why do you ask that?" The deity asked in return when he saw the girl's dim eyes.

Hua Xun's mind went blank, and she hastily made up an excuse, saying, "I was just... curious about how the God's blood was different from that of ordinary people, so I asked casually..."

The more she spoke, the more guilty she felt, and her voice grew softer as she silently lowered her head.

A slender, jade-like hand reached out to her. A cut the length of a knuckle was made on the porcelain-white index finger by divine power, and bright red blood seeped out, mixed with a few strands of golden divine light.

The blood did not drip; instead, it congealed into a cluster of bright red water droplets, which floated slowly in mid-air.

Hua Xun suddenly raised her head.

The deity asked her with a smile, "Can you see the difference?"

Hua Xun was stunned, and subconsciously held the god's fingers, wanting to use his spiritual power to heal the wound.

But the pale blue light brushed against his fingers, doing nothing to help.

The deity gazed at her gently holding his hand, feeling the soft touch on the back of his hand, and a strange emotion welled up in his chest.

That feeling was like a thread, greedily entwining him, causing his body to tense slightly, and even his breathing to slow down a beat.

"Why doesn't it work?" Hua Xun asked anxiously.

The deity looked at her anxious expression, then ran his other hand over his fingertips, and the wound immediately disappeared.

Hua Xun stared at her finger, now fully restored, examining it closely before letting go. Her tone unconsciously carried a hint of reproach: "Even if I wanted to see the God's blood, you shouldn't have made such a big cut."

The god looked at the girl's expression with curiosity. Although her tone was clearly displeased, he felt a strange sense of pleasure.

“Ah Xun is right,” he said with a smile, then asked again in a slow voice, “Is my blood any different from others?”

Hua Xun carefully caught the blood droplet in his palm: "The God's blood doesn't smell bloody, it smells very good."

Like the fragrance of frozen snow lotus.

The deity smiled gently, watching her cherished gesture, and suddenly said, "That story has come to an end."

Hua Xun looked up in confusion: "What?"

The deity waved his sleeve, and the image mirror appeared on the desk. After a flash of golden light, the image above showed the storyteller slamming his gavel on the table.

Hua Xun realized that the deity was referring to the storytelling performance they had listened to together earlier.

She was about to nod when she remembered something and said regretfully, "I haven't started cultivating yet today. If I listen to stories, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish reading this Heart Sutra."

The deity lowered his eyes, his brow furrowing slightly: "Then we'll repair it tomorrow."

Hua Xun was slightly taken aback. Suddenly, she felt that the God-King at this moment resembled a lonely old man who, once he had someone to accompany him, couldn't wait to do all sorts of new and exciting things.

Yet he is like a pure and naive teenager, who, because he was rejected, willfully asks someone to postpone what he is doing.

Hua Xun chuckled at her own thoughts, cleared her throat, and said, "It's not too late to check tomorrow; there's still plenty of time."

The deity's lowered eyes paused slightly. It was unclear which words had pleased him, but his expression softened abruptly, and he said gently, "Indeed."

There's still plenty of time.

Hua Xun had to admit that the Divine Realm was an unparalleled cultivation paradise.

The gains from a day of cultivation at White Mist Cliff were almost equivalent to those from over two hundred days of cultivation for a human.

Hua Xun continued his cultivation in the temple until nightfall before bidding farewell to the deity.

Lying on the soft, ethereal silk, Hua Xun couldn't resist taking out the blood bead enveloped in spiritual energy.

She never imagined that this first thing would come so easily.

Thinking of how the God Lord had pricked his finger without hesitation and presented the blood droplet to her, just so she could see how it differed from ordinary blood, Hua Xun couldn't help but let out a long, listless sigh.

Why is the God so kind?

Yet, deep down, a sense of pride welled up within me.

—The god she admired was just that perfect.

Hua Xun collected the blood droplets, turned over, and stared blankly at the window.

Suddenly, a paper crane the size of a finger flew through the window crack and into her eyes, circling around her head a few times.

Hua Xun hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand, and the paper crane obediently landed in her palm.

The moment the fingertip touched it, the paper crane transformed into a cluster of fiery red characters that floated in mid-air:

I'll be waiting for you in the peach grove tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

The signature consisted of only one character: "Xiao".

What does Xiao Yunxi want to see her for?

They even deliberately chose a secluded peach orchard.

Hua Xun frowned slightly, and a thought immediately popped into his mind: he was displeased to see her return to the divine realm and wanted to drive her away from the divine lord again.

Hua Xun pursed her lips, unwilling to acknowledge his inexplicable "invitation," and was about to destroy the paper crane when another one flew by:

I have something important to tell you, but you must not tell any third party.

Hua Xun's brows furrowed even more.

It must be said that the phrase "important things" piqued her curiosity.

If all you want is for her to leave the Divine Realm, it's really not that "important".

Could there be other things she doesn't know about in the past two hundred days?

But when she thought about it carefully, she couldn't recall any unresolved issues between herself and Xiao Yunxi.

Hua Xun put the paper crane away, thinking to herself that instead of staying here curiously, she should go and take a look.

I'll tell the deity first thing tomorrow morning, and then we'll go to the peach grove.

Hua Xun pondered this for a moment, then gradually drifted off to sleep.

*

The next day, Hua Xun got up early and went to see the God.

Remembering Xiao Yunxi's instruction not to tell any third party, she only said tactfully that she had to go to the peach grove and would be back soon.

At that time, the celestial curtain in the center of the temple was unusually open, and the deity was sitting behind his desk with the image mirror quietly placed beside him.

Upon hearing this, he remained silent for a while before nodding in agreement.

Hua Xun breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Thank you, Divine Lord." For a moment, she thought the Divine Lord wouldn't agree.

After bidding farewell to the deity, Hua Xun flew away from White Mist Cliff and headed towards the peach grove.

Jiuqing remained seated, watching the girl in the turquoise dress transform into light and disappear outside the hall. She lowered her eyes and looked at the mirror beside her, her expression calm.

Only the swirling clouds and fluttering petals on White Mist Cliff paused for a brief moment.

Liu Huo stared at Hua Xun's departing figure in confusion. When he looked up, he saw the Divine Lord slowly walking out of the hall. He flew forward and called out twice in bewilderment.

The deity smiled and said, "Someone wants to see her."

"I'll go pick her up."